Panasonic AX100E or Epson EMP TW700?

If you are looking for a 720p LCD Front Projector then look no further than these two units.  I have had the good fortune to audition these 2 recently and have finally decided to purchase one of them.  This is not to say one is necessary better than the other.  Each have their strengths and weaknesses.

I think it is fair to state my objectives here.  I am building a Home Theatre for cinema type viewing.  Occasionnally I would play some games or watch the occasional astro movie on the projector.  As such the theatre experience is the first objective.  The projector chosen should have exceptional quality and proven history.  Absolute picture fidelity and most up to date technology use is secondary.
Picture
Out of the box both projectors were exceptional.  Both projectors made me go WOW!.  They had vibrant colours with plenty of 3D pop.  However the AX100E's colours have a slightly more manufactured feel to it compared to the Epson's more natural and soothing picture.  Advantage - TW700
Brightness
At the most dynamic setting, I struggle to see advantage of the AX100E's 2000lumens over the TW700's 1600lumens.  However that said, my Home Theatre will be setup in a dedicated room, that will be fully light controlled.  As such, I would only ever need the brightest modes for the occasional viewing with lights on... probably sports programming with the boys. There is probably an advantage to the AX100E but its a case of diminishing returns. Advantage - AX100E
Bulb Modes
The AX100E allows the users to switch between the Ecomony or Normal bulb settings in whichever colour setting that is chosen.  This makes it very flexible in adjusting the picture to suit your situation.  The TW700 on the other hand preselects the bulb setting depending on the colour mode chosen... e.g. theatre = eco, living room = normal.  Advantage - AX100E
Colour uniformity
Both projectors exhibited colour uniformity issues.  On the AX100E there was a red bar running the entire vertical left hand edge of the projected screen.  On the TW700 there was a subtle grey horixontal bar just above the centre line.  That said, colour uniformity issues have been synonymous with LCDs for ages.

The AX100E's colour uniformity issues have been reported to get worse over time especially when the bulb hits 80hrs and above.  While the TW700's colour unifirmity has not been widely reported as an issue of any importance. Both projectors equal on this count.
Pixel Structure
The AX100E picture is very film like, ie it is very smooth without any pixel structure.  The TW700 on the otherhand is very sharp and uses superior optics compared to the AX100E.  The AX100E eliminstes the pixel structure by employing the Smooth Screen technology, which is really a defocussing of the picture.  As such the picture is ever so slightly out of focus.  If you can live with this then great.  However, it had me reaching for the focus ring every now and then.  It feels like it needs just a 1mm turn of the ring to bring it into absolute focus.  In the end this really got to me.  Because the TW700 is so sharp.... at close range, the pixel structure is highly visible, but seated at the correct distance of say a 1x screenwidth seating distance, the pixel should no longer be visible.  Advantage - TW700
LCD Panel Convergence
The LCD panel is made up of 3 screens, and in order to get a sharp image the 3 panels must be aligned precisely to the individual pixel.  Else you will end up with a blur picture.  Cinema have no such issues as the image is projected thru 1 layer of film.  The AX100E had a misconvergence of 2 pixels upwards and down 1 pixel.  This issue was not noticed on the Epson. Advantage - TW700.
Noise and artifacts
Both projectors again exhibited noise in the projected picture. Epson does a bit better in eliminating noise.  However in really fast action scenes, the Panasonic seems to smoother than the Epson.  The Epson here exhibits some juddering and pixelisation. Advantage AX100E
Blacks
Both projectors come with an iris function that cuts down the light output to improve the blacks and contrasts.  Both systems worked flawlessly.  Blacks were good but not great.  Both still exbited loss of details in the shadows.  Both projectors even on this count.

Build quality
Both projectors are solidly manufactured.  The lense and its focussing mechanism had a nice weight to it.  No issues for either projectors here.
Warranty
AX100E - 1 year, TW700 - 2 years, with bulb warranty for first 500hrs.  Advantage TW700
Proven History based on owner feedback
Both projectors have been in the International market since October of 2006.  A quick visit to that various Home Theatre forums and you will quickly discover ardent followers for each projector.  Each group worshiping the projector of their choice and denoucing the other.  But it is a fact that the AX100E has more than its fair share of issues, ranging from misconvergence of the lcd panels, to bulb flicker, extreme issues with colour uniformity and also LCD degradation due to over heating.  For the LCD degradation issue, Panasonic has advised that the unit should not be used for more that 4 hours a day. 

Whether the TW700 will start exhibiting these problems or others has yet to be seen.  There is no guarantee that the Epson will remain problem free as it has been in the marke for less than 4 months.  Advantage TW700.

Summary
From my point of view, the TW700 is the projector for my Home Theatre.  The AX100E has a 2x zoom lense and the TW700, a 2.1x zoom.  This together with the vertical and horizontal shift should give me the most flexibility in placements.  Hopefull this will hold me till HD and 1080p becomes more mainstream in our local market.

And now on to Pricing.... both projectors sit in a similar price bracket, RM7000.  But with patience you can get close to 15% off the retail price, going into the sub RM6000 region.  Not bad eh for a 120" plasma like bright screen.

Pass me the popcorn and coke..... or should I say Pass me the char kuey teow with extra chili and kerang !!!!

Timothy/Fusion,
I can still be ur fren.  Dun penalise me because I join the Epson camp. For what its worth, I really wanted the AX100E to work for me.

Cheers all,
Jason

Now the bad news, my dealer has said that my order will take 2 to 3 weeks to fulfill.  A quick call to my contact in Epson HQ reveals that Epson Malaysia has no stock... so are they selling vaporware? .  They will have to order the stock from Singapore.  But my dealer has assured me that I will have in before CNY..... but I will be outstation during CNY .  Potong Stim.