Panasonic PT-AX100E review

Setting up the system is a breeze. The relatively short-throw lens lets you display large-scale images (50-200 inches) from between around 2 and 6m away, so it's good for both small and large rooms. The front joystick controls horizontal and vertical lens shift as you move it and it only takes a few minutes to size, centre and focus the image.

There's also a 2x optical zoom and horizontal keystone correction, but no vertical correction. This means the projector has to be placed either in front or behind the screen to get a straight-cut image, which doesn't suit irregular shaped rooms.

The menu system is beautifully presented using crisp graphics and an uncomplicated navigation system. There are several preset picture modes dedicated to either light or dark conditions as well as a complete range of standard and advanced customised settings, which can be stored and easily accessed.

Performance
This is the best picture quality we've seen from an LCD projector so far. Images are brightly coloured and precisely detailed with impressive contrast and cohesive movement, no matter what source you use.

Although you can still see the picture in fairly high light levels, images struggle in extreme daylight. But reducing contrast levels accordingly allows you to watch solidly defined images with the lights on or off. It helps if you're using a dedicated projector screen, but even against a white wall, the distinct black levels carry enough contrast to produce realistic images.

Playing the opening scene of Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring offers a fine example of the projector's insightful detail -- you can distinguish the bark patterns of the surrounding trees and separate individual strands of hair in Gandalf's beard. Colours are equally adept at displaying the earthy tones of the Hobbit's landscape and the vibrant special effects that explode during the fireworks display. And there's no loss of detail or perspective in dark scenes such as the cave troll battle in the Mines of Moria.

Earlier LCD projector designs have been afflicted by staggered movement but action-fuelled fight scenes against the Crazy 88 gang during Kill Bill are beautifully smooth and smear-free, although slow scrolling text does stutter.

Images are consistently clean and even the so-called 'chickenwire effect' -- a superimposed lattice mesh created by the gaps between pixels -- is virtually indistinguishable. If you sit close enough you can occasionally notice it in the backgrounds of bright scenes using the same colour, such as the blue sky in Superman Returns, but it never distracts from the sensational image quality elsewhere.

Conclusion
Whether you're watching in a bright or dark room, Panasonic's PT-AX100E puts in a stunning performance. Its flexibility is supported by a decent high-definition specification and user-friendly functionality.

If you enjoy films then nothing comes closer to a cinematic experience than watching them on a big screen -- and that option is more affordable than ever.

Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Kate Macefield