Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 27
 For the $$$, it gets no better June 2, 2010
J. M. Rhoads (Fort Bragg, NC, US)
I've had this going on 2 years now and still haven't had to replace my bulb. It's in my movie room and we watch movies on it quite a few times in a week. It is very simple to install and use. The screen is bright and hasn't faded a bit in two years, so my spare bulb just sits waiting for it's chance to be installed. As far as product, picture, and ease of use tho, it really gets no better for $1k.
 Customer Service Disaster March 2, 2010
Scott
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I don't usually write reviews, but I strongly felt this is worth informing as many people as possible. I read all the reviews on the Panasonic PT-AX200U projector and they all looked good, so I bought one. For me, I wanted the best possible resolution and highest lumens without spending thousands of dollars. I bought this in May, 2008 for $1299. At the beginning of this January, I went to turn it on and heard a loud bang and it wouldn't power up. Now you should know that I am incredibly anal retentive when it comes to my electronic equipment. This machine has been cared for like a baby and has only been used for 525 hours (approx. ¼ bulb life) so it is impossible that I caused any problem with the machine.
So I called Panasonic Projector Customer Support. They were unsure what could be wrong, so they had me send it to their outsourced provider, Heartland Diversified, for repair ($130 diagnostic fee, but it goes toward any repair costs). Heartland notified me that the cost of the repair would be $1265 (recall the cost of the new projector, which by the way, can now be bought new for $999). Since this warranty just expired, they said any dispute would have to be with Panasonic directly.
This is where the disaster begins, if it wasn't already disappointing enough that it broke so quickly. Customer Service at Panasonic is a nightmare. You can never get past front line customer support personnel (who do not have decision-making authority)to management and all conversations end with the refrain "We will have to get back to you in 24-72 hours" which never happens, thus requiring yet another call to customer support. Bottom line is I wanted them to stand behind their product regardless of warranty because a projector should not completely break after a year and a half. They say they are escalating the request but then tell me that the request is going to the same original person, John Parks. They will absolutely not let you talk directly to anyone and will not give out email addresses or phone numbers (or last names, but one of the reps slipped, so I got this one). This issue has now been going on for two months and Heartland is threatening to take possession of the projector at the 60 day mark. I have even written to Robert Perry, the EVP of Panasonic Consumer Products, and have gotten no response.
After easily 20 hours of being on the phone with Mike (three times), Jabin, Ben, Tom, Leela, Ranita, and the people at Heartland, I am getting nowhere and feel incredibly frustrated to the point that I will not buy another Panasonic product and cannot recommend a Panasonic product to anyone. Even when I look back at other Panasonic products I have had (stereo, boom box, clock radio, microwave), every single one has had something break quickly. They haven't become unusable but there is always something - a button doesn't work, it doesn't turn off, a door doesn't close, etc.
In summary, I believe this is not just a poor product quality issue, but Panasonic has a major customer service issue to which I can only say "Buyer Beware."
Be aware of the limited lifespan January 26, 2010
Vasastan (Stockholm, - Sweden)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Anyone buying a Panasonic LCD projector with organic LCD panels, such as this one, should be aware that the lifetime of the projector is limited.
The LCD panels will degrade over time due to the heat inside the projector. They can be expected to last 3000-6000 hours before one panel fails, and then the optical block of the projector will need to be changed (although few people do this since it will cost as much as a new projector). If you intend to use the projector for movies only, up to 10 hours per week, you can get up to 10 years of use. If you will use it as a TV - 4 to 8 hours per day - it may fail in as little as 2-3 years. Get as long a warranty as you can on this projector, because you are likely to need it.
The newer models (AE-3000 and AE-4000) use the new Epson inorganic panels which are supposed to have better lifetimes and heat tolerance, although this in unproven and neither Panasonic nor anyone else has published any test data on the subject.
 Great picture as long as it works January 5, 2010
Thomas Runge
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The projector worked fine for about 18 months, 2600 hours and then it started developing a very yellow circular tint in the middle which could not be adjusted away. Well, I thought, after that many hours on it, maybe time for a new bulb. So I ordered a new one, replace it (very easy to do) and unfortunately the problem was still there. Panasonic support said it was either the LCD display or internal filters, could and would not give me a repair estimate and could not even tell me how long the repair would take. Fortunately I was able to return the bulb and now I will most likely buy a new projector as the LCD/filter repair will run at about $600, if I add the replacement bulb, that gets me to $900 and for very little more, I can get a brand new projector. I highly doubt that I will buy a Panasonic again, even though the picture quality has been outstanding while it worked.
Solved My Flickering Problem December 6, 2009
Chuck Often (Los Angeles)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R11U53NYDE9WR5 At about 450 hours the projector started to flicker erratically. It looked like the auto iris or light harmonizer was screwing up. I bought this from the Projector People and they told me that if burning in the unit doesn't solve the problem then I need to call Panasonic and they gave me the number. I called Panasonic and they told me to buy a new lamp first and see if that solved the problem. Well, while I was waiting for the new lamp I ran the projector for a whole weekend with the Winamp music visualtization running (quite trippy on a 125" screen in my one bedroom apartment) and I'm not sure when it stopped but the problem is gone. I had been running the projector for months in normal mode not eco mode so I thought it was already burned in. I guess the problem was that I had only been turning on the projector for 4 hour periods at the longest. I am an electrical engineer and I know this equipment needs to burn in I just didn't realize the length of time but come to think of it when Cleveland Browns Stadium first installed their changeable message signs they ran an intensely changing pattern for several weeks straight to burn in the electronics.
Well, I guess I have a back-up lamp now for when this one is used up.
By the way, I am looking at the completely white background of this website and there is not so mach as a blink. The projector is rock solid running on my laptop's 1080P HDMI output.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 27
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