Latest Projector News and Reviews

Panasonic AE100..Eco-Mode for Projector Lamp

I bought my first projector a couple years ago and I am ready to purchase for the next level, but up until now my Panasonic AE100 has served me well. I have read a few reviews about other owners having problems with their projector lamps and their image, but I have had my AE100 for two years and it is still going strong.

It has been quite some time since the AE100 first stepped onto the scene, so keep your eyes on used projector sites and eBay because they will be there in numbers. You’ll want to make sure that you are getting a quality machine since there were obviously a couple bad lots that came out of the manufacturing process.

Many people who bought one of the defective AE100’s experienced short lamp life, and I don’t think this was due to the projector lamp itself. I purchased one replacement bulb a year and a half after buying my AE100 and my second lamp is burning bright with no defects. It must have had something to do with the internal mechanics, perhaps with the cooling system, which if not working well can reduce lamp life.

This is why using the eco –modes in certain projectors like the AE100 can have negative effects on your projector lamp life. The eco-mode lowers the brightness of the image (ANSI lumens), while lowering the power to the fan as well. The logic behind this is that you use less power therefore the projector makes less noise and uses less electricity.

Unfortunately it works quite the opposite for the lamp life since eco-mode lowers the lumens, but does not lower the fan power to an equivalent level (much lower needed). I have never considered using eco-mode and this could be why I have never encountered any problems with my AE100.

The image on the AE100 is not great unless you hook it up to a computer via the VGA port, it then delivers sharpness and quality that rivals many expensive projectors. So if it is movies that you enjoy, even though the black levels aren’t terrific, hook up to your computer and you should get some serious results in the crispness department.

Set up your screen so that you are watching from at least ten feet so that you eliminate the screen door effect. The AE100 already has next to nothing noise levels so don’t go trying to get them even lower by using eco-mode because I already explained what might happen.

Let’s release some specs to finish. It delivers 700 ANSI lumens, and a contrast ratio of 500:1. Noise levels are sitting at 30db and it has all inputs known except for DVI. It is a native 16:9 projector that produces 858x484p resolution. It requires a 120W projector lamp that lasts on average 2500 hours (my opinion).

My last words are to buy one that has been tested and is true since there were many that came out of production with problems.