StereoNET: BenQ X12000 4K UHD LED Home Cinema Projector Review

JUNE 2017

BENQ

X12000

REVIEW / BENQ / X12000 4K ULTRA HD PROJECTOR

Let’s face it, when it comes to new technology, being an early adopter can be tough… Buy the latest piece of tech too early and it can become outdated

BENQ

X12000 $9,999 RRP

quickly.

On the other hand, leave it too long to upgrade and you can miss much out on the excitement or OOOOOH factor that comes with owning the latest technology.

In January 2016, the UHD Alliance created a set of standards for the 4K Ultra HD (UHD). Now consumers could buy a new Premium Certified TV without the fear of it becoming outdated too quickly.

While those waiting in the wings to by a UHD TV may have been rejoicing, things weren’t quite as clear in the world of projectors.

Up until recently, Sony has been the only manufacturer building ‘true’ 4K projectors. Most have opted to use ‘pixel

“an expected lamp life of 30,000 hours”

shift’ technology to produce 4K images.

Granted they do a pretty good job, but they’re still not true 4K projectors.

Taiwanese manufacturer BenQ has long been associated with producing home theatre projectors pitched at the entry

level, affordable market. While this is a

The X12000, which is the subject

practice they continue today, last year’s

of this review has a native resolution

release of their THX Certified W8000

of 3840x2160, and while it may be

projector marked their entry into the mid-

stamped with ‘4K’, like many others

range market.

it also uses pixel shift technology to

Seeking to expand their mid-range

acheive this resolution.

offerings, BenQ quickly announced the

In addition, the X12000 boasts a DCI/

arrival of two new ‘4K’ home theatre

P3 colour gamut. If this leaves you

projectors. True to form, they broke new

scratching your head, compare the Blu-

price ground with the release of the

ray and Ultra HD colour diagrams.

$7,999 W11000 and $9,999 X12000 home theatre projectors.

Ultra HD discs are capable of producing a greater range of colours than Blu-ray. In

The obvious question, is why on earth

fact, the DCI/P3 colour gamut is the very

would you buy the X12000, when the

same one that’s used to show movies at

W11000 can be had for $2,000 less?

your local cinema.

While the W11000 and X12000 both have a native resolution of 3840x2160 (4K), the X12000 has some important features not offered in its cheaper sibling.

Keen pundits will notice the X12000 doesn’t support High Dynamic Range (HDR). It’s important to understand that Ultra HD Premium Certification was

Firstly, the X12000 uses an LED light

designed for televisions. As it stands

source, with an expected lamp life of

today, there is currently no standard set

30,000 hours. Secondly, and arguably

out for home projectors. BenQ have told

more important is the X12000 boasts

us the following:

a DCI/P3 colour gamut, whereas the W11000 offers a Rec. 709 colour gamut.

If this leaves you scratching your head, compare the Blu-ray and Ultra HD colour diagrams.

“When there is a standard set by the CEA or similar, BenQ will certainly deliver a product to the agreed and unified standard”.

Blu-Ray vs. Ultra HD Colour

Rec.709 HD Colour Gamut

What’s in the box

DCI/P3 Ultra HD Colour Gamut

Setup

Finished in matt black and dark

IR input, PC input, 1 RS232

Due to its size, the X12000

to their projectors. Putting the

grey, the X12000 is an attractive

input and 2 x 12volt triggers. A

won’t be able to be mounted as

lamp in ECO mode certainly

unit. Its centrally mounted

small cover located next to the

closely to back walls as smaller

reduced the fan noise, however

lens has two rings for manual

connections opens to reveal the

projectors. This won’t be a

the ‘Silence’ picture mode was

adjustment of zoom and focus.

menu and navigation buttons.

problem in most rooms but those

the quietest by far.

Likewise, vertical and horizontal lens shift is performed manually via dials located on top of the projector.

The remote is finished in the same matt black and dark grey as the X12000’s chassis. With

with smaller rooms will need to be careful when factoring in throw distances.

large, easy to read buttons,

While the X12000 doesn’t have

At this price-point, motorised

the remote is easy enough to

the prettiest menu system, it’s

lens control would have been

use and my only criticism is the

quite functional and provides

a welcome inclusion, however

lack of direct access to picture

access to all of the controls

once the X12000 has been

modes. I’m being picky here,

needed to setup the projector;

set up, these controls will be

but it would greatly speed up

the one omission being that

rarely needed.

the process of accessing the

there is no provision for multiple

X12000’s various picture modes.

lens memories.

are located on the left of the

The overall build quality and

I found the X12000 to be a little

X12000. These include 2 x HDMI

design of the X12000 and

noisy in operation, however,

inputs (HDMI 1/HDCP 2.2), 1

its accompanying remote

I suspect my main listening

x USB mini input, LAN input,

was excellent.

position is a lot closer than most

All connections, including power

Calibration As of today, there are only a few

Except for the Cinema Picture

projectors and TV’s that can

mode, all of the X12000’s picture

reproduce 100% of the DCI/P3

modes reproduced the full DCI/

colour gamut. In fact, to receive

P3 colour gamut. Testing the

the UHD Alliance’s Ultra HD

Cinema Picture mode revealed

Premium Certification a TV is only

it faithfully reproduced the Rec

required to reproduce just 90% of

709/ Blu-ray colour gamut.

the DCI/P3 colour gamut.

The icing on the cake is a

With my colorimeter profiled

functional Colour Management

against a spectroradiometer to

System, allowing the X12000

the X12000 it was time to put

to achieve reference DCI/P3

BenQ’s claim to the test. As

colour accuracy.

it turns out, I was pleasantly surprised …

Out of the box greyscale performance was excellent. If

My initial round of measurements

not for a little black crush and

on the X12000 was completed

gamma/EOFT a little lower than

prior to calibration. In DCI

preferred, the X12000 would

picture mode, the X1200

have achieved out of the box

reproduced 106.3% of the DCI/

reference colour accuracy for

P3 colour gamut.

Blu-ray viewing.

“the X12000 is an attractive unit”

Calibration and Colour Performance

DCI/P3 Ultra HD

Rec.709 HD/Blu-Ray

% Output

RGB Balance (before) 10% 05% 00% 95% 90% 85% 80%

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5 % Video Greyscale

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

Performance

Conclusion

I started my evaluation with both the

Whether it was the brass horns on the “Doof

Reproducing the full DCI/P3 colour gamut

‘Lighthouse’ and ‘Montage’ test scenes found

Wagon” or the flames that lept from the “Coma

means the X12000 has the ability to bring

on the Spears and Munsil HD Benchmark 2

Doof Warrior’s” guitar, the X12000 extracted all

out all of the extra colour the UHD format has

Blu-ray.

of the colour the UHD format has to offer.

to offer. In this regard, the X12000 punches

My usual battery of test material produced

Not to be outshone, 2016’s The Revenant is

an image that was very natural. While black

another UHD disc with reference quality video.

My only caveat regarding the X12000’s

levels left a little to be desired, the image still

Although the colour palette is often subdued,

performance is that its black levels could be

portrayed a convincing sense of depth.

when used it’s used to great effect.

improved upon.

With the Blu-ray version of Mad Max Fury

With the bleak winter setting, the X12000

There’s just something about the images

Road, the X12000 delivered a bright and

produced a very natural picture with an

that a DLP projector produce and overall, the

punchy image. The 4K upscaling producing a

excellent sense of depth. While the picture

BenQ X12000 simply offers an excellent level

noticeably better image than regular 1080p.

was loaded with detail, it never looked

of performance.

If the Blu-ray of Mad Max Fury Road offers

beyond its weight.

contrived or artificial.

reference quality video and audio, the UHD

The X12000’s excellent greyscale performance

version is a visual and sonic tour de force.

meant it perfectly rendered the dark wood of

This is where the X12000 really shone …

the trees and the mountain stone without free of any unwelcome colour intrusion.

WORDS: Tony O’Brien