Black Levels & Shadow Detail 2 Posted on October 1, 2013 By Art Feierman 1. Panasonic PT-AE3000U Projector Review - Panasonic PT-AE3000 Projector Overview - PT-AE3000 Projector Highlights2. Menus - Menu - Remote Control - Lens Throw3. Special Features - PT-AE3000 Frame Interpolation - Anamorphic Lens Emulation Capabilities - Waveform Monitor and Split Adjust - Fast Frame Response4. Panasonic PT-AE3000 – Physical Tour - Appearance - Control Panel - Input/Output5. Menu - Remote Control - Lens Throw - Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens6. Panasonic PT-AE3000 – Image Quality - Out of the Box Picture Quality - Flesh Tones - Black Levels & Shadow Detail - Black Levels & Shadow Detail7. Black Levels & Shadow Detail 2 - Shadow Detail Performance8. Shadow Detail Performance 39. Shadow Detail Performance 4 - Panasonic PT-AE3000U projector:10. Overall Color & Picture Quality11. Panasonic PT-AE3000 – Performance - Brightness - Sharpness12. Sharpness 2 - Panasonic PT-AE3000: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage13. Image Noise - Image Noise - Audible Noise14. Panasonic PT-AE3000 Projector Calibration - Color Temperature - Basic Settings - Our settings (numbers in parens are the default numbers) - Gamma - the Panasonic has separate gamma settings for - Post Calibration Grayscale15. RGB Settings - Contrast - Brightness16. Panasonic PT-AE3000 – Projector Screens - General Screen Recommendations: 16:9 Diagonal - Cinemascope Projector Screens17. Panasonic PT-AE3000 – Competitors - PT-AE3000 vs. Epson Home Cinema 1080 UB - Panasonic PT-AE3000 vs. Mitsubishi HC5500 HC6500 and HC700018. Panasonic PT-AE3000 vs. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 - Panasonic PT-AE3000 vs. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 - Panasonic PT-AE3000 vs. BenQ W5000 - Panasonic PT-AE3000 vs. Epson Home Cinema 6500 UB - Panasonic PT-AE3000 vs. Epson Home Cinema 610019. PT-AE3000 vs. Sanyo PLV-Z700 - PT-AE3000 vs. InFocus IN83 and IN82 - PT-AE3000 vs. JVC DLA-RS1x, DLA-RS10 and DLA-RS2020. Panasonic PT-AE3000 – Warranty21. Panasonic PT-AE3000 – Review Summary - Bottom Line - Panasonic PT-AE3000 Projector: Pros - Panasonic PT-AE3000 Projector: Cons - Panasonic PT-AE3000 Projector: Typical Capabilities22. Panasonic PT-AE3000U Projector Specifications PreviousNext Shadow Detail Performancehe Panasonic exhibits extremely good shadow detail. There may be a few projectors that can do a touch better, but I’d say that it is a non-issue. Shadow detail is something you don’t have to worry about with the PT-AE3000U, it has plenty. Top left: PT-AE3000U, Middle: Panasonic PT-AE2000U, Right: BenQ W5000 (These links take you to those projectors’ respective reviews). The next set of comparison images is from Space Cowboys. This is a very dark scene with Clint Eastwood, on Blu-ray disc. The photos are intentionally way overexposed. Look for the blacks in the shades, and the details in those shades in the form of the white trim. (At this level of overexposure, don’t even worry about the skin tones, as in these type of photos they always look terrible, and way oversaturated/too high contrast). Again, from Space Cowboys, this is a cropped image. The right side is very bright (so dynamic irises will not be effective). The PT-AE3000U (top left) shows a great deal of detail in the dark areas of the satellite. Again, not the best ever, but very good. Next to it on the first row, is the Epson Home Cinema 1080 UB, Those images are followed by the Sony VPL-VW60 and the JVC RS1 (second row). The third row is the Mitsubishi HC6500 (left), and the Sanyo PLV-Z2000 on the right. The re-entry image below, is a tough shadow detail test. Projectors with weak black levels and average shadow detail ability tend to generate an image where much of the right side of earth, looks to have that flat, lacking in detail look. All projectors pick up some of the brighter features on the right side, while better ones, pick up a lot more and usually have richer blacks as well. On the left, is the PT-AE3000U, the middle, the Epson Home Cinema 1080 UB, and on the right, at roughly twice the price, is the InFocus IN83 which is about as good as it gets, in terms of shadow detail, although not up to, say, the Epson 1080 UB, in black level performance. When comparing, look at the detail in the roof (tiles), and also in the assorted trees and plants. The small images below show a slightly overexposed scene. Click on the images and the larger versions are far more overexposed, to allow a closer inspection of shadow details. First image is the PT-AE3000U, followed by the HC6500. Next is the the Sony VW60. The last three in the sequence are the Sanyo PLV-Z700, Panasonic PT-AE2000U and the Epson Home Cinema 1080 UB. Below is a heavily overexposed scene from Lord of the Rings. The overexposure lets you see all the details in the shed on the right, the structure on the left, and the plants and ground along the lower right. The PT-AE3000U performs very nicely. Click on left thumbnail image for the Panasonic PT-AE3000U, Sanyo PLV-Z700 in the center, and the right for the InFocus Our last comparison uses the night train scene from Casino Royale. Look to the trees and shrubs on the right, especially just above the tracks. The first image is the Panasonic PT-AE3000U, the second is the Mitsubishi HC6500, and the last one is from the more expensive InFocus IN83: The Panasonic does a great job on revealing details in the window shades, bettter than most of the competition. PreviousNext 1. Panasonic PT-AE3000U Projector Review - Panasonic PT-AE3000 Projector Overview - PT-AE3000 Projector Highlights2. Menus - Menu - Remote Control - Lens Throw3. Special Features - PT-AE3000 Frame Interpolation - Anamorphic Lens Emulation Capabilities - Waveform Monitor and Split Adjust - Fast Frame Response4. Panasonic PT-AE3000 – Physical Tour - Appearance - Control Panel - Input/Output5. Menu - Remote Control - Lens Throw - Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens6. Panasonic PT-AE3000 – Image Quality - Out of the Box Picture Quality - Flesh Tones - Black Levels & Shadow Detail - Black Levels & Shadow Detail7. Black Levels & Shadow Detail 2 - Shadow Detail Performance8. Shadow Detail Performance 39. Shadow Detail Performance 4 - Panasonic PT-AE3000U projector:10. Overall Color & Picture Quality11. Panasonic PT-AE3000 – Performance - Brightness - Sharpness12. Sharpness 2 - Panasonic PT-AE3000: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage13. Image Noise - Image Noise - Audible Noise14. Panasonic PT-AE3000 Projector Calibration - Color Temperature - Basic Settings - Our settings (numbers in parens are the default numbers) - Gamma - the Panasonic has separate gamma settings for - Post Calibration Grayscale15. RGB Settings - Contrast - Brightness16. Panasonic PT-AE3000 – Projector Screens - General Screen Recommendations: 16:9 Diagonal - Cinemascope Projector Screens17. Panasonic PT-AE3000 – Competitors - PT-AE3000 vs. Epson Home Cinema 1080 UB - Panasonic PT-AE3000 vs. Mitsubishi HC5500 HC6500 and HC700018. Panasonic PT-AE3000 vs. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 - Panasonic PT-AE3000 vs. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 - Panasonic PT-AE3000 vs. BenQ W5000 - Panasonic PT-AE3000 vs. Epson Home Cinema 6500 UB - Panasonic PT-AE3000 vs. Epson Home Cinema 610019. PT-AE3000 vs. Sanyo PLV-Z700 - PT-AE3000 vs. InFocus IN83 and IN82 - PT-AE3000 vs. JVC DLA-RS1x, DLA-RS10 and DLA-RS2020. Panasonic PT-AE3000 – Warranty21. Panasonic PT-AE3000 – Review Summary - Bottom Line - Panasonic PT-AE3000 Projector: Pros - Panasonic PT-AE3000 Projector: Cons - Panasonic PT-AE3000 Projector: Typical Capabilities22. Panasonic PT-AE3000U Projector Specifications Panasonic PT-AE3000 – Image Quality Shadow Detail Performance 3