Panasonic PT-LB75NTU and PT-LB75U Projectors: Audible Noise Levels
Both projectors again, have the same specs. Panasonic provides a rating of 29db in eco-mode (lamp on low power). They do not provide numbers for high lamp.
29db is actually better than many home theater projectors can do in full lamp power, and noise levels are far more critical to home theater fanatics.
Overall, these two projectors are quieter than the majority of portable projectors. I do not measure noise, but would buy into the 29db spec, or close to it, and therefore about 33db - 35db for High power lamp mode, still quieter than most.
At full power, in a conference room, you will be able to hear the fan, but it will be quiet enough that the presenter won't have to "talk over it".
In other words - audible noise is not an issue.
One thing that differentiates the Panasonic NT projectors from much of the competition, is that they have software, and full support for Mac computers, as well as PCs.
Where these Panasonic projectors go "above and beyond" is in their ability to not only show you one computer's wireless presentation, but to actually do all kinds of neat things with multiple computer sources. This includes being able to:
- Put up a window that shows the current display screen of every computer wirelessly logged into the projector, up to a total of 16 computers, each with its own small window
- Split the screen into four equal sized windows, each showing one of four computers wirelessly hooked up to the projector
- Put up one large window with one of the wireless computers, while, across the bottom of the screen, showing content from multiple computers
- Have multiple computers' content live on the screen at one time Multi-Live mode
- Use their software to allow the content to display on multiple Panasonic projectors simultaneously
- To selectively limit the size of the image from the computer, for example, filling the projected image, with only a portion of what is on the computer's screen
- Do even more things than listed above
Below is the main wireless menu that is part of the Panasonic PT-LB75NTU's menu system. As you can see, you can assign names to the projector for the network, as well as establish a password. If you would like more information on some of the configuration, Panasonic has several Mac and Windows networking guides (pdf) on their website.
As to testing many of these capabilities, sorry, we're not set up to do that here. I can tell you, that a few years back, we did have one of the earlier Panasonic projectors set up at my old company, with three different laptop computers configured, and it really worked - we were able to quickly select which laptop we wanted to project, and were also able to use the split screen and multi-live features, including having most of the screen doing one of the laptops, and two small windows at the bottom, showing what was on the screens of the other two. It worked as advertised back then, and is essentially the same today, but faster, and with a few additional features added.
Extra Features of the Panasonic PT-LB75U and PT-B75NTU portable projectors
Let's start the "extra features" list with Daylight View 4.
Simply stated, there is a sensor at the top of these projectors, that measures room ambient light. If DaylightView 4 is engaged, the Panasonic projectors will modify the picture image, in its opinion, to best compensate. It alters brightness, contrast, color saturation, and likely color temperature, to help the image perform better in ambient light. It actually works. The difference, however is not "night and day" There's only so much you can do when you are already using all the available lumens. Is it fully necessary? No, you could manually adjust the image, but it is a nice touch. We took a closer look at Daylight View, when we reviewed the older LB30NTU. Here's a link to the PT-LB30NTU Daylight View section, that shows some with/without Daylight View performance. The PT-LB30NTU used an earlier (two generations, perhaps 3, I think) version of Daylight View.
Dust resistant design: The focus and zoom door is covered, there is an extra piece of glass in front of the lens, and all the buttons are touch sensitive, eliminating all the non-ventillation related sources of dust and dirt. In addition, Panasonic has switched to an electrostatic filter, which they say also reduces problems with dust, etc.
Fast Projector Power On, Safe Power Off: It only takes three seconds for the Panasonic to put an image on the screen after power up. When you power down, a fan continues to run after the projector is powered down, even if the projector is unplugged. Warning, you may be able to unplug it immediately, but don't stuff it back into the provided shoulder case, until the fan shuts off. The projector is still hot, and can't dissipate the heat properly if in its case, which could damage the lamp and components.
Digital Zoom In: For that pesky really small type, or fine, small drawings, the digital zoom lets you magnify any portion of the screen up to a factor of three, to make small areas more easily visible to viewers.
Index Window: When adjusting the image quality of these projectors, you can use the index to split the screen and bring up a second version. One will remain unchanged, so you can see how much your setting changes have affected the image.
Security Features: Although nothing unusually exceptional, these Panasonic projectors are well endowed, with: Password protection, Control Panel Lock, and a heavy duty security anchor. Personally, I'm still waiting for projector manufacturers to install Lo-Jack, at least for models that are widely sold to K-12 schools, where projector thefts are far more common that most would suspect.
Of course, as with most projectors, there are many additional minor features, but these above, are the major ones not mentioned elsewhere in this review.
