I have been in discussion with Sai Tang, Director of Customer Support for Benq North America. He has agreed to look into posting on their web site the materials necessary to perform firmware upgrades on the Benq 8700. Look into means he will consult with Taiwan (Benq engineering and management) to see that there are no legal issues and attempt to gain their permission.

What would be needed would be the firmware loader, the firmware itself (Intel hex file) , the instructions for use (very simple); and a cable (or specs for same) to connect the pj to a PC.

I suggested that Benq make the cable spec available at no charge, but offer the cable pre made for $5-$10 for those out there who can not solder or are cablewiring challenged. I used a straight 4 wire telco (rj11 to rj11) cable and wired a DB9 to RJ11 adapter to give me what the spec called for. The adapter comes un-wired and you just insert the internal wires into the proper pin outs in the DB9 connector. Distance is probably not relevant (my run is over 50 feet at 115,000 bps).

I suggest that others contact Mr. Tang to instill a priority on trying to get this done. He was very peasant and cooperative on the phone. He may be emailed at saitang@benq.com. We discussed how various types/levels of support for different users is a good thing, and that many owners would not want to be without their pj, let alone ship it around the country. He seemed to understand. I also pointed out that there will probably be additional firmware upgrades in the future, and many other manufacturers of all sorts of A/V equipment have taken the policy to provode firmware upgrades for free if they are fixes and charge if they are enhancements (e.g. Lexicon)

He re affirmed that I may not distribute what was given to me under "informal NDA". The upgrade worked fine, I no longer hear the fan except at shutdown when it is cooling the lamp.

Is he cool with us emailing him? And if so, is it ok to reference this thread?

Thanks,
James

I've just emailed him.

My fan is fine, but if future enhancements can be made via firmware updates, I'm game.

James,

I have no issue if you ref the thread.

Directors of customer support like to be told when they are doing well and where they can improve their operation to increase customer satisfaction (That is one of the ways their performance is measured). I am sure if you couched your comments in that context he will be fine with the email.

This is a great idea and I'm happy to hear BenQ is open to feedback and improving their customer service. I just sent my 8700 in last week for the upgrade - it took only five days total - but certainly would have preferred the DIY download, and agree with Joe that clearly future firmware upgrades via this route are the way to go.

Dan

barrygordon'
thnx

Has anyone heard back about this ? I just discovered this thread and sent an email to Mr. Tang.

I heard back from them the next day and had all of the firware and instructions sent to me. I didn't do it, because I had the most recent firm ware already installed, but if there is a future upgrade, I'd like to try this.

They sent me the firmware too. Now all I need is a pinout for the cable...

Can anyone help?

Thanks,
James

Originally posted by Joe Przybylski
I heard back from them the next day and had all of the firware and instructions sent to me. I didn't do it, because I had the most recent firm ware already installed, but if there is a future upgrade, I'd like to try this.

Can you tell me more about the upgrade software ? Is it windows based ? Where can I order the cable from (ie link) ?

Hopefully they will post the firmware and the necessary software. Mr tang said he was going to look into it, and since he is providing it, it appears it will be more efficient if they just post it for download.

I know of no cable that is premade. I built my own. What you need is an RJ 11 connector, the RJ-11 connector tool (Or cut up an existing RJ11 4 wire cable), a DB9 connector (Female if my memory serves me right) and an ability to solder, I will post the information when I get home on the cable pin out.

There is an interesting cable adapter that is DB9 to RJ11. It comes all ready to use but the pins from the rj11 (4) are not inserted in the DB9. You do that based upon what pinout you need. You then use a plain RJ11 male male cable (The benq connector is RJ11 female). That is what I did.

Here is a link

http://www.cables4computer.com/products/individualItem.asp?groupcode=I0083

I will post the pinout tonight

Ironically enough, BenQ sent me the cable pinout tonight:

|DB9 female| |RJ11| |Signal|
2 4 RX
3 2 TX
5 5 GND

My DB9 to RJ11 adapter is on its way (thanks for the link barrygordon!), so hopefully I'll have the new firmware up and running this weekend.

James

When did you ask the firmware ? I sent an email to Mr. Tang this morning and I am still waiting for a reply :( I have an adaptor allset and I am ready to upgrade.

It took a couple of days for a response and then about a week for a response on the adapter pinout.

James

OOPS I forgot to send out the pinout. What is above does not look right to me. An RJ11 only needs 4 pins and that is the way all of mine come. I therefore do not understand pin 5 to pin 5.

Pin 5 is the last pin in a 6-pin RJ11 with only 4 used pins... if that makes sense :)

Check out the drawing:
http://www.applied-motion.com/ampinfo/technotes/modadapt.pdf

Your statement confuses me.

An RJ11 plug unly has 4 pins so why would an RJ11 female (jack) have 6 pins? An RJ12 jack does have 6 pins, and is built with a double notch so an RJ11 plug will fit nicely in an RJ11 jack (which I prefer) or an RJ12 jack. An RJ12 plug will not fit in an RJ11 Jack

Lets assume that the Benq has an RJ12 jack (I will check tonight) then the pins would be numbered as 1 to 6. How does pin 5 become the "Last Pin".

If the RJ 11 plug is inserted in an RJ12 jack the the following pin matings occur:

RJ11 RJ12
1 to 2
2 to 3
3 to 4
4 to 5

I always prefer to deal with a document to eliminate all of this confusion. I will check both the service manual and the pj and my cable assembly which does work.

I just forgot to do it last night. The good news is that if you screw up the wiring nothing will smoke as all voltages are at signal level, there is no Vcc on any pin and putting ground to a signal pin will not hurt.

Now I'm confused :)

The RJ11 jacks in my office are 6 position. The phone cord I have plugged into my fax machine has a 6 position plug but only 2 pins are used (3 and 4).

I think there's some confusion on what an RJ11 jack is. Check out the following page. They show a 4 position and 6 position jack and call both of them RJ11:

http://www.tcswnc.com/RJ11%20and%20RJ45%20Connectors.htm

I guess I wasn't clear by the last pin thing. If you're using a 4 position plug and plug it into a 6 position jack, then the #4 position on the plug connects to the #5 position on the jack.

The issue as I see it is that if you are building the cable you are using an RJ 11 Plug, which only has 4 pins! Of that I am sure. The Benq has either a 4 position or a 6 position Modular jack, but that is irrelavent. The cable with the plug is what concerns us.

The pins on the plug are numbered 1,2,3,4, the fact that they will mate to modular jack positions 2,3,4,5 if it is a 6 position MJ, or to pins 1,2,3,4 if it is a 4 position MJ is also irrelavent (assuming that Benq wired the MJ correctly, which they did).

What didn't make sense to me was in the context of building the cable. There is no pin 5 on an RJ11 plug, but pin 4 on an RJ11 plug does mate to a pin 5 on a 6 position modular jack.

Now if we build the cable using the adapter, which probaly has a 6 position modular jack then pin 5 is the right one to wire to pin 5 on the DB9 and the pinout you provided is correct.

I think we both understand the situation.

Attached is a zipped word doc that has all of the necessary information to build the RS232 cable for the PE8700. The original document had a typo and a mistake on the gender of the DB9 needed. That is all fixed now. The document is correct.

Very nice doc. Thank you!

Originally posted by barrygordon
Attached is a zipped word doc that has all of the necessary information to build the RS232 cable for the PE8700

Are you sure this document is correct ? One the bottom on page 1 you say we need only worry about DB9 pins 2,3 & 5. You then mention "The following pins need to be showhow connected" and you talk about DB9 pins 2,3 & 4.


I am using a rj45 adaptor and I took pins 4,5 & 6 (red, green, yellow) and connected to DB9 pins and 2,3 & 5 and could not identify the target.

has anyone tried this sucessfully?

Dozens,

Thanks for that pick up. DAMM microsoft word!! It was helping me out by making that mini table a bulleted list with numbers for bullets. After 3 in a numerically bulleted list comes 4. I will mod the original posting with a new version of the Document.

Re your problem: Did you follow the upgrade instructions in that you must start the firmware loader while the BENQ is HARD Powered off (the switch or pull the plug) and then power on the BenQ. while the firmware loader is probing. That is because it only checks the RS232 port for a firmware change during an initial boot up.

takisot,

yes I have done this and upgraded the firmware in my Benq PE 8700.

Originally posted by barrygordon
Dozens,

Thanks for that pick up. DAMM microsoft word!! It was helping me out by making that mini table a bulleted list with numbers for bullets. After 3 in a numerically bulleted list comes 4. I will mod the original posting with a new version of the Document.

Re your problem: Did you follow the upgrade instructions in that you must start the firmware loader while the BENQ is HARD Powered off (the switch or pull the plug) and then power on the BenQ. while the firmware loader is probing. That is because it only checks the RS232 port for a firmware change during an initial boot up.

takisot,

yes I have done this and upgraded the firmware in my Benq PE 8700.

Yes, when I plug in the 8700 OPlus pops up a dialog with an ok button and when clicked the closes. The instructions mentions installing OPlus. I did not get a setup.exe, just a bunch of .dll and a .exe file.

dozens.

It seems to me that the loader is talking to the Benq. I do not have the setup system. I do not believe you need it. The OPlus loader makes no registry entries nor does it place anything in the windows directories. If you have all of the files as shown in the powerpoint presentation you should be all right.

I checked (buzzed out) my cable and it is straight through from DB9- to RJ11. that is pin2 on DB9 goes to pin 2 on RJ11, Pin 3 on DB9 goes to pin 3 on RJ11, Pin5 on DB9 may go to either Pin 1 or Pin 4 (mine goes to pin 1). The BenQ service schematics show these two pins of the RJ11 connector (1 & 4) tied together.

The only other thing I can think of is are you running the port at 115,200 baud, no parity, no flow control, 8 data bits 1 stop bit?. If you are not you might get the dialog because they will field the garbage charachter but do not get the right message.

I could ship you exactly what my directory is (contents) but I need an email address. It is 1.25 meg zipped without the hex file and without the ppt presentation which is over 2 meg by itself.

I have just uploaded a new version of the cable construction data sheet. There were two mistakes in the original. (i) there was a typo which was caught, and (ii) the gender of the DB9 was incorrect, it needs to be a female. The document is located earlier in this thread. I apologize for any inconvenience.

If you have built the cable and which to test it out without changing the firmware you can use Hyperterminal or any similiar comm program.

Plug the cable into the Benq and the PC.
Bring up hyperterminal on the com port you are using and set the com parameters to
Baud rate=115200
Data bits=8
Stop Bits=1
Parity=None
Flow control=none.

Hit the enter key. You should see the ">" (without the quotes). That indicates the benq is ready talk.

Type in X01 followed by the enter key. This is the Power On Command. you should get back X0X indicating that the command was accepted. If you get back X1X or X2X these are errors. X1X is illegal format, X2X is illegal function

Some time later, depending on how long the command takes to execute, when the Benq is again ready you will get back X0_01X, exactly 6 charachters. The first and last X are because you sent an X class command. The 0_ is the positive acknowledge, and the 01 is an echo of the command code number you sent.

Here are some simple commands:

X01 Power On
X02 Power Off
X10 Menu
X11 Enter
X12 Exit
X13 Up
X14 Down
X15 Left
X16 Right

The X class commands are safe. There are also Y and Z class commands, and the Z class is dangerous as you can change any and all of the Benq adjustments. This has interesting possibilities for those who want to play in the video world. A program could be written to save all of the internal values so the system could be restored to a known state at any time, and files could be developed with different values of the internal adjustments for those who have a need to play deep inside the system. Contact me if you would like such a program.

Originally posted by barrygordon
dozens.

It seems to me that the loader is talking to the Benq. I do not have the setup system. I do not believe you need it. The OPlus loader makes no registry entries nor does it place anything in the windows directories. If you have all of the files as shown in the powerpoint presentation you should be all right.


powerpoint presentation only list the contents of the setup program and I do not have many of those files.


I checked (buzzed out) my cable and it is straight through from DB9- to RJ11. that is pin2 on DB9 goes to pin 2 on RJ11, Pin 3 on DB9 goes to pin 3 on RJ11, Pin5 on DB9 may go to either Pin 1 or Pin 4 (mine goes to pin 1). The BenQ service schematics show these two pins of the RJ11 connector (1 & 4) tied together.


Your cable seems different then what BenQ told me to make.
http://www.applied-motion.com/ampinfo/technotes/modadapt.pdf
This link mentions rj11 but it has to be referring to rj12 because of talks about pin5.


The only other thing I can think of is are you running the port at 115,200 baud, no parity, no flow control, 8 data bits 1 stop bit?. If you are not you might get the dialog because they will field the garbage charachter but do not get the right message.

That is exactly what I used.


I could ship you exactly what my directory is (contents) but I need an email address. It is 1.25 meg zipped without the hex file and without the ppt presentation which is over 2 meg by itself. [/B]
please send them to = dao at pobox dot com

I am sending it now. That cable diagram can not be right. First of all the BenQ has a 4 position RJ11. It is positioned with the Key up when Cieling mounted, but if you have the benq on a table on its feet then the key is down. It is only a 4 position plug. In the 4 position plug, the two outside pins are jumped together in side the Benq. The two end pins are 1 and 4. The two middle pins are 2 and 3. The wiring will be such that the three wires will occupy 3 adjacent pins, with one of the end pins (1 or 4) not used. If you were to buy a normal telco RJ 11 cable the color coding of the wires SHOULD be as follows:

Pin 1 black
pin 2 Red
Pin 3 Green
Pin 4 Yellow


Telco cables for telephone use are normally built so the pairs are symmetric around the center. Red/Green is the standard connect for the first telco line, Black Yellow is standard for the 2nd telco line

Cut off one end and solder to a a female DB9

Pin 2 Red
Pin 3 Green
Pin 1 Black

Try that cable with hyperterminal as a described in a prior post in this thread. Make sure the com port is set up correctly (115200,None,8,1)

I will help you all I can

Using the Applied Motion diagram I got a screen full of ">" when using hyperterm. When using your wiring scheme (I tried both pin 6 & pin 3 to DB5; using rj45 adaptor) I did not get any response from hyperterm.

On my rj45 adaptor pins 3, 4, 5 & 6 are colored black, red, green and yellow so I am kinda surprised that it didn't work. Do I need to powerup the 8700 to use hyperterm as well ?

We are doing something silly. This is nor Rocket Science. I suggest the following.

Buzz out the cable (continuity check) from the DB9 female to the RJ11 Male. Forget the intermediate stuff. 2 and 3 on the DB9 should go to 2 and 3 respectively on the RJ11 that plugs into the Benq. Pin 5 from the DB9 should go to either 1 or 4 on the RJ11. The reason I want you to do this is because the cable (RJ11 male Male) from the RJ45 adapter to the RJ11 may need to have a "roll in it". The flat 4 wire cable has a bead on one side. On one end the bead will be on the key side of the RJ11. If on the other end it is oriented the same way, then the cable does not have a roll (single twist) and is actually a crossover cable 1-4, 2-3, 3-2,4-1

To understand visualize the flat cable laying on the floor running north to south with the bead always up (no twists). Stand in the middle of it and face north. Lets assume the black is the leftmost wire. That would be pin 1. Now turn around to face south. The black wire is thje rightmost wire. if you just inserted the cable into the RJ11 plugs, both with their keys in the same orientation (up) then you have just made a crossover cable inverting 1 / 4 and 2 / 3 . That is why it pays to buzz out end to end. In telephone work it doesn't matter line one is still red/green, line 2 is still black/yellow. Polarity is reversed. In data comm it matters very much.

The only other thing I can think of is comm port settings. It really does work. For Hyperterminal to work, the Benq must be plugged in with its power switch on. It can be in standby (you get to standby after the unit cools down on a power off command.)

Thanks for all your help Barry ! Turns out I was using a crossover rj11 cable. It never occurred to me that the came reversed.

I got the expected hyperterminal response and then flashed 1.04 firmware. It took a couple minutes at 115200 baud. I power cycled the 8700 and went into the factory menu and confirmed the next version.

Barry - Now that I got all the wiring figured out, what can I do with th rs232 connection :)

As I said for telephone work it does not matter (it did fior a while when tone dialing was polarity sensitive) I am glad I was able to help. It always pays to buzz out end to end. Which wiring spec was correct. I would be very surprised if the one from the web site worked.

You should no longer hear the fan except in shut down mode. I never do.

In my Screening room (my sister said it is no longer a HT) the control system is based on a laptop PC that is buried in the cabinetry with the other stuff. The PC gets simple IR (never a macro, any function gets 1 IR burst from the iPronto) The PC then decides what has to be done to meet the functional request. For example if you touched the iPronto screen over the "Watch Sat TV button", the PC would evaluate the system state (what is powered on and what is not) and send the appropriate commands to each component. This includes selecting the BenQ input and setting the aspect ratio. The PC talks to the BenQ and several other components through their RS232 interfaces. It talks to some over IR and others via TCP/IP. Almost all new higher end stuff now have RS232 interfaces.

The service manual (I will send it of you want) has all of the RS232 commands and describes the protocol for transmission but you need to be able to program. The commands come in three classes X, Y, Z. Class X commands are basically what you can do with the remote. Class Y are a little deeper giving you more control . Class Z commands allow you to read out the contents of any internal adjustments and change their values. Now there is a lot of power and a lot of Danger. When I get the time I will write a program to dump all of the internal settings, and then reload them at any time.

The protocol is built so you can use Hyperterminal.

This is really exciting. I just didn't want to send my unit in. I believe that shipping is really hard on the projector lamp.

Please, could someone please tell me how to get the upgrade software. I've sent BenQ an e-mail, but no response.

If someone would e-mail it to me, I would be very grateful
kanderson at ch13kra dot com

I'm ready to build the cable and do the upgrade.

Thanks for all your efforts.

Originally posted by barrygordon
As I said for telephone work it does not matter (it did fior a while when tone dialing was polarity sensitive) I am glad I was able to help. It always pays to buzz out end to end. Which wiring spec was correct. I would be very surprised if the one from the web site worked.


I used your wiring diagram. Unfortunetly I do not have any "buzz" tools. Luckily I did have a set of jewelers screw drivers and was able to undo the rj45 to db9 adaptor about 20 times :)

Barry, you're the Man!!Thank's a lot! The update was a total success! Without your comprehensive doc I would not have made it!

I wish to say thankyou to barrygordon for his excellent cable doc

and to benq usa for emailing the software

I updated the firmware last night in 10 mins I now have
the termal in factory menus

thankyou
No need to send it back
benq uk know nothing of this update.

I spoke to Benq via email today. It is their intention to put up the firmware loader etc on their site for download. The following are the key points to remember.

Thers is nothing dangerous even if you miswire the cable it just won't work

The easiest way to make the cable if you can solder is the method described in the cable doc where you cut the end off a telco cable and solder it to a DB9, second easiest is get somone to solder for you.

If you use the adapter route then be sure you buzz out (continuity check) the cable END TO END because of the crossover problem

If benq sent you the loader software with no setup, don't worry as long as the executable is there. Just be sure all is in a single directory then run the executable without doing the install. It will work.

Be Patient, Benq wants to do the download thing right.

Performed the upgrade about a week ago according to the provided Power Point presentation and all went well. Very easy.

I've since watched a few movies I no longer notice the Projector at all. In fact, I did not realize how much the changing fan speed bothered me until it was gone.

Projector is now nice a quiet.

If you have a PE8700 that has not had the firmware update yet I would strongly recommend it.

Hi, :)

I've bought a BenQ PE 8700. :)
Sometimes, the fan of my PJ starts to make a lot of noise and then returns to silence. :-?

Do I have the "famous" fan issue ?

Will this upgrade work for European 8700 units ?

Thanks.

Vincent

I would be surprised if you just bought the BENQ if you do not have the firmware upgrade in it, but who knows. If it is a Euro version then I can not say for sure if there is Euro version of the basic firmware. BenQ Tech support has always been very helpful answering questions. i would send the serial number of the unit, and the version number of the software which i think shows on one of the info screens.

With the firmware upgrade I can not hear the fan as it silently changes speeds in a very incremental fashion. Before the upgrade it was very noticable but not distracting if you played your video very loud.

In my system 0 db is set to theater reference and I normally run between -8 db for DVD's and -17 for TV. If I play it at 0 DB, then it is way too loud as the room is much smaller than a theater. It is a screening room.

Hope that helps, if you need more help email by viewing my profile

The euro unit is identical to the U.S. unit.Therefore, you can perform the firmware upgrade yourself without a problem or you can send the unit back to BenQ and let them do it for you.

Originally posted by Carl Holt
Performed the upgrade about a week ago according to the provided Power Point presentation and all went well. Very easy.



Which Power Point presentation was that? Is the firmware on the website? I can't seem to find it. Thanks

Go to the product listing and find the PE8700. It is there I saw it this afternoon here is the link

http://www.benq.com/projectors/projector_pe8700.html

Look for the little box that says firmware. They actually used my original document on making the cable in addition to the powerpoint document.

Yep,

That's the link that takes you to the firmware upgrade. Interestingly enough though the firmware upgrade download link is not available if you go to the European page. (Barrygordon's link takes you to the USA page.) But, if what Takisot (Athens, Greece) says is correct (and since he said it worked for him I'm sure it is) the download should work on the European units.

The link starts a download of a ZIP file that contains several files. Some are the programs files needed to upload the firmware from your PC to the projector, one is the actual firmware file, one is instructions on making a cable (sounds like these are Barry's) and the other is a power point presentation that looks like it was made for the BenQ techs. The presentation ends with instructions to "unplug power cord and pack it."

The power point presentation from the ZIP file contains instructions on installing the program needed to flash the projector's firmware. Ignore these. The install files are not in the ZIP file but don't worry, it still works. All you need to do is extract the contents of the zip file to a subdirectory. When you have your cable put together use RUN (within Windows) then browse to the directory and click on the executable file, Flashl~1.exe. You can then follow the rest of the Presentation.

In regards to Barry's instructions be careful of the perspective on each connector. For one end the perspective is looking into the end of the connector. For the other end the perspective is looking at the back side of the connector. Once you know this it is very easy to make. The discussions early on in this thread tipped me off so I was able to make the cable correctly the first time.

In the end it took me and hour to go the Radio Shack, buy the parts and build the cable, two weeks to find time in my schedule to bring the computer downstairs and hook it up to the projector, about 20 seconds to flash the firmware, then about half an hour to an hour to take the computer back upstairs and try to remember where all the wires off the back connected.

Once done the projector is very quiet. If you sit in the room with only the projector on, no sound from the AV equipment, and listen carefully you can detect minor changes in sound level, but how often do you do this? I only did it to review a picture CD.

I did find that if the room gets hot, that the projector will still kick up to the higher speed. Again, this was discovered under unusual circumstances. The wife or one of the kids must have been playing with the thermostat in the HT and turned the heat on when it was already very warm outside. The HT must have been around 85 degrees. The heat is shut off now. I digress...

Going back to the beginning. You need to go to BenQ's USA page to get the firmware and Barry's link above takes you there.

Barry and Carl,

Huge thanks for your help. That box so small it's easy to miss.

Great instructions Carl. Gotta try to sneak it in this weekend.

You are quite welcome.

By the way Carl, the name is Barry not Berry. There was a Berry Gordo of MoTown fame but that is not me!

I suspect that the cable can be pretty long, even at 115,000 baud. I know that the one permanently installed in my HT is at least 40'.

As I understnd the change, it slowly advances or retreats the voltage to the fan going through several staps instead of the two (Hi-Lo-Hi) of the prior version. I never notice the fan as Carl has commented. I need to get the codes for the Blank function so when I switch sources and adjust parameters via RS232 it would be nice if the screen was blank

hi Barry,

i've just bought myself an 8700 second hand so i'm reading this thread with interest. The model i've bought is only about a month old and so i don't expect it'll need the fan speed firmware correction but re future upgrades i'm quite interested in making this cable.

As you can see from my profile, i'm based in the uk and so don't really want to have to import such a small item as the adaptor listed as shipping will prob make it come to about $10 or something which seems a bit expensive...

I was therefore wondering if i could use one of these (i assume i'd want the 9m 25f one?):
http://custom1.farnell.com/cpc/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CPC+Catalogue&category%5Fname=&product%5Fid=275112

might be a bit cumbersome but it lists the pin connections so i hope it should work?

I do not see where that adapter would be helpful, unless your PC has a 25 pin port connector. You just need to make up the cable for RJ11 to DB9. Instructions are at the site and on this thread. I bet though you can find the modular to DB9 adapter in the UK.

It is not magical, if you make the cable correctly it will work, and if not it won't hurt anything

I completed the upgrade. However, I have a new problem:

When turning the BENQ on, it goes into "color mode." It flashes green, blue and orange screens, each one lasting 1 second or so. To exit this mode, I simply hold the "exit" button down on the projector.

When I turn the projector off, it turns itself back on and launches back into the "color screen mode." There is no way to stop this unless I leave the projector unplugged.

Does anyone know why this occurs?

Thanks!

I have never heard of anything like that! Basically when the projector does a cold boot (Unplug and plug back in; or Power off Power On) It checks to see if it is being probed for a firmware upgrade If so it will join with the PC flashloader and load the new firmware. That is why you need to start the flash loader then cause the projector to cold boot.

It almost sounds as if your firmware is hosed up. It somehow got a bad or incomplete load when you did the upgrade.

Knowing what I know i can not imagine that happening, but then again when someting is broken all bets about normal operations are off!

Have you tried to reflash the firmware?

Suggest you call Benq.

I first tried to upload the firmware using a crossover cable. The problem started occuring at that moment (before the firmware was upgraded but after the cable was plugged in). After I realized I was using a crossover cable, I was able to complete the upgrade (it works great). However, this problem still persists.

Using a crossover cable should not hurt anything. You would have connected xmt to xmt and rcv to rcv.

I suggest you call Benq and ask for Andy Placencia. He is their Engineer and is very good.

I am curious as to what this turns out to be.

I'll give them a call on Monday or Tuesday morning. Looking back, I actually used a RJ14 cable (regular phone wire with no ground, this is when the problem started) at first, then a RJ11 Crossover Cable and then finally the right RJ11 cable to complete the upgrade.

I'll let you know what I hear.

Does sound like the firmware flash went bad. Did you try flasing it again?

I would like to thank everyone on this board for their insights.

I actually figured out the problem (don't laugh). The BenQ was displaying the Patterns listed in the service menu in order. A while back I went into the Service Menu and turned the Burn In Protection setting to "On" and nothing happened so I left it alone. After realizing it was displaying the patterns listed in the service menu, I went and turned the Burn In Protection "off." Everything works fine now.

I am guessing that when I put the cable in, the BenQ "activated" the changed setting. This might be why the issue occurred before any firmware connection was made, but after it sensed the initial cable connection.

The service menu is a very dangerous thing !!!!!!

glad you solved the problem.

Yeah, I'm over cautious when in service mode. Enjoy your now very quiet 8700.

I just read in another thread that there is a 1.07 firmware ? Can anyone here confirm the existance of the new firmware ? The BenQ USA site still has 1.04.

Okay. I've read the same thing listed on four separate threads.

I'd like to know, too -- Can anyone confirm/deny the existance of a 1.07 firmware for BenQ 8700/8700+?

Thanks Barry for your hard work...I got myself a DB9 to RJ12 adapter and a telephone cable, and now I can talk to the benq through the COM port.

Talk nice max.

You are quite welcome. Do you want my benq test/demo program?

Yeah, I've been sweet-talking it, baby! :D

Sure, I'd like to give your test program a try!

One question though...how do you retrieve input-specific settings? For example, when I asked the Benq for the current DLP brightness setting, it gave me a setting for the component input, not the DVI input. Um...at least I think that's what happened - unless I accidentally reset my settings.

Originally posted by barrygordon
You are quite welcome. Do you want my benq test/demo program? Sure, what are the contents of the program.

My undertsanding of the Benq is that there are separate memory areas that hold the various settings, one area for each input source. You will retrieve the settings for the memory area currently in control, so If you select DVI then you should get the settings for the DVI, sl;ect component you should get the settings for component etc.

I need to wrap the program up before I send it. It has three modes of operation and I will draft a brief manual before I send it. Mode one is retrieval of the basic parameters, and setting of basic parameters. It is what you would use all of the time if what you wanted to control the Benq for an HT. Mode two is for reading out the "Service parameters" and they are very important. Mode three is for changing the "Service parameters". I have nor fooled with modes 2 or 3. But they should work. I am not concerned with playing with mode 2, but mode 3 alters things. A Bug here could be disasterous. My intent was to provide a capability to read all the settings and save them to a file; and then later restore the settings from the same file. the file would be in ascii so it could be easily modified. Just have not had time to get around to it.

Do you program in VB If so I may send the source. I will need yur email address, and can you except exe or zip files through your email system?

Thanks barry...that makes sense now!

I think you already have my email address from when you sent me the service manual, so attachments shouldn't be an issue for me at least.

This program could be quite useful for a local ISF calibrator I know - he hangs out around here too, you know who you are! :) He's getting a Benq 8700 too.

Did benq remove the firmware from the website?
I have the fan noise and its getting annoying.
I also just got a new bulb after 1600hrs and no better way to enjoy it
then with a quick fan fix and re calibration:)

what kind of cable do i need?
can one be purchased?

thanks guys

Erick G

What is your current software version? I have the 1.4 update files and instructions and will e-mail them if this is what you need.

The file includes instructions on building the cable with $5 to $10 in parts from Radio Shack.

Send me a PM if you need the 1.4 update file.

Does anyone have the 1.7 firmware?I cannot find it anywhere!

Originally posted by takisot
Does anyone have the 1.7 firmware?I cannot find it anywhere!

I contacted BenQ about this months ago, and they said there was no plans to release this to the public.

Joe, did they say why?

Darn!

BTW still no response from Benq about my DVI color wheel sync troubles (after the initial brief conversation with Andy@benq).

I've got the 1.07 on my European unit. Now that I know that BenQ doesn't distribute this firmware I don't flash my unit.

I think that I could flash my BenQ with the firmware of the Runco CL-710, that's the same identical firmware.

What do you think? It could be a great picture quality improvement.

robypez,
How do you know the firmwre on the Runco CL-710 is the same as that on the BenQ? Did you do a file compare? If they are identical files why do you think there would be any improvement in quality. Its just software man, and if the bits are the same they can not act differently.

BenQ 8700 & Runco CL-710 are the same projector. From an hardware point of view they are identical. But the two firmware are very different.

I'm sure that flashing a BenQ 8700 with a CL-710 firmware you have a true CL-710 in a BenQ case.

The Runco firmware is better: more control on picture, perfect calibration, very nice preset and a better contro of scaling, deinterlacing & fan.

The problem is that it's impossible to obtain a CL-710 firmware.

That clarifies it. What you are saying is that the hardware base of the projectors are equivalent, but the firmware sets are different. That is not how I read your prior post where you stated "...that's the same identical firmware.".

I am also willing to bet that a Runco CL-710 is a Benq PE 8700 in a Runco case, i.e. Benq is the real manufacturer not Runco.

It's not theory.

BenQ is the manufacturer of CL-710. If you download the user manual you can see that the back and the bottom of the two projector are identical.

The only differences are in the shape of the top of the cabinet.

Can i download Runco firmware samewhere? WHERE??? :confused:

Please help, this is diy serial cable for my Benq PE8700+
http://www.avsforum.it/images/upload/benqserialcable.jpg

i thing that is all right but, simply, dont work! i've tried with FlashLoader (NOTHING), Windows Hyper terminal, (Appear this: "Rembrandt-I Command Line Monitor by OPLUS Technologies LTD
Copyright (c) 1999-2000 Oplus Technologies INC. All Rights reserved.
Version 04.29
>" but i can't send any command) ...... Thanks. :(

Did you turn off flow control when setting up Hyperterminal?

Did you turn off flow control when setting up Hyperterminal?


yes................. :(

Hi guys,

What are some of the improvements in the firmware (besides the fan speed)?

And speaking of firmware, is there a way to tell the Benq to use the DVI-D signal instead of DVI-A? I'm using a DVI-I cable and the projector automatically connects to analog DVI.

Thanks...

I don't know what improvements are made. I have an older 1.4 firmware, and the latest 1.7 firmware is not available anywhere for download. :(

My 8700 always connects to DVI-D with my Panasonic S97 DVD player, and my HTPC. What video source are you using? It probably isn't configured correctly to use DVI-D.

Hi Max,

Are you using a DVI-I cable? See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVI - the one with 24+5 pins.

I'm using a HTPC with an ATI Radeon card.

Hello, I am from Germany and i have one problem with my 8700+
(Software 1.07)
since i connectet my 8700+ with the Panasonic s97 on DVI at 720P at 50H
the picture is not smooth. it has a little underscan and it`s stuttering a little bit.

I heard that the Runco 710 Firmware can help, but no one has it in Germany.
:confused:
Can anybody help me ?
Where can i get the Runco 710 Firmware.

Thanks and greets from Germany

Peter

The cable diagram posted here looks correct. I have a good RS232 test program for the Benq that allows you to do all rS232 commands in the service manual. This includes the X Y and Z groups. I use X a lot, Have used some Y and no Z; however the code is simple and should work with no issue. (Z is the group that allows you to read and write all th factory calibration settings and is used by benq for high speed factory alignment.)

I also hve the service manual, The firmware set 1.04 and am interested in the firmware set 1.07 which I see someone has indicated they have.

If you need any of the items I have just PM me.

Barry,

Do you know if the X codes are listed as hex, ascii or decimal? I am building a driver (my first) so I can control my projector via Control4.

Thanks.

Elmer

Has anyone been able to retreive a copy of the Runco firmware, a copy would be much apprichiated.

I would not recommend using it. I've tried it, and the only thing it adds is the ability to enable overscan for DVI and VGA sources. It also locks you out of the color calibration settings unless you enter a special code, which I could never remember.

It will not solve your DVI detection issues you mentioned in a different thread - trust me, I've tried. :)

I thought the Runco FW also added 50 Hz support over RGBHV/DVI.

That would indeed help out the pal situation, if anyone have it i am still interested.

The Runco FW didn't fix PAL on my 8700+.

nlights, IMHO I would worry about the Runco FW after your DVI detection problem is resolved. :)

I run HDMI into a BenQ PE8700 using a HDMI to DVI cable and feeding the signal into the DVI input of the PJ. I use the setting of DVI Anamorphic as I believe that is the setting that removes all scaling in the PJ. By using Anamorphic (none of the others worked properly) I was able to get 1:1 pixel mapping with my DVDO Scalar in both H and V (1280x720p). Zero problems for the past 9 months. All other aspect ratio settings scaled something killing the 1:1 pixel match.

Hi, I've been running my PE8700 for 2-years with no big problems until recently. The fan seems noisier and now for some reason the input source information box in the lower right corner of the screen doesn't disappear. I assume after reading all the above posts above I probably need to update the firmware but I couldn't find where to get the information...can anyone help me out?

Unplug your unit to get rid of the input information. The fan noise usually indicates that the fan needs to be replaced. I just sent my unit in and the replaced the fans - now its nice and quiet.

I own a Runco CL710 - is there anything I can do to assist with the firmware? I'd like to learn how to interact with the projector's firmware if anyone could provide a brief overview....

I've used the CL710 firmware on my Benq 8700+. You probably know this, but to get into the service menu, press MENU on the remote. Then while the menu is displaying, press the ON button. Then you can go through the service menu. To get back to the user menu, press the ON button while the service menu is on the screen.

For color calibration, you would need to get into the Setup menu from within the User menu (I think it is called Setup - my Benq is out of commission at the moment while I get a new bulb - but wait, maybe I should get Benq to replace the extremely loud fans). Then you need to enter the password, and I can never remember what it is. I just push the arrow buttons and the ENTER button at random and I somehow get in. Probably UP-DOWN-LEFT-RIGHT-UP-DOWN-ENTER or something silly like that. :)

The above ONLY applies to the Runco CL710 firmware.

Can anybody send me the firmware update and instructions for the BenQ 8700? My fan has started making more noise and I don't want to send it out. BenQ told me that is has the newest update but I beg to differ as all of the info I have read points to an update.

My PE8700's fan is making loud weird noises too. Guess my only option is to send it in for service? Kind of a pain since it's ceiling mounted...