# Panasonic AR100U



## paints (Feb 3, 2008)

Just got it two days ago and I gotta say...WOW!!

Five years ago I bought the AX200U and thought that thing was amazing. I went through 3 bulbs (9438 hrs) and about a month ago I finally burned out the polarizer. Sooo after a month of looking at a yellow smear in the man-cave with the boys (wife watches tv upstairs), I ordered the AR100U.

Amazing is all i can say. A real quick review and bear in mind my only other ownership comparison is the AX.

BRIGHT! Sports is my primary viewing. I don't like watching tv in complete darkness. The AX was 2000 lumens. The AR100U shatters that. I'm sitting here typing this with five 40 watt floods hitting the room and two lamps watching the Packer/Vikes game and my picture is stunning. I'm not even running the AR100U in normal mode. I'm in Cinema 1. Normal mode is the only mode I used on the AX. Normal is to bright for me on the AR. 

Fast shout out to Mech, WBass, and the Prof. The Black Widow was made for this PJ. After I post this. I better catch up and see what those mad geniuses have cooked up over the last few years.

Back to the review.

Sharp picture. Jumping from 720 to 1080 is fantastic. I'll probably re-watch a ton of blu-rays I haven't seen in years to check out the difference. Love this thing.

Black levels and shadow detail are ok. My friend has the Epson 5010 and I can honestly tell you the Epson is better for the movie purists out there. Not to say the AR100U's is bad because it certainly isn't horrible or detracting from a movie enjoyment standpoint. This projector (AR) is tailor made for my viewing habits. Sports, tv, and when I want to put in a movie. I turn off the lights and tune it down to bring out the best picture I can...and I have no complaints when I'm watching Battlestar Galactica or Firefly. If you are coming off of an AX200U. You will notice better black levels. If your comparing the AR100U to the Epson 5010 or the 8350 for black levels alone. Epson comes out ahead here.

If you've read any other reviews on the AR. It's true that it looks awesome right out of the box. I'll see how it looks after 100 hours are on the bulb before I get serious on tweaking.

Not sure if this should be considered a drawback or not. But I have noticed SD viewing on the same setup I used with the AX isn't as clean with the AR. This could be subjective because of all the 1080 viewing I've been waching. 

OK, I'm not much of technical reviewer here. All I can say is this thing is impressive to me. Sharp and bright and looks awesome watching both sports and movies. I got my last projector in 08 which coincided with my Kansas Jayhawks winning it all. Hoping to catch lighting in a bottle again! If you have similair viewing habits. Don't hesitate. After getting 5 happy and strong years from my AX. I hope to duplicate that with the AR100U.

My thanks to the Shack! I built my entire theater/sports room from it's collective knowledge. My wife is getting nervous. I'm starting to get itchy on upgrading my reciever (Onkyo 706).

FYI...I have 120 inch Black Widow Screen with a 17 ft throw.


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## mechman (Feb 8, 2007)

Thanks for the review paints! :T


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