Panasonic has continued with the same, successful, very good menus that have worked well in their previous home theater projectors. There are minor changes, and of course settings and controls for new features. I like that Panasonic puts just about everything on their main picture menu and the advanced menu found inside that menu. On the downside, the menu size is very large, which blocks a good chunk of the entire screen, making it a little tough to see the effects of what you are adjusting. You can, however select different positioning for the menu. (I normally like putting menus in the lower left corner.)
At the time of this posting, I have all the menu images shot and resized, but, in an effort to get the review up quickly, the menu section will be finished and up in the next 48 hours.
Remote Control
Panasonic has given up on the learning remote that they provided with previous models, and gone back to a very nice, basic remote control. Range seems good, but not great. The backlight is nice and bright. The keys well spaced. I did find that I would often hit the aspect ratio button when going for the Menu (and not looking), but I suppose that an owner, will, with practice, not have that problem for long, if at all.
The image of the remote control and a description of layout and functions will be added shortly.
Lens Throw
The PT-AE3000 can be placed as close as 9.9 feet, or as far back as 19.8 feet from a 100 inch diagonal 16:9 screen (as measured from the front of the lens). This provides about as much placement range as is found in any home theater projector. If you plan on a different sized screen, you can use these numbers to figure out the appropriate distances. A 90" screen would have distances 90% of those listed above for a 100" screen, and so on.
Note, that if you are planning to go 2.35:1 screen and use the anamorphic lens "emulation" (or "pseudo anamorphic lens") features, because it involves zooming the lens, to set that up properly you will no longer have the same placement flexibility. Rather, you won't have all that same placement flexibility if you plan to watch more than just Cinemascope movies. You'll definitely be limited to a narrower zoom ratio if you still also want to watch HDTV or regular TV. According to Panasonic, if you go with a 100" 2.35:1 screen (for both cinemascope and HDTV), then the closest you can place the projector - measured from the front of the lens - is 10.4 feet, and the furthest from the projector screen would be 15.8 feet. That's a lot less depth, so some who want to shelf mount in the rear, may not be able to place the projector far enough back for a rear shelf, if their room is fairly deep.
Keep in mind, a 100 inch diagonal 2.35:1 screen is about five inches wider than a 100 inch diagonal 16:9 screen, and about ten inches shorter in height.
Lens Shift
When it comes to lens shift, the Panasonic PT-AE3000 home theater projector has manual vertical and horizontal lens shift. This makes for excellent placement flexibility. According to the (less than completely clear manual), the projector can be placed anywhere (for a 100" diagonal 16:9 screen) from a half screen height (screen height is approximately 49 inches), above the top, or below the bottom of the screen as measured from the center of the lens. That translates into about 24.5 inches above the screen surface top, or the same amount below the bottom of the screen surface. That's about as good as it gets. Panasonic does not publish any numbers for working with a 100" 2.35:1 screen. I'll try to figure that one out later, and add to this review.
People with high ceilings will really like all that lens shift, as the projector will not have to hang down as far as it would if it had less vertical lens shift range.
There is also 40% left to right horizontal range (more than almost anyone needs). Remember, using horizontal lens shift limits the maximum amount of vertical lens shift.
Anamorphic Lens
Yes, the PT-AE3000 will support anamorphic lens and sled. With this projector, though, you can opt for the same 2.35:1 Cinemascope type screen that you would buy if you got an anamorphic lens, but by using, instead, the Panasonic's "pseudo" anamorphic lens emulation that I have been discussing. Saves thousands of dollars, but isn't quite as good of a solution, from a pure performance standpoint. Either way, though, and those primarily interested in movies, end up without those pesky letterboxes at the top and the bottom of most movies
