BenQ TH585 vs. Vankyo V630 Comparison Review – Page 2

BenQ TH585 vs. Vankyo V630 Comparison Review – Page 2: Brightness, Gaming, Sound Quality, Audible Noise Level, Vankyo Notable Features

Winner: BenQ TH585

LUX are not Lumens

While Vankyo advertises the V630 brightness as 6,500 LUX, the industry standard for measuring brightness is ANSI lumens. This rated brightness of 6,500 LUX might seem like a lot but there is a catch. LUX is not a standard projector measurement so it can’t be used to compare brightness between projectors from different manufacturers. It might be helpful when comparing two “LUX” rated models in Vankyo’s lineup, but it can’t be used to compare brightness with another manufacturer’s projectors, so it is pretty much meaningless number.

To measure ANSI lumens of the Vankyo and Benq, I set both projectors to their brightest modes. I also made sure the projectors were in their highest lamp mode. The Vankyo only has one lamp mode while the Benq has four (Normal, Economic, Smart Eco and LampSave).

I also measured brightest at full wide angle because the iris is wide open allowing the most amount of light to get through. I took 3-4 readings about 15-20% out from the center of the lens. That should give a pretty good approximation of ANSI lumens unless a projector’s brightness rolls off excessively at the edges.

Vankyo V630 Brightness (Vivid Mode, Single Lamp Setting): 423 lumens

BenQ TH585 Brightness (Bright Mode, Normal Lamp Power): 3,885 lumens

Even before I measured the two units, it was obvious that the BenQ was significantly brighter the Vankyo. When tested, the Vankyo V630 produced about 423 Lumens while the BenQ TH585 delivered the 3285 lumens. The BenQ measured nearly 8X brighter than the Vankyo. For the rest of the modes, I measured the Benq at wide angle because the Vankyo is a fixed throw ratio.

Even in its ECO lamp mode, the BenQ TH585 produced 2289 which was more than five times more lumens than the Vankyo V630 could achieve. While theoretically the Vankyo V630 could be used on a 120-inch screen, it doesn’t really have the brightness needed to produce a vibrant picture, especially in a room with ambient light. The BenQ TH585 was significantly brighter, so for anyone who's looking for a larger screen it would be the obvious choice.

Winner: BenQ TH585

The longer it takes a projector to process the gaming image and put it on the screen, known as input lag, the worse it is as a gaming projector. Hardcore gamers want lowest input lag possible. BenQ is promoting the TH585 as a gaming projector with a rated input lag of just 16ms. The BenQ TH585 did in fact measure in the 16-17ms range, while the Vankyo measured between 132 and 135ms. This means the BenQ is about 8X as fast as the Vankyo in displaying gaming images.

The highest acceptable input lag for serious gamers is about 55ms, so the Vankyo V630 would be a poor gaming solution.  Great performance would be under 18ms so the BenQ TH585 is outstanding.

The BenQ TH585 has a dedicated picture mode for gaming designed to not only reduce input lag but also improve clarity and enhance the dark scenes in video game content. You can utilize the TH585 low input lag capability in any picture mode by manually switching the FAST MODE setting to ON.

Winner: Vankyo V630

Both projectors have plenty of lumens in general for that proper “theater.” Our solution for both projectors – in terms of handling 4K HDR content, and P3 – was to calibrate both projectors, so that we have two calibrated 4K HDR modes: one attempting P3 color, and the second one, brighter, doing REC 709. Even in the theater however, we can use all the lumens we can find for HDR content, and for that reason, many of you may choose to pass on using P3 color in exchange for more pop up and wow factor, when watching HDR content.

If attempting P3 color and HDR – on 4K content, the Epson gets as close to nailing P3 color accurately as any lamp based projector we’ve calibrated. The BenQ has a lot more trouble. It doesn’t get very close to P3, but still better than REC709. Just keep in mind that the differences, say, between P3 color and REC 709, seems minor compared to HDR vs good old SDR (Standard Dynamic Range).

Winner: BenQ TH585

Higher noise can be distracting when playing games or watching movies. While we do not measure audible noise, the Benq TH585 is rated at 35dB in high power and 29 dB in ECO. The Vankyo doesn’t list noise level but it was noticeably louder than the BenQ.  Even though I could see the BenQ TH585’s cooling fan spinning in the chassis, it was quieter in all lamp power modes than the Vankyo V630.

Based on the picture quality it delivered, the Vankyo V630 is worth its selling price of $269. I can think of several application where the V630 might be a good option. For example, if you are looking for a projector for a kid’s backyard movie night. I can also see using it to project movies or video games on the wall of a dorm room or military barracks.

Add a portable movie screen and you can throw a backyard movie night for less than $400. Yes, there are projectors that are brighter, sharper, and offer better color reproduction, but I doubt that a bunch of 6 year olds watching cartoons would really care.

As I mentioned the Vankyo offers a lot for $269. Below are a couple notable features available on the Vankyo V630.

LED Light Engine

The Vankyo LED engine is rated for up to 50,000 hours which means you don’t have to worry about replacing a bulb and it should last the life of the product. While the Vankyo V630 LED engine has a significantly longer life span than the Benq TH535, the bulb cannot deliver the same amount of brightness.

As I mentioned earlier the Vankyo V630S brightness is rated in “LUX” which is not a standard way to measure projector brightness. When I measured ANSI lumens, the Vankyo produced 1,200 lumens which is about half the brightness of the Benq. The extra brightness is important for maintaining color saturation and perceived contrast especially on a larger screen or in an environment with higher ambient light.