Entered CNET Catalog: 03/16/2004
SKU: PT-L500U
Manufacturer: Panasonic
Manufacturer description
The PT-L500U incorporates Panasonic advances such as a high definition wide LCD panel, integrated cinema quality circuitry, full 10-bit digital processing and gamma correction, and Smooth Screen technology to achieve a level of image fidelity and impact that rivals what you would see in the movie theater. And a Hollywood colorist took part in the development process to ensure a remarkable level of color fidelity. Present your company's corporate video and enjoy your favorite movies on the large screen. Experience a high level of immediacy and excitement when watching sporting events. The PT-L500U packs everything you could want into a compact, sleek high-definition home cinema projector.User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4
User Rating: 
9/10
Best value by far for WS projector
Pros: Widescreen, resolution
Cons: None really
Picture:
The picture quality is great. Pretty much the only widescreen HD projecter in the $1500 range. (side note: I got mine for about that price from projectorpeople.com for this price and HIGHLY recommend them. They called the day it arrived to make sure I had no problems setting it up in time for the weekend's football games.) I was a little afraid to go with DLP because I heard about the "rainbow effect." While LCD's contrastingly have the "screen door" effect, this seemed less of a risk for me and for others watching. I live in a dorm room so people sit very close to the screen while watching and I have experienced VERY little screen door. You have to be right in front of it to see it. In a normal-sized room, I would imagine it would be non-existant. While its lumens are low, if you use it for HT it shouldn't really matter since the lighting is probably low anyway. On Sundays when the lights are on and I have NFL on it, it still shows up fine anyway.
Everything Else:
Connectivity is great, it has standard video, s-video, component, hdmi, pretty much everything but RGB, but hdmi adapters can be used for that I'm pretty sure. Runs pretty quietly in a small dorm room. Easy interface. I love it so far.
User Rating: 
8/10
Great projector with excellent HD picture
Pros: Beautiful HD picture, inexpensive. Resemembles a $5000 projector.
Cons: No DVI input.
User Rating: 9/10
Best value for HT use
Pros: So far, VERY easy to set up. EXCELLENT clarity. For the price, I couldn't ask for more. The lower brightness (one of my concerns about it) has not been an issue at all.
Cons: A little grey as I've read LCD projectors can be, but I have'nt tweaked it yet, nothing major. Can see a little of the screen door effect if looking closely, but as with the grey, nothing major or distracting. I LOVE it.
User Rating: 9/10
Great affordable Projector
Pros: The picture quality can not be beat for the price you pay.
Cons: Power Cable is not long enough.
