09.07.2007 — Panasonic's PT-AX200U 720P front projector is being billed as "an affordable luxury for gaming and home theater enthusiasts."

To show off the AX200's gaming capabilities, Panasonic has recruited Major League Gaming professional gamer Tom "Tsquared" Taylor to demonstrate in person the unit's unique gaming mode.

The gaming mode improves signal processing for 1/3 faster response time over prior Panasonic projectors. By increasing the throughput time of the incoming video, signal processing speeds up by as much as 60 percent.

That kind of boost translates into much less "Game Lag," which is critical for serious gamers and professionals like Tsquared.

Reflex and reaction times for these professionals -- and, more importantly, serious hardcore gaming customers -- have become so fast that the delay introduced by a video projector's signal processing chip can mean the difference between winning an online match or going home empty without a title win.

The gaming mode also boosts the dark details of games to make them more playable/visible.

Tsquared says that he has played Halo 2 so much and so many times that he can easily detect game lag and was surprised that he did not notice any lag at all on the new AX200.

"I've been in the gaming industry for a while now and have played on other projectors, but my experience with the AX200 is unmatched," he says.

The projector also features HDMI 1.3a compliance and has been designed to operate in the higher ambient light conditions typically found in multi-purpose media rooms.

The PT-AX200U carries a $2999 MSRP.

Tsquard is demonstrating his gaming skills and the PT-AX200U projector at the Panasonic booth, #825.