BenQ HT3050 3D DLP Projector Review Test Bench

Measurement signals were supplied by a Quantum Data 780 generator to a Minolta CS-200 Color and Luminance Meter (NIST certified 12/2014) and processed by SpectraCal CalMan 4 software.

Pre-calibration measurements were taken in the Cinema (Rec. 709) mode which registers the Color Temperature as Normal by default.

Average Delta E for pre-cal grayscale after lamp break-in was a not very good 8.2, the largest deviation occurring at 10 IRE (9.9) and the lowest at 60 IRE registering 7.6; nominally it was consistent between those two across the scale. My conjecture is that the high errors are from BenQ adjusting the Rec. 709 parameters prior to the lamp wearing in. Calibration improved these numbers dramatically, to a very minimal deviation average of 1.5, illustrating how well the grayscale tracking performed. (Delta E is a figure of merit that indicates how closely a display adheres to the Rec. 709 HD color standard. Levels below 3 are considered visibly indistinguishable from perfect.)

Delta E for pre-cal color gamut was much better, averaging 0.7, with magenta deviating from alignment at 1.8, and the only color to venture left of the decimal point. Calibration yielded a remarkable average of 0.1, a demonstration of excellent adherence to Rec. 709 as well as accurate color tracking.

Pre-calibration gamma eclipsed my 2.3 target, registering at 2.39 in the Cinema (Rec. 709) picture mode. Post calibration registered at 2.28, still very accurate tracking for a preset, with no multi-point adjustment capability. My thought is the “halo” of added light from the leakage mentioned in the review body skewed final results, with the boost in light raising the gamma reading.

The HT3050 did not have a “Blue Only” mode, effective for checking and setting color and tint; however that did not matter as adjustment for these is grayed-out by default in the Cinema (Rec. 709) mode. Brilliant Color was disabled during pre/post calibration.

BenQ makes the claim that the Brilliant Color feature “enables a greater than 50% brightness increase in mid-tone” images. With a 100 IRE window pattern, I measured peak white luminance after full calibration at 25.9 ft-L with color temperature at a precise 6500K. With Brilliant Color, enabled, peak white luminance boosted the reading to 32.8 ft-L, and color temperature to 6586K.

I then individually measured the luminance (in ft-L) of the primary and secondary colors with Brilliant Color off and then on, to see the difference. The results were as follows:

Off On
Red 2.85 3.00
Green 9.60 9.60
Blue 0.83 0.82
Cyan 10.39 10.43
Magenta 3.81 3.81
Yellow 12.61 12.66
White 15.61 16.75

I’m not certain on what BenQ bases its claims for a 50% increase, nor do I have an explanation for what the above readings might suggest other than the deltas between Brilliant Color off and then on do not appear to be appreciably different. Looking at content, there is definitely a discernable difference between the two modes, though, these differences in no observable manner appear to be 50% brighter. I ultimately preferred Brilliant Color set to on for everything I viewed.

Out of curiosity and after the projector was calibrated, I did try out the various options in the Wall Color menu, which shifts the white balance in an attempt to compensate for different color walls that might get used as a screen for an impromptu movie night. Using a 100 IRE window, the results, in Kelvin were:

Light Yellow 8432.8
Pink 8283.1
Light Green 8273.4
Blue 4562.0

The reasons for this and the math behind it would be good questions for the GE College Bowl.

The HT3050 passed all of our benchmark processing tests except the standard definition motion adaptive test.

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