Panasonic shows off new PT-AE8000U 3-D home theater projector

Panasonic has announced a new home theater projector called the PT-AE8000U that supports full HD 3-D images. The projector is also equipped with advanced customization features and promises to be one of the more interesting 3-D projectors on the market. The projector has 2400 lumens of brightness and works in 2-D mode as well.

The contrast ratio for the projector is 500,000:1. Panasonic equips the projector with a new 220W Red Rich Lamp for increased red intensity allowing it to produce brighter images and deliver improved color reproduction. The projector also uses Panasonic's Pure Contrast Plates to generate deeper blacks and eliminate light leakage.

Panasonic Pure Color Filter Pro and Dynamic Iris technologies work together to allow for the 500,000:1 contrast ratio. The 3-D technology used in the projector creates alternating right and left images using an active shutter system for smooth and properly positioned 3-D effects. The system uses active shutter 3-D glasses and includes an integrated IR transmitter that has a 20-foot range.

The projector uses a two times zoom lens with a wide range of lens shift. The projector supports a 120-inch diagonal screen from as close as 11.8 feet away or as far as 23.6 feet away. The projector has +/-100% vertical adjustment and +/-26% horizontal adjustment. Pricing on the new projector is unannounced and it will launch in late September or early October.