Air Filter for Panasonic VP

[Graham Ritchie]

About two weeks ago I tried to clean the air filter very carefully I should add, sadly it started to fall apart. I guess after over 17 years this happens. Now getting a replacement started me thinking can I make one, but then started to come to a conclusion this might not be a good idea, as lamp cooling after all is very important, so it has to be right for the airflow. The downside was trying to get another air filter, none in NZ, so I took the chance and went on line and bought it from China and hoped for the best. I must say the company in China not only sent me a tracking number, but daily reports as to where it was. I was really impressed, today this morning it arrived, only 8 days postage from China, pretty good. Tonight another e-mail stating quote. "Your package has been successfully delivered, we hope you enjoy your purchase". Looking at what they sent me, it is exactly what I wanted for a air filter, I have to trim the material a little bit to make it fit, but that's no problem. They do state "Suitable for all kinds of projectors, high temperature resistance, anti tear non ordinary sponge".

So there you have it folks I am impressed with the service from China and the material sent, all up for a total of $26 dollars

Looking through the new material to a light

[Steve Klare]

Hi Graham,

I've been watching the menus on my own VP for things like the remaining hours on air filter and lamp: we still have time!

These widgets are pretty independent: they basically just need to be initially adjusted and turned on and off. A film projector is more like an old car: make sure everything is ready (gate clean, film path clean, lens clean) and only then turn the key! (This is not even thinking about belts and bulbs and more serious disasters.)

Both ways have their benefits, and for someone who is at heart a tinkerer, a film projector is much more interactive.

[Simon McConway]

Ground my last two digital projectors to dust. So clinical and super-boring to use, compared to a film projector.

[Ed Gordon]

I am on my third video projector. They seem to break down or age out long before the projection bulb dies. Thousand of hours of viewing on your digital projector, and only dozens of hours with our film projectors...

[Paul Adsett]

i have a 2011 Panasonic PT AE4000U 3 LCD projector. It is a superb piece of equipment and still performing flawlessly. I have had zero technical issues with it, and the picture quality is awesome, right up there with the best Epson's. It gets a lot of use so my track record is to replace the lamp about every 2 years which keeps the PQ looking like a brand new projector. But, like Graham's Panasonic, the foam part of the 2 -stage air filter is starting to crumble, so I hope he will post a link to that Chinese company.

[Graham Ritchie]

Hi Paul

I have sent you a message.

My first video projector bought second hand, was the Sanyo-250P and that was way back around 1998. Its a museum piece now, but it still goes and I still have it. The second VP I bought was a huge improvement over the Sanyo-250P, and that was the little Sanyo PLV-Z1, this projector still goes fine and most likely, must be getting close to a lamp replacement. I replaced that VP with a Panasonic PT-AX200E at a guess around 2008 mark. The lamp was replaced not so long ago after completing its 3000 hours of use. New lamps for this model was around the $500 dollar mark ""expensive", but managed to find a brand new lamp, complete with its module for $120 including postage, now this new lamp has no markings on it, so its a chance you take at that price. In saying that I have been again using the Panasonic and lamp wise it looks great I was going to retire the Panasonic after buying a Epson, but since the new lamp was cheap I will keep it going as well as using the Epson.

The thing that has surprised me over the last 27 years using those above video projectors, is how reliable they have all been, I have never had a problem with any of them. I used to think if you got five years out of one, anything after that was icing on the cake, that's never been the case. As much as I like film, video projection has become a important part of home cinema. In my book its never been the case film or video, its using both. One thing I do use to cover the VPs when not in use is a bird cage bottom stretch cover, bought from the local pet shop.

As for 4K projection, well I don't think I will make that move, it would be nice no doubt about that, but have to draw the spending line somewhere, so will stick with what I have at present.

Carefully cut the new filter to size and fitted it this afternoon.



The old Panasonic lamp below, its easy to change if you buy the complete module.


A blast from the past.

[Paul Adsett]

Thanks for that info Graham!
Like you, a digital projector is an essential part of my home theater. It can truly give you a viewing experience equal to or better than current digital projection at your local cinema, In fact I would say it is more enjoyable and better in many ways. Having both Super 8 and digital is great, as super 8 has a level of hands on and technical appeal that digital cannot provide.
I also am amazed at the longevity of my Panasonic projector, now going on 15 years. Just re-bulbing brings the picture quality right back to its original level, the LCD panels do not seem to degrade at all. So kudos to Panasonic for an amazing job on these projectors and it is sad that they have now left the home theater projector market.
I also see no need at all for personally investing in a 4K projector. I am not too much into modern movies ( with a few exceptions) much preferring the classic movies such as musicals and film noirs from the golden age of the cinema, and the vast majority of these are just not available in 4K anyway.
They say that everyone is going to streaming now and discs are on the way out. I hope this is not true. Streaming quality can be hit and miss. I love TCM but their streaming quality is not even close to what you can get on disc. Fine for viewing on TV, but often not good enough for large screen digital projection. Also I can't see keeping on paying to watch a favorite movie that you never own.

[Steve Klare]

Many people see VPs as replacements for film projection when they can actually be supplemental. They just open up all sorts of new possibilities.

We are big Winter Olympic fans: we always watch our favorite events streamed through the VP.

A couple of years ago our son was streaming concerts from his college in Indiana. We watched his handiwork on the big screen.

We do this thing we call "Concerts on Screen" for a bunch of our friends. For example once we started with The Beatles Come to Town and Maria and America from West Side Story on Super-8. After that we did a really great Billy Joel concert from Blu-ray. (-actually a friend said his favorite part was the "old projectors at the beginning".)

All this is simply impossible without the VP.

(-just because you got a skateboard it doesn't mean you have to get rid of your bicycle!)

The paradox is that digital video tends to be much more oriented towards feature length material, so if I have less than an hour to watch something, it will much more likely be film-only.

[Ed Gordon]

My first video projector was a Sanyo. As I recall it cost me about $2000. It was expensive but compared to watching a video tape on a large TV screen it was a fantastic; no scan lines and an image quality that was a serious competitor to super 8. It lasted many years, but eventually one of the LCD panels died and the image colors were worse than and old faded red print film.

The next projector was $3000 and a definite upgrade to 1080i resolution. It lasted many years and I did replace the lamp when it got noticeably dimmer. Then the main board developed a problem; it's ROM memory failed which meant that when it lost power it also lost all the custom settings which had to be reset every time the projector was used. I contacted the manufacturer and the technician I talked to said the main board would have to be replaced and if I could find one, it would cost at least $800. He told me that a projector of that age was not worth fixing and that I should buy a new one which would cost far less that the $3000.

So that brought me to my new Epson VP which projects 4k UHD, upgrades 2k video to 4k, and projects amazing 3D video. All of this for less than I had paid for the little Sanyo projector decades ago.

So the good news is that when your old VP dies, your new one will be far better and much less expensive. I still have my 8mm and super 8 projectors and films, but film collecting has become too expensive. I am not going to buy a feature film which costs more than a new video projector costs.

[Ken Finch]

Some very interesting comments about video projectors in home cinemas which prompts me to add a few of my own😉.
1. My first VP was little Sony 200E which was one of the first LCD projectors and had a 50watt 12 volt halogen dichroic l amp. It was very expensive at the time. It gave a good bright image about 5ft wide but the pixels were obvious if you sat close to the screen. This was replaced by an Epson which was much better better the lamp gave out after about 1000 hours and I discovered that it would be cheaper in the long run to purchase an upgrade than a new lamp. Also the replacement Epson was half the price I paid for the earlier one.
2. Video projectors a very versatile. They can not only project vhs, dvds, but computer images, freesat or streamed content. The model I have also upscales dvds to high definition. The downside is that the latest health and safety directive is that the lamps are to be banned because like fluorescent bulbs they contain mercury, a potential health hazard if they break. So my experience is similar to that of Ed and. Graham.

2. In the u.k. the humble dvd is making a comeback rather like l p records and c.ds. People are getting fed up with the hundreds of T.V. Channels, which are also duplicated on internet streams because of the subscription costs and having to pay extra to be advert free. Yeards ago these channels would have just 2 or three breaks in a screened feature film. Now they are every 15 minutes., each one lasting about 4 minutes and are a repeat of the same content at a volume level higher than that of the film. Often these breaks are in the middle of a scene and continuity of the film plot is lost.
3. With dvd players now at low prices and dvds of old flicks at gig away prices in charity shops, it’s a win win situation.😊

[Ed Gordon]

With dvd players now at low prices and dvds of old flicks at gig away prices in charity shops, it’s a win win situation.

And the cost of media has dropped as well. I just bought a 4k version of Die Hard on Ebay for less than $20. I used to spend more than that for a VHS tape back in the day...

[Brian Fretwell]

I saw that Sony 200E at an exhibition. Unfortutaely it was being shown in a room that was fairly brightly lit and didnt show off its capabilities well.

[Osi Osgood]

I used to have one, when they were those big, lumpy things. I never hung mine from the ceiling, I was always afraid that it would fall from the ceiling, being so big. Back then, those things didn't have quite the pixels needed to really look good. It was one of those "Sharp-Vision" projectors.

[Steve Klare]

I won't permanently install mine: maybe once or twice a year I do a remote show and it needs to stay mobile. I have a nice little wooden table it sits on and the whole thing rests on a carpet runner so the cables are contained and protected so they can run under the couch and then back to where the disk player and audio mixer and film projectors are.

When my wife gave me this thing I expected it to sit back with the film projectors, but I found that I couldn't zoom it tight enough to get the image entirely on screen. As a result, it sits by itself about half the distance from the screen as everything else.

This actually has its benefits: being that the beam is only half as long it is much easier to move through the room without becoming part of the show! With the film projectors lightning the screen, the people sitting on the couch are pretty much trapped in place!

[Graham Ritchie]

Another use for a VP, is when our grandson a couple of years ago, came to stay for a few days bringing along his Play Station, only thing I did was to find a spare HDMI cable for it. The rest he connected up himself. The Panasonic worked just fine, although after a invite to give it a go I soon gave up quickly as I got lost using it, so left him to it. I will stick to just watching movies, As Clint Eastwood said in one of his films.. "a man has to know his limitations"... I will leave this Play Station stuff to the young ones.