BenQ 8720 Hints & Tips

What was the key combination for the 7700??

Thanks Takisot

Thankyou very much for the info.

Ben

Hi!
what ansi lumens did you measure or is it bright ? i like this machine a lot (dont have one yet). i find the 7700 punchy in brigthness, is the 8720 also ?

the motorized lens zoom focus is also a real ++

Hello Takisot

Is there a way to check what firmware version a pj will have (8720)

Ben

My demo PE8720 will be here tomorrow. I ordered it directly from BenQ to get the latest and greatest firmware. I have spoken to my rep and a technician and the new firmware is supposed to fix any and all oddities, color balance and gamma issues with the PJ. They stated they have tried to make the 8720 as close to perfect as they can get right out of the box. As with any PJ, manufacturing variances will prevent perfection on each unit so I will calibrate the PJ fully and report back. I will check on all the things takisot mentions and see if the firmware update has repaired them. If you have an older unit, I would contact BenQ to get the update. From my conversations, it sounds as if it can be loaded in the field by the end user but I did not ask or verify this. Also, the update review is up on projector reviews.

Greetings all,

I'm surprised this is such a quiet thread (less than 300 posts).

I see Eric (awtryau89) has one coming in. He should be impressed. I reviewed an almost production 8720 just about the time they started shipping and found the projector to be exceptionally sharp, but having serious gamma problems. (You can find the review and images on my site).

I had the opportunity to work with BenQ engineers in the US (they are 15 miles from me) and by conference call, with Taiwan, especially relating to the high gamma numbers and some minor things. A couple of days before new years, they invited me up to pick up the latest firmware, and met with them just last week at BenQ's US HQ.

I am pleased to report that the newest version, is awesome. The gamma is now very good, and some other changes, less critical are also visible. I find this now to be a finished product, with performance in many ways comparable to the highly regarded Marantz VP12S4, which sells for $14.5K.

In fact the BenQ does better on shadow detail (the marantz better on highlight detail).

But the bottom line, they got it right.

Check out the review on my site. It consists of a new update page, the original pages (overview, image quality, performance, warranty), and an updated Summary Pros Cons page.

A slightly strange way to do it, but I just didn't have the time to rewrite the whole thing.

PS. I bought the sucker! It's being installed tomorrow. I was going to (go with Optoma's H78DC3, but the BenQ is significantly sharper, and I sit close to my 128" screen.

Good luck.

PS. There is no gamma adjust to my knowledge on the US version user menus. I saw a thread indicating there was on Takisot's comments above. -art

The 8720 is on my short list but as I'll be using it in both a light controlled room (for movies) and with ambient light (everything else), actual D65-calibrated light output is important to me.

Has anyone measured light output and on/off contrast with the iris in its most closed position? How about lumens and contrast with iris open?


You mention that the 8720 is as bright as the 7700 but I only find one measurement of the 7700 which is 350 lumens @ D65 in low power lamp mode. Is this what the 8720 puts out with iris fully open?

Got the 8720 in today and just finished getting it hung. Unfortunately BenQ shipped me a unit with the August firmware. I am already working on obtaining new firmware but after speaking with my rep, most all issues corrected in the new firmware can be solved with a good calibration in the service menu as takisot mentions. I still plan on trying to update it though.

Initial impressions are this thing is bright. Much brighter and sharper than the Panasonic AE900, Sony Ruby and JVC HX-1 which I have all had in my room lately. I even have the iris closed down to about 26/38 and lamp on low (200watt). I am using a 110" diag Da-Lite HCCV screen and was thinking of a High Power but that is out of the question with this PJ. I value my retinas and think I would burn them. Color balance looks decent in Cinema Mode and Normal color temp. I will let everything settle in and calibrate this thing over the weekend. I am expecting some great results.

Oh my god!

God help us if TRYG sees this. You know how he feels about the Ruby/sxrd.

I havent seen the Ruby yet and dont plan too. There is no point going goo goo ga ga over something that is not suitable for your set up. But I do agree that the Benq is quite bright and sharp image. This will help offset the slightly softening on my Prismasonic H1200r lens.

Ben

How does one know if they have the latest firmware?

Thanks takisot!

I'm not really concerned that it won't be bright enough if I open up the iris, I just want to know if it's bright enough to use with the iris closed. Since I'm quite happy with my current black level it would also be nice to know the actual contrast with the iris closed.

Is motion blur/panning artifacts visibly reduced if you switch to Whisper Mode and 4x colour wheel speed?

takisot, what screen size and material (gain) do you use?

Well I spent most of my day with the 8720 yesterday and I get more impressed the more time I have with it.

First of all, I am very impressed with BenQ customer service. I made a phone call once receiving my unit to them about the firmware issue. Before days end, I had 2 return phone calls with apologies and trying to work out solutions. Unfortunately I was locked up with the PJ so I missed them and was not able to resolve the issue. I will call them back today and see what we can do. I know one call had a RMA for me to return this PJ and another with the new firmware would be overnighted to me. I am still not sure I will do this though. After talking to a few individuals, most of what I glean the firmware fixes are settings in the service menu which can be adjusted with a good calibration. I do know the firmware does not fix the overscan issue or user mode gamma issues takisot mentions in his first post. After talking to presenter and how the firmware was developed, I am pretty sure it is just a recalibration of the PJ for "out of the box" users. My recommendation would for most to get the new firmware if possible but I certainly would not let it stop me from acquiring one of these PJs.

Next, as far as the PQ goes, I am really settling in that this is one of the best 720p DLPs out there. Granted I have not even calibrated it yet but it is truly impressive with everything I throw at it. I have not encountered any of the issues that I thought I would. Dithering and video noise in dark scenes is not there. I have been able to induce some with some wild settings but under normal use in Cinema Mode, its just not there. I have not seen any panning artifacts with normal viewing. The color wheel is fully adjustable in the service menu and the default is 5X. Moving to 4X does not help with anything I could see but that was with limited testing. I did not try 6X with anything. I will be glad to try anyone's torture tests and reply back if they like. Gamma is fully adjustable in the service menu along with the other controls for RGB. You also have completely different settings for each input which allows the calibrator free range for all inputs. I will try to post some good measurements once I get this thing calibrated. Again I am impressed. If you are looking at a 720p DLP you need to take a look at the 8720. IMO it is considerably ahead of any of the new LCDs and a good step beyond the current low priced DLPs to include the Mits HC-3000 which I sell and have had in my room. It is worth the price difference.

OK, but a previous post indicated that the August firmware is not the latest. One must know what the the latest firmware is before knowing whether one has it or not.

Tom,
The latest firmware is 1.12 I believe. August is definitely not the latest. As for my earlier comments, I did verify that the latest firmware only changes settings in the service menu to make the PJ more "calibrated" right out of the box. There are no great advancements here and if you have already had your 8720 professionally calibrated I would think twice about loading the new firmware. It will wipe any work that was done in the service menu and replace it with the new settings.

Hey Mate (awtryau89)

I noticed your post about chaging colour wheel speed in service menu. I wasnt aware that it did go to 6x. Could you confirm this. I checked the specs from Benq and it states 5x

Takisot could you also confirm this please.

Ben

PJ Central just posted a "review" of the 8720. Calibrated lumen output of 260 - 340 is pretty low for a reasonably sized screen. Hmm...