BenQ W7000 Projector - Warranty

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Art Feierman

The W7000 comes with a one year parts and labor warranty, which in this price range is shorter than average. In the $2000 - $3500 price range there are plenty of one year warranties, and a few three year ones, but, that said, two years is typical in this price range.

Of top competitors, the Epson 5010 probably has the best warranty around the price, with a two year warranty, and a 2nd day replacement program for both years. Panasonic's $2999 PT-AE7000 offers a single year, but by registering the projector, the current Panasonic promo provides a second year (please note that's 2 years or 2000 hours which ever comes first), and heavy users can put on the full 2000 hours in a year, rather easily if they are using it as their primary TV as well as for movies. The new Mitsubishi HC7800D (our next review) is another with a 2 year parts and labor warranty. Most of the other DLP projectors in the range (Acer, Optoma, etc) tend to have a single year. Of note, Acer and others are starting to offer 5 years warranty on the DLP chip, but only that. Since DLP chips are not known to fail, that's great marketing, but otherwise, not a warranty anyone is likely to use.

A six month or 500 hour warranty covers the lamp.

Bottom line: An OK warranty, nothing more. I am always nervous with only one year warranties on most projectors. Since a repair can be expensive, I strongly favor two year warranties, and typically recommend purchasing a factory extended warranty if there is one, or at least a 3rd party warranty. Those won't give you the same warm fuzzy as a factory warranty, but they don't cost much, and could save a bundle.

After 2 full years of ownership, since you would likely be looking for a replacement lamp, too, a failure makes buying something newer, better, and less expensive a reasonable proposition, but after just one year, you are probably not going to be happy if you have a problem and have to shell out cash between year one and year 2.