Being a nosy Witch-Doctorite and passionate owner of the remarkably excellent Panasonic PT-AE4000, the thought of a 3D replacement has been nagging away in my voodoo mind for a few months. So this morning I finally got around to having a chat with Rick Haywood – heโs the Manager for Broadcast & Display Systems, and as if that wasnโt enough responsibility heโs also the Technology spokesperson at Panasonic New Zealand. Heโs a guru regarding projectors and an all-round tech hound, and I hoped Iโd score a news scoop when I phoned him.
I wish I could report otherwise, but sadly there was no scoop for me today. However, the chat I had did reveal a few interesting points of order – hence this blog update.
Perhaps tantalisingly, Rick said that he hadnโt heard of any specifics regarding either a replacement for the 4000 or a all-new โ3Dโ projector, but as the model turnover usually happens around October weโd be best to โwatch outโ.
He did explain some of the technical difficulties with 3D projection: either the use of shutter glasses/silver screens/polarised lenses would need to be employed, and it is a very tricky process projecting a credible 3D image.
And it certainly seems to be. Looking at the Web for news/reviews regarding 3D Home Theatre projectors (and they are available, at least in the โStates) and they all appear to have issues when it comes to providing a plausible 3D image – choppy frames, ghosting and other nasty artifacts seem de-rigeur for 3D projection at this stage of their development.
Thatโs not to say that Panasonic arenโt addressing these issues with a potential replacement/additional 3D device: the fact that theyโre late to market with their (possible) first offering may be because theyโre debugging and ironing out those problems in their R&D Dept – and not getting the unsuspecting public to โbeta-testโ immature technology at an exorbitant price.
One thing Iโm confident of, when Panasonic do release a 3D projector itโll be something special, if their history with excellent Home Theatre projectors is anything to go by.
Perhaps the best reason why the PT-AE4000 hasnโt been replaced yet (usually models are replaced yearly) is its excellent performance. If it aint broke, why fix it?
Still Iโm picking the end of the year for at least a 2D replacement for the 4000, market forces dictate that when the competitors introduce new models you have to follow suit.
Watch this space for future developments – Iโll have that scoop yet.