Panasonic PT-AE4000 – 3D replacement waiting in the wings?

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 – heโ€™s the Manager for Broadcast & Display Systems, and as if that wasnโ€™t enough responsibility heโ€™s also the Technology spokesperson at Panasonic New Zealand. Heโ€™s a guru regarding projectors and an all-round tech hound, and I hoped Iโ€™d 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 hadnโ€™t heard of any specifics regarding either a replacement for the 4000 or a all-new โ€˜3Dโ€™ projector, but as the model turnover usually happens around October weโ€™d be best to โ€˜watch 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 โ€˜States) 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.
Thatโ€™s not to say that Panasonic arenโ€™t addressing these issues with a potential replacement/additional 3D device: the fact that theyโ€™re late to market with their (possible) first offering may be because theyโ€™re debugging and ironing out those problems in their R&D Dept – and not getting the unsuspecting public to โ€˜beta-testโ€™ immature technology at an exorbitant price.
One thing Iโ€™m confident of, when Panasonic do release a 3D projector itโ€™ll be something special, if their history with excellent Home Theatre projectors is anything to go by.

Perhaps the best reason why the PT-AE4000 hasnโ€™t been replaced yet (usually models are replaced yearly) is its excellent performance. If it aint broke, why fix it?
Still Iโ€™m 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 – Iโ€™ll have that scoop yet.

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