Home Theater Projector Deal: Panasonic PT-AE8000U 1080p 3D Projector: $1499 By Chris Boylan

While flat panel TVs continue to get larger and cheaper, there's still nothing like the huge screen of a home theater projector for bringing home that cinematic experience. Forget, 65-inch screens or even 90-inch screens, a good home theater projector like the Panasonic PT-AE8000U can produce a nice bright image up to 300 inches (measured diagonally). And now, B&H has this projector for about $2,000 off its original list price and $500 below the current online selling price. It's $1499 with free shipping while supplies last. Here's the link:

The PT-AE8000U earned 5 stars across the board on ProjectorCentral. It's a full HD 1080p projector with 2,400 Lumens of brightness. Its 3LCD imaging engine and red-rich lamp offer excellent color accuracy and improved color saturation compared to previous models. The lamp is rated for up to 5,000 hours. You can extend the unit's 2-year limited warranty to a full 3 years if you buy the projector before the end of March (but we don't expect stock will last that long). Be sure to fill out the rebate form to extend the warranty after you receive the unit.

The PT-AE8000U is also 3D-capable, using active shutter 3D glasses for full HD resolution to each eye. This projector uses IR (InfraRed) 3D glasses so be sure to get the right ones as none are included in the box. Although the Panasonic 3D IR glasses are fairly expensive (and not that easy to find), there are several inexpensive 3D glasses options. See our article "Which 3D Glasses Work with the Panasonic PT-AE8000U Projector" to see some inexpensive 3D glasses that work well with this projector.

The PT-AE8000 also features a wide range of lens shift, both vertical and horizontal, so you can adjust the screen for the perfect geometry without having to resort to digital keystone correction. This makes placement of the projector much simpler: you can mount it on a ceiling, a shelf or even a coffee table and still get a nice image with proper geometry.

But one of the coolest features on the projector is something you normally only find on much more expensive projectors: a lens memory with powered zoom. With this feature, you can use an ultrawide (2.35:1) screen to display CinemaScope movies at their original aspect ratio, without black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. The unit can detect whether the incoming movie is 16:9 or 2.35:1 and automatically adjust the zoom to fill your screen. This is normally something that requires an expensive external anamorphic lens.

We're not sure how much stock B&H has left but they say once they're gone, they're gone for good. So if you want one, grab it while you can. You may need to add the projector to cart or click the "Price" button in order to see the current price.

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