Ou8thisSN Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Hi folks, so i have been itching to pull the trigger on a Projector to complet the HT room. I have seen the Sharp 10000U in action and I love the picture. I showed it to my parents and they adore it as well. Our choice seemed very clear because I was able to find a Japanese dealer who is offering an extremely competitive price that none of the US dealers can match. Now it seems that that Benq has upped the ante for me, by offering the new HD2+ chip in the same model, same price. This makes my choice extremely difficult. I dont know anything about Benq and have only heard of it on this forum. But everyone knows Sharpvision and have read wonderful stuff about them too. So, please put yourself in my shoes and tell me what you'd get, if all things were equal, which they appear to be. my background: its a dedicated HT room, 20x 20. The screen should be at least 120". The room is light controlled. It will be used for only HDTV screening and ocasional DVD watching. The sharp I have personally seen and love. It looks fantastic and everything practically is competitive with the benq. I havent seen the benq, so it would totally be based on what I have read here and on the hometheaterhifi website. Would checking out a rebadged Runco help me any? i wouldnt think so because it would unfairly bias me against the Sharp, because i'm sure the Runco picture is better but may not be actually in the real benq.... if everything is equal, what should I consider to sway my vote? Is the bulb price the same? Make my life simpler please and tell me which to get.... also, will the new benq have a variable fan or fixed speed? i guess that could sway my decision Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBB Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 I don't own a projector but I'm keeping my eyes open for one in case I hit the lottery. He he he. In reality I don't have a particular room in my home that would be best for such a set up unless I did a bit of rearranging. I became interested when I was told that it was the logical next step to take since my Mits has been tweaked to the max and anything better would need to be front projection. The Mits looks fantastic but I like to "window shop", so to speak. Question: Are you talking about the new BenQ PE8710 that features the TI HD2+ chipset for around $7,000 list? I was advised by the man who did calibration work on my set to look into used Runcos. Maybe something like a Reflection CL-710 DLP. The thing that worries me is the cost of servicing them. The Sharp 10000U you mentioned looks like a good product but what gives with the service when you deal with someone in Japan or in the states? I've read the Sharp people can be hard to get a hold of but I may of just read more about what the complainers have had to say versus satisfied customers. At the moment and on paper the BenQ looks very interesting but I wonder if the fan noise will be a factor in the newer model since it approached the 30db mark in the 8700.Hmmmm. Tough choice if you are looking in the 6 to 7 grand area. I like the Texas Instrument technology though. Obviously I dont know a lot about most of the projectors that are out there but on the other hand if somebody died and left me a Runco 1101 CRT in their will I wouldnt even be posting here. I d watching Movies! Movies! Movies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou8thisSN Posted April 1, 2004 Author Share Posted April 1, 2004 I am talking about the benq 8710, but its officially still gonna be the 8700, they are just doing a "silent" chip upgrade, and simply put out a press release saying at after a certain serial number, the new chip will replace the old. Therefore same price, new latest chip, better contrast ratio. Its funny that you mention runco, because one of the runco models IS a rebadged Pe8700. It is simply more expensive because supposedly it has a bit better picture/service. Its kinda the Fujitsu to panasonic relationship, same product, but fujitsu is more expensive, and a rebadged panasonic, but has a little better picture. I never gave benq much thought, but 2 top sites, both hometheaterhifi and projectorcentral list it has one of the year's best, not to mention a lot of AVSforum users. Then I found out that the Benq is a little cheaper than the 10000, so I am practically sold on the benq. I told my sharp dealer if he would match the price of the benq and i'd buy from him. Both projectors come with a 3 year warranty, the sharp comes with 1 year, but the seller is extending the warranty, which i think is great. I personally would like to buy directly from japan, becuase I heard only good things about japanese service centers. The US customer service horror stories make me think its better to buy direct. Both pjs have the same noise level, as far as I heard the benq has a variable fan control, but it shouldnt be very annoying, i dont think. Anyway, with the price that i was offered on the benq, I cant resist it much longer. If the japanese dealer cant match, i am going for it. I cant find a reason not to... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBB Posted April 2, 2004 Share Posted April 2, 2004 Good. It looks like you did your homework.The upgraded benQ with better contrast sure looks tempting and I would probably jump on it if you can get the production dates and serial numbers confirmed on the 8700.He he he he. How's this? What if the Sharp dealer comes in with a price just one ore two hundred dollars more than the benq. Then what do you you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avman Posted April 2, 2004 Share Posted April 2, 2004 well,i have seen the sharp in my showroom,and comparing it to the sony vpl-hs20, i thought it had a good picture,but doing a side by side comparison,i prefered the color on the sony,and DEFINITELY don't see a difference worth the TREMONDOUS difference in price.the sony vpl-hs20 retails for $3,500(a STEAL)and we sell them for alot less. i have the vpl-hs10, and have been THOROUGHLY pleased w/it.the black level has improved vs. the hs-10(i am going to 'tweak' my hs-10 w/a ccr30 color filter and SMART calibration to improve shadow detail and get the color perfect). really,IMO,you should see the hs-20 before you buy into the DLP hype...and God help you if you ever see rainbows w/your DLP-you won't ever want to watch it again. JMO- avman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBB Posted April 2, 2004 Share Posted April 2, 2004 Oh no AV! Now youve planted the evil Rainbow seed in his head and thats probably all hell see. We need positive vibes! Say it together now. There are no rainbows. There are no rainbows Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou8thisSN Posted April 2, 2004 Author Share Posted April 2, 2004 well, i watched LOTR EE and ROTK for about 30 minutes on the sharp 10k, didnt see any rainbows, neither did my mom. I hope my dad doesnt either. I cant stand the screendoor effect on LCD projectors, so you make sacrificies either way going with either dlp or LCD. Besides, the sharp dealer said he couldnt match the price on the benq. I asked him to sell me the 12k for 5k, he couldnt do that either. So basically, it came down the following: 1.+ about a $900 difference between sharp 10k and the benq 2.+ benq has the HD2+ and the dimple fix, the sharp has the HD2 3.+ the benq is 200 lumens brighter 4.+ cr ratio is about the same on both pjs. 5.- benq is a shorter throw lens, while the house was being built i had an outlet put in the ceiling, but its about 1 foot from the back wall, hopefully the power cord will reach. 6.- it has a variable fan, which means it can speed up and slow down, instead of staying constant, but i've been told that benq has a nice fix to keep it unnoticable, we'll see. 7.- its a benq, i mean everyone likes to go for a "name brand" product. Its easier to explain to people who come over, that would remark probably "wow, thats a Sharp pj?", instead of "oh, its a benq? i've never heard of that". the last three arent enough of a reason for me to spend an extra 1k on the sharp 10k, or an extra 3k for the sharp 12k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou8thisSN Posted April 2, 2004 Author Share Posted April 2, 2004 well, i went ahead and ordered it. got a great deal on it, plus a free DVD player. they originally wanted $35 for UPS ground which would take 5 days, for some reason they charged only $19 for shipping, and upgraded it to 3-day select... I would be even more excited, but I cant really play around with it at school. so I cant mess with it till saturday anyway, pics to follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBB Posted April 2, 2004 Share Posted April 2, 2004 Very cool.Take your time with setting it up and keep people, like myself, that would like to own one, informed. I know there was a review of the 8700 on Secrets of Home Theater. Did you see it? The reviewer went into detail on how he incorporated it into his system. He seemed impressed.Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou8thisSN Posted April 2, 2004 Author Share Posted April 2, 2004 well, like i said, I have bought this site unseen, which is wierd because its the most expensive piece of HT equipment i have bought. I have relied solely on user reviews, projectorcentral review, and secrets review. They liked it, i'm sure we will... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou8thisSN Posted April 6, 2004 Author Share Posted April 6, 2004 Its here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBB Posted April 6, 2004 Share Posted April 6, 2004 Nice blinds and boxes. Where's the projector? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou8thisSN Posted April 6, 2004 Author Share Posted April 6, 2004 some issues came up. Apprently, i think I recieved an 8700 without the HD2+ chip, just the HD2 chip. That is unacceptable, i called the company, they are investigating, hopefully this will be painless. I hope it doesnt matter that I opened the box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBB Posted April 6, 2004 Share Posted April 6, 2004 Grrrrrrrrrrrrr How can you be sure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou8thisSN Posted April 6, 2004 Author Share Posted April 6, 2004 I confirmed the serial number on the box as well as on the projector with Benq. they said that "you missed the HD2+ chip by one week". My dealers thought that every model built in january would have the new chip, but it turns out only after the 3rd week. So they apologized, and will do a swap with me for the new model. The dealers were excellent "you paid for a 8700+, you ordered one, and you will get an 8700+". They are gonna just cross-ship, and send me a UPS billing reciept to send this one back. Great company. I will let you guys know how it goes. I am going home this weekend to setup this PJ, and hopefully will have some pics and impressions. they promised to have the new one to me by friday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBB Posted April 6, 2004 Share Posted April 6, 2004 Thats good. I guess it could of been worse. What if this happened with the Sharp? Yikes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou8thisSN Posted April 6, 2004 Author Share Posted April 6, 2004 it couldnt happen with the sharp, sharp only puts 1 chip in the 10k, and another chip in the 12k. They arent wierd like benq that decides to do a silent upgrade without telling many people. In any case, that sharp dealer was also very trustworthy, and probably would have extended the same courtesy that this dealer did. Again, the only reason I didnt go with the sharp is because of the almost 1k price difference, for essentailyl the same projector, if not better. Also, as an unexpected surprize, the benq actually comes with everything you need right out of the box, including like $200 worth of cables. It comes with Component, S-Video, Composite Video, RGBHV to VGA, DVI to DVI, DVI to VGA. And the cables are like at least 2m. They are really working hard to earn your business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou8thisSN Posted April 7, 2004 Author Share Posted April 7, 2004 okay, UPS just delivered the second Benq right now. I checked the serial number its 40700014H so that would be like well into febuary or something, and should fall well into the changeover date. However, there is no mention either in the manual or anywhere that this, indeed does have the HD2+ chip. So whoever said anything about stickers or whatever, isnt here. I am trying to physically confirm... and i just did. The benq rep confirmed that this model does have the HD2+ chip, and was manufactured in February 2004. Sweet, visual apex came through! the top one is the new one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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