Panasonic PT-AX200U projector, Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities

Panasonic PT-AX200U projector, Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities

Panasonic PT-AX200U Projector: Pros

• Brightest home theater projector around, over 2000 lumens at brightest
• Very bright in best movie mode, as well
• Very good at revealing shadow details
• Significantly lower starting price ($1299) than its predecessor, the PT-AX100U
• Vertical and Horizontal lens shift for placement flexibility
• 2:1 zoom lens for great placement flexibility
• Film-like picture quality and excellent skin tone handling
• No screendoor effect or visible pixels, thanks to Smooth Screen technology
• Great little remote control
• Good documentation overall
• Eight user savable memory settings
• Gaming mode truly optimized for today’s games and game machines
• Multiple movie modes, multiple modes for TV, HDTV, and Sports
• Light Harmonizer will adjust projector image based on room lighting
• Two HDMI inputs
• Overall good color management
• Only minor adjustments needed to produce excellent color accuracy
• Excellent Price/Performance and Value

Panasonic PT-AX200U Projector: Cons

Panasonic PT-AX200U Projector: Typical Capabilities

• About average noise levels (or a little quieter) than most 720p projectors
• Menu layout
• Physical styling (or lack thereof – it’s a white box, with only small concessions to styling)
• Lamp life, in full power mode (2000 hours)

Panasonic PT-AX200U Summary

Perfectionists may choose another projector in the general price range, especially those focused heavily on black level performance, but for the rest of us, the PT-AX200U, is going to be a serious contender. Of course, a number of competitors cost less, with 720p projectors these days, starting under $700 street price, and with several under $1000. Still, unless your budget is tight enough that you are uncomfortable with the PT-AX200U’s price, it will be hard to pass on.

Few will object to having the brightest projector in its class. Picture quality is overall, very good, and “unobtrusive”. Movies, general HDTV (and TV), and sports programming (especially HDTV), all are a pleasure to watch.

I have no doubt that I will end up recommending the PT-AX200U to more people than any other 720p projector, even though, I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist. The Panasonic PT-AX200U home theater projector, may be a bit of a compromise in a few areas, but it excels in others, and the bottom line is an excellent price performance proposition.

Translating that into English, the PT-AX200U is a great deal.