BenQ - PE7700 vs PE8700

[Joey Millison]

Hey Guys

*ducks*

Hopefully no one will throw rocks at me for disappearing for so long

Ok here's the deal. My friend was looking for a good DLP projector under $3k, so I did some searching and found that the BenQ PE7700 was the end-all be-all these days. It seemed to fit the price range and the reviews/posts I ready confirmed that it's a pretty sweet deal. So my friend ordered one a week ago and we waited for it to arrive.
But it never arrived, and so he's been calling them left and right. I guess there was some problem with the shipping, and so BenQ offered him a free upgrade to the PE8700.
Now, from what I've read, the PE7700's technology actually surpasses the PE8700's. I read that the colors were better, etc. Can anyone confirm or deny this? The PE7700 is listed at like $2,500 and the PE8700 goes for around $3,200. But is this actually a better deal based on the specs of these two projectors? Any assistance is very much appreciated.

A quick shout out to you cats in the TTP ;x( I'll check in soon...

[George Bellefontaine]

Joey, just thought I'd let you know we're not ignoring you. Looks like no one here is familiar with those two BenQ models.

[wildfire99]

The PE7700 is a very much newer model. (Mar '05 versus Feb '03 according to ProjectorCentral.) Very much newer = better resale and better tech, given the same chips. I gave up on BenQ after waiting all year for their 8720 model.

Unless you really are maxing out the budget at $2,500 though, I'd personally look elsewhere. The new LCD's this winter look compelling.

[eelco74]

Hi,

Yes there is, only a bit late :-)

I own a 8700 and have seen both the 7700 and the 8700+.

The 7700 and 8700+ are comparable, but the 7700 is the newer model.

The 7700 has more lightoutput, a bit more contrast and the newer TI DLP chipset. It also has HDMI in stead of DVI and has less problems on 50Hz PAL via DVI.

The 8700+ and the 8700 is a very fine projector, but for the price I would wait for the 7700. It also looks a bit better, since the blue/grey housing is replaced by a nice Ipod white colour.