I already posted in the under $3,000 projector range. Trying to get as many opinions as possible.
So I need help selecting a projector for my mancave. Im projecting onto a 120" EZ Frame 1.1 gain cinewhite screen from 16 ft. I'm recently on my FIFTH BENQ W7000!!!!!! Yes that's right, 5th. I've had nothing but bad luck out of this thing. I don't know if I'm cursed, or just not meant to own this projector. One positive thing about this whole situation is how well BenQ's Customer Service has handled this. They'be been absolutely great.
Here's my dilemma. I have no freakin clue which projector I should go with. I really enjoy the look of the W7000 for a few reasons. The first being how sharp and crisp the picture is. The second being the great 3D (other than a smidge on the dark side) And thirdly, the motion handling. My biggest complaint from this projector other than the QC of course, would be the black levels, low contrast and the colors just not quite popping like my Sony HX850 LED. No matter how much I turn up the color, or mess with the fine tuning and turning up the saturation, it just never pops. Not sure how to explain it. I guess I'm looking for deep colors and that could possibly go back to the subpar black levels.
So here's what I use my projector for. 50% Movies, 40% Gaming and 10% Direct TV watching. My top pick right now would be the Epson 5020 but after reading through the entire thread, I'm not sure that would be my best choice. I've heard that it has pretty bad lag for video games, bad motion handling and bad convergence/panel allignment. I'm also highly considering the Panasonic PT-AE8000 and possibly the Sony HW50ES if I can find a good enough price.
I'm not sure how recently any of you have been to the movie theater, but I went and watched The Conjuring a couple days ago and saw it at an AMC Theater. BTW, if any of you like horror movies, it was freaking awesome!!! Totally old school with a concept that's been done hundreds of times, but rarely done this well. Highly recommended.
Anyways, They showed it on a Christie Projector and it just looked fantastic!!! The colors really popped, it was almost crystal clear with decent but not great sharpness. I don't know, it just looked like a huge LCD to me. That's what I'm looking for. To be honest, I'm not that big on having an accurate picture. In fact, I kind of prefer an overly processed picture with the dreaded soap opera effect all the way up. I know most people on here would have my head for saying that, but it's just my preference. I'm trying to find something that can maybe get me as close to an LED or LCD experience as possible. Although, I plan on having Chad B calibrate whatever projector I get.
So after saying all this, here is where i would put my top wants in a projector in order.
1 - Sharp, Clear and Crisp. If it has a lot of noise in the picture and looks too soft, I just wouldn't like it.
2 - Good deep saturated colors. I like my picture to pop!
3 - Good to great 3D with good to great motion handling.
4 - Lastly, black levels. I want good to great black levels, but if I can get my top three and sacrifice a little bit of the black levels in the process, I'm ok with that.
Again, The epson 5020 and Panaonic PT-AE8000is at the top of my list but it may not fit what I'm looking for. I would love to get someone's opinion on it or any other projector they think I might like or should consider.
Another option I was considering is waiting for the new BenQ W7500 people have mentioned here on the forums. Sounds like it will give me the same great picture of the W7000 except with better black levels and hopefully better contrast. Any idea when that might become available?
So I need help selecting a projector for my mancave. Im projecting onto a 120" EZ Frame 1.1 gain cinewhite screen from 16 ft. I'm recently on my FIFTH BENQ W7000!!!!!! Yes that's right, 5th. I've had nothing but bad luck out of this thing. I don't know if I'm cursed, or just not meant to own this projector. One positive thing about this whole situation is how well BenQ's Customer Service has handled this. They'be been absolutely great.
Here's my dilemma. I have no freakin clue which projector I should go with. I really enjoy the look of the W7000 for a few reasons. The first being how sharp and crisp the picture is. The second being the great 3D (other than a smidge on the dark side) And thirdly, the motion handling. My biggest complaint from this projector other than the QC of course, would be the black levels, low contrast and the colors just not quite popping like my Sony HX850 LED. No matter how much I turn up the color, or mess with the fine tuning and turning up the saturation, it just never pops. Not sure how to explain it. I guess I'm looking for deep colors and that could possibly go back to the subpar black levels.
So here's what I use my projector for. 50% Movies, 40% Gaming and 10% Direct TV watching. My top pick right now would be the Epson 5020 but after reading through the entire thread, I'm not sure that would be my best choice. I've heard that it has pretty bad lag for video games, bad motion handling and bad convergence/panel allignment. I'm also highly considering the Panasonic PT-AE8000 and possibly the Sony HW50ES if I can find a good enough price.
I'm not sure how recently any of you have been to the movie theater, but I went and watched The Conjuring a couple days ago and saw it at an AMC Theater. BTW, if any of you like horror movies, it was freaking awesome!!! Totally old school with a concept that's been done hundreds of times, but rarely done this well. Highly recommended.
Anyways, They showed it on a Christie Projector and it just looked fantastic!!! The colors really popped, it was almost crystal clear with decent but not great sharpness. I don't know, it just looked like a huge LCD to me. That's what I'm looking for. To be honest, I'm not that big on having an accurate picture. In fact, I kind of prefer an overly processed picture with the dreaded soap opera effect all the way up. I know most people on here would have my head for saying that, but it's just my preference. I'm trying to find something that can maybe get me as close to an LED or LCD experience as possible. Although, I plan on having Chad B calibrate whatever projector I get.
So after saying all this, here is where i would put my top wants in a projector in order.
1 - Sharp, Clear and Crisp. If it has a lot of noise in the picture and looks too soft, I just wouldn't like it.
2 - Good deep saturated colors. I like my picture to pop!
3 - Good to great 3D with good to great motion handling.
4 - Lastly, black levels. I want good to great black levels, but if I can get my top three and sacrifice a little bit of the black levels in the process, I'm ok with that.
Again, The epson 5020 and Panaonic PT-AE8000is at the top of my list but it may not fit what I'm looking for. I would love to get someone's opinion on it or any other projector they think I might like or should consider.
Another option I was considering is waiting for the new BenQ W7500 people have mentioned here on the forums. Sounds like it will give me the same great picture of the W7000 except with better black levels and hopefully better contrast. Any idea when that might become available?