Benq w6000 - Page 13

Hi All:
I have been enjoying my Epson 6500 for about a year now, but want more brightness (living room w/ ambient light) and more of the DLP digital sharpness. I have a 120" screen with the projector about 15 ft away. I use FP exclusively for HD movies -- the BenQ may fit my requirements

I was wondering if the BenQ 6000 will be a noticeable difference for me as an upgrade? Now that Art has reviewed this favorably and others on this site have been using the BenQ for a while now -- I thought I could get some opinions.

Thanks!

Not at all. It seemed as if the Benq had more issues with mixed content than the others in most cases.

Given the price and its issues, the Benq w6000 has dropped from contention in my "next projector race". Currently the pana ae4000, sony vpl 15 and the last ones standing.

Why not the 8500 epson?

Yeah, why not the Epson 8500? I need lumens (have the 2000 lms Optoma HD806 now) I'm throwing a 144" from 18.5 feet. I'm wondering if the 8500 has the horsepower to do this, from what I've read I think it does.

Saw the BenQ 6000 at an AVS forum member's apartment (thanks, Dino) and it did look impressive in ambient light, though the sceen was around 100 inches -- I need bigger with some ambient light, so for me it's between the BenQ and the Epson. Leaning toward the Epson because of warranty and bulb life.

Other opinions?

Is that a 144" diagonal?

Yes, it's a 144" diagonal.

I'm undecided between the BenQ and the Epson 8500UB. Not many of the etailors that I've bought from in the past carry BenQ, almost all carry the Epson. I'm just wondering if the 8500UB has enough horse power in lumens for me.

I'm in the same boat. Benq 6000 or Epson 8500? I probably will go with the 8500 if its brighter than the 6500, which I have now.

Me 3 !!

It's nice to know I am not the only "big" screen junkie out there!

I have 135" now and planning on 150" in the new theater if I stay 16x9 (would go bigger, but I am height restricted due to a stage I built at the front of the theater... darn subwoofers......

The Epson 8500UB price is out. $2499 and a $200 mail-in rebate.

Does W6000 come with full CMS? I know W5000 need a firmware upgrade to 2.x before getting the working CMS.

I'm glad to see the price reduction.

I asked Art when Benq informed him of the new price did they talk about any firmware upgrade for the issues Art had been discussing.

Hopefully we will hear soon.

If not, it looks like the Panasonic, Epson, or Sony HD-15. Still am waiting for the Infocus 8602 reviews, but the others are out of my range.

I really am hoping the Benq W6000 issues get resolved.

Yes, it would be nice to see all the bugs fixed.

Though based on everything I've read, I would say pay $1K more and get the Infocus 8602, or $1K less and get the Mits 3800.

A matt white 110" or larger would be good choice probably. Since it's a 3 chipper it should have less difficult time with the highlights but I don't think that you want to go so large that you would need to have over-driven contrast.

i just saw the epson 8100 and benq5000 today side by side. just wanted to chime in with my thoughts as it may pertain to this thread. basically, i thought the w5000 was sharper and had better pop. it was brighter and better ansi with 1400hrs on the bulb compared to 2hrs on the 8100. the 8100 was smoother overall in fast panning shots, whereas the w5000 tended to have a bit of choppiness. not sure how i can describe it accurately but it was almost like the jvc motion blur but not quite severe. in any case, personally i thought neither of them had very good black level detail in a completely dark room but the brightness of the w5000 at that many hrs was surprising. has anyone noticed some choppiness in fast panning shots with the w5000 or w6000? sometimes this is a result when sitting too close to the screen, but at 14' from a 120" 16:9 screen, i thought it was plenty. any thoughts?

No and my HTPC has at least twice the RAM of the JVC.

so are you saying the choppiness is associated with the source material? if so, the jvc unit i say was using a blu-ray player and batman returns had this. from what i gathered here over the months, thats the jvc panel doing it.

Yes there can be source related issues with 24Hz but it is not the format, it is improper implementation prior to the encoding process that can cause issues with some material. DLP's do not need frame interpolation and when this is introduced it can really do more harm than good. Inverse telcline is what I use and it works fine for most movies. Usually the motion is so fast it is difficult to follow any kind of blur due to motion. I set most of my settings in my HTPC to let the application decide what to do except I manually set anything related to memory and choose best quality video. The source comes directly from my external drive through the video card then out HDMI to the projector. This gets me smooth motion for 24Hz playback as very little post processing is occuring except for that which is in memory. It's been reported also that some STB handle motion playback better than others but I have not followed much why this is.

I've done the research and it looks like this will be the new pj.

Been using a BenQ 7700 for 4 years. Their DLP units have always had very good lumen output. What has surprised me is how high the output was on the 7700 compared to the current competition. And that is after calibration of the 7700.

I have a 133" Da-Lite HP screen. As many of you know it is rated at a gain of 2.8 with the proper setup. Place a pj at the top edge of an HP screen and the gain drops quite a bit. In my case to about 1.6.

The end result with my 7700 and a new lamp: it put out 17 fL. in full mode at 1065 lumens and 14 fL. in economic mode at 850 lumens.

My consideration of new units had been narrowed down to the Panny 4000, Epson 8500 and the W6000 (no surprise there).

Using Art's findings at Projector Reviews and other resources I find this end result for my setup in what Art calls "best mode":

Panny 4000 : 430 lumens, 6 fL.
Epson 8500 : 471 lumens, 7 fL.
BenQ W6000: 866 lumens with BC off and 1039 lumens with BC on.

As Art put it in the 6000 review section about brightness: sunglasses on, can you say 150" screen, it can do it.

Seems like an easy choice. I am not going to "upgrade" to a 7 fL. experience and that would be with a brand new lamp.

I've read this thread again from the first post today. The only real issue so far with the 6000 seems to be the actions of the DI. Not sure there is any real concern based upon what has been reported. All pj's have areas that could use improvement. Light output is not an area where the 6000 seems to need any help.

I was surprised to find no interface bracket on Chief's site for their RPA mount. Sent them an email. A DIY is easy though.

Anyone know about the utility of the USB port on the back? Would be nice if FW upgrades were possible.

Joe

Joe,

As both a Big Screen and Brightness junkie I share your concerns.

I have been waiting for a "worthy" replacement for my InFocus 7210.

My enthusiasm for the W6K is being tempered however until I see if BenQ will step up and do something about the issues that Art raised. I know Art communicated with them immediately and wrote that he was expecting word back within a week or so... however there has been nothing but deafening silence from BenQ. Art "believes" they will address the issue... but until my 7210 quits (has over 5k on it) I will be able to take a wait and see attitude.

Hey,

5k as in hours? Not one lamp?

As an owner of the rather (in)famous 7700 I do have a contact at BenQ. Not sure he is still there. It has been over a year since last contact.

I do plan on calling to ask about a few things before purchase.

I downloaded the the W6000 manual and found no mention, after a quick read, about the USB port and it's use. Seems nobody on this thread has investigated.

Art posts very good reviews, but sometimes never finishes things. As an example go back to his review of the 7700. From 1/2006.

We are still waiting for his comparisons between the W6000 and rivals.

Joe

I can't help but wonder if Benq does not spend as much on advertising on these review sites as Epson and Panasonic. This seems like it should be a very popular projector.

Could someone verify that this projector has no vertical offset? That is, if I point it at the center of the screen, will it project at the center of the screen?

I have a hi-power so I don't want any offset.

It has zero offset: http://www.projectorreviews.com/benq/w6000/tour.php

No, two lamps so far.

The first lamp I ran on low for the first 1,100 hours and then switched to High. When the projector hit 2000 hours it told me to replace the bulb which I did (although I kept the original). I ran the new bulb for 2000 hours on low until the projector told me it was time to change again... however as I had read comments from some folks who had just re-set their timer and pressed on with this projector... I decided to do the same.

So I currently have about 3000 hours on the second bulb, still running in low and still getting a stunning image on my 135" 1.8 gain Elite screen with total light control.

Undoubtedly I would probably be blown-away if I put in a new bulb again (I still have one new one left in the box in addition to the original), but this one is doing so well... that heck why bother?

If you have a chance to talk to your BenQ friend (I used to have the 8700+) please find out what you can about any firmware upgrades and when they might be available.

Will do. Will also ask about the USB port.

Joe

I am also looking at this projector as I am trying to do a 150" screen. Any words on the DI issue will be welcome.

W

There are reviews, it just seems to be a very average pj.
AVForums Review
http://www.avforums.com/reviews/BenQ...or-Review.html

Thanks for the link. That review also confirms that it would be a good projector for sports ---- which is my main interest. High ansi, sharp, and bright seem like a good combination for high apl scenes.

how much for the optoma 806?

I guess you referring to me. I'm unsure I want to sell it, but PM me with an offer - or my e-mail address is ahro@aol.com

I tried to contact my source at BenQ. He is no longer there. So I simply sent an email to support. A response came back very quickly. But it has me wondering.

I asked two questions. What is the purpose of the USB connection and will it be usable for Firmware updates.

Also asked if they had responded to Art's concerns about the DI function.

Here is the response and I quote:

1. W6000 does not have an USB port and firmware upgrades will not help in this case.

2. We do have improved Iris W6000 in stock and you can purchase directly from us. We have just sent one to Art about a week ago.

So, there is no USB port contrary to the published manual and other materials?

Joe