BenQ W1070 : DLP Full HD, 3D Ready with lens-shift for 1000$ - Page 50

I made my review previously on this thread as objective as possible. I don't have an issue with the noise of the projector at all. As I mentioned, the light leakage is there and noticeable on credits-dark scenes, but 99.5% of the time it is a non-issue for and that is coming from OCD person. I mentioned some DIY potential fixes for light leakage if it is a problem. I simply placed a CD sleeve about 4 inches away from the exhaust where the light leakage is happening for a temporary fix. The only other light leakage is a slight leakage above the PJ... like a halo from the lens... I think if you were to get some foam and cut it in a circle to put around the lens this would fill the gap around the lens enough to block the light leak. (see pics) These cons are outweighed by the long list of pros this projector provides.

Light leakage from the exhaust and my temp fix CD Sleeve



Slight halo light leaking on ceiling - not as noticeable as exhaust.



At this price point (ESPECIALLY at the $899 VA has it for right now) there is nothing that comes close to this projector. As others have mentioned, image quality is on par with the $3000+ projectors out there. If you can get this to work with projector placement in your room and live with the light leakage, in my opinion you can't get much better than this without spending $3000+.
Edited by scottyroo - 1/21/13 at 12:00pm

I worded that reply terribly - what I meant to say is some of the glasses that DO work with the 1070 give a less than stellar 3D result. I have only read on this, but from what I gather with certain glasses the 3D seems to be pretty good for this price point. Also at 899 you could buy alot of glasses before you catch up to the Acer. But it seems to be a ton of personal preference on projectors, at least from what I gather.

Myself - I am going to give this PJ a shot for 900 bux and see how it performs. There is always time to spend more $$$ on a better/different projector if it doesnt work out.

For being under 1000 shipped I think the reviews have been pretty favorable.

Good luck!!

Todd

Well I finally turned on my PJ to test it out after having it sit there for a week after receiving it and all I can say in one sentence is that this PJ is amazing for the money. Ill do a more in depth review of my thoughts once I have my entire setup properly setup for a lack of a better word. With tons of ambient light pouring in it still gives very nice picture quality and dim it down a bit and its just amazing.

I have been on the fence too.
One downside with the Acer is there is only 1 user config, so you either have it set for 2D or 3D, or try and fudge it for both.
My concern is yours regarding the 3D POP - I really want 3D in my man cave - likewise, i have 2 kids, and so really want it to be as good/better then a theater.

Well it's not only on par with the expensive pj's but also with Acer H5360BD (also DC3 & Brilliant Color)

The acer 5360 is a great value for a 720p picture, no doubt. I also upgraded from a 720p 3D projector in the Optoma GT750 and I will agree that at first the bump from 720p to 1080p isn't earth shattering. The biggest difference is on screen text. But upgrading to 1080p is like going from an iPhone 3GS to iPhone 4 with retina display. The change isn't as noticeable at first but the second you go back to a 3GS or 720p you wonder how you managed.

The acer is priced at around $400-500 which I think places it in the same value to cost ratio as this projector is to the 1080p category.

I have to disagree with the reviewer who complained about 3D pop. I think it might have been the disks he was using. I have tried several disks that have great pop including "Under the Sea." and Sammy's Adventure. The pop is great and the best thing is that there is no ghosting all. I also have a JVS RS45 which is amazing for 2D but 3D has noticeable ghosting. The price for this was unheard of a few years ago. The color and brightness is great out of the box and with a little tweaking it can be made even better.

What glasses are you using - some fingers are pointing to these for the lack of 3D POP... ?

I have had a great experience with the 3D with the W1070. I don't have any concerns about POP. I use the Sainsonic 144hz ones http://goo.gl/g2Qd6 for $25 and they do a good job. Just make sure that you are getting ones on eBay that are stocked in the US. The 3D with these glasses is VERY smooth and the 3D provides the perfect balance between pop and real depth. The button allows you to very quickly invert the sync to match the correct eye. I find the image very bright once I adjusted the Gamma down to 1.8. 1.6 is fine as well but that is when you start losing a lof the contrast and black levels. Personal preference. These glasses are great to get 6-8 pairs for a lot of people. If you really want a nice pair for yourself get the OEM glasses or more expensive comps... but I have found these Sainsonic ones to be good. I thought coming from the Optoma GT750 3D glasses which sync via RF would be a con but the smoothness of the 3d with the PJ and glasses has been an upgrade for me.
Edited by scottyroo - 1/21/13 at 1:31pm

Not to change the subject, but does anyone know whether these fit comfortably on top of normal glasses?

I bought the BenQ w1070 about 6 weeks ago at Visual Apex and it was delivered 2 weeks ago. The price I paid was $ 1.099. So when the price dropped only 2 weeks after I received the projector you can imagine I wasn't happy. But Visual Apex will credit me with the difference so I end up paying the current price.
This company has the best customer service I have ever seen. A few year ago I ordered a fixed screen. It arrived with a few wrinkles. I sent an email with a picture and they sent a new screen right away. No questions asked, no need to return the old screen.

The projector is great. It's a huge improvement over the Optoma HD66. And I saw a few people saying that 720 to 1080 doesn't make a big difference. Well, it does. It's night and day on a 106" screen.

Quick Placement Question:

I'd like to get the w1070, but may have to get the w1080st based on living space. Here's a drawing in AutoCad of my soon-to-be living room arrangement. The faint square on the coffee table is a w1080st at 6' from where the projector screen would be. The max width on the projector screen is 8' 8", which is about what the w1080st is at from 6' away.

The faint square behind the couch is the w1070 at 13' away. Zoom in, and it can do 8' 8" at that distance. The challenge is that it'll have to be on a platform above the back of the couch, which also means nobody sitting in the middle seat.

Even so it'd be 4' off the ground, and the screen would be 5' tall on a 9' tall wall. I'm thinking I wouldn't want it to be more than 3' off the floor, so the bottom of the image would have to land 1' lower than the projector lens. Is that even possible, or should I just suck it up and go with the ST?


Edited by ahheck01 - 1/21/13 at 3:15pm

I'm so stressed. I need to stop reading these forums. I literally just got my HT set up in my basement with an Epson 8350 refurb. Looks great except for a minor convergence issue that I plan to take up with Epson at some point.

Now I see all the rave reviews on this and I wish I had gone for the w1070 instead. I convinced myself that 3D was a non-issue for me, but now I have 3D envy!

I could still return my PJ to VA, and incur a 15% restock. By the way, I got my 8350 for the exact same price that the w1070 is selling new.

The other option is I could suck it up and enjoy new setup - and perhaps plan to upgrade in a couple of years with something higher quality all around (darker blacks, 3D (if it makes it . . .))

A HUGE portion of my viewing is 2D, so has anyone seen any 8350/w1070 comparisons?

Thoughts? Am I crazy?

I am using the Sansonic 144k glasses with no problem.

Is there any reason to expect any picture quality compromises with the W1080ST vs. the W1070? I need the W1080ST if I want to go bigger picture then my Marantz VP4001 (which just blew it's second bulb ) , but at the same distance.

P.S. You guys are great!

I had similar dilemma between my Epson 8100 and this Benq, and ended up selling the Epson and keeping the Benq. The Epson 8100 was an all-around 2D performer, and it's ease of setup due to it's generous len-shift capabilities was hard to beat. I went great lengths to mount/install/adjust the Benq to a point where I am now satisfied with it in my room. 2D-wise the Benq and Epson were very close.

3D IS pretty much the only reason why I (and others) bother with this Benq. It's simply the best value 3D projector out there at the moment. Both Scotty144 and I agree that it provides the best 3D experience that we've had (we've been to only a few 3D IMAX movies and he has a LG passive 3D).

If you can comfortably say that you only care about 2D, then you can comfortably forget the Benq and be content with the Epson, and you shouldn't have regrets. I was like that before I got more and more interested in 3D contents on this Benq.

Not sure if this is helping though...

With 720p source materials (cable, satellite, 720p mkv's, etc) probably the display resolution bump won't help much, but yes I agree that it's night and day when the source starts off 1080p (bluray, 1080p mkv's, HTPC).

Wow... I guess you just saved me from pull the trigger. Thanks a lot, your post is really helpful.

I own Acer H5360BD and want to upgrade to 1080p for much better blacks and colors in 3D. I'm satisfied with Acer's 3D depth and pop but not with colors in 3D. In 2D it's OK, IMHO. Other thing, I hate the signal loss when starting 3DBD and switching devices on Acer. And fan noise... Man, Acer is too loud when it's shutting down.
Yeah... there is no miracle W1070 is not my choice.

BenQ was in my short list with Sony HW50ES and Panny AE8000. Don't laugh, I'm serious .
There is many reports on ghosting in Panny's owners thread, so seems like I'll go with Sony. FI in 3D, Reality Creation, lens shift, excellent colors, contrast, and black level which is very close to JVC's blacks. Yeah, why not...
I'm in China now, there is some good deals with HW50 in here. I'm tired, hope it's my final decision.

Thanks again.

So I want to do some 3D gaming with this projector am I good to go for PC and xbox 360 gaming with my 3D glasses?

Can anybody confirm that VA's W1070 comes with the latest firmware?

This is VERY helpful. Thank you. I think for this go-around, I do think I'll pass on 3D. I can barely get members of my family to sit down and watch an entire movie in general, let alone with 3D glasses on.

I really appreciate the input.

I am a little surprise to hear that the W1070 and the Epson 8100 were close in 2D. I was hoping the W1070 would have an edge in 2D with the sharper detail and better motion handling.

It's too tempting at $900. But I am just worried that color wheel my go out in couple of years as this model appears to be cheaply built, atleast on outside, from whatever reviews I read. I prefer to spend few hundred $ more and not worry for 5yrs atleast. Any thoughts on this projector's reliability ? Comparing to W7000 isn't fair as it costs almost double.

I ordered mine December 5 from NCIX.ca store locally and was told at the time they had 55 on order and I would have to wait two weeks. Fair enough I thought and recieved the unit just before Christmas. Now I see mine is REV 101 and manufactured October 2012. Luckily I have not opened the box yet. Am I justified to ask for an exchange for a brand new unit with rev 104 ?

BTW 50 pages in and havent read of any major problems with the W1070 yet. Good sign.

I seem to be experiencing the same issue. I have the same card (gtx275) as you and for some reason it keeps dropping the HDMI source. I have tried disabling the Deep Color option without any luck. Have you managed to get this working as yet?

I have logged this issue with BenQ and will see what I get back.
Edited by gouds - 1/22/13 at 5:02am

Oke, I have made the decision to go for the Acer.
It costs more, but there were enough reasons for me to go for the Acer.

When I'd read about the Acer having Frame Interpolation (smooth motion), this was the last straw to make the decision.
Seems that this is very pleasant for watching 3D movies and 3D is one major reason for which I want to buy a PJ.

So I just ordered it and probably have it by tomorrow.

But I must admit, it's a close call between the Benq and the Acer, both are very good PJ's for their price.
Either choice would have been a good one.

I hear you. With the glasses that I got (Sainsonics), they gave me stress as they would lose L/R sync once in a while that would make my children nauseous. Kids love watching 3D but we gotta protect them from these problems. I am receiving different sets (2 Benqs and 1 TrueDepth) to try this couple of days hopefully I can post some good news here.

Really looking forward to your comparison of the trudepth and D3s to the saisonics. I currently use the saisonics and the 3dtv corp ones with no problems, I have 6 pairs now. I slightly prefer the 3dtv corp ones because they are larger and sync automatically, you dont have to push the button a couple times, but dont really see a difference in picture quality. The detractor for the 3dtv ones are they are not rechargeable.

The thing I'd like to improve would be the slight red tint I see sometimes with both glasses, it doesnt really effect the movie quality at all, as its mostly at the startup screens, but it irks me. Fully a mental issue, I agree. Please include red tint, picture brightness, and picture quality in your review.

thanks.

2D-wise, the Benq does have a slight edge over my Epson 8100 - colors are better, contrast a bit better (I posted some comparisons before based on un-calibrated settings). However, the Epson also had it's merits over the Benq as I have mentioned before (e.g., quieter fans, perfectly square geometry, flexible installation, etc)

Honestly I cannot say that the Benq is an upgrade over the Epson. It's a totally different box based on a different kind of technology (and a whole different can of worms!). The Epson, all things considered, was a satisfying machine. Based on my experience, if 3D is out of the equation, there is definitely no need to consider the Benq if one already owns an Epson.
Edited by kelvink - 1/22/13 at 7:37am

You can wait for the nicer W1400/ W1500 to come out in March/ April.