BenQ W6000 Projector – Image Quality 4 Posted on September 21, 2009 By Art Feierman 1. BenQ W6000 Projector Review - BenQ W6000 Projector Overview - W6000 Projector Highlights2. BenQ W6000 Projector Review-2 - BenQ W6000 Frame Interpolation - W6000 Picture In Picture - 280 Watt Lamp3. BenQ W6000 Projector – Physical Tour - BenQ W6000 Projector - Appearance - W6000 Control Panel - Input/Output - W6000 Menus - BenQ W6000 Remote Control - BenQ W6000 Lens Throw - Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens4. BenQ W6000 Projector – Image Quality 1 - BenQ W6000 Projector - Image Quality - BenQ W6000 Out of the Box Picture Quality - BenQ W6000 Projector - Flesh Tones5. BenQ W6000 Projector – Image Quality 2 - BenQ W6000 Black Levels & Shadow Detail - Dynamic Iris6. BenQ W6000 Projector – Image Quality 37. BenQ W6000 Projector – Image Quality 4 - Shadow Detail Performance - Comparision - Comparision8. BenQ W6000 Projector – Image Quality 49. BenQ W6000 Projector – Image Quality 5 - Comparision - Comparision - BenQ W6000 - Overall Color & Picture Quality - A mix of additional images to show off the BenQ W6000:10. BenQ W6000 Projector – Image Quality 6 - A mix of additional images to show off the BenQ W6000:11. BenQ W6000 Projector – Image Quality 7 - From the DVE-HD test disc - Here are a few assorted, additional images, some of which can be found on other recent reviews: - BenQ W6000 Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports - BenQ W6000 Bottom Line on HDTV Sports12. BenQ W6000 Projector – Performance 1 - BenQ W6000 Brightness - First, here are the default brightness and color temp measurements: - Pre-calibration we measured these color temperatures (target is 6500K) over the grayscale range: - BenQ W6000 Sharpness13. BenQ W6000 Projector – Performance 2 - BenQ W6000: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise14. BenQ W6000 Projector Calibration and Settings - BenQ W6000 Color Temperature - BenQ W6000 Basic Settings - Settings for measurements (default values are in parenthesis): - BenQ W6000 Post Calibration Grayscale:Cinema Mode(stored on User 1) - The measurements below were taken with Brilliant Color on: - RGB Settings - To get the color temp settings above, the following adjustments were made to gain and bias: - Brightest Modes:15. BenQ W6000 – Projector Screens - BenQ W6000 Projector Screen Recommendations16. BenQ W6000 – Competitors 1 - W6000 vs. Epson Home Cinema 6500UB and Home Cinema 8500UB - BenQ W6000 vs. Mitsubishi HC3800, HC6800, HC7000 - BenQ W6000 vs. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 - BenQ W6000 vs. BenQ W5000 - BenQ W6000 vs. Sharp XV-Z1500017. BenQ W6000 – Competitors 2 - W6000 vs. JVC DLA-RS10 and DLA-RS15 - BenQ W6000 vs. Sony VPL-HW15 - BenQ W6000 vs. Panasonic PT-AE300018. BenQ W6000 Projector – Warranty19. BenQ W6000 – Review Summary 1 - BenQ W6000 Projector - The Bottom Line20. BenQ W6000 – Review Summary 2 - BenQ W6000 Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities - BenQ W6000 Projector: Pros - BenQ W6000 Projector: Cons - BenQ W6000 Projector: Typical Capabilities21. BenQ W6000 Projector Specifications The dynamic iris, with almost all projectors (JVC excepted, as they manage great black levels without a dynamic iris), of course, is a key to excellent black levels. I figure this is as good a time to comment on the iris’s impact on viewing. Below are two images from the beginning of one of the Star Trek movies (The Wrath of Kahn) shot at the exact same exposure! Notice how much brighter the background is on the first image, as the iris is forced to open for the bright credit. (Both images are intentionally overexposed.) A few frames before, without the credit, the scene is just stars, and the iris closes down a good amount. You must concede, the difference is significant. Of course, when you have bright areas on an image, you are a little less likely to notice the blacks, but in a case like this, you can easily notice the difference as the iris opens and closes each time a credit appears over the star field. Shadow Detail PerformanceShadow detail of the W6000 is really very good. I compared against the Epson 6500UB and the Sony VPL-HW15 side by side. The BenQ easily offered a bit more dark shadow detail than the Epson, which isn’t surprising, since we’ve reported that the Epson is a little weaker in that area, than other good projectors. Click Image to Enlarge(Epson combines really excellent black levels with “not quite as good as the competition” shadow detail). Side by side, the W6000 had the slightest adantage over the Sony projector as well, but you really had to be studying the projected images to be certain of that, and probably the slightest change to the the Brightness setting might reverse that difference. That said, I will “officially” give the BenQ, that tiny advantage over the Sony. W6000 Sharp XV-Z15000 VPL-HW15 Here’s a side-by-side dark scene from The Space Cowboys with the The Epson Home Cinema 6500UB on the left, BenQ W6000 on the right (the Epson you will note, is a again brighter on this photo, the result of the different iris actions, and having to use a mid-brightness mode with the Epson so that the BenQ doesn’t appear drastically brighter, and make the comparison useless): Click Image to EnlargeThe next set of comparison images, continues with a shot of Clint Eastwood from Space Cowboys. This is a very dark scene with Clint Eastwood, on Blu-ray disc. The photos are intentionally way overexposed. Look for the blacks in the shades, and the details in those shades in the form of the white trim. (At this level of overexposure, don’t even worry about the skin tones, as in these type of photos they always look terrible, and way oversaturated/too high contrast). First image is the BenQ W6000 followed by the VPL-HW15, next are: Sharp XV-Z15000, Optoma HD8200, Sanyo PLV-Z3000, the older Sony VPL-HW10, and the Panasonic PT-AE3000U. The VPL-HW15 does extremely well in shadow detail on our Clint Eastwood dark scene from Space Cowboys: ComparisionBenQ W6000VPL-HW15Sharp XV-Z15000Optoma HD8200Sanyo PLV-Z3000Sony VPL-HW10Panasonic PT-AE3000UPreviousNext The following images are both the same frame, from Space Cowboys. The first one is slightly overexposed, and the second one, dramatically so. Look in the brown area of the satellite on the left (and elsewhere). The VPL-HW15 does a very good job. The third image is the same from on the Sony VPL-HW15. Note in the images below – W6000 vs. HW15, it appears (look to the brightest parts of the satellite, or the pause button in the lower left) that the Sony a touch more overexposed, yet the blacks are a touch better on the BenQ. ComparisionBenQ W6000BenQ W6000Sony VPL-HW15PreviousNext 1. BenQ W6000 Projector Review - BenQ W6000 Projector Overview - W6000 Projector Highlights2. BenQ W6000 Projector Review-2 - BenQ W6000 Frame Interpolation - W6000 Picture In Picture - 280 Watt Lamp3. BenQ W6000 Projector – Physical Tour - BenQ W6000 Projector - Appearance - W6000 Control Panel - Input/Output - W6000 Menus - BenQ W6000 Remote Control - BenQ W6000 Lens Throw - Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens4. BenQ W6000 Projector – Image Quality 1 - BenQ W6000 Projector - Image Quality - BenQ W6000 Out of the Box Picture Quality - BenQ W6000 Projector - Flesh Tones5. BenQ W6000 Projector – Image Quality 2 - BenQ W6000 Black Levels & Shadow Detail - Dynamic Iris6. BenQ W6000 Projector – Image Quality 37. BenQ W6000 Projector – Image Quality 4 - Shadow Detail Performance - Comparision - Comparision8. BenQ W6000 Projector – Image Quality 49. BenQ W6000 Projector – Image Quality 5 - Comparision - Comparision - BenQ W6000 - Overall Color & Picture Quality - A mix of additional images to show off the BenQ W6000:10. BenQ W6000 Projector – Image Quality 6 - A mix of additional images to show off the BenQ W6000:11. BenQ W6000 Projector – Image Quality 7 - From the DVE-HD test disc - Here are a few assorted, additional images, some of which can be found on other recent reviews: - BenQ W6000 Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports - BenQ W6000 Bottom Line on HDTV Sports12. BenQ W6000 Projector – Performance 1 - BenQ W6000 Brightness - First, here are the default brightness and color temp measurements: - Pre-calibration we measured these color temperatures (target is 6500K) over the grayscale range: - BenQ W6000 Sharpness13. BenQ W6000 Projector – Performance 2 - BenQ W6000: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise14. BenQ W6000 Projector Calibration and Settings - BenQ W6000 Color Temperature - BenQ W6000 Basic Settings - Settings for measurements (default values are in parenthesis): - BenQ W6000 Post Calibration Grayscale:Cinema Mode(stored on User 1) - The measurements below were taken with Brilliant Color on: - RGB Settings - To get the color temp settings above, the following adjustments were made to gain and bias: - Brightest Modes:15. BenQ W6000 – Projector Screens - BenQ W6000 Projector Screen Recommendations16. BenQ W6000 – Competitors 1 - W6000 vs. Epson Home Cinema 6500UB and Home Cinema 8500UB - BenQ W6000 vs. Mitsubishi HC3800, HC6800, HC7000 - BenQ W6000 vs. Sanyo PLV-Z3000 - BenQ W6000 vs. BenQ W5000 - BenQ W6000 vs. Sharp XV-Z1500017. BenQ W6000 – Competitors 2 - W6000 vs. JVC DLA-RS10 and DLA-RS15 - BenQ W6000 vs. Sony VPL-HW15 - BenQ W6000 vs. Panasonic PT-AE300018. BenQ W6000 Projector – Warranty19. BenQ W6000 – Review Summary 1 - BenQ W6000 Projector - The Bottom Line20. BenQ W6000 – Review Summary 2 - BenQ W6000 Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities - BenQ W6000 Projector: Pros - BenQ W6000 Projector: Cons - BenQ W6000 Projector: Typical Capabilities21. BenQ W6000 Projector Specifications BenQ W6000 Projector – Image Quality 3 BenQ W6000 Projector – Image Quality 4