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comes to new technology, being an early adopter can be tough… Buy the latest piece of tech too early and it can become outdated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 Now consumers could buy a new Premium Certified TV without the fear of it becoming outdated too quickly.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