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BenQ PE8700 by Steve, Austin TX. - May 01, 2005
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| HD 720 (1280x720), 1000 ANSI Lumens, 16.7 lbs, $7,995 (MSRP) |
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| Personal Experience |
| Love this projector. I've owned it for about 5 months. I've had 2 failures, see below. However, I have to say that the projector is awesome when it is functioning. I have it installed in a 22' X 20' center of house living room. The room has vaulted ceiling with ceiling fan, ceiling fan is a must in Texas heat. Due to this I installed it on the back wall. I bought a wall mount, it has a arm that extends out 2' to a elbow that has a connector that connects to a standard ceiling mount. This gives me about a 19.6' throw distance. I project on to a Da-Lite screen, the Tensioned Contour Electrol, 16X9 format, 133" diagonal. I chose the Cinema Vision matte. Very nice screen. I have to point out, do not buy the SCB-100 RS-232 Control board. First, this option added 8" to each side of the casing. Second, I was under the belief that it could connect to the PE8700 serial port for projector control over the screen, that is NOT possible. All you need to automatically control the screen up and down is a 12V line from either the projector or your stereo receiver. The PE8700 has this 12V screen controller and most mid to high end receivers do also. The serial board add-on is a waste of space and money. I've read reviews of the BenQ PE8700 that mentioned, what some called annoying, the units fan noise. I bought the unit in the winter, and until recently I thought the reviewers were crazy. Well, the outside temp has been hitting the 90's and I have just recently heard the fan go into high gear. When in normal operating mode, you can barely hear the fan. When it goes into full speed mode, it is more noticable. I would not call the noise annoying. Keep the room cool and leave space around the projector for air flow and you probably never hear the fan. I run all video through DVI, except for my X-Box which I use component video. It seems that the PE8700 doesn't support 720P or 1080i with component video. At least I can't get it to work. DVI works like a charm. I have a 4X1 DVI switch that works great for switching between DVI sources to the one PE8700 DVI input. I use a Samsung DVD player with DVI for $159, love it. I also have DirecTV HD-TiVO using DVI, and my computer has ATI X300 that has DVI. The BenQ remote now has a back light. If you read early reviews, that was a complaint. No worries any more. The video from this projector is first class. I have friends with Plasma and LCD HD TV's, this unit provides 2 - 5 times the size of picture with the same quality. In conclusion, I reviewed and studied projectors for almost 2 years before I decided on the BenQ PE8700. For price and features it seemed like a great deal, I say it was. Just a little after I purchased the PE8700, BenQ has introduced the PE7700. At this moment I'd suggest the PE7700, it has all the same features of the 8700 for less. It is also rated at 4 db quieter than the 8700. I assume BenQ realizes that this new product will hurt sales of the 8700. |
| Problems |
| I may be having bad luck, or am I? That's the question to ask. I expect to pay good money for good reliable equipment. So far, reliability of the PE8700 sucks. First unit worked about 1 week and then the internal fan mal-functioned. I'll give BenQ credit for quick replacement and RMA process for first failure. I had new working system 2 days from my call. I had to pay with credit card, but they refunded it when they received my return unit. Now dealing with 2nd RMA. Saturday morning went to do some work, my projector doubles for entertainment and computer workstation. The unit would not turn on. The power indicator was not lit and so I tested the power line, power line is good. Not sure what happened. I'm hoping my 2nd RMA process goes as smooth as the first. Just wanted others to be aware of these issues. |
