Projectors have been around for a very long time and with so many players in the market, people are now spoilt for choice when it comes to picking up a projector for their organisations or homes. Benq is a major player in this segment of devices and today we will take a look at one of their offerings to the projector market – The W8000.
The W8000 is a Full HD DLP projector designed specifically for Home Cinema fans. This mid range projector device not only offers the user a choice of lenses, but also features a strong video processing and also an independent certification of its performance by THX.
Table of Contents
DESIGN:–
The Benq W8000 is not the benchmark for sleek projectors by a long shot. There are no curved edges, No rounded corners or any exaggerated lens barrel holdings. This projector is as blockish as blockish can get. The build quality however, is stellar and you will feel it the moment you hold the device or handle it. holding it is going to be a bit of a hassle thanks to its 9kg weight but I believe once installed, there will not be much of a requirement to change its position.
Benq have also paid special attention to the remote control of the W8000. The remote is big with spaciously laid out buttons making the overall experience a treat.
SETUP :–
When it comes to properly aligning the image on screening or any other adjustments, the W8000 offers a lot to its users. You can choose from a range of different lens options with varying throw-distance characteristics. Your chosen lens slots easily yet firmly into the projector’s front edge. Once the lens have been fit, the on screen menus of the W8000 offer all possible options that you would expect including white balance and colour management, alongside a wide range of gamma presets.
There are two sort of branded presets in the form of a Game preset and one preset by THX , but the recommended setting would be to use on of the customised “user” presets as it gives you the best performance of the lot. Other settings include gamma to 2.3 or 2.4, rather than the more typical 2.2 setting, and nudging the brightness down to around 45 or 46 from its default 50 level.
All in all, Benq have packed quite a few adjustment option in the W8000, making it a very versatile device to use.
FEATURES :–
Coming to the features of the W8000, we have the following – two HDMIs, a 12V trigger output, a D-SUB PC input, a component video input, an RS232 port to aid integration into a home control network, a 12V trigger port for potentially driving an external motorised screen, and a 3D Sync output. The 3D sync output port provides for 3D output reaffirming the support for 3D by the W8000. The W8000’s single-chip DLP projection engine promises a maximum light output of 2,000 ANSI lumens and a contrast ratio of 50,000:1. On paper and even practically, these numbers are excellent for a mid range projector device.
The W8000 also uses a six-speed RGBRGB colour wheel that’s been specially engineered to get as close as possible to the colour characteristics of the non-HDR Rec 709 video standard. BenQ even calibrates each and every W8000 on the production line to make sure its software settings are also matched as closely as possible to Rec 709.
The final features that Benq feels justify the W8000’s price tag are the use of all-glass optics and Benq’s proprietary “Total inner reflection” optical system.
The latter uses a system of prisms to deliver more precise light beam angles and so increases the consistency of brightness, colour, contrast and sharpness right across the screen.
All in all, the W8000 comes packed in loads of features that unify to deliver a super picture experience. Yes, a few presets are a bit sketchy, but using the right combination will leave you with a smile on your face.
PERFORMANCE:–
The W8000 delivers very filmic images. The best nuance of its performance would be its handling of colours. The presentation , when it comes to the greyscale or colour blend tones is subtle, there is no striping even in the trickiest of dark scenes.
Coming to the whites, the super performance of the W8000 ensures theres no clipping or the bleached out look you get for the peak whites in most DLP projectors.
The W8000’s colours really do get extremely close to the values associated with the Rec 709 standard, meaning that as well as video pictures looking naturally toned, they also look gorgeously balanced and are beautifully represented.
Skin tones look authentic and detailed compared to other projectors, where the skin tones look more mannequin like .
Thanks to W8000’s noise and colour precision, it can take full advantage of its Full HD resolution. Details from Blu rays are consistently brilliant, and the sharpness remains all across the images , including the corners.
Overall, the W8000 delivers solid performance, and while there are some hitches with the dark scenes, ts a trade off Benq had to make and since it is not that much of a glaring problem, we can let it slide.
CONCLUSION:–
The W8000 is a solid choice for a Home Entertainment projector system. Sure, the design is more utility based than sleek. The presets could have been improved but otherwise the Benq W8000 is a solid mid range DLP projector.
