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BenQ had something exciting to show, as there was the year long promise of the W11000 and most of all the X12000, the version that uses Philips High Density Lumens (HLD, previously also known as ColorSpark) Solid State Light engine. It had also announce to launch the 5000 lumens LK 970 laser 4K business projector with laser-phosphor lightsource. Though no-one at BenQ was able to direct me to it at its booth,it was there and to no surprice using the exact same cabinet as the W11000 and X12000 Hometheater projectors. It is expected to be available later this year at around €10000.
I was also looking forward to see the X12000, as it is the only XPR 4K projector left that uses HLD. Optoma confirmed it has removed its HLD 4K projector shown at CES 2016 and ISE 2016 from its roadmap after it failed to arrive at market late last year. Following demo's at Philips and Optoma last year.
X12000 with HLD on the right, UHP lamp based W11000 on the left.
It was shown in a dark room next to its lamp-using sibling the W11000. The 12000 with its maximum 2400 white lumens did not look dimmer. Its colors being a bit stronger, and therefor perceived contrast being greater.
However I immediately noticed the red clouds allover the image, as I had done on last year's prototypes. White was not white, but the red push was everywhere. It being made even clearer by comparison of the lamp-based picture on the left. While looking at the screen from up close, there suddenly where a large number of green dots in dark area's of image. So, based on this demo I can not recommend the X12000. Even though the richer colours made it look sharper than the regular W11000.
HLD converts light from a series of blue automotive leds through a rod to greenlight matching the smaller etendue/aperature of the imager in this case the TE660 DMD from TI as used in all of these Coretronic Chassied projectors. But it can work in 3LCD designs as well, providing Red and Blue light from a pair of OSRAM(!) LEDs.
Philips had plans for a Red rod to compliment the green one to double maximum white output to 5000 lumens, or about half that value of sRGB/Rec.709 color space adjusted output. It remains to be seen what happens to that as the Philips Projection Lighting pressence at the show this year turned out to be the word Philips shining from the floor in front the reception desk at the larger Philips Displays (TPV) stand. And Coretronic, with Hitachi the only HLD projector maker, sofar, told me at the show it has re-directed its efforts elesewhere, in other words; LASER. 'It is only upto 5000 lumens'.
The W11000 has started shipping in a small number of markets at prices varying between €5000-€7000 equivalent. And BenQ now appears to have started shipping the first HT8050s in the US.
Back in September at IBC I saw the Novaline Holographic projection screen by GCMann in the Future Zone. There it was using a pair of 20K lumens Panasonic laser-phosphor projectors to project both behind in a tunnel and at or 'in' the screen a mesh made up out of five polymers, that reflect diffuse and light up when hit by the projectors' light. At IBC a representative of the developer told me they would be back at ISE on the Panasonic booth. i did not find them there. However he also told me that BenQ had just developed a new laser-phosphor light engine design, of wich only one prototype projector was available last year, that at 8000 lumens provided almost the same result in this specific application as the pair of big Panasonics. So it shouldn't come as a surprise the sponsorship moved from Panasonic to BenQ.
I was also looking forward to see the X12000, as it is the only XPR 4K projector left that uses HLD. Optoma confirmed it has removed its HLD 4K projector shown at CES 2016 and ISE 2016 from its roadmap after it failed to arrive at market late last year. Following demo's at Philips and Optoma last year.
X12000 with HLD on the right, UHP lamp based W11000 on the left.
It was shown in a dark room next to its lamp-using sibling the W11000. The 12000 with its maximum 2400 white lumens did not look dimmer. Its colors being a bit stronger, and therefor perceived contrast being greater.
However I immediately noticed the red clouds allover the image, as I had done on last year's prototypes. White was not white, but the red push was everywhere. It being made even clearer by comparison of the lamp-based picture on the left. While looking at the screen from up close, there suddenly where a large number of green dots in dark area's of image. So, based on this demo I can not recommend the X12000. Even though the richer colours made it look sharper than the regular W11000.
HLD converts light from a series of blue automotive leds through a rod to greenlight matching the smaller etendue/aperature of the imager in this case the TE660 DMD from TI as used in all of these Coretronic Chassied projectors. But it can work in 3LCD designs as well, providing Red and Blue light from a pair of OSRAM(!) LEDs.
Philips had plans for a Red rod to compliment the green one to double maximum white output to 5000 lumens, or about half that value of sRGB/Rec.709 color space adjusted output. It remains to be seen what happens to that as the Philips Projection Lighting pressence at the show this year turned out to be the word Philips shining from the floor in front the reception desk at the larger Philips Displays (TPV) stand. And Coretronic, with Hitachi the only HLD projector maker, sofar, told me at the show it has re-directed its efforts elesewhere, in other words; LASER. 'It is only upto 5000 lumens'.
The W11000 has started shipping in a small number of markets at prices varying between €5000-€7000 equivalent. And BenQ now appears to have started shipping the first HT8050s in the US.
Back in September at IBC I saw the Novaline Holographic projection screen by GCMann in the Future Zone. There it was using a pair of 20K lumens Panasonic laser-phosphor projectors to project both behind in a tunnel and at or 'in' the screen a mesh made up out of five polymers, that reflect diffuse and light up when hit by the projectors' light. At IBC a representative of the developer told me they would be back at ISE on the Panasonic booth. i did not find them there. However he also told me that BenQ had just developed a new laser-phosphor light engine design, of wich only one prototype projector was available last year, that at 8000 lumens provided almost the same result in this specific application as the pair of big Panasonics. So it shouldn't come as a surprise the sponsorship moved from Panasonic to BenQ.