Hi All

Seems like we are all enjoying this pj now. The bad days are becoming a distant memory.

I decided it was time to try to max out the performance. Bought a Pantone Eye-One Display LT colorimiter, the shareware DVD Get Gray and downloaded the free Color HCFR software.

For about $160 any of us can try our hand at a real calibration specific to our setup.

With 2300 hours on the lamp it was time to replace it. Still working but getting a bit dim. I have been using Kevin Anderson's settings since he posted them. PQ was very good with them, thanks again Kevin. What was a real surprise was how things looked with the new lamp. The difference was not subtle. Gray scale was way too warm.

The first measures were with the original settings. Sure enough at 10 IRE it was 4000K then quickly rose to and stayed around 4900K up to 100IRE. Talk about sunburned skin tones.

Long story short after quite a few hours and probably 35 runs I have it to the point where things measure fairly well and program material looks good.

The settings now are rather surprising. I started out using the cinema preset and the warm color temp setting. Could not get gray scale to track evenly anywhere near 6500K, always too warm. I had to start with the Cool temp preset.

So here is where I'm at now and the resulting HCFR measures that are in the attached file. All measures in reflective mode off a DaLite 133" Hi-Power screen in a completely light controlled room. 133 hours on the new lamp.

Contrast 5
Brightness -8
Color 9
Tint 0
Filter 1
Sharpness 0
Color Enhancement: All 15 (Factory Default)

BTW Get Gray, has great patterns to set black level, white level, color and tint. Lot easier than using a pluge pattern and SMPTE color bars.

Now heres where it gets interesting:

Red Gain 459
Green Gain 410
Blue Gain 512
Red Offset 20
Green Offset 21
Blue Offset 9

At this point I have not spent much time trying to tweak the RGB Gammas in the service Menu. They are all at the default +66 value. Also at defaults are the DLP settings. Degamma is set to film. For my unit CW Delay is +55. Go plus or minus 1 on that value and you can see color artifacts added to a gray scale ramp. Have also not experimented with changes to the color enhancement values to see if I can get the primaries and secondaries closer to targets.

So Kevin, I'm hoping that you in particular and others with more experience in this area will take a look at my measures and comment. One point that has me wondering is that many have posted that with most UHP type lamps used in pj's red tends to run out at high IRE's and to leave the gain at maximum for Red. In my case without reducing the Red gain left gray scale tracking too warm.

Can there be that much variance in lamp samples?

Also Kevin, when you worked on your 7700 where you able to get closer to targets on the CIE diagram? And any suggestions on getting gamma closer to 2.2 across the luminance range would be appreciated.

Using these new toys has been fun and informative. About 30 years ago my first color set, a 21" GE, would burn out a flyback transformer quite routinely. The part was around $20. Must have replaced it 4 times. One time with the back off I decided to get ambitious. Let's see what we can improve with all those pots. Well I had enough sense to mark out all the factory positions. Would have had everyone looking like Mr. Spock. Come to think of it were not most displays back in those days deficient in green?

Sorry for being long winded.

Thanks everyone. Long reign AVS. Happy Holidays.

Joe96749

Thanks for the settings.......might give them try......you are right just enjoying the pj.......all is well and this thing throws a vary nice HD DVD image for sure.

My 55inch RPTV just went bad so I am looking for a replacement.........always been a crt man for the everyday use.... so I feel like I have been thrown in the deep end of the pool......every things digital no 3 guns to be found and the digitals are pricey compaired to a 3 gun.

Looking for something around 60 to 65inch....got any suggestions guys LCD,DLP, Plasma ect.........

Hi All

Seems like we are all enjoying this pj now. The bad days are becoming a distant memory.

I decided it was time to try to max out the performance. Bought a Pantone Eye-One Display LT colorimiter, the shareware DVD Get Gray and downloaded the free Color HCFR software.

For about $160 any of us can try our hand at a real calibration specific to our setup.
(snip)
Joe96749

You got me interested in the product but it is no longer listed in their site. When using the tool, where do you put the sensor, on the screen? Sorry if this is daft.

You got me interested in the product but it is no longer listed in their site. When using the tool, where do you put the sensor, on the PJ lens itself? Sorry if this is daft.

Pantone's web site leaves a lot to be desired. You can get it from Amazon and other places including Circuit City.

There are two methods to measure. Emissive mode wherein you place the sensor facing the pj's lens with a diffuser over the probe. Pantone includes a diffuser but it is not considered to be neutral some suggest alternatives from places like Edmunds Scientific.

The majority of users use reflective mode for pj calibration. With this method you need a tripod or light stand. The sensor is placed aimed at the screen center from about 6-12" away. You need to angle the sensor up at like 45 deg. to avoid measuring in the shadow cast by the sensor.

The advantage of reflective mode is that it includes the effect that the screen has on the measures.

The pantone sensor does not come with a tripod adaptor. One home made solution involves using a suction cup like those sold for Christmas lights and super gluing a 1/4 20 nut to the end. In my case I just use a piece of blu-tak to stick the probe to the tripod mounting plate.

Oh, and you also need a USB female-male extension cable. the hardwired USB cable on the sensor is only about 6' long. Monoprice has a buffered one 16' long for $12.60 + shipping. The product ID is 1986.

The pantone is also useful for developing profiles for computer monitors, in fact that is what it was designed for. Also know that there are at least two versions of the Eye-One. The hardware is the same. The software varies. For pj calibration the least expensive version, Pantone Eye-One Display LT is all you need.

Plan on spending some time here reading over at the calibration threads. There are two devoted to the excellent Color HCFR software and one started by the developer of the Get Gray DVD. As usual there are some real experts over there.

Funny, I was in Best Buy the other day browsing the Blu Ray titles. Got in a conversation with this guy. "Do you spend time at the AVS site"? "Every day". "Kind of addictive is'nt it". Ain't that the truth!!

Anyway, give it a try. The learning curve is not too bad. Once you get used to it you can change some settings and measure RGB levels. Gray Scale and Primaries / Secondaries in about 10 minutes. Good Luck.

Regards,

Joe

Thanks for the settings.......might give them try......you are right just enjoying the pj.......all is well and this thing throws a vary nice HD DVD image for sure.

My 55inch RPTV just went bad so I am looking for a replacement.........always been a crt man for the everyday use.... so I feel like I have been thrown in the deep end of the pool......every things digital no 3 guns to be found and the digitals are pricey compaired to a 3 gun.

Looking for something around 60 to 65inch....got any suggestions guys LCD,DLP, Plasma ect.........

I picked up a Samsung 61" 1080P DLP set last year around this time, and have been very happy with it.

The 7700 comes out when its time to go 116".
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/9f9bd577.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/ea4b4cdc.jpg

Pantone's web site leaves a lot to be desired. You can get it from Amazon and other places including Circuit City.
(snip)
Joe

Having said that, they tout their products for LCD and CRT calibration, but I guess empirically they worked well for DLP projection too?

Having said that, they tout their products for LCD and CRT calibration, but I guess empirically they worked well for DLP projection too?

Hi Zilla,

Works very well for front pj's. After you open the Color HCFR program: Sensor, Eye-One parameters, Calibration mode and choose Eye-One Display-LCD. There are of course other programs out there to use with the sensor. Calman is one that is popular but free software that works is a good thing.

Joe

Just a quick tip if the HDMI stops working for some reason:

Go to service menu (menu,up,down,up,down,up,down,menu), then press enter and find "return all OSD ..." (I don't remember the rest, but it is there).

My pj just stopped accepting HDMI input today... yesterday everything worked perfectly and today it just stopped working, I didn't change anything. No reset in user menu worked, just the one in service menu.

I'm having HDMI issues as well. It use to come and go but now I can't get HDMI to hold a feed for more than a few seconds. Would you expand on what you did in the service menu? I don't like going in there unless its clear what needs to be changed, too easy to screw things up. Thanks.

Hi All,

As some may remember, I recently got my bulb replaced, fans replaced, and firmware upgraded, all under warrantee. Very happy they took care of that. Then, last week, after less than 50 hours, I turn the projector on and I have evenly spaced vertical lines across the width of the image. They look very similar to the grid feature in the setup menu, just without the horizontal lines. Does anyone know how to fix this?

Thanks for the help last time. Hope it goes as well this time.

Hi All,

As some may remember, I recently got my bulb replaced, fans replaced, and firmware upgraded, all under warranty,
Very happy they took care of that. Then, last week, after less than 50 hours, I turn the projector on and I have evenly spaced vertical lines across the width of the image. They look very similar to the grid feature in the setup menu, just without the horizontal lines. Does anyone know how to fix this?

Thanks for the help last time. Hope it goes as well this time.

OK Were here to help. But first, we need a little more information. When this problem occurs with the vertical lines, what source device are you using? And into what input on the 7700?

What version of HDMI is the BENQ PE 7700?

What version of HDMI is the BENQ PE 7700?

Based on it's age I would guess it is v.1.1.

So if the PE7700 is HDMI version 1.1 will a PS3 work over HDMI, because I belive they are version 1.3.

Yes, all the HDMI versions will work together the later revisions removed some bugs and also added optional functions but a 1.3 and a 1.1 device will both be able to send video and audio. You only need 1.3 for advanced options like bit-streaming of lossless codecs or Deep color really. Right now the only 1.3a option that is usable is bit-streaming of Lossless codes from players to receivers. For Displays Deep Color isn't useful yet as no Deep Color sources are available.

Quote:
Originally Posted by walshman2000
Hi All,

As some may remember, I recently got my bulb replaced, fans replaced, and firmware upgraded, all under warranty,
Very happy they took care of that. Then, last week, after less than 50 hours, I turn the projector on and I have evenly spaced vertical lines across the width of the image. They look very similar to the grid feature in the setup menu, just without the horizontal lines. Does anyone know how to fix this?

Thanks for the help last time. Hope it goes as well this time.


Bronco70 Quote:

OK Were here to help. But first, we need a little more information. When this problem occurs with the vertical lines, what source device are you using? And into what input on the 7700?


Update:

Hi All,

As far as I can tell, the vertical lines are not related to the video source. They are visible from the moment the BenQ logo appears at startup. When you cycle through the different inputs the vertical lines are unaffected. Like I said, they look almost exactly like the vertical lines from the grid in the setup menu. They are white, straight and constant. They are not noisy or wandering around.

Thanks all!

-Joe

Joe,

Can you take some snapshots for us?

Just purchased my PS3. Am using a white screen.

Can anyone point me to the link with OPTIMAL hdmi settings???? I realize many use grey screens. Would this make a difference??? I think so.

Right now, I find in the menu setting that using black ???7.5??? vs ???0??? black gives me a better image. Using "0", the image seems a little washed out. Does anyone agree???

Thanks.

What version of HDMI is the BENQ PE 7700?

I can't get a picture using my PEs 7700 and my Samsung DVD HD850 player. They are connected via HDMI. I was playing with some setting on the DVD player and now can't get any picture at all. I am unable to find a way to reset the 850. No matter what I do I get a blue screen and at the bottom right hand corner a message that now always says "HDMI(Searching...)

Any ideas or help much appreicated!!

Kevin

Kevin-

First, try connecting the player to a component-video display (maybe the component input on the Benq). See if you can get into the menus on it. If you can, check to make sure it is not set to 480i mode but rather 720p (which is best for the Benq). The player's manual may describe the settings better. Basically, you need to avoid the 480i setting for HDMI into the projector.

I'm having HDMI issues as well. It use to come and go but now I can't get HDMI to hold a feed for more than a few seconds. Would you expand on what you did in the service menu? I don't like going in there unless its clear what needs to be changed, too easy to screw things up. Thanks.

use it only if there is no other way to get it working... it will reset all the options. the way I described it is enough for you to do it the same way I did it. there are no similarly named options there.

Kevin-

First, try connecting the player to a component-video display (maybe the component input on the Benq). See if you can get into the menus on it. If you can, check to make sure it is not set to 480i mode but rather 720p (which is best for the Benq). The player's manual may describe the settings better. Basically, you need to avoid the 480i setting for HDMI into the projector.

Chris,

Problem fixed.... THANKS!

How do you change the black level on the BENQ PE7700? I am unable to access that menu option?

ATLVOL-

I think you have to send an NTSC signal into the projector and select that input, then the black-level option should be available. When you change it, it should stay that way for the other inputs as well. Others here may know the procedure better but this is as I remember it.

Chris,

Problem fixed.... THANKS!
You're welcome. I am glad it was that easy.

Welcome to AVS Forum!

Joe,

Can you take some snapshots for us?
Here are some pictures of the vertical line issue I am having. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

http://spearwalsh.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/DSCN4853a.JPG

http://spearwalsh.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/DSCN4854a.JPG

http://spearwalsh.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/DSCN4856a.JPG

How do you change the black level on the BENQ PE7700? I am unable to access that menu option?

This should be easy.

User Menu, Setup, Down to Black Level and right or left buttons to choose 7.5 IRE or 0 IRE.

Is that option grayed out?

Joe

Here are some pictures of the vertical line issue I am having. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

http://spearwalsh.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/DSCN4853a.JPG

http://spearwalsh.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/DSCN4854a.JPG

http://spearwalsh.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/DSCN4856a.JPG


Joe,

Have you tried different input sources, dvd, cable, HD, etc?

If you have and get the same result, then having ruled out the input source and cables, then its time to send it back to Benq:(

That looks like a faulty unit to me... :(

Can anyone recommend a supplier for a new lamp? I see some hong kong yahoo's offering "bare bulbs", but don't know that I want to futz with those.

(Obviously, I can do a google search, but was wondering if anyone knows any more economical places than the typical $300 that shows up...)

Thanks in advance!

Just purchased a new lamp from buy.com. Purchased from them before with no problems. Good price. Usual price around here is more like $399.

Just purchased a new lamp from buy.com. Purchased from them before with no problems. Good price. Usual price around here is more like $399.

Haha, I guess I should take my $300 and be happy, eh? :)

Hi Joe

Had the exact same problem with my first 7700 about 2 years ago. I think there were some "play" in the circuit board. When I used some force to the HDMI contact the lines disappeard. Got a new unit from Benq, you should do the same if its possible.

/Martin

Never thought we would get to the point where a new post was a month apart.

This has been a great thread. Kind of miss all the support offered to all in the dark days.

Time for me to test BenQ's support once again under warranty.

As I posted months ago my unit has a start up noise, seems to be related to the fan and has gone from a 35 second annoyance to a 3 minute deal.

The noise always ends and the pq is never in question.

I will let you know what happens with support.

Joe

Good luck Joe, I'm sure BenQ will take care of it for you. Let us know how it goes. I miss looking at this thread too. :( but I guess no news is good news. I know I still really enjoy watching my PE7000 still to this day. Watching the Superbowl in native 720p on Fox was awesome!!!

Steve

Never thought we would get to the point where a new post was a month apart.

This has been a great thread. Kind of miss all the support offered to all in the dark days.

Time for me to test BenQ's support once again under warranty.

As I posted months ago my unit has a start up noise, seems to be related to the fan and has gone from a 35 second annoyance to a 3 minute deal.

The noise always ends and the pq is never in question.

I will let you know what happens with support.

Joe


Joe,

If you need a contact at Benq let me know.

I'm 10 miles from Benq Headquarters in Irvine, and have gotten a quick tour inside a time or two;)

Thanks Guys,

Weird what happened with AVS today. One of the old hands posted about the lack of a desire to upgrade to a 1080p pj. Seems that was one of many that may have entered the "twilight zone".

Rod Serling was a very cool guy.

Hello fellow BenqPE7700 users!

I finally got a chance to use my projector with a high definition format - Blu-Ray.

The image looks much better than dvd. After what seemed an eternity, I got to finally see what the projector can do after feeding it just dvd and standard television for 3 years. (High definition cable/satellite is another year away.)

Anyway, I have a question:

Has anyone switched to a 1080p projector??? Is the image much better (sharper) when using blu-ray/hd-dvd material????

I am thinking that maybe it might be time to upgrade, but am not sure if there is much of a difference. My screen is 84 inches and I am now using my PS3 to watch blu-ray films.
The image is great, but I was wondering if 1080p would be even better.......

As I live in Brazil, it is hard for me to find/compare 1080p projectors. Was wondering if anyone had any recommendations or thoughts about the need to upgrade.

Does blu-ray look much, much better on 1080p projector????? I would love to hear your thoughts as you probably can best compare to the benq PE7700.

Thanks in advance!

You might see a small difference if you had a larger screen or you seating distance is really close..............but if you are around the normal 1.5 screen width... on a 80 inch screen the difference is going to be small or maybe not at all.:)

My screen has an 84 inch diagonal. Sit about 8-9 feet away! My home theater is kind of small.

I would have to say its not worth the money.

Remember its not all about resolution.

Contrast Ratio comes into play also, and the 7700 could use more of it, compared to what is out there today.

The 7700 is a good projector, all things considered you will see a difference with the 1080p projectors.

Hey you only live once, and if you can afford it, do it!;)

My screen has an 84 inch diagonal. Sit about 8-9 feet away! My home theater is kind of small.
I also sit about 8-9 feet away from my screen, but the picture is about 89" diagonal. Yes, the upgrade to 1080p was significant and worth it!

Look carefully at sharp-edged images on your Benq while watching a Blu-ray movie, such as large text on screen from a subtitle or caption, or a menu listing. If you can see any "stair-stepping", jagged edges on diagonal lines or similar effects, they will go away with a 1080p projector.

I switched from a Toshiba TDP-MT700 (clone of the PE7700) to an Epson Home Cinema 1080/TW1000, and I have been quite happy. There is a newer version of that projector available now, for a price similar to what the PE7700 cost when it was first sold.

Hi Everyone.. I'm finally back to this thread after a couple year hiatus..

I'm having issues trying to connect my HDMI up and wondering if anyone has any ideas. I have a Toshiba HD-A2 and a monoprice 4x1 switch, though I temporarily took the switch out of the equation. I've tried various chronological orders of turning things on, etc, but in every single instance I can't get anything via HDMI. "HDMI" doesn't show on the front display and it says "480p" instead of "720p". I do remember doing it successfully a couple times sometime in December, but then I waited for the switch to arrive and it hasn't worked since then.

I'm also trying to connect a Motorola DVR (ideally through the switch), with no luck.

I saw that Checklst has an A2 and PE7700 successfully mated via HDMI - any particular settings you used? I don't see any explicit "use HDMI output" setting on the A2 nor a specific 720/1080 setting (only an "up to 720/1080", unless that's all I need).

It works fine through component and composite, but doesn't upconvert the SD-DVDs which I'm really hoping for.

Any help is appreciated.. Thanks guys!

Oh, and other than this - I too am greatly enjoying the PJ - no other issues! (other than my lack of ability to easily control ambient light in the room)

UPDATE: I can get the Motorola DCT 34xx DVR working with HDMI, but only by bypassing the switch. I still can't get the HD-A2 working, even without the switch.

Hey Tim,

Lots of the old hands are posting here the past few days. Glad to see you are all still around.

I've had a "searching for signal" HDMI problem two or three times.
Always happens after coming back from a vacation where I have the 7700 powered down and the switch on the back off.

All the stuff in the rack was also off and the line conditioner / surge protector master switch was off.

I am using a Geffen 3 in 1 out HDMI switch with a PS3, D* HR10-250 DVR and an oppo 971.

What has worked: leave pj off, take the switcher out of the loop, turn on a source device (don't believe it mattered which one), plug in a direct HDMI connection, power on the pj. Things at this point with the one source device OK.

Then: without turning the 7700 off and with the other two sources on put the Geffen back in the equation. Problem solved. Other sequences did not work. HDCP is a pain in the posterior.

Also, after this I can power off the PS3 or the oppo and the handshake is fine at turn on. The PS3, an original 60G unit draws 1.3A at idle, yikes, no energy star for that puppy.

Hope this may help.

How has the winter been out there in MN? Only hit 65F here in NC today (just couldn't resist, I spent 16 winters in Buffalo, NY).

Like others still enjoying the 7700. Replaced a still working lamp at 2500 hours.

As to the question posted about calibration: that has made a difference here. My solution is a Eye One Display LT probe $130, GetGray Calibration DVD $25 shareware and the now updated to v. 2.0 of the fantastic and free (donations excepted) ColorHCFR software.

The learning curve is pretty easy and for even a semi geek the process is fun and the results are outstanding.

When I replaced the lamp the changes made to get the primaries / secondaries in line, greyscale tracking and gamma curve close were significant, more than I would have thought would be needed.

There is no way one can dial in things with Avia, DVE or other discs and one's eyes.

All the pertinent info is available in the threads on this, the best forum on the net!

Would like to hear from all the great folks that have helped around here about future plans. I have also begun to get the itch for a 1080p display to go along with BD discs from the PS3.

With a 133" screen and the first row seating at 10' , have to believe that there would be a difference. Also agree that contrast ratio is not the strongest point in the 7700's favor at this point.

But to demo and compare, therein lies the problem.

So GO! Duke, Carolina, NC State, or Wake, too many choices around here.

Happy Viewing,

Joe

Tim,

Also glad to see you are still around.

You were dormant in posting for awhile there.

My HDMI issues are the same as Bronco's.

Whenever I've had the PJ powered off, unplugged etc.

I had issues with the Monoprice 4X1 switcher, and swapped for the 5X1 switch and that helped some of my issues. Running PS3, HD-A1, JVC DVHS 5U, 360 Elite, and TW Motorola 6416 cable box, out of the switch box.

The TW Motorola 6416 cable box still won't play nice with HDMI to the PJ, but will to my Samsung 1080P set, using the same switcher.... go figure.

When I've had your issues, I've unplugged everything to reset, made sure I had a 720/1080i source running through the HDMI, then I turn on the PJ and she's fine.

If I turn on the PJ and then put the HDMI cable in, is where I run into problems.

I have one HDMI cable each running from the 5X1 switcher, that I swap out, one for the PJ, and one for the Samsung DLP set.

Hopefully you can get this problem figured out, you are a "old hand" around here that dispensed good advice for many through the years.

As Joe said, its nice to see some of the "old crew" showing up.

I dropped the hammer on the 1080P DLP set over a year ago, but I clearly have the itch to go 1080P on the projector front also..... choices, choices.:)

Jeff

Hey Tim how is it going.......long time no see. I was just in my HT room and was surfing the net on the PE7700. Man the hours will rack up quick surfing the net.

As for the A2 you are correct......I am having no scan problems,I do have to turn on the PJ first then the A2, if I do it in reverse it still finds the A2 but the picture is all red.

Glad to see you back............I just got my new HTPC hooked up tonight and was adjusting all the software.........I have all 300 DVD's , and 26 HD DVD,s and 21 BD on 4 500GB external hard drives. This wireless keyboard is nice........the only problem having is the computer and drives are getting a little warm in my equipment cabinet........now if I could only get my dog to fetch me a cold beer from the fridge life would be perfect. :)

Not sure why your the A2 and PE can't find each other.........what firmware are you running on the A2? Hope you can get it fixed,keep us informed.

Hi Guys,

I was 9 time zones to the east for Uncle Sam for a couple years, so that's why my posting was minimal during that time..

Joe, the low here in MN was -14 last night and is currently -11 (-35 windchill). Though I used to be accustomed to it, my recent months in 120+ keeps me inside almost all the time. :)

Edit: I just saw the Windchill Warning text for our area:
WINDS WILL GRADUALLY EASE THIS AFTERNOON ALONG WITH TEMPERATURES CLIMBING INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS BELOW ZERO. HOWEVER...THIS WILL STILL PRODUCE WIND CHILL VALUES IN THE 25 BELOW TO 35 BELOW ZERO RANGE. (emphasis mine)
They finish by saying that "if you must venture outside, where a hat and gloves". That's pretty funny..

So I've set the A2 to run "Up to 720p", but the biggest thing is I can't figure out how to have it show "HDMI" on the front-panel (so I know it's trying to negotiate HDCP, etc). It just stays at 720p when it comes on, and when I put on a disc and hit play, it switches to 480p. Doesn't matter whether I only have HDMI plugged in, or HDMI, component, & composite. Any thoughts on how to force HDMI, and thus display it on the front panel? (Since there's no V.Option button on the remote like the A1.)

The Motorola is working for the most part (directly connected), but I'm not losing as much with component vs HDMI there - since the A2 won't upconvert through component, I'd like more for that one to work.

The frustrating thing is there seems to be no consistency with how to hook this all up. The order of things for Joe & Jeff is opposite of Checklst. I'm inclined to follow Checklst's order since he has the same source component as me, but it doesn't really work either way.

Nice setup, Checklst - a few months ago I took the time to put together a newer server since it had been about 5-6 years since I'd done that. Quad core & 2GB of RAM, then a 75GB 10K RPM drive for the OS, hardware RAID 1 320GB drives, and 4x500GB in software RAID 5 that I'm not even close to filling, though I'm not using it for DVDs at the moment. I have it in the basement and run a USB and DVI cable up through the wall and connect it to the LCD monitor w/USB hub, and that makes it completely silent in the office. I have the case cover off downstairs and a 12" fan blowing on it at slow speed which keeps the 7 drives cool.

On another note, my wife and I watched the Bourne trilogy the past three nights and was impressed again (had seen the first two a few years ago). They were only in 480p, though, unfortunately..

Has anyone replaced their fans yet? It looks like there are two in there, and based on feel of the air, they blow in opposite directions to circulate the air. They seem like standard DC computer case fans, as Baenwort mentioned here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=11761711#post11761711).

The fan noise has gradually increased recently, then in the past few days has been obnoxiously loud. I don't really like the idea of modding the fan speed, as I think that's necessary to maintain lower temps for the bulb - but finding a premium, quiet fan with good bearings seems like a good idea to me at this point, so I'm just wondering if anyone else has done it.

Tim,

Benq replaced the fans for me when it was in for service this last year.

I take it you are out of warranty now?

Having taken apart a BenQ, I do not think replacing the fans would be difficult so long as the replacements have the same specifications as the original. You are pretty handy (e.g., your projector mount), so I think you could easily do it if your projector is out of warranty.

Thanks for the replies. Interesting, it looks like I'm still in warranty until June. I suppose the very first batch is barely going out of the 3 yr warranty right now.

I'm still not sure I want to send it in and be without it for a couple of weeks, when it's our main display (and don't really use the TV at all). That, and I think I could get a better quality fan than the OEM one they'll replace anyway. Unfortunately, I have to remove them and check the specs (dimensions, CFM, input voltage, etc), then put it back in place until the new fans arrive. I was hoping someone had done this before and had the specs..

I'll report back when I get them out.

Hi Tim. I haven't made measurements on the fans in my MT700 (the PE7700 clone), but they look very much like the 80mm computer case fan size.

BTW, my impression is that they are operating in parallel, both blowing in the same direction. The way they are mounted, it doesn't make sense for them to blow in opposite directions (the way the plenum is shaped, that would result in almost no air flow). It could be that one of your fans has actually stopped working - it could be turning backwards because of the other fan operation.

You might want to check the Silent PC Review web site for their recommendations. Their recommended 80mm ones were: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article689-page2.html#nexus. That article is 2 years old, so it may not be as true today. My local computer store has some CoolerMaster fans that claim to be quieter (13dB, $9.95 each) than those Nexus models (and the fan blade design looks "right"). As far as I know, the CoolerMaster fans may actually be OEM from Nexus.

There's a chance I can get ahold of a PE7700 for $650, is that a good deal? All the reviews I see for this projector are quite old so it's hard to get an idea. I was planning on buying a Mits HC1500 for $950 but then this deal came along, how do they compare?

Thanks

They are comparable in performance, with the HC1500 being slightly better. The HC1500 is new but has a negative (fixed) offset - it has to be mounted below the screen bottom (or above the screen top - ceiling mount) by a significant amount. The PE7700 is an old model (possible parts availability, including the lamp, problem) has a zero offset, also fixed (center of lens at screen bottom, or top for a ceiling mount).

If you do decide to get the PE7700, remember it will have no warranty and should have been factory retrofitted. If it has not, stay away from it!

For the extra $300 you get a brand new PJ, with a full warranty, which will last longer. If you can live with the offset, it's a better deal, IMHO.

wow...this thread still exists!

I too have been enjoying the PE7700 for years now. I still use Economy lamp mode...too scared to use Normal as the last time I did, the lamp blew! haha.

Anyway, the fan comments are interesting. I had one instance where the projector was very very loud...obnoxious fan noise. I had to shutdown and restart...normal since.

I guess my only complaint is how critical light control is and the lack of punch. I have no need for an upgrade yet...probably will when the bulb needs replacing...cannot imagine putting $400 into this projector.

What FW is everyone using? Still 0.49? I saw some comments on 1.xx??

Good point, Claus. I'll have to look more closely on that. I only felt air on one side, and saw blades spinning on the other, so perhaps it is indeed unpowered as you suggest.

I'll check it out when I have some time - for now, I have a garage that I need to work on so I can fit the truck back in.. :)

Hello all. Good to see some old faces still on here from when I purchased my PE7700 in July/August of '05. Tim, I built a Plexi mount for my PE7700 exactly like yours and it's still going strong :)

Over the last nearly 3 years, I've had to send it back in for repair twice, once to fix random black patches all over the picture and the second time when the lamp burned out well before it should have (received a free lamp from that, which still hasn't gone out). I've yet to replace the lamp myself. The last couple of months, every now and then I'd hear a kind of rumbling like a fan wasn't spinning right. Fast forward to tonight when I heard a loud pop and the sound of shattering glass. I immediately turned it off, let it cool down and unplugged everything. I just took out the lamp, which looks to be fine, but there are shards of glass that are red, green and blue when held up to a light. I assume this is my color wheel? I vaguely remember reading years ago about people's color wheels shattering.

Either way, i THINK I'm still under 3 years of ownership. BenQ's tech support phone line said they're closed until Monday morning. Awesome :)

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Looks like a tight nit family here but if someone could could give me some answers that would be grate . I have the PE7700 for about a week the screen displayed lamp replacement so I ordered a lamp got it in a couple days ago but did not put it in right away because I am on econo mode and had more time left . I turned it off last night it was fine came home today to power up and got lamp and temp red lights it came on to display BENQ and as it gos to blue screen shuts down so I thought I had milked the lamp to much so I replaced it pluged everything back in tured it on and got the same thing so I called tech supp they said take the lamp out and reinstall so I did and got the same thing I can hear the fans kick on so they are working but I can't get it to stay on long enough to reset the lamp timer. ANY HELP ?

Call BenQ back. It sounds like it must be broke.
Warren.

Thanks I guess thats what I'll do I did'nt know if there may be a quick fix

Stader77,

Did you get some help from Benq?

I did . I finally sent it back to BenQ For what they said may be a bad lamp or temp sensor Thanks for asking

I cracked open the PJ this weekend and despite having the top and front covers off, and unscrewing the fans on each side where they mount to the bottom, I couldn't remove them easily. It looks like I'd have to take out the black plastic casing that looks like it holds the ballast & lamp. Any ideas here, Kevin?

I think I may just have to send it back while still under warranty. I'd rather not do without it for a couple of weeks though. The interesting part is that it consistently is very loud when first turned on, then quiets down to normal noise level after 10-15 minutes (haven't timed it).

I cracked open the PJ this weekend and despite having the top and front covers off, and unscrewing the fans on each side where they mount to the bottom, I couldn't remove them easily. It looks like I'd have to take out the black plastic casing that looks like it holds the ballast & lamp. Any ideas here, Kevin?

I think I may just have to send it back while still under warranty. I'd rather not do without it for a couple of weeks though. The interesting part is that it consistently is very loud when first turned on, then quiets down to normal noise level after 10-15 minutes (haven't timed it).

Hi Tim,

I still haven't sent my pj in, the warranty runs till next Jan. Like you don't want to be without for the two weeks. Especially during March Madness.

Has your fan noise been consistent at the 10-15 min. duration?

My unit first started at 45 seconds before going to a normal level. That was back around Thanksgiving. It has leveled off at about 3 min. before returning to a quiet state. Been that way for at least two months.

I don't believe any harm is being done operating this way.

Thanks,

Joe

Hi Joe,

The noise level is relatively consistent for the first few minutes, then slowly gets quieter until it drops to the normal level. I'll pay more attention to it the next chance I get and maybe even measure the SPL. After the initial period, it stays quiet the entire time - even for 6+ hrs as it was yesterday (extended Easter Wii session...)

I also don't think there's any harm in it - just an initial higher RPM for the fans that slows down after a few minutes. I think it may have always been that way, but just not so loud for the initial peak.

By the way - FYI for Claus/Kevin regarding the fans - I didn't measure them, but they looked like 120mm to me.

Hello all. Good to see some old faces still on here from when I purchased my PE7700 in July/August of '05. Tim, I built a Plexi mount for my PE7700 exactly like yours and it's still going strong :)

Over the last nearly 3 years, I've had to send it back in for repair twice, once to fix random black patches all over the picture and the second time when the lamp burned out well before it should have (received a free lamp from that, which still hasn't gone out). I've yet to replace the lamp myself. The last couple of months, every now and then I'd hear a kind of rumbling like a fan wasn't spinning right. Fast forward to tonight when I heard a loud pop and the sound of shattering glass. I immediately turned it off, let it cool down and unplugged everything. I just took out the lamp, which looks to be fine, but there are shards of glass that are red, green and blue when held up to a light. I assume this is my color wheel? I vaguely remember reading years ago about people's color wheels shattering.

Either way, i THINK I'm still under 3 years of ownership. BenQ's tech support phone line said they're closed until Monday morning. Awesome :)

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

I contacted BenQ who RMA'd it to their service center in New Jersey. Today I received a phone call from a customer service rep there that said they'd successfully replaced the color wheel, but that the lamp was "defective". I was informed I would have to buy a new lamp.

I asked if the color wheel shattering could have something to do with the lamp now being broken. They said it was two unrelated incidents. I found it awfully coincidental that the lamp was fine before the color wheel shattered and said so. The rep immediately sent me to a "supervisor" who looked up the repair notes. He said the lamp was found to not be working when they received the projector. I asked if it was possible the lamp was damaged in transit. The supervisor said it would be the first time he's ever heard of that happening. They refused to do anything about it except point me to Fedex for a claim.

From what I can see, one of three things happened:

1) The shattered glass from the color wheel that was all over the lamp area when I opened it broke the lamp. If that was the case, I'd think that BenQ would replace the lamp.

2) The lamp was broken in transit. If that's the case, I don't look forward to dealing with Fedex for a claim.

3) The lamp was broken while the projector was being worked on. Again, BenQ service would be responsible.

Regardless, BenQ service refuses to do anything about it so I'm stuck dealing with FedEx who may or may not have caused the problem... and by the supervisor's own admission has never caused a problem before. I'm appreciative that the color wheel was repaired under warranty, but the lamp going out is just too coincidental. Not real happy about this. This is the third time I've sent in the projector for repair in less than 3 years. I rave about it to anyone who asks about it (i.e. anyone who visits the house). I'll have a hard time recommending BenQ in particular after this third round of trouble.

I cracked open the PJ this weekend and despite having the top and front covers off, and unscrewing the fans on each side where they mount to the bottom, I couldn't remove them easily. It looks like I'd have to take out the black plastic casing that looks like it holds the ballast & lamp. Any ideas here, Kevin?

I think I may just have to send it back while still under warranty. I'd rather not do without it for a couple of weeks though. The interesting part is that it consistently is very loud when first turned on, then quiets down to normal noise level after 10-15 minutes (haven't timed it).

Tim,

This is exactly what mine was doing. I finally dropped it off at Benq (10 miles from where I live) to have a look at it. I was having another problem with one of the component inputs, and they ended up replacing the entire board. They replaced the fans at the same time, and all has been well. Nice to have the 3 year warranty!

I contacted BenQ who RMA'd it to their service center in New Jersey. Today I received a phone call from a customer service rep there that said they'd successfully replaced the color wheel, but that the lamp was "defective". I was informed I would have to buy a new lamp.

I asked if the color wheel shattering could have something to do with the lamp now being broken. They said it was two unrelated incidents. I found it awfully coincidental that the lamp was fine before the color wheel shattered and said so. The rep immediately sent me to a "supervisor" who looked up the repair notes. He said the lamp was found to not be working when they received the projector. I asked if it was possible the lamp was damaged in transit. The supervisor said it would be the first time he's ever heard of that happening. They refused to do anything about it except point me to Fedex for a claim.

From what I can see, one of three things happened:

1) The shattered glass from the color wheel that was all over the lamp area when I opened it broke the lamp. If that was the case, I'd think that BenQ would replace the lamp.

2) The lamp was broken in transit. If that's the case, I don't look forward to dealing with Fedex for a claim.

3) The lamp was broken while the projector was being worked on. Again, BenQ service would be responsible.

Regardless, BenQ service refuses to do anything about it so I'm stuck dealing with FedEx who may or may not have caused the problem... and by the supervisor's own admission has never caused a problem before. I'm appreciative that the color wheel was repaired under warranty, but the lamp going out is just too coincidental. Not real happy about this. This is the third time I've sent in the projector for repair in less than 3 years. I rave about it to anyone who asks about it (i.e. anyone who visits the house). I'll have a hard time recommending BenQ in particular after this third round of trouble.

That blows!

I'm not sure who you talked to, when you call Benq, ask for Jesse Dawsee, and tell him you are an AVS member!

I contacted BenQ who RMA'd it to their service center in New Jersey. Today I received a phone call from a customer service rep there that said they'd successfully replaced the color wheel, but that the lamp was "defective". I was informed I would have to buy a new lamp.

I asked if the color wheel shattering could have something to do with the lamp now being broken. They said it was two unrelated incidents. I found it awfully coincidental that the lamp was fine before the color wheel shattered and said so. The rep immediately sent me to a "supervisor" who looked up the repair notes. He said the lamp was found to not be working when they received the projector. I asked if it was possible the lamp was damaged in transit. The supervisor said it would be the first time he's ever heard of that happening. They refused to do anything about it except point me to Fedex for a claim.



From what I can see, one of three things happened:

1) The shattered glass from the color wheel that was all over the lamp area when I opened it broke the lamp. If that was the case, I'd think that BenQ would replace the lamp.

2) The lamp was broken in transit. If that's the case, I don't look forward to dealing with Fedex for a claim.

3) The lamp was broken while the projector was being worked on. Again, BenQ service would be responsible.

Regardless, BenQ service refuses to do anything about it so I'm stuck dealing with FedEx who may or may not have caused the problem... and by the supervisor's own admission has never caused a problem before. I'm appreciative that the color wheel was repaired under warranty, but the lamp going out is just too coincidental. Not real happy about this. This is the third time I've sent in the projector for repair in less than 3 years. I rave about it to anyone who asks about it (i.e. anyone who visits the house). I'll have a hard time recommending BenQ in particular after this third round of trouble.

Hi Chris,

Sorry to hear about the less than positive experience.

A few thoughts. At 150 pages and quite some time not sure, but you may be the only post here to have a color wheel shatter. Don't know what the rpm speed on the wheel is but with the remnants flying around the hot lamp, destroying the lamp would seem to be a reasonable expectation.

Back when if memory serves during the infamous lamp failure/fw fix saga the repair place up in NJ did not receive high marks from some.

My unit has been shipped off twice. First time was to NJ for an issue with an image problem. Never quite understood what was wrong. Long story short it came back with the problem solved but with a handwritten notation that all that was done was "return to factory settings". Not the case. I had every setting noted as originally shipped and that did not work for me as a fix. Something else was done. Also for that trip up I sent it double boxed and it came back in the single original Ben box. Believe the Garden State facility is a contract service center. Also turnaround time was 3 weeks.

When my lamp finally died (at 520 hours and well within the "first year hot swap warranty", but let's not go back to that annoyance) the unit went back to Ben in CA.

Also double boxed. Turnaround was less than 2 weeks and came back in a larger second box with added "popcorn". Seems that they do things right out at HQ.

Anyway it sounds like you only dealt with the contract place up in Jersey.

If so call BenQ direct and complain.

They have had a great reputation. The pressure on price point is now the driving force for front pj's. A market that did not really exist just a few years ago is now growing. You can even purchase in a big box place.

But 3 year warranty's for sub $2K units? Probably history.

Update: Noticed that Blasst posted a contact name. Use that.

"you know that you're addicted to avs when" .... you leave a browser open and hidden for three hours .... to respond to a bunch of great people and don't want the myspace teens to delete, and they have their own machines anyway.

Joe

Hey all,

Been a while since i posted. But my PJ just went into the shop for the 4th time in 2 years. This time i got the 2 blinking red lights and shutdown. First 3 times were all the same problem blinking red lights of death. Anyways this time it went to NJ and got it back in about 2 weeks. Mounted it back on the ceiling and 10 minutes later shut down with blinking lights of death. I am so frikin sick of this crap. They are at least going to exchange my unit again (2nd time). I have actually been pretty pleased with BenQ's customer service but I would never be able to recommend a BenQ product. I think my PJ has spent as much time in the shop as it has on my ceiling. I was going to wait to upgrade to 1080P till next year but think I will just take the leap now. Think i will go with a Panny 2000. Thanks for letting me vent.
Chris

Hey all,

Been a while since i posted. But my PJ just went into the shop for the 4th time in 2 years. This time i got the 2 blinking red lights and shutdown. First 3 times were all the same problem blinking red lights of death. Anyways this time it went to NJ and got it back in about 2 weeks. Mounted it back on the ceiling and 10 minutes later shut down with blinking lights of death. I am so frikin sick of this crap. They are at least going to exchange my unit again (2nd time). I have actually been pretty pleased with BenQ's customer service but I would never be able to recommend a BenQ product. I think my PJ has spent as much time in the shop as it has on my ceiling. I was going to wait to upgrade to 1080P till next year but think I will just take the leap now. Think i will go with a Panny 2000. Thanks for letting me vent.
Chris

Yeah,

Two posts to this thread. Last was 12-09-05. Welcome back.

The two red lights of death. Well Stated Sir.

Knew I would be in trouble with the "Jersey" comment.


Tim,

Forgot to mention, welcome back. Semper Fi.

Joe

That blows!

I'm not sure who you talked to, when you call Benq, ask for Jesse Dawsee, and tell him you are an AVS member!

I originally spoke with Doug, who happens to answer the phone nearly every time I call the North American BenQ tech support and hit 1 for the projector department. He then passed me on to a "supervisor", whom I believe was named Jesse, but I could be mistaken. I didn't mention AVS at the time though. They were both friendly and I felt bad complaining, but I wasn't about to just eat the price of a $300+ lamp when it was fine before the color wheel shattered.

Bronco mentioned calling BenQ direct to complain about the service center and the busted lamp. If not tech support, who should I attempt to get ahold of? Someone at the BenQ America Corp HQ - 949-255-9500?

Thanks as usual for the helpful suggestions on how to proceed.

I originally spoke with Doug, who happens to answer the phone nearly every time I call the North American BenQ tech support and hit 1 for the projector department. He then passed me on to a "supervisor", whom I believe was named Jesse, but I could be mistaken. I didn't mention AVS at the time though. They were both friendly and I felt bad complaining, but I wasn't about to just eat the price of a $300+ lamp when it was fine before the color wheel shattered.

Bronco mentioned calling BenQ direct to complain about the service center and the busted lamp. If not tech support, who should I attempt to get ahold of? Someone at the BenQ America Corp HQ - 949-255-9500?

Thanks as usual for the helpful suggestions on how to proceed.

I attempted to reach someone at the above phone number. The gentlemen said he'd connect me with Jesse, however, I let him know that I'd already spoken with Jesse and would like to speak to his supervisor, whom he said was Jun. I left a message for Jun explaining that my lamp was fine before the color wheel shattered, etc. I then received an email from Andy offering to send me a refurbished demo bulb that should have "low hours". I accepted that offer as it seems quite fair to me... I sent in a used lamp.. receiving a used lamp makes sense. All in all, my color wheel was replaced and the rest of the unit is the same as I sent it in, perhaps with lower hours than my original lamp. Sending it in for the third time was an inconvenience, but the customer service I received through this offer makes up for it, in my mind.

Chris,

Good news. Glad to see Ben is still giving good customer service.

Joe

Hello,

My bonus finally arrived :-).

Spoke to my boss (wife) and she agreed that we can afford to upgrade the Benq PE7700.

As I am now invested in blu-ray (PS3) and sit rather close to a 84 inch screen, I think there may be affordable projectors out there that could now substitute for the reliable PE7700. Unfortunately, it is difficult for me to find nearby dealers that have 1080p projectors to see.

Anyway, I have read on projector central and other sites that 1080p projectors have been dropping in price. Under $3000, there seem to be quite a few options.

As most of the readers of this forum are experts in the PE7700, are there any affordable projectors out there (US $2,000-$US 3,000) that would make you forget the PE7700 (i.e. better contrast, "pop", resolution, "aww factor")???

Thanks in advance for any help.

I upgraded to the panasonic ae2000u. It is a very nice upgrade over the 7700. I like to sit close to the screen too, and with the 7700 the screen door effect was bad. With the panny with smoothscreen technology I can stick my nose on the screen and not see it. The nice thing is it looks amazing right out of the box. Just switch to color1 mode and you are ready to watch. I have DVE but haven't bothered it looks so good. It sounds like the Epson UB projector looks better, but has some issues. The Panasonic has performed awesome, but some people are having a problem with dust blobs. It isn't too hard to fix. As you are in Brazil, I assume reliability is important, so I would lean to the panny ae2000u. Also sitting close to the screen, the panny has a huge advantage over any other projector. I sit 7 feet from a 120" screen and love it.
Warren.

Thanks Warren for your reply. Great advice. Reliability is HUGE for me.

Does blu-ray disks seem SHARPER to you with the AE2000u projector???
How about contrast??? Good blacks???

Thanks!

Well, I have to send it again. It appears that I have a fan issue (Power is orange and temp and lamp lights are flashing red). The first time I sent it in it was back in less than 10 days.

Here's hoping it will be speedy this time as well.

Thanks Warren for your reply. Great advice. Reliability is HUGE for me.

Does blu-ray disks seem SHARPER to you with the AE2000u projector???
How about contrast??? Good blacks???

Thanks!I'm interested in Warren's answer too. From another thread that compared a new HC4900 with an old HC900 (a Darkchip 2, 1024 x 768, DLP projector), the sharpness and picture quality were only slightly better, he did not say what video sources he used. Since the HC4900 is similar to the AE2000 (but has poorer black levels), I would guess that the biggest improvement would be in the black levels, and projector reliability, with picture quality being only slightly better. I would think that a good Blu-Ray disc would look extremely good on the AE2000, however.

My comments are based on what I've read. Warren should be able to give us the real comparison, from what he sees.

I'm also interested in a comparison of the projector (PE7700/MT700 vs AE2000) brightness (in its "best" mode).

We're waiting, Warren :cool:.

Hard to believe its been right on 3 years since presenter (Art) was demoing the 7700, and checklst purchased his.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=495385&highlight=benq+7700&page=8

That was a fast 3 years my friends! I still haven't dropped the hammer on a 1080P projector. Since I bought my 61" 1080P RPDLP set, a year and a half ago, I've been sitting tight with what I have.

This has been a great thread, and here's to many more years of service from our 7700's!

Hello,

I've had the ae2000 since December as a replacement for the Benq 7700. When I first got it and fired it up the first thing that hits you is how bright it is, even in Color 1 mode. The next thing I noticed is that the black level seemed high, judging by the light coming off the screen on an all black image. I was expecting lowered black levels and was somewhat disappointed. At the time I think that the black levels were lower on the benq, but then again the benq had about 1400 hrs. on the bulb. I then put on some movies. The images had a greater clarity, perhaps less noise, and was much more 'dynamic' than the benq - kind of like a plasma. It was a big 'wow'. The elevated black level was now not noticeable. This is probably attributed to the higher brightness coupled with the higher contrast of the Panasonic. Another big difference I noted was the rendering of shadow detail. On the benq I had always noticed grey fog in darkened areas and I was always fiddling with the settings trying to reduce it. With the panasonic, I've not felt the need to do that. Only in really dark movies is it more noticeable. I see a lot of detail that I've not seen before. This was really noticed on the movie King Kong on HD DVD through an xbox. On sharpness, I can't really say one way or the other whether there was an improvement in this area over the Benq. I think the extra detail that shows up makes it also appear to be sharper as well.

Fast forward to now, about 250 hours. The black levels are lower now and the images are not quite as dynamic though still satisfying. I'm sure this is because of bulb dimming. On good HD material I still get that wow feeling and I don't feel that I have to constantly tweak. Overall I'm really happy with the PQ upgrade.

BTW. I'm showing on a 92" diag. Hi power from about 12 ft away with the pj mounted about 6 ft high. Prior to the bulb aging, this screen is probably not ideal. I now find myself thinking about doing a larger scope screen.

I've also not yet fed it a native 1080p source signal, other than through a SD DVD player upconverted to 1080p. I'm rather curious to see how it would look on a 1080p source.

Regards

Thanks. However, for your sized screen, you are running the AE2000 way too bright (your preference, of course). You really need to be running it in the low power mode (my opinion). See http://www.projectorreviews.com/panasonic/pt-ae2000u/performance.php#calibration, for Art's settings for the AE2000 (on a 100" screen).

I ran my MT700 in the low power mode (on a 106" screen) and found it to be more than bright enough. You really need to calibrate your AE2000. You will find that it will really improve the black level details.

Basement,

Any chance of running native 1080p MATERIAL through your AE2000?

Right now I am using the Benq PE7700 with PS3, but of course I have to send the material at 720p. Picture is nice, but I thought it would be more of a "WOW."

Curious how the AE2000 shows native 1080p (ex. blu-ray films). Does it seem much better than the BENQ at 720p??? Sharper??? That is the deal breaker for me.

Does 1080p native material on AE2000 seem DEFINITELY better than 720p on PE7700?Very curious.

Your comments on the AE2000 don't exactly convince me that is a "great" upgrade.
Picture is only slightly better, brighter. You say SHARPNESS is a toss-up. But then again, you haven't used native 1080 material. Thanks again for your thoughts.

Thanks. However, for your sized screen, you are running the AE2000 way too bright (your preference, of course). You really need to be running it in the low power mode (my opinion). See http://www.projectorreviews.com/panasonic/pt-ae2000u/performance.php#calibration, for Art's settings for the AE2000 (on a 100" screen).

I ran my MT700 in the low power mode (on a 106" screen) and found it to be more than bright enough. You really need to calibrate your AE2000. You will find that it will really improve the black level details.

Yes. Agree that OOTB normal mode is too bright for movie viewing. On the ae2000, brightness is more a function of the colour mode. Oddly, there is little to no discernible brightness difference when the lamp modes are switched. That was noted by others as well. I run the panasonic in the Color modes which is much more subdued. When I first got the machine I lowered the brightness control way down to see what would happen to the grey bars. It didn't seem to have much affect at all, which I don't understand. On the benq when you lower brightness everything gets much darker. I thought there was something wrong with the control. Again, other than the black bars showing, there's little to complain about on the displayed image. Now that I have some hours on the lamp I'll try a DVE calibration.

The ae2000 Normal mode with this size screen is great for gaming. You see a lot of detail with a lot of pop, even with some lights on. The benq in its brightest mode is adequately bright but never had the impact the panasonic shows even after a couple of hundred hours on the lamp.

Yes. Agree that OOTB normal mode is too bright for movie viewing. On the ae2000, brightness is more a function of the colour mode. Oddly, there is little to no discernible brightness difference when the lamp modes are switched. That was noted by others as well. I run the panasonic in the Color modes which is much more subdued. When I first got the machine I lowered the brightness control way down to see what would happen to the grey bars. It didn't seem to have much affect at all, which I don't understand. On the benq when you lower brightness everything gets much darker. I thought there was something wrong with the control. Again, other than the black bars showing, there's little to complain about on the displayed image. Now that I have some hours on the lamp I'll try a DVE calibration.

The ae2000 Normal mode with this size screen is great for gaming. You see a lot of detail with a lot of pop, even with some lights on. The benq in its brightest mode is adequately bright but never had the impact the panasonic shows even after a couple of hundred hours on the lamp.

Have you considered using an ND filter?

Joe

Basement,

Any chance of running native 1080p MATERIAL through your AE2000?

Right now I am using the Benq PE7700 with PS3, but of course I have to send the material at 720p. Picture is nice, but I thought it would be more of a "WOW."

Curious how the AE2000 shows native 1080p (ex. blu-ray films). Does it seem much better than the BENQ at 720p??? Sharper??? That is the deal breaker for me.

Does 1080p native material on AE2000 seem DEFINITELY better than 720p on PE7700?Very curious.

Your comments on the AE2000 don't exactly convince me that is a "great" upgrade.
Picture is only slightly better, brighter. You say SHARPNESS is a toss-up. But then again, you haven't used native 1080 material. Thanks again for your thoughts.

Hello. It's difficult to describe the difference. The panny shows much more detail. It is an immediate noticeable difference on all sources. I remember watching King kong on HD on both machines and the panny showed detail much more distinctly. The benq is sharp and the panny looks sharp as well. The benq has that sometimes described haze over the image. The panny has less of that. It looks a lot clearer and that too is immediately obvious. Art at Projector reviews used to talk about PJs having a 'sunny' disposition. The benq has less of that compared to the panny.

Overall, to me, the biggest PQ improvement comes from the panny's ability to show greater detail, especially in the darker scenes. I really had trouble with the grey fog with dark scenes on the benq. Next to that, the panny is capable of much brighter output, which really shows up on gaming or TV use with a little light.

Unfortunately I don't have any 1080p sources. Perhaps I'll borrow a PS/3 to try. I won't try to predict what 1080p would look like compared to 720p on the benq. I will say that the PQ improvement with the same 720p sources on the panny vs the benq is very noticeable and would be apparent to anyone. Overall, I believe it's an improvement for many reasons, and not entirely attributed to resolution.

Hey guys back to vent again. Been having major problems with my 7700 since I bought it. Watching Cloverfield tonight my Pj just broke for the 6th, thats right 6th time. I have had 2 replacement units and now the second one has broken. When i received this unit I inserted a new lamp and was in awe as the picture looked as good as new. Then tonight 2 red lights of death again. only around 100 hours on the new bulb. This situation is just pathetic. I thought about moving up to 1080p last time but really cant afford it. Hope BQ takes care of me tomorrow again for the 6th time. Really disgusted at this point. If you are new to projectors dont even think about buying a BQ. This PJ is the worst piece of electronics ever sold. Outrageous!!!

I've been reading everyone's posts about the Benq pe7700, only because I just encountered an odd problem with mine. I have a refurb unit that had the firmware update and bulb relaced (or so I am told by Benq). After 5 months of perfect performace and no issues, my HDMI starting acting up. I was running an HDMI switcher and had Dish going through one and my PS3 through the other. The other night, when I went to switch to my PS3, all I got was a black screen. Flip it back to Dish and no problem. I hadn't made any changes and thought perhaps I had an issue with my PS3. I hooked up the PS3 to an HDMI TV set upsatirs and no issues. Plugged in another HDMI DVD player and still get the black screen. In the lower right hand corner, it appears to grab the 720 P signal, but wont display the picture. Flip it back to Dish, no problems. Thanks to some posts on AVS, I see there may be an issue with the HDMI in the pj. Has anyone ever had this happen to theirs where it just stops working on one signal, vs. another in HDMI? If so, what was the fix? FYI I have tried several other HDMI cables and still no picture. Tried a different PS3 and had same results. Any info would be helpful. Thanks...

I've been reading everyone's posts about the Benq pe7700, only because I just encountered an odd problem with mine. I have a refurb unit that had the firmware update and bulb relaced (or so I am told by Benq). After 5 months of perfect performace and no issues, my HDMI starting acting up. I was running an HDMI switcher and had Dish going through one and my PS3 through the other. The other night, when I went to switch to my PS3, all I got was a black screen. Flip it back to Dish and no problem. I hadn't made any changes and thought perhaps I had an issue with my PS3. I hooked up the PS3 to an HDMI TV set upsatirs and no issues. Plugged in another HDMI DVD player and still get the black screen. In the lower right hand corner, it appears to grab the 720 P signal, but wont display the picture. Flip it back to Dish, no problems. Thanks to some posts on AVS, I see there may be an issue with the HDMI in the pj. Has anyone ever had this happen to theirs where it just stops working on one signal, vs. another in HDMI? If so, what was the fix? FYI I have tried several other HDMI cables and still no picture. Tried a different PS3 and had same results. Any info would be helpful. Thanks...

Welcome to AVS cast3847,

What HDMI switcher do you have?

Did you try swapping inputs on the switcher? PS3 for Dish input?

Hey guys back to vent again. Been having major problems with my 7700 since I bought it. Watching Cloverfield tonight my Pj just broke for the 6th, thats right 6th time. I have had 2 replacement units and now the second one has broken. When i received this unit I inserted a new lamp and was in awe as the picture looked as good as new. Then tonight 2 red lights of death again. only around 100 hours on the new bulb. This situation is just pathetic. I thought about moving up to 1080p last time but really cant afford it. Hope BQ takes care of me tomorrow again for the 6th time. Really disgusted at this point. If you are new to projectors dont even think about buying a BQ. This PJ is the worst piece of electronics ever sold. Outrageous!!!


It is unfortunate that you have had this many issues with the 7700 units you have received. As with all electronics there will be some who get nailed with more problems than others.

What is the latest info on Benq resolving your last problem?

I've been reading everyone's posts about the Benq pe7700, only because I just encountered an odd problem with mine. I have a refurb unit that had the firmware update and bulb relaced (or so I am told by Benq). After 5 months of perfect performace and no issues, my HDMI starting acting up. I was running an HDMI switcher and had Dish going through one and my PS3 through the other. The other night, when I went to switch to my PS3, all I got was a black screen. Flip it back to Dish and no problem. I hadn't made any changes and thought perhaps I had an issue with my PS3. I hooked up the PS3 to an HDMI TV set upsatirs and no issues. Plugged in another HDMI DVD player and still get the black screen. In the lower right hand corner, it appears to grab the 720 P signal, but wont display the picture. Flip it back to Dish, no problems. Thanks to some posts on AVS, I see there may be an issue with the HDMI in the pj. Has anyone ever had this happen to theirs where it just stops working on one signal, vs. another in HDMI? If so, what was the fix? FYI I have tried several other HDMI cables and still no picture. Tried a different PS3 and had same results. Any info would be helpful. Thanks...

Welcome to the forum.

Some of us have had some issues with HDMI/HDCP handshakes.

I have had a problem twice. I'm using a Gefen 3 in 1 out switcher. Twice after going on vacation and having turned off power to the system via the main power switch on the surge protector, upon returning and powering everything back up I did not get HDMI to lock onto my PS3, D* HR10-250 or my oppo DVD player.

The fix that worked involved taking the Gefen switcher out of the loop and then with the pj powered down via the main switch on the back, running an HDMI cable from a source device directly to the pj. Power up the source and then the pj. Then with both devices still on reinsert the Gefen unit and the two other devices.

I know this sounds screwy but thats what worked in my case. Took a while to figure it out.

Your problem sounds different but it is worth a shot.

Is the screen blank or does it display "searching for signal"?

Have you tried a direct connection from the PS3 to the pj?

And have you tried all the HDMI inputs on your switcher with the PS?

HDCP can be a real pain. Now that I think about it I did have one other issue some months back. Finished viewing a BD movie one night and inserted another one. The "Searching..." msg came up. Ejected the disc, reinserted same disc and all was well. Go figure.

Joe

I have to improve my keystroke speed!!

Thanks guys for the quick response..

I've taken the Terk Switcher out of the loop altogether and plugged directly into the PJ with a 6 foot HDMI. Tried different HDMI cables, and the original one which was in place when the problem arose. I have powered off the projector, unplugged it for 1/2 hour and re-powered it up. The message at the bottom right has been as if it captured the signal, as the "searching" text goes away and then says 720p x 60. However the screen stays dark. When I plugged in a dvd player, the message changes to "HDMI uncompatible." I'm not sure if thats because the DVD / receiver I have is an older model 1.1 HDMI or if the pj HDMI is simply screwed up. I've contacted benq and they say they have had some HDMI issues, but leaned towards the PS3 not being compitable. Well, I've had the PS3 working for 5 months, so I dont think it became incompatible overnight. Further, I borrowed another PS3 and had the same issue, thus I beleive something happened to the pj. Benq gave me an RMA to return to New Jersey to see if they can solve / fix the issue. I'll send it in this week, but hope the repair process doesn't take 2 months and get it back in the same condition. In any case, thanks for the replies so far. It's nice to be able to vent and get repsonses from people who know about this stuff.

Thanks guys for the quick response..

I've taken the Terk Switcher out of the loop altogether and plugged directly into the PJ with a 6 foot HDMI. Tried different HDMI cables, and the original one which was in place when the problem arose. I have powered off the projector, unplugged it for 1/2 hour and re-powered it up. The message at the bottom right has been as if it captured the signal, as the "searching" text goes away and then says 720p x 60. However the screen stays dark. When I plugged in a dvd player, the message changes to "HDMI uncompatible." I'm not sure if thats because the DVD / receiver I have is an older model 1.1 HDMI or if the pj HDMI is simply screwed up. I've contacted benq and they say they have had some HDMI issues, but leaned towards the PS3 not being compitable. Well, I've had the PS3 working for 5 months, so I dont think it became incompatible overnight. Further, I borrowed another PS3 and had the same issue, thus I beleive something happened to the pj. Benq gave me an RMA to return to New Jersey to see if they can solve / fix the issue. I'll send it in this week, but hope the repair process doesn't take 2 months and get it back in the same condition. In any case, thanks for the replies so far. It's nice to be able to vent and get repsonses from people who know about this stuff.

PS3 not compatible, you must have gotten a rookie CS person.

Strange that your Dish box worked.

In regards to the place in NJ, I had my unit shipped there once. Turnaround time was 2 weeks.

Good luck. BTW what do you think of the 7700?

Joe

Hello fellow 7700 users....have been following this thread as a lurker for awhile, decided to chime in. Just got done with my original 7700 a few weeks ago....it would play for awhile then would get the "twin lights of death" which is humerous only after your projector has been fixed/replaced. Was the third RMA so when i called i really let em have it and convinced them that replacing the unit was the only way to go. They saw things my way and now i've got the replacement (refurb) unit going on about 15 hours of use. I did not realize how much my other pj had darkened but on the new one sometimes i have to check to see if its on economic or full because it seems so much brighter. I really love this projector when it works, hate it when it doesnt as most of you can attest to. One thing i have noticed on this one that i didn't notice on my other one is (and i really don't know how to describe this well so bare with me) that when say looking at clouds and the ones that are white look perfect but the ones that are grey and dark as the shade gets darker, it looks like there is compression/digitalization happening within the darkening......what is that? and whats causing it? I use only component as i have always so nothing changed there. Any input would be great. Still learning even after all this time. Thanks.

John

P.S. i got S/N PDN8500080TV0H for my new refurb/replacement. Is that anybodies old boat anchor? Would be curious.....check out your paperwork.

Hello fellow PE7700 owners!

I tought I'd post my problem on this forum since it has been my ultimate PE7700 guide and I always seems to find he answers I'm looking for.

So here it goes...

My PE7700 has started doing weird things.

The focus only seems to make about 4/5 of the image sharp and the remaining 1/5 on the RHS (top to bottom) is slightly blurred. Does this mean my lens is faulty? Also, I've noticed that a bit of light is leaking from around the perimeter of the lens (RHS of it looking from the front when ceiling mounted) which hits the ceiling (distracting) and also some goes towards the image which makes the that part look slightly less bright than the rest (coincidently, it's the same side as the blurring).

I don't know if these things were always like this and I've just noticed now, or if something has recently changed. I'm leaning towards the latter...

Should I be looking at my warranty papers? Any help is appreciated!

PS - The light leakage hitting the ceiling has always been there, I just think it was smaller and dimmer previously. Also, the image seems to be slightly warped along the bottom edge with each corner dipping down a little - is this another sign of a lens problem?

Hello fellow 7700 users....have been following this thread as a lurker for awhile, decided to chime in. Just got done with my original 7700 a few weeks ago....it would play for awhile then would get the "twin lights of death" which is humerous only after your projector has been fixed/replaced. Was the third RMA so when i called i really let em have it and convinced them that replacing the unit was the only way to go. They saw things my way and now i've got the replacement (refurb) unit going on about 15 hours of use. I did not realize how much my other pj had darkened but on the new one sometimes i have to check to see if its on economic or full because it seems so much brighter. I really love this projector when it works, hate it when it doesnt as most of you can attest to. One thing i have noticed on this one that i didn't notice on my other one is (and i really don't know how to describe this well so bare with me) that when say looking at clouds and the ones that are white look perfect but the ones that are grey and dark as the shade gets darker, it looks like there is compression/digitalization happening within the darkening......what is that? and whats causing it? I use only component as i have always so nothing changed there. Any input would be great. Still learning even after all this time. Thanks.

John

P.S. i got S/N PDN8500080TV0H for my new refurb/replacement. Is that anybodies old boat anchor? Would be curious.....check out your paperwork.

Hi John,

First, what are your source devices and do you see this problem with all sources? Second, are you using an AVR or pre-pro to do component switching?

The problem you describe could be due to a less than optimal CW (color wheel) Delay setting. My unit came back from Ben service with that value changed slightly. I noticed some strange artifacts. The human eye is very sensitive to skin tones. If CW delay is off it is easy to see with skin tones. You see a blotchy affect with a color cast.

The way to check the CW setting is from the service menu. You note that you have been reading this thread. You will find detailed info on just about everything here. Kevin R. Anderson is ISF certified, owned a 7700 and posted all kinds of useful things including a discussion of CW delay.

Bear in mind that making changes in the service menu can really mess things up. If you venture there be sure to write down ALL the original settings as set by BenQ so that you can revert if necessary.

To get into the service menu: menu-up-down-up-down-up-down-menu.

And most IMPORTANT: to exit the service menu select "return user OSD" and NOT the choices that include the word "Factory" IIRC there are 3 choices with that.

Hope this helps.

Joe

Hello fellow PE7700 owners!

I tought I'd post my problem on this forum since it has been my ultimate PE7700 guide and I always seems to find he answers I'm looking for.

So here it goes...

My PE7700 has started doing weird things.

The focus only seems to make about 4/5 of the image sharp and the remaining 1/5 on the RHS (top to bottom) is slightly blurred. Does this mean my lens is faulty? Also, I've noticed that a bit of light is leaking from around the perimeter of the lens (RHS of it looking from the front when ceiling mounted) which hits the ceiling (distracting) and also some goes towards the image which makes the that part look slightly less bright than the rest (coincidently, it's the same side as the blurring).

I don't know if these things were always like this and I've just noticed now, or if something has recently changed. I'm leaning towards the latter...

Should I be looking at my warranty papers? Any help is appreciated!

PS - The light leakage hitting the ceiling has always been there, I just think it was smaller and dimmer previously. Also, the image seems to be slightly warped along the bottom edge with each corner dipping down a little - is this another sign of a lens problem?

G'Day,

Light scatter is normal and the visible amount depends on the exact setup of the pj and screen. In my case to accommodate my 133" screen requires mounting the pj very close to an HVAC soffit and the screen top edge close to a wide, pure white, crown molding. I'm sure this results in a reduction in contrast ratio. Would love to paint the molding and ceiling either flat black or a dark neutral gray but have to deal with the WAF -:).

Have you changed the alignment of the pj with respect to the screen?

If you haven't already done so try using a proper test pattern to get a good idea of sharpness and geometry. The grid pattern in the 7700 would be a place to start.

Don't believe we have seen lens issues reported here that would account for what you are seeing.

Joe

G'Day,

Light scatter is normal and the visible amount depends on the exact setup of the pj and screen. In my case to accommodate my 133" screen requires mounting the pj very close to an HVAC soffit and the screen top edge close to a wide, pure white, crown molding. I'm sure this results in a reduction in contrast ratio. Would love to paint the molding and ceiling either flat black or a dark neutral gray but have to deal with the WAF -:).

Have you changed the alignment of the pj with respect to the screen?

If you haven't already done so try using a proper test pattern to get a good idea of sharpness and geometry. The grid pattern in the 7700 would be a place to start.

Don't believe we have seen lens issues reported here that would account for what you are seeing.

Joe
Good to know that light spill is normal. I've just recently installed heavy velvet curtains in my theatre room which has substancially reduced reflected light and dramatically darkened the room and I think this is making the spillage more noticeable (derrr! should have realised this!:) ). I'm also thinking this is the reason that my image distortion has mysteriously 'appeared' :)

On the distortion issue, I've been projecting on to a flat white painted wall due to budget restraints :) I've always known this isn't the ultimate solution and it's just twigged that maybe the reason my image is distorted is because the wall is curved! You can't notice it with the naked eye but when you place a spirit level on it it's definitely there. The tradesmen that worked on my house were very average (another story there), especially the plasterer, so this doesn't surprise me at all!

I've decided the best and cheapest solution is to make a DIY screen. This will sort out the 'curve' problem and hopefully help with the spillage issue too. I haven't got a lot of doh right now so I'm thinking I'll go for the 3 pass block out material option with a timber frame. Hmm, wonder if it's better to paint the frame matt black or use felt? I'm probably going to use a simple skirting board profile (bevelled maybe) to make it look more professional so how would you fix velvet/felt to that neatly? Should be a fun experimental project!

Josh.

I've just got my unit back after a firmware upgrade and a new bulb (I had the old problem of the lamp life showing 37% but with the warning advising to change bulb). Otherwise it was working fine. Now I have two big problems; left hand side of the image is blurred (approximately 2" of a 70" wide screen area) and there seems to be an HDMI issue in that all WHITE signals from the pc are blue and when the pc is off the screen is a dusky pink. The source box in the bottom right hand of the screen image is fine (white on blue) when it comes on. I have hooked it up to my laptop using the RGBHD cable and the picture is fine (except for the blurred edge).

Anyone got any ideas to save me having to send it back or is this most likely an HDMI internal hardware/firmware issue.

This is my first post so would appreciate some help here!

I got a new bulb a while back and with only changing the bulb, the left 2" of a 110" screen have a shadow. The picture is there and is clear but dark like a shadow in front of it. I called BenQ and they say it is something they will fix. I have not chosen to send it in yet as we use it all the time and it really doesn't bother us that much (relative to not having it for over a week!).

Well, just got my pj back today from New Jersey and was surprised it took only one week door to door. Plugged it in and attached the PS3. The image was there (unlike before) until I elected to go through my receiver's (panasonic) HDMI switcher. The image was then non-existant as it did prior to sending it in. The odd thing is that when I hooked it up to my original Terk switcher, I get the image. So, it looks like I will be returning my receiver I purchased while the pj was in the repair shop to Best Buy and sticking with the Terk. Somewhere along the line, the HDMI handshake just isn't happening correctly, but I can't figure out why. Oh well.. Oh by the way, when I got my pj back, the bulb life said I only had 5 hours on it vs 700 when I sent it in. I'm guessing I didn't get a new bulb out of an HDMI issue...lol... Oh well, such is life.

I've just got my unit back after a firmware upgrade and a new bulb (I had the old problem of the lamp life showing 37% but with the warning advising to change bulb). Otherwise it was working fine. Now I have two big problems; left hand side of the image is blurred (approximately 2" of a 70" wide screen area) and there seems to be an HDMI issue in that all WHITE signals from the pc are blue and when the pc is off the screen is a dusky pink. The source box in the bottom right hand of the screen image is fine (white on blue) when it comes on. I have hooked it up to my laptop using the RGBHD cable and the picture is fine (except for the blurred edge).

Anyone got any ideas to save me having to send it back or is this most likely an HDMI internal hardware/firmware issue.

This is my first post so would appreciate some help here!

Sounds similar to my HDMI issue.. AKA a lack of image, yet the bottom right indicates it is getting the signal. With the left being blurry and no HDMI signal, I would send it back in for repair...

So I got my unit back yesterday. I think BenQ only had it for two days. They must be getting really good at fixing these ;)

They didn't include a sheet to tell me what they did but the error lights I got meant "fans stopped working".

Anyway, Saturday I had purchased a PS3 so I was excited to watch some Blu-ray movies. There is an appreciable difference. I also put in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and was blown away by the graphics. I had to keep telling myself "this is game?"

I was pretty impressed, all around.

(snip)
Anyway, Saturday I had purchased a PS3 so I was excited to watch some Blu-ray movies. There is an appreciable difference. I also put in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and was blown away by the graphics. I had to keep telling myself "this is game?"

I was pretty impressed, all around.

What resolution did you end up running the PS3/PJ, 720p or 1080i? Did you try both?

Hi,
I purchased my PE7700 on June 2005. Went thru the original bulb problem, and finally the bulb issue was fixed by the firmware upgrade (I believe it is version 0.48 release date May 2006). After FW upgrade everything has been great. I have the projector hooked up to a Panasonic up-converting DVD player via HDMI and not issues. I have a Cable box, a notebook PC and a desktop PC. All can display to PE700 via HDMI without any problem.

Well last week, I decided to upgrade my DVD player to a Blue Ray player and purchased Sony PS3 (40GB version from BB). I can use the PS3 with two of my LCD TV's without any problem. Unfortunately when I connect to the PE700 via HDMI I can't get them to communicate. All I get is "Searching for HDMI" on PE700 screen. I tried AV cable and component cable (Y/Pb/Pr) and it works ( with usual analog artifacts). I configured the PS3 to output HDMI @720p. Switched to HDMI and still the same problem "searching for HDMI" message. I pull the cable from PE7700 and plug it to the LCD TV (1080p capable) and It works fine with 720p resolution, to verify PS3 is in 720p mode.

I exchanged the PS3 console, tried three different HDMI cables but in all cases I get the same "Searchning for HDMi .." message. The projector works fine with other three HDMI sources. The PS3 works fine with the other two TV's but they cant communicate to each other. I tried 480p, 720p and 1080i PS3 modes but it does not help.

So my question is: does PS3 works with PE700 Or if I am setting it wrong. I see many postings on this BB with people using PS3 with PE700.

I am more inclined to think that the problem is with PE700. My projector is almost three years old and at the time it was build, the HDMI (especially HDCP) was in its infancy. I also think if the problem is HDCP related then the fix would require a HW changes. The HDCP public key exchange and handshake is done by the firmware in the chip. My PE700 may have an earlier version of HDMI chip which may have bugs (this is what I am suspecting). The problem could be in the PHY module, but since I never hade any issue with any non-DHCP devices, I assume its not the problem.

I called sony support and they are not really helpful. The guy walk thru some basic steps and come to the conclusion that the problem is with my projector. Its not compatible (I don’t know what it means).

I have not called BenQ tech support yet. I would like to understand what is wrong before I call them, other wise I may get the usual "your system is not compatible" answer.

Do you know if BenQ has replaced HDMI hardware to fix similar problems? Do we have this problem only with the earlier release of the project. May people on this BB have reported that they can use their PS3 with PE700 via HDMI. Has something changed with PS3 (mine is purchased last week).

I will appreciate any help on this regard. I have been reading this forum for the last three years and its extremely helpful. I have purchased all my Home theater gear form forum sponsors. So far I have good experience and also got the best prices.

Thanks,

My PE7700 is exactly the same age as yours with the same upgrade to 0.48. I run a Tivo HR10-250, a D* HR20-100, a Toshiba HD-D2, AND a PS3 through a Monoprice HDMI switcher to the PE7700 over a 35' HDMI Monoprice cable. These are all set at 720P output. No problems doing all that.

Once in a very long time, there is a sync issue (ususally showing up as a screen of colored snow... not a Searching message) and all I do is switch the Monoprice switcher back and forth and the problem goes away.

Don't know what BenQ would tell you but I can tell you it should work.

Thanks Dennis,

How old is you PS3 or its FW version. I am wondering if Sony has changed something. I will try to donw-rev my PS3 to your version.

arai123,

Just for kicks, power down the projector using the Main power switch, then reconnect the ps3 and try again. FWIW I don't have a PS3, but I've had issues before when I've updated to a new source device without first powering down the main power.

basement,

I powered down the projector and the PS3, pull the AC cord and HDMI cable at the projector and put it back. Turn on the PS3 and then turn-on the projector. Still no luck, stuck on the same Searching (HDMI...) screen.

I called BenQ and they said the problem is with PS3. I asked for a RMA. They told me that they can issue a RMA and I can send the projector but most likely they will not find any problem. They are not aware of any HDMI issues and do not have any hardware or software fix for it. They will test the projector and most likely send it back as "no problems found".

Yesterday I went to BB and bought an open box Panasonic DMP-BD30K BD player. I connected the Panasonic player to my projector and it worked fine. All I needed to do was to connected the HDMI cable and turn on the Panasonic player. The Panasonic BD player found with the projector at 1080i HDMI mode. With the Panasonic working, I know that my projector can work with at least one DB player (can do HDCP) and the problem between PS3 and my PE700 is not completely my projectors fault. Also, if I can't use PS3 over HDMI then I will be able to buy a standalone BD player in the future (when better BD players are available). I am planning to keep this projector for at least two more years before I will upgrade to a 1080p projector (I have used my projector for 550 hours in the least three years).

The PE700 is great for everything except this PS3 issue. I really don't know if the problem is with PS3 or PE7700. I can sent the projector back to BenQ but I don't know if they can do anything. Also I don't want to unmount the projector and take all the risk of getting it damaged during the shipment or in their shop. The projector is almost three year old and soon it would be out off warranty.

I will keep the PS3 (its a great machines for everything else) and continue to find a way to make it work. If it doesn't work then I can still use it via component cable. I compared the HDMI picture from the Panasonic via HDMI and the PS3 via component video. The image via component is a bit softer and has slightly less details. There is a noticeable difference in picture quality.

Thanks,

arai123,

It looks like you've done everything you can. At this point I agree with you that it's probably the projector. Sending it in sounds like the best option. As you've noted, the PS3 is known to work with the projector. I believe I also can recall from old posts that some owners have had to get repairs done to the HDMI section of the projector.

Good luck

Update on my bulb replacement and HDMI upgrade...

I had sent the PJ in on Sept 14th, they received it Friday, Sept 16th. I just called and the CSR said that the status was "repair in progress". I told him that the Irvine, CA facility received it 10 days ago, and he said he'd try and get more info. He found out that the bulb had been replaced, but that they were waiting on the HDMI upgrade kits to arrive to swap those out, and that the current estimated time to receive those kits was two weeks.

I asked him what the HDMI upgrade actually was (since mine seemed fine), and it's related to HDCP compliance. Apparently some people have received an error message regarding HDCP compliance on their PJs that shouldn't have happened, and a physical upgrade fixes this issue.

Since I don't have any issues with HDCP that I know of, and I know I'm not going to be changing my components for about two years, I asked him to have the repair facility send the projector back to me, and if I run into an issue later I'll send it back.

So I should receive it back sometime this week..
Could this be my problem ??

Hi again :)

I always want to get the best out of my PE7700, so I am wondering if anyone knows what is 'technically' the best PS3 DVD/BR video output setting to use over HDMI?

I have a couple of options in the DVD/BR PS3 'pop-up' menu: RGB ('Limited' and 'Full') and Y Pb/Cb Pr/Cr (Super-White 'On' or 'Off'). I've tested both and 'think' that Y Pb/Cb Pr/Cr lacks a bit of visual 'Ooomf', but I am concerned that using RGB might be clipping blacks and whites although the image appears more saturated.

Does anyone know which is the best 'native' signal to send over HDMI to the PE7700? Pb/Cb Pr/Cr or RGB? I've read lots of discussion regarding this for TV sets etc but I can't find anything on the PE7700.

Thanks in advance!!!

Well, my second bulb (the one after the firmware update) just blew.. Screen went black, lamp light was red and power light flashing yellow. Interestingly (don't recall this before), I hit the power button and it came back up.. then a few minutes later did the same thing (black screen & LEDs). Haven't tried it yet. I had it on the second time enough to check that it had 1053 hrs + 53 mins. I've been running on Full mode for the past month or two after mostly economy mode.

So three years + 1 month (incidentally, one month after the warranty ended) and I got 1000 hrs plus another 500 or so on the other bulb. I now have to decide whether to get a new bulb or upgrade (and who would want to buy a PJ w/dead bulb anyway?). I'll probably just get another bulb for $300 (that's what I see them for - anybody know of a better deal?)

Fortunately I have a spare Infocus SP4805 that I can use in the meantime. My PJ mount works with both as well, so I just need to stop by HD tomorrow and get the right size screws for it.

RE: PE7700 (& MT700) HDMI problems. The PS3 is known to have problems with some older HDMI equipped PJs. This is due to the fact that not all HDMI interfaces are "created equal" (and the HDCP requirements have changed too). Also, on the PE7700/MT700 PJs, the solder joints between the HDMI connector and the circuit board are not very robust. One, or more, of the individual connections can break (or lift the circuit trace) due to the strain that a heavy HDMI cable places on the connector. The pins exit the connector, make a right-angle bend and get soldered directly to the circuit board (without any strain relief). Repeated connection and removal exacerbates the problem, too.

miltimj -- That's a problem I've been wrestling with too. I've decided that the next time my MT700 lamp quits, I'm going to upgrade to a 1080p PJ. The only DLP unit that comes closest to the PE7700/MT700 in placement and picture quality is the BenQ W5000 (from all the reviews I've read). It's the only one, under $3K that has vertical lens shift, which avoids the horrendous negative offset that is common to the others in this price class. However, it still requires a relocated mounting.

The biggest drawback of the W5000, for me, is the longer throw distance: 106" screen from 14' 2" to 17' (1.2:1 zoom), vs 10' 5" to 14' 3" (1.4:1 zoom) for the PE7700/MT700. The other, competing, DLP models all have fixed negative offsets, of 17% to 33%, which means that the mounting to screen offset will have to be changed by 8" to 17" depending on model and throw distance (for a 106" screen). Because of these constraints, no "affordable" DLP will fit my setup, without very significant changes (mine sits on a shelf, level with the screen bottom, and 12' 6" from my 106' screen). I would be forced into ceiling mounting at about 15'-16' from the screen (requiring a new set of cables). I would likely have to buy a new screen, since my High-Power screen (retro-reflective) isn't supposed to work very well with a ceiling mounted PJ.

The other choices are all LCD PJs (which are Ok with me - I'm neutral on that issue): the Sanyo Z2000, Mitsubishi HC4900, Panasonic AE2000, and Epson Home Theater 1080UB (lowest to highest price). All have very liberal mounting limitations, with generous lens shift and large zoom ratios (1.7:1 to 2.1:1). They also have contrast ratios and black levels about the same as ours (the latter 2 may actually be slightly better - all with the use of an automatic Iris).

Of these, the Epson 1080UB has the best picture quality, with the AE2000 running a very close second. The AE2000 is a lot quieter (important for me) than the 1080UB (which has fan noise that is comparable with the PE7700/MT700 - in the low lamp mode). Both of them are capable of a brighter picture than our models, too (if that's important). Since I was really happy with my 2002 Panasonic PT-L300 (AE300) PJ (which still works in a relatives HT), I'm leaning towards the AE2000.

Tim,
Sorry to hear about the lamp failure. I think $300 is about it in terms of pricing on a replacement.

Claus,
Thanks for the info. You point out very well how the choices of pj models can really narrow down depending on placement flexibility. In my case ceiling mount and 0 offset is the only choice. The lack of lens shift in most of the lower cost DLP models is a problem.

I also am using a Hi-Power screen. Mine is 133". Works great in my ceiling mount install.

Joe

Thanks, Joe. I'm glad to hear that the HP screen isn't that bad for ceiling mount PJs (except that the gain drops from 2.8 to around 1.4). That does give me more options. I still think I'll go with either the Panasonic AE2000 or the Epson 1080UB. I've had good luck with LCD PJs, and with shelf mounting, so filter cleaning is no sweat.

Yep does drop the gain. Still enough for me in my cave. The thing I like about the Hi-Power is it's not showing "waves".

Good luck with the new pj search. My 7700 runs out of warranty next January. May upgrade to 1080p after that, although with my brand new Integra DTC-9.8 pre-pro and it's Reon chip 720p is looking very good. And Audyssey is amazing, but thats for another thread :)

Joe

My ae2000 is mounted in the exact same spot as my benq 7700 on 92" diag. high power pull down (0 offset drop ceiling - so it's not as high as it could have been). I'm still really happy with it - no visible waves, no sparklies, and it can be cleaned - though I wish sometimes it's the next bigger size, or perhaps even 2.35.

My ae2000 is mounted in the exact same spot as my benq 7700 on 92" diag. high power pull down (0 offset drop ceiling - so it's not as high as it could have been). I'm still really happy with it - no visible waves, no sparklies, and it can be cleaned - though I wish sometimes it's the next bigger size, or perhaps even 2.35.

Hi Basement,

I know DaLite states that the HP material can be cleaned but I'm a little leery. I had a small dirt smudge some months back. I used a very dilute solution of dish detergent and the area cleaned stood out. Over time I can no longer see where it was.

Guess my question is: have you cleaned yours and what method did you use?

Good to see some of the old hands still posting on this ancient thread.

Joe

Hi Basement,

I know DaLite states that the HP material can be cleaned but I'm a little leery. I had a small dirt smudge some months back. I used a very dilute solution of dish detergent and the area cleaned stood out. Over time I can no longer see where it was.

Guess my question is: have you cleaned yours and what method did you use?

Good to see some of the old hands still posting on this ancient thread.

Joe

Hi Joe,

I had a few tiny black marks that I tried to spot remove using water and a tiny bit of soap and it stood out as well. When white was projected it would show as splotches. I ended up cleaning the whole screen using cool water and a clean cloth. I wet the cloth, wrung out the excess, then I wiped the screen from left to right as evenly as I can for the width of the screen. Once done, it takes a few minutes to dry. Now the screen is evenly clean and I see no evidence of the previous spot cleaning. I also had what I believe are soft drink spots. Those are gone as well. As for the tiny black smudges, they're still there but they're not noticeable at all. The spot cleaning certainly was noticeable and drove me crazy. I got the procedure from the screen forum - dagamepimp suggested it I believe, but don't quote me on that.

Regards

Hi Joe,

I had a few tiny black marks that I tried to spot remove using water and a tiny bit of soap and it stood out as well. When white was projected it would show as splotches. I ended up cleaning the whole screen using cool water and a clean cloth. I wet the cloth, wrung out the excess, then I wiped the screen from left to right as evenly as I can for the width of the screen. Once done, it takes a few minutes to dry. Now the screen is evenly clean and I see no evidence of the previous spot cleaning. I also had what I believe are soft drink spots. Those are gone as well. As for the tiny black smudges, they're still there but they're not noticeable at all. The spot cleaning certainly was noticeable and drove me crazy. I got the procedure from the screen forum - dagamepimp suggested it I believe, but don't quote me on that.

Regards

Thanks,

Sounds like a plan. I'll give it a go.

I remember that you posted here back when that your new ae2000 was an upgrade to the 7700. Better black level? Contrast ? And of course 1080p.

Further thoughts after living with the unit?

Regards,

Joe

Thanks,

Sounds like a plan. I'll give it a go.

I remember that you posted here back when that your new ae2000 was an upgrade to the 7700. Better black level? Contrast ? And of course 1080p.

Further thoughts after living with the unit?

Regards,

Joe

Very briefly:

My initial impressions were that black levels were high but the picture was awesome, contrasty, with great detail. The detail was the biggest difference. There's not nearly the same level of fog or haze in dark areas that I saw on the benq. This may be because the lamp was new.

After living with it for 700 hrs., the picture remains great but it doesn't have that same wow impact I had when it was new. I think it's because I'm used to it now. I still notice somewhat elevated black levels. I can't honestly say that 1080p is a big factor for me. I'm really thinking now I should update my screen to 106" diagonal. That may fix the black level issue and give me a more immersive picture - especially for 2.35 material. I'm about 12' away.

That's about it for now. Pm me if you want additional details on the panny.

basement -- I'm not sure if you remember, or not, but I have a 106" Da-Lite High-Power screen. I sit at 11' from it, and it's great for all movies, but really helps for widescreen (2.35-2.40) ones. I'm projecting from 12.5' away, and my MT700 (PE7700 clone) is too bright, so I'm using a ND2 filter, to tame it.

Isn't your PE7700 or AE2000 too bright, especially with your 92" HP screen? I'm curious, since I'm thinking of getting either the AE2000 or the Epson Home 1080UB (about the same brightness in the lowest brightness modes). I was wondering if I need to get another ND2 filter for either of those.

basement -- I'm not sure if you remember, or not, but I have a 106" Da-Lite High-Power screen. I sit at 11' from it, and it's great for all movies, but really helps for widescreen (2.35-2.40) ones. I'm projecting from 12.5' away, and my MT700 (PE7700 clone) is too bright, so I'm using a ND2 filter, to tame it.

Isn't your PE7700 or AE2000 too bright, especially with your 92" HP screen? I'm curious, since I'm thinking of getting either the AE2000 or the Epson Home 1080UB (about the same brightness in the lowest brightness modes). I was wondering if I need to get another ND2 filter for either of those.

Hi Claus,

My viewing position and throw is pretty much consistent with yours. Is yours ceiling mounted? My PJ is at about 6 ft high 0 offset with the top of the screen. This position was used for the benq and also for the panny.

For the most part I like a bright picture and found the 7700 too dim for my tastes. It was adequately bright in my first 2 years with it and in fact I was quite ecstatic with almost every aspect of the PJ during this period. In the first few months of ownership I tried an ND2 for a couple of weeks on the benq just to see what it would do and I didn't like it. It improved the blacks but I think I lost detail and the picture didn't 'pop' anymore. In my third year it became noticeably dim and I started to really notice the haze in the dark scenes (Perhaps I learned a little more from reading this forum and started to notice these things :-). I also use it as a TV sometimes as well as an xbox. In this scenario I sometimes have room perimeter pot lights turned on - dimmed to about 25%.

The panny in this mounting situation gives me a nice bright, detailed, and contrasty image in Color 1 mode with all the lights out. There's also plenty of brightness reserve for xbox or TV, which I sometimes use in Normal mode. If it were mounted vertically centered on the screen as many HP owners then I think it would be too bright, particularly for lights out viewing. The only downside that I notice now is elevated blacks in the darkest scenes in lights out viewing. Incidentally, elevated blacks was not an issue that I recall seeing with the benq at any time that I had it.

Claus. I think that if you're happy with the ND2 now on the Toshiba then you're going to find that the panny, and probably the epson too I suppose, will be too bright. This will certainly be true on a new lamp. Unfortunately I don't have a light meter and sometimes I wonder if I'm really seeing greater brightness. Maybe it's contrast and 'pop'.

I really like the HP screen, for no other reason that I don't see waves anymore. I used to own a matte white draper and horizontal pans really ruined the image. Note that both the draper and the HP physically had waves. It's just that you don't see it on the HP. I like the brightness too, albeit at a cost in black level. I'm really thinking now that perhaps the 106" HP is the ticket.

Hope this helps, non-scientific as it is.

Regards

basement,

Where you able to do a side by side comparison of the 7700 and the AE2000?

How many 7700 owners that have bought a 1080P pj, were able to do a side by side shootout?

I'm curious, since I was able to do side by side with my 7700 and a 8720, and I was surprised how much better the 8720 was. The contrast ratio on the 8720 really made a big difference. The 7700 still throws a very nice picture, but the 8720 took it up a couple of notches.

Don't know if this has been covered earlier in this topic, well I haven't spotted it anyhow, but I have managed to get really good contrast and shadow detail out of my PE7700 by tweaking the 'Degamma' (DLP sub menu) and 'Contrast' bar (listed under 'General' in the 'Scaler' sub menu) in the service menu. I think (I'd have to check for sure tonight) that this 'Scaler' option is a sub menu inside one of the main service menu options - it'll be real obvious when I look tonight :)

Anyhow, what I did was firstly change my DLP Degamma to the 'Factory 2' preset (don't be alarmed when the image becomes really bright, this will be fixed later), then I pushed the Scaler 'Contrast bar' all the way down to '0' (default is 15, max is 30). What this did was HUGELY increase shadow detail and clarity and removed that 'muddiness' that appears in dark scenes, but at the same time it made the image overly bright and washed out. To counteract the brightness I went into the the 'DLP' sub menu (where degamma is) and dropped the DLP Brightness to '-10'. The only other things I have altered is the colour temp and the 'user menu' colour, brightness and contrast levels. I use 'Cool' as the temp setting since with my set up this gives a more natural looking colour - the others make things have a red 'tinge' - and I have brightness at '-2', colour at '5' and contrast at '5'.

Now this is all good, but you need to save it. Easy. In the user menu, just save it as one of the 3 'User Defined' picture setting slots and all is good and you can now toggle between your previous setting to see if it is indeed better than before. It definitely is for me.

FYI, I am using a PS3 with movies and games @ 720P over HDMI, but I also use these settings for digital TV over component with great results.

Try it and see what you think. I'd love to know if this actually works and is not just in my head!!! :)

Josh.

PS - I was banging my head on the wall with all the tweaking I was doing to try and get rid of the dark scene 'mudiness' or 'fogginess' that were really making an otherwise great PJ annoying. The changes above were a real break through for me, and I actually like the picture I have now much better than the one I had 18 months ago.

basement,

Where you able to do a side by side comparison of the 7700 and the AE2000?

How many 7700 owners that have bought a 1080P pj, were able to do a side by side shootout?

I'm curious, since I was able to do side by side with my 7700 and a 8720, and I was surprised how much better the 8720 was. The contrast ratio on the 8720 really made a big difference. The 7700 still throws a very nice picture, but the 8720 took it up a couple of notches.

Hello. No, sorry, I didn't do a side by side. In my haste to put the panny up I didn't even think to try it. The panny would have had a new lamp so it would not be a fair comparison. Even without the side by side, it was immediately obvious when the panny was put up that it was an improvement. Your comment about the 8720 comparison pretty much sums it up for the panny as well. The most notable improvement is shadow detail. This difference was to me very noticeable and very welcome. The other improvement was sharpness. Perhaps jmtheo has a solution to the perceived shadow detail deficiency on the 7700.

It would be interesting to see a comparison between the 8720 and the ae2000. Perhaps that would give you another reference on what you could expect with the panny. Just a caveat though, I don't want to say that a panny is what you should replace your 7700 with. I'm kind of annoyed that the pj can easily get dust blobs. If I were to do it over again I would most likely be looking at something else, perhaps the Sony products.

basement -- That's an interesting comment, re: 7700 to AE2000, second thoughts. The biggest problem I have with the Sony is its large 18" depth (front to back). It won't fit on my shelf, which is only 15" deep. I am still vacillating between getting the AE2000 and the Epson Home Cinema 1080UB. The biggest drawback with the Epson is it's higher fan noise level, by about 3dB (its air exhaust port would be about 18" behind my left ear).

Per your previous comment, I would probably have to get a ND2 filter for either one, due to their very bright image (even in their dimmest modes) with my 106" HP screen (in its full gain = 2.8 shelf mode utilization). Since I'm not ready to jump to 1080p for another month or 2, I still have time to look and read (and coin flip :D). I'm also considering the Sanyo Z2000 (in 3rd place), but I'm still concerned about their customer service reputation.

Reading between the lines of Art Feierman's reviews (www.projectorreviews.com), I get the impression that the Epson 1080UB is a better PJ than the 8720, but not as good as his RS1. In a private email exchange that I had with Art, he definitely recommended the 1080UB (with the AE2000 being a close second).

Claus,

The second thoughts about the panny is not about it's PQ though I do wish for better black level. Overall it's a great package. It's a good performer, quiet, and fits my room constraints. The dust blob issue is what spoils it somewhat for me. I had not expected this issue as it was not really noted as a problem for the ae1000. After going through the benq 7700 lamp issue I was hoping for a stable product that I can expect at least a few years of trouble free service. I have to say though that after they fixed the lamp the 7700 was rock solid for me. Now on the panny, every time I turn it on I do a quick visual scan to check for blobs or other undesirable artifacts, i.e. discoloration in corners, etc. Though not a deal breaker, it somewhat spoils my enjoyment of the machine. The panny is close to budget class but still about $3K, a lot of money to spend to have problems.

Just updated a small piece of info in my previous post (see 'bold' text).

PS - Has anyone tried the tweaks yet? Very curious to see if they work with other people's set-ups..

jmtheo,

I've played around with the factory two setting in the color wheel menu for around a year or so, and have had good results depending on the film. It sounds like you have discovered a similar result.

Just added a W5000 to the HD arsenal.

I've had a 1080P DLP RP set for a while and have been hankering to jump to a 1080P projector. Coming up on 3 years with the 7700, and its still going strong.

I hope to do a shootout this weekend between the W5000, and the 7700. I'll post my thoughts when I do that.

A couple of shots until then to show the size difference.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/IMG_9973.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/IMG_9975.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/IMG_9976.jpg

Hi Blasst,
Sure looks like a "Big Brother". Eager to hear the comparison.

Joe

Hi Blasst,

The 'factory 2' setting was great for boosting the shadow detail, but the gem was the contrast adjustment under 'scaler' => 'general'. That was what removed the 'fogginess'.

BTW, that W5000 is a huge beast! :)

While we await Blasst's shootout between the 7700 and the W5000, (you are now committed, old and trusted poster, inquiring minds need to know). :) Thought I would relate a positive story about Ben's service.

As I reported late last year my 7700 developed a buzzing noise after startup.

Always went away, never affected the pq and the noise from the case always went back to normal after an initial rise of about 20 dB.

Waited for a week when we would be on vacation, called Ben, hold time of less than one minute, had an RMA # in another minute or so. Unit leaves the house.

We arrive back 8 days later. Six hours after unpacking and going to bed the FedEx truck rolls up. There is something about the noise signature of FedEx, UPS trucks, and Carpenter? school buses that is unmistakable. Always gets my attention.

Say thanks to the driver and slink down to the theater. Reinstalled in 3 minutes, find out they upgraded the unit to fw 0.49. Fire up and all is good.

Wife calls down a few minutes later: "Honey, I've made coffee, who rang the doorbell?"

BenQ service: great. Wife and kids not knowing about the failure and fix of one of "Dad's" toys that all enjoy: PRICELESS.

Anyway since the 7700 is back I have been recalibrating. I'm using an EyeOne, HCFR, and either GetGray or the AVSHD discs.

Keep in mind that this all applies to my screen size and material:

Da-Lite Hi-Power 133" Diagonal.

Have gotten closer than ever. The cie targets look fairly decent. The straight greyscale is outstanding above 20 IRE. But, of course, it is not as informing as some would suggest (A lot of AV mags over the years).

The 7700 runs out of red gain at the high end as most pj's do. What I found interesting as I have learned more is that the 7700 runs out of blue also.

Both red and blue drop off at the same rate above 80 IRE.

But, from 30 to 80 IRE the 7700 tracks very well. That is the critical area for a "pleasing picture".

On my setup delta E is fine. Gamma runs at 2.4 which in my cave looks good.

Point is that the 7700 is still a fine display device if properly set up.

I do not have the proper tools to measure contrast ratios.

As good as my 7700 looks these days, I would really like a better lower level near black.

So Blasst , let us know about that.

Thanks,

Joe

I'm still messing around with the W5000, I hope to have my comparison done in the next couple of days. So much for having it done this last weekend.;)

Finally got around to getting this comparison done.

The Bottom line is the W5000 is a nice step up from the PE7700!

My main issue with the W5000 is the digital "noise" issue that can be seen on certain scenes (white clouds, blue sky's etc).

The W5000 is sharp, and I really enjoy that aspect of it:D

I don't have it fully dialed in yet, but it really puts out a great image! And for the price it can't be beat.

The 7700 is no slouch but doing a side by side at the same time shows how the W5000 1080P PJ with higher contrast than the 7700 increases your viewing enjoyment.

Its like lifting an additional couple of veils off the screen for clarity.

Of course my 7700 is at about 80 percent bulb life right now so, it would have done better with a new bulb.

I compared them at full size (116" 16:9 screen with masking) and side by side on the same screen with both at 58", and my kids could still tell a difference between the two at that size. I sit at about 16' from the screen.

I ran my A-1 into the 7700, and one of my X-A2's into the W5000, using the King Kong HD DVD as the source.

I can still watch the 7700 and be fine..... but seeing the W5000 gives you that extra pop or two, we all crave here.

The usual advice on screen shots.....they don't tell the whole story, yet lets have a look at some as they somewhat illustrate the differences between the two projectors.

7700 first, W5000 second in all screenshots.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/IMG_0018.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/IMG_0019.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/IMG_0017.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/IMG_0015.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/IMG_0020.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/IMG_0021-1.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/IMG_0024.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/IMG_0023.jpg

Hard to tell from screenshots, of course, but I prefer the colours of your 7700 to the W5000. No denying the extra detail and clarity, though. And I guess colour is easy to fix with the CMS of the W5000.

Thanks Blasst,

Great screen shots. You must be a fellow photographer :) .

The difference in sharpness and detail looks rather dramatic. I'm still happy with the 7700 but have always thought that black level was the real weak point. With 1080p from BD's and my 133" screen the 5000 might be just the right upgrade.

Time to start the research. Is the 5000 also 0 offset and does it have Color Management?

I'm a little concerned that Ben only offers a 1 year warranty on the 5000.

Not sure the lack of HDMI 1.3 is a big deal as I can't see "Deep Color" material showing up anytime soon, although my PS3 and Integra Pre-Pro are ready for it.

Happy Viewing.

Joe

Great comparison screenshots. Those differences are difficult to put into words as I've attempted to do with the ae2000 in my prior postings. The ae2000 and pe7700 have similar qualitative differences, sharper, clearer, and more detailed, though I don't think it's as sharp as the w5000. The w5000 is a great deal here in Canada. If the W5000 would have had a slightly shorter throw, perhaps about 6", it would have been at the top of my list.

Thanks

You guys have given me a case of upgradeitis :)

Just read the W5000 manual. In terms of tweaking the 5000 looks like a major improvement over the 7700. And everything needed can be done from the user menus.

CM would be a big plus. As much as I've tried using the color enhancement adjustments on the 7700 I just can't get the primaries and secondaries to nail the targets on the CIE chart. Although they are not that far off. But us anal types...

Interesting that Ben suggests a Gamma of 2.4 for HT. There is controversy here but most experts think 2.2 is the correct value. Must admit my 7700 is 2.4 from 20IRE to 80IRE and does look good.

Lens shift on the 5000 should allow ceiling placement in my theater. Will need an even longer HDMI cable though.

Thanks again for the screen shots. A direct comparison to the 7700 is most helpful.

Now off to read the W5000 thread. Hope there are no surprises like the bad old days with the 7700.

Joe

Coincidentally, the calibration comments coincides with my recent acquisition of the Eye One Display LT last week. I'm also using HCFR. I'm a rank newbie at this though. For those interested, for the Panny ae200, the greyscale on default Color 1 tracks close to target from 20 IRE to almost 90 IRE for both green and blue. Red also tracks linearly but noticeably higher on the scale - sorry but off the top of my head I can't recall the Y axis scale :-) Gamma runs in a nice curve but averages at 1.9. Greyscale calibration can get the white balance fixed up with low delta E values, but gamma still remains at 1.9. As a first attempt at getting gamma close to 2.2 I played with some of the rough gamma controls (high, med, low) and was able to get the gamma to 2.1 but this increases dE to 5 or 6 at some points. I've not checked the primaries or secondaries yet. I apologize if this is off topic but thought there might be interest in this thread on the topic for those thinking of upgrading.

Regards

Thanks Blasst,

Great screen shots. You must be a fellow photographer :) .

The difference in sharpness and detail looks rather dramatic. I'm still happy with the 7700 but have always thought that black level was the real weak point. With 1080p from BD's and my 133" screen the 5000 might be just the right upgrade.

Time to start the research. Is the 5000 also 0 offset and does it have Color Management?

"I'm a little concerned that Ben only offers a 1 year warranty on the 5000."

Not sure the lack of HDMI 1.3 is a big deal as I can't see "Deep Color" material showing up anytime soon, although my PS3 and Integra Pre-Pro are ready for it.

Happy Viewing.

Joe

I would be very weary of the one year warranty. My 7700 just went out in a big way, i could hear parts rattling inside. After I sent it in, the service guy actually sent an e-mail to a Brandon in the tech Dept. to say that they would not honor the warranty, even though I purchased it in Dec. of 2005. He said that the unit was already opened at some point and that there were parts missing from the unit, which would void the warranty.
Which really pissed me off, because they were the ones who opened it up, since it was repaired twice in the past. It has been on my ceiling since the last repair in Nov. of 2006. So in other words they sent it back, at that time, with missing parts. Although it did work, till now, but that's why it probably got pretty messed up with what ever went out in it.
The problem is that the service department said they would never have sent it out that way, even though they obviously did.
And now they have the gall to try to blame it on me. Like I would have any reason to open the unit up and remove parts.
If I new who the president of the company was I would send him an e-mail myself and give him a piece of my mind as to how their service department treats their customers, especially when they make a mistake and will not admit it.
These projectors go out too often to have a one year warranty.
I have had the PE8700 and the PE7700 and have had both in the shop at least 3 times each. Unless you like to pay for your repairs every year stay away from the short warranties. That's my opinion.

Some information from BenQ Corporate:

Associate Vice President; President of BenQ America

Ben Chu

Bachelor, International Trade, National ChengChi University, Taiwan

From the CA Secretary of State:

Corporation
BENQ AMERICA CORP.
Number: C2056454 Date Filed: 9/25/1997 Status: active
Jurisdiction: California
Address
53 DISCOVERY
IRVINE, CA 92618

Agent for Service of Process
C T CORPORATION SYSTEM
818 WEST SEVENTH ST
LOS ANGELES, CA 90017

You can't find additional info from the CA SOS without submitting a form. Nothing more online.

Good luck.

Thanks, Dennis!!

You are welcome.

And on a different sad note. My daughter was using the projector yesterday with her PS3 and she told me she heard a loud buzzing noise and some glass breaking.

I had recently put in a new bulb as my old, old one was getting dim at about 2300 hrs always on high. (I do run on high altitude here in Denver.)

Anyway, took a look at the projector and after powering it up, there is a very loud noise from the side where the dust filter is. There is apparantly a fan there that is catching on something or is broken. I thought there were only two fans both in the front, but there are three. The glass was from the front of the bulb where there is a square piece of glass right in front of the bulb element. It had an apparant heat mark right in the middle and it had cracked in half probably from over-heating. The bulb itself still works ok and the picture is OK except for the distortion from the crack.

I called BenQ and tho my warranty is now up, they will fix it for about $65 an hour, estimating $200-$300 to get it back to normal.

They will also fix another problem that came up two or three months ago. A shadow developed all along the left side of the picture (about 2" on a 110" diag screen). This shadow was over the regular picture which could still be seen under the shadow. The BenQ service guy said this is caused by something shifting in the light tunnel. They'll fix that too.

I told them I wasn't anxious to buy a new 1080p projector since the picture was so good on the PE7700. He agreed with me. So, I hope for maybe $250, I can get another year or two out of this projector, especially having bought a new bulb. I'll put the glass from an older bulb back in my new bulb housing. BenQ doesn't warranty, test or replace bulbs.

It is one of Murphy's laws is that a major failure will occur just after the warranty is up no matter how long it is. So, in my case, a failure at 3 years 2 months on a 3 year warranty.

I'll post when I get it back in a couple of weeks as to how it is working.

Dennis,

Sorry about the problem. I have also experienced the frustration in having a piece of gear break just out of warranty. Come to think of it more than once.

With a new bulb just purchased I would also let Ben do the repair and get some more life out of the 7700.

My warranty runs til next January.1080p upgrade after that. Hope we start seeing LED based front pj's sometime next year. The manufacturers must be working on them. Would think everyone would love to get away from lamp based designs.

Good luck.

Joe

Been a long time since I've been here. That's a good thing since the bulb issues were resolved I have fully enjoyed my PJ.

About 10 days past my 3 year purchase anniversary I was watching a movie on a 10 hour old bulb (my prevous gave me 3500 hours!! on 75% ECONO and final 25% FULL modes - replaced before the bulb gave out) then the PJ squealed, the lights went out and the red lights came on. I evacuated the theatre for fears of mercury fumes and inspected the next morning.

The bulb had a cracked in the front lens and a white burn spot dead centre on that lens. The seller agreed to a full refund so all is well there.

Now my PJ did not fair well either. Just beyond the bulb is a circle lens. I do not know the anatomy of a PJ but I assume this is the colour wheel. It shattered too. When I turn the PJ on it vibrates like crazy due to this broken wheel and it being unbalanced. It seems that the 7700 is done.

MY replacement W5000 is on the FedEx truck as I type this so 720 PJs are history for me and I can't imagine that it would be worthwhile to repair and try to sell on the resale market. That said, would anyone want it for parts? It's free to a good home if picked up in Ottawa, Ontario or someone wants to cover shipping. I'd hate the throw out something that once cost $2500. SOLD FOR PARTS as of August 22, 08. Thanks

berzerker23,

That is a bummer having the 7700 go out, right after your warranty expired.

If it were me I would try to see if Benq would still honor the warranty since it was so close. Wouldn't hurt to try......

You'll enjoy the W5000, I just wish it had the 3 year warranty like the 7700 did.

My seller had a 4 yr extended for only $250.00 more so I took it given the present $500 rebate on the unit, the SUPER short 1 yr default warranty and the past history of the PE 7700. I'll sleep better for the next 5 years.

Been a long time since I've been here. That's a good thing since the bulb issues were resolved I have fully enjoyed my PJ.

About 10 days past my 3 year purchase anniversary I was watching a movie on a 10 hour old bulb (my prevous gave me 3500 hours!! on 75% ECONO and final 25% FULL modes - replaced before the bulb gave out) then the PJ squealed, the lights went out and the red lights came on. I evacuated the theatre for fears of mercury fumes and inspected the next morning.

The bulb had a cracked in the front lens and a white burn spot dead centre on that lens. The seller agreed to a full refund so all is well there.

Now my PJ did not fair well either. Just beyond the bulb is a circle lens. I do not know the anatomy of a PJ but I assume this is the colour wheel. It shattered too. When I turn the PJ on it vibrates like crazy due to this broken wheel and it being unbalanced. It seems that the 7700 is done.

MY replacement W5000 is on the FedEx truck as I type this so 720 PJs are history for me and I can't imagine that it would be worthwhile to repair and try to sell on the resale market. That said, would anyone want it for parts? It's free to a good home if picked up in Ottawa, Ontario or someone wants to cover shipping. I'd hate the throw out something that once cost $2500.

This is EXACTLY what happened to me. See recent post above. BenQ would not fix it for free. It has been sent back to them for repair. Now that you mention it, there was a few very small pieces of glass outside the projector which must also be the color wheel. Hope that part doesn't cost too much.

My question is why did the bulb front piece of glass break like this. I bought my bulb from buy.com. Where did you get yours? The bulb still works OK, i think, and I replaced the piece of glass with one from another bulb that only lasted 650 hours. Also bought that one from buy.com.

Bummer. Bummer. Bummer.

Quick additional item. I called BenQ and they agreed that the broken part making the noise is the color wheel, not a fan. And, no deal on the warranty being over. He did tell me the typical price for a total fix-up runs about $225, sometimes more, sometimes less. I also asked why the bulb front would break and whether there is heat/fan problem. He said the bulb front breaking is a known issue and are not sure why it happens sometimes!!

On a good note, buy.com takes returns back, no questions asked, even prints out a paid UPS return label. So, I will get a new repacement bulb to put in the projector when it comes back.

I got my bulb in Canada from projectorbulbexperts.ca. They were great with offering a replacement and understanding when I stated I wanted a refund as I would be upgrading my PJ and no longer needing a 7700 bulb. Free UPS return and all. I will buy from them again (hopefully not for another 2500 hours!!)

Dennis, when I took my PJ down from the ceiling I shook out a lot of small pieces of glass. Not from the bulb as it was intact - but for the crack and the burn spot. The glass had a colour film to it (like petrol products on water). I didn't even think of getting a repair quote because I assume (and probably correctly) that the cost of the bulb I just bought plus the repair would be a good chunk of change that would better go to the W5000 upgrade. And after 3 years it was time to upgrade. Sure thie upgrade will cost more and I'm not rich but this seemed to be a better way to invest in our entertainment. Also, as long as the wife thinks that the 7700 is beyond reasonable cost to repair, she backs the upgrade too. Best not do further research and find out otherwise for my sake. :D

As for BENQ and an extension to any warranty - NO DEAL. I am sure they are counting the seconds until all the 7700s pass the 3 year mark. Quite frankly I don't really blame them given all the issues the 7700 has caused them and the resulting costs (reduced profits) they incurred from it. It was a picture quality industry leader at the time at a great price and I got a good load of quality use from it. No regrets and still a BenQ buyer for the same reasons. Customer service never let me down either (except that horrid R&B song - Do they still play that?)



Reading back some posts, something else caught my eye from another member. Upon start up for the past 3-4 months, my 7700 would give a vibration (not detectable on screen or by touch, but very audible) and make a buzzing sound. It would go away within 15-30 seconds so I though nothing of it. This may be the start of something getting loose and correcting itself when all those spinning parts get up to speed or temp. Who knows?

I'll post back when I get the projector back with costs, etc. Hopefully the $225 estimate is OK and since buy.com will send me a replacement bulb, the total cost appears to be less than the hassle of sending it in to BenQ for repair and being without for a couple of weeks.

Hope you enjoy your W5000. Pictures posted here sure appear that it shows much more detail. But, I will wait if I can get my 7700 going for a year or two more.

I got my bulb in Canada from projectorbulbexperts.ca. They were great with offering a replacement and understanding when I stated I wanted a refund as I would be upgrading my PJ and no longer needing a 7700 bulb. Free UPS return and all. I will buy from them again (hopefully not for another 2500 hours!!)

Dennis, when I took my PJ down from the ceiling I shook out a lot of small pieces of glass. Not from the bulb as it was intact - but for the crack and the burn spot. The glass had a colour film to it (like petrol products on water). I didn't even think of getting a repair quote because I assume (and probably correctly) that the cost of the bulb I just bought plus the repair would be a good chunk of change that would better go to the W5000 upgrade. And after 3 years it was time to upgrade. Sure thie upgrade will cost more and I'm not rich but this seemed to be a better way to invest in our entertainment. Also, as long as the wife thinks that the 7700 is beyond reasonable cost to repair, she backs the upgrade too. Best not do further research and find out otherwise for my sake. :D

As for BENQ and an extension to any warranty - NO DEAL. I am sure they are counting the seconds until all the 7700s pass the 3 year mark. Quite frankly I don't really blame them given all the issues the 7700 has caused them and the resulting costs (reduced profits) they incurred from it. It was a picture quality industry leader at the time at a great price and I got a good load of quality use from it. No regrets and still a BenQ buyer for the same reasons. Customer service never let me down either (except that horrid R&B song - Do they still play that?)



Reading back some posts, something else caught my eye from another member. Upon start up for the past 3-4 months, my 7700 would give a vibration (not detectable on screen or by touch, but very audible) and make a buzzing sound. It would go away within 15-30 seconds so I though nothing of it. This may be the start of something getting loose and correcting itself when all those spinning parts get up to speed or temp. Who knows?

That sounds like my posts. The buzzing sound started back in Nov. 07. As you stated it was originally a 15-30 second duration. In my case over the months it increased to something on the order of 3 minutes. Always went away. Sounded like a bad bearing. So fan or color wheel? Never did find out.

I finally sent it back under warranty last month. Probably got lucky in that what ever was going on did not cause a lamp failure. The $350 or so for a new lamp would have given me pause.

On the other hand it would have made a good excuse to upgrade: honey, doesn't make sense to spend hundreds on a lamp. The pj will be out of warranty in 6 months anyway. Why don't I put the old functioning lamp back in and get what I can for it on ebay?

Good luck with the W5000. Please post your thoughts on the comparison to the 7700. I'm considering the 5000 after the warranty on the 7700 is up.

Oh, and as of last month the awful Ben jingle is still being used. I only got to "enjoy" it for a few seconds though.

Joe

Does anyone know where I may be able to order replacement fans for my BenQ PE7700? One of the fans is going bad and is tripping the FAN voltage check circuit. My projector is out of warranty so I replaced them last night with some high quality, low noise 80mm fans from Vantec which worked wonderfully as far as performance goes. Unfortunately the voltage draw on these fans is to far from the original fans thus causing the fan waning circuit to trip still and shut off the projector. I called BenQ and they said they can not sell me parts. Anyone have an idea where I could get replacement fans?

BTW, I noticed some comments about Fans earlier in this thread and wanted to confirm a few things for future viewers:

1. There are three fans total. The two problem fans are the 80mm DC fans in the front of the projector. There is separate squirrel cage stile fan on the power supply in the center of the projector.

2. Both front fans blow in the same direction, which is out of the projector case. Air is drawn from the side of the case through the foam filter and then out the front.

3. You have to disasemble quite a bit of the projector to get the fans out.

4. You can not use just any 80mm DC fan. There is a voltage or amperage check circuit of some type that can tell when the fans are going bad (drawing more power). If your replacement fans don't have similar specs they will trip the circuit and the projector will shut off during warm up.

Thanks,

David

Okay I am going to answer my own question:

Fan: Sunon PartNum: KDE1208PTV1

About $5.00 each

Here is one of many options:

https://www.alliedelec.com/

David

Edit on Aug 28th:
These Fans are the factory spec units, they will have the same noise and cooling characteristics.

Thanks alot, my fans have been noisy for a while as well, during startup. Are these fans any quieter than the stock ones?

Thanks alot, my fans have been noisy for a while as well, during startup. Are these fans any quieter than the stock ones?

The key phrase and question is: "noisy during start up".

We all know the standard progression of sounds upon start up of the 7700 and other color wheel DLP units.

Hit the power button, fans start, within a second or two a different noise, for lack of a better term, a "wheeze" occurs, indicating that the color wheel has started spinning.

Shortly after, with the lamp warming up, the BenQ or other splash screen would appear. Then, of course HDMI switching if needed, would occur and an image would be provided from the selected source.

What I never could understand is how a color wheel rotating upon a bad bearing, my guess for the problem in my unit, could respond with the timing needed to make the picture look normal until it stabilized.

Or was it a fan?

This thread may not end quite yet.

Joe

Joe,

This thread will keep on a chuggin.......:)

My contact at Benq says they still get calls on the 7700 that have blown the bulbs. They end up being 7700's that were bought 3 years ago and have very low hours on them ( sometimes less than 100). Those owners didn't know there was a firmware upgrade, that solved the bulb issue, and hardly ever used their projectors.

I'm a longtime PE7700 owner now, and it sure has had its problems. Now the fans go full-speed and the temp light goes red when I turn it on, for no good reason. Then it shuts down automatically.

Sometimes I can get it to run, but I don't know why. Halp?

I'm a longtime PE7700 owner now, and it sure has had its problems. Now the fans go full-speed and the temp light goes red when I turn it on, for no good reason. Then it shuts down automatically.

Sometimes I can get it to run, but I don't know why. Halp?

We need a little more information.

1. What FW version do you have?
2. How many hours on the current lamp?
3. Temp light is solid red and the lamp light is off?
4. Have you relocated the pj and ventilation has changed?

First thing to do is check the filter. If really dirty it will result in these symptoms.

From your post it sounds like you must have been part of the decidedly non-exclusive blown lamp club.

Joe

Firmware 0.48 A00
The current lamp has 960 hours, 90% run in eco-mode
The fans suddenly go to full speed, and the red TEMP light is constantly on, the lamp light is also on.
The ventilation has not been changed, the filter seems ok.

The themal tets gives values from left to right: Main +25 +1500, DMD 0 0, +30 +3000, +30 +1500, +2500 +5500


It doesn't seem to do this if I just start it without any input signal, and If I wait a bit I before feeding it bits through the HDMI in It sometimes works. Tried to use high altitude mode a bit to see if that helps, and it might have.

Firmware 0.48 A00
The current lamp has 960 hours, 90% run in eco-mode
The fans suddenly go to full speed, and the red TEMP light is constantly on, the lamp light is also on.
The ventilation has not been changed, the filter seems ok.

The themal tets gives values from left to right: Main +25 +1500, DMD 0 0, +30 +3000, +30 +1500, +2500 +5500


It doesn't seem to do this if I just start it without any input signal, and If I wait a bit I before feeding it bits through the HDMI in It sometimes works. Tried to use high altitude mode a bit to see if that helps, and it might have.

FW 0.48 was the first known good version. Most are probably still using that. So FW is probably not the issue.

According to the manual the only time one should see both the temp and lamp indicators on is when the fans are not working, and in that case they both should be flashing and not steady. There are three fans in the case. Perhaps one fan has died causing the other two to work harder?

I don't believe any of us on this long thread ever made any sense of the numbers in the thermal tests in the service menu.

I can't think of a reason that at start up it would make any difference if a source was connected to the HDMI input.

There was an unscheduled break in this posting. I have been typing while watching my Panthers blow a game against San Diego. All on a 133" screen in beautiful HD thanks to D* and the 7700. Well Jake is back! Sorry Charges fans. The 7-9 season last year was a tough one (here). And today without that one guy... OK, way off topic.

Are you out of warranty? If not call Ben. I had a very good experience with service a few months back.

I would try at first a cold shutdown . Main power off, AC cable unplugged from the back. And try again.

If out of warranty there are a few other ideas.

Let us know

Joe

Very out of warranty.

Could be the third fan, I guess I could dismantle it and check that one myself (the two in the front are working fine). This projector, oh man. Soon we'll be rid of projectors all together and just use some sort of gigantic ultraflatscreen.

You might try unplugging and plugging them all back in. A slightly loose connection might explain why it works sometimes.

They already are displaying >120" flatscreens. I imagine shipping would be nasty. Cost too. LED projectors should be just around the corner. That will solve almost all problems with current projectors.
Warren.

Nah, tried doing that. I'm going to test out a Hitachi PX200 now to see if It's a worthy replacement ;)

Hey everyone, berzerker23 sent me his pe7700 with a broken color wheel so I could use the fans from it to fix my pe7700. I documented the process and started putting the documentation up on my site. You can find it here if you are interested:

http://www.functionalchaos.net/pe7700/

You may find it helpful in fixing your projector or determining how something in the projector works.

I appreciate any comments or suggestions.

David

Hey everyone, berzerker23 sent me his pe7700 with a broken color wheel so I could use the fans from it to fix my pe7700. I documented the process and started putting the documentation up on my site. You can find it here if you are interested:

http://www.functionalchaos.net/pe7700/

You may find it helpful in fixing your projector or determining how something in the projector works.

I appreciate any comments or suggestions.

David

David,

Great work. Sounds like a real bear to take apart. A while back one owner started this process and quit IIRC.

It might be helpful to others if you can document any brand names and part #'s for the fans. Those parts may be the problematic issues out of warranty and Ben seems unwilling to sell directly.

So are you finished with the project?

In my case the 7700 has been a first and quite enjoyable ride with the real big screen experience. Looking forward to a 1080p upgrade. Well, relatively soon. The 7700 is still performing and the rest of my family doesn't share our AVS "Interest". But every time I upgrade I do get a thumbs up.

Since we are all, I would surmise, still waiting for a replacement of lamp based designs for front projection my hope is that the 7700 can last another 18 months in my installation.

Good luck,

Joe

Hey everyone, berzerker23 sent me his pe7700 with a broken color wheel so I could use the fans from it to fix my pe7700. I documented the process and started putting the documentation up on my site. You can find it here if you are interested:

http://www.functionalchaos.net/pe7700/

You may find it helpful in fixing your projector or determining how something in the projector works.

I appreciate any comments or suggestions.

David

Wow, excellent instructions and pictures, David! I'm with Jim - do you have the part numbers or types of fans where we'd be able to buy them separately online? I got to the point of taking off the cover and seeing that the fans were really in there tight and stopped since I had a backup PJ, knowing I'd get back to it this fall when I had more time.

Second question - do you (or anyone) know if there's a way to test whether the voltage isn't getting to the fan, or if it's the fan itself that's broken? I just wonder if maybe a cable is loose for the power to the fan or something. I suppose, from looking at your instructions, that I'd need to take off the lamp enclosure first to test it, anyway.

Thanks again for the instructions.. will have to get to this as soon as I can find some spare fans..

I probably would have went the other way, and put your color wheel in his projector, but I hope it works out. Very cool documenting the process.
Warren.

I probably would have went the other way, and put your color wheel in his projector, but I hope it works out. Very cool documenting the process.
Warren.

I wondered about that also.

There's probably less risk in replacing fans, which are obvious (single cable) - or is it that easy to replace the color wheel? Orientation, smudging it, fragility, etc..

Hey everyone, berzerker23 sent me his pe7700 with a broken color wheel so I could use the fans from it to fix my pe7700. I documented the process and started putting the documentation up on my site. You can find it here if you are interested:

http://www.functionalchaos.net/pe7700/

You may find it helpful in fixing your projector or determining how something in the projector works.

I appreciate any comments or suggestions.

DavidThank you very much. Very nice job in documenting the dis-assembly. I've saved your web page in case I ever have to dis-assemble my MT700 (also made by BenQ and a PE7700 clone).

Wow thanks for all the feed back!

1. Yes I have finished the project as far as putting the new fans in my projector, it's working great again. I have not, however, finished putting all of the documentation on my site yet.

2. I choose to go with his/my fans in my projector instead of using my color wheel in his projector because his had clear signs in the housing of overheating. There was distortion and coloring in the lamp housing from the overheating. My guess is the overheating is what caused the color wheel to crack. He said earlier in one of his posts, he had just replaced the lamp and it made a popping sound and shut off. He was able to get a refund (or credit) towards a new w5000, which was good for him. However, I think I would have been a tad upset that the replacement bulb ruined my projector, but this does happen in rare cases.

3. The Fans are a bit tricky. They appear to be very sensitive on the voltage or amperage or both (wattage). My symptoms were the projector got to the welcome screen and then shut of with a fan failure light sequence. I pulled them out and the fan on the left, looking from the front, was spinning rough (bad vapo bearing). This would likely draw extra power causing the check circuit to trip. I started by replacing the fans with some really nice Vantec's that were definitely of better quality and quieter. They also caused the voltage sensor to trip unfortunately.

The factory fan:
Sunon KDE1208PTV1 (older spec/version that I don't have written down) 1.8w

The Vantec fan:
SF8025L 1.2w

So clearly under draw of current is just as bad as over draw for the check circuit. I found the Sunon Fan on the web, but not the same spec/version. It was slightly different and comes as 1.6 watt. Since I had the broken projector I decided to keep with the same factory Sunon fans, so I did not try the 1.6w Sunon fans. I think they may have worked, but no way to know without trying them. Any new fan would have required soldering to the Benq harness as the projector comes with a custom plug and has three wires (black, red, yellow), while the Sunon fans I ordered come with two wires (red, black - but there was a solder point for the yellow).

I opened up the bad projector and found the same left side fan (from the front view) was also going bad in it. I used the right side fan from mine and the right side fan from the bad projector to install into my projector. I had to de-solder the connections on the bad fan and then solder the connections on to my wire harness and plug. One of the wires (ground wire) was slightly under the back of the fan center plastic cover so I had to grind away a little of the plastic cover with my dremel to expose the solder connection fully. It was less than 2 mm though and I couldn't see any negative ramifications such as structure, cooling, etc.

The Sunon fan I could find was:

KDE1208PTV1 spec/ver: 13.MS.A.GN

Again it was a 1.6 watt and may have worked. You may also have good luck with any 80mm DC 12 volt fan that runs at 1.8 watts.

4. As far as testing the voltage draw from the fan, I am sure that it could be done, but I don't have the patience. It would require tricking a whole lot of check circuits to convince the projector it was okay to fire up with all the covers and parts off. There is the lamp door switch, lamp voltage and heat check, fan voltage check, and some sort of air flow meter that can detect even the slightest of air blockage in the filter draw through area (maybe it is just a really sensitive temp sensor that kicks an airflow warning with the fans report proper voltage levels). I know for sure in my case the fan was going bad, you could hear, feel and see from spinning the fan with your finger.

Thanks!

David

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/1708/pe7700vstx200copyhl4.jpg

Entirely black room, white 1.1gain screen, white walls :S

PE7700 to the left
Film mode
IRE 0
Brightness -4
Contrast +2
Gamma +71
Economy mode

Hitachi TX200 to the right
IRIS 1
Auto iris 1
Contrast 15
HDMI Normal
Gamma low
7500K
Whisper mode

The other settings were mostly left to normal or 0. Seems like HX200 has a slight advantage, perhaps a bit due to the bluer image, colors are a bit off though.

Guess this is as good as blacklevels get with budget PJs, bought the tx200 used for 400GBP. What would be the cheapest one to get that'd trump there results? And would a grey screen help much?

Any thoughts?

Great info, thanks David! I guess I'll have to find the closest fan that I can and try it. For some other day when I have the time this winter..

Hi,

I just had the same fan problem with my Toshiba MT700 2 weeks ago. I was able to replace the fans but I only could find 1.6W models. The projector works fine, but I would like to ask you guys a favor by checking the ballast temperature with altitude on normal.

Could you please go into the service menu and check what numbers do you read?
I get +3600 with altitude set high and +5000 when altitude is on normal.

I just want to make sure that the lamp is not getting more heat with the 1.6W fans.

Many thanks!!!!
Gabor

With my 7700:

Ambient temp. 72 deg. Lamp in economic mode, normal altitude.

After 30 minutes: Inlet Temp. +2300, Ballast Temp. +6200

So if they are measured in the same way between the two models, it looks like you are fine.

Joe

Noooooooo!

Well, right at the three year mark (I purchased my 7700 in October of '05), the unthinkable happened: Two of the color wheel segments shattered.

I never before in all my life had more hoped for a lamp failure. But I knew it wasn't since after the sound of glass breaking, the entire screen was green. Removal of the lamp verified my fear. It was "clear" to se that the color wheel was damaged (since the color wheel doesn't have a clear segment). I also spun the wheel to see what had happened. It looks like one blue and one red segment broke.

anyway, I'll call BENQ on Monday. Hopefully they'll fix it. It has already been in three other times. Otherwise I'll have to look at my upgrade options.

There aren't many. I'm throwing a 135" image from around thirteen feet. Oh well, I'll cross the bridge if/when I come to it.

Noooooooo!

Well, right at the three year mark (I purchased my 7700 in October of '05), the unthinkable happened: Two of the color wheel segments shattered.

I never before in all my life had more hoped for a lamp failure. But I knew it wasn't since after the sound of glass breaking, the entire screen was green. Removal of the lamp verified my fear. It was "clear" to se that the color wheel was damaged (since the color wheel doesn't have a clear segment). I also spun the wheel to see what had happened. It looks like one blue and one red segment broke.

anyway, I'll call BENQ on Monday. Hopefully they'll fix it. It has already been in three other times. Otherwise I'll have to look at my upgrade options.

There aren't many. I'm throwing a 135" image from around thirteen feet. Oh well, I'll cross the bridge if/when I come to it.

Ouch, sorry to hear this. How many days out of warranty are you? I'm curious have you had a "buzzing" sound at start up recently that would quiet down after a time? Mine did that for some months and I sent it in back in April. The color wheel was replaced.

With the recent reports around here color wheel failure may be the issue that kills off 7700's in the end.

I believe someone posted that Ben charges $60/hour labor for out of warranty repairs. May not be that expensive a fix. Or with luck they will give you a little "grace" period. Please let us know how they respond. Might be an influence for some of us on another purchase.

My unit has also been in three times. Still, pretty happy with their CS. They did a pretty responsible job with the lamp failure saga.

You're sure correct about the limited choices for a replacement, especially if placement restrictions are an issue. A short throw lens makes mounting easier in my room. My 7700 is 15' from a 133" diag. screen. I've been reading the W5000 thread. That pj would work for me. Requires a minimum 18' throw distance.

With the lamp I'm using now and the hours left on a spare, I should be able to get to December '09.

Maybe by that holiday season there will be a few choices in LED based 1080p DLP front pj's. No $3-400 replacement lamps, no color wheel, lower fan noise?, no change in output spectra over time. It would be nice.

Anyway, good luck

Joe

Noooooooo!

Well, right at the three year mark (I purchased my 7700 in October of '05), the unthinkable happened: Two of the color wheel segments shattered.

I never before in all my life had more hoped for a lamp failure. But I knew it wasn't since after the sound of glass breaking, the entire screen was green. Removal of the lamp verified my fear. It was "clear" to se that the color wheel was damaged (since the color wheel doesn't have a clear segment). I also spun the wheel to see what had happened. It looks like one blue and one red segment broke.

anyway, I'll call BENQ on Monday. Hopefully they'll fix it. It has already been in three other times. Otherwise I'll have to look at my upgrade options.

There aren't many. I'm throwing a 135" image from around thirteen feet. Oh well, I'll cross the bridge if/when I come to it.


Aye ay ay .....

You have to be very close to your warranty. Even if its only two weeks off, I would hope Benq will take care of you. I'll send you a PM so you can call someone who will take care of you.

My Benq 5k is the main gun now, yet the 7700 still gets used, and will be lighting it up on Halloween.:D

Aye ay ay .....

You have to be very close to your warranty. Even if its only two weeks off, I would hope Benq will take care of you. I'll send you a PM so you can call someone who will take care of you.

My Benq 5k is the main gun now, yet the 7700 still gets used, and will be lighting it up on Halloween.:D

The Halloween intrigue, details please.

Happy with the 5000?

Joe

The Halloween intrigue, details please.

Happy with the 5000?

Joe



Hey Joe,

On Halloween, I'm going to light the 7700 up on the outside of my garage door, as big as I can get it without being dim. Several AVS members have been doing this for years.

Last year I just moved my back couch, and you could see the entire screen, through the window from the street, as I played a chapter of Corpse Bride HD DVD. I put speakers out the front window, along with a sub, and let er rip!

This year I'm putting together some clips from different films that have "suspense type" of scenes. Nothing too scary or graphic to scare the little ones. I'll take some shots to show how it turns out.

As for the W5000........ yes I am happy. This baby really lays down a fantastic image. I hope to keep it in the PJ stable as long or longer than the 7700.;)

Hey Joe,

On Halloween, I'm going to light the 7700 up on the outside of my garage door, as big as I can get it without being dim. Several AVS members have been doing this for years.

Last year I just moved my back couch, and you could see the entire screen, through the window from the street, as I played a chapter of Corpse Bride HD DVD. I put speakers out the front window, along with a sub, and let er rip!

This year I'm putting together some clips from different films that have "suspense type" of scenes. Nothing too scary or graphic to scare the little ones. I'll take some shots to show how it turns out.

As for the W5000........ yes I am happy. This baby really lays down a fantastic image. I hope to keep it in the PJ stable as long or longer than the 7700.;)

Hi,

Very amusing, my thought was Blasst must have in mind projecting to an outside screen at his home. As an older guy I miss the drive-ins, what a perfect idea!!

In previous years I have employed motion sensitive figures and an old Mintek DVD player with a 1/4" mic. in with a reverb function. Along with a speaker placed outside and a fog machine. It has been fun.

But kick it up a notch. Halloween is simple fun. Might be a needed distraction this year.

Good to hear that the W5000 is a keeper.

Joe

Joe,

Sounds like you have had your fun at Halloween also.

I like your idea of using a fog machine, I'll have to look into that. Could create a much better mood for spookiness.

With my 7700:

Ambient temp. 72 deg. Lamp in economic mode, normal altitude.

After 30 minutes: Inlet Temp. +2300, Ballast Temp. +6200

So if they are measured in the same way between the two models, it looks like you are fine.

Joe

Thank you very much for checking. I appreciate it! :)

I'm a longtime PE7700 owner now, and it sure has had its problems. Now the fans go full-speed and the temp light goes red when I turn it on, for no good reason. Then it shuts down automatically.

Sometimes I can get it to run, but I don't know why. Halp?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have had the same issue here in the last two weeks. Sometimes both the temp and lamp lights will begin flashing shortly after start up and then the unit powers off. I'm wondering if you got yours fixed? If so, what did they have to do?

I replaced my 7700 with a Panny AE-2000U. No mounting restrictions at all with that, and amazing picture quality. The 3000 is out this month with some very nice improvements over that even. The 7700 is still running. I project it through the window onto a screen on my patio. Fun stuff.
Warren.

I'm a longtime PE7700 owner now, and it sure has had its problems. Now the fans go full-speed and the temp light goes red when I turn it on, for no good reason. Then it shuts down automatically.

Sometimes I can get it to run, but I don't know why. Halp?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have had the same issue here in the last two weeks. Sometimes both the temp and lamp lights will begin flashing shortly after start up and then the unit powers off. I'm wondering if you got yours fixed? If so, what did they have to do?

First, welcome to the forum.

OK, a few basics: Are you out of warranty, what is your current Firm Ware version and have you cleaned the filter?

Joe

I replaced my 7700 with a Panny AE-2000U. No mounting restrictions at all with that, and amazing picture quality. The 3000 is out this month with some very nice improvements over that even. The 7700 is still running. I project it through the window onto a screen on my patio. Fun stuff.
Warren.

Hi Warren,

Another, great, potential use for a semi-retired 7700. With the current resale value most likely being less than the cost of a new lamp what is one to do with this old stuff?

Simple, upgrade and have a spare. Use it creatively and justify a replacement purchase. That might work :).

How do you like LCD vs. DLP?

Joe

Thanks Joe for the quick reply. It had the most recent firmware upgrade when I purchased it as a re-furb. .48 I think? I have had it serviced in May for the past HDMI handshake issue and it came back working okay. But this issue is new and the HDMI issue has popped up as well again. so I'm not sure whats going on. In any case, I'm at about 1600 hours in eco mode, and still under warranty. Benq took a couple of days to get me an RMA (I wish I knew someone there in servive vs. whomever answers.) I'm just going to send it in and hope for the best. P.S. I'm also looking for spare bulbs if anyone knows how to get them a little less expensive instead of $300.00. Thoughts?? Ohh yea, also i'm now noticing it's louder at start up so I'm kinda worried that the color wheel is going, or the fans are working too hard. Yikes!! Hope service sends it back working like new...

Joe, I think DLP vs LCD debate is really going out the window the the coming Panny 3000. It closes the gap on the main advantage DLP had, ANSI contrast, while keeping the huge flexability of LCD projetors, with lens shift, big zoom range and stuff. My main attraction was Panny's Smoothscreen filter. I like to sit 7' from my 120" screen, and SDE with the 7700 drove me nuts.
Warren.

Warren,

The Panny 3000 sounds interesting. I've been looking at Ben's W5000. It would require a location about 5' further back in the room. Running the power and HDMI cables from that new position would be a PITA and would not look very good.

Wow, 7' from a 120" screen. The 7700 would look terrible from that distance. About 13' from my 133" screen is the closest you can sit.

Joe

Trouble with HDMI. See photos.

Happens with my Directtv HD-PVR and my DVD player so it is not one of these components. I use HDMI only with the PVR.

If I switch from component input of projector to HDMI the issue doesn't show up.

Problem occurs when I start up projector with HDMI imput. To correct I have to switch projector to another input and back to HDMI, or I can also change the resolution of the PVR.

Wondering if its the HDMI cable or the HDMI of the projector.

Thanks,

More photos.

Trouble with HDMI. See photos.

Happens with my Directtv HD-PVR and my DVD player so it is not one of these components. I use HDMI only with the PVR.

If I switch from component input of projector to HDMI the issue doesn't show up.

Problem occurs when I start up projector with HDMI imput. To correct I have to switch projector to another input and back to HDMI, or I can also change the resolution of the PVR.

Wondering if its the HDMI cable or the HDMI of the projector.

Thanks,

Hi Jeff,

I also have D*. What DVR do you have? To start the troubleshoot you might want to disconnect the component cables from the back of the 7700 and then turn the pj on, set to accept the HDMI input.

Give that a try. That will isolate the issue as far as the HDMI input is concerned.

Not sure what you are trying to convey from your jpeg's, but we are around to help, at least I think so. Old threads never die ...... yeah, that line must be old around here.

Joe

I had an issue once on component where the PJ was doing the same thing, though not with HDMI.

It was fixed by powering down the PJ through the Main power switch, then restarting again. For some reason, even if the Remote power was used to cycle the power, the display issue remained. Just to be clear, if the machine is turned on - turn off the PJ using the Remote, wait for cool down, power down the Mains. Reapply power to the mains and see if the problem goes away.

Good luck

Joe,
I have the HR22 PVR. Will post better photos and do as you suggested.

Thanks Basement. Will also try your suggestion.

Here are better pictures with the HDMI problem and normal picture.




I powered down using the projectors main power switch. The next time I turned on projector for HDMI, the picture was normal. Unfortunately the following time I turned the PJ on, the problem returned. This happened on two occasions, just to be sure.

I suspect this is a problem with the PJ internal HDMI? Your thoughts please.

Thanks

Jeff,

Is this a new problem? I'm assuming it is and that no changes were done to the system recently.

Is there an HDMI switch? Trying plugging in directly from your source. Try another cable.

There had been some reports of HDMI issues that were dealt with by Benq.

Jeffcom

I have my PE700 directly connected to Panasonic DVD player via 15M HDMI cable. Occasionally I see problem (may be once in a couple of months) similar to your images (picture looks like missing a color). All I need to do is turn off/on my DVD player to fix the problem. I have only seen this problem during initial pon cycle.

Basement,
This is a new problem. I am not using a switcher for HDMI. The HDMI cable is dedicated for my HD-DVR. Am hoping that this problem can be diagnosed without purchasing another HDMI cable as I need a 40'er and would have to order one. If it is the PJ's HDMI I wouldn't mind sending it in to BenQ. My warranty ends in March and maybe they will uprade the firmware from v.048.

Arai123,
I turned off my HD-DVR and turned it back on again and the problem went away. Will have to wait till next power up cycle to see if this holds. What is "pon cycle"?

Jeffcom

By "pon cycle" I meant power off then power on.

In my experience PE700 HDMI is quite finicky. For me the project works almost perfectly with my Panasonic up converting DVD with HDMI. But I have difficulty connecting it to my notebook PC's HDMI output. My biggest problem it with PS3. I purchase a PS3 to watch blue ray movies but so far I am not able to successfully connect it to my PE700.
I contacted Sony and BenQ support. Sony support was useless and they had not clue. BenQ support person agreed to issue an RMA to look at the problem. I shipped the projector while it was almost at the end of its three year warranty. The BenQ support ran their own HDMI test and use a BlueRay player and did not find any problem. I told them that my problem is only with the PS3 player and not with the other Blue Ray players. They promised me that they will try to get a PS3 to test it but for more than a month they could not get a PS3 (I was told that they are trying to get a PS3 from one of their family members). Anyway after more than a month. I asked them to ship the projector back. They wanted me to send my PS3 but I deiced not to prolong this any more. I was not sure that even if I send my PS3, they will be able to fix the projector and not blame my PS3 (also I did not want to pay another $40 shipping while I can buy another blue ray player for $250). So the project is back. Does not work with PS3 but works great with my old Panasonic. I will soon purchase a standalone blue Ray player (maybe for under 200) and hopefully keep this project for another couple of years before upgrading to 1080P. Other than that It’s a great project and I have and still enjoy watching movies on it :-).

Arai123,
Powered up the PJ and the HDMI issue reappeared.
I do think this is a problem with the PJ.
Could you give me the number for BenQ support and possibly the person you spoke with?
Would like to see if worthwhile to send it in.

Thanks,

Tried another HDMI cable which did not help, so shipped it off to service in New Jersey. Unable to get BenQ to pay for my shipping.

First time in for service so would like a good impression. If something should happen to the PJ now is the time, since warranty expires in February.

ARAI123.

I was having the same HDMI PS3 issues. It would work fine for a few months then quite. Benq repair replaced the main board and the HDMI. Came back working fine, for two weeks, then quit again. I finally just purchased a RBG cord for the PS3 and elected to use that instead of the HDMI. (save yourself money vs. buying a stand-alone blueray player) After my last repair in October 08 for a lamp /temp failure, it came back working again. (HDMI with PS3) Who knows how long it will last this time, but so far no issues in a month.

Well I got the projector back from BenQ service. They upgraded the software, messed with the settings and did not fix the HDMI issue.

Since there was no work order, will call BenQ and find out just what they did if any.

cast4837,

I purchased the PS3 cable and was able connect PS3 with BenQ and play some blue ray movies in 720p. Its works ok for some movies but for others I do not like the quality of the pictures via RBG (espacially colors). I have a new 1080p sharp LCD TV with HDMI and I get much better picture on the Sharp LCD TV.
So my plan is to wait for blue ray prcies to come down and then purchase a standalone player. And later (may be in few years) upgrade my projector to 1080p. In the meantime I will continue to enjoy DVD movies upconverted to 720p.

Arai,

I have my PE7700 hooked up to a PS3 via hdmi.

The image is better than upconverted dvd, without a doubt.

However, I don't think changing a PS3 for a stand-alone player will make ANY discernable difference. I think our projector is becoming OUTDATED and a new 1080p will better show off the details of blu-ray films, especially if your screen is 84 inches or larger (which is my case.)

I too have a LCD 1080p (50 inch) and the image is much better than the PE7000. Again, I think the WEAK link is now the PE7700, not the PS3.

I have been spoiled by the spectacular image on my LCD 1080p and now am somewhat unsatisfied with my PE7700. My next upgrade will be the PROJECTOR, not the PS3.

Just my opinion.....

I agree. I got a mitsubishi 73" and love the image, but no way I would watch it over my Projector. I upgraded from the 7700 to the Panny ae2000U. Very nice, and the new 3000 is even better.
Warren.

Yep,

The 7700 is now over 3 years old. Long time in the tech world. With my 133" screen and a PS3 BD discs always (well almost), look superior. On the other hand I continue to be amazed at what my oppo 983 can wring out of good SD DVD's.

No doubt that a current 1080p pj would better show the advantage of Blu-Ray. I've considered an upgrade to the Ben W5000. The increased throw distance is a deal breaker for my setup.

I remain pleased with the 7700. Want to stick with a DLP solution, probably a silly bias over LCD at this point but...

An LED light source would also be welcome. I can wait. For awhile.

Joe

Laser rear projection is out. How far out can laser front projection?
Warren

Laser rear projection is out. How far out can laser front projection?
Warren

Hey Warren,

Who knows. TI is working with others on LED. Would seem to me that everyone would love to ditch the UHP lamps. The 7700 experience is a great example of a weakest link argument.

It's all about Lumen output and the current state of the art.

Joe

I too have a PE7700. The PJ is mounted in the ceiling in the inverted position. Today the PJ stopped working after 2 years. The lamp light was red. After letting it cool, I pulled the PJ down and placed it on the table table. The projector works well on the table top. This happen once before while under warrenty and was fixed. They never told me what the problem was only that the fan was not cooling. Have you heard of this type problem?

Well, I finally had the time to call BenQ support and ask about my bad fans (yeah, months later) to see what kind of cost it would be. Out of warranty, so they said I would pay for shipping both ways to CA, plus $55 to give estimate of cost to fix (which can be used toward repair cost). He said average repair for BenQ projectors is $300 + shipping. He wouldn't say that the fans were even the problem based on my symptoms. Not sure if that was CYA, but I'm guessing so.

So I guess I'm going to take it apart (again, but further this time) and go with David's instructions on replacement.

Has anyone purchased third-party fans from somewhere and had them work in a PE7700/MT700? Might as well skip past the guesswork if possible. One other question for those that have done the fan replacement - is there a way to test whether it works other than putting it completely back together and firing it up?

I'm not really looking forward to this, but what have I got to lose? It'd probably be the same cost to repair whether I try this or not (assuming I'm careful, which I will be)

update to post #4715

Got a Sony Blu-ray player over Thanksgiving. Hooked up via HDMI- no problem with the image. The HDMI problem is gone! Go figure! The Blu-ray picture by the way is fantastic, better than most of my HD-D**tv. Wanted to hook up the HD TV via HDMI but the Monoprice switcher is "not supported" by the BenQ.

BenQ was nice enough to email a shipping label, but now I may forget it, at least until after the holidays.

Well, I finally had the time to call BenQ support and ask about my bad fans (yeah, months later) to see what kind of cost it would be. Out of warranty, so they said I would pay for shipping both ways to CA, plus $55 to give estimate of cost to fix (which can be used toward repair cost). He said average repair for BenQ projectors is $300 + shipping. He wouldn't say that the fans were even the problem based on my symptoms. Not sure if that was CYA, but I'm guessing so.

So I guess I'm going to take it apart (again, but further this time) and go with David's instructions on replacement.

Has anyone purchased third-party fans from somewhere and had them work in a PE7700/MT700? Might as well skip past the guesswork if possible. One other question for those that have done the fan replacement - is there a way to test whether it works other than putting it completely back together and firing it up?

I'm not really looking forward to this, but what have I got to lose? It'd probably be the same cost to repair whether I try this or not (assuming I'm careful, which I will be)


Hey Tim,

I was wondering what had happened with your 7700, now we know!:D

If you like I could "chat" with my Benq contact and see if they can take care of you a bit better than what you were told.

Then again you might get the pj, up and running here shortly.

Yep,

The 7700 is now over 3 years old. Long time in the tech world. With my 133" screen and a PS3 BD discs always (well almost), look superior. On the other hand I continue to be amazed at what my oppo 983 can wring out of good SD DVD's.

No doubt that a current 1080p pj would better show the advantage of Blu-Ray. I've considered an upgrade to the Ben W5000. The increased throw distance is a deal breaker for my setup.

I remain pleased with the 7700. Want to stick with a DLP solution, probably a silly bias over LCD at this point but...

An LED light source would also be welcome. I can wait. For awhile.

Joe



Joe,

You have got to figure out a way to make the W5000 work!;)

Hey Tim,

I was wondering what had happened with your 7700, now we know!:D

If you like I could "chat" with my Benq contact and see if they can take care of you a bit better than what you were told.

Then again you might get the pj, up and running here shortly.
Sounds great, if you think he can help - I'll take any assistance possible. I'm still not sure whether to go with the Sunon 1.6w fans that David (cramblda) referenced in post #4663. He stated there that they were factory spec units, but later in #4681 that it's a different spec unit. Maybe I can find it.

But if there's someone at BenQ that can assist better than who I talked with a few days ago, that'd be very helpful! Thanks!

The Sunon fan I could find was:
KDE1208PTV1 spec/ver: 13.MS.A.GN
This is what I found researching the Sunon fans..
Here's a PDF (http://www.sunon.com.tw/products/pdf/kd.pdf) for the KD series.

The KD1208PTS1 seems to have the proper specs (same as the one above, but 1.8w/150mA), and is available at the same online retailer here (http://www.alliedelec.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?SKU=9970182&MPN=KD1208PTS1.13.GN&R=9970182&SEARCH=9970182&DESC=KD1208PTS1.13.GN). It looks like the 3rd fan in the case is a squirrel cage fan. I'm going to ignore that one and assume it's the others.

I noticed these fans are sleeve bearing-type, and but there is a 1.7w (very similar otherwise) 2-ball bearing fan available as well. I did some research (http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=193) on the difference, and it seems that ball bearings are slightly louder (as evidenced by the Sunon fan specs), but also wear out more gradually which gives you more time to get new ones and get them replaced. Maybe I'll go for both types and try the ball bearing ones first, and have the sleeve/vapos as a backup.

I thought I ought to join in here. Last August, I bought a replacement bulb from Buy.com. After about two weeks, the square front of the bulb glass shattered rendering the pj unusable. (As an aside, buy.com sent me a new replacement bulb at no charge.)

I called BenQ as I was out of warranty. They told me it would cost about 2 hours of labor to assess it and typically $200-$300 to fix it. Sent in the projector and they told me I needed a new fan(s), color wheel and a light tunnel (to fix a shadow I had on the left side of the picture). The total cost was $218 including parts and shipping. The good news is that when I got the pj back, there was a new bulb left in it!

The bad news was that the HDMI port was inop. Called BenQ and they said send it back. I took out the bulb and paid shipping to send it back. They fixed the HDMI port, sent it back on their own nickel and there were no charges. The good news is that there was another new bulb in the pj. So I now have two new bulbs, not counting the one I bought from buy.com.

On an integrity note, maybe I should tell them that they left the bulbs in the pj, but I suspect they have a large supply of bulbs for a pj that is no longer being sold.

The point of all this is that BenQ does a very good job servicing OOW repairs, not to mention the bulbs left in the pj when returned. Least I can do is say nice things about them!

Good luck.

Wow, that's definitely good to hear, Dennis. It's especially interesting that it was only $218 and that was for more than just the fans. I guess maybe I would just put the old bulb in it to send them and see if I get lucky :) But since I just ordered the fans, I guess I'll try it myself first (maybe even easier than having to find the box and pack it up and ship, etc..)

I guess maybe I would just put the old bulb in it to send them

They don't want you to send the pj to them with a bulb (or cords or cables). Their error was leaving the bulb they put in to test when they sent it back to me.

Well I finally did it. I replaced my MT700 (OEM PE7700) with a Mitsubishi HC5500, 1080p, PJ:D. Wow, what a difference, the HC5500 puts out a super picture (very sharp, better black levels, better colors, etc.). And it cost less than I paid for my second hand MT700.

Great to hear, Claus! Congrats! Two questions.. what are you doing with your MT700, and is there anything that you don't like about the new one?

Tim,

I put in a call to my contact, and will hopefully hear from him soon.

Its nice to see some of the "old" crew posting here! Damn, its been over 3 years since many of us started posting in this thread. And Claus had his 720p projector shootout back then. Ah good times. Glad to see everyone is still around and kicking.

Hello,

I agree with Blasst. This PJ has had a good run and the 'old crew' on this thread has been very helpful and supportive for all owners. I'm thinking that other than some early trouble, this PJ seems to have really held up as a well built machine over the past 3 years. If Benq had not increased their throw on their current models I would probably have got another one. Everybody has their own priorities but imo, reliability and after sales support should be right up there.

Regards

Wondering if you guys can help me as Harmony technical support is unable to solve.

Replaced my upconverting DVD player with a Sony Blu-ray. Problem is the PE7700 is unable to power down. Anybody have this setup with same problem?

Thanks,

What does "unable to power down" mean? When you press the power button on the PJ, does the confirmation screen not appear?

Or do you mean it's just a problem with the remote not sending the correct signal? If so, can you do the PJ power off separately?

Joe,

You have got to figure out a way to make the W5000 work!;)

OK, a second look, will try. Thanks.

Joe

I also had loud fans and this page http://www.functionalchaos.net/pe7700/ scared me too much so I decided to donate my 7700 to a family member and also, like Claus, upgraded to the HC5500 when it was on sale. Also payed less than 2/3 of what the PE7700 cost me back in the day...

Needless to say I am quite happy and don't miss the loud drone of the BenQ, although it DID put out a nice image. Albeit a 720p image. I too would have gone with a W5000 if only the throw distance would have acommodated my room dimensions... and the digital noise was addressed in a new FW. I was always happy with BenQ's service after that whole bulb explosion fiasco.

One issue that I already ran into with my 1080p LCD is....drum roll... DUST BLOBS. Be happy we PE7700 owners did not have to contend with THAT particular monster with our nice DLPs. Just exploding lamps. And loud whiny fans. And finicky HDMI ports.

Has anyone purchased third-party fans from somewhere and had them work in a PE7700/MT700? Might as well skip past the guesswork if possible. One other question for those that have done the fan replacement - is there a way to test whether it works other than putting it completely back together and firing it up?


Hi,

About 3 months ago I also had to go through this process with my Toshiba MT700.
I could not find the original 1.8W model but the 1.6W The PJ works normally since I installed the new fans and it costed me $5 :)
In the service menu I checked the Lamp and the Ballast temperature and they are way between scale.

If you need any help, just let me know!

Gabor

Well I finally did it. I replaced my MT700 (OEM PE7700) with a Mitsubishi HC5500, 1080p, PJ:D. Wow, what a difference, the HC5500 puts out a super picture (very sharp, better black levels, better colors, etc.). And it cost less than I paid for my second hand MT700.

Old guy Checklst still hear...........wow I came in on this fun on page 8. The 7700 is still going strong...great picture and I am still on the replacement bulb BQ put in 2 years ago. Its getting a little dim lately so I been burning it on high........still have a replacement bulb I bought off of Keven Anderson for $150 bucks. I knew when I bought a spare lamp I would never have trouble again....hehehe thats always the way.

Claus I was looking at the 5500 the other day with it's spare lamp and 300 dollar rebate......what a deal for a 1080.............I was going to say great minds think alike,........but that would only be true for you.

Just finished wiring a HT in a clients basement, and he purchasing the Mits 5500, will be getting my first look at the picture quality when the drywall guys get finished.

Glad to see all the old gang is still hear going strong and I might be seeing you soon in the Mits thread......well maybe, I do have 3 kids in college so extra toy money is hard to come by........:D

Wondering if you guys can help me as Harmony technical support is unable to solve.

Replaced my upconverting DVD player with a Sony Blu-ray. Problem is the PE7700 is unable to power down. Anybody have this setup with same problem?

Thanks,

Did this work before or is the Harmony new?

The only issue I ever had to solve was to make sure I can issue the Power off code twice with a short pause in between. The Harmony supports this.

Hi,

About 3 months ago I also had to go through this process with my Toshiba MT700.
I could not find the original 1.8W model but the 1.6W The PJ works normally since I installed the new fans and it costed me $5 :)
In the service menu I checked the Lamp and the Ballast temperature and they are way between scale.

If you need any help, just let me know!

Gabor
Thanks much, Gabor! Sorry I didn't get your PM.. needed to clean out my inbox (done). I actually ordered two of each.. ball bearing and sleeve/vapo type. The ball type is 1.7w, the sleeve seems to be like the original.. 1.8w. So we'll see how it goes. They've shipped, and I'm really hoping to get them by Friday so I can work on it this weekend. I'm going to hook my sources up through a DVDO Edge video processor most likely.

Old guy Checklst still hear...........wow I came in on this fun on page 8. The 7700 is still going strong...great picture and I am still on the replacement bulb BQ put in 2 years ago. Its getting a little dim lately so I been burning it on high........still have a replacement bulb I bought off of Keven Anderson for $150 bucks. I knew when I bought a spare lamp I would never have trouble again....hehehe thats always the way.

Claus I was looking at the 5500 the other day with it's spare lamp and 300 dollar rebate......what a deal for a 1080.............I was going to say great minds think alike,........but that would only be true for you.

Just finished wiring a HT in a clients basement, and he purchasing the Mits 5500, will be getting my first look at the picture quality when the drywall guys get finished.

Glad to see all the old gang is still hear going strong and I might be seeing you soon in the Mits thread......well maybe, I do have 3 kids in college so extra toy money is hard to come by........:D


Checklst,

That must yank your chain putting in a projector you would like to possibly upgrade to. Glad to see you stop in for roll call. Must be whats in the water.:D

What does "unable to power down" mean? When you press the power button on the PJ, does the confirmation screen not appear?

Or do you mean it's just a problem with the remote not sending the correct signal? If so, can you do the PJ power off separately?

I mean that the projector won't turn off into standby mode (power toggle, power toggle). I see both confirmation screens, but somehow the Blu-ray is interfering and the PJ remains on. I don't have a problem with any other activities involving the Pj.

Did this work before or is the Harmony new?

The only issue I ever had to solve was to make sure I can issue the Power off code twice with a short pause in between. The Harmony supports this.

The PJ shut down fine with my old DVD player, using the same Harmony 659 remote and haven't changed the programming for turning off the projector.

Its something about the Blu-ray specifically.

Well I finally did it. I replaced my MT700 (OEM PE7700) with a Mitsubishi HC5500, 1080p, PJ:D. Wow, what a difference, the HC5500 puts out a super picture (very sharp, better black levels, better colors, etc.). And it cost less than I paid for my second hand MT700.

Hi Claus,

Good to hear you're happy with the upgrade. Still remember your pj shootout from, what, 3 years ago. Your help with the Getgray disc is also appreciated.

I just checked at PP and the Mits 5500 sure has an inviting price now with the rebate and free lamp.

My search for a 1080p replacement pj for the 7700 is leading me in different directions, price being only a moderate concern. My screen is a 133" Dalite HP. With the 7700 in Econo mode the lumen output is adequate but only that. If memory serves the 7700/MT700 was spec'd at 1000 Lumens in econo mode. The 5500, from what I've read is 1200 Lumens in high output lamp mode but only 600 Lumens in low lamp.

So a couple of questions if you please. How would you compare the light output between old and new units?

More generally, do you think LCD tech now is as good as DLP?

The new Epson 6500UB with a reported 1800 Lumen output is perhaps more appropriate for my application.

New 1080 DLP machines with flexible placement options are hard to find.

Thanks,

And BTW, do you get to be the Santa model at least this time of year? I am stuck donning the red suit for a fund raiser this weekend. My acting skills are non-existent. Hey, I know, I'll watch "A Christmas Story" again and try to emulate the Higbee's store guy.

Happy Holidays to all.

Joe

Hey Bronco70 like you I have started to look at possible up grades but I am finding no dlp's that will fit my HT room like the pe7700.

My screen is 110" (can't go larger)and my mount and cables are at 12 ft making the lens on the 7700 at 11 1/2 ft from screen. Have not found a 1080P DLP that will throw this image at 11 1/2 ft...............not to mention a O% offset like the 7700 would be nice.

It looks like LCD might be in my future even though I like the dependable little mirrors...........over the lcd polrisers.

Hopefully dlp will produce a machine soon with the lens and offset that keeps me from having to remodel the room and move all the in wall cables back 3 or 4 floor joist/patch drywall ect........:)

Happy Holidays guys

Checklst, according to the Calculator Pro at ProjectorCentral.com, the W5000 will work.. just result in quite a bit of brightness (not usually a bad thing..)

Another consideration is that the 7700 was a bit unusual with its short throw. Most PJs in the future for you will probably be a bit longer, thus making it possibly worth it to move further back.

Tim, I may wind up giving my MT700 to my significant other's eldest son (I still have to get the slightly used lamp from ChrisW6ATV that he is saving for me). The black levels on the HC5500 are not quite as black as I would like (not inky black), but they're still better than the MT700. However, it is stone quiet (it's 18" from my left ear and I can't hear it at all, even with my speakers muted). BTW, I have the HC5500 sitting in the same place as my MT700 was (12.5' from my 106" screen), and it's just a little shy of the middle of it's zoom range.

PS -- I hope you get your fan issue solved.

Bronco70 -- If I had waited until "Black Friday", I could have gotten a good deal on the Mitsubishi HC6500, which is a better PJ. Granted, it is more expensive than the HC5500, but I could have gotten it for about $300 more than what I paid for the HC5500 (I only qualified for the $200 rebate). The HC6500 has better black levels, a longer zoom, and better lens shift.

The HC5500 (& HC6500) is not as bright as the MT700/PE7700 PJs, but it's not that bad (the MT700 is dimmer with a ND2 filter, 50% cut in brightness). I'm not using a ND2 filter on the HC5500, and it is significantly brighter on the brightest scenes (both in the low lamp mode, ND2 on the MT700). I would guess that it is about 20%-25% dimmer than the MT700/PE7700, with both in the low lamp modes, and no ND2 filter. The high lamp (Mitsubishi calls it "Standard") of my HC5500 is roughly (a very big guess) the same as the MT700 in it's low lamp mode (but I haven't done a comparison).

However with the much better Contrast Ratio of the HC5500, the Auto Iris on, it does not create eyestrain (like the MT700 did, which is why I had to use the ND2 filter) - the whites are very bright. It is bright enough that I can watch it even during the daytime (but my LR/HT is in the NE corner of my house, with 1 small East window and 1 large North window, with drapes, so it's not all that bright a room).

NOTE: I'm still using my 106" Da-Lite High Power screen, gain = 2.8, and shelf mounting.

Unlike sleater, I don't have any dust blobs (with the optional, included, heavy duty air filter, he does too). I have over 220 hours on it, and it's been running for 6 to 10 hours, each time I use it (we fell asleep one time and it was on for 12+ hours). I think his dust blob was one that didn't get cleaned out after final assembly.

Overall, I am very happy with my purchase, and no regrets. After my initial calibration (it needs re-tweaking now), I am very pleased with my HC5500. It does everything I expected from it, and no SDE either. I have to walk up to about 6" from the screen before I can make out the pixels. The power zoom & focus is really neat (I focus by walking up to the screen and adjusting the focus for perfectly sharp pixels). The only downside is that SDTV programs look very soft (= not sharp), but HDTV is super and DVDs are even better (even SD-DVDs are virtually equal to HDTV programs, as far as I can tell).

No dice on the first attempt - using the ball bearing, 1.7w Sunon fans. Same symptoms (double red flashing LEDs). The biggest pain was soldering the new fans into the existing wiring harness. Otherwise, it's pretty easy.

Edit: Didn't work for the sleeve/vapo bearing 1.8w Sunons either.. Wow, very frustrating to go through 4 hrs of work to swap it out twice and have neither set of fans work. :(

Does anybody think it could also be a bad internal power supply squirrel fan? Both of the new fans come on, are quiet, blow cool air, yet shut it off and give me the two flashing red LEDs.

If anyone is in the market for a PE7700 that has a new bulb and just needs fans fixed (send it in to BenQ or use it for parts and a new bulb), let me know. Mine is officially on the market.

Sent the PE7700 off to BenQ this morning - $60 roundtrip two-day USPS shipping (did not include the bulb). We'll see how much it'll be to repair..

On my short list is the Epson 6500UB.. probably will use my BenQ until I get a decent offer on it some day, then upgrade. If anybody upgrades from the PE7700 to the 6500UB, I'm curious your thoughts on the comparison, especially lumen output.

I hope everyone had/is having a fantastic holiday..

Can anyone recommend a cable/toggle that will properly convert DVI to Component that will work with the PE7700? I bought a cable but when I try to plug it into my receiver or projector it says that the resolution is not supported or something to that effect.

ps: I tried to search this thread but the link just sends me to the bottom of the screen for some reason. Sorry if this question is already answered.
pps: feel like a tard I see the search box now.

You need more than just some cable adapter (which shouldn't even exist). It would need to be a digital to analog converter, and are a few hundred dollars. What brand/model item did you get?

I can't find where I originally go it from, but it would explain why I had such a hard time finding the cable :rolleyes:

It is something like this: sewelldirect dot com/DVI-to-Component-Adapter-Cable-10ft.asp

Except it didn't come with the disclaimer .