Benq W1080St Or Viewsonic Pjd7820Hd

[bandyka]

Hi Everyone,

I am about to move from a 60" LG smart 3D TV to a larger screen so it will be a projector.

My key areas of concern:

• Needs to be very bright as our living gets lots of sunlight
  
• 3D blu ray and gaming capability for PC and PlayStation
  
• Short throw distance of 2-2.5 meters
  
• good black levels and image clarity
  
• low noise operation (this is important for me I can't stand idle fan noise)
  

I have been looking at the BenQ W1080ST as the best bargain and feature rich product but today I came across the Viewsonic PJD7820HD which has a much brighter lamp and gets very good reviews.

I am now tossing in between the two. I am open to any other suggestions as well.

Thanks in advance.

[jeffpr1503564269]

you might have to compromise on black levels. you cant get bright projector in a light room and still get black.

[Owen]

Be very careful about projector specs. Contrast ratio and light output numbers are all about marketing, not real world performance because when asked to deliver accurate colour light output drops in half or worse with single chip DLP models.

The BenQ apparently uses a 240Watt lamp and the Viewsonic a 210Watt, so the Benq has more light to work with.

The BenQ uses a RGBRGB colour wheel for optimal colour performance and minimal rainbows, while the Viewsonic uses a RGBCYW colour wheel for optimal light output but inferior colour performance and rainbow suppression.

The Viewsonic is a data grade projector which gets more light output at the expense of colour accuracy and rainbow suppression. Neither with get anywhere near their rated output when set up for decent colour accuracy.

Unless you can make the room dark ANY front projected image will look like sh!t compared to a TV because any ambient light in the room totally trashes black level.

Edited December 29, 2013 by Owen

[bandyka]

Thanks so you are saying the BENQ would be a better overall choice? I am ok with room shading.

[Owen]

It depends on what aspects of performance are of primary importance to you. For picture quality in a home theater application the BenQ does seem a better choice.

[bandyka]

since it will be used for blu ray and gaming picture quality is the top priority and it also needs to be silent.

[MLXXX]

• low noise operation (this is important for me I can't stand idle fan noise)
  

The specs for the ViewSonic PJD7820HD are:

Audible Noise: 35.0 dB Eco-Mode: 29.0 dB

The specs for the BenQ W1080ST are:

Audible Noise: 33.0 dB Eco-Mode: 30.0 dB

Neither projector is particularly quiet!

Much will depend on how far from the projector you expect viewers will be seated.

Edited December 29, 2013 by MLXXX

[bandyka]

thanks

are there any known quiet ones?

[bandyka]

Well I picked up a BENQ W1070 and fired it up quickly just on the wall and I am already amazed during the day in our VERY bright living room watching a blu-ray movie is fantastic. The resolution and sharpness is just as good as my latest LED TV. Dark scenes obviously a little washed out in this sort of setup but once I move everything to the designated cinema room and project onto the screen I can only imagine how good this thing will be. Also tested Assassins Creed on the PS4 and I am blown away. Can't wait to test 3D once the glasses arrive. The fan noise I was worried about is virtually none existent. So far I am very happy that I did not fork out 4K for 75" TV. The Projector 2x 3D glasses a 120" motorized screen and 5m HDMI cable cost me all up $1200.00. Extremely good value compared to a much smaller TV. I don't understand why this sort of home cinema setup is not widespread already. Very happy and can only highly recommend this setup.

[MLXXX]

The fan noise I was worried about is virtually none existent.

The W1070 and W1080ST are considered to be on the noisy side, but as long as you are not right next to them the noise (and the heat) may -- as you have found -- not be too distracting.

[CAVX]

Umm, don't you guys have sound systems? I will suggest that unless you have that black vault scene from MISSION IMPOSSIBLE on repeat that you won't really be able to hear the projector fan that often.

[MLXXX]

Actually the soundtrack for entering and exiting the black vault in Mission Impossible is surprisingly noisy. Here's entering:

Sometimes you get profound silence in a movie at the time of a cataclysmic event (such as a nuclear explosion), the idea being that the event is so powerful the human sense of hearing is suspended while the brain is taking in the enormity of it.

A modern domestic projector that uses a lamp that generates a lot of heat needs a strong fan. I think that as long as you are not right next to the projector, the sound of the fan should be tolerable, and perhaps only noticeable if you listen for it. Having said that, people whose hearing does not ignore irrelevant background sounds may still not be satisfied.

My W1070 is audible from across the room, if you listen for it during quieter parts of a movie.