BenQ W1070 : DLP Full HD, 3D Ready with lens-shift for 1000$ - Page 68

IMO, if 3D is out of the equation AND one already owns a similar performing 2D projector, there isn't much reason to pay extra to get the W1070 just for 2D. 3D is pretty much the only compelling reason to get the W1070, imo.

And, I really doubt that the EP5920 (or W1060) uses the same DarkChip3 chipset. Looks to me that TI has packed most of the DSP for 3D content onto the same chipset (DLP chip + driver chip) so it doesn't make sense to just use the DLP chip without 3D capability.

What settings do you guys use for a dark room? I watched a horror the other day with a lot of dark scenes and the blacks were almost unbareable. Everything is set to 50/51 bright / contrast.. but overall the picture seems black with a beige light being shone on it.
When watching futurama I noticed bright colorful picture and the girl 's black hair was ink black. What's happening?
I briefly owned a gt750 that I threw at a wall and I don't remember it being this bad. My 1070 is beaming on a 120" blackout cloth frame.

Mine is 11.6' with a Sanyo the BenQ states 9.6" Il probably pass this one by, it would had been my Third Projector.

The girl's hair in Futurama only looks jet black because there is lots of bright stuff on screen for your eye to compare it to. Her hair is no blacker than the murky dark grey's of your horror movie.
Activating "Smart Eco" may help but for all the things this projector does well, black level IS NOT one of them (though I can't imagine that the Optoma GT750 would be any better). You can try a filter to knock down the light output or use a grey colored screen. In the end however your choices are to grin and bear it through sci-fi, action and horror (not sure what else there is to watch really) or cough up another $1500 bucks for a 'theater" projector rather than a family room home entertainment projector. All the professional reviewers (Projector Central & Projector Reviews) don't lie when they say the BenQ is not an Ultra High Contrast projector. Though Art from Projector Reviews is picky about black level I have seen where he draws the line at the lower end of the Ultra range and would say that even he is being generous. (I owned a Panasonic AE4000 for a very short time so speak with some experience.)

Everyone's first reaction is to be blown away by the big bright image, but after sitting through the dingy darkness of a few movies like Super 8 and Cowboys and Aliens the black level compromise that comes at this price point is glaringly obvious.

(No, I don't own a W1070 but I do own something similar. I have tried a grey screen and filters but in the end have resigned myself to only watch sitcoms and cartoons. Well, not really but you get the point.)

My opinion certainly isn't the only one and I'm sure most will glaze past this post looking for more glowing reviews to convince them that $1000 will buy projector nirvana...then in a few weeks they will post back in this forum wondering what is wrong with the blacks on there new projector and contemplating returning it.
Edited by DavidK442 - 2/4/13 at 9:43pm

for me with this kind of price u cant ask too much of it and just enjoy it.

The optoma gt 750 is a horrible projector and no where near the performance of the w1070. We all know the w1070 is not ultra high contrast but it certainly is not a cheapo either. I am curious Davidk442, what projector do you own to fashion your opinions on the w1070

I have the saisonics and the 3dtv ones, the red blocking is about the same ( in fact some pairs of the same manufacturer are better than others so it is most likely a quality issues)

the 3dtv ones are slightly larger lenses and sync faster. On the saisonics you have to hit the button a couple of times to get the correct eye sync and frequency, the 3dtv ones pick it up right away when they are on. No big deal, but easier when you have a bunch of guests with no clue. I end up having to setup all the saisonics myself then hand them over.

The 3dtv ones I have are NOT the rechargable ones.

Still waiting on feedback of the new trudepth 144hz ones, on either thread...

Thanks for that info. I just ordered a pair of the true depth. I will definitely report my findings.

On a side note, I find it rather confusing why their are no Benq D3 glasses for sale anywhere. Did they underestimate the demand?

I agree with both your statements. From what I have read the W1070 is an excellent projector in all regards (color, picture noise, motion handling & 3D), just not black level. I have an Acer 5360 which is a very bright, reasonably color accurate single chip DLP like the W1070. It also has Darkchip 3 I believe. There is at least one 5360 owners on this thread who upgraded and commented that they noticed little difference in contrast between the two. This coupled with several professional reviews and multiple new owners asking "What's wrong with my W1070's black level" spurred me to write my last post.
A fabulous projector, just don't expect inky blacks. As I wrote a couple posts back, if BenQ releases an upscale W1070 with better contrast, perhaps with an iris, I will ante up with the extra cash. For now the upgrade from my lowly 720p Acer just isn't worth it.

Tough luck on your JVC X-30 refurb by the way. 5 hours of life; that sucks.
Edited by DavidK442 - 2/4/13 at 9:53pm

Benq w7000 vs Benq w1070

sorry only one picture of the w7000. Pictures taken with my iphone 5. i shouldve used my dslr.



two for the w1070





I thinking the w7000 looks better and brighter. maybe thats why its 1k more:)

Even without the DSLR your pictures show that flesh tones on the W1070 are much better than the W7000.

For the same reason I upgraded from my Acer H5360BD(DC3) not to BenQ W1070.

I upgraded from an Acer H5360. For me it has been a significant upgrade.

1) 1080p. So much 3d depth is lost with 720p. With 1080p you can see far into the image, which really enhances the "looking into a window" effect. Of course detail in everything is improved, especially in animated blurays. This has been the biggest upgrade.

2) 144hz. I did notice some flicker on the Acer. With the Benq, I really can't see any. Plus no 3:2 pull down is needed so motion is improved.
3) Contrast. This was surprising to me. I expected it to be exactly like the Acer being DC3 also. However I do notice a nice increase. Maybe these newer DC3 chips have improved contrast. I think dlp owners will have more realistic expectations in regards to contrast. Some people apparently mistaken a budget dlp for a JVC pj.

4) Brightness. It does seem brighter to me. My Acer only had 100 hours when I sold it so it wasn't just the age of the bulb.

5) Sharpness. The lens seems sharper to me than the Acer.

With the Acer I always felt like I wasn't getting the full experience with 3d. Now with the Benq, this is the first 3d projector I've owned (Acer, rs40, Optoma hd33) that I feel like I'm getting 3d without compromises. Watching 3d actually feels fresh again.

The main advantages of W1070 over the H5360BD are:

> better optics by BENQ (less visible aberration / almost ideal convergence)
> bigger picture (104" vs. 91" from 3,1m / 10 feet) + lens shift

As for brightness, sharpness & contrast I don't see any difference from 10 feet (my Acer has 530 hours on the bulb / pls bear in mind the brightness drops as bulb ages...)
3D BluRay with 144Hz glasses is better / no difference with 1080p SBS though...

I always hated 3d on my optoma gt750e because it was only 720 and 3D just sucks on my rs45/30 so that is where the w1070 comes to save the day. Not to mention but my jvc just died last night when going to judge dredd last night
I now have flashing orange and red lights and the worst part, I have not even used the jvc for 4 movies so there is probably less than 5-8 hours on the bulb

My 1070 arrived yesterday - first time projector owner.
Got it from NewEgg - Firmware 1.3
Powers down and fan runs for a minute or two.
First thing i did was pull some pictures off the wall and project KungFu Panda 2 for the kids.
FANTASTIC !!!!
Set power to Eco Mode - couldn't tell the difference (a great bonus in my book!)
family super happy - including the neighbors who happened to drop by
Watched Iron Man 2 - also great
I can see where the worry is with the black levels, though i have used many more projectors (and TV's for that matter) that are far far worse.
Im sure some tweaking will further improve those levels.

3D glasses arriving today so i will get to play with the 3D later.
i did try and output a 1080 half-SBS demo video with no luck from my laptop.
lowering the refresh rate to 24fps allowed Frame Packing and Top/Bottom (whatever its called) options to become available in the 3D menu. Yet SBS was still greyed out.
this applied to both HDMI 1 and 2.
Any help with what i am doing wrong?

Are you going to compare 3D on the two devices and tell us which one looks better?
Is the w1070 close to as sharp as the w7000, or the same?

Obviously, any number of things could contribute to the difference between what I'm seeing on my monitor, and what you see in person, but based just off the images, which is all I can go off of, I don't understand how you could say the W7000 looks better. It looks comparatively washed out compared to the other two images. Not the same image, which makes it even more difficult to compare, but still, assuming conditions and exposure is the same, it doesn't look better at all.

Having said that, I'm pretty sure that it has more to do with the pics themselves than how they actually look in person, but I'm just guessing.

I canceled my order for now until I can get the screen size situation figured out. I will probably go bigger on the screen instead of moving the projector mount. Good excuse to go larger. By the time I have the BOC screen put together maybe the newer firmware will be more common stock.

This will also be my third projector, replacing a HD1000U.

You must change the output to 1080i or less from your source or Blu-ray player. You cannot use 1080p for SBS. Change from auto to 1080i to prevent SBS from being greyed out.

Does VUDU run on sbs for their 3D streams?

So I thought I would share a photo of the project I've been working on for the last week thanks to a lot of great information in this forum. I have since remounted my projector to get it horizontaly centered on the screen and even with the test pattern all squared up on the screen I still have the bottom left a bit out of focus. It's not really notisible during regular viewing and the center to top of the screen is very sharp so I consider it a non issue.



Here are some recent screenshots for those who are interested.











And lastly is everyone elses hdmi port recessed like mine is? I feel like I can't get my hdmi cable in all the way on hdmi port 1 and can not get it to handshake at all and have to use hdmi 2. I have no handshake issues with my media pc or cable box but often lose signal connection with my oppo bdp-93 during previews etc and was wondering if anyone else had similar issues?

Frisbee, I like your setup...and your projector mount! I tested my 1070 yesterday and I had no trouble with either hdmi port. Is the recessed port loose or snug?

Sweet looking setup! Great pics

Yes, this is a problem several of us have had. I've returned my projector for a non-related issue, and I'm hoping that the HDMI1 port will seat better on my replacement.

Both hdmi ports feel snug to me but it just seems like the cable that I'm using can not be pushed in far enough to make a good connection. I'm guessing if I cut the plastic around the cable I could put it in further and the port would likely work but it seems like something you shouldn't have to do. Luckily I only need the one port since everything runs though my receiver.

lol yeah that mount turned out to be too short to project past the drop in the ceiling so I had to improvise. The wood still needs to be sanded flush and painted so it will look a little better than it does now.

Same issue here...HDMI 1 is not recognized. Very weird stuff...

Yup, I had that problem too when I was using a 35ft HDMI from Bluerigger and kept losing the signal when it was about to start a movie.
The cable just wasn't snug enough on HDMI 1 port.

But I then used a shorter HDMI cable and brought my PS3 closer to the Benq and the signal was just fine. So I returned the Bluerigger cable and got another brand.

Still, it's not a snug fit. I was going to exchange it at Newegg, but they are out of stock.

WOW...I have the same cable, same length. I bought mine from amazon...which one did you go with?