Ou8thisSN Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 So, after asking quite a few questions on here, last week I pulled the trigger and recieved a Benq 8700+. I had a chance to take it home this weekend and test it out. So here is what I think: The uncalibrated picture is just awesome, right out of the box. all you really need to do is focus it and pick a size you want to watch it at. At first, everyone recommended that anything over like 119" or something would be too dim to view. Well, I set up the PJ about 16 feet from the wall and projected about a 130" image. It is certainly bright and sharp at that size. You cannot see anything if you turn on any kind of lighting, but without it, it just looks fabulous. I was able to see details that I never saw on my panasonic PDP. The blacks are as good as the Panny. I thought the greens were excellent too, they looked green to me, not light green as some have suggested. The reds are a bit lacking, but not enough to really matter, it still puts out a fabulous picture. I just bougth the AVIA disc, but I havent played around and calibrated it, and the screenshots will be updated once the calibration is complete. Also keep in mind that a screen has not been picked yet, so everything projected is on an *almost* white, wall. The camera used was a fujifilm finepix a210. the files are 1M each. This projector, from what I could tell, is meant for HDTV, it really really shines at HDTV, not as much with DVDs. I mean, DVDs look great, but they just arent as sharp, and the colors arent as beautiful as they are on a true HDTV image. We were sitting like 19 feet back, with the projector on the table in front of us, and we didnt really see any screen door effect. So I think we'll probably end up getting like a 127-129 inch screen. I cant imagine how much brighter it will get with a high power screen. I had a hard time convincing my mom that we need a screen at all as she couldnt imagine a better image. So, overall, the pictures from essentailly DVDs, HDTV, and even SDTV is very very good. SDTV is the worst, because of the lack of resolution, dvds are very good, and HD is just fabulous. The downsides: I dont know if this is a downside, but I am having troubles with getting a perfect rectangle image. I mean the corners are 90 degrees but it looks like a trapezoid on one side and less on the other. Do you guys think this is something to do with the leveling feet on the bottom, or something. i really think its just like a matter of positioning it perfectly. Its kinda annoying the way the PIP/POP options are setup, and takes a whie to understand, and you cant reposition the PIP window, you can just resize it. it always stays in the uppper left corner. Another great thing is that the fan noise is barely noticable. after you turn it off, it goes into high mode and then it is very noticeable, but not when you're watching a movie. Again, we had the pj like 2 feet in front of us, and it was definitely not an issue. Keep in mind that i'm very new to the HT hobby thing, and my POV is from an average consumer's point of view, so what isnt annoying to me, could be to some of you. I didnt see any rainbows really, and noone else complained about them. The only time i saw them was when I put up the crosshatch pattern that comes with the projector, for like resizing or something. I didnt see it during any of the HDTV stuff. I saw maybe 1 or 2 during like a couple of DVDs, TOTAL. So, for me, defnitely not an issue. For this price, and all the stuff it comes with, you cant beat this image. It really impressed me, especially, since I could make a 130 image with NO problems. I could make out every detail and more that I certainly couldnt on the PDP downstairs. Anyway, I have to run to lab meeting, and I will post screen shots after my return. Please feel free to post any questions or something, that I havent covered in my babbling.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou8thisSN Posted April 12, 2004 Author Share Posted April 12, 2004 ESPN HD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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Ou8thisSN Posted April 12, 2004 Author Share Posted April 12, 2004 okay, i also forgot to mention: another possible downside, the remote isnt very ergonomic, and you kinda have to use the backlight sometimes to find which button you need to push. There is no lens cap! that can get annoying if you want to keep dust from the lens Like I said, I had both the 8700 and the 8700+. I did see that the blacks were a bit better on the new one, but also the 8700 had a higher pitch wheel, which to me was very very very annoying. I couldnt stand it and I was sooo happy that I also had this new one that I was going to keep. Again, it could have just been that model, but that was more annoying to me than rainbows or something, i cant stand hi pitched noise. none present in the 8700+. Oh yeah, it also gets pretty hot. After about running it for like 5 minutes, and not having either the air conditioning or have a fan in the room, the room that is 20 x 20 was noticably warmer than the adjacent hallway. It didnt get uncomfortably hot, but a lot of hot air is blown out. all these pictures are from a Pioneer DV-434 DVD player from the S-Video output. the HDTV stuff is from the Motorola HDTV box, with 720p out, using the supplied 12" component video cable, into the RGB/BNC connection on the projector. The DVI cable was only like 3 feet long and didnt reach between the cable box and the Projector. However, I did try it for a little while. I didnt really see a huge difference, but again i played with it for only 20 or so minutes. What sucked about the DVI connection was that I dont think i could ever get it up to 720p. I think it was more a problem with the DCT 5100 and its firmware than the PJ. I think it kept defaulting to 1024 x 768. I dont know if that is the only resolution you get with DVI, but I would assume you can drive a 1280 x 720 for 1:1 pixel mapping..... Also, YOU cant watch stadard channels using the DVI cable!! only HD channels, it says unable to like something, when i switched to MTV or Foxnews. Again, it could be something i'm not doing right with the cable box. Comcast wont help me at all, so i guess i'll ask other Nashville owners how they have theirs setup. Anyway, thats all i can think of for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TauRus Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 Congratulations, man! Nice photos. One question though - RF7s in your room look suspiciosly like Bose satellites ... ok, just kidding ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou8thisSN Posted April 12, 2004 Author Share Posted April 12, 2004 they are.... its all I had to listen to. I mean, they arent terrible, but I was definitely missing my klipsch. But I dont have full series yet, so no 5.1 with klipsch. didnt want to mix and match. So I settled on the bose for now, it was in another room over, and at least it was light to move in. I did however move the SVS upstairs, and it definitely helps. the klipsch are downstairs... eventually they will be upstairs, cant wait for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartdude Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 You using any special paint (dont see a screen there)? Also wondering if there should be some sort of light absorbion barrier around the picture to stop reflection onto the ceiling (was noticing that on the bright scenes, but it might be hard to do short of painting/ treating the ceiling to make it dark/ nonreflective). I've always wanted a projection system but have never had a good area to take advantage of it. The picture size is making me drool. Must...buy...new house with bigger HT room... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou8thisSN Posted April 13, 2004 Author Share Posted April 13, 2004 well, thats one of the great things about the benq, it comes with a short throw lens, so you can have a 119" image from as little as 12 feet. That is a naked wall, no paint. As I said, this weekend was just for test purposes to find out what size screen we want. I have a good idea now, and in a month, when i return home, we will order and install a proper screen. The wall is a little off white. There will be a light absorbtion material around the screen as a black border, but thats about it. My folks wont let me paint the ceiling. Plus, the ceiling isnt smooth, its textured, so it would be difficult. Its not really that distracting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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