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Even though I haven't got HDTV or have subscribed to either Bluray or HD DVD, I decided it was time to upgrade my trusty old 1024 x 768 NEC HT1000 dlp to a BenQ W10000 1080p dlp front projector. Why now ? Because everything was just right: the W10K had lens shift and a manual iris and the $3895CDN price was just rigfht for my situation. When this baby was released at the end of 2006, its msrp was $9999. During 2007 it streeted for anywhere from $6 to $8K. But there is a new 1080p being released any day now from BenQ, the W20000, so prices of their 06/07 model were falling like flies.
The W10K is a beast, compared to the little HT1000 and it is even larger than my Yamaha LPX 510 lcd projector. But it fits nicely in the rack behind the seating area with the W10K on top ( thanks to the lens shift ) and the Yamaha on the middle shelf. The BenQ claims a contrast ratio of 10,000:1 but in reality it is probably some where between 7 and 8:000:1. But believe me, there is a helluva lot of contrast there. Black levels are excellent and blacks are really black. But you have to make sure the brightness and contrast are set properly to really take advantage of this.
Reviewers all pretty much said the same about out of the box color temp: very close but just a tad too much blue. One reviewer who owned the 720p version of this baby, said after reviewing the W10K, he dialed in the proper 6500K by simply lowering the blue gain by 5 clicks. I tried that and the greyscale looks great.
There are all kinds of features for those who like to tinker with the picture, including the ability to change the red, green, blue and yellow colors, as well as the ability to change the primaries. But I liked the color as it was and left those things alone.
As for the iris, well the factory default in the cinema preset mode sets the iris at about 3/4 closed, but I found the contrast and black levels better and the picture a little brighter with the iris at about the midway point. BTW, this thing is a light cannon. It has a 250 watt lamp but my preference is setting it at 200w. It is also whisper quiet.
PQ varies according to just how good the dvd transfer is, because this baby is unforgiving: garbage in/garbage out. The upsacling and deinterlacing of 480i is pretty good IMHO, delivering a sharp, detailed picture, but softer and more filmlike ( much like the NEC ) than my Yamaha lcd.
Overall I am more than happy with this purchase and look forward to adding a dual Hd-dvd/bluray player to the mix possibly sometime next year. That's when I'll really be able to take advantage of 1080p with film material at 24 frames, too.
I tried to attach a pic but it didn't work. If you want to see what it looks like, go to the BenQ USA site, choose W10000 under projectors, then click on awards and reviews. There is one from CBS News that has a video showing this projector off.
The W10K is a beast, compared to the little HT1000 and it is even larger than my Yamaha LPX 510 lcd projector. But it fits nicely in the rack behind the seating area with the W10K on top ( thanks to the lens shift ) and the Yamaha on the middle shelf. The BenQ claims a contrast ratio of 10,000:1 but in reality it is probably some where between 7 and 8:000:1. But believe me, there is a helluva lot of contrast there. Black levels are excellent and blacks are really black. But you have to make sure the brightness and contrast are set properly to really take advantage of this.
Reviewers all pretty much said the same about out of the box color temp: very close but just a tad too much blue. One reviewer who owned the 720p version of this baby, said after reviewing the W10K, he dialed in the proper 6500K by simply lowering the blue gain by 5 clicks. I tried that and the greyscale looks great.
There are all kinds of features for those who like to tinker with the picture, including the ability to change the red, green, blue and yellow colors, as well as the ability to change the primaries. But I liked the color as it was and left those things alone.
As for the iris, well the factory default in the cinema preset mode sets the iris at about 3/4 closed, but I found the contrast and black levels better and the picture a little brighter with the iris at about the midway point. BTW, this thing is a light cannon. It has a 250 watt lamp but my preference is setting it at 200w. It is also whisper quiet.
PQ varies according to just how good the dvd transfer is, because this baby is unforgiving: garbage in/garbage out. The upsacling and deinterlacing of 480i is pretty good IMHO, delivering a sharp, detailed picture, but softer and more filmlike ( much like the NEC ) than my Yamaha lcd.
Overall I am more than happy with this purchase and look forward to adding a dual Hd-dvd/bluray player to the mix possibly sometime next year. That's when I'll really be able to take advantage of 1080p with film material at 24 frames, too.
I tried to attach a pic but it didn't work. If you want to see what it looks like, go to the BenQ USA site, choose W10000 under projectors, then click on awards and reviews. There is one from CBS News that has a video showing this projector off.
but I would love to have ya ... 
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