Benq W500 for small, light controlled rooms?

[ragingsamster]

I am creating a small media room ( 12.5 X 9 - 2 or 3 person cap.) I will be using the room mainly for my PC and gaming, but I will have a tuner card and HD movies to play. I can light control it completely, but from the calculators I've been using the room may be tolerant of some ambient light.



I have read a couple of reviews on the Benq W500 projector. With it's adjustment ability and from all reports superior scaling attributes looks like my first choice as I want to run my PC at 1920X1080 - my Hitachi 57" 1080i is not usable at this resolution due to flicker and sharpness issues - but it works fabulous for streaming netflix movies. The post about "red spots" has me concerned but I have heard others that have nothing but good thing to say. I have the ability to pick this projector up brand new with a 100" Elite screen for $840.00 and I'm looking for input that would dissuade me from jumping on the deal?
Here's the layout I'm going for:



Small and intimate, just two seats.


Thanks in advance!

[Blaser]

Welcome to the Shack Sam!!
According to Projectorreviews this is a good projector. Of course it is not the best but it doesn't cost a fortune either.

BenQ W500 Projector: Pros
Very bright in best mode
Very good black levels
Good out of the box color and image quality, requiring only minimum adjustment to further improve it (issues mentioned, notwithstanding)
Vertical and Horizontal lens shift simplifies placement
12 volt screen trigger (for controlling motorized screens properly equipped)
Very good (extensive) image control options on menus
Good on image noise, better than most in the class
Very good menu system
Reasonably attractive, relatively small, projector
Good price/performance
BenQ W500 Projector: Cons
Placement flexibility: Limited zoom lens range (1.2:1)
Filter to clean (like all other LCD home theater projectors)
One of the louder projectors in full power lamp mode
Lamp door on bottom, requires removal from a ceiling mount, to change out
Color shift in background, shift towards red at very dark (low) values
Could use a 2nd (or third) HDMI input
BenQ W500 Projector: Typical Capabilities
Lamp Life
Audible noise levels
Pixel visibility (for a LCD projector)
Manual

I would say it is a good projector for the money, chose screen size wisely depending on watching distance to avoid screen door. Also you might need to be careful as far as the gain of the screen is concerned since this is a bright projector. I think you should get samples of the screen to decide which fits better in your setup.

Last, don't forget to have a look at this thread. It might be helpful.

[Jodean]

I have the Benq in my home theatre

I love it!!! esp for the price....$700 shipped. I only found a better deal on the mitts hc1500 about 3 months after i bought this one. (about $750 when i saw it last)

I cant believe how clear it is and its only a 720p

I have a 11 foot wide screen that im displaying and still havent measured diag to actually see how big it is....

Using black widow for screen paint on a flat sheetrock wall.

[ragingsamster]

Have you used the projector hooked up to a PC? and at what resolution? I'm hoping to run 1920 X1080 (scaled) so I can fit multiple apps simultaneously on the screen

[Jodean]

i havent had it connected to my pc but thats the resolution my dish dvr is putting out.

Looks great.

[ragingsamster]

Having the text in browser and email clear is really important for me, I've heard the Benq is the clearest of any of the 1.5K and under PJs. I'm hoping it works.

However if you could hook up a PC to it and comment on the quality I would be forever in your debt

[Jodean]

Sorry man....i dont have a hmdi to dvi cable or i would......

[ragingsamster]

Well, I took the plunge... 100" gaming here I come! Now I need to bide my time until the FedEx truck arrives (Ground, not next day, but they are not far from me so hopefully it will be quick) Need to start tearing apart the room! BTW, the couch is out. The room isn't big enough to support it. in it's place will be my lil subwoofer. The row of chairs will most likely be about 10.5 feet away from the screen.

[ragingsamster]

1280X720 - playing World of Warcraft, my goodness this was a good investment. I'm going to have fun here but Team Fortress 2 should be a kick. THis is everything I hoped for. A little bit of screen door, but not much - no screen yet, just textured wall. Watched snips of a movie, I am an extremely happy camper!

[Jodean]

This was my frist pj and im still amazed 4 months later....

wait till you watch some hd content....esp discovery hd...some of the outdoor ones look like you can walk right into the screen and join the team!!!

[ragingsamster]

Yay!

My projector is ensconced (on top of cardboard boxes) and operational! Screen has not arrived as of yet, but my worries are relieved. Text is sharp and crisp. Movies are fantastic and games are out of this world. Still no screen yet, but the wall is serving until the screen arrives. The bulbs are inexpensive enough that one per year or so won't be too bad. I think they may last longer though.

[Blaser]

Congratulations!

[ragingsamster]

here's a wallprint (without a screen I guess that's what you'd call it)

[Blaser]

Looks Great! You will be even happier with a proper screen...Picture should be more accurate (I assume your wall is not treated as a screen)!

[ragingsamster]

What a difference a cable makes! I went to my local cheap PC store and they actually had a decent price on a DVI to HDMI cable ($19.00 for a 10') I am running 1920X1080 and I can't tell that it's 720P - well there is a small bit of SDE with fonts, but all the fonts are very readable, screen real estate with the higher resolution is much larger and Life is good, I picked up my screen a manual Elite white screen and watched a movie with the Mrs. she was impressed.

I also stopped of at the a Comcast store and picked up a HD DVR I was so pumped to get home and run HD through my projector then it hit me - Where's the sound going to come from? My PC's built in sound system had no inputs besides a mike, so I scrounged through my box of PC junk and VIOLA! Soundblaster 16 with an aux in! I MacGuyvered a cable and badda boom, badda bing, it's a wonderful thing! pseudo-1080 is a lot better than 720p and my PC's 4.1 system is perfect for this small of a room.

I'm just starting the theater building process, but I can tell this system is going to be enjoyed.

[Blaser]

Sam,

I am very happy to hear that! Seems you'll be entering our world very quickly! Home theater is a luxary I can no more afford to be deprived of.

HD material is sharper ehhh!!

Just make sure to at least calibrate black and white level....and keep enjoying for years to come