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It's done! Went with the Benq w710st.

post #1 of 17
12/31/12 at 11:40am
Thread Starter 
(This post has been edited due to 2 errors made in original...)


I can finally stop obsessing. Researched many projectors in the $450 - 650 price range and decided to go with the Benq w710st on Amazon this morning.

My rationale:

1. Short throw. Really, really like the idea of being able to place projector low and way up front.
2. Long lamp life. (Error #1: Went back to double-check Benq's website. I originally stated 9000 hours on the lamp in eco mode. Instead, its 6000 and they use some strange math to come up with 9.6 years of usage. ).
3. Although reviews are not that numerous, overwhelming concensus is the 710st performs above it's price category.
4. Had to have, at minimum, 720hd (WXGA).
5. Had to have a good warranty. (Error #2: I originlly stated Benq offered a 2 year warranty and 1 year on the lamp. It's actually 1 year on everything. But I was able to get a warranty extension. See note below.)
6. Decent contrast of 10000:1.
7. It has not one but 2 hdmi inputs. And an audio output.
8. It comes with a lens cover!!

Only "downside" I can think of is 3D is not well supported. But that's ok for me. It's not a priorty. I'll report back on this unit after I've had the chance to play with it.

Side notes: extended the warranty by one year for free with credit card puchase giving me 2 full years on everything, including the lamp. (Have to register with Visa, though.) Also, no taxes, free shipping and cash back on my Amazon card. What's not to love.
Edited by avfrenzy - 12/31/12 at 2:08pm
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post #2 of 17
12/31/12 at 8:45pm
I too went ahead with an impulse purchase of the Benq W710ST a few weeks back and to say that I am happy will be understating it. biggrin.gif

Even though I am living in a small rented apartment right now, watching a movie on a projector is an experience that nothing else can match. I have a 40" Sony LCD too but this is out of the world. I too opted for a short-throw projector since I wanted the convenience of moving it around between rooms and especially since I don't have a dedicated HT room here.

Even in ECO mode, the projector is bright enough and the colors are rich when connected to a proper HD source. I am going to buy a Blu-Ray player soon so the other source was my HD set-top box. Colors are vivid and blacks are deep enough for my liking. Even with SD and HD rips viewed via my PC, the quality is very good.

Here's a picture taken from my mobile phone -


Not going to post other pics from my mobile since they do a great disservice to this VFM projector! smile.gif

PS: I would love to know how you have calibrated the projector, once you play with it for some time. I am just using the default settings for now, not really experimented much. Only changed the lamp setting to ECO mode.
Edited by seiavs - 12/31/12 at 8:51pm
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post #3 of 17
1/1/13 at 10:27am
Thread Starter 
Sounds like you're enjoying your Benq. IMO short throw makes a whole lot of sense. Can't wait to try mine.

I'm not an electronics type so I doubt I'll be doing any calibrating. But I'll be happy to offer my assessment of the Benq at the earliest possible time.
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post #4 of 17
1/1/13 at 12:20pm
i got one for my wife for christmas. it's lays down a huge screen from such a short distance. and even in eco mode it's bright enough to use with a 60 watt cfl just 2 feet behind the pj. (it's not optimal, but still very usable unlike my k330).
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post #5 of 17
1/1/13 at 1:52pm
From what I have read the 6000 hour "eco mode" the picture looks less than desirable and it's just marketing babble. In reality it should be fine for maybe 1000-2000 hours, which is still pretty good.

For $500 bucks seems like a good deal, even if it only lasts a year or so.

Looks like you can do 3d through a pc, has very low lag for gaming,

PC: 120Hz Frame Sequential 3D for resolutions up to WXGA,
PC: 60Hz Top-bottom 3D for resolutions up to SXGA+,
PC: 60Hz Frame Sequential 3D resolutions up to WXGA,

Here is the product page.

Replacement lamp looks to be around $200.

My favorite quotes from one of the reviews on this projector My wife thought I was a moron for trying to put a gaming/theater room in the basement, and she couldn't believe how great the picture was.
Edited by Amber Ale - 1/1/13 at 2:52pm
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post #6 of 17
1/1/13 at 4:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Amber Ale View Post

Looks like you can do 3d through a pc, has very low lag for gaming,
yep and and nemo looks great in 3d! it's one of the few movies that actually do 3d right. i hate that most 3d movies are either kids movies or post process 3d. we say cirque de solelele(sp, lol) and it was fantastic. sadly we just came from a buffet and the music they use in the show acted like lullaby's and all three of us were out cold at one point or another in the movie.tongue.gif
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post #7 of 17
1/2/13 at 1:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MadSquabbles View Post

yep and and nemo looks great in 3d! it's one of the few movies that actually do 3d right. i hate that most 3d movies are either kids movies or post process 3d. we say cirque de solelele(sp, lol) and it was fantastic. sadly we just came from a buffet and the music they use in the show acted like lullaby's and all three of us were out cold at one point or another in the movie.tongue.gif

Have you made any changes to the settings or running it on default?
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post #8 of 17
1/2/13 at 5:06am
no changes except putting it in eco mode. i have it projecting on a wall that's light beige so i don't feel like calibrating it until we have a permanent space for it.
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post #9 of 17
1/2/13 at 6:53pm
Congrats! I have to concur - I also ended up picking this up for Christmas, and this is a fantastic projector IMO. Colors out of the box are outstanding, I feel zero need to calibrate colors (now that is a first!). Projecting to a 120" screen, and it is fabulous. My last PJ was a NEC Ht1000, paired with a Stewart Firehawk screen ($7K 'investment' smile.gif. I like the W710ST+$100 white screen combo better - PJ tech has indeed come a long way. Having the extra money in my pocket that didn't go to the PJ even better smile.gif Enioy.
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post #10 of 17
1/3/13 at 12:58am
Did anyone compare the 710ST to the BenQ W1080ST ?


Also I found a warning, please post if anyone else experiences this.
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post #11 of 17
1/3/13 at 4:31am
The W1080ST is not on the market yet.
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post #12 of 17
1/3/13 at 9:38am
I use the 710 for sports. Use my JVC for serious movie watching.
I wanted a short throw 720p projector with a zoom lens. Very happy with my purchase.
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post #13 of 17
1/3/13 at 12:23pm
Thread Starter 
Party pooper.

Actually, thanks for the heads-up. Will certainly keep a close eye on this issue.
And in the spirit of full disclosure, I did have a little buyers remorse moments after my purchase. I even considered cancelling my order due to some inconsistencies on Benq's website, particularly with the fuzzy math used to figure lamp longevity - it didn't add up. As another example, note thier corporate Copyright date (at the bottom of the website page) is 2009. These things can, for me, be troubling. Like, isn't anyone paying attention to details here?

But, I admit, I was seduced by Short Throw. And I'm excited to see what it all is going to look like.

Now regarding the half-screen problem: I read every comment your link provided. And it appears the issue is due to a heat problem (electronics controlling half the display being too close to the lamp). I wonder if getting in there to install a little heat shield might do the trick. Just a thought.

Finally, my 710st is presently worth $100 more than I paid for it just a few days ago - and I haven't even received it yet! I was checking on my order a little while ago and - WTF! - the price jumped a hundred bucks! Strange. Very strange.

Anyone interested in a brand-spankin-new Benq W710ST? wink.gif
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post #14 of 17
1/3/13 at 6:41pm
Maybe running it in ECO mode all along will help with the heating issue to a certain extent?

600 hours.. work's keeping me so busy, I have just managed to clock 10 hours in nearly a month. frown.gif
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post #15 of 17
1/5/13 at 5:55am
Thread Starter 
600 hours is a fair amount of time (around 300 movies?). What do you think? Perhaps you could provide an objective critique. Or start an "official" Benq W710ST Thread? Something to consider...
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post #16 of 17
1/6/13 at 6:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by avfrenzy View Post

600 hours is a fair amount of time (around 300 movies?). What do you think? Perhaps you could provide an objective critique. Or start an "official" Benq W710ST Thread? Something to consider...

I was actually referring to the OP from the quoted thread - http://www.avsforum.com/t/1445055/warning-stay-clear-of-benq-w710st-and-possibly-w1080st-due-to-in-spec-fault/0_100

He says that he's done 600 hours on his PJ. I've just done 13 hours till now biggrin.gif
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post #17 of 17
3/7/13 at 9:15pm
Did anyone ever tried the top-bottom 3D feature with a PC?

I tried it with more than one PC and the issue I got is a compressed 16:9 image that looks like 4:3 aspect ratio (black bars on both sides).

Easy to test:
- Set your display to native 1280x720 @ 60 Hz video format;
- Enable 3D and set to top-bottom.

Any known workaround?
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