BenQ W1070 : DLP Full HD, 3D Ready with lens-shift for 1000$ - Page 77

I had a little hickup with my unit on the weekend. Powered on and the power light was flashing but unit would not turn on, hit the power button again and the projector turned on but the fan was not running. Powered off and let things cool down but the power light continued to flash. Unplugged the unit for 5 mins and plugged back in and the power light was no longer flashing. Have powered it back up 3-4 times since then with operating times around an hour without issue. Hope it was just a fluke, am on the first firmware (1.02)

Here goes a direct shootout between my old Acer H5360BD (570 hours) vs. Benq W1070 (4 hours, FW 1.02).
Both in ECO Mode (Cinema). Both DC3. Both out of the box settings.
Projection distance = 3.1m

Both running at the same time except for noise measurement and 3D.

Noise measurement device: HTC One X und https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pjw.noisemeter
Measurement time: 02:00 AM (total silence / background noise = 15-16dB)

RESULTS:
Acer = 28-29dB (advertised as 26-27dB in ECO)
Benq = 29-30dB

Contrast = no visible difference
Brightness = no visible difference
Colors = no visible difference
Sharpness = Benq +++ / Acer ++
Convergence / Distortion = Benq +++ / Acer +
RBE = Benq +++ / Acer +

Zoom / Screen size = Benq 104" / Acer 91"
3D (Half1080p SBS .mkv) = no visible difference, but with Benq a lot of clicking on 2 remotes (Mede8er player + Benq) to get the 3D image ... with ACER it's full auto - just playback change from 2D to 3D and the H5360BD switches itself to 3D SBS (no fiddling with HDMI settings, etc.)
Edited by geezerpl - 2/13/13 at 12:56am

Just got my BenQ with firmware 1.04 calibrated and 2 pairs of Sainsonic 3D glasses.....just have to wait till its dark here in the Netherlands.....


Pic of my screen setup

I must admit - this is a pain. hopefully a firmware upgrade will fix this. (Benq - you hear that )

Great job. Did you have both projecting at the same time and just switch back and forth for a direct visual comparison? Did you run the comparison at the two projection sizes listed (104" & 91") or was that just to give an idea of the different throw distances. That is a significant size difference and would make a direct comparison of brightness, sharpness and contrast difficult.

Thanks again for the information.
Edited by DavidK442 - 2/15/13 at 5:38am

Thanks CoderGuy. This is what I suspected, but I'm still really surprised how much worse the 720p-1080i content looks. Do you think reducing sharpness settings and upping the clarity control (guessing that this is equivalent to noise reduction)? I did bump the CC all the way up and did not notice much of a difference, save some softness to the image. Anyone else have the same experience upgrading from a 720p projector?

I find this hard to swallow, your saying the color and contrast on a 720p projector is the same as a 1080p?

I had the W7000, which is similar to the W1070, and the H5360 at the same time for about 7 months. The Acer was not close in any category. Since the W1070 is similar in almost every aspect, it should blow the Acer away

lol why wouldnt it be? we are talking about color and contrast which has nothing to do with lines of resolution, thats more on clarity and sharpness.

I think what you meant to say is the different processing tech behind creating said colors not the resolution of the projectors.

How does everyone adjust sharpness?

Does it matter with digital content these days?

With the Sharpness test pattern on a calibration disc. Yes it matters.

It's interesting that removing this plastic "film" fixed your overheating issue. I wonder if this is something that BenQ places in the lamp area deliberately to see if the plastic has been removed - indicating a bulb has been swapped? This might be something that they look for when it comes to lamp warranty. Who knows?

Thanks for sharing the pic!

Ian

So I just received my 1070 a few hours ago. In the process of getting it all mounted and set up but its just sitting on my coffee table for now. For the most part I use my ps3 for just about everything. I have it hooked up through my a/v receiver (onkyo tx-nr515) and it wont get a signal on start up. Tried turning on the projector first then the receiver. Then the other way around as well... no dice. But if I unplug the hdmi cable and plug it back in then it gets the signal. Any idea whats up or how I can fix this? Because that will be annoying lol

I am having a real hard time ceiling mounting this projector and have it fill the screen perfectly.

I have the top and right sides of the image to lined up with my screen, but the left and bottom side is a little off because the bottom left corner looks a little inward. I know my measurements are not 99.9% exact, but I am sure is pretty darn accurate.

Could this be a problem with the optic/lens? Anyone else having the same problem?

Have you tried switching input, then switch it back so it scans the signal again?

I used to have the same problem with my Optoma HD65, it's really hard for it to lock into the signal. But then I bought a 50ft long thick HDMI cable and never have the problem again.

Smokarz...I had similiar problems and it drove me crazy! Just when I thought I fixed it...if I switched to DirecTV I would have screen fitment issues. I just ended up over scanning the image. Although I don't use the built in overscanning...I used the zoom method and used the overscanning settings on my HTPC. What tricks have you tried. I can take pics if need be.

Haven't use any tricks yet. I've been playing with moving the PJ up/down, left/right, etc. But can't fix this.

I won't be able to use overscan because my screen is borderless (it doesn't have black trims around the edges to absorb over spills).

I did. I just did it again to double check. No signal. But I soon as I unplug hdmi and plug back in it detects it immediately... hmmm...

Never mind. Think i figured it out. Turned on the CEC in hdmi settings. Think it might have did the trick

Does the acer somehow recognize 3D SBS vs 3D HOU or does the acer just not support hou?

Well my 1070 arrived today from amazon..I'm coming from a sharp dt-500 720 p projector around 5 years old .Initial impressions are its very bright with very good sharpness and color accuracy .It is a upgrade but I was hoping for a little more .i was hoping 5 years of projectors and a 1080p upgrade would be a significant difference .. But for 899.00 It is a unbelievable bargain and for people who want 3d for under a thousand it is hard to beat ..I will keep it and will enjoy 3d ..
Edited by kiwichev - 2/12/13 at 10:20pm

Does anyone else have any image noise on their W1070? In dark areas I can see what looks like film grain noise. The noise reduction in the menu doesn't seem to change it. I'm using good quality HDMI cables, and I've tried them on both HDMI1 and HDMI2. Thankfully, it isn't visible at seating distance, but it bugs me that it's there in case I ever want to project bigger. It doesn't show in the parts of the screen that are taken up by the menu when I bring that up. I've taken a video of it:

http://youtu.be/Dt23cx77Osw

Also, I got my 3DTV Corp glasses the other day and tried them out last night. They worked very well. I've already ordered two more. I had no sync issues all night and the red was filtered out. Here's the link:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DLP-LINK-Glasses-2-Mitsubishi-Samsung-DLP-TV-DLP-Link-Projectors-/150882711282

Coraline and Street Fighter IV both looked wonderful in stereo 3D. The motion in 1080p24 3D was very smooth in Coraline, so I won't be missing CFI. I'm really loving the 144Hz. 720p in SF4 didn't look blurry at all, and I noticed no input lag. Still wish I could have 1080p 3D at 60Hz, but I'm sure it will come someday to a projector. I'll just have to use my BenQ XL2420TX for now when I want that.

Ezzelin,

You have to calibrate the basic settings properly, Brightness will adjust your black level and generally with DLP you'll want to set this to where there is no Dither (the DMD Dither is likely what you are calling 'noise').

Now with that said, only 0 IRE absolute black should have zero dither and anything above that will dither as this is how the DMD micro-mirrors function on a DLP (they pivot).

Once you have the basic settings adjusted properly don't worry too much about what it looks like right up at the screen with DLP (other than focal sharpness/uniformity) instead sit back at your main viewing position and enjoy.

Jason

That is probably why they opted for issuing FW update (fixing fan speed) instead of calling all units sold for service overhaul (like Toyota does with their cars).
Much cheaper...

I had a long chat with Benq service guys here in Poland and they admitted the new FW doesn't bring anything new to the projector - just trying to overcome some hardware issues in some units (bad components, plastic films, etc )

Acer supports all 3D formats.

As for brightness / contrast pls bear in mind the 570 hours on Acer's bulb !
As lamp ages the brightness drops down and the ANSI contrast improves - of course smaller screen size also matters.

Jason (DaGamePimp) do you own the 1070? I know you had a Mitsu HC30000 (cause your reviews sold me on it, lol). If so, how ould you compare the 2D image and black level/ shadow detail on the BenQ, if you can remember oh so long ago!

Ooooppss! Meant 3000 not 30,000. That model isn't out til June! Lol.

I do not own the w1070 but have considered giving one a trial run once they are available at my local Fry's (which might be soon since the 1070 & 1080 are listed on their website).

This thread is no different from most other new unit threads that set the price per feature bar lower and lower, praises will be sung and hyperbole will be exclaimed but real world expectations should be kept.

Honestly the 1070 sounds like a bargain and having seen most of BenQ's offerings over the years I am pretty confident of what to expect with this model. BenQ builds some great performers and I am confident this model will out perform the HC3000 on most counts.

Or if anyone in the Portland Oregon area has one and is interested in a pro-level calibration I'll do so for about 1/3 of the standard ISF rate since it allows me to see the unit in person and get a solid grasp of its performance.

Jason

Not placing my hands in your pockets but here's to hoping you get one soon! I look forward to your review as your HC3000 reviews/ tips were spot on!! (IMHO)