Panasonic PT-AE4000E

Huge fans of Panasonic's superb (now discontinued) PT-AE3000 as we were, we have high hopes for this projector. Panasonic does, too, claiming ‘a further evolution in performance from its Award-winning predecessor’.

These include a new Red Rich lamp, which claims to produce ‘brighter images with excellent colours’, a claimed contrast ratio of 100,000:1, and an Intelligent Lens Memory that allows storage of six lens settings. Three HDMI inputs and a 1920 x 1080 Full HD resolution round things off.

It’s simple to set up: motorised controls allow us to get a picture in place in a matter of moments, and the small remote affords us easy access around the menus.

Excellent edge definition and depth
The PT-AE4000 is capable of a brilliantly colourful and punchy picture. Skin tones have plenty of life without ever getting too excitable, while excellent edge definition and texture ensure an involving picture with real depth.

This pricepoint is fairly sparsely populated, but the Panasonic stands a clear class above the best at the $3000+ mark, with motion handling and insight two areas of real gain.

It's a step up rather than a giant leap, but there’s discernable improvement here over its predecessor. If you’re looking beyond budget projectors, this is the direction you should look.

For
Simple to set-up; three HDMI inputs and Full HD spec; superb, colourful and sharp images

Against
Still a fairly hard-to-love chunk of technology