Panasonic PT-AE900U Home Theater Projector
I'm really bummed.
I just purchased this model from a reputable distributor and it arrived this evening.Hooray! I set it up in the same ceiling location that our old DLP projector was located. After reading the manual and tweaking the settings, I sat down to watch a movie. I must say the picture was a great improvement over our old projector. However, 20 minutes into the movie, the screen turned into green and black vertical stripes and slowly faded to red. The unit was unresponsive. I could not even turn it off. I tried calling the distributors technical assistance line but to no avail. Then I tried to call Panasonic. Their automated answering system would have been comical if I weren't so ticked off. It tells you to speak naturally and then connects you to the commercial sales division or anywhere but technical assistance. Ultimately, I had to turn the main power switch off at the rear of the projector. I know that that action is a \\"no-no\\" since the fan should keep running to cool the bulb, but I did not want to leave it on until somebody from some technical service department calls me back at some future date. I would like to be telling you how great this projector is, but there it sits, on my ceiling, like a dead, dark, lifeless, $slightly below MSRP yet still expensive$ box. I tried to turn it on again, but it just flashes some red on the screen and turns off, like some pissed off (albeit, dying) HAL 9000. I will be sending this unit back tomorrow and will not be asking for a replacement. I will probably try a Sony or BenQ for the next one. Panasonic had their chance and they blew it, errr... blew up. If you want to try this projector, just make sure you can return it or have it repaired locally. The picture did look really nice for about 20 minutes.