Bright Lights: BenQ PE7700

The BenQ PE7700 is a relatively new player on the home theater market and it boasts some amazing specs and abilities. Perhaps the most impressive quality is the brightness of the projector lamp inside the unit. It is capable of firing 1100 ANSI lumens out the front window of the projector, which allows many users to watch HDTV or DVD’s with some ambient light filtering into the room. This is a welcome relief to many projector lovers who have been forced to huddle inside pitch-black rooms in order to be entertained.

But, besides being a super bright projector, the BenQ PE7700 includes some other impressive attributes. Far and away the most intriguing thing about the PE700 is the fact it is the first projector to be priced under $2999.99 USD to include the infamous HD2+ chip. The HD2+ chip is manufactured by one of myprojectorlamps.com’s favorite companies, Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN), and is a 720p high-definition DLP chip. The chip allows for broader green definition and its predecessor the HD2 already enjoyed one of the top contrast ratio ratings anywhere (2500:1). Before 2005, HD2+ chips were found mostly in projectors that had a price tag of $5000 USD or more and so BenQ must be ecstatic that they are able to use this chip in this projector.

As far as basic specifications go, the BenQ PE7700 utilizes a 5x speed color wheel, which cuts out any major “rainbowing” effect that might be an annoyance from some. I find there is some minor “rainbowing” still occurring with this projector, but I was looking for it and extremely close to the screen when examining it. If you do find a “rainbowing” effect on this projector, then you are probably not paying enough attention to the movie or program your watching. The resolution for this projector is a beautiful 1280x780 and functions in a 16:9 wide screen format with the option to view any TV program in “normal” mode if it so requires.

The input jacks for the BenQ PE7700 include, component, S-Video, YpbPR input, a HDMI (that is DVI-D and component compatible).

Overall, I have to say that this projector might win the “most bang for your buck” award, as far as DLP’s go. Definitely research this projector and think about purchasing it if DLP is the way you want to go.