OriginalSyn -- The only DVI that you can "cable convert" to Component is the analog version (DVI-A) or the DVI-I (which has both analog and digital connections. As miltimj said, you cannot convert the digital DVI signal to the analog Component outputs without a DAC (digital to analog converter). Therefore, a simple cable adapter just won't work for a digital DVI signal.

The only equipment that a DVI to Component adapter will work is with a PC video card. Those DVI outputs are DVI-I and will support an analog output from their DVI connector output. Other equipment with DVI connectors (like cable or satellite receivers) only have digital DVI connectors (DVI-D) and those can't be converted from a digital output to an analog component output without a DAC and the necessary circuits to create the 3 separate analog YCrCb (YPrPb) signals.

PS -- You can't go the other way either - Component analog output to a DVI-D connection to the PE7700 (that is a digital only input). In that case you would need an analog-to-digital converter and the necessary circuits to correctly combine the 3 YPbPr signals into a single digital one.

I have the PE 7700 which is about three years old.
It started making a grinding noise which has now gotten worse. I'm pretty sure the color wheel is fried because there are little pieces of broken glass inside that are gold in appearance and look blue when you look trough them. The projector still works but makes an awful loud sound and the projected image looks very grey (lack of strong blues).
History:
It had the premature bulb burn-out problem so I sent it back for the firmware upgrade a few years ago. They also replaced the bulb which somewhat exploded after about 1200 hours. I purchased a new bulb about 6 months ago which I just took out to see what was up with the color wheel issue. There is a small round glass lens in a square metal piece on the front of the bulb assembly that the bulb projects through. Though the bulb itself is working fine, this little piece of glass in front has a pea sized pit in the center & some cracking. I have heard of this happening to a few others on some forums. This bulb is only 6 months old with 320 hours on it.
I'm wondering if it's time to buy a new projector. I'm afraid if I send this one back to BenQ for repair it will just cost me a lot and will continue to have lamp problems.
Anyone know if that little glass lens/filter? piece can be replaced without buying a new bulb? it looks like it's held in place with one screw. I wish I kept my old burned out bulb for the parts. Any idea what BenQ will charge me to replace color wheel?

Should I just move on & buy a new projector?

Thanks

skysummit,

Sorry to hear of your issues. Mine is currently at BenQ service to get fans replaced. There's also a crack in the bottom of the case near one of the thread mounts. I was expecting something like a couple hundred dollars based on other reports, but they're charging me only the cost of the parts! $35 + shipping both ways. I thought that was amazing. IIRC, someone else had the color wheel replaced (edit: Dennis, see below) as well as the fans, and it was around $300. Look back further in this thread for the exact details.

As for getting a new projector, it depends whether you're planning doing that anyway. For me, the deciding factor was that (even if it was $300, which is what I was expecting), the projector is worth much more than that (to sell and to me to continue to use). If I didn't get it fixed, it'd be a paper weight or worth much less for parts (or someone else willing to send it in).

Good luck..

I had a problem with that small square piece of glass exploding. It was a new bulb. Buy.com got me a new bulb and BenQ fixed the projector, including fans, color wheel, etc for $218. See this post above for my story: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=15311638&postcount=4729

The projector is as good as ever. My brother-in-law recently got a Epson 1080P and I swear my picture is every bit as good as his. Colors are deeper, but his blacks are better.

Dennis, which Epson did he get? 6500UB? 6100? 1080UB?

I'm mostly considering the 6500UB, but will wait until QC is in check and until I get a more "dedicated" room for it.

I called BenQ and they at first said the fix was probably around $200 because the unit was manufactured a little over three years ago (though not sure if it’s been over 3 since I purchased it). We then discussed by problem with the bulbs not lasting and the earlier firmware upgrade. Another thing I noticed when I took the bulb out and the front of the unit off to get out the broken glass from the color wheel, was the plastic shaft that excepts the screw holding the top & bottom of the unit together is melted and disfigured. This is the plastic screw sleeve that is closest to the bulb so obviously there has been over heating problems. Just not sure if this melted plastic happened before or after the firmware upgrade. Since I have had on-going problems and my unit is just about three years old, they are taking it in on warranty. I'll have to see what they will cover.

I'm hoping all will be fine because I like this unit. If the warranty thing does not work out, I will probably consider a new projector. I have just begun researching and comparing, and so far here are the ones I'm interested in:


benq w5000
panasonic ae3000
epson 6500ub

Any comments

Thanks

Dennis, which Epson did he get? 6500UB? 6100? 1080UB?
He got a Epson Powerlite 1080UB. Says there are better ones now, which are based on his.

I called BenQ and they at first said the fix was probably around $200 because the unit was manufactured a little over three years ago (though not sure if it’s been over 3 since I purchased it). We then discussed by problem with the bulbs not lasting and the earlier firmware upgrade. Another thing I noticed when I took the bulb out and the front of the unit off to get out the broken glass from the color wheel, was the plastic shaft that excepts the screw holding the top & bottom of the unit together is melted and disfigured. This is the plastic screw sleeve that is closest to the bulb so obviously there has been over heating problems. Just not sure if this melted plastic happened before or after the firmware upgrade. Since I have had on-going problems and my unit is just about three years old, they are taking it in on warranty. I'll have to see what they will cover.

I'm hoping all will be fine because I like this unit. If the warranty thing does not work out, I will probably consider a new projector. I have just begun researching and comparing, and so far here are the ones I'm interested in:


benq w5000
panasonic ae3000
epson 6500ub

Any comments

Thanks

Based on over three years of watching this thread, my own experience with the 7700 and my Brother's with the earlier PE8700 I bet that Ben will be true to their word.

As far as upgrades, I would replace my 7700 with the W500, if only the throw distance worked for my setup.

As Tim stated the Epson 6500 is tempting but at this point there are some QC concerns so I'm on the fence about that one. There is a good thread on AVS that goes into the details.

The Panny seems to deserve consideration.

I really want a DLP solution as an upgrade.

Good luck.

Joe

Joe

You wrote the "w500". Did you mean that, or are you talking the w5000?

"QC concerns"

I have no idea what QC means. Quality control maybe? What are the QC concerns with the 6500ub?

Thanks,

Gordon

Yes, QC = quality control. Check out the 6500UB owner's thread. It seems as though when you get a good unit, it's fabulous (and that is likely a high percentage of the time). However, there are issues with people receiving them with frozen focus rings and/or misconvergence (more than a single pixel) as two examples. As with anything, the problems will show up in forums disproportionately, and you can pay extra to AVS (if you buy from them) for them to check these things, but I typically like to wait a while before getting a newly released anything. (Waited 3 months for the PE7700, same amount of time for the recent DVDO Edge video processor, etc)

The only concern for me (if I were planning on buying now, which I'm not), is that the initial batches of 6500s were gobbled up by the market, and a few had issues. Their warranty is excellent, but they ran out of new replacements to send out to people. So wait a month or so and all should be good. There's not much doubt in my mind that's the one I would get, though.

Yes, QC = quality control. Check out the 6500UB owner's thread. It seems as though when you get a good unit, it's fabulous (and that is likely a high percentage of the time). However, there are issues with people receiving them with frozen focus rings and/or misconvergence (more than a single pixel) as two examples. As with anything, the problems will show up in forums disproportionately, and you can pay extra to AVS (if you buy from them) for them to check these things, but I typically like to wait a while before getting a newly released anything. (Waited 3 months for the PE7700, same amount of time for the recent DVDO Edge video processor, etc)

The only concern for me (if I were planning on buying now, which I'm not), is that the initial batches of 6500s were gobbled up by the market, and a few had issues. Their warranty is excellent, but they ran out of new replacements to send out to people. So wait a month or so and all should be good. There's not much doubt in my mind that's the one I would get, though.

Joe

You wrote the "w500". Did you mean that, or are you talking the w5000?

"QC concerns"

I have no idea what QC means. Quality control maybe? What are the QC concerns with the 6500ub?

Thanks,

Gordon

oops, yes the W5000.

skysummit,

Sorry to hear of your issues. Mine is currently at BenQ service to get fans replaced. There's also a crack in the bottom of the case near one of the thread mounts. I was expecting something like a couple hundred dollars based on other reports, but they're charging me only the cost of the parts! $35 + shipping both ways. I thought that was amazing...........

Thats great news. I just got an email from another person having a fan issue, looking for repair. Any tips for him on getting this great deal? Did you just send it to them and they called and said $35?

I am curious why the replacement fans you got did not work. The ones I swapped out worked and I thought I read someone else had success with the 1.6 watt. Did BenQ Service say which fans were bad? I was wondering if there was an issue with the soldering. I had to use my dremel tool to grind away a little of the back of the fan to solder them correctly? Did you need to do this? If soldered incorrectly the fans could work but may run at 5v or 7v instead of 12v. Who knows though.

Thanks!

David

Hi David,

I just sent it to them, and they called me when it was opened up and had an estimate. She said that the fan would be about $12, and that they found a crack on the bottom of the case near a mounting thread (which I knew was there). She said it may affect the integrity of the unit, and would be about $23. She also said there was no bulb and wondered if I wanted one (I didn't send it with one), and if so it would be $300. I said no to the bulb, and she sent me the out of warranty repair form. I put my info on it, signed and scanned/emailed it back. That was it. So I think you have to just send it in and see what they said.

As to which fan, it must've been one of the front ones that I replaced, since the description was "FAN 12V 80*80*25 300M KDE1208P". Interesting that they only said it was one and not both, since I used the exact same procedure on both. I looked at the original fan and it had three wires off of it, whereas both pair of the new ones I got (tried sleeve bearing first, then ball bearing) were two wire fans, but had the same solder point on the board as the originals. So I just literally tapped into that solder point with the third (yellow? can't remember) wire, and scraped the board between the solder points since they were so close and wanted to combine with each other. I kept the original new fan wires (but cut them back some), and soldered wire to wire with the harness. With BenQ saying only one fan needs to be replaced makes it seem like my process was sound, but maybe I made a mistake on one.

I'm not sure what you mean about grinding it away. Was it just hard to reach the iron in there? The new fans looked just like the old ones, and the 3rd solder point was accessible and all I did on the board itself. Note: I'm not a very experienced electronics solderer (can do plumbing much better).

When I tested the projector after putting them in, it seemed like they were running, but at a lower speed, so that may be what it was. Maybe I should've checked the specifications doc on the fan better to ensure the solder points. It just looked somewhat obvious since it looked the same as the original.

Thanks for the info. I have been contacted by a few people who are having the fan issue. I have outlined to them that the success rate is now 2:1 on a repair and also told them about your $35 + shipping repair with BenQ. I will let everyone know how it works out for them.

A side note, about your repair. Yes, with the one soldering spot, the cover came over the area quite a bit and I was concerned about linking the two points with solder or melting something I did not want melted. I found grinding a little of the back cover away made me feel more confident about the connections. Something worth noting, I tried splicing/soldering the fan wires to the harness the first time and had no luck. This may sound crazy ( and I am not really qualified to make such assumptions), but with such small amperage (.15A) it is likely that length of cable and solder points mid wire could effect the characteristics across the circuit. I don't know if this would be by a significant amount, but it is worth noting that I ended up replacing my harness with the original out of the spare projector and soldering directly for the working solution.

David

It's been nine days since I sent my OOW repair form to them and I haven't heard anything back yet, so I'm still reserving judgement.. I really, REALLY want it back for the Super Bowl!

I have sent out my PE7700 2 times now. It was made in 06 so it is still under warrantee but the trouble is still there. They have replaced the optical driver engine the 1st time. The 2nd time they didn't tell me what the problem is. I have a total of 185 hours on the lamp. Bought a spare lamp and tried it. Same problem. Here is where it gets wild. I got it back last week after the 2nd repair, mounted it and played the Wii on it for about 10 minutes. It was fine, my wife and I set it up to watch a show and after 5 minutes it shut off and the red lamp light was on again. Today, I set the Wii up on it and the kids and their friends have been playing for about an hour and a half on it. No troubles. Does anyone have an idea what can be going on? BenQ is great about trying to fix this but they haven't been able to resolve the issue. I would think it is some kind of thermal cutout but now I am clueless. Can it simply be a setting?

I have sent out my PE7700 2 times now. It was made in 06 so it is still under warrantee but the trouble is still there. They have replaced the optical driver engine the 1st time. The 2nd time they didn't tell me what the problem is. I have a total of 185 hours on the lamp. Bought a spare lamp and tried it. Same problem. Here is where it gets wild. I got it back last week after the 2nd repair, mounted it and played the Wii on it for about 10 minutes. It was fine, my wife and I set it up to watch a show and after 5 minutes it shut off and the red lamp light was on again. Today, I set the Wii up on it and the kids and their friends have been playing for about an hour and a half on it. No troubles. Does anyone have an idea what can be going on? BenQ is great about trying to fix this but they haven't been able to resolve the issue. I would think it is some kind of thermal cutout but now I am clueless. Can it simply be a setting?

To clarify, there are two malfunction indicators. Lamp and Temp. So in your case the Temp light stays off and only the Lamp light is a solid Red?

If so that could mean the lamp is not seated properly. That, of course is easy to check.

When you put the new lamp in did you reset the lamp hour timer to zero? After 3000 or so hours it is supposed to give a warning to replace the lamp and at some point it goes into an automatic shutdown routine.

I can think of no setting that could cause the issue.

And the pj is mounted in a location with adequate ventilation?

Since you are still under warranty I'm sure BenQ will come through if additional service is required.

Oh, and welcome to the forum. If you are ever really bored and have time to waste this now, four year old thread is a fun read. The tales of frustration at the beginning are only humorous in retrospect.

Joe

This is kind of funny. Just finished posting and turned on the 7700 to watch the US figure skating competition.

The "buzzing" noise is back. Ben had it for service back in July 2008 for this problem. There was no indication of what was replaced at that time. My best guess was the color wheel.

Six months and 750 hours with no problem. The noise is lower in level this time and like the last time it goes away after a few minutes.

The funny part is that the 3 year warranty expires on 01/25/09. I will call Ben tomorrow. Hope they will allow my sending it in with warranty coverage sometime after 02/01, have 8 friends coming to watch a certain game.

This will be the fourth trip for repairs in three years.

The thread that never dies.

Joe

Bronco, thanks for the quick reply. The original lamp only had 185 hours on it. Just the lamp light would come on not the temp. BenQ has worked on this twice. Here is a curveball now. I figured I would try running a movie on it after the kids finished with the Wii. It is still working properly. I know these phantom troubles are tough. I don't know if there is a thermal cutout in these. I am an electrician so if it is like a recessed light with a thermal cutout. It would heat up, trip out and when the bimetalic strip cools again it would then close the circuit and allow the lamp to work again. Same logic? I don't know. I might try turning the unit off and then back on after 5 minutes and see if I can't get the trouble to manifest itself.

Sorry, yes the projector is fully ventilated. Mounted from the ceiling with nothing around it

Tim,

I hope you get your PJ back in time for the Big Show.

And Joe, may your PJ make it through the game before sending it in.

Damn, bobbyho, that goes for you also.:)

Joe, you mentioned this 4 year old thread, hard to believe this thread started on Jan 13th 2005! Time flies so quickly.

Bronco, thanks for the quick reply. The original lamp only had 185 hours on it. Just the lamp light would come on not the temp. BenQ has worked on this twice. Here is a curveball now. I figured I would try running a movie on it after the kids finished with the Wii. It is still working properly. I know these phantom troubles are tough. I don't know if there is a thermal cutout in these. I am an electrician so if it is like a recessed light with a thermal cutout. It would heat up, trip out and when the bimetalic strip cools again it would then close the circuit and allow the lamp to work again. Same logic? I don't know. I might try turning the unit off and then back on after 5 minutes and see if I can't get the trouble to manifest itself.

As far as I know UHP lamps, as employed in the 7700 and so many other pj's, have not been protected by bi-metallic fault devices. The tolerance level would not be adequate for the purpose.

Also, in general, it is not considered wise to shut down a UHP lamp and restart within a short period of time. They need time to cool completely for maximum life. To be safe I have a 30 minute window that I adhere to. But I am an old conservative type. Belt and suspenders. :)

Hey, hang loose, might have been just a glitch. You're covered, so no worries?

Joe

Tim,

I hope you get your PJ back in time for the Big Show.

And Joe, may your PJ make it through the game before sending it in.

Damn, bobbyho, that goes for you also.:)

Joe, you mentioned this 4 year old thread, hard to believe this thread started on Jan 13th 2005! Time flies so quickly.

Hey Guy,

Time does fly. Great posters here over that time.

Hey Guy,

Time does fly. Great posters here over that time.

LOL..... The thread that never dies. First post on page 7 in April 05....Wow I feel old now Bronco thanks.

Great bunch of guys in hear!!!!!! My 7700 still throwing a great HD picture and I am still on the bulb BQ put in to fix the problem 2 years ago...I now running on high bulb output....shes a little dim on normal. I do have my spare bulb waiting in the wings.

If the electronics hold out and the spare bulb last as long as this one I WILL STILL BE HEAR IN 2013.........SHEESE:):):):)

Joe, I would think that as long as you got an RMA by yesterday, you'd be fine. The kicker is that they weren't open yesterday, so you better call today and say you would've called yesterday if they were open.. Then just say that you'll be sending it in (yet you just won't happen to get to the delivery place until next week...)

I'm emailing the rep I'm working with at BenQ again today. She said last week that she was going to check on the hold up, and I haven't heard yet.. I might have to spend more for faster shipping! Grr...

Joe, I would think that as long as you got an RMA by yesterday, you'd be fine. The kicker is that they weren't open yesterday, so you better call today and say you would've called yesterday if they were open.. Then just say that you'll be sending it in (yet you just won't happen to get to the delivery place until next week...)

I'm emailing the rep I'm working with at BenQ again today. She said last week that she was going to check on the hold up, and I haven't heard yet.. I might have to spend more for faster shipping! Grr...

Hi Tim,

Hope you get it back in time and thanks for the suggestion.

I'm happy to report that Ben is just as easy to work with as always. I just got off the phone. All I have to do is fax them the original invoice and they will send back an RMA. Covered under warranty and the RMA is good for 30 days!!

I'll have to look at the ACC schedule and time the send out. :)

Good game this Wednesday. Can Wake get past Duke?

BTW I was only on hold for a CSR for about 2 minutes, the wonderful Ben music (remember it? I think I can still hum it), is gone.

Joe

I just tried to use DVE BD to calibrate this projector. Using the RGB color filter I can get close enough Red and Blue but Green is all bad. Anyone has done this test and have a way to fix? I can access service mode but nothing seems to matter.

Yeah, I haven't been on hold *at all* in my past three calls (within the last month). I'm becoming doubtful on getting it by this weekend, though. :(

I just tried to use DVE BD to calibrate this projector. Using the RGB color filter I can get close enough Red and Blue but Green is all bad. Anyone has done this test and have a way to fix? I can access service mode but nothing seems to matter.

Not sure what you mean by, "green is all bad".

With any of Joe Kanes disc's including the latest BD version you can set the "user controls" fairly well. That means: Brightness= (Black Level), Contrast= (White Level), Color, Tint and Sharpness. Without other equipment and software that is all that can be accomplished with DVE or other similar discs.

This is not really calibrating. Adjusting individual levels of RGB, getting the Greyscale to track the standard of D65 (6500K), Gamma settings, evaluating how the final result fits the CIE triangle for primary and secondary color points, what a true calibration includes, is outside of the scope of DVE.

One suggestion, Kane's disc is OK, (although his menu systems have driven us crazy for years), there is another disc available on the net, GetGray. Very easy for user control adjustment and most find the patterns result in a higher confidence level. It is a $25 shareware. It also has patterns for calibration.

The reason, I posted at length with the risk of sounding pedantic, is that the 7700 can be calibrated quite well.

For two plus years I have been using a Pantone Eye-One LT colorimiter, GetGray and the free HCFR software to calibrate my 7700.

The end result : Greyscale from 30-100 IRE is +50/-20 of D65. RGB levels are also good for the most part. As with most UHP lamp designs it runs out of Red at the high end. What has surprised me is that at least my lamp sample runs out of Blue starting at 90IRE.

Something that may pertain to your question is that Green is over saturated at the high end, but only on the order of 5% at 100IRE.

The primary and secondaries fit the CIE diagram fairly well. The 7700 has no CMS, and I have found no way to move the color points, not for lack of trying.

All in all not a bad result for a PJ that was designed 4+ years back.

One caution, if I may. Be very careful in the service menu. A little adjustment without the proper equipment can really mess things up.

I apologize if this is more information than you were seeking.

Joe

Not sure what you mean by, "green is all bad".




Sorry if I am not clear. "Green is all bad" simply means the pattern through the green filter. Actual viewing is pretty good indeed.

Have you tried the DVE green filter test with your 7700? Some said DLP can't pass the test even after D65 calibration. No doubt 7700 can track pretty well after proper calibration. I wish I am wrong but I do believe that there is no way to correct this projector (or most if not all DLP) to pass this green filter test without CMS.

Sorry if I am not clear. "Green is all bad" simply means the pattern through the green filter. Actual viewing is pretty good indeed.

Have you tried the DVE green filter test with your 7700? Some said DLP can't pass the test even after D65 calibration. No doubt 7700 can track pretty well after proper calibration. I wish I am wrong but I do believe that there is no way to correct this projector (or most if not all DLP) to pass this green filter test without CMS.

Help me here. The green filter test is? Been two or three years since I've used DVE.

Joe

Help me here. The green filter test is? Been two or three years since I've used DVE.

Joe


Look through the green filter using the top image and get the best result like the bottom one.

Look through the green filter using the top image and get the best result like the bottom one.

OK, I'll take a look and report back.

Thanks,

Joe

Problem with the HDMI not Sync properly. BenQ installed fireware version 1.02. Projector due back on Monday. Anyone have this version? Any benefits?

Problem with the HDMI not Sync properly. BenQ installed fireware version 1.02. Projector due back on Monday. Anyone have this version? Any benefits?

Hi Jeff,

What were your issues concerning HDMI? What sources would not work?

There were a few reports over the past three years of bad HDMI connectors, as in hardware failures.

Random HDMI hand shake issues are another story. A complex story.

The last, common, Firmware version for the 7700 was 0.49.

Firmware version 1.02 does exist. A late entry. From my discussions with the folks at Ben it is a version used to troubleshoot. Once installed it will remain resident. It adds no functionality over v 0.49 or 0.48

Confusing, is it not, they would go from 0.49 all the way to 1.02 with no added anything.

Working on that DVE question.

One of the better Super Bowl games.

Joe

I come back to post after a three month hiatus and boy was I surprised to see this as the 4th post on the 1st screen. You guys are right: This thread may never die. I've had my projector for over three years (39 months) and aside from its quirks, I love it. We sit 13+ feet from a 135" image.

Just wanted to share a simple Super Bowl party success.

I got laid off at work and we had to cut back. One of the things we gave up was digital cable via Comcast. We kept basic cable so I knew I'd be able to pull in the HD channels compliments of "clear QAM".

But I gave my receiver to my brother in law. ... and he is in CA.

I know! I'll use my Mini as a HTPC for the game. So I dug through my box of cables (I mean really, how many extra cables do you have?) and found a DVI to HDMI cable. I already had EyeTV so all I had to do was connect the cable and do a channel search.

Shortly after that and about the time the guests showed up, I was in business. I found the QAM that was NBC and set it to full screen. With absolutely NO adjustments, the picture looked phenomenal. The picture was loved by all and a lot of people commented that the game looked like it was "shot on film". Also, I have a retroreflective screen and a ceiling mounted projector. However, there was no "fall off" from a standing postion (in front of the screen) to a sitting position.

Which one of you techies would like to explain that?
:confused::D:)

I just got this projector used at christmas and it worked fine for playing my Xbox 360. but now it is not staying one. it starts the lamp comes on, I see the splash screen for 15 or 20 sec. and then it shuts down with a fan error. the fans may be making more noise then befor but i have not had it long so i'm not sure. I would like to replace the fans myself but have read other forums where finding the correct fans with the correct amp may be difficult. I did not know if anyone has done this and could likst what the correct fan spec is. I would like not to put more money into the project then i have currectly by sending it to ben and back to me, even if the fan repair is 25 or 50. The fans i have found that are close are $6 each. any help would be greatly helpful. thanks

It's been nine days since I sent my OOW repair form to them and I haven't heard anything back yet, so I'm still reserving judgement.. I really, REALLY want it back for the Super Bowl!

Newbie poster, but silent reader over the weekend. I read Cramblda's post & fan replacement guide & was all excited to fix my fan error as well. Then, a day later, read that Tim was unsuccessful in his attempt at replacement, trying two different fans. Not encouraging for me.
But, I have a couple questions guys.
The factory fan uses a three-wire fan. The third wire being an RPM sensor for fan speed. Maybe It's just my naivety, but I am surprised that I didn't read any talk about THAT being the cause of the failure, rather than the current draw. Did I miss something in the 4 years of reading?
Also I have to wonder (and maybe Blasst can ask his Chat friend/rep) could Ben be tweaking a setting (one we don't have access to) to match each fan replacement?
Lastly, Tim, of the two fans you tried, was one the KDE1208PTV1. I think it was by what I remember reading.
Still waiting to hear you got yours back & the final official cost. Sorry you missed the big game on it. Me... I watched it on a 27 incher waiting for more info on this forum.
Thanks

If the final cost is what I expect it to be, I wouldn't recommend that anybody replace the fan(s) themselves. As long as you don't mind being without it for a month or so, you can send it via ground shipping for about $20 each way + $12 per fan. IIRC, two fans was about $25 shipped, so that cost breaks even. It's just the shipping (and hassle) as the difference.

I didn't find a fan that seemed to be the right specs but three wires - they were all 2. But I may have missed it. I got a pair of KD1208PTB1 and a pair of KD1208PTS1 fans. See my post #4728 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15311554#post15311554) for the links.

I obviously didn't get it back for the Superbowl, but fortunately I have an Infocus SP4805 as a backup (night and day in quality difference though), and not a 27"er :). Good game, though - wow. I really thought it was going to go to overtime.

Newbie poster, but silent reader over the weekend. I read Cramblda's post & fan replacement guide & was all excited to fix my fan error as well. Then, a day later, read that Tim was unsuccessful in his attempt at replacement, trying two different fans. Not encouraging for me.
But, I have a couple questions guys.
The factory fan uses a three-wire fan. The third wire being an RPM sensor for fan speed. Maybe It's just my naivety, but I am surprised that I didn't read any talk about THAT being the cause of the failure, rather than the current draw. Did I miss something in the 4 years of reading?
Also I have to wonder (and maybe Blasst can ask his Chat friend/rep) could Ben be tweaking a setting (one we don't have access to) to match each fan replacement?
Lastly, Tim, of the two fans you tried, was one the KDE1208PTV1. I think it was by what I remember reading.
Still waiting to hear you got yours back & the final official cost. Sorry you missed the big game on it. Me... I watched it on a 27 incher waiting for more info on this forum.
Thanks

Jistaguy,
Welcome to AVS!
I see Tim responded to your fan questions.
Let me see what I can find out regarding your thoughts on Benq possibly tweaking settings to match fan replacements.

How long have you had your 7700?

I come back to post after a three month hiatus and boy was I surprised to see this as the 4th post on the 1st screen. You guys are right: This thread may never die. I've had my projector for over three years (39 months) and aside from its quirks, I love it. We sit 13+ feet from a 135" image.

Just wanted to share a simple Super Bowl party success.

I got laid off at work and we had to cut back. One of the things we gave up was digital cable via Comcast. We kept basic cable so I knew I'd be able to pull in the HD channels compliments of "clear QAM".

But I gave my receiver to my brother in law. ... and he is in CA.

I know! I'll use my Mini as a HTPC for the game. So I dug through my box of cables (I mean really, how many extra cables do you have?) and found a DVI to HDMI cable. I already had EyeTV so all I had to do was connect the cable and do a channel search.

Shortly after that and about the time the guests showed up, I was in business. I found the QAM that was NBC and set it to full screen. With absolutely NO adjustments, the picture looked phenomenal. The picture was loved by all and a lot of people commented that the game looked like it was "shot on film". Also, I have a retroreflective screen and a ceiling mounted projector. However, there was no "fall off" from a standing postion (in front of the screen) to a sitting position.

Which one of you techies would like to explain that?
:confused::D:)

Glad to see your 7700 worked out for the big game. Alas, Tim didn't get his back it time, though he still had his backup.

Jistaguy,

How long have you had your 7700?

3 months past the 3 yr warranty, of course! It seems like many PE7700's fail for fan issues just after the 3 yr mark. Maybe that's why Tim is getting a good deal?...
Going back to the 3-wire fan --> the KDE1208PTV1 has the yellow wire, which sends a pulsed signal back to the projector to let it know that it is turning, & I suppose , how fast it is turning. After looking deeper, there are different versions of this sensor. [aw crap! I just tried to post the URL for the specs on the 3-wire fan & it's 2-pole, 4-pole & 8-pole versions, but the forum won't let me post URL's until I have participated a little more] At this point, I think the 2-pole is the correct choice.

Hey Cramblda! Do you still have the failed fans and do they have anything printed on them?

But,,, All this is irrelevant if Tim gets the deal he's hoping for. (& I really hope you do, Tim) But when I called, they weren't exactly informative, but said it was Minimum $65, and average of $300. NOT including the postage both ways.
Wish I had the money for a HC6500...:mad:

Thanks, Jista. When I called, it was the CSR who gave the same "average $300" response as well, which I'm guessing is regardless of what the symptom is. The more detailed quote was following the send in, so there's no real way to know if this is consistent until 1) I get it back and that's actually what it cost, and 2) others do the same thing with the same success.

By the way, you can go to the Test Posting Forum (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=46) to get up to the minimum 5 posts so you can post URLs.

Hey jistaguy keeps us informed on what fan you choose and if it works. My 7700 is going to reach 4 years soon,and I would like to keep track of any info on fans that actually work.........could need it soon, but who knows.

My fan's are vary quiet...........I do keep the filter clean ect....my 7700, and the HTPC with 4 external drives has always be on an auto voltage regulator(AVR) since new. Maybe this has helped in keeping any voltage spike, or voltage drop form the sensitive internal electronics.:)

Keep us posted on the fans model # or type.

Thanks in advance

Holly Mo, Checklst! You just gave me a great thought! We took a direct hit by lightning back in June & it took out my Onyko & my Velodyne. After testing (by qualified test personnel) it was determined that the 7700 was OK. I wonder if this could have been a failure related to the lightning? If so, I can get reimbursed by the ins co. Geez, too bad it didn't take out the lamp too.
Thanks, Tim, for the test forum advice.

here (https://www.alliedelec.com/Images/Products/Datasheets/BM/SUNON_INC/997-0088.PDF) is the data sheet for the 3-wire fan that I tried to post earlier. So, now the questions are; Is this the cause of the failure? Is this why Tim's fans didn't work? Does anyone know, for sure, about the current draw being monitored? Or was it just an assumption? (Like this is, for now)

Oh yeah, I saw that PDF as well, but didn't look in detail at the first page (partly because I didn't have any specs from the PJ to use as a base to determine which type to get).

Hear in GA where I live we have voltage drops all the time(brown outs) I replace 6 to 8 light bulbs a month in my 3 level house. Not a day go's by that I don't have the lights in my home office dim once or twice a day. I hear the AVR's clicking two three times a day keeping my office equipment/computers ect.. running smoothly.

I bet if I had a machine the graphed the voltage in this house it would look like a EKG heart beat.

Electric Co says their no problem, but I know better, old electrical plants running at near full capacity makes for voltage problems.

I spend close to 500 bucks a year on bulbs in this house......never had this problem in other parts of the country...........so I just protect computers,TV's,projectors ect........whole house AVR are just to much money.

Good luck:)

Jistaguy -- You don't really need the HC6500. I replaced my MT700 (OEM PE7700) with the HC5500 - it's almost as good and less money (+ bigger rebate). It works great on my 106" Da-Lite High Power screen. It's not as bright (neither is the HC6500), but it has better black levels than PE7700 (MT700) and the 1080 resolution is super.

It was like being there while watching the super-bowl (except the detail was better from the on-field cameras). The player closeups were as real as it gets, including the stubble, blood, sweat, & tears. And, oh yes, it was definitely the best SB that I've seen in a very long time - the last 3+ minutes were nail-bighting.

I'm up to 609 hours in 12 weeks of use. The only downside of a 1080p PJ is that SDTV programs really show their warts (the images are soft and, in general, seem to be slightly out of focus - it's not, since I can see the pixels are very sharp at 6" from the screen). The better HDTV programs are extremely good. The pixel structure is fine enough that there is absolutely no visible SDE at over 1 x screen width.

Sorry if I am not clear. "Green is all bad" simply means the pattern through the green filter. Actual viewing is pretty good indeed.

Have you tried the DVE green filter test with your 7700? Some said DLP can't pass the test even after D65 calibration. No doubt 7700 can track pretty well after proper calibration. I wish I am wrong but I do believe that there is no way to correct this projector (or most if not all DLP) to pass this green filter test without CMS.

I finally got around to testing things with DVE and the green filter.

I looked at the result with the 7700. Then pulled out the last DVD version, which has the same modified SMPTE color bars. I used that on three, other calibrated displays, a CRT, an LCD and a Plasma.

The results were the same on all four displays. The red and blue filters matched the expected patterns. The green filter had the same incorrect result on all.

Could be that the green filter is simply not the correct HUE. In any event it is not a useful test.

Joe

I come back to post after a three month hiatus and boy was I surprised to see this as the 4th post on the 1st screen. You guys are right: This thread may never die. I've had my projector for over three years (39 months) and aside from its quirks, I love it. We sit 13+ feet from a 135" image.

Just wanted to share a simple Super Bowl party success.

I got laid off at work and we had to cut back. One of the things we gave up was digital cable via Comcast. We kept basic cable so I knew I'd be able to pull in the HD channels compliments of "clear QAM".

But I gave my receiver to my brother in law. ... and he is in CA.

I know! I'll use my Mini as a HTPC for the game. So I dug through my box of cables (I mean really, how many extra cables do you have?) and found a DVI to HDMI cable. I already had EyeTV so all I had to do was connect the cable and do a channel search.

Shortly after that and about the time the guests showed up, I was in business. I found the QAM that was NBC and set it to full screen. With absolutely NO adjustments, the picture looked phenomenal. The picture was loved by all and a lot of people commented that the game looked like it was "shot on film". Also, I have a retroreflective screen and a ceiling mounted projector. However, there was no "fall off" from a standing postion (in front of the screen) to a sitting position.

Which one of you techies would like to explain that?
:confused::D:)

Cables, yea. Last year when I switched out my old pre-pro for an Integra 9.8 the resulting pile of unneeded cables was impressive.

Watching the SB on the big screen I had to wonder if NBC was using new generation cameras. PQ was fantastic. Helluva game to.

My 133" screen is also a retro-reflective design, a Da-Lite HP.

IIRC from my research back now 3 years ago the viewing angle is dependent upon the relation of the center of the projectors lens to the center of the screen.

The HP material is most retro-reflective, and achieves a gain of 2.8 if the lens is centered on the screen. In that setup light falloff should be noticeable as your line of sight also moves off center on the vertical axis.

As the 7700 requires a zero offset this condition is not met.

I believe the estimate of gain with an HP screen and the lens centered at the top or bottom edge is around 1.4. I also do not notice light falloff.

I've been very happy with the HP screen. Whatever the actual gain is something over 1.0 has made the output acceptable from the 7700 on a 133" screen. The lack of visible waves has also been a big plus.

I have wondered if the black level has suffered though. There are always trade-offs. Could not go back to a smaller screen.

Joe

Well, I ordered the fans today. Not confident they will work after Tim's attempt, but I just have to know. And I also don't want to wait a month to send it off. Of course, realizing it will be even longer if it doesn't work.
Will keep you informed. Wish me luck!

Well, I ordered the fans today. Not confident they will work after Tim's attempt, but I just have to know. And I also don't want to wait a month to send it off. Of course, realizing it will be even longer if it doesn't work.
Will keep you informed. Wish me luck!

Good luck and welcome to the forum. Always a great place to share.

On the other hand, my teenage kids suggest we are a bunch of old ...... no drama here at all.

Joe

Bronco70 -- The gain = 2.8 is not dependent on the PJ being vertically centered on the screen. It only depends of the viewers eyes being within about 10 degrees of the line from the PJ lens to the screen (which is easily satisfied if your eyes are within a foot or two of the lens). It will depend on the seating position relative to the screen center, though.

My room is 13' wide (92" wide screen, 106" diagonal). I do notice a slight brightness roll-off with my head about 6' off axis (29 degrees), if I look for it. I don't see any light fall-off when sitting in line with the edge of the screen (~ 20 degrees). I sit at 11' from the screen (1.43 x screen width). Our normal seating position is within 12 degrees of screen center.

That was the best SB in a long time. The last 4 minutes were really climactic. The 3-D movie trailer at the end of the 2nd quarter was not enough to make me want to see the movie, however (yes, I got the glasses from my local super-market).

Jistaguy -- Good luck on your fan replacement effort.

Thanks Claus,

That's what happens when I rely on a memory of something read 3 years ago!

I just bought a refurbished 7700. When I watch Star Trek Voyager I can't seem to get an acceptable aspect ratio. The 4:3 mode makes it too thin by several inches. I can get a correct aspect ratio using "real" but then the picture becomes much smaller. I'm assuming I could fix the much smaller problem of the real using a DVD player that scales up to 720p; short of that, however, is there something else I can do to fix this? Does the projector not scaling 4:3 accurately sound like a common problem? Is this something that sending it back to be serviced could fix?

Thanks!

sladewatts -- It depends on how your copy of Star Trek Voyager was formatted. If the package doesn't say "enhanced for widescreen (or 16:9)", then it won't display correctly. I play all of my SD-DVDs at 480p out of my SD-DVD player (I have never used the upscaling HDMI output) - component cable connections. I have only encountered that problem with my 1 or 2 DVDs that don't have that statement on the back of the package. I haven't played that movie in so long that I don't even remember if I have it on a DVD (I do have the Laserdisc version and I "think" I have the DVD version also).

I haven't used my MT700 (OEM PE7700) for a long time now, and I have replaced it with a 1080p PJ. Have you tried setting the PE7700 to one of the 16:9 modes? That may be the key. I would suggest that you explore the various mode alternatives, as described in the owner's manual. The setting options are shown on page 21 -- it looks like you should try "Anamorphic", "Letter Box", or the "Wide" modes. The "Real" mode will always display the small picture, per page 21.

NOTE: If you don't have the PE7700 manual, I do have a PDF copy (you can PM me with your email address, but it's 1.7MB, so your email has to be able to accept attachments up to 2MB, or more - I have a Google gmail account for stuff of that size, since most email accounts won't accept anything around, or over, 1MB).

Got an email from Ben today. They are having a refurb sale on the W5000. It's quite a deal.

If only the throw distance would work in my setup.

Joe

Never mind it sold out in an hour or so.

$1195.

The future is bright for those that can.

Got an email from Ben today. They are having a refurb sale on the W5000. It's quite a deal.

If only the throw distance would work in my setup.

Joe

Never mind it sold out in an hour or so.

It looks like someone would have to pounce immediately to get in on the deal. Its a shame the throw distance on the W5K won't work in your room Joe. What screen size would you have to go down to if you put the 5000 in your room?

It looks like someone would have to pounce immediately to get in on the deal. Its a shame the throw distance on the W5K won't work in your room Joe. What screen size would you have to go down to if you put the 5000 in your room?

I would have to go from 133" down to 98" diagonal. After 3 years too used to the big image.

I would have to go from 133" down to 98" diagonal. After 3 years too used to the big image.

Man O man, that would be a huge drop! Its a real bummer that the throw on the W5K won't work for you Joe. Maybe the next round of Benq 1080 models will have a throw range suited for your room. Then again maybe you'll have to scratch the 1080p PJ itch sooner.:D

To get the W5K to work without going to a smaller screen, I ended up going clear to the back of my room, up against the back window and curtains. It works, but I was cutting it close in order to use the zoom up and down a tad bit when needed.

The 7700 is in the small stand where it shoots the same size image (116") as the W5k does.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/IMG_1692.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/IMG_1703.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/IMG_1717.jpg

Hi Blasst,

Truth is the W5000 could fit very nicely. My room is 30' x 24'. Problem is that there are two ceiling fans. The one in the back if removed would be a perfect spot, and would give me an AC source, so only the HDMI cable to run.

I assume the wife would take a dim view of ripping out both fans but I have yet to bring it up. She has surprised me though over the past 34 years. Hey honey, I think I'll redo the kitchen cabinets and btw...... :)

Envy your dark ceiling, must help with contrast level.

What's the offset on the W5000?

Joe

Bronco70 -- "What's the offset on the W5000? " ==> The W5000 has a vertical lens shift. The range is from the top to the bottom of the viewable screen surface.

It's the only affordable DLP that has lens shift.

Bronco70 -- "What's the offset on the W5000? " ==> The W5000 has a vertical lens shift. The range is from the top to the bottom of the viewable screen surface.

It's the only affordable DLP that has lens shift.

Thanks Claus,

That being the case the lens could be centered much closer to eye level, a new benefit with my existing HP screen. Less light reflected off the white ceiling, which will not unfortunately, change. Better contrast, etc.

A sales strategy is forming.

I'm still of the opinion, lacking in extensive real viewing experience to back it up, that DLP units offer advantages over LCD models. I believe you do not see that as much of an issue anymore?

Joe

Bronco70 -- Not in our price category. My HC5500 (LCD) puts out a better picture than my MT700 did, both in terms of contrast ratio and color. My other half agrees (she wants the PJ on every night now). There are performance differences between the W5000 and my HC5500, but neither one has any overall advantage over the other.

I originally was seriously considering the W5000, and trying to see how I would have to re-arainge my room to fit the much longer throw distance of the W5000. However, when the HC5500 was released, it was basically a "direct swap" for my MT700. After the HC5500 was out for almost 6 months with no problems, I pulled the trigger. I have not been disappointed, and no second thoughts - it puts out absolutely super pictures.

However, be prepared for poor SDTV images. As other owners of 1080p PJs have observed, the 1080p resolution really shows up poor quality SDTV shows:eek:, all the warts are very obvious - it is painfully obvious when the source is older taped shows (and is dramatically emphasized when the newer commercials pop up, even SD ones). This was something that wasn't really all that obvious on a 720p PJ.

PS -- I'm just over 670 hours on my HC5500, since 11/10/08 (~ 3 months of use).

Bronco70 --
(snip)
However, be prepared for poor SDTV images. As other owners of 1080p PJs have observed, the 1080p resolution really shows up poor quality SDTV shows:eek:, all the warts are very obvious - it is painfully obvious when the source is older taped shows (and is dramatically emphasized when the newer commercials pop up, even SD ones). This was something that wasn't really all that obvious on a 720p PJ.
(snip)


Have you tried using DScaler to watch SDTV (assuming you're using a HTPC that is).

Have you tried using DScaler to watch SDTV (assuming you're using a HTPC that is).I don't use a HTPC for TV viewing. I am using DirecTV HR20 DVR and an H20 Receiver. SDTV looks fine on a small set (32" to 47" at 8' to 10'). When I blow it up to 106" with my 1080p projector, all the warts become obvious. Since the basic program material is low resolution, no scaler can improve the picture, since you can't add information that isn't there in the first place. I don't see where DScaler can do any better than the very good scaler in either my PJ or the reasonably good scaler in my DVR.

When you use your HTPC, what size screen are you viewing the SDTV progams on, and how far away do you sit? BTW, I'm not referring to OTA SDTV programs, which are, in most cases, better quality to start with. Some SDTV programs are very good. BTW.

Also, in some cases I have the same shows on SD-DVDs and the picture is much better (no warts). The problem is that the PQ of some of the TV shows is very poor from the network feed.

(snip)
I don't see where DScaler can do any better than the very good scaler in either my PJ or the reasonably good scaler in my DVR.

When you use your HTPC, what size screen are you viewing the SDTV progams on, and how far away do you sit?
(snip)


I have a 120" screen and sit about 12-13 feet back. I use a HTPC with a Hauppauge PVR-150 card, with my video card set to 720p. SDTV shows look awful with WinTV so I use DScaler. Can I use the PJ for the scaling, and eliminate DScaler from the picture (so to speak)?

Well, I got my 7700 back yesterday. They didn't even charge return shipping! So fan replacement (1 of them) + entire bottom of case replacement = $30 (ship) + $35! If I wouldn't have spent the money on 2-day shipping out to them (and insurance), it would've been $18 to ship (USPS).

They did a great job - no dice on getting lucky with them forgetting to remove the lamp. ;)

YMMV on the cost, etc - just saying how it worked out for me. It was about 5 weeks total (incl. shipping both ways), but about 2 weeks of that was waiting on the case part to be shipped to the repair center. So if it's just fans, my guess would be a few days + shipping both ways.

I've been without it for so long (probably 4-5 months by now) that it was like getting a new projector when I pulled down the IF4805!

What made this doubly as exciting was that I've had a DVDO Edge video processor waiting for a month to be hooked up. I run HDMI from all of my components to it (6 inputs), except for Wii which is component but also runs to it and it upconverts. Then I run HDMI out to the 7700, and optical out to the receiver. What was really impressive was the automatic switching and the HDMI handshake time that was about 2 seconds, even when switching components. The HDMI handshake locks on to the display while components are switched. It also converts whatever input signal/resolution it gets to the native display resolution and makes it look as good as possible. I wish my cable box would display the native HD signal (instead of forcing everything to either 720p or 1080i). I have it going out at 1080i since that seemed to be just barely better (1% difference), despite the 7700 being 720p. But it makes me want to get a 1080p pj now! Oh well, I'll wait for the newness to wear off again - then will probably get one to celebrate finishing the basement (hopefully before football season?).

Well, just wanted to share the enthusiasm.

Glad to hear everything work out for you. I guess at that price it not worth replacing the fans yourself.............mine are still ok. I am interested in more info of the advantages of the edge.:)

I have a 120" screen and sit about 12-13 feet back. I use a HTPC with a Hauppauge PVR-150 card, with my video card set to 720p. SDTV shows look awful with WinTV so I use DScaler. Can I use the PJ for the scaling, and eliminate DScaler from the picture (so to speak)?

I just realized that DScaler de-interlaces the picture, which is what makes it better.

Good to hear you got the 7700 back, Tim. Must have been nice having the backup.

So are you finishing the basement as a dedicated HT?

I finally sent my unit back. Once again excellent service from Quality Serve up in NJ. Total time from drop off at the local UPS store to back in the HT: 8 days.

As I had posted the problem was increased fan noise at startup. That of course, is solved.

What I have not posted about is a slight banding that I had noticed very recently. Only visible on certain test patterns, not with program material.

Anyway, I rehang and fire it up. It looks like a new pj. The PQ was never this good. Start checking. Same FW at 0.49. My user calibrated settings had not been changed. Did a quick check with a test pattern. Banding gone.

Then I noticed that up in NJ they had put almost 12 hours on the lamp, curious.

Now it gets interesting.

I had three lamps. The original after the final fix from that long ago saga. After 2400 hours that one became a spare, replaced by the "rebate lamp". That lamp at 1654 hours was in place as shipped up to NJ.

I also have a lamp, purchased used with about 200 or so hours on it.

To avoid confusion I had used a sharpie to put a letter notation on each lamp. The one in the pj was marked "B".

I took the lamp out and, well you can guess where this is going, no "B" mark.

I can't be sure but it looks like the color wheel was also replaced.

Just pulled out the meter and the lumen output matches what I found with the old lamp at about 20 hours.

I'll have to get the Eye-One out and see how things measure.

Once more BenQ service impresses.

Joe

Great news, Joe - I'm also very impressed with their service, of course, given my latest need for them.

I'm still not quite in a house that I'll call "permanent" yet.. that'll be the next one. So I'm finishing the basement and will put the theater down there, but it won't necessarily be "dedicated" (though we won't use it for much else). Next house I'll most likely be doing the full deal.

May I add that you're very organized with your markings and hour tallies.. :)

Too many years employing the Scientific Method.

Two solid evenings watching BD's with the 7700. My craving for a new 1080p pj is waning.

Joe

OK, for anyone who is interested. I (finally) successfully replaced both of my fans in my PE7700 Projector.

First, here is the correct fan info;
It is a Sunon fan. The correct part number is KDE1208PTV1.13.MS.A.F.GN.
This is critical!! Make sure the fan is this entire number! The “F” in the number above is what makes all the difference in this fan. It represents the third, yellow wire. This wire feeds back a signal to tell the projector how the fan is spinning. This is the cause of the fan error in the first place when the fan slows down due to its bearing going bad. (this paragraph was edited for correctness)

I got the fans online, at FutureElectronics.com, here (http://www.futureelectronics.com/en/Technologies/Product.aspx?ProductID=KDE1208PTV113MSAFGNSUNON6318828) is the link.
It took a long time to find a place that even listed the exact part number. (with the “A”) Then they said it was on back order 12 weeks. But ultimately I received them in about two weeks. (I ordered 4, just in case)
Oddly enough, the website still says they have qty zero. Hmm…

Next, using the photos from this link (http://www.functionalchaos.net/pe7700/) as a visual guide to rip the PJ apart, I was on my way. One suggestion; Use a strong method for keeping track of which screws go with which subassemblies.
The original fans terminate with a very small 6-pin connector, leaving you with the choice of either desoldering the original harness from the defective fans and transferring them to the new fans, or cutting & splicing the wires. I chose the latter, making a clean splice and finishing with heat shrink tubing.

Final word. If you are not comfortable with the delicacy of electronics, with the major tear down & reassembly, or with the thought you might ruin an expensive piece of equipment, ending in sending it off only to have a much bigger repair bill, then I wouldn’t suggest replacing the fans yourself. I simply had to know after reading all the perils of others experiences.

Thanks for the info, Jista. Great to see that the fan itself was the issue. Nice price on the fan, too.

I will say though, that the "expensive" repair bill after it didn't work for me, wasn't that bad.. :) Though I also didn't ruin any other components in the process of tearapart/rebuild (twice).

Jistaguy -- In your disassembly, did you also examine your color wheel? I'm curious because I gave my MT700 (PE7700 clone) to a relative and want to provide him with as much data as I can.

Thanks for the links and instructions. BTW, Toshiba has disavowed all knowledge of their MT700 which was an OEM, from BenQ, copy of the PE7700.

Too many years employing the Scientific Method.

Two solid evenings watching BD's with the 7700. My craving for a new 1080p pj is waning.

Joe

Plus, you keep a few more bucks in your pocket, to take out your woman somewhere nice.:)

Plus, you keep a few more bucks in your pocket, to take out your woman somewhere nice.:)

Well, we do that regardless.

Funny thing is the wife is the one asking the question: "Don't we need to consider a new projector? This one is getting kinda old. Aren't there newer and better models, plus this one seems to break a lot" She also wants a new plasma in the den to replace a 10 year old 43" RPTV. Hey it's only used to watch the news. Most of those guys are better off in SD. But there is that Meagan Kelly on FOX.

This is the type of abuse I've endured for 34 years. :)

Would love to buy a W5000. The new ceiling mount position it would require is just not attractive. The Epson 6500 would fit nicely, but it seems to have a few initial problems.


Joe

I had to replace the lamp in my PE7700. I have vogels epc4010 for the ceiling mount. Stupidly, I unscrewed the mounting arms from the mount instead of unscrewing the arms from the projector.

Now, I'm an idiot and I can't get it mounted back up. I just need to attach 3 of the 4 arms on the vogel mount but for the life of me, I can't get 3 arms to match up. I can get 2 but I am just short a half inch or so to get the third one to mount.

Can anyone help with this?

Thanks for the info. I too having problem with the fan. With low fan speed, my projector shutdown by itself after 5 mins of usage. I'm currently force it to run at high speed (high altitude) and no problem with shutdown except louder fan noise. This method is for those don't dare to take their projector apart. Been doing that for 3 times to clean up the color wheel.

"On the Sunon Part number, I read the technical specs for the sunon fan and the 3rd yellow wire (speed detection) is determine by "F". "A" means auto restart. I found another website rs component selling the fan but without the F so I suspect it doesn't support speed detection.

I had to replace the lamp in my PE7700. I have vogels epc4010 for the ceiling mount. Stupidly, I unscrewed the mounting arms from the mount instead of unscrewing the arms from the projector.

Now, I'm an idiot and I can't get it mounted back up. I just need to attach 3 of the 4 arms on the vogel mount but for the life of me, I can't get 3 arms to match up. I can get 2 but I am just short a half inch or so to get the third one to mount.

Can anyone help with this?

Hi Jay,

Thought some of our old hands might have jumped in here. Perhaps none of us have any experience with the vogels epic4010 ceiling mount.

I doubt that you are as you describe yourself. Why not just start from scratch if you installed the pj the first time.

Now that I consider the question further, the bolt points on the 7700 case are not symmetrical. I use a dedicated Chief mount and had not considered this difference.

Perhaps you simply have a short or long extension piece misplaced?

We're here, I think.

Joe

Thanks for the info. I too having problem with the fan. With low fan speed, my projector shutdown by itself after 5 mins of usage. I'm currently force it to run at high speed (high altitude) and no problem with shutdown except louder fan noise. This method is for those don't dare to take their projector apart. Been doing that for 3 times to clean up the color wheel.

"On the Sunon Part number, I read the technical specs for the sunon fan and the 3rd yellow wire (speed detection) is determine by "F". "A" means auto restart. I found another website rs component selling the fan but without the F so I suspect it doesn't support speed detection.
You are absolutely correct, rjyap, about the F vs A in the part number. My bad... More like my bad memory. Getting old is hell... I will edit the original post as to NOT confuse anyone else. Thanks!

Hi Jay,

Thought some of our old hands might have jumped in here. Perhaps none of us have any experience with the vogels epic4010 ceiling mount.

I doubt that you are as you describe yourself. Why not just start from scratch if you installed the pj the first time.

Now that I consider the question further, the bolt points on the 7700 case are not symmetrical. I use a dedicated Chief mount and had not considered this difference.

Perhaps you simply have a short or long extension piece misplaced?

We're here, I think.

Joe

After about 3 hours of fooling around with it, I noticed I had to actually bend the entire mount itself to make it match up with the mounting arms. On the pe7700 (as you know) there are 4 places for screws which are near the edges. This vogel mount seems to want screws closer to the middle. I had to bend the mount in order for the screws to fit. What a bunch of gymnastics! :rolleyes:

After about 3 hours of fooling around with it, I noticed I had to actually bend the entire mount itself to make it match up with the mounting arms. On the pe7700 (as you know) there are 4 places for screws which are near the edges. This vogel mount seems to want screws closer to the middle. I had to bend the mount in order for the screws to fit. What a bunch of gymnastics! :rolleyes:

Glad to hear you got it fixed.

After 3+ years, I now have 1900 ECONOMY lamp hours (38.9% according to the menu) on my PE7700, and the picture has finally dimmed very noticeably, to the point that blacks are just washed out. I want to get another 300 hours on it before buying another lamp. Any pointers on adjustments that'll make viewing, at best, bearable? I know a new lamp is the final solution, but at my current (un)employment situation $400 is a lot of food on the table vs. a new lamp. I use an HTPC and the Avia disk. I can't see the moving black bars on the brightness pattern in Avia. Thanks!

After 3+ years, I now have 1900 ECONOMY lamp hours (38.9% according to the menu) on my PE7700, and the picture has finally dimmed very noticeably, to the point that blacks are just washed out. I want to get another 300 hours on it before buying another lamp. Any pointers on adjustments that'll make viewing, at best, bearable? I know a new lamp is the final solution, but at my current (un)employment situation $400 is a lot of food on the table vs. a new lamp. I use an HTPC and the Avia disk. I can't see the moving black bars on the brightness pattern in Avia. Thanks!

Have you tried the high lamp mode as a start?

Joe

Have you tried the high lamp mode as a start?

Joe

I switched the DLP Degamma setting (in DLP menu) to Factory 2 and it's watchable for now, even a Economy lamp mode. Full mode is a little better of course. While doing this, set the CW Delay setting to 50, and cycled through the CW settings, but went back to 5x without SLR, which was the setting I had.

Any other ideas from anyone?

I switched the DLP Degamma setting (in DLP menu) to Factory 2 and it's watchable for now, even a Economy lamp mode. Full mode is a little better of course. While doing this, set the CW Delay setting to 50, and cycled through the CW settings, but went back to 5x without SLR, which was the setting I had.

Any other ideas from anyone?

Actually, my TV viewing with Dscaler or WinTV looks ok, but my DVD programs, using WinDVD on my HTPC look crappy. Maybe I'll try a different program.

Okay. I give up. I tried searching (to no avail) and I'd like to hold off on calling BENQ. Someone just has to know the answer.

For the last few weeks or so, after turning down the projector with the remote and waiting for it to power off, the projector simply turns itself back on again.

It then starts cycling through the DLP "curtains", in order. It should also be noted that when I turn it on, which now includes the switch on the actual projector, it also runs through the colors, first. Simply hitting menu or exit on the remote solves that "problem". But that is easy!

I do admit to being in the service menu before this happened to LOOK at some settings but I also know that I have "fat fingered" a few things, a few times before. So, in short: What have I done?

Any ideas?

Okay. I give up. I tried searching (to no avail) and I'd like to hold off on calling BENQ. Someone just has to know the answer.

For the last few weeks or so, after turning down the projector with the remote and waiting for it to power off, the projector simply turns itself back on again.

It then starts cycling through the DLP "curtains", in order. It should also be noted that when I turn it on, which now includes the switch on the actual projector, it also runs through the colors, first. Simply hitting menu or exit on the remote solves that "problem". But that is easy!

I do admit to being in the service menu before this happened to LOOK at some settings but I also know that I have "fat fingered" a few things, a few times before. So, in short: What have I done?

Any ideas?

This is a new one.

You mean the standard two pushes to the power button on the remote does a normal power down with the fan running for the approx. 1min. 30secs. after the lamp goes off and then the pj just starts up again?

That's not good. Worse is routinely shutting down with the main switch on the back of the pj.

In either case the lamp life is being compromised along with other potential problems, for example the color wheel.

I'm not sure what you mean by the DLP "curtains" or running through the colors first.

When you exit the service menu you are choosing the option: "Return to User OSD"? If not go in there and try that.

Hope this is some help. Let us know.

Joe

This is my very first post...long time viewer of this post though. As a PE7700 owner, I would like to share a few problems I had and a few solutions. First, I had the shutdown-power up issue. I solved this by using the power switch in the back after the shutdown procedure completed. I noticed, however that when I turned it back on and the pj is in standby, the bottom (top if ceiling mount like me) would get hot. I got a portable USB powered laptop cooler for that reason. Second, I had the green/blank screen when anything requiring HDCP. I attributed this to the Monoprice HDMI switch I was using. Third, I had the momentary on then shutoff and heat indicator problem. I solved this by taking a vacuum cleaner and sucking the front fans for about a minute every other week or so. The pj has started every time since. I previously sent the pj into Benq recently (great customer service) for the HDCP fix and the bottom heat on standby has gone away. I have also upgraded to a Sony amp with HDMI switching and no HDCP problems.

I bought this projector on the recommendation of this forum and I would be happy to contribute in any way.

P.S. I have this interesting color issue when dealing with dark blues on Home theater mode but beige colors in family room mode. Is this a senseye issue or v.x. color translation issue?

Andres21,
What did BenQ do to fix the HDCP issue? I have handshake problem with my new Samsung 3600 Blu-ray player.

Andres21,
What did BenQ do to fix the HDCP issue? I have handshake problem with my new Samsung 3600 Blu-ray player.

I didn't get a build sheet but I think it was a board switch because all of my settings were jacked.

This is a new one.

You mean the standard two pushes to the power button on the remote does a normal power down with the fan running for the approx. 1min. 30secs. after the lamp goes off and then the pj just starts up again?

That's not good. Worse is routinely shutting down with the main switch on the back of the pj.

In either case the lamp life is being compromised along with other potential problems, for example the color wheel.

I'm not sure what you mean by the DLP "curtains" or running through the colors first.

When you exit the service menu you are choosing the option: "Return to User OSD"? If not go in there and try that.

Hope this is some help. Let us know.

Joe

I FOUND IT !!!!

But first, an aside:
For starters, yes I had returned to the User OSD. The "DLP Curtains" are just test patterns that you can bring up in the Factory OSD. Additionally, I am already pushing the need for a new lamp. We've got oue kids hooked on movies (Becasue broadcast TV is lame). Some of the movies they like are dealt with plainly: "Go upstairs to the bonus room." But all the newer movies I've purcased on Bluray. It's only a handful but at least 1/2 of the Bluray selections are kids movies for me... .I mean the kids.


And here was the problem

: drumroll :

It was the "Burn-in setting" in the Factory Menu.

: cymbal crash :

It has three settings: On, Off and Automatic. I accidentally set it to automatic. So, if one of the other devices, that was connected to my PQ, sent a signal, the projector essentially "woke up" and cycled through the DLP test patterns.

Better yet, let's say that I didn't get home at 4 pm or whenver. I just stand there wondering; "How long has this thing been on?" and "What's for dinner?"

FWIW, the projector was not immediately powering back up. It would usually take around 20 minutes.

Another aside
Also just for fun, I've had it for under 3-1/2 years and I am still amazed at the picture. Don't get me wrong: Its a projector. There are trade offs. But if I had choose between my 135" limitations or my 37" LCD TV, it's 11 plus feet for me EVERYTIME!

Take care everyone!

I FOUND IT !!!!

But first, an aside:
For starters, yes I had returned to the User OSD. The "DLP Curtains" are just test patterns that you can bring up in the Factory OSD. Additionally, I am already pushing the need for a new lamp. We've got oue kids hooked on movies (Becasue broadcast TV is lame). Some of the movies they like are dealt with plainly: "Go upstairs to the bonus room." But all the newer movies I've purcased on Bluray. It's only a handful but at least 1/2 of the Bluray selections are kids movies for me... .I mean the kids.


And here was the problem

: drumroll :

It was the "Burn-in setting" in the Factory Menu.

: cymbal crash :

It has three settings: On, Off and Automatic. I accidentally set it to automatic. So, if one of the other devices, that was connected to my PQ, sent a signal, the projector essentially "woke up" and cycled through the DLP test patterns.

Better yet, let's say that I didn't get home at 4 pm or whenver. I just stand there wondering; "How long has this thing been on?" and "What's for dinner?"

FWIW, the projector was not immediately powering back up. It would usually take around 20 minutes.

Another aside
Also just for fun, I've had it for under 3-1/2 years and I am still amazed at the picture. Don't get me wrong: Its a projector. There are trade offs. But if I had choose between my 135" limitations or my 37" LCD TV, it's 11 plus feet for me EVERYTIME!

Take care everyone!

Glad to hear you you have it covered. There must be stuff in the service menu I forgot about. Been quite some time since I've fooled around with it.

Yep the Big picture. I always find it amusing when people post on AVS or elsewhere comparing, for example upconverted SD DVD to BD on a 40" display from 15" out.

Cheers,

Joe

After 3+ years, I now have 1900 ECONOMY lamp hours (38.9% according to the menu) on my PE7700, and the picture has finally dimmed very noticeably, to the point that blacks are just washed out. I want to get another 300 hours on it before buying another lamp. Any pointers on adjustments that'll make viewing, at best, bearable? I know a new lamp is the final solution, but at my current (un)employment situation $400 is a lot of food on the table vs. a new lamp. I use an HTPC and the Avia disk. I can't see the moving black bars on the brightness pattern in Avia. Thanks!

Could my problem be color-wheel related? Any tests/diagnostics/Avia patterns to check for color-wheel issues, vs. just an old bulb? I ask since no matter how I adjust the brightness, either on the PJ or my PC's video card, the blacks are washed out.

Zilla, try this...

I have just few more hours than you and have a similar situation. I buggered around with the service menu settings a lot and decided the following was very helpful and I've got +400 hrs and counting...

1) Go to service menu
2) Set DLP brightness to -5
3) Set DLP RGB contrasts to 55 on all 3
4) DLP Degamma set to Factory 2
5) Go to Contrast under Scaler Settings and set to 0 (this helps heaps with shadow detail!)
6) Go to White Colour balance (I forget the exact name...) and set all 3 gammas to 40 (yep, lower them!)
7) In the same area set RGB Offsets to 0, and the other 3 settings all the way to 512
8) Go back to user menu
9) Go to Advanced settings => White Balance and save the above to User 1 or 2 (your choice)
10) Set brightness to 0 and contrast to 0
11) Go to the settings where you choose temperatue options and select User 1/2 (depends on what you saved yours as)
12) Save the new settings as a user defined image setting

Bingo!

This works for me with my PS3 over HDMI perfectly. You may want to try this as a starting point and then tweak things to suit your setup. Hope I've helped! :)

Let me know your results, and don't be scared to ask for any further explanation is something I typed isn't clear enough, I'm here to help :)

Josh.

PS - My lamp is on Full, but still looks good on Economy. I prefer the extra punch of Full though.

Could my problem be color-wheel related? Any tests/diagnostics/Avia patterns to check for color-wheel issues, vs. just an old bulb? I ask since no matter how I adjust the brightness, either on the PJ or my PC's video card, the blacks are washed out.

No, the color wheel will not be of any concern.

Is your PC the only source to the 7700? If so my guess is the problem resides there.

What are your viewing conditions? Screen size, ambient light, etc.?

Even at 2500 hours or so a working lamp should be able to adjust to show the BTB and above bars in any of the test discs assuming the source device is capable.

Joe

Zilla, try this...

I have just few more hours than you and have a similar situation. I buggered around with the service menu settings a lot and decided the following was very helpful and I've got +400 hrs and counting...

1) Go to service menu
2) Set DLP brightness to -5
3) Set DLP RGB contrasts to 55 on all 3
4) DLP Degamma set to Factory 2
5) Go to Contrast under Scaler Settings and set to 0 (this helps heaps with shadow detail!)
6) Go to White Colour balance (I forget the exact name...) and set all 3 gammas to 40 (yep, lower them!)
7) In the same area set RGB Offsets to 0, and the other 3 settings all the way to 512
8) Go back to user menu
9) Go to Advanced settings => White Balance and save the above to User 1 or 2 (your choice)
10) Set brightness to 0 and contrast to 0
11) Go to the settings where you choose temperatue options and select User 1/2 (depends on what you saved yours as)
12) Save the new settings as a user defined image setting

Bingo!

This works for me with my PS3 over HDMI perfectly. You may want to try this as a starting point and then tweak things to suit your setup. Hope I've helped! :)

Let me know your results, and don't be scared to ask for any further explanation is something I typed isn't clear enough, I'm here to help :)

Josh.

PS - My lamp is on Full, but still looks good on Economy. I prefer the extra punch of Full though.

Hi Josh,

Did you do all of this by eye? Rather risky and surprising that the result would be adequate.

When you suggest setting all the cuts/offsets to 0 and all the gains/bias to the max 512 that raises the question concerning your knowledge about display calibration.

Do you know what the greyscale tracks at this point or how close you are to the REC 709 CIE targets?

Other suggestions are also problematical.

DVE, Aviva, the included THX crap on certain discs are all fine to a certain extent.

Going into service menus and adjusting cuts and gains without the proper equipment is an exercise in failure.

Joe

Hi Joe,

Yes, all by eye, but....

I have calibrated before using DVE and the AVIA disc also. Strangley, I was never happy with the contrast, shadow details, or blacks when calibrated with those beginner discs so I have played around a lot manually, especially as my lamp has aged. I have a good eye, so I can easily pick obvious faults like glaring skin colours etc, so I trust my own judgement, whether or not my preference is correct compared to the industry standard is another issue :) I also project onto a non-reflective white painted wall, so there must be a relation between that and the settings I use to gain a picture I'm happy with, ie, if I used a screen they would be different.

Basically, my priorities are shadow detail (without excessively high black levels), skin colour, and overall clarity, and I believe I have traded off industry standards to achieve this with my PE7700. I do use test patterns (greyscales, etc) to make sure I don't have black or white clipping, and have a selection of images and movie scenes I refer to to guage my perception of colour correctness.

So no, I have no understanding of professional calibration and the use of measurement tools other than what I've googled, but I've acheived an image that looks good to me and others that view it. I've even done A-B tests between my amateur 'correct' calibrations and my personal settings, and for my criteria, I definitely prefer the latter :)

Josh.

PS - If you have the measurement gear, it would be really cool to know how much different my preferences are to the accepted standards.

Hi Josh,

I use a Pantone Eye One colorimeter along with the free software HCFR and the $25 shareware Getgray. The Eye One costs about $130.

The above combination works very well. There are very good threads on AVS to learn the basics. The learning curve is not that steep.

The 7700 does not have a proper Color Management system so one can not dial in the primaries and secondaries to perfection but you can get pretty close.

I am able to adjust my 7700 to track D65 to within 50 deg. K from 30 to 100 IRE. RGB levels are close to the target of 100% up to 90 IRE. Like most lamp based pj's at the very top the 7700 runs out of red gain. My lamp sample also runs out of blue. Lamps do vary a bit from sample to sample.

Since you seem to enjoy tweaking you might consider making the investment in the equipment. It really only requires a few hours to start getting good results. It's fun and rewarding.

Cheers,

Joe

Josh and Joe,

I have a matte white 120" screen, and my HT room is dark, not 100% ambient light free during the day, but dark enough with ceiling painted space black, walls painted maroon, and with thick curtains.

Yes the PC is my only DVD/movie source, with WinTV for TV viewing. I had the Wii connected but moved it to my TV. I'll connect a regular DVD player and see how it looks like to isolate the PC. It's good to know it's not a color wheel issue.

I do have Colorvision SpyderPro 2 for color adjustment software so I may use that for calibration.

I'll try Josh's suggestions too after the standalone DVD test and before calibration.


Thanks!

Hey Bronco.....I know different machine will be different, but just for fun post some of your settings. I would not mind playing around just for fun.....Ok Ok I'm a little bored. I can always hit the fact restore if I don't like it.:)

Thanks in advance

And if you get to the point where it is time for a new bulb, you could try here. I've never ordered from this company, but they seem to have decent prices on bulbs.

http://www.projectorlampsworld.com/bulb/Benq/PE7700.html

Hey Bronco.....I know different machine will be different, but just for fun post some of your settings. I would not mind playing around just for fun.....Ok Ok I'm a little bored. I can always hit the fact restore if I don't like it.:)

Thanks in advance

I'll post when I get a chance to get back down in the cave and look at the settings.

Joe

Lamp @ Buy.com $268. Good vendor

checklst -- You do know that if you hit "factory restore", you could wind up with a non-working PE7700 (since it resets everything, including the settings that were put into the unit to get it to work in the first place). You should always write down all of your settings before you change anything -- or you could wind up with a non-operating unit.

Lamp @ Buy.com $268. Good vendor

The 60.J8618.CG1 model? It doesn't list the PE7700 as a compatible product. And the BenQ site lists 59.J0C01.CG1 as the PE7700 lamp model, which is $302 at the same site.

The 60.J8618.CG1 model? It doesn't list the PE7700 as a compatible product. And the BenQ site lists 59.J0C01.CG1 as the PE7700 lamp model, which is $302 at the same site.You are correct - the 59.J0C01.CG1 is the right lamp!

The 60.J8618.CG1 lamp is the replacement lamp for the BenQ PE6100/PE6200 projectors - it likely will not work in the PE7700.

checklst -- You do know that if you hit "factory restore", you could wind up with a non-working PE7700 (since it resets everything, including the settings that were put into the unit to get it to work in the first place). You should always write down all of your settings before you change anything -- or you could wind up with a non-operating unit.

You are correct - the 59.J0C01.CG1 is the right lamp!

The 60.J8618.CG1 lamp is the replacement lamp for the BenQ PE6100/PE6200 projectors - it likely will not work in the PE7700.

Good catches Claus.

Joe

Hey Bronco.....I know different machine will be different, but just for fun post some of your settings. I would not mind playing around just for fun.....Ok Ok I'm a little bored. I can always hit the fact restore if I don't like it.:)

Thanks in advance

Ok, here it is. Keep in mind that all conditions affect the outcome. My screen is a Da-Lite Hi-Power. A grey screen or other, very different, materials would result in different measures. My room can be made to be a cave even at high noon.

The posted results were at 500 hours on the lamp. At now, 1800 hours they are past due for an update. I'm geeky, but not a slave to the feeling.

User Settings:

Contrast: 5
Brightness: -9
Color: 3
Tint: 0
Filter: 1
Sharpness: 0 (as always should be with a digital display)

Color Enhance: All at 15, the default. Thought this might allow a closer Rec. 709 target. Did not seem to have any effect.

Black Level: 0 IRE

Gains:

Red 512
Green 406
Blue 510

Note: With the previous lamp these settings were quite different. The cuts were also off a bit.


Offsets: (They really should be labeled cuts, affect the low end)

Red 14
Green 17
Blue 16

In the Service Menu:

All Gamma settings at the default of +66. Did not see any utility in adjusting here for actual Gamma measures.

Brightness: -1
Contrast RGB: All at +49, The default I think.

CW Delay: +55 This parameter had been changed with one of the 4 send backs for service. IIRC 70 used to be the best setting. Easy to see the difference. A plus or minus 1 results in an improper signal.

Dlp Degamma: Film. I find this setting to give the best result. The tracking is between 2.2 and 2.4, with a bias to 2.4.

CW speed : 5x Without SLR. Never understood the SLR indication or Senseye. SLR=As A Pro Photographer it means one thing.

Joe

Thanks Bronco70..............My screen is bright white(hard surface) and my HT room is a cave with dark walls. Thanks just wanted to play a little.

Thanks Ct Wiebe I will right everything down. I did think however when I got my unit back from BQ 3 years ago with the new firmware, that the machine would default to the new setting not the old ..............I wrote down all my settings before I sent it in, and looked at all the changes after it came back(quite a few changes) I have not changed any setting since it came back, the color was great looking right out of the box.

Are you saying if I hit restore to factory default it will go back to setting before the new firmware? Yakes!! that would be bad:)

Thanks Bronco70.....just tried out your settings and they were beautiful. My bulb is around 1600 hours and my skin tones had a bad red push.

Now the skin tones are dead on........its like a new pj. I did tweak a little, in the user menu for my personal taste but your settings got me real close and save me tons of calibrations time.:)

--- Are you saying if I hit restore to factory default it will go back to setting before the new firmware? Yakes!! that would be bad:)The "Restore" does not really reset the PE7700 to a "factory default", it resets all parameters to their original nominal FW values. These values may or may not result in an operational PJ. There have been a number of cases where an AVS member used "Restore" and wound up with a non-operating unit and did not have a clue as to what needed to be changed to get his PJ working. That function is one which should be avoided like the plague.

I'm glad to hear that Bronco70's settings worked out for you. It is always nice to get your PJ to output a clean performing unit with a great PQ.

Chklst, glad to hear it looks good.

To add to Claus' comment, the proper way to exit the Factory menu is to choose the "Return to User OSD"

Joe

Thanks Bronco70.....just tried out your settings and they were beautiful. My bulb is around 1600 hours and my skin tones had a bad red push.

Now the skin tones are dead on........its like a new pj. I did tweak a little, in the user menu for my personal taste but your settings got me real close and save me tons of calibrations time.:)

Man! I don't know what happened to my eyes, but comparing Joe's settings to mine, it was blatantly obvious that mine were creating a severely green tinged image! Wow, never thought it was that bad til I did an A-B test... Sheesh, I don't know if I can trust my eyes any more! :p My only explanation is that I came to my final settings gradually and didn't notice the green push building up as I tweaked :)

However, I did find that I had a better level of shadow detail and no 'white crush', but for the extreme colour incorrectness the trade off clearly wasn't worth it, so I've gone with Joe's and tweaked them a little.

Differences between Joe's and mine are:

1) 'Factory 2' Degamma (Joe's is 'Film' - 'Factory 2' seems to add 'punch' and increase contrast)
2) DLP brightness is set to '-2' instead to '-1' (balances the extra brightness of 'Factory 2' Degamma)
3) CW Delay at '70' (default)
4) CW Speed at '4x' (slightly less noise, plus I don't see rainbows)
5) I set my Colour to '10' also (I like the extra saturation, though I haven't settled on this yet :p )

Thanks for helping me see the 'light' Joe :)

Josh.

Man! I don't know what happened to my eyes, but comparing Joe's settings to mine, it was blatantly obvious that mine were creating a severely green tinged image! Wow, never thought it was that bad til I did an A-B test... Sheesh, I don't know if I can trust my eyes any more! :p My only explanation is that I came to my final settings gradually and didn't notice the green push building up as I tweaked :)

However, I did find that I had a better level of shadow detail and no 'white crush', but for the extreme colour incorrectness the trade off clearly wasn't worth it, so I've gone with Joe's and tweaked them a little.

Differences between Joe's and mine are:

1) 'Factory 2' Degamma (Joe's is 'Film' - 'Factory 2' seems to add 'punch' and increase contrast)
2) DLP brightness is set to '-2' instead to '-1' (balances the extra brightness of 'Factory 2' Degamma)
3) CW Delay at '70' (default)
4) CW Speed at '4x' (slightly less noise, plus I don't see rainbows)
5) I set my Colour to '10' also (I like the extra saturation, though I haven't settled on this yet :p )

Thanks for helping me see the 'light' Joe :)

Josh.

Glad to help.

Yep, one's eyes can deceive. There is no way to really dial in without some test equipment.

Considering your preferred settings:

1) Factory 2 Degamma. Never tried any of the factory presets. In all the posts here for now, what 4 years, the choice has focused on either Film or Graphic. With my setup Film gives better results. I prefer a gamma close to 2.4 with the 7700. Graphic tends to drop gamma down.

2) Could be

3) If I went to 70 on the CW speed setting the result would be a disaster. Just shows that these units are distinct and different.

4) I don't suffer from a sensitivity to rainbows either. Not sure how 4x vs. 5x could reduce noise.

5) Well that's a personal choice.

Some time back I stated that this was a thread that refused to die. Perhaps, because tweaked to the best PQ possible the 7700 ain't too shabby? Even if it is getting a tad outdated?

Joe

^^^ The PE7700 is proving to be a real stayer. I was pretty sure that I'd be a 1080P convert by now, yet I'm still quite impressed by my trusty BenQ, especially considering what I paid for it :)

In reply to your replies... :p

1) Give 'Factory 2' a test. I really like the extra punch. Not sure what is happening and why it happens, but the image has an extra bit of 'pop', if that's the correct term.
3) Interesting. I have the same experience when dialling back to 55. Wonder if it's firmware related? I think I have FW.48
4) By 'noise' I meant the audiable noise of the spinning CW, not image related in case you were wondering. I sit right under my ceiling-mounted PE7700, so every db I can save I will :)
5) That it is. Question though... Your value of '3', was that correct according to something like a film industry standard? Now that I realise my idea of a good image is completely wrong, I'd like to get a better idea of what the film studios intend and maybe settle on things closer to that. Also, I notice that HDMI input can be set higher than Component for some reason, it's like colour saturation maxes out sooner with the analogue input.

Long live the PE7700 thread! :)

Josh.

Quick update for anyone who cares...

Last night I tweaked some more using the AVS HD calibration images (uploaded by an AVS member) and settled on these small changes from my previous results...

User Menu:
- Colour '+3'
- Contrast '+3'
- Brightness '-3'

Service menu:
- DLP Brightness '-5'

^^^ The PE7700 is proving to be a real stayer. I was pretty sure that I'd be a 1080P convert by now, yet I'm still quite impressed by my trusty BenQ, especially considering what I paid for it :)

In reply to your replies... :p

1) Give 'Factory 2' a test. I really like the extra punch. Not sure what is happening and why it happens, but the image has an extra bit of 'pop', if that's the correct term.
3) Interesting. I have the same experience when dialling back to 55. Wonder if it's firmware related? I think I have FW.48
4) By 'noise' I meant the audiable noise of the spinning CW, not image related in case you were wondering. I sit right under my ceiling-mounted PE7700, so every db I can save I will :)
5) That it is. Question though... Your value of '3', was that correct according to something like a film industry standard? Now that I realise my idea of a good image is completely wrong, I'd like to get a better idea of what the film studios intend and maybe settle on things closer to that. Also, I notice that HDMI input can be set higher than Component for some reason, it's like colour saturation maxes out sooner with the analogue input.

Long live the PE7700 thread! :)

Josh.

Hi Josh,

1) Probably won't try that. The Factory settings are not relevant to proper calibration methods.

3) Very possible. FW 0.48 was the first "good" version finally correcting the early lamp failure fiasco. A later fix by Ben for my unit and the failing fan resulted in FW 0.49. I know also that there was a FW v. of 1.02, rare and unknown as to what it solved. My last send in, also for failing fans, came back with FW 0.49.

4) Never thought about CW speed as such. One might assume that more segments and higher rotational speed improves CW performance?

5) The goal in calibration is to reach a standard. For HD video it is Rec. 709. Along with a D65 greyscale track that is as close as possible from 0 to 100 IRE.

Hit the CIE targets, get D65 done, you're set. The 7700 can get close.

Have no idea concerning component vs. HDMI. With HD it has to be HDMI, whether we like it or not.

The 7700 thread will ......

Cheers,

Joe

My 7700 was an early firmware up date it is .048.....I think factory 2 uses IRE7.5 and factory 1 use IRE 0.......I do like the contrast and color pop the 7.5 adds.

Broncos setting brought my skin tones back to normal........it's funny how a bulb slowly ages and the color shift is so gradual your eye can be easily tricked.

The HD picture on this machine is still amazing me even after 4 years and I still have a extra bulb waiting........man if this machine holds up(knock on wood) it might be a few more years before I have to up grade. My fans,and color wheel are quiet as a church mouse(knock on wood again) don't want to up set the HD Gods.

I do wonder if the UPS with AVR I use has had something do do with the fans ect.....lasting this long......down hear in GA we have power fluctuates all the time, it not uncommon for me to see the lights dim in my office several times a day. Most all electronics in my house are AVR protected........I still burn out 6 to 7 normal light bulbs a month.

The 7700 may have had a rocky start but it sure has turned into solid machine with above average picture quality.

Now back to the movie "Yes Man" is next on my list.:)

Sorry for the noob question but anyone have any pointers to get into the service menu? I can get into the main settings menu. Is this a sub menu somewhere?

Sorry for the noob question but anyone have any pointers to get into the service menu? I can get into the main settings menu. Is this a sub menu somewhere?
Searching the thread is your friend.. Link (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5945253#post5945253)

OK.

"Menu" -> "Up"->"Down"->"Up"->"Down"-> "Up"->"Down"->"Menu" ( Use remote ) = god mode + max ammo

Got it. Thanks multimj

Hello, I'm french

I have a BenQ PE7700 and I can not save the setting gamma in the factory menu. What is the procedure please?

I have the same problem in the menu dlp impossible to save the setting factory2.

My firmware is 0.48
Thank you for your help:)

edit:
I just found:). It should select the user1 in user menu -> setting temperature. It was quite simple:)

Thank you anyway

http://images0.hiboox.com/images/1709/94f9e3a9ccc6b409323bed76a0104fb8.jpg (http://www.hiboox.fr/go/images/dessin/240420097882,94f9e3a9ccc6b409323bed76a0104fb8.jpg.html)

No, the color wheel will not be of any concern.

Is your PC the only source to the 7700? If so my guess is the problem resides there.

(snip)

Joe

Good news...bad news!

It was the WinDVD player; somehow, the "Video" menu was set to "Projector" instead of "Default", which of course adds an erroneous color correction.

I was so excited about fixing it that I watched 2 movies, and during the second movie (after a 1 hour intermission), I heard a "pop" and smelled smoke, with the picture going out. Blown bulb no doubt - but only at 2000- hrs in economy mode, with 0.48 f/w?

Oh well...back to BenQ.

Good news...bad news!

It was the WinDVD player; somehow, the "Video" menu was set to "Projector" instead of "Default", which of course adds an erroneous color correction.

I was so excited about fixing it that I watched 2 movies, and during the second movie (after a 1 hour intermission), I heard a "pop" and smelled smoke, with the picture going out. Blown bulb no doubt - but only at 2000- hrs in economy mode, with 0.48 f/w?

Oh well...back to BenQ.

Bummer!

Was that your first bulb?

And why not just replace the bulb yourself? Save sending it into Benq.

Bummer!

Was that your first bulb?

And why not just replace the bulb yourself? Save sending it into Benq.

Good point. You had a ? mark about FW 0.48. If it is actually a lower # it is not a "Good" FW. Ben may help you out with a FW revision even if out of warranty but it is unlikely that they will replace the Lamp at no cost for this product at this point.

As an aside, the history of the problem with the lamp design and failure in the 7700 has left a less than 100% feeling overall for most. My thought is that the response to the problem was quite good.

Getting to 2000 hours on a lamp should be considered within reasonable limits?

These are Light Bulbs after all. Not too high tech. LED anyone, please.

Joe

Good point. You had a ? mark about FW 0.48. If it is actually a lower # it is not a "Good" FW. Ben may help you out with a FW revision even if out of warranty but it is unlikely that they will replace the Lamp at no cost for this product at this point.

As an aside, the history of the problem with the lamp design and failure in the 7700 has left a less than 100% feeling overall for most. My thought is that the response to the problem was quite good.

Getting to 2000 hours on a lamp should be considered within reasonable limits?

These are Light Bulbs after all. Not too high tech. LED anyone, please.

Joe

The ? was meant for the "2000 hrs in economy mode?", and not for the F/W, which I know for sure is 0.48 since I was a blown-bulb victim of the initially bad f/w problem and had to send it to BenQ to get it updated. So it's my second bulb, but the first one I'd have to buy. Since the bulb blew and I smelled smoke, can that mean that the blown bulb screwed up something else, hence the notion of sending it to BenQ? I'll open it up sometime this week and look. Thanks!

IHMO, the HDMI has a poor physical design. I've seen this many times where one needs to plug and unplug the cable to get a solid connection. Failure to provide screw attachments, like with VGA or DVI, has also caused problems as people move their DVD player or projector to make other connections (e.g., it is too easy for the cable to get pulled or torqued resulting in possible damage to the cable or the female input). As the proposed "standard" for HD A/V interfaces, the HDMI cable should have been made more robust.

Probably not I'm assuming, but just checking.... it turns on for a few and then the lamp light comes on and it goes off...

Also, If I do replace, do I need to buy a new housing, or just the bulb?

Thanks!

Could be something else like fans. Mine did similar things. Call BenQ. They are great and will fix whatever for not too much money. You might not need a new bulb since it still comes on for a brief time.

Probably not I'm assuming, but just checking.... it turns on for a few and then the lamp light comes on and it goes off...

Also, If I do replace, do I need to buy a new housing, or just the bulb?

Thanks!

To add to Dennis' comments the fans going out after 3+ years, or so, seems to be a trend. Has happened twice for my unit. Lucky that the second time it was within days of the 3 year warranty end date. Ben replaced all 3 fans this last time.

Have you heard a "buzzing" noise shortly after power up? That is the indicator for fans about to die. They die a long death, though. Perhaps takes months, many months.

If you search back Tim? had an out of warranty fan issue that was ultimately resolved by Ben for a reasonable price.

The lamp/housing is an integral unit, no separate bulb.

Joe

yeah, and last night it came on for a full 35 minutes and did not fail on me..... strange... I'll call support...thanks.

no buzzing, but good to know about the fans.... any way to replace the fan yourself?... also, I see the bulb sold separate front bulb and housing.... usually for $100 less ..... ??

Yeah. But LOTS of labor. Search for fan replacement here. There are even pictures somewhere. For me, I would send the unit to BenQ. They will make it good as new for not too much money.

I bought a bulb at buy.com for around $300, I think. Good company.

CW speed : 5x Without SLR. Never understood the SLR indication or Senseye. SLR=As A Pro Photographer it means one thing.

Joe

hello,

I did not understand, slr = senseye ?

5x with slr active the senseye and 5x without slr disabled the senseye ?

What is the best setting? my firmware is 0.48

Thank you very much

Nobody has the answer? : (

I wanted to get with which settings the deepest black?

Thank you in advance

Nobody has the answer? : (

I wanted to get with which settings the deepest black?

Thank you in advance

Senseye: marketing hype. Color wheel speed: you want to leave that at 5x.

SLR: Have no clue what it means. "Without" is the normal state.

Deepest blacks requires starting with setting the Contrast and Brightness controls to the best that is possible for your particular screen and viewing conditions. There are many discs to aid in this: DVE, AVIA are the best known.

Joe

Thank you Bronco70 :)

Thank you Bronco70 :)

You're welcome. Any other questions? After 3+ years and some issues, I and others really know this pj.

Joe

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1146094

Can't turn my PE7700 on anymore, the temp light just start flashing, anyknow know anything about this? Please answer in the thread above :)

No need for a new thread.

Here is what I posted. Keep watching here... lots of knowledgeable folks to help you... more than me.

BenQ. Pay them. They are fair and will fix it.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1146094

Can't turn my PE7700 on anymore, the temp light just start flashing, anyknow know anything about this? Please answer in the thread above :)

As Dennis stated, no need for a new thread. The last of the holdouts with the 7700 are here.

Please explain in more detail what happens when you power on the 7700.

Is the filter clean?

Joe

The filter is clean, the front fans are running, and SOMETIMES I can manage to start it :S

OK, so my lamp light keeps coming on solid red, but if I turn the projector off and turn it back on the lamps *always* turns back on... at least for a little bit...before it fails again.

I called BenQ and they told me that the bulb is probably fine since most of the time the bulb will NOT turn on at all when you try and restart it, etc...

He thought it was most likely a bad Lamp sensor and that I should send it in for repair, etc...

1) Anyone else have this problem

2) Any chance of self repair?

Thanks.

My exact problem, perhaps one could disable the lamp sensor? Let me know what u find :)

I wouldn't disable any sensors, that's for darn sure.

Do both fans spin up in the front? Even if that's the case, the inner fan might not. The symptoms you're seeing are indeed the lamp sensor (not sure if there are multiple), and it could be for several reasons, not just the sensor itself (my guess is it's not the sensor).

As I've reported previously, I've had awesome results with BenQ service - very affordable. Basically shipping one way to BenQ in CA plus cost of actual parts (but not labor). I'd go that route with something that's not obvious.

I had the red light go on about 500hrs ago and as I was close to 2000hrs anyhow I reset the lamp timer and it's all worked perfectly ever since. How many hours have you got on your lamp? Maybe it's just the timer? I'm not sure I should be recommending what I've done, but as far as I know lamps just go dim and stop working when they're 'done', so simply resetting the timer should be okay. I've taken the risk and delayed having to spend $400+ AUD for a new lamp, which has paid off so far...

EDIT - Just spotted your other thread... Looks like the timer reset isn't the fix you need :(

Good thought though. Way back there were reports about the lamp timer causing automatic shutdowns after warnings ignored concerning hours of use. Was it around 2000 hours?

Joe

I think my lamp timer is at 800 hours....but maybe I'll just reset it to see if it helps at all, etc...

The benq guy told me that the average repair bill is $180-$200....

I'm hoping I have some option that does not involve sending it in, but we'll see....

I think my lamp timer is at 800 hours....but maybe I'll just reset it to see if it helps at all, etc...

The benq guy told me that the average repair bill is $180-$200....

I'm hoping I have some option that does not involve sending it in, but we'll see....

Good luck.

ok so Benq got my projector and they cannot find anything wrong with it!.... crazy... I tested my projected for a good 2 weeks and it would consistently shut down with the lamp light coming on solid red....

so my choices are:

1) Pay the $69 (diagnostic fee)
2) Have them put in the 'lamp sensor' anyway and pay maybe $120 total.

If I get the projector back and the lamp light comes on again, I'd have to send it back again and pay $30 shipping and another $69 minimum....

Anyone else have this type of issue?

What altitude are you at? What tempature is your room? Maybe you need to run high altitude setting.

sea level (Long Island)... in a basement... it really does not get hot down there at all....

Also, I put the unit on High Altitude setting and it crapped out after a few minutes just like low alt. setting, etc....

It could be a power problem, or maybe a connection or something got shifted in transport to make it better.
Anyway, I think the $69 diagnostic fee will be cheaper than sending it back and forth again.
Warren.

I think the $69 diagnostic fee will be cheaper than sending it back and forth again.
Warren.Me too. BenQ will make it right unless you have a power issue or something.

Well I have to pay the $69 now no matter what.... I just have to decide if I pay a little more to have the sensor installed, etc... vs. just having them send it back as it....

OK, so BenQ is quoting me $95 shippped to send the projector back unchanged, since they cannot find anything wrong with it.... OR $150 shipped if I want a new Lamp sensor installed (they are not charging me for the part)..... even though they claim the existing sensor is just fine...

What do you guys think? pay $55 more for the new sensor, that might not need replacing? Or have the projector sent back with the possibility of it crapping out on me again in my basement, etc...

Thanks again.

Time is worth money. $55 is cheap insurance.

If the part is free, will they just put one in with the PJ and ship it back? Then you might be able to swap it yourself worst case. ;) But yeah, I don't know what I'd do.. :(

well I doubt they would give up the part without me paying the labor portion of it, but I certainly could ask about that.

Good to see the old hands still around giving good advice.

I've got almost 2000 hours on the lamp but recently bought a Panny plasma so the 7700 will not be piling up the hours. May be able to wait out availability of a short throw 1080p DLP pj.

I still enjoy the 7700 but for black level the Panny stomps the 7700 and I have not yet done a full calibration on the Panny.

Good that the human eye adjusts for such differences.

Joe

well I doubt they would give up the part without me paying the labor portion of it, but I certainly could ask about that.


ohcello,

Problem solved since you've got your PJ back?

Good to see the old hands still around giving good advice.

I've got almost 2000 hours on the lamp but recently bought a Panny plasma so the 7700 will not be piling up the hours. May be able to wait out availability of a short throw 1080p DLP pj.

I still enjoy the 7700 but for black level the Panny stomps the 7700 and I have not yet done a full calibration on the Panny.

Good that the human eye adjusts for such differences.

Joe

Joe,

That is a great number of hours on the lamp! Even though the Benq W5000 has been my main PJ for sometime now, I just used the 7700 at a school awards function. Still looks great, and I needed the short throw advantage of it over the W5K.

I've got almost 2000 hours on the lamp but recently bought a Panny plasma so the 7700 will not be piling up the hours. May be able to wait out availability of a short throw 1080p DLP pj.
Unless you have a specific need to avoid LCD projectors, the Epson 6100 and 6500UB models should give you the same short throw ratio as the PE7700. I replaced my Toshiba-branded PE7700 clone with an Epson 1080 a couple of years ago and it filled my screen fine (with either projector set to just about maximum wide angle). With their lens shift ability, they could use the same mount location as well.

Unless you have a specific need to avoid LCD projectors, the Epson 6100 and 6500UB models should give you the same short throw ratio as the PE7700. I replaced my Toshiba-branded PE7700 clone with an Epson 1080 a couple of years ago and it filled my screen fine (with either projector set to just about maximum wide angle). With their lens shift ability, they could use the same mount location as well.

I know better than to start posting about lamp hours on the 7700. The old, known bug with the lamp light coming on happened to me again. This time at 1953 hours. All hours were in economy mode. Light output is still sufficient.

Simple fix, of course. Reset the timer to Zero keeping note of actual hours.

Yes the Epson 6500 is tempting, more so after the recent review in Home Theater. Yet concern about panel convergence issues both here in the AVS thread and noted in the HT review cause hesitation.

But Christmas is coming and a new toy will be required. DLP or maybe, LCD.

Joe

Hey everyone. Just got my PE7700 a few days ago. bought used for $225(was able to talk down due to known issues) called BenQ before purchase and they informed me that it had been sent in 5 times for various FW upgrades, lamp replacements and fan replacements. I took this as the bugs may be worked out now. everythin seems to be working fine. Lamp counter says slightly over 1000 hours(which I dont know how accurate that is) However I am having some slight issues. I have my DirecTV receiver hooked up via HDMI and all is well. I also have a DVD player which upconverts to 1080P, however I hooked up to different TV and auto set it to 720P. When I hook it up via RGB i get pic/sound at 525p. When I hook it up via HDMI, it says 720/60 with a black picture. I've read some previous threads back on pgs 155-158 and tried to power on DVD, then PJ...Didn't work. Then swapped HDMI cable. Still same result. I know there have been some issues w/ HDMI on the unit. Unit is out of warranty but I am willing to spend a little $ if needed. Does anyone have any other suggestions? is there anyway of checking which FW upgrade I have or could the HDMI port just be dodgy? Thanks in advance

-Brandon

Hey everyone. Just got my PE7700 a few days ago. bought used for $225(was able to talk down due to known issues) called BenQ before purchase and they informed me that it had been sent in 5 times for various FW upgrades, lamp replacements and fan replacements. I took this as the bugs may be worked out now. everythin seems to be working fine. Lamp counter says slightly over 1000 hours(which I dont know how accurate that is) However I am having some slight issues. I have my DirecTV receiver hooked up via HDMI and all is well. I also have a DVD player which upconverts to 1080P, however I hooked up to different TV and auto set it to 720P. When I hook it up via RGB i get pic/sound at 525p. When I hook it up via HDMI, it says 720/60 with a black picture. I've read some previous threads back on pgs 155-158 and tried to power on DVD, then PJ...Didn't work. Then swapped HDMI cable. Still same result. I know there have been some issues w/ HDMI on the unit. Unit is out of warranty but I am willing to spend a little $ if needed. Does anyone have any other suggestions? is there anyway of checking which FW upgrade I have or could the HDMI port just be dodgy? Thanks in advance

-Brandon

Hi Brandon and welcome to AVS,

It sounds from the history that BenQ disclosed you should be in good shape. It may sound a bit extreme but 5 returns to Ben in 3 years or so is quite common. Mine went in for # 4 just as the warranty expired. The history, if you haven't spent the time reading this Tolstoy length thread started with the blown lamp saga. That was finally resolved with FW v.0.48.

In more recent days fans going out or getting noisy has been the issue as these units are getting older. The FW history is: July 2005 v.0.44, around Feb. 2006 v.0.48. By July 2008 v.0.49. There have been a few reports of a v.1.01 and 1.02, the latter perhaps, only for special tech. tests.

You need to go into the service menu to check the FW. To get there the sequence is Menu-up-down-up-down-up-down-Menu.

A word of caution. Without experience, fooling around in the service menu can really mess things up. Always a good idea to write down all USER settings before going in there.

And most important of all. To exit the service menu choose ONLY: RETURN TO USER OSD. There are other choices that would seem reasonable but are wrong.

There have been a few reports over the, now years, of HDMI issues. I think most have been nothing more than the random HDMI handshake problem that leaves us all scratching our heads. If the HDMI input works fine with your D* unit it is probably fine. You are correct that the 7700 will not accept a 1080P signal.

What model of upconverting DVD player do you have? That might help us figure things out.

As a side note after checking my notes I found that the "Replace the Lamp" notice has come on twice with my pj. Both times at exactly 1953 hours, the year of my birth. Found that amusing. I need to get out more!

Joe

Hey Joe, thanks for the info. I checked the FW and it is .48. The model of DVD player i'm running is a philips magnavox HTS3565D. And in the manual it says...No video output from HDMI connection:
HDMI connection can only be made to HDMI equipped devices w/ HDCP. If you wish to connect to a DVI connection you will need a seperate adapter.

does that help at all?
Thanks

bboulan -- The PE7700 will accept 1080i (but not 1080p) over it's HDMI digital input. You should be better off using that output setting rather than forcing your sources to output at 720p. I was using the Component connections (analog) for all of my signals on my MT700 (an OEM PE7700), with excellent results.

configured DVD to 1080i on different TV, still black picture says 1080iX60 in the corner. I can live with using the analog cables, but would prefer using HDMI. I called BenQ customer support. They told me I need to adjust the refresh rate to 70-75 htz, which in the menu, you cannot do...Do I need to get a different upconverting DVD player? or am I just stuck using analog HD cables?

tHANKS

Could someone post the procedure for SAVING changes in user menu?

I would like to try save calibration changes to brightness, color, black level, gains, etc..
but am having no luck.

Many thanks.

Red light came on with prompt to change lamp with 1700 hrs on it. Don't want to change lamp yet. Followed screen prompt to reset lamp timer but red light stays on. Do I need to remove and reinstall lamp or is there an easier way?

Red light came on with prompt to change lamp with 1700 hrs on it. Don't want to change lamp yet. Followed screen prompt to reset lamp timer but red light stays on. Do I need to remove and reinstall lamp or is there an easier way?

IIRC, just click reset s/b fine.

Could someone post the procedure for SAVING changes in user menu?

I would like to try save calibration changes to brightness, color, black level, gains, etc..
but am having no luck.

Many thanks.

This can be a bit confusing. There are two "user" savings. One, in the service menu allows settings of Gains and Offsets to be saved in User 1 or 2.

In the normal menu you can save settings to "user's menu" 1, 2 or 3.

They store different values. So, make changes to white balance and save to User 1 or 2, then after setting Brightness, Contrast, Color, Tint etc. to desired values go to: Picture - Extended Picture Settings - Color temp. You then have a choice of: Warm, Normal, Cool or User 1 & 2.

Save all to User Menu 1, 2 or 3 and your done.

Joe

Red light came on with prompt to change lamp with 1700 hrs on it. Don't want to change lamp yet. Followed screen prompt to reset lamp timer but red light stays on. Do I need to remove and reinstall lamp or is there an easier way?

Jeff,

As Cobra points out all that should be needed is a reset but a lamp that is not properly seated will cause the lamp light to glow red.

It is also possible that your lamp has failed. Remove it and inspect for evidence of arcing, burn marks. The two leads to the lamp should show no discoloration.

Joe

Looks like Ben may have a worthy upgrade/replacement for the 7700 in the new W6000.

I sent them an email months back asking if a short throw pj might be coming out. I would have bought a 5000 but the throw distance was too long for my theater. Their response was; "stay tuned".

The 6000 looks like the answer. A DLP unit with V+H lens shift, almost as short a throw as the 7700, HQV and it's a light cannon.

Can't wait to see some owner reviews. The lamp in my 7700 just went over 2000 hours and things are getting rather dim. Add to that ever since I bought a Panny Plasma a few month's ago the black level from the 7700 seems rather lacking.

The 7700 has been fun, but after almost 4 years, it's time for 1080p glory.

Joe

Looks like Ben may have a worthy upgrade/replacement for the 7700 in the new W6000.

I sent them an email months back asking if a short throw pj might be coming out. I would have bought a 5000 but the throw distance was too long for my theater. Their response was; "stay tuned".

The 6000 looks like the answer. A DLP unit with V+H lens shift, almost as short a throw as the 7700, HQV and it's a light cannon.

Can't wait to see some owner reviews. The lamp in my 7700 just went over 2000 hours and things are getting rather dim. Add to that ever since I bought a Panny Plasma a few month's ago the black level from the 7700 seems rather lacking.

The 7700 has been fun, but after almost 4 years, it's time for 1080p glory.

Joe



It is hard to believe how time flies now. Four years with the same projector is an eternity for some here on AVS.:) Hopefully Benq will have something that will work for your setup Joe.

I'm still enjoying my Benq W5K with no issues, and using my 7700 here and there for the kids school events etc. Halloween is next for the 7700. Its been nice having a "backup" projector that I can use, without worrying about busting up the main PJ.

Turns out only had to power down the PJ and turn it back on to standby for the red light to turn off.

Am also excited about the W6000, except for the one year warranty. We needed all three years on the PE7700!

I just purchased the newly released Vizio BD player last night. Connected via HDMI, set resolution setting to 720P, menu came up fine. I was so stoked to watch a BD on my projector. Pressed play, screen went blue w/ HDMI searching, then black w/ 720X60. Audio was coming through, but no video! Screen just stayed black. Switched PJ to different output, then back to HDMI, still same thing. Reset BD player multiple times to retry. Still same thing. Tried all resolutions. Nothing. So then I decided to try out a SD DVD to see if that would work. Still no results. I also had this same problem with my Philips upconverting DVD player. The only thing I have gotten to work via HDMI is my DTV receiver. Anyone have any suggestions? Had any luck with a different BD player? Any help would be appreciated

I'm using a Panasonic BD60 via HDMI through my Onkyo 805 receiver which strips out the audio and passes the video via HDMI onto the 7700. Not sure how to help as I had no problems with the player set to either 1080i or 720p. You can see the setup menu on the PJ but not the disc video??

I can go into the BD players menu, adjust all settings put in a disc, "reading disc" comes up then black screen with audio. I contacted BenQ for support and they seemed to think the problem was my HDMI cable. I informed them it works just fine with my satelite receiver. Told them my FW was 0.48. and mfg date is 10/2005. Tech said he is going to get with an "engineer" to get his input.

I have had same problem with Sony 350 and now Sammy 3600 Bluray. The problem is the HDMI on BenQ is not compatible, but will work on the Directv HD receiver. I have the latest firmware, 1.02.

Will be interested in what BenQ tells you.

So have you found or heard of a compatible BD player for the 7700. That'd be a bummer if I couldn't get Blu-ray up on the big screen. Thats grounds for finding a different PJ. I have owever read different threads where people have linked up their PS3 to the 7700 with no issues

I had a Panasonic BD30 before this that also worked with the 7700 at least when sent via my Onkyo 805. Is your receiver HDMI compatible that you could try routing the signal via it?

My stereo receiver has an HDMI port on it, but its also a dvd player. Don't know if that would interfere...Don't see how I would rout that with only 1 HDMI port on the receiver? Never heard back from BenQ, but I have the reps direct # so I'll call back in the morning to see if he's got anything for me.

Heard back from the rep at BenQ. He told me that the reason its not working is because the PJ does not accept 1080P. No really? I told him I had it set to 1080i and 720P and even tried it in 480P with no results. Basically what he told me is that the 7700 is not compatible with any BD player, which is incorrect. Hooked up via components last night, haven't gotten a chance to test it out. Probably get around to it tonight

Heard back from the rep at BenQ. He told me that the reason its not working is because the PJ does not accept 1080P. No really? I told him I had it set to 1080i and 720P and even tried it in 480P with no results. Basically what he told me is that the 7700 is not compatible with any BD player, which is incorrect. Hooked up via components last night, haven't gotten a chance to test it out. Probably get around to it tonight

Exactly how are you setup?

Are you running the HDMI through your receiver?


The PS3 works great with HDMI on the 7700.

Give us some more info, and lets see if we can get you going.

Yeah I agree. I have a PS3, a Toshiba HD DVD and my D* receiver all hooked up with HDMI through a switch. No troubles at all. My sound however is through optical cable not HDMI.

I'm running a 24G 15' HDMI cable from my BD player directly to the PJ. Nothing in between. Then an optical cable from the BD player to my receiver.

I don't have a switcher as I went to Radio Shack to get one and the rep there strongly recommend I stay away from them as he has heard nothing but bad things about using them, so I left it at that. If you have had some success I should probably reconsider. So mu original plan was to swap the HDMI from my HD receiver and the BD player when needed.

The BR player does work through component cables, but it won't upconvert SD DVD's, which is a bummer. I would prefer hooking up through HDMI

bboulan -- The "best" switchers (for the money) are available from monoprice (link at the top of AVS Forum pages). Their Model 4088 (http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10110&cs_id=1011002&p_id=4088&seq=1&format=2) and Model 5081 (http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10110&cs_id=1011002&p_id=5081&seq=1&format=2) are two of their best, AFIK. You need to check other threads (some of their lower cost ones have had problems). Monoprice will take it back & refund your money, if it doesn't work.

Switching cables is a bad idea for HDMI connectors, since they are not very robust (the connectors on your equipment can be easily damaged - weak solder joints & no strain relief).

My switcher is a Monoprice. Don't know the number: a 5x1 tho. Never a problem. Rat Schack employee is just giving a very uninformed opinion, IMHO.

Yep bad advice from the Rat Shack guy. And as Claus points out pulling HDMI cables out and in repeatedly is asking for trouble.

Recently I reconfigured my rack and moved the pre-pro. A minor change in the path of the HDMI monitor out cable caused an inconsistent connection. The pins are all good, just a strain issue. The cable is a 40' heavy duty job. Time for a "port saver".

HDMI connectors are a design from idiots. And we always thought RCA connectors were poor.

Can't believe how inexpensive the 5x1 switcher from Monoprice is now. Four years ago I bought a 3x1 from RAM. Worked great but cost $250 IIRC.

Joe

Best place to buy bulb module?

I finally got to trying to replace my blown bulb, and was just gonna buy the bulb itself, but one of the tabs of the bulb frame broke when I was taking it out. Uuugggghhhhhhh!!!!!!! Any recommendations for a vendor with a reasonable price? Someone posted a couple of places before, even from AVS sponsors, but I looked there and didn't find any this time.

Best place to buy bulb module?

I finally got to trying to replace my blown bulb, and was just gonna buy the bulb itself, but one of the tabs of the bulb frame broke when I was taking it out. Uuugggghhhhhhh!!!!!!! Any recommendations for a vendor with a reasonable price? Someone posted a couple of places before, even from AVS sponsors, but I looked there and didn't find any this time.

not sure if this is the best price, but provantage.com is a great vendor, and had lamp assy's @ $308+ship last i checked

http://www.provantage.com/benq-59-j0c01-cg1~7BENP037.htm

i need one too, tell me if you find a better source.

Corba, is this just the lamp, or the lamp + housing? I need the latter. I couldn't tell from the desc.

Anyone looking to sell their PE7700 that has a blown lamp? I am looking for one that is in good shape but just needs a new lamp. P.M. me. Thanks.

My PE7700 has an issue I havent seen on here.

It starts up and the bulb works, but then it goes black and blinks two red lights...the manual says it is a fan issue. says to check for something blocking the fan or an unstable power supply or contact dealer.:mad:

The fan has been noisier the past 6+ months...a louder hum.

Anyone have this occur? Can a fan be replaced DIY?

I cannot imagine a fix would be cheaper than finding a used one or buying a different projector. Thoughts?

thx

My PE7700 has an issue I havent seen on here.

It starts up and the bulb works, but then it goes black and blinks two red lights...the manual says it is a fan issue. says to check for something blocking the fan or an unstable power supply or contact dealer.:mad:

The fan has been noisier the past 6+ months...a louder hum.

Anyone have this occur? Can a fan be replaced DIY?

I cannot imagine a fix would be cheaper than finding a used one or buying a different projector. Thoughts?

thx

Jim,

This has come up before, more than once. Might be hard to search for though.

I believe Tim (forget his screen name) reported on bad fans IIRC. Also IIRC he attempted a DIY replacement had a tough time finding replacements that would work correctly.

Then there was a member that did replace the fans. He went into quite a detailed description including images of the process. Not for the faint of heart.

There was also a report of Ben replacing fans for a rather nominal sum. All this discussion was about a year ago.

Might be worth a few search attempts.

The 7700 has been reported to have 3 fans.

My unit has had fan(s) replaced twice under warranty. The last time was with one day left on the three year period.

In my case both times the fan noise was loud at start up but would always quiet down after 2-3 minutes. It never caused the red malfunction lights to glow or the unit shut down. The last fix was last January and it has been fine since.

Give Ben a call. It might not be that expensive to fix.

Joe

Jim,

This has come up before, more than once. Might be hard to search for though.

I believe Tim (forget his screen name) reported on bad fans IIRC. Also IIRC he attempted a DIY replacement had a tough time finding replacements that would work correctly.

Then there was a member that did replace the fans. He went into quite a detailed description including images of the process. Not for the faint of heart.

There was also a report of Ben replacing fans for a rather nominal sum. All this discussion was about a year ago.

Might be worth a few search attempts.

The 7700 has been reported to have 3 fans.

My unit has had fan(s) replaced twice under warranty. The last time was with one day left on the three year period.

In my case both times the fan noise was loud at start up but would always quiet down after 2-3 minutes. It never caused the red malfunction lights to glow or the unit shut down. The last fix was last January and it has been fine since.

Give Ben a call. It might not be that expensive to fix.

Joe

thanks. I will try to search...was it in this thread?

Ben...is that a person or short for Benq?

not for the faint of heart is not a problem vs. a large door stop of a projector. Why not?

thx

OK, for anyone who is interested. I (finally) successfully replaced both of my fans in my PE7700 Projector.

First, here is the correct fan info;
It is a Sunon fan. The correct part number is KDE1208PTV1.13.MS.A.F.GN.
This is critical!! Make sure the fan is this entire number! The “F” in the number above is what makes all the difference in this fan. It represents the third, yellow wire. This wire feeds back a signal to tell the projector how the fan is spinning. This is the cause of the fan error in the first place when the fan slows down due to its bearing going bad. (this paragraph was edited for correctness)

I got the fans online, at FutureElectronics.com, here (http://www.futureelectronics.com/en/Technologies/Product.aspx?ProductID=KDE1208PTV113MSAFGNSUNON6318828) is the link.
It took a long time to find a place that even listed the exact part number. (with the “A”) Then they said it was on back order 12 weeks. But ultimately I received them in about two weeks. (I ordered 4, just in case)
Oddly enough, the website still says they have qty zero. Hmm…

Next, using the photos from this link (http://www.functionalchaos.net/pe7700/) as a visual guide to rip the PJ apart, I was on my way. One suggestion; Use a strong method for keeping track of which screws go with which subassemblies.
The original fans terminate with a very small 6-pin connector, leaving you with the choice of either desoldering the original harness from the defective fans and transferring them to the new fans, or cutting & splicing the wires. I chose the latter, making a clean splice and finishing with heat shrink tubing.

Final word. If you are not comfortable with the delicacy of electronics, with the major tear down & reassembly, or with the thought you might ruin an expensive piece of equipment, ending in sending it off only to have a much bigger repair bill, then I wouldn’t suggest replacing the fans yourself. I simply had to know after reading all the perils of others experiences.

AWESOME info here. I just ordered two fans for $20 shipped and plan on doing this repair prior to next weekends FB games (hopefully). If not, I will only miss one weekend.

I love the internet. My Harman Kardon $1500 receiver died...and with some online research, found I had to go to Radio Shack and purchase two $1 fuses and replace them...bam, worked fine. Now this fan issue, which granted appears to be much more involved in the replacement, but I wont have issues.

AWESOME info here. I just ordered two fans for $20 shipped and plan on doing this repair prior to next weekends FB games (hopefully). If not, I will only miss one weekend.

I love the internet. My Harman Kardon $1500 receiver died...and with some online research, found I had to go to Radio Shack and purchase two $1 fuses and replace them...bam, worked fine. Now this fan issue, which granted appears to be much more involved in the replacement, but I wont have issues.

Good luck. On second look it doesn't seem all that difficult.

Joe

Bronco70 -- OT, but I thought I recognized your ID. I posted a "memory lane" response to your request on the PJ Maintenance Poll (over $3K forum).

Bronco70 -- OT, but I thought I recognized your ID. I posted a "memory lane" response to your request on the PJ Maintenance Poll (over $3K forum).

Yep, saw that. Good read.Thanks.

I drooled over the original Advent Videobeam 1000. Henry Kloss, an interesting individual. I have a pair of KLH 17's in my garage system. Slightly modified about 25 years ago (2 way to 3 way, added sealed back mid, 1" dome tweet, custom x-over retaining the original 10" inverted roll LF driver). Still sound decent for a 40 year old design.

Toshiba's treatment of owners of the 7700 clone is hard to understand. Could they not have shared resources with little cousin BenQ? I came close to the record at 520 hours before lamp failure on the un-solved 7700. As you stated BenQ did work the problem to a successful result.

Agreed that a lot of offset is bad design.What % do not want a ceiling mount? It has kept me from upgrading to 1080p. I have a bias against LCD and have never seen a LCOS display. Then there is cost. Seems to me one does not have to allocate more than about $3K to get to the sweet spot with 1080p pj's today.This stuff will just get cheaper as time goes by. After a google search the original Advent Novabeam was about $13500 in 2009 $'s. Yikes!

The BenQ W6000 just might be the answer. Feedback on AVS will decide. I might even consider changing from my 133" Da-Lite Hi-Power screen if the 6000 has the lumens. After all the black level (not a strong suit for the 5 year old 7700) needs to compete with my new plasma unit. The comparison... another story.

Joe

Bronco70 -- I've been following (sort of) the Mitsubishi HC3800 (DLP) thread out of curiosity, mostly. For a under $2K (MAP) PJ it seems to be pretty good (though it's not in the BenQ W6000 class).

What I found interesting on the HC3800, is that it can be used with a slight tilt (and no keystone) without degrading the picture, see Legairre's post http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=17270937&postcount=265.

For a reasonably priced 1080p DLP, the BenQ models seem to have it together. I didn't consider the W5000 because the zoom range wouldn't fit my setup. It looks like the W6000 is using a shorter focal length lens, which would be a lot better for me.

I don't have your aversion to LCDs, so that was not a problem for me in my purchase of the Mitsubishi HC5500 1080p PJ. The JVC RS25 seems like a very good one (too expensive for my budget though), but it still has more motion blur than a DLP does. The real breakthrough will be when the LED DLPs get established (generation 5 or 6 :cool:) and come down to my price range.

I didn't understand Toshiba's attitude either. It was like they didn't want t admit that they were selling an OEM-ed product (NIH syndrome), and refused to be bothered with any fixes that BenQ came up with. It was just easier for them to just wash their hands of it (although it was more expensive - they had a lot of PJs in their repair facility that they finally issued refunds for). Unfortunately, mine was second hand, so I lost all warranty service (fortunately, the original owner had also gotten the Lamp Warranty option - transferable, so I was, finally able to get the new design lamp for it).

I paid about $3000 for my Kloss Novabeam Model 1. It cost me $700 (+ $200 for installation & alignment) for a new set of tubes (the originals started degrading after ~2+ years - a phosphor defect). It was cheaper (and recommended) that I have the entire 3 tube assembly replaced all at once.

Agreed that a lot of offset is bad design.What % do not want a ceiling mount? It has kept me from upgrading to 1080p. I have a bias against LCD and have never seen a LCOS display. Then there is cost. Seems to me one does not have to allocate more than about $3K to get to the sweet spot with 1080p pj's today.This stuff will just get cheaper as time goes by. After a google search the original Advent Novabeam was about $13500 in 2009 $'s. Yikes!

The BenQ W6000 just might be the answer. Feedback on AVS will decide. I might even consider changing from my 133" Da-Lite Hi-Power screen if the 6000 has the lumens. After all the black level (not a strong suit for the 5 year old 7700) needs to compete with my new plasma unit. The comparison... another story.

Joe

I assume offset is where the projector lens is vs. the image, correct? The PE7700 didnt have any, correct? I have my PE7700 ceiling mounted, top at center screen. While I hope to fix my PE7700, I want to stay abreast of the latest technologies and projectors and I want to clarify what you mean by that statement.

thx

Jim,

Offset refers to the placement of the projector in relation to the screen. In my room I have to have either a zero or a small offset. For a ceiling mount that means the center of the lens is at the same height as the top edge of the screen or close to it.

The 7700 is a fixed, zero offset pj. Almost all LCD pj's, but until now very few reasonably priced DLP units, have "lens shift" allowing an adjustment range in regard to the offset.

The new BenQ W6000 does offer lens shift. It would allow me to drop the mounting down about 6" from where my 7700 is and still provide enough headroom. That would help a bit with light scatter off the ceiling. Painting the ceiling flat black is the real answer but the better half nixed that idea.

Joe

I see with your edit that you understand already.

Jim,

Offset refers to the placement of the projector in relation to the screen. In my room I have to have either a zero or a small offset. For a ceiling mount that means the center of the lens is at the same height as the top edge of the screen or close to it.

The 7700 is a fixed, zero offset pj. Almost all LCD pj's, but until now very few reasonably priced DLP units, have "lens shift" allowing an adjustment range in regard to the offset.

The new BenQ W6000 does offer lens shift. It would allow me to drop the mounting down about 6" from where my 7700 is and still provide enough headroom. That would help a bit with light scatter off the ceiling. Painting the ceiling flat black is the real answer but the better half nixed that idea.

Joe

I see with your edit that you understand already.

thanks.

Yes, zero offset is fine with me as it is at least 12" below ceiling to top of my screen...9' ceilings. I have to 'focus' more on the zoom capabilities in a new projector as I dont want to move the ceiling placement if I dont have to. Except my PE7700 mounting isnt centered since the lens is on one side.

Ok, more help needed.

I used the great directions on changing out my two front fans...and the projector starts up and works just as well as it did before. In other words, it starts up, fans turn on, shows the Benq screen then just as it would switch to the video source, I get the dreaded blinking red lights and single yellow power lite.

Could it be the power supply fan? The little hamster wheel fan.

Anyone else have this issue?? I suppose one of the two fans I installed isnt connected correctly, but I was very through.

Argh, 2 hrs lost in repair time and no big screen football this weekend.

So when I turn on my projector, the lamp comes on and it makes a fast clicking sound, then goes out. Comes back on a few seconds later, makes the fast clicking sounds and goes out. It does it one more time then goes out and the Red light comes on. I have to reset the PJ by using the switch on the back, then turn on and all is well. My bulb has roughly 1700 hrs and I am considering a replacement(image getting VERY dim) Just wanted to make sure before I do that, its not something that will burn my new bulb...

So when I turn on my projector, the lamp comes on and it makes a fast clicking sound, then goes out. Comes back on a few seconds later, makes the fast clicking sounds and goes out. It does it one more time then goes out and the Red light comes on. I have to reset the PJ by using the switch on the back, then turn on and all is well. My bulb has roughly 1700 hrs and I am considering a replacement(image getting VERY dim) Just wanted to make sure before I do that, its not something that will burn my new bulb...

This is very unusual behavior. Not sure anyone here ever reported this sequence before. I would be concerned about lamp fife with this routine.

Not sure what the fast clicking sound could be. The lamp itself should not be responsible for any sounds.

Are you hearing the normal spin up sound from the color wheel?

Fans starting sound the same as before this started happening?

If you have not purchased a new lamp already or even if you have, I would suggest a call to BenQ and see if they have any ideas.

Oh, one other question. Have you tried turning off the main power switch on the back after a normal shutdown and pulling the power cord and then reconnect the next time you want to use the pj?

Good luck and let us know how things go.

Joe

This is very unusual behavior. Not sure anyone here ever reported this sequence before. I would be concerned about lamp fife with this routine.

Not sure what the fast clicking sound could be. The lamp itself should not be responsible for any sounds.

Are you hearing the normal spin up sound from the color wheel?

Fans starting sound the same as before this started happening?

If you have not purchased a new lamp already or even if you have, I would suggest a call to BenQ and see if they have any ideas.

Oh, one other question. Have you tried turning off the main power switch on the back after a normal shutdown and pulling the power cord and then reconnect the next time you want to use the pj?

Good luck and let us know how things go.

Joe


I am not noticing the color wheel sound anymore. I fell asleep one night with the pj on and didn't catch it until the morning. So probably 12 hours of use. I shut it down immediatly, then turned it on later that night. It went through the above mentioned sequence, switched off, back on and everything came on, but cw and fans are much more delayed than usual. They do come on, just delayed. I will unplug it tonight after I shut down and try that out. I can't call BenQ as I work the same exact hours they do and they're not open on weekends.

Update:
Came home tonight and tried to fire it up. Color wheel starts, lamp flashes very dimly and you can faintly hear the clicks as the lamp flashes. This is a very very quit click, but it is definatly there. Color wheel stops, light stops flashing. It repeats this 2 more times, then the fan comes on, Lamp light illuminates red and standby light flashes. Tried the hard reset. Won't fire up. Tried that about 3 times w/ no luck. Could this possibly be a blown lamp?

I am not noticing the color wheel sound anymore. I fell asleep one night with the pj on and didn't catch it until the morning. So probably 12 hours of use. I shut it down immediatly, then turned it on later that night. It went through the above mentioned sequence, switched off, back on and everything came on, but cw and fans are much more delayed than usual. They do come on, just delayed. I will unplug it tonight after I shut down and try that out. I can't call BenQ as I work the same exact hours they do and they're not open on weekends.

Update:
Came home tonight and tried to fire it up. Color wheel starts, lamp flashes very dimly and you can faintly hear the clicks as the lamp flashes. This is a very very quit click, but it is definatly there. Color wheel stops, light stops flashing. It repeats this 2 more times, then the fan comes on, Lamp light illuminates red and standby light flashes. Tried the hard reset. Won't fire up. Tried that about 3 times w/ no luck. Could this possibly be a blown lamp?

OK, the lamp flashing may indicate an internal arc in the assembly.

It does sound like a lamp failure.

Take the cover off, remove the lamp assembly and examine. Burn marks or other indications may be evident.

With the lamp out take a mag lite or other flashlight and look at the color wheel. There have been reports on this long thread of damage done to the CW with lamp failures.

How long have you had the 7700?

It has been an "interesting" owner experience for those of us going back 4 or so years.

Joe

OK, the lamp flashing may indicate an internal arc in the assembly.

It does sound like a lamp failure.

Take the cover off, remove the lamp assembly and examine. Burn marks or other indications may be evident.

With the lamp out take a mag lite or other flashlight and look at the color wheel. There have been reports on this long thread of damage done to the CW with lamp failures.

How long have you had the 7700?

It has been an "interesting" owner experience for those of us going back 4 or so years.

Joe

What would I look for exactly for cw damage? Is there a link for replacing the lamp that I can look at? I've owned my 7700 for about 5 months. Bought it used w/ about 1100 hours on the bulb. Its now upto about 1900

What would I look for exactly for cw damage? Is there a link for replacing the lamp that I can look at? I've owned my 7700 for about 5 months. Bought it used w/ about 1100 hours on the bulb. Its now upto about 1900

The lamp is easy to remove. The access cover is on the side of the case. There should be two rubber plugs covering small screws. Remove those and take the cover off. The lamp assembly is secured by two more screws. Remove those and pull the assembly out.

A normal lamp after many hours will have areas where the plastic has taken on a brown color. Black marks or damage to the lamp itself indicates failure.

There were reports of cracked or broken color wheels.

Not hearing the CW spin up is not a good sign.

Do you know what Firmware you have?

Joe

The lamp is easy to remove. The access cover is on the side of the case. There should be two rubber plugs covering small screws. Remove those and take the cover off. The lamp assembly is secured by two more screws. Remove those and pull the assembly out.

A normal lamp after many hours will have areas where the plastic has taken on a brown color. Black marks or damage to the lamp itself indicates failure.

There were reports of cracked or broken color wheels.

Not hearing the CW spin up is not a good sign.

Do you know what Firmware you have?

Joe

I do hear the color wheel spin-up. I had a new bulb overnighted, it'll be here tomorrow, then I'll dig in. I have FW 0.48

I do hear the color wheel spin-up. I had a new bulb overnighted, it'll be here tomorrow, then I'll dig in. I have FW 0.48

You're good on the FW. v0.48 was the first that fixed the early lamp failure issue.

Sounds like you don't have the owners manual. You know about the air filter?

Good Luck.

Joe

You're good on the FW. v0.48 was the first that fixed the early lamp failure issue.

Sounds like you don't have the owners manual. You know about the air filter?

Good Luck.

Joe

I do clean the air filter regularly. I've browsed the manual at projectorcentral a few times.

Also, my image has never had much pop to it. I am projecting onto a homemade Wilsonart DW laminate wrapped in black velvet border. It seems that ANY ambient light completly washes the image out. What is your experience with this problem if any at all? Hopefully the new lamp will solve that issue :D

What would I look for exactly for cw damage? Is there a link for replacing the lamp that I can look at? I've owned my 7700 for about 5 months. Bought it used w/ about 1100 hours on the bulb. Its now upto about 1900

I do clean the air filter regularly. I've browsed the manual at projectorcentral a few times.

Also, my image has never had much pop to it. I am projecting onto a homemade Wilsonart DW laminate wrapped in black velvet border. It seems that ANY ambient light completly washes the image out. What is your experience with this problem if any at all? Hopefully the new lamp will solve that issue :D


You will notice a big difference with a new lamp. You have a good chunk of hours on your 7700. With a new bulb you can live with "some" ambient light, hitting the screen, yet don't hope to be able to light up the entire room and be satisfied with the results.;)

Bronco,

Did you decide on what 1080p PJ to go with? I'm sure your trigger finger has got to be getting itchy.:D

I do clean the air filter regularly. I've browsed the manual at projectorcentral a few times.

Also, my image has never had much pop to it. I am projecting onto a homemade Wilsonart DW laminate wrapped in black velvet border. It seems that ANY ambient light completly washes the image out. What is your experience with this problem if any at all? Hopefully the new lamp will solve that issue :D

My screen is a DaLite 133" 16:9 High Power. I love what the HP material does. When my lamp was new there was plenty of pop. Now at 2300 hours it is getting dim, but with an Eye One colorimiter and the proper software dialing it in, it still presents a decent image under bat cave conditions. I do watch sports with some room light and it is not too bad. Certainly not completely washed out.

IIRC the 7700 had reviewers measuring about 400 lumens in "best mode". Not bad for 5 years back, not competitive with the current crop of pj's.

One thought. You state that you bought your unit and it had 1100 hours on the lamp. Of course the lamp timer might have been reset at any time.

If you have looked at the beginning of this thread you know about the lamp failure fiasco. Until a new lamp design and the 0.48 FW this pj had lamp failures in just about 100% of the units. My original lamp went close to the record at 520 hours before it died.

There was an additional wrinkle to the story. BenQ rated lamp life at 3000 hours in Economic mode. Owners reported that as early as about 1300 hours a warning would come up at start that the lamp was at it's useful life end and time to replace. If ignored long enough the unit would not restart. As I remember the fix was to pull the lamp out, put it back in and reset the lamp to 0 hours.

In my case with two different lamps the warning came up at exactly 1953 hours. Twice I have reset at that point. The first lamp has 2500 hours on it and was still working when replaced.

My point in all of this is I don't think anyone has ever reported what final lamp hour capacity has been. Your experience may indicate what happens with a lamp pushed to the actual end. And how dim the output might become.

Hope the new lamp is a revelation. Our 7700 has been overall an enjoyable pj for this family with 5320 hours or so logged in 4 years. Yikes that's about 3.6 hours per day. And there are 9 other display devices in this home.

Maybe Newton Minow was right.

As I have said it has been an interesting ownership experience. Good that the original box was well made. Two trips out to CA and two to NJ for warranty repair.

The thread that never dies.

Joe

I have a Benq PE 7700. It's displaying a couple of symptoms which lead me to believe the bulb (1820 hrs) may be going but then again, not sure. First, on full bright mode, it will begin to flutter in brightness. If I turn down to econo mode, disappears. Next, on occasion, it will develop a blueish tinge or haze, as if one of the primary colors is gone. Reminds me of when the "guns" in the old cathode-ray color TV bought it. Same type of effect. Intermittent. Slight jar to the side has no effect.

Also, is it worthwhile to clean the color wheel? I feel comfortable doing this but not sure if it is worthwhile or necessary. Any ideas and help would be appreciated.

Bronco,

Did you decide on what 1080p PJ to go with? I'm sure your trigger finger has got to be getting itchy.:D

Hey,

Very itchy!

The BenQ W6000 was in the running for awhile. Does not seem to be selling well if the lack of activity in the thread here is any indication. And the one year warranty is a downer.

The Sony 15 would probably not be bright enough for my setup.

The about to ship Epson 8500 sounds interesting not sure I want to wait to hear owner feedback. The 6500 had some issues.

So it looks like it will be the Panny 4000. My contact at PP told me they sold out their first shipment of 500 in 5 days. Art at Projector Reviews should have his full review out on Sunday. If it is as positive as his first look I will order one on Monday.

Can't wait to see BD in 1080p. I have an Oppo 983 and now a BDP-83. With the job they do at up-conversion comparing a DVD with the BD version is not as dramatic as it should be at least at 720p.

Joe

And WOW! Never knew it had it in her! Very impressed. I really should have done it much sooner, but oh well. The lamp I took out was all melted. So I should be good up through around 1500 hrs now huh? Also how long is too long to leave a pj running? I go sometimes 6-8 hours at a time. Is that okay?

And WOW! Never knew it had it in her! Very impressed. I really should have done it much sooner, but oh well. The lamp I took out was all melted. So I should be good up through around 1500 hrs now huh? Also how long is too long to leave a pj running? I go sometimes 6-8 hours at a time. Is that okay?

Good to hear!

Are you using economic mode or normal? In economic you should be good for at least 2000 hours. It all depends on screen size ambient light conditions, etc.

6-8 hours at a time is fine.

Congrats.

Joe

Hey,

Very itchy!

The BenQ W6000 was in the running for awhile. Does not seem to be selling well if the lack of activity in the thread here is any indication. And the one year warranty is a downer.

The Sony 15 would probably not be bright enough for my setup.

The about to ship Epson 8500 sounds interesting not sure I want to wait to hear owner feedback. The 6500 had some issues.

So it looks like it will be the Panny 4000. My contact at PP told me they sold out their first shipment of 500 in 5 days. Art at Projector Reviews should have his full review out on Sunday. If it is as positive as his first look I will order one on Monday.

Can't wait to see BD in 1080p. I have an Oppo 983 and now a BDP-83. With the job they do at up-conversion comparing a DVD with the BD version is not as dramatic as it should be at least at 720p.

Joe

Looks like Christmas will come early for you Joe.:)
You'll have to do a comparison with your 7700 and tell us what you think.

Looks like Christmas will come early for you Joe.:)
You'll have to do a comparison with your 7700 and tell us what you think.

Well I'm in the driving myself a little crazy mode.

Too many choices. Too many options. Too many decisions. DI, CFI, black level, sharpness etc.

Panny 4000, Epson 8500, Sony 15.

Then there is the BenQ W6000 a true light cannon in a well calibrated presentation. I do like the DLP look. And no panel convergence issues to worry about along with it would seem no stuck pixels.

And my screen is 133". Need the lumens that the 6000 most definitely provides.

But only a one year warranty. And some of us used the full 3 years on the 7700.

Joe

I replaced my PE7700 with a Viewsonic Pro8100 and very pleased so far. Havent even see it in full 1080P mode as I do not have the source yet.

(snip)

But only a one year warranty. And some of us used the full 3 years on the 7700.

Joe

What 1080p DLP PJ have 1+ years warranty? At least the ones in the W6000 price range?

Has anyone managed to get hold of a spare colour wheel for the PE7700? I read on here that someone managed to order some parts from the the Benq spares department a few years ago but they won't sell me anything when i call them. They insist on a £93 minimum shipping and inspection charge + parts. When i know exactly what the problem is and how to replace it this is very annoying!!

I'm waiting for a quote on the wheel, i'll let you know how it turns out! Btw. if anyone wants the direct line number to the woman in the spares dept. dealing with this machine it's 08444821175.

Well. My 7700 has been through 3 bulbs and is now getting the red blinking lights of death again. It will run for about 2 hrs then shuts down and all lights blink red. Had the same problem when I first bought the PJ. But now its out of warranty. So time for an upgrade. Have any of you bought one of the $999 1080P pjs. If so. How do your compare the picture to your 7700?

Pt-AE4000: time to upgrade? discernable differences?

Will be in US for xmas and am thinking of an upgrade to pe7700. God bless her.

Anyone had a chance to see this new Panny-AE4000? Does it kick the Pe7700' butt, or just a little better? Owners of Pe7700 are the best reference to me because we have/had the same equipment.

Thanks!

Well. My 7700 has been through 3 bulbs and is now getting the red blinking lights of death again. It will run for about 2 hrs then shuts down and all lights blink red. Had the same problem when I first bought the PJ. But now its out of warranty. So time for an upgrade. Have any of you bought one of the $999 1080P pjs. If so. How do your compare the picture to your 7700?

Good question. I'm on a different upgrade track but the idea of a $1000 replacement for the 7700 is an interesting concept. Live with it for 3 or so years and see what comes up with LED, 3-D and other tech. just over the horizon?

Who would have thought just a few years ago that a 1080p pj would be available now at this price level.

Joe

Pt-AE4000: time to upgrade? discernable differences?

Will be in US for xmas and am thinking of an upgrade to pe7700. God bless her.

Anyone had a chance to see this new Panny-AE4000? Does it kick the Pe7700' butt, or just a little better? Owners of Pe7700 are the best reference to me because we have/had the same equipment.

Thanks!

One thing to consider in an upgrade from the 7700 is the lumen output from these new 3LCD pj's after calibration and your screen size. The 7700 was quite the bright pj with a new lamp after calibration.

(I love the "God bless her", the 7700 has indeed been a very good performer after the initial problem was resolved. Along with no potential for panel alignment, dust blobs, etc.)

The Panny 4000 along with the Epson 8500 and BenQ W6000 have been on my short list as an upgrade to the 7700.

After all the research it is quite simple. For my 133" screen the W6000 is the only unit of those three that will provide the lumens needed to get to SMPTE standard after calibration to Rec.709 and D65.

Joe

Good question. I'm on a different upgrade track but the idea of a $1000 replacement for the 7700 is an interesting concept. Live with it for 3 or so years and see what comes up with LED, 3-D and other tech. just over the horizon?

Who would have thought just a few years ago that a 1080p pj would be available now at this price level.

Joe

Yeah thats my goal. There are so many emerging technologies on the horizon. I just cant justify dropping $2500 plus on an upgrade right now. But if one of the $1000 dollar PJ's are as good. It may be worth it. So the questions still stands. Anyone upgrade to one of the new $999 PJ's? If so please share your thoughts.

One thing to consider in an upgrade from the 7700 is the lumen output from these new 3LCD pj's after calibration and your screen size. The 7700 was quite the bright pj with a new lamp after calibration.

(I love the "God bless her", the 7700 has indeed been a very good performer after the initial problem was resolved. Along with no potential for panel alignment, dust blobs, etc.)

The Panny 4000 along with the Epson 8500 and BenQ W6000 have been on my short list as an upgrade to the 7700.

After all the research it is quite simple. For my 133" screen the W6000 is the only unit of those three that will provide the lumens needed to get to SMPTE standard after calibration to Rec.709 and D65.

Joe

So Joe, is the W6000 headed your way?

So Joe, is the W6000 headed your way?

I hope to order one tomorrow. Art at Projector Reviews found one negative with the 6000. The dynamic iris function was a bit too noticeable. BenQ developed a firmware fix and sent a unit to Art. He reports that all is good now.

I will contact Ben tomorrow to determine what beginning build date includes the new firmware.

Projector People has the W6000 price reduced $200. Sale ends at 5 PM ET tomorrow.

Joe

I spoke with BenQ support today. The FW status is uncertain. The rep. states that there has been no update at least since October. Current version is 1.0.

I received an email from my salesperson at Projector People this morning. BenQ has authorized a one day sales event for today only.

I just ordered a W6000 for $1999!!

Joe

Bronco,

Did I understand correctly? You ordered a W6000 with a known dynamic iris problem?
Will you have to SHIP it to Benq to get firmware fixed, like we had to do with pe7700? If so, seems like a hassle to me, especially if one is living abroad.

Let us know your thoughts about its performance when it arrives.

I spoke with BenQ support today. The FW status is uncertain. The rep. states that there has been no update at least since October. Current version is 1.0.

I received an email from my salesperson at Projector People this morning. BenQ has authorized a one day sales event for today only.

I just ordered a W6000 for $1999!!

Joe


Congrats Joe! And the price is very good also. A big difference from the days when the 7700 was selling for substantially more. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the W6000 compared to the 7700. Of course maybe you have 2000 hours on the bulb in the 7700, so it will look dim next the the W6000. Lets us know when the big shootout between the Benqs happen.

Joe, next post is all yours, to smash into 5000 posts on this thread. :D

Bronco,

Did I understand correctly? You ordered a W6000 with a known dynamic iris problem?
Will you have to SHIP it to Benq to get firmware fixed, like we had to do with pe7700? If so, seems like a hassle to me, especially if one is living abroad.

Let us know your thoughts about its performance when it arrives.

I will let you know how it goes. I'm quite familiar with the scenes from Hunt for Red October that Art referenced and will be looking at them.

I hope the support person I spoke to today is correct and the dynamic iris issue was fixed for US production models sometime in October. Art's review sample was a pre-production unit. The answer to the question is a little murky. Tough to find out details with this stuff. As I recall we never did determine what was changed in FW v.0.48 to fix the lamp problem in the 7700.

The one day price was too good to pass up. At worst I will ship it back. Twice my 7700 went from home in NC to the repair facility in NJ. Both times for fan replacement. In both cases the time from NC and back was 8-9 days. I have to think that a simple FW update would be at least as quick. Plus this time using the same Chief mount and position I could have the spare 7700 up and running in about 10 minutes during the down time. :)

Can't wait to have it in the house. Dial in Art's calibration settings and then get out the idle Pantone Eye-One and measure and tweak. AV geek heaven at this holiday time of year. There should be a carol.

Joe

Congrats Joe! And the price is very good also. A big difference from the days when the 7700 was selling for substantially more. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the W6000 compared to the 7700. Of course maybe you have 2000 hours on the bulb in the 7700, so it will look dim next the the W6000. Lets us know when the big shootout between the Benqs happen.

When you think about the price of this technology over the past number of years it is amazing. The BenQ PE-8700 was a breakthrough 720p unit in 2003 and sold for the incredible price, at the time, of around $4000. The PE-7700 came out in 2005 and retailed at $2500. Now 1080p units at $2K or even $1k.

The 7700 / 6000 shootout will, indeed, be very unfair. I have 2316 hours on the lamp in the 7700 as of last night. In addition the initial setup of the 6000 will place it at mid-screen height at the same level as my eyes. The end result with the HP screen is a gain of 2.8 for the 6000 vs. 1.5 or so for the 7700. Not a fair contest but the 7700 still gets a wow response when teenage friends of our kids come to visit. One kid last month asked if his Dad could give me a call. Wants to set-up a pj in their basement but he does not know where to start. We're working on it. And the Dad has a very nice wine cellar in said basement. :)

Joe

Joe, next post is all yours, to smash into 5000 posts on this thread. :D

Had not noticed the post count. 5000+ who would have thought it possible.

Joe

Well the W6000 is ceiling mounted in my room. I was able to re-purpose the Chief RPA interface bracket for the 7700 by drilling a few holes. Nice to save at least $100. The W6000 is quite a different look. It is big and makes more of a statement. We have two teens at home. Daughter said it looks industrial, son said cool and expensive looking, more importantly the wife thinks it has an art deco look in keeping with the style of the room. I like the way it looks.

I first set it up at eye level and mid screen. With the resultant gain of 2.8 and out of the box defaults it was way too bright. Putting the lamp in economic mode with cinema and warm temp brought things down, but would still have required an ND filter. Ceiling mounted now with the gain reduced to 1.4-1.5, very nice. I have a new 50" panny plasma in a second room. The W6000 looks much like it at 133"!

Used the GetGrey disc to do a quick adjustment of black and white level, color and tint. Was surprised to find the best setting for tint not at the default of zero. Need to get the colorimiter out and do a full calibration. Which should be easy with CMS on the W6000. Never could dial in 709 CIE points on the 7700, got close though.

As to comparing the 7700 to the 6000. Simply no contest. Even considering an adjustment in evaluation due to the 2300+ hours on the 7700's lamp the 6000 is much better in just about every way. The 7700 with a new lamp never looked even close to this new pj in pq. This surprised me a bit. I have quite enjoyed what the 7700 did over 4 years of use.

The 6000 is sharper, black level is much improved thanks to the DI. On that point, the reports of problems with the dynamic iris IMHO are wrong. I'm convinced that my last contact with BenQ support had the correct information. The problem was fixed for production units. Art was quite specific about what he saw in "Hunt for Red October" with his pre-production review sample. I went back and forth with those scenes and did not see what he reported with his original review. Other viewing with other films did not reveal a problem.

Yes, as seems to be the case with all pj's employing a DI, watch in "reviewer" mode and you can see the action of the iris at times. It is an infrequent event. With the 6000 and with no audio output in my quiet room I could barely hear the iris action from a close distance to the case. As in 2-3' close. The iris is lower in volume than the fan but lower in pitch which makes it just possible to hear it.

Have the audio on and it is a non issue. The advantage of the DI far outweigh any negatives.

With the 7700 I could see the pixel structure from about 6' away. With the 6000 I have to be within inches.

The increased resolution is quite striking with older films that used film stocks that were rather grainy. With a good BD transfer the grain is all there. A good thing. I like the film look. 720p just doesn't reveal that level of detail.

The one downside is that as good as my OPPO BDP-83 is at upconversion, DVD's now seem rather inferior to good BD's.

The good old 7700 is now back in the box ready for use in the unlikely event that the 6000 has to go in for repair. That never happens with BenQ units, right? :rolleyes:

Happy Holidays!!

Joe

Bronco70 -- Glad to hear that you are enjoying your BenQ W6000. In my experience, as good as the PQ of the PE7700 (or MT700) is, any of the newer 1080p PJs will put it to shame. I'm having the same experience with my Mitsubishi HC5500 (LCD PJ), which I've had for a year now (and 1935 hours).