Panasonic PT-AE1000U 1080p Home Theater Projector Review: Overview-2

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Panasonic PT-AE1000U Projector - Physical Tour:

Facing the front of the PT-AE1000U, the 2:1 ratio zoom lens is mounted in the center, and almost, but not quite fully recessed. to the right of the lens is the Infra-red sensor for the remote control. There is also exhaust venting out the front, making the projector suitable for shelf mounting in the rear of the room.

On the bottom are two front, screw thread adjustable feet, which in combination with the single rear foot (a rubber bar), make for a nice, stable 3 point stance, for those placing the PT-AE1000U home theater projector on a table or back shelf.

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Moving to the top of the projector, you will find three indicator led lights, one for power, one for lamp, and one for temperature. Unlike most projectors Panasonic has not placed the control panel on the top surface. Instead the control panel features are recessed and hidden behind a hinged door on the right side of the projector (if you are still facing the projector from the front).

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On that same side, but on the unit, not the recessed panel, a hard power switch, which must be in the on position for the remote to turn the projector on, or, for that matter to power up from the control panel.

The control panel itself features a large Power button in the top left, and the Menu button directly below it. Moving to the right is the traditional 4 arrow keys and centered Enter button, for navigating the menus.

Further to the right, at the top, is the Input selector button, and below it a Return button which completes the navigation buttons suite. Lastly on the right most side, are two buttons at the top for the focusing of the power lens, and below them, two more to control the power zoom function. Lastly on the far back near the bottom is a push release for the air filter which slides out to the

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side.

Finally, that takes us to the back panel. The PT-AE1000U is better equipped than most home theater projectors, sporting a pair of HDMI inputs, a pair of Component video inputs, the usual S-video and composite video inputs, and a PC input. Lastly there is a serial port for "command and control" of the projector from a PC, or room control system.

Below the inputs is the power receptacle. And that concludes the physical tour. The remote control will be covered separately in the General Performance section.

What people really want to know about, however, is the image quality, so it's time to consider just that. So please click on Image Quality here, or below.