Epson Pro Cinema 810 vs. BenQ PE-8720

Posted on February 8, 2007 by Art Feierman

Epson Pro Cinema 810 vs. BenQ PE-8720

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I still have to go with my BenQ. It's not quite as bright (especially in brightest mode) but comparable brightness in best modes. It lacks all the settings and controls of the particularly flexible Epson, but like the Epson and other LCD projectors has vertical lens shift. The BenQ's 1.35:1 zoom lens can't match the range of the Epson's 2.1:1, but overall I still like the sharpness advantage of the BenQ. BenQ even has a 3 year warranty (but only 1st year replacement program). The BenQ is more expensive than the Epson, but not dramatically so. My BenQ is very filmlike, and of course has a DLP's much smaller pixel structure that allows me to sit closer. The Epson is good, the BenQ better.

Epson Pro Cinema 810 Home Theater Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities

Pro Cinema 810 Projector - Pros:

Very bright - a close second among all the 720p home theater projectors
Very good black levels - on the right, very dark scenes, excellent, still good where the dynamic iris can't be effective
Good shadow detail
Very good sharpness (although not the best)
Color out of the box - on a couple of modes - others need a basic end user calibration
Great warranty
Great support
Lots of user savable memory settings
7 color preset modes
2.1:1 zoom lens - more zoom range than any other competitor
Lens shift horizontal and vertical
A very good remote
Very good menus
It's got some stylin'
Pixels slightly less visible than Sanyo Z5 and most other LCD projectors
Surprisingly "film-like" image from an LCD projector

Pro Cinema 810 Projector - Cons:

Out of the box color on a number of modes needs basic end user calibration
Price - it is a premium 720p LCD, but an expensive one too
Projector must be unmounted to change lamp
Would have liked to see a 2nd HDMI input
Could be a touch sharper, which would really have put this projector over the top