Crackers

What color were the hand written letters? I had assumed all the new bulbs were "B" bulbs vs. your A1627. I believe all the new bulbs I have seen here were black writing vs. red writing. But a manufacture date of Dec 2005 is brand spanking new....so....very curious.

thx

Jim

The writing was in black ink.

Mr Crackers

My new bulb has hand written letters and numbers in black ink. The bulb is different in side, well at lease compared to the first bulb I looked at. This bulb has a vary thick wire touching the outside of the inner glass filament container. It looks like a heat sink wire if I were guessing because I am not bulb expert. It does not appear that is connected to any electrical hook ups as far as I can see this is why I thought it was a heat sink.

Well... it looks like I too have bulb issues. We just got our home theater finished before the Christmas weekend and were all excited with movies, TV, and video games to enjoy... but viola... at 11:30pm on Friday, December 23rd (do I need to mention that NO ONE WILL BE OPEN till at least next week) I walk into the room and my projector has an orange power light and red lamp light (book says that's a bad bulb). I go to searching and start reading about others who have had bulb issues... how in the CRAP did this get to be a best selling projector when I bought it?

Okay... now, anybody got any suggestions for a way to get a hold of someone who might be able to help me so we're not without over the whole holiday?

And on a grander scale, should I demand my money back and find another projector before this gets to be a longer ordeal? :mad:

...snip...
how in the CRAP did this get to be a best selling projector when I bought it?
...snip...


No offense, but you didn't do enough research on the PJ if you didn't know about the bulb issue when you bought it.

troutseeker, there's no rush unless you want to buy a bulb from a third party. My 3rd bulb blew on December 17th. I called BenQ on 12/19 and was told they are out of bulbs. Given that this in my 3rd bulb, I got them to agree to swapping out my unit for a refurb and doing it via overnight shipping. (...thinking at least I'd have it for part of the holidays and bowl games) I called on the 22nd to check status and was told ...surprise, they are down for inventory from December 21st to January 4th. :mad:

...And on a grander scale, should I demand my money back and find another projector before this gets to be a longer ordeal? :mad:

When you say that the projector is new, do you mean brand new, like the bulb blew within a dealer's return period? If so, there would be no better reason for returning it. I would. I did. And... don't just let them talk you into replacing the lamp or you'll be kicking yourself when the replacement blows. Until BenQ fixes this model permanently, or they offer every purchaser 30 free lamps so that you might be able to get 2000 to 3000 hours of use, it just isn't worth even the current fire sale prices. This projector can throw a stunning image, but it is a QC nightmare, I'm sorry to say.

Im Curious...Is there anyone on this board that has a 7700 that has been good for them with no issues?

Also, what should be the normal maintenance? Dust Filter?

Also, I'd like to see everyones results to this next question: If you have bulb issues or HDMI synch issues, please state which one or both and if you went into the factory menus and tweaked the pj or you were experiencing the issue with defaults.

thanks

Only problem has been the bulb, lost 2 in 6 months both replaced no cost. No HDMI problems and have not changed any factory settings. Great picture right out of the box. I am having good luck so far on the new designed bulb,just got my HT done and will be putting on some big time hours, so we'll see. :)

Im Curious...Is there anyone on this board that has a 7700 that has been good for them with no issues?

Also, what should be the normal maintenance? Dust Filter?

Also, I'd like to see everyones results to this next question: If you have bulb issues or HDMI synch issues, please state which one or both and if you went into the factory menus and tweaked the pj or you were experiencing the issue with defaults.

thanks

(Note to self: Please don't jinx it.)
PE7700 purchased in June 05. I have 300 hrs on the "original" bulb and no HDMI issues. :) I've had mine through a power conditioner 99.9% of its life, but I don't know if this matters or not.

Yes I'm interested as well on the recommended maintennance hours for a dust filter. Can someone send me a pic (or post it) on where the slot for the filter is? The manual shows a picture but I can't relate to it.

Thanks, and Merry Christmas (or your favorite greeting) to all.

another thought to ponder:

How often do those that have had the bulb failure watch their PJ. Do they use it as there always on tv or sometimes tv?

Traditionally, a pj would have only have been built to watch/use for a few hours at a time, maybe this has something to do with it?

Anyway, just an idea..

I was touching up a client's PE7700 last week and noticed that he had 360 hours on his bulb. Because he didn't care about a silent environment (he likes to watch HD sports), I turned on the HIGH ALTITUDE setting when it was installed in October. I don't know if this has made a difference.

kevin, what kind of work do you do?

I was touching up a client's PE7700 last week and noticed that he had 360 hours on his bulb. Because he didn't care about a silent environment (he likes to watch HD sports), I turned on the HIGH ALTITUDE setting when it was installed in October. I don't know if this has made a difference.

Yes ever since I read your post regarding the temp. difference between high and low altitude settings, I've set mine to high altitiude. I mainly watch high action and kids' DVDs, and sports on TV so the setting does not bother me much. I watch 95% movies and 5% TV, and don't have the PJ on for more than 4 hrs. Of course the extended editions of the LOTR trilogy takes care of the 4 hrs, each! :)

No offense, but you didn't do enough research on the PJ if you didn't know about the bulb issue when you bought it.

Thanks for the words of encouragement. But I did the majority of my research on the unit and purchased before the lamp issue showed up... it just took me a while to get the room construction done and actually open the box and start using it.

Which is another sucky thing... purchase date was 9/29 so I hope the period to throw a fit and get money back is not too far out.

Thanks for the words of encouragement. But I did the majority of my research on the unit and purchased before the lamp issue showed up... it just took me a while to get the room construction done and actually open the box and start using it.

Which is another sucky thing... purchase date was 9/29 so I hope the period to throw a fit and get money back is not too far out.
I bought mine in April, and the bulb issue was in full force by May.. Regardless, sorry about your burned bulb.. I currently am sitting on one as well. In fact, I bought a refurbed SP4805 as a temporary PJ (I'll be using it for something else as well so it's not necessarily overkill), but there's definitely a picture quality difference.

Greetings, on the subject of 7700 lamp failures, I just got some numbers from a major online reseller of the PE7700.

As of last Friday, they say they have sold 225 PE7700's since they started shipping in March.

They have sold 17 replacement lamps. A few bought by people with the projectors, the bulk of the rest bought by people's who's lamp failed, but BenQ was out of lamps.

They say several of those lamps were sold to users who did not buy the projector from them, but were desparately looking for lamps.

Seems many people, when their lamp fails and BenQ can't deliver, go out and buy a replacement. Then when BenQ finally ships the replacement for their failed lamp, they keep one of them as a spare.

Unfortunately this still doesn't give a good handle on the % of people suffering from lamp failures, but the dealer indicates that roughly, for every one where they sold a replacement, when the lamp failure was under warranty, they guess they had another customer (50%), who was able to get it immediately from BenQ, or simply waited. They also assume that the vast majority of customers who have a problem, contact them first.

So if we put all of that together, assume that 3 of the 17 they sold were by people who just bought a spare, with the projector purpose, that leaves 14. We'll forget about the fact that not all they sold were to people who bought the projector from them. Doing so, if their guess of 50% is correct, that would work out to 28 lamp failures out of 225 units, or something around 13%.

Purely guesswork, but it probably "is close enough for government work".

Since customers tend to get really upset, when their lamp fails under warranty, and BenQ can't replace it immediately, it is reasonable to assume that the dealer that sold them the projector - ends up hearing from them - loud and clear. So their guesswork should be in the ballpark.

A 13% early failure rate on the lamps, certainly isn't a good record, and most likely due to batches of lamps, but who knows for sure. Of course by now there are others who have had lamp failures after their 90 day, 500 hour warranty period. And they may account for a couple of those lamps that were purchased.

Panasonic has also recently had problems with lamps on their new AE900u, but it seems very slight by comparison, but they too, briefly ran out of lamps. Those with the Toshiba version of the 7700 (MT700) seem to be in even worse shape, as, it seems Toshiba has been dependent on BenQ to supply them will lamps.

Interestingly Sanyo does not quote lamp life on any of their projectors. Speaking with an "engineer" of sorts who works with Sanyo (but not for them), he pointed out that the failure curve for lamps is gradual.

In fact his belief was that for a typical projector rated 2000 hours that perhaps 25% give or take, won't make it to 1000 hours, and a similar amount may last beyond 3000 hours.

He indicated that is why Sanyo won't rate lamp life, just offer the usual 90 day 500 hour warranty. (Although we're starting to see some longer lamp warranties surfacing now.

Summary - BenQ's problem seems to be worse than most, but not a really high percentage of users that are affected, just one that's too high. And with thousands of PE7700's out there, there are plenty of unhappy people, mostly sitting around waitng for a lamp, so they can user their projector again. -art

Thanks for the words of encouragement. But I did the majority of my research on the unit and purchased before the lamp issue showed up... it just took me a while to get the room construction done and actually open the box and start using it.

Which is another sucky thing... purchase date was 9/29 so I hope the period to throw a fit and get money back is not too far out.

It really depends on your dealer as to the time frame. My dealer gave 30 days money back and 90 days for an equal or higher exchange after that you had a used non returnable unit. I bought mine 6 months ago and just hung it on Xmas eve in my HT. I was using it in my living room until construction was done. Mine went through 2 bulbs before I got the last bulb(new design) and it has been doing just fine so far. Both defective bulb were replaced out of the 90 day warranty by BQ at no cost. My dealer said they would replace if BQ did not or were out of stock.

A good dealer is a great thing to have when problems arise. Hopefully your dealer is as good as mine.

Greetings, on the subject of 7700 lamp failures, I just got some numbers from a major online reseller of the PE7700.

As of last Friday, they say they have sold 225 PE7700's since they started shipping in March.

They have sold 17 replacement lamps. A few bought by people with the projectors, the bulk of the rest bought by people's who's lamp failed, but BenQ was out of lamps.

They say several of those lamps were sold to users who did not buy the projector from them, but were desparately looking for lamps.

Seems many people, when their lamp fails and BenQ can't deliver, go out and buy a replacement. Then when BenQ finally ships the replacement for their failed lamp, they keep one of them as a spare.

Unfortunately this still doesn't give a good handle on the % of people suffering from lamp failures, but the dealer indicates that roughly, for every one where they sold a replacement, when the lamp failure was under warranty, they guess they had another customer (50%), who was able to get it immediately from BenQ, or simply waited. They also assume that the vast majority of customers who have a problem, contact them first.

So if we put all of that together, assume that 3 of the 17 they sold were by people who just bought a spare, with the projector purpose, that leaves 14. We'll forget about the fact that not all they sold were to people who bought the projector from them. Doing so, if their guess of 50% is correct, that would work out to 28 lamp failures out of 225 units, or something around 13%.

Purely guesswork, but it probably "is close enough for government work".

Since customers tend to get really upset, when their lamp fails under warranty, and BenQ can't replace it immediately, it is reasonable to assume that the dealer that sold them the projector - ends up hearing from them - loud and clear. So their guesswork should be in the ballpark.

A 13% early failure rate on the lamps, certainly isn't a good record, and most likely due to batches of lamps, but who knows for sure. Of course by now there are others who have had lamp failures after their 90 day, 500 hour warranty period. And they may account for a couple of those lamps that were purchased.

Panasonic has also recently had problems with lamps on their new AE900u, but it seems very slight by comparison, but they too, briefly ran out of lamps. Those with the Toshiba version of the 7700 (MT700) seem to be in even worse shape, as, it seems Toshiba has been dependent on BenQ to supply them will lamps.

Interestingly Sanyo does not quote lamp life on any of their projectors. Speaking with an "engineer" of sorts who works with Sanyo (but not for them), he pointed out that the failure curve for lamps is gradual.

In fact his belief was that for a typical projector rated 2000 hours that perhaps 25% give or take, won't make it to 1000 hours, and a similar amount may last beyond 3000 hours.

He indicated that is why Sanyo won't rate lamp life, just offer the usual 90 day 500 hour warranty. (Although we're starting to see some longer lamp warranties surfacing now.

Summary - BenQ's problem seems to be worse than most, but not a really high percentage of users that are affected, just one that's too high. And with thousands of PE7700's out there, there are plenty of unhappy people, mostly sitting around waitng for a lamp, so they can user their projector again. -art


While i agree the Bulb failure is high. You numbers really dont hold water. talk about speculation built on more speculation.

All those numbers show are the people who ordered lamps for the Pe7700 from dealer you describe. I could speculate that of the approx remaining 200 or so projectors this dealer sold, 100% of them had a lamp failure that was handled by benq directly under warranty, and never had to contact the dealer you mention.

In other words, there is simply not enough truth in those numbers to make a rational case for the bulb failure rate. But we do need some good independant testing on say 20 units to get a decent failure rate.

presenter - I think the numbers in the Time to Die thread are more accurate than your speculations based on dealer speculations. In Time to Die, over 80% of the bulbs burned out in less than 300 hours and very few bulbs have lasted over 700 hours. Those numbers seem to match with the experience of users here.

It used to be that owners would say "What bulb problem? Mine has been going good without blowing up." And then a week or a month later come back as members of the blown bulb club. If you own one of these projectors and haven't had a blown bulb, you soon will. Sorry.

Maybe the new bulb design will fix the problems. The jury is still out on that.

Eric

All of you Benq owners
Other than the obvious bulb problems, Would you recomend this PJ to others? I'm thinking of either getting the Panasonic AE900 or the Benq 7700.
The rebate for both expire in a few days. ($200 Panasonic) (free bulb and mount, Benq 7700) I can get both for about the same price.
Thanks for your input.

I just got my pj after sending to get it fixed for hdmi issues.
I didn't get any sheet that states what was done and after trying to connect my hdmi dvd to the pj, nothing.

All I see is the blank screen with hdmi searching
I don't understand how people on this thread rave about Benq support when you have to wait an hour to talk to anybody and even if they fix it, it usually needs to be fixed again.

I was told they connected my pj to a signal emitter and not to an actual source.
It seems to me to be a hdcp issue and I don't understand how they can say they fixed it without actually testing it without a source machine.

Can anyone post if they have the same issue with the hdmi
I'm so freaking pissed right now.
It took them three weeks to get my pj back to me and without even fixing it.
I'm so pissed

My question was just answered
Thanks! :)

All of you Benq owners
Other than the obvious bulb problems, Would you recomend this PJ to others? I'm thinking of either getting the Panasonic AE900 or the Benq 7700.
The rebate for both expire in a few days. ($200 Panasonic) (free bulb and mount, Benq 7700) I can get both for about the same price.
Thanks for your input.

I could not, in good faith, recommend the PE7700.

I would agree totally. No recommendation for BenQ here. Just the fact that this bulb fiasco continues and BenQ is still running out of replacements tells me they don’t have a handle on things. …and my last phone wait was 55 minutes, not a good sign.

My refurb projector is supposed to come back the first week of January, but I’m not optimistic.

All of you Benq owners
Other than the obvious bulb problems, Would you recomend this PJ to others? I'm thinking of either getting the Panasonic AE900 or the Benq 7700.
The rebate for both expire in a few days. ($200 Panasonic) (free bulb and mount, Benq 7700) I can get both for about the same price.
Thanks for your input.

I am an owner of a pe7700, and have had the bulb issue also. But i would not be too quick to jump on a panny Ae-900. I have seen the Ae-900 in action, at a local dealer, and was not impressed. Although projector central gave it a nice review, as they did the pe-7700, just look at the user reviews on projectorcentral regarding the Ae-900, a vast majority dont think the visual quality is there, and in fact, of those reviewer which previously owned a Ae-700, most though the Ae-700 had a sharper picture, and there is also complaints of fan noise.

So dont be to quick to jump onto the Panny. My Pe7700 looks better in every way.

PS: the HDMI issue seems to vary with the input source, and in regards to HDCP.
I have not had a HDMI issue, and use a HDMI switcher for 2 HDMI sources, without problem. At first i had a poor HDMI cable with casued the Pe7700 to sometimes have trouble locking the source, but this was fixed with a good quality cable.

Now if the new bulbs fix the problem ( we will find out soon im sure). I dont see a reason not to get the Pe-7700, especially at the new price point.

And to speak of service, panasonic is far , far worse, just read a couple reviews off of Projectorcentral, couple this with only a 1 year warranty,and you will see for yourself.

My experience with BenQ customer support today convinced me to turn out their projector light.

Fortunately the vendor from whom I purchased it is VERY aware of the issue and treated me as a vendor realizing a product has a problem should be treated. BRAVO projector.com !

They agreed there was an issue indicating that they were very aware (as a matter of fact I checked on their site a few minutes ago and they have pulled any reference to selling the PE7700... guess they're fed up too). They offered to refund my money on the BenQ and allow me to purchase the Panasonic PT-AE900U in its place, shipped overnight at their expense which will save me about $150 bucks over the original BenQ cost and still get me a replacement bulb for the Pansonic.

Whew... can't wait for Thursday to get the Panasonic and be up and running... oh, if I had stuck with BenQ I would have been waiting through at least Wednesday for them to even think about sending me a replacement bulb. DOWN with BenQ (Don't buy one if you are considering! Try to get your money back and replace it if you already did!)! Up with projector.com

BTW... the BenQ support person I spoke with indicated there were only 1,000 units that had the defective bulb. If they knew that, why didn't they contact those of us that had them to alert us to the problem... BenQ sucks... customer service and their PE7700. Stay away... stay far away!

I guess I'll chime in....

I bought my 7700 in October fully aware of the issues surrounding it. I felt that, at the time, it was the best projector for the money. I have 312 hours on the original bulb.

And at this very moment I am hoping that I don't "jinx" myself.

It's tough to be overtly optimistic. Everyday this thing is running I think "Is this the day the lights go out?" I have this odd fear that that at any moment the "thinkable" could happen. I really, like the image. I really, really like everything about it.

My wife called me today asking about "how to turn it on". She said she could "hear the video but she couldn't see the picture". I was thinking: "That was fun. The ride is over." ANd then I realized that the switch could be set incorrectly. Sure enough "Light Camera Action" All is well. "Well your gonna have to create some kind of manual" she ended.

I was relieved.

But if could do it all over again.... I'd've gotten something else.... I don't know what else.. but something else. And that's too bad. Because this projector does look really good.

Greetings, I'll toss in my 2 cents.

For those concerned about getting the 7700, I'll say that the Panny is certainly comparable. Each has strengths. The Panny's color handling is better, very very few have an LCD alignment probem (that would affect watching enjoyment, or vertical banding. Noise should not be an issue.

The DLP's still have their "film like" qualities, but I'd have to take the Panny, myself. I'm just replacing my aging 8700+ BenQ, almost certainly with the 8720, and I am well aware of BenQ's mess, with lamps, and other service issues, but for most I think the Panny is a better choice. In the case of the 8720 I'm probably getting, it stands apart from other projectors in sharpness, etc., but in a close call, like the 7700 vs 900u, you have to weigh the support aspects. If that number of 1000 units with lamp issues, is accurate, then that's probably about 15-25% of of the units (assuming the 1000 is US units, not world wide), pretty high. Of course if they have solved the problem with new units (I have no info on that), it should allay some fears.

Of course if you have more bucks, consider the Optoma H78DC3, (more than $1000 more than the other two)with darkchip3, or wait a couple weeks, for their HD72 which has been discussed on the forum, which gets shown at CES, and supposedly ships mid month?

Just some thoughts - hope it may help some. -art

Awsome, I am now officially a member of the BenQ-PE7700-Crappy-Bulb club.
I have had the projector for about 5 months with probably < 300 hours on it. It went kaput in the middle of a viewing this evening. I'm not very happy about it, and I'm even less happy about the prospect of trying to shore up a new bulb from what I've read so far.

Phooey I say !

K.

I guess I'll chime in....

But if could do it all over again.... I'd've gotten something else.... I don't know what else.. but something else. And that's too bad. Because this projector does look really good.

I guess I'll chime in also. I bought the PJ in early May, well before the bulb issues came up. I've had 2 bulbs failed, each time promptly replaced by benq within the next 2days. The 3rd one is having a manufacture date of Nov (I was told), so I will see how it goes. And since the bulb issues came up, benq had extended the bulb warranty in this region from 3 months to 1 yr.

I really, really like the picture. Even today, I still cannot find something that's as gd as the 7700 at this price level. I've seen some new LCDs that were released after the Benq, and I do not think they are comparable. Dynamic iris is not magic. You just dun get the snappy look and the intense contrast for bright lights in dark scenes (lots of them in SW, batman, alien, etc). And its short throw lens allows me to do 130" in a small apartment. If I have to buy today, I will still go to benq, simply because at this price point there isn't any other choice for me. With a one year bulb warranty I think I can live with this problem.

With all these bulb complaints, do we have another option that is short throw 720p DLP with high lumens at <$1900 with 3yr warranty and 1yr on lamp ? There isn't anyone else. At least I know I'll be fine for 1 yr. After that I hope Benq finally figure out what's wrong with the design/bulb. In any case I figure I'm going to upgrade anyway.

Awsome, I am now officially a member of the BenQ-PE7700-Crappy-Bulb club.
I have had the projector for about 5 months with probably < 300 hours on it. It went kaput in the middle of a viewing this evening. I'm not very happy about it, and I'm even less happy about the prospect of trying to shore up a new bulb from what I've read so far.

Phooey I say !

K.

Well... let me give you the skinny I got yesterday morning. The most expedited service you can expect until next week (1/4 or 1/5 2006) is the following:
They'll email you a prepaid UPS label with RMA this week. You can send the bulb so it is waiting in the mail when they go back to work on the 4th or 5th. Then it's just a wait in line and see how many are in front of you.

I even called tigerdirect.com who sells the bulbs... but they drop ship them direct through BenQ so same wait even to just order an extra.

If you've been through that many... I'd have a serious talk with a BenQ rep or even try to call the place you purchased yours through about a lemon replacement. Bottom line is you are up a creek till next week.

One thing I would like to see is more of what troutseeker mentioned a few posts back. ...support from forum sponsors.

It seems to me that we can all complain individually to BenQ’s service rep and probably not make much headway. However if we would get some support from the sponsors of this forum who sell the projector then things might improve quickly. I would think they owe us something given that they profited from many of our purchases. Never mind the fact that most continue to knowingly sell a projector with a potential design problem. I called VisualApex after my 3rd bulb blew. They were sympathetic and their tech guy asked me the typical 10 questions about how I used the projector, but basically their advice boiled down to: “Call BenQ”. A quick check of their site shows it’s still for sale and on special.

I personally would like to see all the forum sponsors who sell the PE7700 to stop selling it until this issue is resolved.

I agree. Too bad that will never happen. A dealer will not stop selling a unit as long as it moves and makes them money. As long as we keep buying this Edsel, they will sell it. After all, once their 7 or 14, or 30 days is up, whichever it is, all they have to do is direct us to call BenQ, in a very sympathetic tone, of course. ;)

troutseeker's dealer is obviously an exception to the rule.

eh guys,slighty of subject!the 7700 was my first projector,so i'm a newbie.not much fun to have the 7700 as my first.i'm looking for some advice on a good screen to go with it.i have the draper luma84"X 84" and want to upgrade to a better screen.i want something around 100-110" diangle.i only watch movies-no t.v and am in a almost completly dark space.as i know very little about screens,any help would be greatly appreicated.budget is 800 u.s.

Chainenoble, get a 16:9 (widescreen) screen, also known as 1.78:1. Look at the Carada for a good value. (www.carada.com)

I agree. Too bad that will never happen. A dealer will not stop selling a unit as long as it moves and makes them money. As long as we keep buying this Edsel, they will sell it. After all, once their 7 or 14, or 30 days is up, whichever it is, all they have to do is direct us to call BenQ, in a very sympathetic tone, of course. ;)

troutseeker's dealer is obviously an exception to the rule.


Then my next projector gets ordered from "Projector.com." ...and it won't be a BenQ unless there is a stunning turn around in the way this is being handled!! :cool:

Chainenoble, get a 16:9 (widescreen) screen, also known as 1.78:1. Look at the Carada for a good value. (www.carada.com)

I second that. Consider the Carada "brilliant white" fabric. Their higher end Criterion series are a great value. Craftmanship is outstanding. How big is your room?

After losing my BenQ 7700 lamp on Dec 23 at 11pm in my brand new home theater and going through crap with BenQ about replacing bulb (they closed for inventory on Dec 23 close of business not to receive or ship anything until Jan 4 or 5) my saga appears to finally be over.

Let me stress the great customer service provided by projector.com and sales person Steve Chalkwater. I talked to him on Tuesday Dec 27 at about 2pm. By 9am on Thursday Dec 29 I have a new Panasonic AE900U up and running in my home theater and it ROCKS! And I didn't have to pay but normal shipping to get it.

Thanks projector.com -- those of you doing your research go buy from them and avoid at all costs the BenQ nightmare! Back to my wonder room for more fun!! :D

troutseeker, thanks for the update. :rolleyes:

I've let VisualApex know about your exerience with "Projector.com". I'll be interested to see what their response is.

Unlike you, I'll be on hold January 5th listening to that crappy BenQ song.

Ok folks....I had to see what all the hubbub was about. My projector is fine for now, albeit i have sub 100 hours on it. However, I just had to call BenQ and get some answers. After reading these posts, I am just waiting for mine to burn out. The tech on the phone stated "the filament cage within the bulb was manufactured to thin" and no matter when my bulb burned out if it burned out before 500 hours, they would be more than happy to replace it...He was very very adimant that they would replace that bulb no matter what. I must tell you I was on hold for less than 5 minutes and yes the music is GOD AWEFULL, but the tech was quite nice and very reassuring. I called at 7:56pm today and the call lasted all of 4 minutes and 11 seconds. that seems pretty good to me. well i hope mine does not burn out, but we will see. I honestly think it is ok to purchase a PE7700 and I would do it again if I had to. The price point was great, the features awesome, and the picture is GREAT. anyhow, I wish you all well with your projectors.

Chainenoble, get a 16:9 (widescreen) screen, also known as 1.78:1. Look at the Carada for a good value. (www.carada.com)

I third this recommendation. I have their 114" 1.78:1 BW Precision series...awesome value and great screen. I considered the Criterion series but didnt want to spend the extra dough for the frame appearance and do not regret it.

Jim

Well, i recevied my replacement bulb ok, and they got my return bulb (the broken one) on Dec 22. The only problem now, is that they havnt refunded my credit card for the express RMA service. I was told once they received the old bulb, i would be credited. But after several attempts and promises , it has still not been done. I let them know that i dont want it on my VISA bill pasted Jan 1, 2006 since i will be charged interest on the billing charge.

Well if its not reversed by this afternoon, im just gonna phone visa, and reverse the charge my self. $400 US ($480 canadian ) in my case, is nothing to sneeze at, especially at X-mas.

benq id like my money back please, for the bulb that was under warranty for Pete's sake.

Word to my fellow benq owners, Dont every give them a credit card for express warrant cross ship service. It takes the same amount of time as there regular service, and they dont sit on your money for 3 week.

Needless to say, Not happy, once again.

I have three problems with my unit -

1 - There is a rim of blackish-purple light about 3'' outside my screen.
2 - Projector occassionally makes popping noises and the fan noise fluctuates.
3 - When the PJ is displaying a white image (clouds, or the black screen) I can see clearly define boxes that are about 3''x3''. They are hard to describe but essentially it appears that there is a border around the boxes, but the border is white light that slightly brighter than the inside of the box - does that make sense?

Your thoughts? Thanks in advance guys.

PS - I just cleaned the dust filter and the bulb was replaced about 50 hours ago.

I have three problems with my unit -

1 - There is a rim of blackish-purple light about 3'' outside my screen.
2 - Projector occassionally makes popping noises and the fan noise fluctuates.
3 - When the PJ is displaying a white image (clouds, or the black screen) I can see clearly define boxes that are about 3''x3''. They are hard to describe but essentially it appears that there is a border around the boxes, but the border is white light that slightly brighter than the inside of the box - does that make sense?

Your thoughts? Thanks in advance guys.

PS - I just cleaned the dust filter and the bulb was replaced about 50 hours ago.


Sounds like your 3rd problem might be Macro Blocking, it happens with a Faroudja or some other deinterlacer . And in how it deals with compression on a dvd or from a Sat recevier. it bascially sharpens the edges of compression artifacts and makes sections of the image look digitized. like tiles which fluctuate position, and flicker on and off. But funny you see it in white images, Macro blocking usually appears in dark sections of an image.

Is this what you see. Lowering the projector contrast and brightness will help this alot sometimes. Your pe-7700 should have a brightness between -3 and -5 , no higher than that..

No, it is not macroblocking - because it appears even when on the blank screen, when it is searching for a signal. I wish there was an ND1.5 filter, cause I'm at 22 ftLs... and I want to hit 14.

Any other thoughts?

MASS MAILING !!!!! (If you have the time to post here-you have the time to write a letter)

I think it is important to let everyone know that they need to notify (in writing) BenQ and Toshiba of the problems you (and I) are having PRIOR to the end of the warranty period. This will put them on notice that this IS and will continue to be a warranty issue after the warranty has expired. These notices will serve as proof that we are aware of a problem with our units while under warranty and that the Companies will not be able to simply wash their hands of the issue after the warranty period ends. It also may entice them to issue a recall or provide some other recourse.

MASS MAILING !!!!! (If you have the time to post here-you have the time to write a letter)

I think it is important to let everyone know that they need to notify (in writing) BenQ and Toshiba of the problems you (and I) are having PRIOR to the end of the warranty period. This will put them on notice that this IS and will continue to be a warranty issue after the warranty has expired. These notices will serve as proof that we are aware of a problem with our units while under warranty and that the Companies will not be able to simply wash their hands of the issue after the warranty period ends. It also may entice them to issue a recall or provide some other recourse.


If someone could provide and address and contact person in some position of authority, that letters could be mailed, im sure alot of use here would be happy to inform Benq of our problem in writing.

I agree that if bulbs issued in the last month, do not last more than 100-300 hours, a recall on this unit should be demanded, don't you guys.

They should last in excess of 1000 hours.

Just a quick up date on my new bulb (the new design) I replaced it back in November and just got my HT finished on XMAS eve, so I had low hours. My kids are home from college and high school and have been given the projector a GD WORK OUT FOR SURE. I would be lying if i said I was not nervous.

I am now up to 120 hours over 80 since the vacation started, vary long sessions to 4 and 5am in the morning, 12 hours in one session, and then theirs my daughter and her 9th grade friends starting and stopping most movies 5 times in a 4 hour time frame.The girls pop in and out of the house like yo yo's sheeeeese girls!!

If this bulb survives this Xmas break with my 3 kids and the whole darn neighborhood of children, I will consider un crossing my fingers and stop knocking on wood for a little while. LOL!!!!

Have a great holiday :)

PS: the picture is drop dead beautiful

So are you guys suggesting that I just talk to BenQ then?

just a quick question for you all. i had this projector picked out for my HT project but all these bulb issues are making me second guess my choice. I won't be ready to purchase the projector for another 1-3 months. If i get a brand new one in this time will the bulb issue still exist or do they have the issue fixed in the newer projectors? and if they don't have it fixed what other DLP projectors are out there come close to this ones price/performance ratio?

I feel for you guys having all the bulb issues. They are documenting the "new" design bulb failures on the lamp failure post. Those who are asking about still buying this projector in light of it all??? Why would you put yourself through that?
I read posts here for half a year and drooled over this projector until it was time to buy a few weeks ago, just when we started to hear that the new bulbs were starting to fail. That was the last straw, just in time, I ordered my second choice, an LCD projector (Sanyo Z3) for a steal of a price. Yes I wanted DLP but not one that would fail every 3-5 months. And I'm not paying an extra $1500 to get a higher end DLP than the 7700. The Z3 has the same specs as the 7700 and a lot more inputs. It has a sweet picture and what about black levels? They are great. In a total light controlled room they are great. You do have to stay at proper distances so you don't see SDE. I have to stay at 12' from a 90" screen. HD NFL and DVDs look awesome. I came so close to getting the 7700 and am extremely happy I didn't.

Just a note to those who are still considering this projector. Don't hope you will have good luck with it, you will kick yourself later. Just my advice.

Blackangle Benq has worked hard to solve the bulb problem but until a lot of us get a lot of hours on the new design it's still an unknown. My advice is not to purchase any pj until your are ready. Most of the good dealers are only 2 days shipping anyway!!!! Last go around LCD released all their new panels ect and have had couple of good months stacking their new stuff up against the older DLP's out hear. AS with most cycles, it now DLP's turn, a lot of new stuff is almost hear and you have a little time anyway, so waiting could be rewarded.

The new stuff usually drives down the price of the old so if you deside the new is just not that much better for the price, you are as a consummer are in win win . Their you have my advice, work on the room and make your descension at the last moment :)

I have three problems with my unit -

1 - There is a rim of blackish-purple light about 3'' outside my screen.
2 - Projector occassionally makes popping noises and the fan noise fluctuates.
3 - When the PJ is displaying a white image (clouds, or the black screen) I can see clearly define boxes that are about 3''x3''. They are hard to describe but essentially it appears that there is a border around the boxes, but the border is white light that slightly brighter than the inside of the box - does that make sense?


This isn't a bulb failure, so you haven't gotten much conversation :p .

On #1, I get some light spill from my pj, though it appears to be the color of the wall. I wouldn't be too worried about this functionally unless it's very irritating to you in operation.

On #2 I've not heard any popping sounds whatsoever on my MT700 (PE7700 sold by Toshiba). Fan speed does fluctuate a bit based on heat of the room, but nothing dramatic on my unit. Hearing popping would concern me a bit.

I've never heard of anything like #3 happening on a no input signal. Can you see it in video?

On any of these you have to decide whether the problem is worse than losing the projector for who knows how long while Benq fixes it. And running the risk of Benq sending it back with the problems not fixed. If these do develop into something more serious then you still have the rest of your three year warranty to take care of them. Not to mention that there could be a ballast replacement, etc. in our future that might force you to send it in anyway (pure speculation on my part_).

Call your dealer, if it's past your dealers return time frame send it in to BQ to be fixed. Popping noise is not right, the blocking in the white areas and if no signal is present not normal, and needs to be fixed, the light spill is also less of a problem but not normal. Any of the three would be a reason to have it fixed.

This one is easy send it back. Who was the dealer? is it New? Used?

I bought it from Jason at AVScience.

I'm looking for some suggestions for settings on this projector. I have only been using the presets, and changing it up a little based from time to time to see how I like it. But I still have trouble with most TV broadcasts, even in HD. For instance Lost will come in so dark. Changing contrast or brightness only seems to make things glow in the dark so to speak. I know the settings may differ per screen, but I could really use some help on where to get started. It can be really annoying to tune to a regular HBO movie and have it so dark you really can't pick up much detail, while when I watch a DVD or HD sports the picture will be amazing. Btw, my lamp just died too so I will be calling them tomorrow about a replacement. I think I have under 100 hours on it.

Maybe people have lost interest in the PE7700. Just an update on my issues. On Dec 9, BenQ charged my credit card $2499 and sent me a refurbished projector to swap out mine which had a second burned out bulb. I got it in a few days and it works fine, although the bulb had 235 hours on it already.

I shipped mine back to them on Dec 15 and they received it before Christmas. Well, as of this date, I still do not have a credit back on my credit card. Incredible... over a month with this charge just to do a swap. Emailing their customer service rep does get a response, but still nothing gets done. They said their warehouse was closed over much of the holidays.

If the PQ on this projector weren't so good, I would really be pissed. Now I am just incredibly annoyed with their rather poor service.

Just call your CC company and have them do the legwork for you. They make enough in interest and fees, so they should do something to earn it, and it seems to get the merchant's attention better than dealing with them yourself.

I finally did the same when I returned my PE7700 to TV Authority. They kept promising the refund, but literally weeks passed, and nothing happened. I wasn't exactly worried that I wouldn't get it eventually, but I grew tired of them sitting on my money (debit card). Low and behold, they processed my refund the next business day after my CC company got involved. Coincidence???

Getting your CC involved isn't any way implying that BenQ are crooks. Even my card rep offered that sometimes merchants "just need a little nudge."

Just call your CC company
Already did that and filed a dispute.

Hi guys..

I got something interesting happening..About a month ago we were watching a movie and it seemed like all the actors where wearing those clear braces and we were kind of perplexed. Well we were watching another movie and it seemed the same way. Its like the actors' teeth are displayed with what appears to be some sort of distortion or line or something..Anyone else see this?

Maybe people have lost interest in the PE7700. Just an update on my issues. On Dec 9, BenQ charged my credit card $2499 and sent me a refurbished projector to swap out mine which had a second burned out bulb. I got it in a few days and it works fine, although the bulb had 235 hours on it already.

I shipped mine back to them on Dec 15 and they received it before Christmas. Well, as of this date, I still do not have a credit back on my credit card. Incredible... over a month with this charge just to do a swap. Emailing their customer service rep does get a response, but still nothing gets done. They said their warehouse was closed over much of the holidays.

If the PQ on this projector weren't so good, I would really be pissed. Now I am just incredibly annoyed with their rather poor service.


I am in a similar situation as you, although its for an express RMA on a bulb, $400 USD, so that i could get a new bulb without shipping the old one back first. Well they have had my old bulb returned for approx 1 month now. Tracked and confirmed. Several promises to refund my card, has still not yielded results. In the end i had to phone my credit card company and issue a chargeback, on their advise after stating my case.

I too would not call them scammers, just and incredible unorganized company. who must be too busy putting out fires with warranty and defect problems, than properly service there customers. I personally think this company may be in trouble, or due for some reorganziation.

Has anyone else experienced this problem?

I just got a refurb unit back from BenQ a week ago.(June MFG date and July software date.) Over the holidays I purchased a Sony NS70 up-converting DVD player. I have it connected over HDMI. The problem is no matter what I set the output to on the DVD player (480p, 720p, 1080i) I only get 480p at the projector. (…or actually 525p) Also, I've tried about 3 different cables with no effect.

Has anyone out had any luck with the Sony or any other up-converting player and the PE7700. I’ve searched the NS70 thread but don’t see a solution. Actually one other guy had a similar problem with another BenQ projector model and the NS70.

Anyone now how these players decide what resolution they can output?

I have the PE7700 set up with a Panasonic S97 upconverting dvd player, and have had no problems at all. I am able to set the player to 480p, 720p, 1080i, and the PE7700 accepts them all. I also have a Momitsu upconverter, and it too has presented no problems.
Steve

No problems at all with a Panny S77 upconverting DVD player or with my HD Tivo. Works fine at all resolutions.

BTW, BenQ finally credited my account for the $2499 yesterday.

Some of these DVD players probably use the EDID info to gather a list of supported resolutions. At least on my MT700 the EDID is completely screwed up when I connect my pj to my computer via HDMI. I'd guess that the NS70 uses EDID. Assuming this is the issue the Gefen DVI Detective should fix it, but you'd probably be better off switching to a different upconverting player (the Oppo is tops in the Home Theater Secrets benchmark testing).

I have the Oppo and the Toshiba mt-700 and the picture is awsome out of the box!!!

Hi guys..

I got something interesting happening..About a month ago we were watching a movie and it seemed like all the actors where wearing those clear braces and we were kind of perplexed. Well we were watching another movie and it seemed the same way. Its like the actors' teeth are displayed with what appears to be some sort of distortion or line or something..Anyone else see this?

What type of screen are you using?

What type of screen are you using?

No screen at the moment...We were so impressed by the picture on the wall and had already shelled out more than 5k on the room, figured with small children in the house, with a picture like that, who needs a screen and we will wait to later to get it.

You may want to consider an Optoma Graywolf screen when the time comes. <$150 for a 92" diagonal and viewing with any light is much improved. Mine was a night and day difference from matte white.

I'm going to speculate that the strange looking teeth were caused by your screen (or, in your case, a wall being used as a screen). The next time you see this, try pausing the picture and holding up a plain piece of white paper where the teeth are to see if that makes the projected image now look normal.

Another possibility is the DVD player's processing adding that artifact. I agree with NMJack though, that using some plain paper would be a good idea to see if that's the case. My personal opinion/guess is that it's something in the video processing somewhere, though.

Good call on the plain paper NMjack to check for a screen problem. I had a problem with the Oppo DVD player 6 months ago with a clear line around some objects in a DVD movie. They called it shimmer, I called it just plain strange. A firmware update got rid of it. If its still on the paper start looking at the source player.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v108/checklst/PICT0032.jpg

Hear is a shot of my bright white screen sense you were talking screens, I'll shot some more soon as I find my tripod. Their are 24 lights on in my HT room, dimmed at 75% of full.

Keeping my fingers crossed as I am at 171 hours on the new bulb. :)

Checklst,

Nice home theater! How big is your screen and what kind?
Looks like you have some nice tall ceilings.

Checklst,

Nice home theater! How big is your screen and what kind?
Looks like you have some nice tall ceilings.

The original drop ceilings was at 7', I now have 8 1/2" and 7 1/2 at the bottom of the bulk heads. The screen is a 110" diag painted bright white on drywall. A couple of coats of kiltz primer and 2 coats of a color from Ralph Loren called Tackroom White it a pure white Glidden base with a drop of blue and a drop of amherst.

It is a vary bright white and a good color to start with as my "control color." I will be experimenting over the next few weeks with some high pigment load artist white with some white pearl and gray pearl. I will vary the hardness and thin this heavy pigment load paint with a Matt medium. The medium will determine the hardness and sheen I will get. I will even throw in the popular silver screen and UPW just for fun. I have five 1 ft strips of parkland plastic for my base material. That will give me 10 different paints if I want, but my gut tells me it will be hard to improve on my screen already, but it will be fun anyway.

Maybe just for grins I should order up some test samples from Goo and Da-lite Ummmmmmm!!!!! maybe I should. I have been on hold because I just can't seem to find my old light meter in the attic, sure would be nice to take some readings just to see how much light they reflect. :)

Now if I just could get my wife to give up on that white ceiling I would have the perfect HT,well for me anyway hear is a shot of the back of the room and paint I chose for the walls another RL color, I am vary happy with how the seating platform turned out, I floted it off the carpet 1 1/2 inch and add rope light under it the effect is great with the lights out. It took me 6 months to build, I did everything myself except the drywall ceiling mudd and carpet, hired some younger guys for that. I now have 3 more seats in front of the row in these pict.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v108/checklst/PICT0039.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v108/checklst/PICT0038.jpg

Here is something a little off topic.

I have a BenQ PE-7800, and while it has performed OK. BenQ has really come through in helping me solve my problem, NOT!

I actually found a source for the fan, and it cost me $30 SHIPPED OVERNIGHT to my house.

Way to go BenQ, You really suck!

Mattammo

START AT THE BOTTOM!


Here is your RMA# A6000789, you will need to write this on the outside of the box and ship it to
BenQ America Corp.
53 Discovery
Irvine CA 92618

Thank You,
Lisa



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Matt Amundsen [mailto:mattammo@comcast.net]
Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 4:43 PM
To: Lisa Sierra
Subject: RE: Fan Replacement for PE-7800


Lisa,

I have filled out the form, and attached it to this email.

Do I still need to fax it?

It stated that the serial number would be 24 digits, and mine was only like 18 or something like that????

Please let me know the RMA# as soon as possible, I am really hopeful to have it back quickly.

Thanks,

Matt Amundsen
-----Original Message-----
From: Lisa Sierra [mailto:Lisa.Sierra@BenQ.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 10:47 AM
To: mattammo@comcast.net
Subject: RE: Fan Replacement for PE-7800


Dear Matt,

Here is the form to fill out in looking in my e-mails I do not see one with any photos attached. You can fill out the form or forward me all your shipping information phone number and serial number. So I can get this going for you.

Thank You,
Lisa



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: mattammo@comcast.net [mailto:mattammo@comcast.net]
Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 9:00 AM
To: Lisa Sierra
Subject: RE: Fan Replacement for PE-7800


Lisa,



I guess you guys have got me. I will ship the unit back to you.



Will you please issue me an RMA for Irvine as it is closer to my home.



I assume you will need my serial number, which you should be able to get off the photo in the earlier email. I am at work now, and do not have access to my projector right now.



I would like to get this done as quickly as possible, as I hope to have it back in time for the Superbowl.



Thanks for all your help,



Matt


-------------- Original message --------------
From: "Lisa Sierra" <Lisa.Sierra@BenQ.com>

Dear Matt,

It is very clear like I explained, we do not sell parts but only to authorized BenQ repair centers. We have two centers in the US, Irvine or New Jersey. You send it in we repair it and charge you for it. There is nothing more to it. If you want me to assist you with issuing an out of warranty repair I can do this.

Thank You,
Lisa Sierra



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Matt Amundsen [mailto:mattammo@comcast.net]
Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2006 7:59 PM
To: Lisa Sierra
Cc: Sai Tang
Subject: RE: Fan Replacement for PE-7800



Lisa,


So now I am really confused????????

I CAN"T pay you for the part...................BUT I CAN PAY YOU FOR THE REPAIRS IF, AND ONLY IF, I SHIP MY UNIT IN????????

You have got be kidding me, I have admitted that my projector is out of warranty because I have opened the case, it has been used in a harsh environment, and it has been used for a lot of hours.

I know EXACTLY what is wrong with it and I know EXACTLY what is needed to fix it.

ALL I WANT TO DO IS BUY A PART THAT IS HELD IN BY 2 (YES 2!) SCREWS, AND A SINGLE PLUG CONNECTOR.

If I can pay you for the service, WHY CAN I NOT PAY YOU FOR THE PART????????

Please explain this to me, as I am really confused about BenQ does business.

Thanks,

Matt







-----Original Message-----
From: Lisa Sierra [mailto:Lisa.Sierra@BenQ.com]
Sent: Monday, January 09, 2006 6:18 PM
To: Matt Amundsen
Subject: RE: Fan Replacement for PE-7800


We have our center here in California and in New Jersey, you would still need to have an RMA# issued through us and what would happen is the unit would come in and they would call you with an estimate as to the cost of the repairs.

Thank You,
Lisa



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Matt Amundsen [mailto:mattammo@comcast.net]
Sent: Monday, January 09, 2006 4:56 PM
To: Lisa Sierra
Subject: RE: Fan Replacement for PE-7800



Great Lisa,

Would you kindly send me a list of authorized repair centers in Washington State?

Matt


-----Original Message-----
From: Lisa Sierra [mailto:Lisa.Sierra@BenQ.com]
Sent: Monday, January 09, 2006 11:11 AM
To: Matt Amundsen
Subject: RE: Fan Replacement for PE-7800


Dear Matt,


I am so sorry I just got my response a while ago. I should have updated you on Friday I am sorry.
We only sell replacement parts to authorized BenQ repair centers.Here is the e-mail address of my supervisor, Sai.Tang@Benq.com. I am sorry I was unable to help you.

Thank You,
Lisa



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Matt Amundsen [mailto:mattammo@comcast.net]
Sent: Monday, January 09, 2006 6:17 AM
To: Lisa Sierra
Subject: RE: Fan Replacement for PE-7800



Good Morning Lisa,

After watching NFL playoffs this weekend on my 20" TV it made me realize how much I miss my projector. I am wondering if their is someone else (supervisor, manager, etc) that I can email directly to get this situation remedied. I am going to be hosting a Superbowl Party for about 25 people, and am now concerned that my projector will not be up and running. My first email was sent on December 28th, and while you have been very responsive to my emails I still do not have an answer on January 9th. (13 days)

I am not asking BenQ to absorb any cost for repair on this. I have no desire to ship my unit off for service when I can solve the issue my self in about 10 minutes time. All I want is to be able to buy the part to fix my machine, and I can even get anyone to tell me how or where to get the part.

I upgrade my projector every 2 years, which means that in about 9 months when I start looking again BenQ units are probably not even going to be on my list for potential replacements. If I can get this situation remedied in the near future it definitely will change my mind.

Please get me a number, email, contact address, etc. so I can get this part ordered and get my machine fixed.

Thank You,

Matt Amundsen

PS: I have attached photos of my box label and the actual blower fan.

-----Original Message-----
From: Lisa Sierra [mailto:Lisa.Sierra@BenQ.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2006 8:12 AM
To: Matt Amundsen
Subject: RE: Fan Replacement for PE-7800


Hello Matt,

No one has got back to me yet I will try to ask someone else.

Lisa



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Matt Amundsen [mailto:mattammo@comcast.net]
Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2006 6:43 AM
To: Lisa Sierra
Subject: RE: Fan Replacement for PE-7800



Lisa,

Just wanted to check and see if there has been any progress on finding the fan? The superbowl is coming up soon, and I was hoping to get it up and running.

Thanks,

Matt Amundsen
-----Original Message-----
From: Lisa Sierra [mailto:Lisa.Sierra@BenQ.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2005 12:58 PM
To: Matt Amundsen
Subject: RE: Fan Replacement for PE-7800


No problem I will still ask for you and I also want to let you know that the number you are calling949-255-9571 is our former supervisor, he nolonger works here. I will check on this for you though.

Lisa



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Matt Amundsen [mailto:mattammo@comcast.net]
Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2005 12:30 PM
To: Lisa Sierra
Subject: RE: Fan Replacement for PE-7800



Lisa,

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. Even if the unit under warranty, I feel it would unreasonable for me expect BenQ to repair it. It has been in use in an environment that is less than sterile. .

I actually was given the phone number (949) 255-9571 by Jason T. at AV Science as a possible source for parts, but I have only gotten voice mail.

I have no problem paying for the parts, and shipping the unit seems needless as there never has been any thing ever wrong with it other than this. It requires the removal of about 6 screws in order to replace the fan unit.

I will continue to call the number I got, but if you would keep your crew on it also I would appreciate it.

Matt Amundsen
-----Original Message-----
From: Lisa Sierra [mailto:Lisa.Sierra@BenQ.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2005 10:35 AM
To: Matt Amundsen
Subject: RE: Fan Replacement for PE-7800


I will send this request to our service center and to an engineer to see who can help with this. Are you positive the unit is out of warranty? When purchased brand new the units hold a 3 year parts and labor warranty.
Thank You,
Lisa



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Matt Amundsen
Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2005 6:16 PM
To: Lisa Sierra
Subject: Fan Replacement for PE-7800



Hi Lisa,

I know that you have been getting a ton of emails from customers about the 7700 lamp issue. I thought maybe I would change it up for.

I have a PE-7800, it has about 5,000 or so hours on it in a less than sterile environment. Today I turned it on and one of the fans made a real racket. I turned it off right away, and since it out of warranty pulled the case off and found the fan that blows on the lamp it self is toast. It has a bunch of build up on it, and has toasted a bearing.

I started making calls and sending emails in an effort to find the part to fix, and have found that this is to no avail.

My question for you is...... Where can I get a replacement part for my unit? I don't mind paying for it, I just don't want to ship the projector off and pay hundreds in labor on something I can fix in 15 minutes by myself.

Can you please just tell me where I can order one?? PLEASE! PRETTY PLEASE!

Here are the specs on the fan:

NMB/Minebea Model # BM5115-04W-B49

There is also a small white number stenciled on it: 7033462 (maybe a BenQ number?)

Any help would sure be appreciated,

Matt Amundsen

Other than the delay in responding to you a few times, I don't see what the big deal is. It doesn't seem uncommon to me to only have parts available at repair centers. The important thing is that you're able to get it fixed, and $30 doesn't seem too bad..

I also don't see what the big deal is. Moreover, no need to hijack this thread.

Dennismilehi,

How long did it take to get your refund from the date that BenQ received your broken PJ?
I'm asking because I just recently hot swapped mine and I really don't want to have to wait months before they refund my money.

Anyone know what style power plug is on the PE7700? I had an outlet put in my ceiling next to my projector, so I'm looking for a 2 foot power cord. I just don't know what style plug I would need to fit into my PE7700. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Steve

This is one good thing about this benq model. it uses a standard Computer or audio/video Amp power plug, finding a 1, 2 or 3 footer should not be a problem.

Well lost my second bulb today right in the middle of the early game :mad: . Got probrably less than 200 hours out of this one, which is supposedly one of the new fixed ones. going to miss watching the rest of the games this weekend on my big screen.

I bought it from one of the sponsors and they sent me a replacement very quickly last time. Hopefully they will do this again.

I am also going to see if they will just rma it and let me upgrade to the Optoma H79 and I will pay the difference. I really love the picture of this unit, but the bulb issue is starting to get a little old. :confused:

rcoe, too bad about the lamp. My 2nd lamp died tonight as well (mt700) after about 100 hours. I received mine in the middle of October. I don't think it was the "new" variety. When did you get yours?

rcoe, too bad about the lamp. My 2nd lamp died tonight as well (mt700) after about 100 hours. I received mine in the middle of October. I don't think it was the "new" variety. When did you get yours?

I got my second one sometime in Oct. or early Nov. and was told it was of the new and improved variety. But who knows.

I am now just hoping the dealer I got it from will take another chunk of cash from me and let me upgrade to the H79. I am sure BenQ knows the kind of heat the dealers are taking and has provided some sort of return policy for them.

I got my second one sometime in Oct. or early Nov. and was told it was of the new and improved variety. But who knows.

I am now just hoping the dealer I got it from will take another chunk of cash from me and let me upgrade to the H79. I am sure BenQ knows the kind of heat the dealers are taking and has provided some sort of return policy for them.

benq does not have a return policy for the resellers, i Talked to mine last week, and he is a large reseller. I understand how you feel, but expecting your dealer to take back your unit, and you to pay the difference to an upgraded unit. isnt going to sound to attractive to your dealer. (He is gonna lose a chunck of cash, not gain it) he will most certainly lose money, not come out of it better, as you suggest.

This is the reason why most of us are all stuck here talking to Benq techsupport. and not our dealler. There hands are tied. And if he does return it, its not because Benq allowed him to get a refund.

Im know this is a forum, but when people say "Im sure they allow this" ,and "They have provided a return policy to resellers" , is pure speculation, and untrue.


If Benq allowed this, it would certainly be for the end user also, and we all know what we get for a our efforts. A new crappy bulb, or worse, a credit card charged to the tune of $2500, and a refurb projector thats supposed to make us happy.



A major electronics company like Panasonic, or Sony would have certainly issued a recall if this was thier product.

rcoe, too bad about the lamp. My 2nd lamp died tonight as well (mt700) after about 100 hours. I received mine in the middle of October. I don't think it was the "new" variety. When did you get yours?

I just checked my 2nd lamp, and unfortunately it was of the new variety -- definately has the spliced filament.

I justed created a new thread with a poll for the newly designed replacement lamps.

benq does not have a return policy for the resellers, i Talked to mine last week, and he is a large reseller. I understand how you feel, but expecting your dealer to take back your unit, and you to pay the difference to an upgraded unit. isnt going to sound to attractive to your dealer. (He is gonna lose a chunck of cash, not gain it) he will most certainly lose money, not come out of it better, as you suggest.

This is the reason why most of us are all stuck here talking to Benq techsupport. and not our dealler. There hands are tied. And if he does return it, its not because Benq allowed him to get a refund.

Im know this is a forum, but when people say "Im sure they allow this" ,and "They have provided a return policy to resellers" , is pure speculation, and untrue.


If Benq allowed this, it would certainly be for the end user also, and we all know what we get for a our efforts. A new crappy bulb, or worse, a credit card charged to the tune of $2500, and a refurb projector thats supposed to make us happy.



A major electronics company like Panasonic, or Sony would have certainly issued a recall if this was thier product.


Most of what you have said is speculation and the typical negative response that is all too common on these forums.

There are some dealers out there that DO value their customers not all companies are evil or out to screw people over. The last time my bulb went I had a new one from my dealer the next day with just one short phone call. I am not sure if they will do the exchange for me and I would not expect them to if they are going to lose money. If they just send me a replacement bulb I will be happy, but they might like the idea of getting another couple grand out of me.

Saying other large manufacturer's would have done better or had a recall is also not true. I also have a Sony Grand Wega RP LCD which were know to have bulb issues very similar to the BenQ, this was very well know but there was never a recall of any kind. My bulb went out after 8 months, I made 1 call to Sony, faxed them a copy of my receipt and they next day aired out a new bulb.

Retailers have different options of how they handle things, I am just giving them another way to maybe turn a small profit and keep a customer happy.

It is disheartning to hear of the bulb failures on this projector. It really throws a nice image up there! I bought my 7700 in Sept, with a August build date and last night pushed to over 411 hours on the original bulb. I am using a power conditioner, don't know if that is helping things or not. Time will tell if I have the downtime some of you fellow AVS'ers have had! Blasst

Toshiba is a "major" electronics company, and they won't even admit there is a problem. This whole situation is unbelievably sad. These companies can certainly afford to make these problems go away. Doing less is simply unethical.

Most of what you have said is speculation and the typical negative response that is all too common on these forums.

There are some dealers out there that DO value their customers not all companies are evil or out to screw people over. The last time my bulb went I had a new one from my dealer the next day with just one short phone call. I am not sure if they will do the exchange for me and I would not expect them to if they are going to lose money. If they just send me a replacement bulb I will be happy, but they might like the idea of getting another couple grand out of me.

Saying other large manufacturer's would have done better or had a recall is also not true. I also have a Sony Grand Wega RP LCD which were know to have bulb issues very similar to the BenQ, this was very well know but there was never a recall of any kind. My bulb went out after 8 months, I made 1 call to Sony, faxed them a copy of my receipt and they next day aired out a new bulb.

Retailers have different options of how they handle things, I am just giving them another way to maybe turn a small profit and keep a customer happy.

I apologize, and am of course frusterated with this whole bulb and Benq service problem as you are. All i was saying is the resseller is in the same boat we are (not that they are evil), and any policy the reseller has with thier customers is going to be unique with each re-seller. As apposed to the relationship they all must have with Benq. If they were offered refunds for theses units from benq, im sure most people who have bought from these resellers would be contacted or offered exhanges or refunds also. And this of course is not the case. these resellers are doing what each of there customer service guidelines allow them. Units are repaired or replaced by Benq. The reseller may wish to be a middleman, or chose not to. But they are certainly dont have the power to exchange your unit, and in turn get refunded by benq. They will simply get the unit repaired, or refurbished, and then turn it around and sell it to another customer, or sell it as refurbished at a discounted price. Benq is not shoving cash in the hands of resellers.!!

Facts are facts, many here (in this forum) have a tough experience with Benq techsupport. Long waits, delays, promises and credit card charges which take weeks to refund. These are true stories, just read back a few pages and see.

Being realistic as to what is actually happening, is not being Negative. Assuming and hoping as to what you want to happen is being speculative.

PS: not alot of mention at CES this year regarding benq and any new projectors, but plenty of news on the new Infocus,Sanyo, and Sharp units. Makes you wonder if Benq is pulling back a bit in the new projector market since they already have a good foothold in the Pc , and lcd display market already.

Toshiba is a "major" electronics company, and they won't even admit there is a problem. This whole situation is unbelievably sad. These companies can certainly afford to make these problems go away. Doing less is simply unethical.
Considering they have 81% the revenue of Sony, I'd say they're a major electronics company as well.

It is disheartning to hear of the bulb failures on this projector. It really throws a nice image up there! I bought my 7700 in Sept, with a August build date and last night pushed to over 411 hours on the original bulb. I am using a power conditioner, don't know if that is helping things or not. Time will tell if I have the downtime some of you fellow AVS'ers have had! Blasst

I'm up over 400 hrs on my 7700 and it has a build date of Sept 05

Well my second bulb went. When my original went I got an RMA from Benq and a new bulb sent. I have no idea if it was the new design or not. Both bulbs had the same symptoms before they went. The picture would flicker a lot. On the second bulb that went the brightness suddenly went noticibly dimmer, and stayed like that for about 2 weeks before the bulb went. On the second bulb I could see where the glass surrounding the filiment was split in half. On my first bulb, there was nothing wrong that you could actually see.

Tuesday I'll try to see if I can get an RMA for it. This is very frustrating especially when I have no idea what to expect on a 3rd bulb.

By the way, how do the manufacturers know how many hours a bulb had on it before it died so they know if it is covered under warranty?

Mash if you can't see a large wire running along the side the inside bulb housing, it's probably not the new design.

I am up to 176 hours now on the new designed and always had great service from Benq and my dealer. The were up front with the problem and always shipped my bulbs and 7700 second day air. I never went the credit card charge route because the 2 day air to them was quick enough, and only slows it down that 2 days, sometimes a little extra wait is just keeps it simpler.

Darn glat to hear someone has 400, makes me feel a little better. :)

The only wires inside are the two that connect the power to the bulb. So they sent me the old design as the replacement??

Benq was good about replacing the first one no questions asked. I'll find out soon how well they back up the second.

The only wires inside are the two that connect the power to the bulb. So they sent me the old design as the replacement??

Benq was good about replacing the first one no questions asked. I'll find out soon how well they back up the second.

Does one of the wires have a small square shaped piece of metal attached to it?

Dennismilehi,

How long did it take to get your refund from the date that BenQ received your broken PJ?
I'm asking because I just recently hot swapped mine and I really don't want to have to wait months before they refund my money.
They charged my account on December 9. I sent the projector to them on December 15. Refund was posted on January 12... after a few emails complaining.

They told me the delay was the fact that their warehouse was closed many days over the holidays. Hopefully, your turnaround should be quicker.

Does one of the wires have a small square shaped piece of metal attached to it?

No sqaure piece of metal on any wires.

I'll bet it was the old design.

The only wires inside are the two that connect the power to the bulb. So they sent me the old design as the replacement??


Are you looking at the wires inside the glass compartment or the two (white, I think) wires on the outside? The metal square is inside the glass compartment and seems to be present on all old and new lamps(at least on both my new and old lamps), as it appears that's where the arc happens.

Hi,

I just want to share what I have found out about the benq and tosh proj bulb problem.

I bought my MT700 in late august and have had 3 bulbs replaced. Everyone of them before reaching the 200h mark. Needless to say I also figured out something was wrong with it.

Calling AVD-Tech, they are toshibas official service partner in sweden, they say that they have not had a single mt700 fail but quite a few 7700's. "You need a new lamp design and a firmware update" the guy then says. Ok, fine i guess. I get the new bulb and firmware and use it about 150h then it goes black. Must have been a bad batch they say and send me another one. This one lasts 180h before going out. Frustrated and determined that this cant possibly be a lamp problem I turn to a friend who works in the store where I bought it and I get the number to toshibas sales rep. After being somewhat reluctant to admit that the mt700 also has a problem I return to my friend in the store. He then calls the toshiba rep and says that if this is not solved they will no longer recommend toshiba projs. Then, all of a sudden, its a common and well known problem with the mt700 and 7700 and ofcourse they have a sollution.

They need to replace the psu, ballast and upgrade firmware. Firmware upgrade and new lampdesign wont matter because the psu and ballast cant really handle the lamp the way it's supposed to. This means that all 7700 and mt700's have to have half their interiors exchanged to work as its supposed to and that explains why they are so reluctant to tell you guys. And since this is a psu and ballast problem it somewhat explains why projs connected to powerconditioners last a little longer.

Oh, and another thing, I found out what a lamp really costs for benq and tosh since I have some connections at Osram who make the lamp... practially nothing... something like $2...

So, basically, it's much cheaper for them to keep giving you lamps for a few years than actually upgrading your units with the parts needed.

I'll be getting the new psu, ballast, firmware and lamp next week and will keep you posted as to how this turns out.

It's been an interesting week, to say the least.

:)

Interesting, indeed. In following this rather long thread there has been speculation about power supply/ballast issues but this is I believe, the first concrete info. Now, does anyone have a contact at BenQ that could confirm?

Recieved my 7700 and had it up and running on Dec. 1. Oct. build date. PJ connected to a UPS/power conditioner. Just went over 200 hours on the bulb. I run in low lamp normal fan mode. Measured temp. with a probe inserted into exhaust vent: 164 F room temp. 71 F.

One thought I have had is about line voltage stability. To my house it is very stable. Pretty much stays between 120-123 volts. All equipment runs off a dedicated 30amp circuit. Current draw never exceeds 5amps. I wonder if part of the problem has to do with installations where voltages sag below a certain amount. We all know how electronics often fail with low voltages.

I hope BenQ finally owns up to the real problem with these units, and very soon.

Interesting that their OEM partner stepped up first. That speaks volumes about both companies.

Has anyone that is using a line conditioner experienced a bulb failure? If a line conditioner solves the problem, I'd be glad to go get one. If a line conditioner only extends bulb life a little and doesn't solve the problem, then it's not worth it.

I'm trying to get response to firefreaks post from Visual Apex (authorized BenQ reseller). We'll see what we can verify or find out.

This news makes me feel better about my refurb exchange projector which I got in December. BenQ told me that all fixes had been applied to the unit I got, but didn't say what they had done. As I posted before, the bulb in the projector had 235 hours on it (unless someone forgot to reset the lamp timer). Anyway, I now have over 300 hours and it is still working fine... this after two bulb burnouts.

I have noticed rarely a very faint flicker in the brightness which goes away quickly. Most people wouldn't notice it (my wife doesn't) but I do when it happens on bright scenes. Anybody else see anything like this??

bubbawilly, Tosh didn't exactly step up. They guy had to go through some store's people and push some heavy buttons to get it resolved. I really doubt the average support person at tosh talking to an average consume will admit the problem yet.
I have read of one person losing their bulb on a conditioner, but I believe it worked longer than others. Seems like a really good idea once they work out the problems.
Warren.

What is a ballast, and how much do you think that part could cost?

This news makes me feel better about my refurb exchange projector which I got in December. BenQ told me that all fixes had been applied to the unit I got, but didn't say what they had done. As I posted before, the bulb in the projector had 235 hours on it (unless someone forgot to reset the lamp timer). Anyway, I now have over 300 hours and it is still working fine... this after two bulb burnouts.

I have noticed rarely a very faint flicker in the brightness which goes away quickly. Most people wouldn't notice it (my wife doesn't) but I do when it happens on bright scenes. Anybody else see anything like this??

Yes. My machine, on its second bulb (~180 hrs) has just started to flicker faintly. It goes away if I switch it into High mode then back again. I'll try running on high for a few hours to see if the problem goes away.

As a result of the flickering and the information from recent posts raising my anxiety level I've contacted Benq through a Mr. Sai Tang, presumably a support supervisor for benq. At this moment I don't have anything else to report. We keep playing telephone tag. However, just so you know, he has responded and left messages for me. In my e-mail I've cc'ed him with the info provided by firefreak as well as insisting that the machine should be refunded or upgraded to another model. I'll wait to hear from him and report to the folks here. His response from my initial communication was to replace the bulb. Failing a refund, I suppose if they were to agree to sending me a half a dozen bulbs that may be acceptable.

These web pages look all white - or is it my computer?

Perhaps your color wheel stopped spinning. :)

Yes. My machine, on its second bulb (~180 hrs) has just started to flicker faintly. It goes away if I switch it into High mode then back again. I'll try running on high for a few hours to see if the problem goes away.
I have run it on high and it doesn't seem to make any difference. Actually, a couple of times, when it started to flicker, I changed it to economy and the flickering stopped. Go figure.

These web pages look all white - or is it my computer?

Greetings, If you are using the Firefox browser, a month or two ago, some changes to the forum, started giving me forum pages, that are all text with white background.

There's probably a setting in Firefox that might help, but I now use Explorer again, just for the avsforum.

PS: not alot of mention at CES this year regarding benq and any new projectors, but plenty of news on the new Infocus,Sanyo, and Sharp units. Makes you wonder if Benq is pulling back a bit in the new projector market since they already have a good foothold in the Pc , and lcd display market already.

Actually BenQ did have some news at CES, and some speculation.

First, they have new firmware for the PE7700. I don't know about lamp issues, etc. relating to this firmware, but it is supposed to have a lower gamma - close to the ideal 2.2 for DVD, and more accurate color out of the box, without tweaking.

I was asked to review the new version, and it arrived the other day. I'll be unboxing it this evening. I expect to have comments within a few days, and will post the results on www.projectorreviews.com, for those interested. From my perspective, will the changes bring overall color up to par with, say the Panny 900u, out of the box, without tweaking.
Whether the firmware has any impact on the obvious lamp issue, and whether new production units in general no longer have the problem, as some claim, I do not know. Having a review projector for 10 hours of use, doesn't give me a handle on that. I leave it to you owners to figure that one out. (I just bought an 8720 however, my installation was supposed to be yesterday, but the company installing had to postpone a week or so. (As long as its mounted before Superbowl, I'll be happy). But, I digress.

1. The showed a new entry level HT projector (next quarter release - I believe they said) the W100, to replace the old PE5120.

2. The PE8720 with new firmware, was much talked about. The new version (Dec 05 firmware), now has excellent Gamma tables out of the box, extremely good color, and is still the sharpest 720p projector I have seen under $10K.

3. They showed a concept projector, widescreen, 3500 lumens, that can do side by side images. They indicated the market is commercial (ie. sports bars), and homes needing a high "horsepower" HT projector because they can't/won't fully darken the room.

4. There was "behind the scenes talk about a 1080p projector later this year. (I won't hold my breath, BenQ, like many manufacturers, tends to deliver new product well after they project its availability, with slippage often being many months. So we'll see.

Bottom line, BenQ looks to be maintaining at least a 3 HT projector lineup, (and that doesn't count the all-in-one MovieTime DV10 they started shipping in June. 3 is as many as they have ever had at one time, and its' possible, with a 1080p projector and the "concept" projector, and counting the Movietime, they could be at 6 models by year end.

So I wouldn't expect them to dissapear anytime soon.

BenQ definitely has issues they must address to those of you plagued by lamp problems, and they better get around to doing it soon! If they don't they will develop a bad reputation enough, that they may not recover from. Trouble is, the PE7700 is a pretty great projector (seems everyone really is happy with the picture), but the beefs are lamp related, and there are enough failing that their customer service is overwhelmed. So if that lamp issue goes away, their tech support should return to normal. (A year ago, general feedback was that BenQ was extremely responsive, and easy to reach - my how things can change). But if they have a couple hundred projectors blowing lamps every month, that sure will fill the phone lines.

They do have a new BenQ US president, and they talk about "wanting to repair the damage", but seeing is believing. (not my job to defend them!)

Damn, though, my 8720 produces the most amazing image quality, so there must be talent over at BenQ worth saving.

For those interested, visit my site, to look for my comments on the new version 7700, but I will also, almost certainly put a post here, letting everyone know when its up. Happy New Year everyone. -art

Well installed my 3rd bulb tonight and it looks as though it is a different model or version. The first bulb had no numbers or writing on it and last 160 hrs in normal mode. Second bulb had 8/25 A99 written on it and last 116 in economic mode :(. New bulb had 8/25 A261 written on it and hopefully this one is better than the last replacement.

Any others who have noted bult numbers and how long they have lasted?

I have run it on high and it doesn't seem to make any difference. Actually, a couple of times, when it started to flicker, I changed it to economy and the flickering stopped. Go figure.

I believe toggling it is what temporarily makes the flicker go away. I normally run economy. I assume you're normally on high?

I talked to Benq (US) last night. They're not that interested in doing a refund on an 8 month old projector. They're quite convinced that the new lamp will fix the premature lamp failure. They provided some info to me for how to identify an updated lamp. Essentially any lamp with a serial number above PDK 8500 (I might be unclear on the number of digits here) should have a re-designed bulb. I took my lamp out this morning to check it out and could not find these markings on the lamp housing. There is printing on the lamp itself but it's mostly obscured by the lamp housing so I can't read it properly. I was not comfortable with removing the lamp from the house to check it further. Does this numbering make sense to anyone? I can recall seeing some numbering on the packing information that came with the lamp but I no longer have that information.

I pressed them on the long turnaround time for bulb replacement. They indicated that as of yesterday they have a supply sufficient for three months.

I also asked about the possibility of replacing the projector with another model. The person I spoke with knows of the existence of the 8720 and that they have just received it. I assume he's referring to his support organization. He did say though that it's in a different class and that he thought it was a $10,000 item and hence not likely to be swapped for the 7700 under warranty. That's pretty clear to me as well but I did say that my information shows a significant drop of the MSRP of the 8720. He did say however that pricing is not something he's aware of. I let him know how disappointed I was in the quality of the 7700 and that if a 8720 replacement could be provided for a reasonable cost I may be interested. He promised to check with his management for me and get back to me in a couple of days.

One other thing to note. He defended the build quality of the 7700, citing that the lamp is really the only outstanding common issue with the machine.

I hope he is correct. But, if the above is the case, then why are the new bulbs failing? Did you ask him that?

I hope he is correct. But, if the above is the case, then why are the new bulbs failing? Did you ask him that?

I brought it up as 'reports of possible failure of the new bulb'. The answer I got was the serial number identification on bulbs that should not fail. Next chance I get I'll re-phrase and ask if they're getting returns on failed new design bulbs as the impression we're getting here on AVS is that re-designed bulbs are failing.

Any comments on the existence of serial number markings formatted as: PDK 850xxx ?

It's entirely possible that BenQ is trying to overcome power supply/ballast problems, with more robust lamps. The latter is significantly cheaper for them to address. Sounds like they are trying to engineer a lamp for the existing power supply, since it appears that the power supply wasn't engineered properly for the original lamps.

Favorable economic factors drive business decisions these days, even when those decisions negatively impact consumers. This experiment may go on for quite awhile. Don't be surprised if there is a new, new lamp design in 6 months. Those of you who experience new lamp failures should be very firm in your approach with BenQ, otherwise, this thing could go on for another year.

Greetings, If you are using the Firefox browser, a month or two ago, some changes to the forum, started giving me forum pages, that are all text with white background.

There's probably a setting in Firefox that might help, but I now use Explorer again, just for the avsforum.

Are you sure you both aren't using the AVS Mobile theme? If you click on the wrong link in a subscription email, for example, you'll end up going to the AVS Mobile theme which is all text with a white background.

You can determine whether this is the case by looking at the very bottom left of the page and changing it to a different theme (e.g. AVS White).

I use Firefox and AVS has been working with it seemlessly for years.

Firefox + AVS works great Only white i see is the message window.

Are you sure you both aren't using the AVS Mobile theme? If you click on the wrong link in a subscription email, for example, you'll end up going to the AVS Mobile theme which is all text with a white background.

You can determine whether this is the case by looking at the very bottom left of the page and changing it to a different theme (e.g. AVS White).

I use Firefox and AVS has been working with it seemlessly for years.

Thank you sooo much. I have been stuck in that white mobile theme for the last two days.

It's entirely possible that BenQ is trying to overcome power supply/ballast problems, with more robust lamps. The latter is significantly cheaper for them to address. Sounds like they are trying to engineer a lamp for the existing power supply, since it appears that the power supply wasn't engineered properly for the original lamps.

Favorable economic factors drive business decisions these days, even when those decisions negatively impact consumers. This experiment may go on for quite awhile. Don't be surprised if there is a new, new lamp design in 6 months. Those of you who experience new lamp failures should be very firm in your approach with BenQ, otherwise, this thing could go on for another year.

I agree. Someone said that the lamps cost about $2.00 to make. Say they put $4.00 or maybe $5.00 into a new lamp design. I would certainly be willing to spring for the difference. Seriously ---- Are there any engineering types who think this is a viable option for BenQ?

I hope he is correct. But, if the above is the case, then why are the new bulbs failing? Did you ask him that?

The new bulbs will fail hopefully at a normal rate just like every other projector brand, that's the tough part for us owners trying to make since of whats normal and whats not. Unfortunate even this form does not get enough pe7700 owners responding to ever get a handle on new bulb failure rates. Evan the(new bulb)poll has had such a small response their is no way to even draw a conclusion on such a small sample. :)

Question. If it truly is a bulb only problem, then why don't they just send out one of the new/improved bulbs out to everyone with this projector. Problem solved at $2.00 per bulb times projectors in the field. Wouldn't this be a MUCH better PR way to handle this situation?

Question. If it truly is a bulb only problem, then why don't they just send out one of the new/improved bulbs out to everyone with this projector. Problem solved at $2.00 per bulb times projectors in the field. Wouldn't this be a MUCH better PR way to handle this situation?


Funny if these bulbs cost them only about $2.00 each, Benq and Dealers charge about $400 USD, a piece for them

Talk about Mark up....

I think the $2 is a serious understatement. That's about the cost of a pack of 75W GE bulbs, and I know there's no way that they've got the mass production nailed down to that level yet. I can believe $50 perhaps..

hehehe you guys are killing me, :) someone said he knows someone that said the bulbs cost 2 bucks!!!!!!! Thats what I like about the Internet, it's the ultimate rumor mill connected to an endless supply of believers.

It's been a long time since I have seen cost sheets from Oscram or Philips, but the company I worked for would purchase 10x the amount of bulbs Benq ever dreamed of purchasing. Not saying the bulbs are not over priced (they are) but the bulb MFG is making the lions share, not a small quanity purchaser like BQ.

The only way bulb prices are going to go down is if ALL projector MFG get together and set standards to use a common bulb design, and I think you know how that suggestion would be taken. :D :D :D

Anyone know what style power plug is on the PE7700? I had an outlet put in my ceiling next to my projector, so I'm looking for a 2 foot power cord. I just don't know what style plug I would need to fit into my PE7700. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Steve


Thanks to Daddyd for the info on this. The only bummer is, I only needed one 2 foot power cable, but the ones I wanted only came in packs of 5 cables, so now I have 4 extra. They are made by APC and are 14 gauge. Nice quality. If anyone is interested in them, let me know.

Steve

Actually BenQ did have some news at CES, and some speculation. First, they have new firmware for the PE7700.
I was asked to review the new version, and it arrived the other day.
Art-

I could not find an "updated review" on your site, so I have a question, if you have tested the new PE7700 version:

-Does the new firmware fix the "zoom" setting? (Older versions, and the Toshiba MT700, do not zoom properly; instead of expanding an even amount in both directions, the video zooms about 33% horizontally but only 10-15% or less vertically.) Thanks.

Just an update on my burned out bulb from this past christmas..

My bulb went out around Christmas time last year. Oddly enough, the lamb blew right when someone activated my garage door, and since my theatre room is above the garage I suspect electrical had something to do with it. Anyways, I waited until the new year to ask for a new bulb from BenQ. On Tuesday January the 3rd, I sat on the phone for at least an hour before talking to someone. However, once I got someone on the phone they were quite happy to replace my bulb with no questions asked. They gave me an RMA # and an address in Toronto, Ontario to ship it to. This past Monday the new bulb arrived. I haven't had a chance to crack it open yet to inspect it or plug it in, but all in all, I'm pretty satisfied with the whole ordeal (well, besides the whole bulb burning out thing).

Another 200 or so hours of PE7700 goodness here I come!

K.

Just an update on my burned out bulb from this past christmas..

My bulb went out around Christmas time last year. Oddly enough, the lamb blew right when someone activated my garage door, and since my theatre room is above the garage I suspect electrical had something to do with it. Anyways, I waited until the new year to ask for a new bulb from BenQ. On Tuesday January the 3rd, I sat on the phone for at least an hour before talking to someone. However, once I got someone on the phone they were quite happy to replace my bulb with no questions asked. They gave me an RMA # and an address in Toronto, Ontario to ship it to. This past Monday the new bulb arrived. I haven't had a chance to crack it open yet to inspect it or plug it in, but all in all, I'm pretty satisfied with the whole ordeal (well, besides the whole bulb burning out thing).

Another 200 or so hours of PE7700 goodness here I come!

K.
You cannot have an electric motor on a circuit with delicate electronic gear. You need a dedicated circuit and adequate filtering. I would look for a different outlet for the PJ and add a filter. I had read that the 7700 power supply filter was weak.

To test what a motor will do (inductive circuit) ... take a power tool like a drill and plug it into an outlet where you know there is a light tied in. Turn on the light and fire up the drill. If you continue to activate/deactivate the drill your light will blow.

Do you blow light bulbs on your garage door opener? There are specific bulbs for inductive circuits or high vibration applications. Too bad PJ bulbs are not designed for this.

You could also add a ferrite to your PJ cord just before the housing. This may stop the high frequency from getting to your PJ. They have these ferrites on some PC cords if you'll notice. You can perhaps buy one that snaps over your line cord.

k

One of the 2 standard 60 watt bulbs in my garage door opener has been going since we bought out house 10 years ago. I replaced one within a few years of moving in, so it's been going for about 8 years.

You cannot have an electric motor on a circuit with delicate electronic gear. You need a dedicated circuit and adequate filtering. I would look for a different outlet for the PJ and add a filter. I had read that the 7700 power supply filter was weak.

To test what a motor will do (inductive circuit) ... take a power tool like a drill and plug it into an outlet where you know there is a light tied in. Turn on the light and fire up the drill. If you continue to activate/deactivate the drill your light will blow.

Do you blow light bulbs on your garage door opener? There are specific bulbs for inductive circuits or high vibration applications. Too bad PJ bulbs are not designed for this.

You could also add a ferrite to your PJ cord just before the housing. This may stop the high frequency from getting to your PJ. They have these ferrites on some PC cords if you'll notice. You can perhaps buy one that snaps over your line cord.

k

Hey, thanks for the tip. Well, I didn't think they were dumb enough to put outlits in that room that were on the same circuit as the garage door openner downstairs. Bonus rooms above garages are hot these days and I know a lot of people use them as a media room. Seems wrong to me, as you suggested and as I've observed. Not that I'm a home builder or an electrician but it seems like a garage door opener should be on an isolated circuit, period. Well, what do I know. Lesson learned, don't plug your sensitive electronics into any outlet unless you're sure it is stable, isolated or filtered.

K.

Ha! If only that were always the case.. I have an entire lower-level garage (30'x20'x13'H) that is on the same circuit as the entire lower level family room. I ended up running two dedicated 20-amp circuits and a 15-amp circuit. Don't assume anything with contractors and electricians.. whatever is convenient at the time and passes code is likely what happens.

I found out a bathroom fan was added into a rec room circuit. I have since added another dedicated 20-amp circuit for my equipment rack. Then at the electrical inspection, the inspector asked me to move a switch for the fireplace and I added it to the most convienient place, my dedicated 20-amp circuit. I must use caution if I ever add a blower to that fireplace. The safest thing to do is have a filter just before the PJ. I'm looking for a small one I can place inside the junction box (outlet) that the PJ plugs into. I have found these http://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/inductors.html#catalog items that I thought I may try. I am looking for similar but these are cheap. I'd do a plug in filter and an snap on ferrite.

k

Yes. My machine, on its second bulb (~180 hrs) has just started to flicker faintly. It goes away if I switch it into High mode then back again. I'll try running on high for a few hours to see if the problem goes away.

As a result of the flickering and the information from recent posts raising my anxiety level I've contacted Benq through a Mr. Sai Tang, presumably a support supervisor for benq. At this moment I don't have anything else to report. We keep playing telephone tag. However, just so you know, he has responded and left messages for me. In my e-mail I've cc'ed him with the info provided by firefreak as well as insisting that the machine should be refunded or upgraded to another model. I'll wait to hear from him and report to the folks here. His response from my initial communication was to replace the bulb. Failing a refund, I suppose if they were to agree to sending me a half a dozen bulbs that may be acceptable.

For my case, it appears benq is not too keen on doing a refund. I pressed them on it but no go. They're pretty confident they have a fix in place using the re-designed bulbs and they've stated they will continue to support their users on this issue.

They were also not keen on facilitating an upgrade to a different model as the new model 8720 is much more expensive. The benq support rep made some inquiries to their sales dept and came up with a value of about $10K for the 8720 which is a large differential coming from the 7700. There are rumours stating that the MSRP on the 8720 is much lower that. However, for me, the differential would have to be no more than $2K to be considered seriously.

Now for those of you that have the faint flicker, which is my only problem right now, benq will replace your lamp. Apparently, lamps are currently in stock.

For what it's worth, the support rep, Mr. Sai Tang, was very responsive. He quickly responded to and followed up to both e-mails and voice messages and he was diligent in following up and responding to my concerns. For those of you having trouble getting through on the normal support line (US) or having other issues with the rep on the end of the call, I may suggest a direct e-mail to this fellow (posted in this thread).

My 5 month old PE7700 was working great until the Steelers-Broncos game finished and the lamp died. I've mailed the lamp back and called the rep at BenQ. After a 20 min hold, was told it would take a week for the replacement to be shipped. :eek:

I hate the thought of asking for replacements every 4-5 mos...

I hope I get the replacement before superbowl.. :(

Go Steelers..

Radioshack sells snap on ferrite chokes if you think they will help. They are 5.29.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103222&cp=&kw=ferrite&parentPage=search

Cablestogo.com also has a 1ft power cable but its pretty cheap. Only 18 Awg

http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat%5Fid=914&sku=24240

I am going to keep looking for a better one. I might just make my own. I have some tech flex and the ends couldn't be much. I might check out home depot on my lunch break tomorrow.

I made my own 1 foot power cord and it was a snap. I can see concern over splicing video or data cables, but power is much less of an issue. Just be careful to keep your connections clean and your insulation complete.

I have some heavy duty PC power cables that are for servers. I might just cut the end off of one and leave about 1.5 feet then just put my own end on. Its kind of a waste of a good cable but way cheaper then buying an EIC end for $20.

If anyone is looking for short power cables, I still have two new 2ft. APC 14 gauge power cables for sale. See my ad in Theater Accessories For Sale.

Steve

I was asked to review the new version, and it arrived the other day. I'll be unboxing it this evening. I expect to have comments within a few days, and will post the results on www.projectorreviews.com, for those interested. -art

Did you ever re review this new version? On your web site, the review still says "04/08/2005"

Posted in the lamp life thread as well.

I just contacted BenQ Monday in need of my 4th bulb.

Bought the projector in August or so
Bulb died after about 200 hours in Oct ....
Got a replacement after 4 weeks of wait and bulb was dead after 10 hours ...
Got another replacement in a few days and it died Sunday during the Steelers/Broncos game it had 275 hours on it.

When I called Monday they had none in stock and had no clue when they will get any. That's the same problem I had the first time and it took 4 weeks to get a new bulb.

And each time I had to pay for the bulb up front ($400) and then got a refund when they got my old one back, HOWEVER each time they charged me 2X for the bulb so I had to hassle with them to get it back.

Spoke with another CSR on Wed. They made me send my other bulb back before I could have a new one. It was delivered today.

They have not offered me any other options other than to send me a new bulb. I could have gotten another projector but it would be a remanufactured projector with who knows how many hours on it so I passed. If this happens again I can say that I will be discussing matters with AMEX and see what they can do for me. They have always been good in past with screwed situations like this but we will have to see.

Greg

The "updated" PE7700 has now been reviewed on projectorreviews. Very nice. Seems like the new version clearly outperforms the old one, and looks as if it's even better, in many aspects, than the Z4 and AE900.

Art: What is the firmware version and build date of the new unit you reviewed?

The updated info is not on the website, and I've tried it 5 times!! It says updated on the link, but once I click on it it only has the old review. Anyone else having this problem? Also Art some of your photos overlay on the text and you can't read all of your review comments.

Blasst, Same problem here. New date, but still the old review. Now I can't even get the page to load on that website.

Steve

Blasst, Same problem here. New date, but still the old review. Now I can't even get the page to load on that website.

Steve

Guys as of NOW 12:20am the review is miss labled GO TO THE ARCHIEVE AND CLICK THE PE7700 review for 04/05 This is the new review its just labled with the wrong date.

I'm sure art will catch this problem and lable it the right way in a day or so untill then enjoy it anyway

Hello @ all...

I am from Germany and have the PE7700 from July 2005 with the firmware 0.43A.

Is the new Beamer equipped only with a new firmware (0.44 in EU) or an also new hardware?

My PE7700 is straight to the repair, because the lamp at 150 hours to flicker. (Osram Lamp)

Greetings!

The updated info is not on the website, and I've tried it 5 times!! It says updated on the link, but once I click on it it only has the old review. Anyone else having this problem? Also Art some of your photos overlay on the text and you can't read all of your review comments.

http://www.projectorreviews.com/Manufacturers/benq/PE7700/index.asp
The updated review is here, and is dated 1/26/2006.

As for the photo layout, I also have this problem. Using IE 6.

does anyone know if our older versions of this Unit can be firmware updated. Will benq offer some sort of program or service (which i don't mind paying a bit for ) that will allow us to send in our units for firmware upgrades.

If the firmware is indeed the only difference between these 2 units, it seems like a reasonable question, considering many of us have just purchased this unit in the last 2-4 months.

And if this review like above is correct, it seems well worth doing.


Any Ideas?

From Art's review it appears that the firmware upgrade is primarily intended to improve picture quality as shipped, minimizing the need for additional tuning. For those users considering or have had ISF calibration done on the projector would that conceivably accomplish the same result? Or would doing an ISF calibration on a firmware upgraded machine result in yet a better improvement?

Also, from the calibration forum it looks like relatively affordable, good quality calibration tools such as the ColorData Spyder products are priced in the range where 'prosumer' projector owners should be able to adjust their machines for optimal performance themselves. This might be a reasonable alternative to a firmware upgrade, plus we'll learn something at the same time.

does anyone know if our older versions of this Unit can be firmware updated. Will benq offer some sort of program or service (which i don't mind paying a bit for ) that will allow us to send in our units for firmware upgrades.

If the firmware is indeed the only difference between these 2 units, it seems like a reasonable question, considering many of us have just purchased this unit in the last 2-4 months.

And if this review like above is correct, it seems well worth doing.
Any Ideas?

I was wondering the same thing my unit it was one of the first to arrive off the boat so to speak ok ok it was an airplane, so I know the firmware was one of the first versions.

My question is cost and would it benefit my machine, I already talked to BQ tech dept early on (back in May I think)about why my Oppo971H going through DVI could SHARPEN the picture a vary substantial amount, the conclusion was the Oppo's was just flat out doing the math better..............

That's why I'm wondering if the firmware will benefit me!!!! I guess one good point having the PE7700 making the picture sharper, and not relying on my external device to do it, that would allow me a lot more choises of DVD players. As of now (Oppo) is the only machine that gives my PE7700 the sharp picture.........I now enjoy. I have tried 3 other DVD machine and the picture is always soft and looses the 3D effect . hummmmmmmmmm descensions, descensions.

Im in the exact same situation as you, I too use an Oppo digital dvd player, and could not be happier with the picture quality. When switching back to my old toshiba player, i noticed a huge difference with the oppo in 720p mode.

Its fair to say after re-reading the new review, that all tests were done with out of the box settings, with just comparing the pre-set modes. I guess what im saying is that with the proper equipment, and proper calibration, the old pe-7700 model should achieve the same results as the new model. I mean if Optics, Color wheel, and the Dlp chipset remain the same, What improvements could a firmware make VS a properly calibrated older model of the 7700. Unless they have uncovered some hidden magic locked away in the unit ,with a new firmware.

I would like to see some other reviews, Perhaps on ProjectorCentral.

Ill wait and see.

Great reivew Art! I was going to wait for the Optoma HD72, but the offset will not work for me. This projector ceiling mounted at the top of the screen will work. How can I be sure of getting the new firmware when I order it?

It was noted that colour and gamma had been substantially improved in the upgrade. For me, this is an area that's difficult to adjust visually, even with something like DVE or Avia. I may be wrong but I don't think gamma is an adjustment that can be made with a user level adjustment on the 7700.

I'm wondering if Art is referring to 480i/p sources when he's talking about the machine's sharpness and detail. This would imply improvements to the use of the internal scalar and possibly the de-interlacer. I think most people have 480i/p sources and this update would greatly benefit those users.

So, what is the production date of the "new" 7700's?

Grrr. My new style lamp (I am pretty sure anyway) just blew. 350 hours or so on it so I was thinking I might be ok. Guess not.
Warren.

I've been watching BenQ's rebate tracking website for shipment of my free PE7700 lamp. It says that it was shipped on 01/26. I'm hoping it is the new style, but apparently it doesn't matter, because I see that there already people having their new style bulb blow also. I'm at 120 hours on my original lamp with an October build date. By the way, I always have run my projector in full brightness mode, and the fan set to high altitude. I haven't had the guts to pull my lamp to see what style it is, so I guess I'll just keep my fingers crossed and hope I'm one of the lucky ones that has a working projector well into the future.

Steve

What is the url for the rebate tracking website? I didn't know about this and I can't seem ti find it.

Blake

Blake, http://www.rebate-zone.com/default.asp?PN=BQ0001

Don't try to find the BenQ PE7700 specific rebate. Leave it as "all rebates" and click next. Then fill out the form accordingly.

Steve

I talked to a Benq technical rep today about the firmware upgrade. He knew about it, but didn't know how much it improved the picture quality overall out of the box. In fact he told me he had his own 7700 in for a bulb replacement and was having the firmware upgrade done at the same time. According to him you can have the new firmware upgrade done for no charge. He also said they had just added the firmware upgrade a week ago or so. He didn't have alot of detailed info. I'll be looking into this some more...... more Benq music to imprint on my mind:)

WOW!!! that would be nice no charge for the firmware, only pay for the shipping that would be all right in my book. :)

I called benq today and they told me that the new firmware is in 7700's manufactured as of Jan. 06.

Nice. I just checked on my rebate and it shows to have shipped on the 26th as well. It will be nice not to have to worry about the bulb... of course that won't happen until I can ship my projector off to be repaired - my green component input died on the unit (which is the input used by my upconverting reciver for DVD video). Not that I was using it much lately since my HD Tivo harddrive finally gave up the ghost and croaked too. Hopefully this will get all of my bad luck out of the way.

What about the PSU and Ballast?
Firefreak on the MT700 thread said this
"I get the number to toshibas sales rep. After being somewhat reluctant to admit that the mt700 also has a problem I return to my friend in the store. He then calls the toshiba rep and says that if this is not solved they will no longer recommend toshiba projs. Then, all of a sudden, its a common and well known problem with the mt700 and 7700 and ofcourse they have a sollution.

They need to replace the psu, ballast and upgrade firmware. Firmware upgrade and new lampdesign wont matter because the psu and ballast cant really handle the lamp the way it's supposed to. This means that all 7700 and mt700's have to have half their interiors exchanged to work as its supposed to and that explains why they are so reluctant to tell you guys. And since this is a psu and ballast problem it somewhat explains why projs connected to powerconditioners last a little longer."

It would be nice if BenQ said something. This is really sad.

whoever talks to Benq CS from now on, lets all ask about how we can get the firmware update on our projectors and compare notes.

If the improvement is that much and is beyond simple calibration, it would be good to have...maybe between super bowl and final 4?....wait...Nascar starts....darn.

It should be pretty easy to get the FW if you want it. Just call up and complain about one of the limitations of the older FW. Mention your friend's pj got newer FW and it fixed the problem. A likely candidate is the new (at least on the latest MT700 FW) overscan feature. This allows one to get rid of the crawling white lines at the top of SD channels. I know the HDTivo manifests this, and I believe many or all HD cable boxes do as well. Given that you're getting a problem fixed under warranty they should pay for the shipping both ways.

Of course why not just wait for your next bulb to fail and send it in for a FW update and new bulb at the same time. Maybe Murphy's law will kick in and your bulb will last 2000 hours.

Now the problem is finding a dealer who has new ones in stock. I called 3 forum sponsers and none of them have January built 7700's.

when my bulb failed, I sent in the old and they sent a new....not the entire projector.

but I will definitely do that next time.....hopefully there isnt a next time prior to 2000+ hrs.... (I am not jinxing that)

I called tech support again today...... got the same rep I talked to yesterday!!! So no new info from me. Since I live about 15 minutes from the Benq office, maybe I'll just walk my projector in and get the new firmware done and see what, if any, differences there are. The tech's 7700 projector bulb failed at 250 hours. Hmm wonder if he raised hell with BenQ?:)

For those of you STILL considering BenQ for your home theater... RUN!

My saga started on Dec 23rd 2005 at 11pm (read about it here) (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6780376&&#post6780376) when my less than 30 hours of use in my new home theater blew the bulb in my BenQ.

I sent an email to support immediately. Now, today, Feb 2nd I FINALLY got a reply.

Hello,


Please call 866-600-2367 x6559 or email (email removed) for immediate assistance. If you have been helped, please disregard and accept our apologies for the inconvenience and delay in service to you. Our priority #1 is to you, the valued customer.


Thank You,

And the BEST part... that should be an embarrassment :eek: to them... "Our priority #1 is to you, the valued customer." NO WAY! I'd hate to see how long it took if I WEREN'T a priority.

BE AFRAID OF BENQ... BE VERY AFRAID OF BENQ...

Ok for those of you that don't know NEVER email tech support. It doesn't matter what company it is. Their #1 priority will always be people on the phone because every company's tech support gets 10000s of emails every day with idiotic questions. If you don't want to talk to somone at benq use their online chat feature. I used it before I bought my pj and it only took about 5 minutes to get somone on and answer my questions. Six weeks is a very long and unacceptable turn arround and I am sure you would have contacted them again if you still owned the projector. However, if I stoped buying products from every vendor that failed to respond to one of my emails in a timely manner I wouldn't have anyone to buy from anymore (I do most of the technical purchasing for my company). If I had to guess I would say that the tech that got your email probably got fired or quit and somone finaly got arround to going through their email

On a side note just from reading a few of your posts you seem to be a very hostile person who has very little patience. Electronic stuff breaks and thats just how it is. We all just happened to buy a model that has a flaw. For the most part it looks like benq is doing a fine job of supporting the issue, even beyond the warrenty date. I think what we all have to grasp here is its a little box that puts pretty pictures on a wall. It doesn't save lives, feed children, or get you to work. If it breaks you won't see your pretty pictures for a few weeks and thats the worst thing that happens. It doesn't blow up or catch on fire it just stops working. Keep it in perspective people.

I agree mostly. They don't have a cut and dried support policy, they really do try to take care of their customers. It is kind of sad they didn't come out about the problem right away. They still haven't officially that I know of. It isn't as bad as Intel when the pentium had the math bug and they just said people really don't need math that good anyway, or Sony with their virus wondering why people should be worried about spyware on their
computers (I know I am not quoting those exactly, but that is the jist.)

I did chuckle to myself about the one guy who was worried about getting a refurb cause you don't know how many hours were put on it. Well, I can tell you it is probably not more than 150 hours. My 150 hour unit went into their refurb pile. I just wonder if all the refurbs in stock are getting the new firmware.

With regards to e-mail support, if every company has a problem with responding to them they shouldn't be offering it as a means of contact. It does leave a bad impression. Is this post referring to the benq support site where you send in a support question? I do agree response to inquiries here are very slow, similar to troutseeker's experience.

Phone calls are usually answered within 10 to 15 minutes and once you get through I find that their support is generally good. A direct e-mail to an individual is pretty good as well. I would go so far as to say that my experience with their support is generally very good.

As a user, the lamp issue is very frustrating though because it puts the machine out of commission. And because the bulbs are questionable, most users would not want to invest $400 to buy a spare in case of failure, leaving us at the mercy of customer support. I'm not a hardware engineer but I believe the lamp failure issue is proving to be a tough engineering nut to crack. It's not like you could make a change, reproduce the problem, fix it, then release the update and everyone's happy. The warranty on this machine is 3 years. I'm sure they're motivated in fixing it.

Personally, I'm satisfied with Benq's support. They are responding to the issue. They do believe they have the problem fixed with their re-designed bulb. If it too is subject to widespread failure, then there's still quite a lot of warranty period left to keep them on the hook for it.

Greetings All,

I just got off the phone with BenQ. What I learned was... wait until Monday. Seems most of them are out celebrating the Chinese New Year.

The person I spoke with, said they will have a statement on Monday, regarding warranty, and how they will be handling old problem units, lamps, etc.

Also they said they DO plan to have have a procedure, for those wanting new firmware for their old 7700s, and they will have the "cutoff" information - how to tell if a unit has the new firmware (firmware number, manufacturing date, etc.).

Someone earlier pointed out that the new 7700 firmware primarily improves out of the box image quality, and that someone doing a full calibration should be able to get the same results. I would have to basically agree, but - I don't play in service menus. I used a 7700 long enough to say that since there is no gamma control outside of the service menus, that, for non-tweakers that will mess around in there, the firmware improvement is a big thing. I do not know what else they have done with the new firmware besides color related. I will ask on Monday.

For those of you who haven't seen the new review (PE7700 update on my site), or visited for a few days earlier in the week where my webmaster accidently had the link pointing to the old review (now fixed), here is the correct link:
http://www.projectorreviews.com/Manufacturers/benq/PE7700/index.asp


BTW, I still have the 7700 here, and I have been advised by Optoma that they are shipping me their new HD72 later today. I'm working on a Sony HS51A review, and will start on the Optoma on Monday. So I should have it done (hopefully) end of NEXT week, certainly before the following weekend. The good news is I will have both the 7700 and HD72 at the same time so will view them side by side, and be able to comment on how they compare.

Seems they have some new people there and do want to make existing customers happy and the bad press go away. Let's hope they do!

Afterall, I'm somewhat biased. I just installed an 8720 in my theater (I blew the extra bucks over the Optoma H78dc3, which was my original plan). I expect the BenQ to stay there until some manufacturer comes out with a spectacular, affordable, 3 chip 1080p machine ( in a couple of years or less).

As soon as I have details from BenQ (Monday- they promised) I will post! -art

Thanks for the info Art.

I have a question. Do you do a full calibration for your review samples, or are they all out-of-the-box settings?

This is great news. Someone at Benq that knows something etc....good to have connections Art!

I look forward to the comments on Monday.

Ok, so I have a SB party planned on Sunday for about 40 people to watch my great BenQ picture. This afternoon, while watching a movie, the bulb burned out for the THIRD TIME!!

Sh!t!

I did get BenQ on the phone without much waiting and have now filled out their form and faxed it to them with a request to send me a bulb Fedex overnight so I can get it on Saturday. The CSR said she would talk to her supervisor and try to help. We'll see.

When she answered the phone and I told her I had a PE7700, she asked me if I had a burned out bulb... before I said anything. What a mess. Then she also asked if I got the new firmware when they exchanged my unit the last time in early December. Based on the date, they did not, she said. They have discoved that a new firmware is needed to better control the temperature in the unit to prevent bulb failures. So, I really need to send my unit in, but am requesting a bulb quickly so I can watch the SB.

At this point, I don't know whether to believe anything they say.

Needless to say, I am pissed!!

I just got my 'free' lamp from the PE7700 rebate. I called BENQ support (I got through to a person in < 1 min.) but the tech could not offer any info on the lamp via serial number or markings. Can anyone tell me how to determine if it is old or new style? I have read several threads that have tid-bits of info, but none that have concrete details. By the way, my lamp has "9/23 A965" written on it.

Oh yeah - my pj (purchased in Nov. 05) is on about 300 hr. on original lamp (high altitude and eco.)

BenQ just emailed me that they will send me a bulb Fedex overnight so I can watch the SB. Yea!!!!! Then I will send them my projector next week to be fixed... hopefully permanently.

I can't fault their customer service at all for working hard to help me out. I just hope they really have figured this problem once and for all!

Funny, today must have been BenQ email response day. I sent this one over the Holidays as I sailed through the bowl season without a projector. Admittedly, I was a little frustrated. (…and I did ask my CSR this question 3 times via email, but was ignored)

I’d also have to say I’m a little concerned over the new firmware comments concerning bulb temperature. I sure hope the new firmware doesn’t just crank the fan up in order to stretch out the life of the bulb a few more months.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Brian ,

--------------------Replied by CSD andyplacencia at 2006/02/03 05:08:11---------
Hello,

We do not have a solution to your situation by e-mail. Please call our tech support line at 866-600-2367 for further assistance.

Thank You,

--------------------Submitted at 2006/01/02 02:31:19--------------------
Dear Sirs, I purchased a PE7700 in August of this year. As you know a very high percentage of these projectors have burned out there bulbs in under 300 hours. My particular unit has lost three bulbs in less the 250 hours of usage total. I was told by you in October that I would receive a newly redesigned bulb that would solve my problem. That bulb burned out December 17th. My projector is now at your service center and is being replaced with a refurb unit. I would like to know what the current warranty policy is on this refurbed projector. My concern is that BenQ is going to try and string this defective projector issue along until the warranty expires. ...and then leave us purchasers high and dry with a projector that needs a $400 dollar bulb replacement every 3 months. I have asked the service center what the warranty policy is, but have been ignored.
---------------------- End of Reply -------------------

I also received my free rebate lamp today. It is definitely the new style lamp. Manufacturer is Osram, hand written markings on the lamp housing say, "8/25 B-6G7", (whatever that means). I'm at 120 hours on my original lamp with an October build date.

By the way, I always have run my projector in full brightness mode, and the fan set to high altitude.

Steve

jecahill,
If you read back a ways in this thread, you will find a few illustrations that will show you what the new style lamp is supposed to look like.

Steve

Can anyone tell me how to determine if it is old or new style?
Look for a post that I made in the "Bulb life poll 3-time to die" topic-I think it is on page 8 of that topic. It has a link to a drawing I made of the old and new bulb styles.

I'll post here as well as this concerns you too.

My mt-700 is being upgraded today with the "upgrade kit" available for the 7700 and mt-700 projs. I got a look at the parts and the tech explained to me that the problems lies within the psu/ballast card. And the new psu/ballast is not compatible with the old maiboard so that has to be changed as well.

He also said they got a new firmware release yesterday, but no info about whats new or fixed.

So, I'll be getting new firmware, mainboard, psu/ballast and the new lamp design... if this won't work I'll be returning the proj.

Side note... all parts were labeled BenQ for those who wonder... :)

Had my 7700 for just about a month. Got to 200 hours and, of course, was worried about the bulb going. In my case a very different problem ensued. Fired it up one evening and a dvd looked weird. As if the contrast setting was set close to minimum and the brightness up to maximum. Switched to a hi-def saved tivo program with a lot of dark scenes and saw what looked like the worst case of macro blocking you've ever seen. Went into the menu and all settings were as shipped. Call BenQ, they have no replacements in house recieve a RMA with the comment " they will have the pj back to you in 3 to 5 days after they get it " Call back after 7 business days and hear a very different story. It will take as long as needed for parts to be available. One of the reasons I chose the 7700 was BenQ's 1st year QXchange. If one reads the warranty statement, there is no qualifier about a hot swap only when units are available. Looks like my 20 invited guests will be watching the big game on my 7 year old standard def RPTV. That is after I drag it down into the theatre. So much for BenQ's great customer service.

I'll post here as well as this concerns you too.

My mt-700 is being upgraded today with the "upgrade kit" available for the 7700 and mt-700 projs. I got a look at the parts and the tech explained to me that the problems lies within the psu/ballast card. And the new psu/ballast is not compatible with the old maiboard so that has to be changed as well.

He also said they got a new firmware release yesterday, but no info about whats new or fixed.

So, I'll be getting new firmware, mainboard, psu/ballast and the new lamp design... if this won't work I'll be returning the proj.

Side note... all parts were labeled BenQ for those who wonder... :)

Sorry if you have mentioned this, but how did you get Toshiba to do this?

Sorry if you have mentioned this, but how did you get Toshiba to do this?

I had the store I bought it from have a word with the toshiba sales rep in scandinavia and then their service partner AVD Tech got the kit and installed it.

They just called and said its ready so I'll be playing with it this weekend to se whats new...

Did I hear it correctly that some of you are just contacting Benq email support when your bulb fails? And just waiting for an email response? I am just curious as I find that unusual.

I had my first lamp replaced via warranty. When I replaced it, although it worked right away, I noticed something (dust?) had gotten in the optical path somewhere...and it wouldn't go away. It manifested itself as a white blob on the screen, visible during dark scenes, or when there was no signal input (I have the projector set to black background). I changed inputs, cleaned the lens, no joy. After a while, I decided to just deal with the blob, since the projector was working. It was annoying, but at least the projector worked.

Then the lamp failed again.

BenQ said I should sent the unit in to them, since I'd had one lamp failure already. I figured they could fix the lamp problem, and also find the dust and remove it.

I got the projector back. New firmware, new lamp. I found this information out by calling them; there were no notes of any kind in the box. The woman on the phone also assured me that they had thoroughly cleaned the projector.

I beg to differ. Now, although I have a new lamp, there is a lingering problem: the white blob is still there.

Also, now I cannot change Black Level setting on Component inputs from 0 to 7.5 IRE with new firmware. The setting is locked. I can change it fine on the HDMI input, but everything looks washed out on the component inputs now. This worked fine with the old firmware, and was one of the first adjustments I made out of the box.

I can hardly stomach the idea of mailing my projector back into them, especially since I asked them to specifically fix a problem that they didn't touch. Not to mention the fact that I'd have no projector for a week or more.

Anyone having the same problem with the new firmware?

And what can I do about blobs? Any ideas?

I have to say I'm mostly worried about the new firmware not letting me change the Black Level. Physical problems probably are easier to deal with than firmware ones.

Hello!

I have my PE7700 Beamer gotten yesterday evening again. The software update is now with 0.48 from 16 January 2006. FW Screenshot (http://foto.arcor-online.net/palb/alben/91/1214991/1280_6439303234373663)

Temp. Screenshot (http://foto.arcor-online.net/palb/alben/91/1214991/1280_3334313963303037.jpg)

Is this a new or the old lamp? How do your lamps look in such a way?
Lamp1 (http://foto.arcor-online.net/palb/alben/91/1214991/1280_6562653261623433.jpg)

Lamp2 (http://foto.arcor-online.net/palb/alben/91/1214991/1280_6638656365616636.jpg)

Lamp3 (http://foto.arcor-online.net/palb/alben/91/1214991/1280_3336633535616434.jpg)



Greetings!

Can you tell me how to access the menu on my 7700 to get info on temp and firmware you refer to?
Thks

Hello!

In the normal OSD Mainmenu simply 3x up / down on the remote maintenance press.

Greetings

Did I understand correctly:Up arrow 3 times while in the OSD menu?
Thks

Service Menu access is:

Menu, Up, Down, Up, Down, Up, Down, Menu

Do these things know when the superbowl is?

My bulb decided to die late last night, with somewhere between 200 and 250 hours on it. I know of no local benq dealers, so I'm calling off my superbowl party. Very depressing.

If anyone knows of a benq dealer that stocks lamps in the philadelphia area that is open late on a saturday, please let me know...

-- nw

I guess I am lucky I was watching a movie late Thursday afternoon when my bulb blew. BenQ did come through and a bulb was delivered this morning by Fedex Saturday Priority.

I installed the bulb and I am good to go for my super bowl party!! Yea!!

I will be sending the whole projector to them next week. I sure hope they will do something to permanently fix this problem.

For now though, I couldn't be happier with their support in helping me save my SB party.

Well, I faxed BenQ my CC info late thursday. Today (Saturday) the Fedex guy brings my brand new shiny projector. Art is right, this thing looks really nice. Vast improvment. The only thing I changed was moving the black level to 7.5 ire, something I couldn't do with the old firmware and HDMI. I didn't think there was hope of making it for the Superbowl. I am very happy. You know that cost them some money to get Fedex to make a Saturday delivery. Maybe it is just the better calibration (or my imagination,) but it seemed much brighter. I assumed it was in high bulb mode but it defaulted to Economy. Very nice.
Warren.

Well, I faxed BenQ my CC info late thursday. Today (Saturday) the Fedex guy brings my brand new shiny projector. Art is right, this thing looks really nice. Vast improvment. The only thing I changed was moving the black level to 7.5 ire, something I couldn't do with the old firmware and HDMI. I didn't think there was hope of making it for the Superbowl. I am very happy. You know that cost them some money to get Fedex to make a Saturday delivery. Maybe it is just the better calibration (or my imagination,) but it seemed much brighter. I assumed it was in high bulb mode but it defaulted to Economy. Very nice.
Warren.

That's great! I hope the firmware upgrade can be made easily available. It's a bit of a pain, too bad the 7700 isn't user upgradeable.

Also, have you noticed any difference in the handling of the fan? Someone posted that something was done to help in reducing the lamp blowouts. Maybe the fan runs a little faster. Have you noticed any obvious change in fan speed in normal mode?

I going to talk to them next week about updating my unit. I am going to take 20 pictures or so on a tripod with my zoom locked,and than take the same pictures when the unit comes back. The pics won't lie as bad as my eye site, or brain could. :) :) :)

Need help.

My picture is flickering noticably.
Is this the sign of a bad buld.

I just recently hot swapped it with a new unit and finally got one with a working hdmi support.

Now I have a unit with constant flickering, almost looks like the brigtness is pulsating up and down.

Can anyone tell me what is going on with this machine?

Need help.

My picture is flickering noticably.
Is this the sign of a bad buld.

I just recently hot swapped it with a new unit and finally got one with a working hdmi support.

Now I have a unit with constant flickering, almost looks like the brigtness is pulsating up and down.

Can anyone tell me what is going on with this machine?

Maybe. Try this test. Switch it to the alternate lamp mode then back again. If the pulsating goes away, run it in the alternate lamp mode for a few hours then back to your normal mode. If that doesn't help then it's probably something benq will have to address.

Great Super Bowl (I didn't care who really won). I just enjoyed watching it on HD on a 120" screen with my BenQ.

...running at 410+ hrs on original bulb; purchased Jun 1, 2005. (Please don't jinx it!)

Man this is depressing and my bulb has not even blown. Out of curosity what has been the most common response from Benq when the bulb has lasted beyond the 90 day initial warranty. I have got 900 hours on mine. What will Benq do for bulbs failing at greater than 1000 hours when there is a known defect causing the bulbs to fail. Has anyone experienced this?

Thanks

900 hours, you should be Very, very thankful, most of us cannot get 250 hours ,cumulative with 2 or 3 bulbs.

You must have a magic bulb,

But i cant see benq warranty a bulb that hits 1000 hours,

Man this is depressing and my bulb has not even blown. Out of curosity what has been the most common response from Benq when the bulb has lasted beyond the 90 day initial warranty. I have got 900 hours on mine. What will Benq do for bulbs failing at greater than 1000 hours when there is a known defect causing the bulbs to fail. Has anyone experienced this?

Thanks

Both of my bulbs were out of warranty(time wise) (sometimes it's best not to offer to much info up front), I just said my bulb went bad gave them my purchase date and serial number, and they did not ask for the time and I did not offer it !!!!!!!!!!!!! they just sent me a RA via email for the bulb and all was replaced. :)

Well, my bulb is under 250hrs, but over 90 days (construction delays)... I sent an email to their tech support over the weekend, and they replied asking me to call their 800 number for a firmware upgrade and bulb replacement... I'll report back after that conversation tonight.

--nw

Man this is depressing and my bulb has not even blown. Out of curosity what has been the most common response from Benq when the bulb has lasted beyond the 90 day initial warranty. I have got 900 hours on mine. What will Benq do for bulbs failing at greater than 1000 hours when there is a known defect causing the bulbs to fail. Has anyone experienced this?

Thanks

When did you purchase yours? Do you have it powered by a power conditioner? Full/economy bulb setting? High altitude fan setting?

I assume they will make an announcement about upgrading the units soon. I believe you will want to send your unit in anyway for the upgrade.
Warren.

Man this is depressing and my bulb has not even blown. Out of curosity what has been the most common response from Benq when the bulb has lasted beyond the 90 day initial warranty. I have got 900 hours on mine. What will Benq do for bulbs failing at greater than 1000 hours when there is a known defect causing the bulbs to fail. Has anyone experienced this?

Just a couple more to add to Zilla's questions, what is your altitude and rough ambient room temperature?

Where's the BIG announcement?

Need help.

My picture is flickering noticably.
Is this the sign of a bad buld.

I just recently hot swapped it with a new unit and finally got one with a working hdmi support.

Now I have a unit with constant flickering, almost looks like the brigtness is pulsating up and down.

Can anyone tell me what is going on with this machine?
My bulb had been flickering occasionally. It was faint and did look like the brightness was going up and down a bit. Well it failed last week and the new bulb does not flicker at all. I would be concerned if I were you. Call BenQ and see if they will ship you a new bulb and let you return yours before it actually blows. They have been very good to me with my 3 (!) burned out bulbs.

Now the projector is going to them for firmware and whatever else to hopefully fix the problem.

I just received the new bulb from my "rebate" that I mailed in around mid-October. Looks to be one of the new bulbs, which may explain the delay in getting them out. My original bulb is still working fine even though I was crossing my fingers all through my big Superbowl party.

Well, I faxed BenQ my CC info late thursday. Today (Saturday) the Fedex guy brings my brand new shiny projector. Art is right, this thing looks really nice. Vast improvment. The only thing I changed was moving the black level to 7.5 ire, something I couldn't do with the old firmware and HDMI. I didn't think there was hope of making it for the Superbowl. I am very happy. You know that cost them some money to get Fedex to make a Saturday delivery. Maybe it is just the better calibration (or my imagination,) but it seemed much brighter. I assumed it was in high bulb mode but it defaulted to Economy. Very nice.
Warren.

Is there any marking on the unit which denotes it is different for the old one? I plan to buy one this week and want to make sure I get the updated model.

All I noticed was the Janurary build date.

Well, I talked to them tonight... and even though my bulb warranty is over, it's on the way back to them for a new bulb, and new firmware. Glad they did the right thing.

--nw

I posted a somewhat jumbled message earlier, but with no replies, I thought I'd re-ask an important question:

Is anyone able to change the Black Level to 7.5 on the Comp 1 input with the new 0.48 firmware? I used to be able to do it before the "upgrade." It only works on the HDMI input now.

I actually preordered mine from Visual Apex before they were even available last year. It was on the very first shipment into the US. Personally I think even if the blub has 1999 hours on it Benq should be responsible. I mean they know that they have a design flaw. They are a big company. They should do whats right for their customers. I mean alot of people read these forums. Bad press is hard to come back from. Personally the next projector that I buy will have an LED light source.

Where's the BIG announcement?


Wasn't the announcement supposed to be yesterday?

"Personally the next projector that I buy will have an LED light source."

Maybe I'm stating the obvious and that isn't what you meant, but LED/DLP has nothing to do with the light source. They both use bulbs.

"Personally the next projector that I buy will have an LED light source."

Maybe I'm stating the obvious and that isn't what you meant, but LED/DLP has nothing to do with the light source. They both use bulbs.


Sorry, you are slightly confused. You are thinking LCD, not LED. LED = Light emitting Diode, and may someday be a good replacement for lamps once they can get the brightness up...

Ooops! Good catch.

Sorry, you are slightly confused. You are thinking LCD, not LED. LED = Light emitting Diode, and may someday be a good replacement for lamps once they can get the brightness up...

LED would ROCK, 20,000 hour lamp life and very low heat. There are a few hand held LED projectors already so its not too far off.

At CES, I saw an LED rear projection DLP and thought it was a major improvement by offering a wider color gamut (LED outputs a broader color spectrum), no rainbow effect, and (at least on paper) an extremely long life. However, getting an LED bulb that is bright enough for a front projector may be a way off.

LED would ROCK, 20,000 hour lamp life and very low heat. There are a few hand held LED projectors already so its not too far off.
Very low heat is true for a tiny little LED like on the front of a receiver. When it gets up to PJ strength, heat is still an issue.

What ever happen to the BENQ PE7700 statement. Did it come out?

I don't believe that is true Spiky. They are developing LED lights for houses to replace standard bulbs. Builders are looking at offsetting the extra price of LED by the fact they don't need the heat protection they do with standard bulbs.
I believe even a dim night light bulb gets much warmer than the brightest LED.

This is the PJ I was thinking of http://www.mitsubishi-presentations.com/proj_pocket.asp

Spiky we will have to see what kind of heat output there will be. With todays LEDs a close packed arrays or over driven LEDs can become hot but hopefully with the advancement of new LED technology the LEDs won't have to be pushed as much to output the proper light.

Greetings All,

I just got off the phone with BenQ. What I learned was... wait until Monday. Seems most of them are out celebrating the Chinese New Year.

The person I spoke with, said they will have a statement on Monday, regarding warranty, and how they will be handling old problem units, lamps, etc.

Also they said they DO plan to have have a procedure, for those wanting new firmware for their old 7700s, and they will have the "cutoff" information - how to tell if a unit has the new firmware (firmware number, manufacturing date, etc.).

Someone earlier pointed out that the new 7700 firmware primarily improves out of the box image quality, and that someone doing a full calibration should be able to get the same results. I would have to basically agree, but - I don't play in service menus. I used a 7700 long enough to say that since there is no gamma control outside of the service menus, that, for non-tweakers that will mess around in there, the firmware improvement is a big thing. I do not know what else they have done with the new firmware besides color related. I will ask on Monday.

For those of you who haven't seen the new review (PE7700 update on my site), or visited for a few days earlier in the week where my webmaster accidently had the link pointing to the old review (now fixed), here is the correct link:
http://www.projectorreviews.com/Manufacturers/benq/PE7700/index.asp


BTW, I still have the 7700 here, and I have been advised by Optoma that they are shipping me their new HD72 later today. I'm working on a Sony HS51A review, and will start on the Optoma on Monday. So I should have it done (hopefully) end of NEXT week, certainly before the following weekend. The good news is I will have both the 7700 and HD72 at the same time so will view them side by side, and be able to comment on how they compare.

Seems they have some new people there and do want to make existing customers happy and the bad press go away. Let's hope they do!

Afterall, I'm somewhat biased. I just installed an 8720 in my theater (I blew the extra bucks over the Optoma H78dc3, which was my original plan). I expect the BenQ to stay there until some manufacturer comes out with a spectacular, affordable, 3 chip 1080p machine ( in a couple of years or less).

As soon as I have details from BenQ (Monday- they promised) I will post! -art

Today is Tuesday (late) and still no announcement. Can you call your contact to find out what is going on??

At CES, I saw an LED rear projection DLP and thought it was a major improvement by offering a wider color gamut (LED outputs a broader color spectrum), no rainbow effect, and (at least on paper) an extremely long life. However, getting an LED bulb that is bright enough for a front projector may be a way off.

No truer words were ever spoken, It just basic physics, you need large amounts of light to create a nice bright large image on a front projector. A lot of energy is need to produce a bright picture from a small bulb and the by product is HEAT. If you use a cooler light source like plasma (florescent type light) you trade off bulb size for equal light output. My physics teacher had a saying about energy "nothing is Free" not saying some day LED' bulbs won't be good enough, but IF the bulb size is close to the bulbs we now have, and the brightness is equal, that means a lot of energy is going to be driven into a small area and that creates heat ,and heat stresses bulbs and electronics. No free lunch hear. :)

The point is LED's put out more lumens for the same wattage, so it isn't a lot of energy, and thus not a lot of heat. There are apparently better ways of getting the light to the screen too. Sim2 gets 800 lumens out of a 120 watt bulb, and 8000 hour lifespan. Sony's Ruby gets the same 800 lumens from 400 watts.
Warren.

Hey guys do you think I should do a calibration and take pictures before I send it in for the firmware up date just to see if anything changes on the color or sharpness some people wondered if the change mattered on a calibrated unit. I took some pictures tonight comparing Parkland plastic and White painted wall Hear is a lint to the pictures in the DYI screen section.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=642020

Hey guys do you think I should do a calibration and take pictures before I send it in for the firmware up date just to see if anything changes on the color or sharpness some people wondered if the change mattered on a calibrated unit. I took some pictures tonight comparing Parkland plastic and White painted wall Hear is a lint to the pictures in the DYI screen section.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=642020

Your pictures are great although sometimes screenshots do not give the same impression as a live viewing.

A question about the firmware. What's their policy on the upgrade? Do I just call and ask for it?

That is what I would do basement.
checklst, since your 7700 was calibrated I don't think you will notice the same difference I did. Almost certainly not enough to show up in photos.
Warren.

My PE7700 is not yet calibrated , I have the Avia disc but have not used it, the factory settings for color was good enough for me so it's not been a pressing issue to get it done. :)

I think maybe I will do an Avia calibration and get the experence that way if I screw it up benq can pull me from the fire........................LOL :)

Sorry, read your question wrong. Sure, take pictures now, then after it's calibrated, then with the new firmware. I wonder if there is a better way to take more accurate screenshots?

Well, my second bulb died, and when I plugged in my spare bulb so that I wouldn't miss the Super Bowl, my HDMI circuit crapped out. I called BenQ today, and they won't do a RMA without my projectors serial number (the projector is still mounted on the ceiling). The Service Rep said that the number would be on the rear of the unit near all the jacks, but I see nothing and don't see anything in the manual.

Can anyone tell me where to find the serial number?

Thanks!

bottom of projector on a label....(top when it is upside down on ceiling)

If you have the box the projector came in, there should be a sticker on it with the serial no.

Thanks Guys, that's what I was afraid of... My installer disposed of my box, and the projector is mounted upside down on the ceiling, so the mount must be covering the label from view...

Oh, man, bad getting rid of the box.
One thing I found was when I plugged my new projector in it wouldn't sync HDMI 720p. I had to drop it to 480p before it would sync. Then I got it back to 720p just fine. In between though I unplugged it and plugged it in again.

Received my projector back yesterday with new firmware. I have to say I agree with what ART says has a more sunny disposition, brighter? CINEMA and HOME THEATER more match each other I thought the CINEMA mode was too dark before.To me the picture looks a lot better than before. When they upgraded firmware they wiped out all pj. hours in service menu and reset the lamp hours in menu.They didn't give me a new lamp though.Sent it in with out lamp I've got old style model, now I don't if I have 420 hours or 200 hrs.One other thing when you call up firmware in service menu it says:

VERSION 0.48,A00
RELEASE DATE JUN 16,2006

Why it says Jun. I dont know I believe a few pages back a photo of new firmware says JUN. also.

So you had to put your lamp back in when you got the projector back? Seems like you should have sent it with the lamp in so they could put a new one in for you. If you know how many hours were on it when you sent it in you can just add to what the projector says.
Warren.

Any news on the announcement?

I was kidding I know how many hours. I was wondering when they wiped out all the hrs. if they keep track of my hours. I could tell them anything as regards to hrs. Just looking into the future who knows how long its going to last?

Mark

I am sure when they update the firmware it wipes the hours and any other settings.

Got it. Thanks a ton. From that drawing and the other photos in that thread the original bulb in my 11/05 pj is a new style - just like the one I got from the rebate. Both have the 'band' on the trace. We'll see how long they last. It is comforting to have a spare...

I understand the announcement will be made shortly. I anticipate it will remove any "buyer's remorse" for PE7700 owners.

I am looking to buy this PJ. Should I ask for a build date to be Jan 2006 to ensure I get the new model without the lamp problem?