Close up of a computer monitor, from Space Cowboys (Blu-ray), left to right: W6000, Epson Home Cinema 6500UB, Sony VPL-HW15, and Sharp XV-Z15000. I haven't seen any projector do better than the BenQ when it comes to trying to read the type on the on screen menus in this scene. There may be other comparable, but I haven't seen better. (Some much higher end projectors, which have optics that cost more than this projector, may well beat this BenQ.)
BenQ W6000: Bottom Line Sharpness
Sharpness is a major strength. Let me put it this way: My JVC RS20 is well over twice the price, and I'd be so happy if it was as sharp as the W6000!
Light Leakage
Light leakage is not a problem with the W6000. A small amount of light leaks out of the front vent but off to the right side (looking from the rear), Any light coming out there would hit the side wall, not the front, but, even with that said, the amount of light leakages very minor.
There is also just a touch of extraneous light leakage outside the image area, coming through the lens, notably when using maximum or near maximum lens shift. Again, the amount is very little, and really only noticeable if you have a black image projected. This is much better than a number of projectors (including the InFocus IN83 I've raved so much about, and some Optomas), that leak a lot of light out the lens (even if rarely visible with anything that's not a fully black frame, being projected).
Image Noise
DLP projectors - for whatever reason (perhaps the richness of their colors) tend to have slightly more visible noise than other technologies. In this regard, the BenQ W6000 is typical, and not considered a problem. Overall, the W6000 does well in terms of motion artifacts, and other noise types. This is no surprise as they are using Silicon Optix HQV processing (we use the HQV test disk to determine noise issues).
Audible Noise
It must be true: BenQ claims 32db at full power, and 29 in eco-mode. I say it must be true, because those are fairly high (noisy) numbers. My initial impression was that it was fairly quiet for a DLP, but the longer I watched it, the less I felt that way. Not a quiet projector, but not one of the very noisiest either. Personally, since I do most of my extended viewing, with the projector I'm reviewing just about 3 feet behind me, I would have guessed it was slightly quieter than those numbers reflect. I really didn't have a problem with the fan noise, but at full power, it might bother some. Of course you can use low power mode (eco mode) to get the W6000 quieter, and only give up 16% of brightness, still leaving you with one of the brightest projectors around.
Part of the noise component is the dynamic iris, when in use. It's lower pitched and I wouldn't think it would bother very many people, but I assumed the same for the Epson 6500UB's dynamic iris, and I have heard that some folks notice theirs.
Bottom line - definitely not a stellar performer when it comes to audible noise.
