Considering an Upgrade to "4K"

djpaulc247

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I'm thinking of upgrading my projector to a 4K (I realise it won't be actual 4K with my budget) and just after some recommendations please.

I currently have the Benq W1070 and although I don't use 3D as much these days, it would be nice to still keep the option. I don't have a dedicated room, it is just my living room (so projector would need to be white to blend with the ceiling and not stand out) which I can get quite dark in the day by shutting the blinds but there is still some light in the room in day time viewing. Night time it's pretty much pitch black.

Budget around £2,500 max but obviously less than that would be great, if possible.

Thanks.
 
The obvious answer would be the Epson 9400. It’s exceptional with both 1080P and 4K plus it does offer decent blacks without spending the serious wage that is a JVC.
 
agree with luminated...

alternatively if happy with the benq and want to move up the ranks the benq 5700 would be worth checking out too :)
 
Agreed, consider everything and if you get a chance then try and get a demo. With the country opening up again I would even hold off until then so you get what’s right for you. ;)
 
I can third that after having my 9400 for a few weeks. It gives a great picture once you have played around the settings. It was a bit bewildering in terms of settings coming from my old JVC, but you can find decent settings online for HDR and SDR sources which should tide you over until/if you get a professional calibration.

The change to 4k wasn't quite what I expected but, again, now I am used to it, I am starting to understand/appreciate the changes as much for the colours and 'pop' of the image as I am the slight increase in detail.

Its a lot of money, but I think it's worth it.
 
Thanks for the answers all, looks like the 9400 is the clear winner :laugh:

I did do a little research on here first and I think I looked at that but the white version is about £300-400 more expensive than black? Big difference just for a different colour :(
 
The white one is wireless. Not sure it's worth the extra money, but that is the extra cost.... You'd be better off Tippexxing the black one....
 
Thanks for the answers all, looks like the 9400 is the clear winner :laugh:

I did do a little research on here first and I think I looked at that but the white version is about £300-400 more expensive than black? Big difference just for a different colour :(
It’s not just the colour, the white version is also WiFi.
 
Ah OK, thanks. Didn’t realise it was wireless too.

That reminds me, what do I need in terms of cables? My current set up uses a HDMI lead that is six years old, I can’t remember the exact one but sure I can find out if needed but I’m guessing I’d need to upgrade to a more modern HDMI or Cat cable?
 
I got one of these as recommended on the forums. They do shorter ones depending on how long you need. You might be okay if you have a much shorter run with your older cable. My older cable worked, but I had a few 'quirks' with my ROKU and the display, so I just upgraded for peace of mind.

ATZEBE HDMI Cable 10M, Fibre Optic HDMI Cable High Speed 18Gbps HDMI 2.0 Support 4K@60Hz HDR10, 4:4:4, 3D, ARC, HEC, CEC, HDCP 2.2 Amazon product ASIN B07WZFFT2R
 
Ah OK, thanks. Didn’t realise it was wireless too.

That reminds me, what do I need in terms of cables? My current set up uses a HDMI lead that is six years old, I can’t remember the exact one but sure I can find out if needed but I’m guessing I’d need to upgrade to a more modern HDMI or Cat cable?
how long is the cable needed... that is most important ! as will help decide most affordable that works..
 
I just checked and the lead I have says it is 4K Ultra HD. I bought it in Nov 2014 from Amazon, just found it in my order history. Was 4K even around then? Will this be suitable?

Amazon product ASIN B0036C2QJC
 
how long is the cable needed... that is most important ! as will help decide most affordable that works..

8m minimum, I went with 8m at the time as I read somewhere on here that any longer can be unreliable.
 
8m minimum, I went with 8m at the time as I read somewhere on here that any longer can be unreliable.
anything above 2m can be a problem ! :D depending on cable and what running :D

8m is length that is really good though..as there is ABSOLUTELY no need to go active fibre cables at this length.

the great news is there are affordable premium certified hdmi cables available at 9.2m(30ft) and under meaning there is no need to go more expensive active fibre (which can bring their own issues)

eg below 30ft (9.2m) in white here but can also get them in black and pretty affordably and most importantly hdmi org premium certified will see the label and QR code... you wont get this with ANY active fibre cable that cost more !
Amazon product ASIN B07D7LG3LF
if dont mind a little bit shorter there is the 25ft (7.62m) version and its only 32gbp

Amazon product ASIN B06X3QDY4M
if have some hdmi 2.0 sources ... i would look to upgrade the short cables they run too as the mono price premium certified in short lengths are chicken feed and easily bundle in.

if you are an amazon prime member you might get free shipping as we do here :)
 
I just checked and the lead I have says it is 4K Ultra HD. I bought it in Nov 2014 from Amazon, just found it in my order history. Was 4K even around then? Will this be suitable?

Amazon product ASIN B0036C2QJC
2014 is going way back just before the launch of 4k uhd discs... i remember back then there were all sort of cables at various costs and what have to appreciate that unless premium certified (see below link)


otherwise at this sort of length its just a lottery... might not work at all, might work with side effects ... drop outs sparkles etc... or might work perfectly for some things not others... or just might work perfectly; well for everything ... just cant say... if wanting to take the punt with the above e cable... i would get the projector and then do all testing with all sources eg appletv 4k (running its cable test) and set on match source and range. Also if have other sources test on 4k 24 and 4k 50/60 to verify...

In my opinion cables with 4k uhd are not worth mucking about with... I saw the frustration with a friend and his firstly old cables (non premium certified, then with his expensive fibr brand active cables and then resolved by changing out the lot with premium certified and not one issue since ...save all the pain and heartache and skip to the chase...
 
until/if you get a professional calibration.
id heartedly suggest this is factored in, really needed in my opinion to get best from this level of units and after spending 1000s on a projector like this spending 100s on a pro calibration is a small cost to get best optimised.
 
id heartedly suggest this is factored in, really needed in my opinion to get best from this level of units and after spending 1000s on a projector like this spending 100s on a pro calibration is a small cost to get best optimised.

Certainly on the to do list but, after spending 1000s on a projector, I need to save up a few months! 😁😁
 
I bought one of those Aztebe cables and it didn’t work. Meant to send it back but didn’t get round to it and in the end had to throw it away. Bought an Amazon basics 4K one and it works fine. Only 10m though, if I had a much bigger room I would probably try again with fibre.
 
I was hoping not to have to change the cable as that’s going to be a pain getting under the bedroom floor boards to feed one through.

I also don’t think I have enough space in the trunking in the wall to get a new cable through whilst the old one is still in there along with speaker cables so it would probably mean having to remove the old one before feeding the new one. If anything went wrong and for whatever reason I couldn’t get the new HDMI through, I’d be stuck with no cable.

I did future proof by leaving twine in the trunking for if I ever had to replace the cable, so I could pull a new one through, so hopefully be OK.
 
Just reading the review on here for the 9400 and it says :

“However, if you’re planning on using it in a room with white walls, you’re probably better off saving yourself some money and buying the EH-TW7400 instead.”

my living room has cream walls but the wall that my screen is on / against is purple. Still think the 9400 or would I be better off with the 7400?
 
I was hoping not to have to change the cable as that’s going to be a pain getting under the bedroom floor boards to feed one through.

I also don’t think I have enough space in the trunking in the wall to get a new cable through whilst the old one is still in there along with speaker cables so it would probably mean having to remove the old one before feeding the new one. If anything went wrong and for whatever reason I couldn’t get the new HDMI through, I’d be stuck with no cable.

I did future proof by leaving twine in the trunking for if I ever had to replace the cable, so I could pull a new one through, so hopefully be OK.

Try the cable you have and see if it works. My existing one was a 20 quid Amazon cable. It mostly worked but I had some trouble with one source, my Roku... Swapped out and all worked... Try it first and if it works you're all good!
 
Just reading the review on here for the 9400 and it says :

“However, if you’re planning on using it in a room with white walls, you’re probably better off saving yourself some money and buying the EH-TW7400 instead.”

my living room has cream walls but the wall that my screen is on / against is purple. Still think the 9400 or would I be better off with the 7400?

I guess they are saying the contrast etc advantages that you get with the 9400 are lost in a lighter room.... So might be worth saving some money? Both good PJs.
 
“However, if you’re planning on using it in a room with white walls, you’re probably better off saving yourself some money and buying the EH-TW7400 instead.”
no i disagree about this....even in non dedicated rooms I have seen benefit of every projector i had had from one epson to next and step upto JVC and upto range above. ... have see 9400 in both dedicated and non dedicated room both now pro calibrated and id go the 9400

in au the 7400 even been taken off the market. a couple of other things with it are no auto SDR/HDR switching or 18gbps full band width hdmi and was limited to 10gbps so no 4k 50/60 ! so understandable the 7400 been effectively eliminated here ...
 
Part of the reason I’ve been wanting to upgrade is I’ve watched a couple of films recently on my Benq where I have watched the 4K disc so I get the Atmos track but obviously it downgrades to 1080p picture.

However, I feel like I still get a decent picture from the Benq and was still quite impressed by Man of Steel and Batman v Superman, although blacks are more like greys and the image itself isn’t amazing. The picture quality is not as good as if I watch on my 4K TV but the larger, 110” image from my projector is just more impressive and cinema-esque.

anyway, one thing I’m concerned about is whether dropping almost £3k on a new projector is going to give me a noticeable improvement in picture that will be worth the money? Has anyone gone from a similar projector to the 9400? Would you recommend making the change?
 
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I came to the 9400 from a JVCDLA-HD350 which already had great PQ. The step up to 4k is not all about resolution though and I soon learned that the PQ wasn't going to be a night and day change like going from dvd to BR was.

You do get more detail though and the colours do pop more, just not as much as they would on a bright TV screen. I will hopefully get a calibration done later in the year, but am working on some settings found online for the time being.

The changes are subtle, but they are improvements. Have a look in the screenshot eye candy thread for some examples of images.

If you are expecting to see a massive increase in detail you may be disappointed, but if you are prepared to take time to set up and be discerning with what 4k discs you buy, you will get a lot out of it - like BR and DVD not all discs are created equal and in some cases you may be better off sticking to BR and using the 9400 to upscale.

It is a very good projector though and I am not disappointed with the upgrade!
 

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