Panasonic Launches Its First Full High Definition LCD Home Theater Projector

Panasonic Launches Its First Full High Definition LCD Home Theater Projector

New PT-AE1000U Delivers Powerful Theater Viewing Experience, Highest Contrast Ratio in Its Class(1), and Rich Features for Professional Use

DENVER, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) EXPO (Booth 333) -- Panasonic Projector Systems Company, Unit of Panasonic Corporation of North America, today announced the debut of its first LCD home cinema projector with 1080p (1,920 x 1,080 pixel) native resolution: the PT-AE1000U. Designed for savvy home theater enthusiasts and audio video professionals, the new projector accurately reproduces the original picture quality intended by Hollywood movie and television directors and displays the highest contrast ratio (11,000:1) in its class(1).

The PT-AE1000U model comes equipped with Panasonic's all new, carefully engineered optical system that's designed to achieve beautifully detailed images with a captivating brightness of 1,100 lumens. The new optical system includes Panasonic's unique aspherical glass lens system, a full high definition (HD)-compatible technology that reduces the amount of light dispersion to help produce crisper, more vivid images. In addition, it has incorporated next-generation, full high definition LCD panels (C2FineTM)(2), which are characterized by inorganic, vertically aligned liquid crystals for enhanced black level performance. Panasonic's Dynamic Iris has also been improved to reproduce superior full HD images, providing consumers with a much richer home theater viewing experience.

"In collaboration with leading Hollywood colorists and image experts, we've developed cutting-edge projector technology to meet the growing demand for superior home entertainment, particularly high-definition content," said Thomas Zitelli, president of Panasonic Projector Systems Company. "For home theater connoisseurs and audio video professionals who desire the richest colors and the best image quality, our new PT-AE1000U LCD projector enables consumers to easily enjoy movie theater-quality entertainment at home."

The PT-AE1000U projector reproduces Hollywood movies, independent films and other entertainment with exceptional color accuracy. Its new unique Pure Color Filter uses optical adjustment to achieve a higher purity level of the three primary colors -- red, green and blue -- displays deeper, purer blacks, and significantly expands the color gamut. The new filter accurately reproduces very subtle variations in brightness and hue. The PT-AE1000U also incorporates Panasonic's well-known Smooth Screen technology that reduces the "chicken wire effect" -- black lines between pixels that mar picture quality. The technology has been optimized for the full-HD panels, allowing consumers to enjoy vibrant, smooth images found in commercial movie theaters.

The new LCD projector also comes equipped with professional-level features that let users personalize the images they see on the screen. The projector's new waveform monitor -- seen mostly on professional video and film equipment -- measures the level of brightness output from a given video signal source. This feature also allows users to quickly verify that the source device is outputting at full dynamic range, and make adjustments to optimize it for home theater use. Users can easily see a graphical representation of any changes made to the unit's color settings.

In addition, the Cinema Color Management feature helps color correct approximately 1,070,000,000 colors using 14-bit gamma correction for a more refined, customized control of individual colors -- closely representing the process used by Hollywood's motion picture color correction specialists. The PT-AE1000U also incorporates picture modes demanded by film production studios to help them with production and post-production activities.

Set-up and installation are a snap with the PT-AE1000U projector's 2x powered zoom -- a first in its class(3) -- and its lens shift range, the largest for a full HD projector(4). Thanks to both features, the new model can cast a 100-inch diagonal image from as little as 1.24 meters (about five feet) from the screen. The new projector's enhanced lens shift capability enables full, 100 percent vertical adjustment and 40 percent horizontal adjustment so that viewers can suspend the projector close to the ceiling in a stylish fashion, or conveniently place the projector on a book shelf. The projector's new lens-centered design and maintenance features, such as the replaceable side filter and top lamp, make the ceiling mount very easy to install. The PT- AE1000U's jet black color and sleek cabinet design also fit well in home theater environments, and its universal remote control enables viewers to easily control their entire home theater system from one device.

The Panasonic PT-AE1000U LCD home cinema projector will be available starting in mid-November at authorized presentation systems dealers. Pricing will be announced later this year. Visit www.panasonic.com for more information on local distribution channels and retail outlets. For more information on Panasonic's complete line of projectors, go to www.panasonic.com/projectors or phone 888-411-1996.

About Panasonic Projector Systems

Panasonic Projector Systems Company is a prominent supplier of projectors and presentation systems in the United States. It is a unit of Panasonic Corporation of North America, the principal North American subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE:MC) of Japan, and the hub of its U.S. marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. For more information on Panasonic Projector Systems products, visit the company's Web site at www.panasonic.com/projectors.

(1) For LCD projectors with 1080p native resolution and brightness greater
than 1,000 lumens, as of 9/8/06.

(2) C2Fine(TM) 1920x1080 dot panel.

(3, 4) For LCD projectors with 1080p native resolution and brightness
greater than 1,000 lumens, as of 9/8/06.

Source: Panasonic Projector Systems Company

CONTACT: Eric Doyle, +1-415-365-8526, eric_doyle@cohnwolfe.com, or Tara
Naughton, +1-212-798-9831, tara_naughton@cohnwolfe.com, both of Panasonic
Projector Systems Company

Web site: http://www.panasonic.com/
http://www.panasonic.com/projectors

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