In October 2009, Panasonic announced the PT AE4000U 1080P as their replacement for the AE3000U home theater projector. Any new model that is released usually has more features and improvements from the previous one but it is accompanied by a higher price.  What is significantly different is that it is cheaper than the AE3000U. I hope this sets a new trend in pricing: newer technologies, improved features and cheaper prices. What could be better?

The AE4000U is rated at 1600 Lumens and has a contrast ratio of 100,000:1. It is based on the 3LCD technology that 1080P LCD based projectors are adopting. The lamp life is projected at 2000 hours. The projector weighs in at 16 lbs. The inputs comprise of 3 HDMI Ports (more than adequate to hook up DVDs and Games), S Video, Component Video, Composite, RGB, 12 Volt Trigger.

The street price of the AE4000U is about twice the cost of the Optoma HD20 and Vivitek H1080FD but I think the improvements and features more than justify the additional cost. So, what does the competition look like? Quite a few!! Most notable are the Mitsubishi HC6800 and Epson 8500UB. If you have about $2,000 to invest in a projector get the Panasonic. The other two are great projectors but I think this is a little better. You will not regret your decision.

Please check out the article which summarizes a few notable features of the AE4000U.

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