Optoma EH412ST vs BenQTH671ST

[kirkemg]

This community loves the BenQ. But for a few more bucks you get 4,000 lumen in the EH412ST. No zoom feature but if apples to apples and assuming you can place perfectly wouldnt it make more sense to get the Optoma?

[3on3putt]

Perhaps, but the Optoma requires an 11-inch vertical offset (like most Optomas do). A lot of people are working with ceilings of only around 10 feet so the BenQ's are popular because they typically have very low vertical offsets which makes it easier for people with not a lot of room between their screen and the ceiling. Also the Optoma's throw ratio is almost too short for some people, especially those with low ceilings that don't want a projector 5 feet in front of their screen. Apples to apples, sure. But it's not apples to apples. They are very different projectors in more ways than just the brightness. Besides, I'm not sure that 1,000 lumens is worth the extra few hundred bucks anyway.

[3on3putt]

For you then yes, the high vertical offset works in your favor. (Me too, as I have 11.5 ceilings). However, we're probably in the minority. Most people are only working with around 10 feet of clearance (and many with less) so the BenQs are widely used because of their low vertical offsets.

As for lumens, sure it's nice to have more but as long as you can control the lighting and have a dark room it's less of an issue. More of an issue if there's windows or the lighting is not as well controlled. I'm not sure I'd pay $400 more just for another 1,000 lumens when I have zero light in my garage where my sim is. And again, the short throw ratio of the optoma is too short for a lot of people who like to get the projector more over the ball. The optoma is a great projector, but projectors are very setup dependent and a great projector for one room is a bad projector for another room. I think the throw ratios and vertical offsets found in many BenQs just make them a good fit for a lot of sim rooms.

[kirkemg]

Got it, thanks. What projector do you use and how tall is your screen? If the BenQ or something with a similar small offset, did you struggle like I am to find a suitable mount that extends that far down?

[3on3putt]

I have an InFocus projector with a vertical offset of around 13 inches or so. I have 11.5 ceilings and 9 foot screen. So my mount extends down around 1.5 feet. I think 1.5 to 2 feet is probably fairly standard for mount lengths I would think (but then again I didn't spend a whole lot of time shopping around for them. I pretty much bought the first one I saw that would work.)

[Sixmudd]

I actually have the optoma eh412st, and honestly I haven’t been all that impressed with it. I have it on the floor though in an enclosure. Pic quality doesn’t seem like 1080p but that could be a function of my screen as well.

[GungHoGolf]

Digital keystone correction is massively better with the BenQ than the Optoma. I have two EH412ST units that didn't impress upon installation, now plan to flip them on eBay. TH671ST has never failed to impress.