[Jonathan DA]

C'mon, who'll be the first? Step right up...

I think Hank's just ignoring my posts now, that's two he didn't read.

I believe 5/8 works for us, that'll give us a little time to get a few more improvements done.

Dave, as long as you're offering, I'd LOVE to see the 8700 in my theater. It's at the top of my upgrade list. Next to new speakers, of course, but I've already a sweet deal lined up on those

John, I'm out of town till Tuesday, but I'll shoot you an email when I get back. We offer a nice entry level acoustical analysis package that won't break the bank if you're interested. It gives you a breakdown of the room modes, recommended speaker placement, and recommendations on how to treat the room. I usually offer help designing the treatments for free if you're a DIYer as well.

One of Frederick's wire installation customers (and HTF member) Gomez, mentioned to me he might be interested in being a stop of the tour as well. I'll see if 5/8 works for him.

[ReneZam]

Looks like May 8th is shaping up to be the day I will ask off of work that day so I can join the parade. Dave I see that you did get the 8700 id like to see it in action.

I would like to show my half built theater but thanks to my dog im that much further behind now..see my dog its a digger he will dig to get out of the yard and get his butt kicked by the neighbors dog so one night I threw him in the garage/half built theater while I fixed the hole he dug so I wouldn’t have to worry about it..By the morning he had tried to dig out by going thru the wall i would post a pic of it but i dont have 15 posts yet

[Chad Anson]

May 8th is iffy for me. But if I am in town, I'll gladly add the Anson Hillside Cinema to the lineup.

[Frederick_Falk]

May 8th is also better for me as well. Am looking forward to seeing Chad's Anson Hillside Cinema as well as I missed the grand opening.

[Greg Risley]

Count me in for the May 8th.

Greg

[Gomez]

Hey folks it's been a while since I posted much less visited this site. Hope all is well. I look forward to the Tour of Homes and look forward to showing my HT as well. May 8th works for me so far if its late in the day, the morning we have the Chuys 5k to run. I may possibly be hosting a LAN party that night but I haven't got any commitments as of yet.

As I was telling J-man and Frederick, I can show off my new speakers and new receiver if anyone is interested. Wouldn't mind a room analysis as well.

[Dave Elliott]

Hey guys.... The Benq projector arrived yesterday in good shape. Based on the serial #'s I've confirmed that it is definitely the PE8700+ (HD2+ DLP chip) model, as promised by Visual Apex.

Out of the box it looks damn good. Big improvement in color depth, contrast, and its nearly silent. The resolution difference isn't really apparent until you put on some HDTV. I can't seem to settle on a color temp setting I like, but the good news is they're user defineable settings. The other thing is that its much bigger and heavier than my old DLP. There goes the inconspicuous little cigar box on the ceiling

I watched a lot of HDTV, which looked great. DVDs did also. I almost made it through half of Return of the King before I realized I was supposed to be watching clips of several DVDs, not just one 3hr movie. Don't ask where it came from.... ;-)

I must say, though, it definitely highlights how good my little LT150 was when I bought it 3 yrs ago. Aside from noise and a bit of color issues, it really did a fantastic job. It still looks as good as any <$2K projo IMHO.

Now I have to mount it. My 3lb NEC required very little in regards to structural support, this 16 pound BenQ will require a redesign.

If you have any questions about it, I'll be happy to try to answer. I hope to have it up and tweaked by Sat night. Right now its on the coffee table but still looks fantastic.

I will try to bring it on May 8th for show and tell.

-Dave

[John Prator]

Hey Dave,
Glad you got your Benq. So do you feel it was worth the $$ or do you think the 7800 might be a better buy? Did you see any rainbows on it?
John

[Dave Elliott]

John,

I certainly think its the best value out there for an HD2+ level projector. I think the 7800 is overpriced, IMO. The PE8700+ is available for less than $4100, whereas the 7800 is more like ~$3400. In that comparison, I definitely think I'd pay the extra money for a true HD native device.

Now, when you compare it to the NEC HT 1000 (now on clearance for $2600ish) it becomes more of a dilemma. The HT1000 will do 16:9 at the same resolution as the Benq 7800 and I think it's a better value. At that point, I would ask what you'd be watching more of during the next few years. If its HDTV sources, I'd go for the 8700+, if its DVD and regular TV I'd save the ~$1500 and go with the HT1000.

I find I'm watching more and more HDTV so I went with the PE8700+. I tend to upgrade every 3 yrs and get whatever the price/performance leader is at that time. Right now, thats the Benq with the HD2+ chip.

As for rainbows, I saw very few of them with the NEC despite a 2x 4segment color wheel. Those who have not owned a DLP should know that your susceptibility to rainbows decreases over time. Don't be alarmed if you see them frequently at first. When I first got the NEC I saw them everywhere. A few weeks/couple months later I realized I saw very few. Lately, I'd only see them during scrolling credits or flashlights or something high contrast moving on a dark background. In 1 night of Benq ownership, I have seen zero. Time will tell, but I'm pretty acclimated to DLP so I don't see them much at all any more.

Hope that helps. I've auditioned many DLP units over the last few years so I feel pretty comfortable saying the 8700+ is a real keeper.

-Dave

[Jonathan DA]

I'm pretty sensitive to rainbows (I saw them incessantly on the NEC 150) but they are a total non issue for me on the current crop of HD2 chips. I haven't seen the BenQ 8700+ yet, but on the Optoma H76 (same guts as the 8700) I didn't see any rainbows during my brief 5 minute viewing of an HD sourced hockey game. For 98% of the population rainbows are going to be a non issue on any HD2 or better DLP, I wouldn't worry about them.

[Mark Hayenga]

I saw rainbows kinda easily (candles in Gladiator for example) when I first got my 3x speed pj, but can't remember seeing any in my last ~3 months of near daily use fwiw....

[John Prator]

Dave,
Most of my/our viewing will be DVD. I'm not very familar with the NEC HT1000, is it's resolution as good as the 8700's on DVD's? Is it's picture quality going to be as good as the 8700+ on DVD's? Also isn't the HT1000 not a native 16:9 projector and wouldn't that affect my picture? Man, this gets harder by the second. I really want the best picture I can get for around $4K and it seems the Benq is the answer, unless I'm mistaken. I really want those vibrant colors I keep hearing people talk about with the 8700. I plan on shooting onto a Vutec Silverstar. What do you think Dave?
John
ps-Sorry to be slamming you with so many questions.


Mark and Jonathan,
Thanks for the advice on rainbows. Ya hear so much bs about them it makes ya paranoid sometimes! I'm just going to try and not even bother looking for them(if that's possible!).