The OFFICIAL BenQ 8700+ thread. - Page 8

Yes, that's the solution. It happened to me once and that solved the problem.

What mode does everyone use?

Anamorphic, Wide, Thro, Letterbox. I am feeding HDTV thru my Directv HD-DVR .

What is the 'thro' button do? My picture gets smaller when I press it and it says 720px60 in the lower right corner. Am I doing something wrong? Because I thought this projector is native 1280x720?

I am confused.

thanks for the help.

I use Anamorphic for all 16:9 mastered HDTV or DVD material and Standard for SD 4:3 material.

The Anamorphic mode will not scale 16:9 mastered material and will give you 0% overscan display on DVI.

Good info, thanks. When u say "0% overscan" do you mean there is no upconversion? Then, why does "thro" give me a smaller image?

Now, I just got to get my DVI working. For some reason on my Directv HD-DVR it says "HDCP not enabled" in the setup. It's really pissing me off.

Dave Boulet re refurbishing PJ lamps.

They do not actually do anything to the lamp itself. What most people consider to be a projector lamp is actually an assembly consisting of a lamp tube mounted within a reflector and sometimes enclosed in a capsule.

What these people are doing is to replace the lamp tube and reuse the reflector assembly. Hopefully they are sealing or re-encapsulating the assembly as needed to return it to factory specs - that I don't know.

We do this on a regular basis in the Civic Centre I work for. We have 575 Watt HMI follow-spots that have a large lamp in a reflector assembly. It costs nearly $600 to replace the assembly. For a small non-profit Civic Centre with several of these devices that can be quite expensive. We can buy the replacement lamp for $200 and mount it back into the old reflector ourselves. The hardest part of the process is making sure the lamp is aligned properly within the reflector. Otherwise you don't get the maximum light output, or you get a dark spot somewhere in the pool of light cast by the device.

I have no doubt these guys can replace the lamp tube in the average projector assembly. The main thing is that they align it properly and replace all protective filters, seals, etc. I know the Benq is supposed to have a "sealed optical path" and I wouldn't want that to be compromised. I am hopefully at least a year away from having to replace my lamp, so I will continue to monitor the experiences of others in this regard.

I had made the adjustments (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=403476) on my BenQ and the result is excellent for DVI input. (Thanks to takisot) On the other hand, with these settings, when I using the component-HD input, colorimetry was disastrous and not natural. Is there anyone which has to carry out a good calibration (with colorfact or others) by using the component-HD input?

Thanks !

To adjust HD component, enter the Service Menu, go down to HD Adj and then make changes to the YPbPr values (be sure to first write down the original values). Unless you have a colorimeter, you will have to eyeball it (not very accurate but better than nothing). Here are the notes from the service manual:

SM Default Settings:

Brightness 60
Contrast 76
Saturation 49
Pb offset 60
Pr offset 60


Brightness: A/D converter green offset 0~127
Contrast: A/D converter green gain 0~255
Saturation: A/D converter red and blue gain 0~255
Pb-Offset: A/D converter blue offset 0~127
Pr-Offset: A/D converter red offset 0~127

If you are anywhere near Salt Lake City, let me know and I may be able to calibrate it for you using the OpticOne colorimeter and Accupel signal generator.

I live in Quebec (Canada)!
That is a little far for a calibration ; -)

That is for that which I would have liked to have the settings input component-HD of another user... And there are far too many adjustments so that I do that in the eye!

thanks !

I'm not using the component input. If I get a chance, I will calibrate the component inputs and let you know what I ended up with.

Thank you very much!
That would be very nice of your share!

PS: It is better specify to you than I use BNC component-HD G/Y - B/Pb - R/Pr input.

Hi all
Is there a way BenQ projector can be set up to accept a YUV signal on the BNC input

I unplugged my 8700+ and it corrected the problem.

Thanks,
Tom

Hugh?

The BNC connectors are the only means of providing a progressive-scan input...and will work with YUV component-progressive just fine.

-dave

Does anyone have an opinion as to how the 8700+ compares to the new Sony?

Does either work with low ambient light? Like sconces on low so people don't trip out the door of our light tight basement HT?

After digesting all the info I could on this projector, I am left with a question. I have seen some reviews stating HDTV picture quality to be "good" not excelent. What are your guys thoughts? I currently have my locals from OTA and Dish Network HDPak. The only thing Im going to be watching on this projector would be HD programming and DVDs.

I am located in the Washington/Baltimore region, yet don't really know a place that has this projector setup for viewing. I would also like to compare it with the infocus 7205. Thanks for any help/suggestions!

CinePost,

I've seen the Sony HS51 and I agree with the majority opinion that it is not a bright pj. The BenQ is brighter, although I have found it necessary to use a High Power (higher gain screen) given my 104" wide image. So, if you're planning on some light in your theater, even indirect, be more wary of the Sony. Otherwise, the Sony throws a similar picture to HD2 or HD2+ DLPs I've seen.

A Da-Lite High Power or perhaps a Firehawk screen could limit the effect of low light from sconces.

hokiefan,

Which reviews are you referring to? Most I've read indicate the BenQ does well with HDTV sources, and that's been my experience.

Dan

Has anyone seen these projectors face off. I need to make a decision quik. I saw the 5700 in action and the colors are breathtaking, but the resolution is only 1024x576p. I havent seen the Benq in action so I have nothing to compare the two. Are the colors on the Benq8700+ as good as the 5700.

Mike - I haven't seen the 5700; but, I have spent time with the 7200 (MT8u) and the 7205 and have spent close to 200 hours with my 8700+.

Here's my take on the color balance.

Out of the box the Infocus (or the Toshiba rebrand) is closer to being D65 with good color. The BenQ takes a little work to get its color accurate. If you start with the settings in this very thread - you'll get in the ball park and then be able to calibrate from there.

Overall, I think it's close to being a draw with color. Contrast is no contest, with the 8700+ hands down the winner.

As long as you don't go crazy with screen size (like over 110" without going with a screen with some gain); then the BenQ is hard to beat. If you want 120"ish or don't want any gain, then the Infocus line is great.

Both are going after different audiences.

*The one thing I "miss" on my 8700 is a VGA port. I have to use either RGBHV or DVI for hooking up my PC.

How many of us here turn down the yellow adjustment in the user menu? I find that by turning the yellow down from 17 to 10 gives a somehow better image.

I'm using a SDI iscan HD fed to 8700+ via DVI.

Someone try this please?

Ok maybe I'm going crazy. I was on projectorcentral today reading reviews and they had an article comparing the 7205, another pj, and the 8700. They stated that the 7205 looked better with hd content. I of course cant find it now, and they dont even have thier 7205 review up anymore??? Wierd.

I'm pretty much sold on the 8700, considering the price. One more question, I will probably be buying from socalelectronics. I've tried to search for any horror stories but cant find any, so I assume they are reputable?

hokiefan:

I'm not familiar with the company you mentioned but IMHO the best place to purchase the unit is www.projectorsolution.com. This is where I got my unit. There service is top notch. I unfortunately had a problem with my 8700 when I first got it and again almost a year later. In both cases Projector Solution (formerly Alliant Solution) helped resolve my issue promptly with results beyond what I expected. This is one of the few companies that actually put the customer first.


CinePost:

After a year I have decided that my HT is not light controlled. I have windows with bark shades that let light leak in around the edge. Like you I often leave on the rope lighting around the ceiling when watching HDTV so people do not trip in the dark. I have a 103" Carada classic cinema white screen (close to 0 gain). I have no problem with picture quality. THe only time the light is a problem is when I turn the sconces on full. I put natural white light bulb in the sconces and when they are on all the way is does wash out the screen. Take a tour of my HT using the tag under my name.

My projector seems to show blue on the top and green on the bottom of horizontal lines and it gets progressively worse towards the lower lines. To a lesser extent it also appears on vertical lines. It appears on test patterns from my 1:1 mapped video processor and the internal test patterns.

Does anyone know what could be causing this?

Krobar - you are seeing chromatic abberation. It's a distortion in the lens. A lot of projectors have this issue (I know I've seen it on the 7200 + 7205). The degree of error may vary slightly when you change the zoom on the unit.

So, unless it's extreme - there's nothing you can do other than change the zoom and throw.

I'm probably looking in the 92inch diagonal range. I will have complete control of light.

That depends on what you want in the image...at that size, you can pick anything. Heck, a Da-Lite Matte White might look good to you! If you want the super-bright plasma look, a Da-Lite High Power would be great (and might burn out your retinas - but it would look great - unless you want to keep blacks black).

You can check the Screens forum for some tips.

Currently I am projecting a 65" diagonal image onto a plain matte white screen. One day I'll go bigger...but I love the punchiness of the image! I have nearly 200 hours on the bulb right now...it is a bit dimmer than when it was new, but plasma-bright!

Mike,

At that size you won't need to be as concerned about bulb dimming as your pj ages. Still, you might consider a 1.3-1.4 gain screen such as a Carada Brilliant White or any number of like screens from other companies. If you want to go really bright you could consider a High Power but it is very dependent on viewing angle for appreciable gain, or a quite expensive Vutec Silver Star that's less angle-dependent.

Dan

Stewart FireHawk MicroPerf will get you an actual gain of 1.1, I'd even ask Stewart about the new GrayHawk RS designed in conjunction with Joe Kane.

I want the picture to look as accurate as possible. Should I stick with a white screen with a gain of 1.3? This will be my first projector and screen so I need all the help I can get. Also how far back should I place the projector from the 92inch diagonal screen, I want the image possible.

Mike-
I would only go with a 1.3 gain white screen unless you have dark walls, etc. and complete light control. Speak with Stewart's sales people, they are great at helping recommend a material for a PJ and a specific application.

The 8700's have a short-throw lens so the throw distance will be close to a 1.4-1.5 x 16:9 screen size. But don't rely on that estimate, look in the manual it will give you the range of distance including the zoom. Another great source for calculating your mounting range is projectorcentral.com. Go to the review of the PE8700/+ and select "Projector calculator" put your screen with or diagonal in and you'll the mounting range supported.

Mike,

I am using the Da-Lite Cinema Vision fabric (1.3 gain) and think it is just about perfect in my theatre. I have very good light control and darker walls and I find the color of a white screen to be preferable to a grey screen. With the 8700+, I find black level and contrast to still be very, very good on the 1.3 gain screen as well IMHO.