Customer Reviews

BenQ PB6100 DLP Video Projector

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If you are looking for the best deal of any DLP projector out there, this is it. You wont find one at this price that performs better. It displayes SVGA video (up to 800x600) from the PC and HDTV formats 480p, 720p, 1080i.

Using this for an entry level Home Theater is in my opinion the best application. As for PC, the resolution is a little lacking considering the size it will be projected to. The icons would be 6"+ depending on how big your shooting the screen.

Bulb life in economy mode extends by about 1/3 from 2000 hours to 3000. Nice considering the bulbs are 400 each. BenQ has offered a couple different promotions in the past like free bulb or 100/200 (...) (so be sure and check to make sure before you buy).

The thing that is most amazing to me is the refresh rate of 85hz (how fast it can paint the picture to the screen). That is pretty much as fast as you'll need for any application to avoid display problems, so playing games on this isnt a problem!

For more info, check projectorcentral, they do reviews on everything that comes out. BenQ PB6100 and the PB6200 (xga version) are in the top 5 list of DLP's.

Anyone planning to use this primarily on a PC, think about getting the PB6200 instead, its basically the same thing but displays the higher resolution XGA (1024x768) and for certain applications higher 1280x1024.

If the overall quality of the projector is fine, such is not the case of the lamp which blew up in less than 6 weeks!!! and worse BenQ does NOT honor their international guarantee and the support center does not respond to the emails for exchanging the lamp (priced 400$!). Overall a very poor support. My last Boxlight lamp is still running after 4 years. This was my first BenQ but surely the last. A strong suggestion, Don't buy BenQ

I have this model and also the InFocus X1 model. Yellow colors are especially off on this Benq and you can't adjust red, green, and blue channels seperately. All you can adjust is brightness and contrast. Some folks wont notice this, but many others will. If you go to the BenQ website, they even mention that this issue with the color yellow is not fixable.

This issue is not apparent in the Infocus X1 or X2 models and in general the video output on them is superior tot he BenQ.

However those models dont support all of the HDTV resolutions that I wanted. The X2 model doesn't support 480i at all for example.

These are all fine for the price but just be aware that each model has several limitations. $1600 can get you a much better DLP projector if you shop carefully.

I recently purchased a refurbished BenQ 6100 from Tiger Direct for $749, and am very happy with it so far. The picture quality rendered from my Panasonic S47 progressive scan DVD player is excellent, especially with the Component Video-to-VGA (or "VESA") cable in use. With a pricetag of less than $1000, there is absolutely no reason to spend thousands more on a plasma screen TV whose viewing area is appreciably smaller than the 6100's typical projected image, and whose picture quality may not be appreciably better (than the 6100).

You just can't beat that "at the movies" feel of this projector, either. My wife and I relax with "Friday Night Theater" now, at the end of the work week. It's just a nice way to get close, share a big bowl of popcorn, and be romantic again!

Oh, and yes, I do see the "rainbow" effect from time to time, although my wife doesn't. It's too infrequent to be a significant source of distraction to me, and I just chalk it up to the developing technology. The 6100 employs a 3x speed color wheel. I've read that the 4x speed color wheel virtually eliminates rainbows altogether. When BenQ releases a projector with price and performance comparable to the 6100, but with the 4x color wheel, I would certainly like to try it.

If you have, and are willing to spend, the $1000 for a home theater projector, and your videophile tendencies are moderate (my downfall occurs in the realm of the audiophile), then the BenQ 6100 is "just the ticket."

UPDATE: 08/21/2006
Correction: BenQ falsely advertized a 3x color wheel. The 6100 offers only the 2x. Also, the 1500 lumens brightness is more like 700--more false and misleading advertizing. In addition, after about 400 hours--spread out over the last 2 years!--I'm noticing a flicker on the screen that appears to be getting more and more frequent. BenQ suggested that (a) I try another viewing mode (I only use the "Economy" mode to save bulb life, so changing it is sure to shorten bulb life) or (b) reseat the bulb. So far, I've tried (a), but I still see the flicker. I now pray each time I see the flicker that the bulb will not fail. That's 400/3000 or only 13% of advertized bulb life(!!!) and I am probably witnessing imminent bulb failure. Knowing what I know now, I would never have bought the PB6100 projector. I would have spent an extra $400 and gotten the comparable InFocus unit and no doubt would have at least as good a picture and a lot more bulb life to spare. "Buyer Beware" is the word of extreme caution here. BenQ should be taken to court on this one. Talk about a good purchase gone sour! Sign the Color Wheel Speed Falsification Petition online.

I did a lot of shopping around for a projector on a budget. The Benq 6100 has been great so far. It is very easy to use and the menu is easy to navigate. I actually prefer the picture on the economy mode to any others. This is great because it extends the $400 lamp by 50%.
I have my theater set up in a 100% dark basement and the lumens are great. However I didn't have to add much light to see that you may not be happy if you can not control ambient light. The only complaint I have with the picture is flesh tones. They appear a bit green, but it is not enogh to be to distracting.
If you want to utilize this projector for HDTV be prepared to spend some extra money. You have to find (and good luck) a 15 pin to vga connection/conversion cable. I live in a fairly big city and had no luck finding one locally. I finally found one on ebay. A 25 foot length with shipping was about $50. This should be included with the projector but it is not. I would have rather paid $75 or $100 more at the time of purchasing the projector and not had the hassle of chasing down this cable! That is not to mention it delays you watching HDTV for a week or so.
Over all this is a great value. If you are in a budget and don't mind chasing the cable I spoke about I really recommend this projector.

Word of Warning. I purchased a BenQ projector and had it for a month before it started to fail and turn itself off. I sent it to BenQ for repair and have not recieved it back. That was over two months ago. I phone them every couple of days and get only lip service, they keep saying it is coming. So before you purchase a BenQ product think about the possibility of it getting repaired...or should I say never seeing it again.

You have been warned!

I confirm that this BenQ projector has either a crappy bulb or bad color wheel. I have used it for about 2 years, only watching movies on the weekends. The recorded bulb usage is 337 hours, and the picture already starts to flicker. At first I thought it might be the 25 feet long signal cable, so I disconnected the cable and just watched the blank blue screen, still flickers! Its promised bulb time is 2000 hours in video mode. If it is only me, I can blame it on probability and statistics. But it does not seem so.

I have not yet called BenQ, but since I have used it for two years (I have to check the warranty), and people here already complained about their bad support, I don't have high hope on it. The best thing you can do is not to buy it.

Este vídeo proyector es muy recomendable, también su vendedor, puesto que lo envió en buenas condiciones, funcional, y muy fácil de usar, aunque llego sin control remoto!, pero lo mas importante es que esta en buenas condiciones y listo para usar!

This video projector is highly recommended, also the vendor, as sent in good condition, functional and easy to use, but came without a remote control!, But more importantly is in good condition and ready to use!

Low-budget home theatre owner here. Was happy with my unit. Pretty nice picture on a blank white wall. I have a dedicated cinema room that is pitch black so was very happy...until one hour ago. After 300 hours of use my bulb blew. And I never watch more than 2-3 hours at a time, so definitely not a high traffic user. I'm all the way in Hungary and that bulb is about a month's wages for this school teacher. This is a shoddy product, built-in obsolesence to the extreme. Now I have a useless room with a BenQ wart on the ceiling!

Component DB15 to 3 RCA was a real problem to find out.
Online you can easily buy something around $200-400 but it
would be a waste of money. I found out only two options at the moment - buy a budget Steren 253-525IV cable ( 25' long) - price varies from $20 to $60 online , thus spend some time to shop around ,
second option was to build a custom made cable out of shielded Cat5e cable. Do not know which one would be a better one
for 25' run. Some people might try to use 3xRG6 cables - and
a short breakout DB15to3RCA/BNC cable