Panasonic PT-AE3000U Projector News - Oh, what a price!

Greetings everyone! I learned yesterday, from one Panasonic PT-AE3000U, authorized dealer, and then confirmed it with another: Panasonic has set the MAP price (minimum advertised price) for the PT-AE3000U at $2499. That pretty much determines selling price which now will be there, or in some cases, just slightly less. Dealers are pre-selling the PT-AE3000U, and expecting first shipments in late next week. With previous projectors, Panasonic has fiddled around with promotions with extended warranties, free blockbuster rental cards, etc. Looks like this Q4, though, that Panasonic is keeping things simple, which mean lower out of pocket cost for those of you shopping out there. This raises the bar, (for price performance) and it should be interesting to see how other major 3 LCD home theater projector manufacturers will react. The lower than expected PT-AE3000U pricing, may well influence the pricing of the 3 most direct competitors will price out:  Mitsubishi HC7000, Sanyo PLV-Z3000 and Epson Home Cinema 6500 UB. Each of those are the manufacturer's top of the line models, each is similar to the PT-AE3000U, in that they all have 60,000:1+ contrast ratios, and promise excellent black levels. More to follow!  But basically, great news for consumers!  -art