BenQ W1070 : DLP Full HD, 3D Ready with lens-shift for 1000$ - Page 84

I've had the W1070 for about a month now and it has been great. However, I've run into an issue with the fan noise. It is making a persistent rattling noise that is noticeable on quiet scenes. I've already replaced one projector thinking it was a faulty fan but the new one has the same issue. First PJ was 1.03. This one is 1.04. Same issue on both. I've uploaded a video of the issue on YouTube. Anyone else having this issue? Should I replace a second time? Third time might be a charm and I love the performance of this PJ so much it would be worth it to get this fan taken care of. Here is the link.

http://youtu.be/ZQSK0O-OFD8

Wondering why the value is so different between the W1070 and the Epson 3020 a $500-600 higher on the Epson yet everyone seems or state that the W1070 is better even with the current noise issue in the fan, I am not trying to offend any one just trying to figure out the disparity.

I think the image performance of the projector is what makes this one so great. The fan issues (cool down and rattle) are hopefully few and far between although I am still hopeful someone can shed light on the rattle issue above I'm having. The only other issue is the light leakage from the fan exhaust grille.
Edited by scottyroo - 2/17/13 at 10:01pm

No offense for anyone. I am a strong believer in "you get what you pay for". I believe Epsons are better quality and prbly will last atleast 5yrs without any probs, or may be even 7-10yrs. I believe Benq W1070 is made with cheap quality for undercutting Epson....prbly will create problems from 2+yrs or so. Japanese vs. Chinese designs. That's just my thought. No proof or whatsoever. Believe me, W1070 is still tempting me. I am torn between Epson 3020 and W1070/Optoma HD25. It is taking lot of nerve to stay away from BenQ/Optoma. Upcoming Optoma HD25 is somewhere in between I guess, but there are still some reviews on prior Optoma models saying there were basic problems - power on, HDMI doesn't work etc in a few months. How can a device fail so basic test in a few months. I try to stay from those brands even if I see one such review.

So, if Reliability is important, go with Epson.
If price or compactness is important, go with BenQ/Optoma. I love the compactness part of these. Epson is a behemoth compared to these.
I am not videophile...so I don't care much about difference in image quality. Either of them will be fine for casual watching. So, I for myself, would like to install it and forget for atleast 7yrs until 4K becomes mainstream.

I doubt we'll have to wait even a couple years to get decently priced 4k, because projectors are the best place to get economies of scale since there is such a bigger impact of resolution (not to mention contrast + brightness boosts) than flat panels.

I was considering the Epson but am glad I got this one...no lag at all, and I love motion. It's ironic that the LCD-based tech have better blacks than DLP, since DLP motion and input lag and 3D characteristics are more akin to plasmas' benefits there. Even if OLEDs were perfectly reasonably priced, I don't think I can go back down in size at this point. The blacks are decent enough on this bad boy for now...sure they can be better, but it's pretty darn good, especially for the price. I'll just buy a new projector in a couple years' time if I see something awesome. I bet it'll be BenQ again.

Just getting that old movie projector clicking noise like the others here and it is intolerable. I may want a refund on this as I dont want to pay money to ship back a defective projector on my dime. I bought from VA, does anyone know their policy on returns?

If it is brand new VA should take care of it. If not Benq will pay shipping in both directions. Call them for a RMA.

The Epsons also have issues and they are also made in China if that makes any difference. In fact most electronic products are made there including most Apple and HP products. The Epsons have had issues with panel alignment in the past. and other brands have had similar issues. I think the key is not where the units are made but to make sure that you get a good one from the start.

I watched the video and I would suggest that you call Benq and let them know about the issue and get it fixed or ask for a replacement. I am wondering if there is a bad batch of units with hardware version 103 firmware 104 out there with this clicking noise issue or are others having the problem with other hardware and firmware versions?
Edited by rwestley - 2/18/13 at 3:53am

Just because its more than the Benq doesn't mean its better. If someone believe that if it cost more, the product is better, then all products will be way over priced

I don't have a problem with the fan on my BenQ it works normal.....and for the better quality of Epson I don't agree that its better than BenQ. I'm a forum member of a dutch HT forum and a lot of them have a Epson projector but there's a lot of problem with there projectors......like color shifting, dust in the lens, many times the lens unit must be replaced due to a defect......Before I had the BenQ I had a Infocus for 6 years and never had a problem with it......

Look at the price of a Ford Taurus vs a Lincoln. ah.but I know what t you mean.

For the JVC vs. Benq, it does depend what the viewer watches, but for me even some of my TV shows need the JVC:

Game of Thrones, Fringe (not as much), Walking Dead, some others...
GOT looks amazing on the JVC, it was made for the JVC

Though I admit, I'd rather watch the news or a documentary on the Benq.

I laugh at the earlier comments about more expensive projectors being more reliable, in some unique cases this is true, but not really overall. DLP is the most reliable tech over LCD as long as the color wheel does not break. The newer color wheels are more reliable because they use HD motor designs, and hard drive motors are way more reliable than in the old days. It's like a hard-drive without a platter and a color wheel instead of the platter spinning in front. If you are after reliability, Epson is not where I'd put my money. Epson is at best average.

IME, the cheaper projectors tend to last longer, as fewer things that can go wrong often, of course this does not apply to all brands (some cheap projectors are just made poorly), but same can be said for some expensive units as well. I also don't really care where a projector is MFR or assembled, for all I care it can be MFR'd in Zimbabwe, QC'd in Ethiopia, and shipped to Tasmania. I'm still ok with it as long as it works and keeps working
Edited by coderguy - 2/18/13 at 6:52am

As Codeguy states "Game of Thrones" looks great on the JVC. I have compared season 1 on both the JVC RS45 and the Benq w1070 and the JVC wins hands down. I also agree that some shows may be fine on the Benq. I went the two projector route for this reason. I also hope that Codeguy gets a chance to test a W1070 soon.

are you guys expecting a major difference between the 1070 and W7000?

Has the 3D lumen output been measured on the 1070?

I want a pair of the new 3rd gen BQ glasses but it doesn't look they will be available for few more weeks.

The fan noise rattling is subtle but is in a rhythmic whir so it is very annoying. I got some RemOil gun lube and with the pinpoint applicator put a few drops on the fan and that helped for about an hour then the rattle returned. I don't want to be PJ-less for one week plus so how long does the RMA process take? Can anyone else shed some light to the fan rattle found in this video? http://youtu.be/ZQSK0O-OFD8

No vendor has it available for sale in US except amazon. Even benq has in back order. I am really thinking they are doing some revisions to fix the issues they can't fix with a firmware update. Like all the light leak on the lens and exhaust fan. I am looking to see if there are changes on the new batches coming up.

If you think Epsons are trouble free, then you haven't been reading the Epson threads...but they're customer service is great.
The idea that something is more reliable simply because it costs more is absurd.
BTW, I've owned more than a dozen projectors and my Optoma has been the most trouble free by far...

I'm probably making this too complicated on myself but I'm struggling to make sure I buy the right combination of projector mount and screen size and since the benq estimator doesn't account for lens shift on this model would appreciate a little guidance/pov from some more experienced than myself!

My basement room has a 7'8" ceiling with an approx 8" Ibeam about 8ft from the screen wall. I'd like to buy the monoprice 120" 16:9 screen and their universal mount which has a 6.7" drop. I want to leave about 2 ft from bottom of screen to floor.

Does the math work? What am I not thinking about, or am I over complicating?

I'd agree that the notion that something's always more reliable simply because it costs more is in and of itself, absurd, but surely there's a known correlation between cost and quality level, in general. There are exceptions to everything.

I do not have scientific, statistical data, but I am very confident that- through the absolutely copious amount of reading I've done on this site while researching my new PJ- the 1070 has had more problems/complaints than ANY other projector, per capita, within $500 of it on AVS...with the Epson 8350 running a close second.

No this isn't an invitation to flame me or explain that your PJ is perfect, I'm just relaying what I've learned, completely unbiased.

Honestly, had I been able to make the zoom and LS work for me, I'd have likely went with the 1070 myself at its fantastic price.

I wish those having problems all the best.

James
Edited by mastermaybe - 2/18/13 at 5:16pm

What is the throw distance? Are you mounting it to the beam? If so I doubt you can even throw a 120" image from 8' with the 1070. Otherwise, with the screen itself nearing 5 feet tall, there's no way you could drop it ~14" from the 7' 8" ceiling and have the bottom of the screen 24" off the floor. More like 1' 7-9", tops, just doing it in my head.

Wait, yes it has some VLS, so you could prolly pull off another half foot.

James
Edited by mastermaybe - 2/18/13 at 11:10am

Is the max distact you can place the projector away from your screen 8'? If so then you are not going to be able to get a 120" image that close to the screen. The biggest image you can get with the lens at 8' from the screen is 96" and that doesn't take into making the body of the PJ and cords fit in. With all of that you are looking closer to about 7' lens-to-screen and a max screen size of about 84".

With that said, lets say you do have the space for a 120" screen. With your 6.7" mount drop the lens will be 2" below the mount drop. That leaves the lens 8.7" away from your ceiling, or roughly 6'11" from the floor. With a 120" screen the top of your image be between 2.9"-8.7" below the lens position. That gives you a range of the top of the screen being about 11.6"-17.4" away from the ceiling. The screen height is roughly 58" so that would give you a range of height of about 16.4"-22.4" away from the floor. These calculations are going to be completely different though if the max distance you can place your projector.

You should look at the Atdec mount on Amazon. It's drop is about 5" and will get you to the two feet you mentioned.

You could always mount the projector behind the ibeam and have the lens positioned right below the 8". The mount you are looking at on Monoprice would be perfect for that and the Ibeam wouldn't be a part of the equation.

Good luck!

I can place it back as far as I need to (up to 25ft!), so no issue there, unless the Ibeam would get in the way of the throw somehow?

The W1070 and 8350 are both hyped projectors due to their value. Along with the hype comes high expectations and with a lot of people buying them if there are issues you might as well get a megaphone and pass it around. From what I've read the main complaints about the W1070 don't have anything to do with the image, rather the fan and light leakage seem to be afterthoughts on the projector. I love the image performance and that hype is justified for the projector, but with that value comes a few shortcomings. I don't think that should steer people away from buying it if the placement needs are met.

You should be good. Get the 120" MP.com screen and mount then center-mount it so the lens is exactly 10' away from the screen. Adjust the lens shift all the way 'down' (will move the image 'up' if ceiling mounting). zoom in all the way, and that will place the bottom of your 120" image about 22-23" away from your floor.

The fact that they offer great value would not and is not disputed amongst reasonable people. However, some people- on this very thread- have had issues with getting an image in the first place due to HDMI port issues. There have been a fair sum reporting vertical lines within the image and sent them back for exchange. The noise level, rattling fans, light leakage, etc are other items that some are experiencing, and crucially, others are not. A reasonable person could then conclude that is due to poor design, variations in components and/or construction quality/consistency/methodology. More imperatively, this is a very young product...things can get better or worse from here, but, unless FW -related, it almost certainly would need to occur from a n R&D or fabrication standpoint.

Again, I didn't state what I did to chew up the 1070...just to relay that it's- from my reading anyway- is suffering from more "ills" per user than other PJs in or near its price class. Could it be due to its substantially lower price tag? Maybe, maybe not. But there are- many times- real consequences to engineering and producing similar items at substantially lower costs, and I don't need to litter this thread with them and bore people with items that they're likely very much already familiar with.

James
Edited by mastermaybe - 2/18/13 at 11:31am

The Epson is going to be more expensive just due to more parts. It has an iris, the Benq does not.

What we need to know if a projector has problems.

1. How many were sold
2. How many were returned or sent in for repairs.
3. Do all the projectors suffer from the same problem
4. Was the problem only on a particular batch.


These questions are nearly impossible to answer. The problem with the forums is that often only people who have problems will report or post them. We don't know if 1 out of 100 units have problem or 5 out of ten. There is no real way of knowing.
I once owned an Epson projector and a few people on the forums sent theirs back 6 times for replacement because of bad convergence. Is it possible that the majority of the other people had no issue at all. This is the reason why I one has to be careful when reading these posts.

However this thread is filled with a lot of fans of the projector. For a projector that most if not all had to go through great efforts to acquire (not sitting on the shelves of any retailer), the numbers of reported failures on this thread seems a bit alarming. Not only did the owners put in effort to acquire the W1070, it's also a recent offering. There aren't many complaints from people simply misinformed about the product, but there seems to be an abundance of failures reported by people who really like the projector.