We calibrate each home theater that is reviewed. It is a pretty standard calibration, there's always more that can be done by some of the "hi-end" calibrators. Our calibrations, including the W6000, are normally limited to a grayscale calibration, along with brightness, contrast, color saturation, etc.
9/9/09 - Art Feierman
BenQ W6000 Color Temperature
Out of the box measurements for "best" mode - Cinema: Shown below are separate measurements. The first column is with the Color Temp set to Warm, and Brilliant Color turned off. The overall color temp looks very good, close to the ideal 6500K (but in reality has slightly too much green). The second column is with Brilliant Color turned on, and the Color Temp set to Normal. Note that overall, this setup measures a little warm (strong on reds).
|
Cinema, Warm, BC off |
Cinema, Normal, BC on |
| 30 IRE |
6470 |
6293 |
| 50 IRE |
6603 |
6464 |
| 80 IRE |
6672 |
6466 |
| 100 IRE |
6624 |
6416 |
|
Below you'll find final color temp measurements, post calibration.
BenQ W6000 Basic Settings
In addition to calibrating Red Green and Blue for a correct grayscale balance (6500K), there are a number of other settings that come into play. Typically Contrast and Brightness (white balance and black balance), need to be done first. Color saturation and gamma also need adjustment.
Settings for measurements (default values are in parenthesis):
|
Cinema |
Dynamic |
Standard |
| Contrast (50) |
47 |
47 |
40 |
| Brightness (50) |
52 |
52 |
52 |
| Color |
55(51) |
-50 |
-55 |
| Tint |
(0) |
|
|
| Color Temp |
(Warm) |
(Lamp Native) |
(Cool) |
| Gamma |
-2.2 |
-2.2 (BenQ 1) |
|
| Dynamic Black |
Off |
|
|
| Lamp Mode |
Normal (unless noted otherwise) |
|
|
| Brilliant Color (BC) |
On (unless noted otherwise) |
|
|
|
All other settings at default (untouched).
BenQ W6000 Post Calibration Grayscale:Cinema Mode(stored on User 1)
The measurements below were taken with Brilliant Color on:
| 20 IRE |
6436K (very dark gray) |
| 30 IRE |
6523K |
| 40 IRE |
6511K |
| 50 IRE |
6631K (medium gray) |
| 60 IRE |
6624K |
| 70 IRE |
6634K |
| 80 IRE |
6578K (light gray) |
| 90 IRE |
6573K |
| 100 IRE |
6561K (white) |
|
Overall that's a nice tight set of color temps across the entire range.
Gamma: Set for 2.2, it measured across its range, an average of 2.16, close to the desired 2.2. The 2.4 setting measured 2.34, which is a touch dark in the mid brightness areas.
RGB Settings
About the W6000. Its three Preset modes - Cinema Standard and Dynamic, are simply combinations of Color Temp and Gamma settings. In other words, you can start with Cinema, with Warm as the Color Temp, and 2.2 as the gamma, but if you just change the Color Temp to Normal, then you end up with the same output as starting with Standard, and using the Normal Color Temp.
One nice thing is that when creating a User Savable mode, you can choose which preset is your starting point.
To get the color temp settings above, the following adjustments were made to gain and bias:
| Gain |
R = 48 |
|
G = 50 |
|
B = 49 |
| Offset |
R = 48 |
|
G = 50 |
|
B = 49 |
|
Note, I found the overall color to be better using Cinema mode, with the Color Temp set to Warm and Brilliant Color off, than the calibrated settings with Brilliant Color On, which still had a bit too much green. In eyeballing it, after Mike's calibration, I find the picture to be slightly improved with the Green Gain, set to 49, instead of 50. Reducing the Green offset to 49 as well, may be preferred by some. Mike's settings are pretty good. Even a sight change in a gain or offset (of one) does make a visible difference.
You will want to do your own settings for Brightness, Contrast and Color Saturation, based on your screen surface type, and room conditions. I generally find that Mike's saturation measurements tend to end up a little more saturated than most people will find ideal, so I find myself dialing Color (saturation) down when viewing on my high contrast gray Firehawk G3.
Brightest Modes:
Yes, the BenQ W6000 has lots of lumens available. Unfortunately, when the projector is at its brightest (which is Dynamic mode), or for that matter, anytime you select Native Lamp for the color temp, you will get an image too strong on greens (and blues). In Native Lamp, the projector does not let you adjust Gain and Offset so there is no way to improve the overall color balance, other than to definitely recommend that you use Brilliant Color on, with Native Lamp, as it does add some more red. That said, any setup with Native Lamp will still be too green, and you'll likely only use it if you absolutely need every last lumen. Otherwise you will be much better off using Standard mode, with Normal Color Temp, or its own set of Gain and Offset numbers (we didn't do one.) I've been using that setup, - Standard, with Normal, for all my sports viewing.
