Color accuracy is not measured by brightness, but by “color space”- a standard set of color targets defined by the display industry.  There is a great deal of information available on how to measure color accuracy on all types of displays – including projectors. 

For any display to have accurate color when displaying television broadcasts, and movies, Rec. 709 is the standard color space for delivering higher resolutions for home video.  This ensures that difficult to reproduce colors – such as skin tones and company logos have the same color on the screen as in real life.  The BenQ LU935 has excellent color accuracy, with 92% of the Rec. 709 standards.   The Epson PowerLite L630U does not have any color accuracy specifications – only color brightness.   Color brightness only measures three colors and is not used by any other displays like monitors, televisions, or even commercial cinema projectors.  Also, there is no correlation between a projector with high color brightness on three colors and high color accuracy for complex colors like skin tones or replicating a Pantone color.     

On a high brightness laser projector, the amount of heat and stress on the chip can create many issues over time.  For example, Sony has recently discontinued making laser commercial cinema projectors due to their inability hold color under prolonged exposure to lasers.    Today, the only commercial cinema projectors used today are using DLP chips due to their ability to work without losing image quality under high-powered lasers.

There are three key advantages to the DLP technology used in the BenQ LU935 projector for a 6000 lumen laser projector:

• No Color Decay – DLP chips are guaranteed to last over 100,000 hours and won’t turn yellow over time.  This is backed by Texas Instruments and has proven performance in maintaining a perfect image on the screen is an important factor for high-usage commercial applications.

• High Fill Factor – the mirrors on the chip fill over 97% of the pixel - removing the “screen door” effect where you can see the pixel lines.  

• Sharp image – DLP only uses one chip – so you don’t have fuzzy images if the colors in a three-panel LCD system become misaligned.  Some LCD models can fix this issue from the menu – as you can see here – but many models do not have this menu selection.

   

  Currently, there are no models of commercial cinema projectors that use the same LCD panel technology used in the Epson projector.  In the past, there have been models of projectors that used non-DLP technology that experience color fading and degradation, including high brightness laser projectors.

   

   

Both the BenQ LU935 and the Epson PowerLite 630U, have a laser life span of 20,000 hours at full power, but only the BenQ uses a next-generation sealed laser engine to ensure the projector is protected during its entire life.  The LU935 uses state-of-the-art thermal design to enable it to be completely sealed and has been certified under the rigorous IP5X testing standard – the same as the Apple Watch. 

Epson PowerLite 630 uses the same open-air engine design used on their traditional lamp based projector.   This means that it has to have a filter to operate – and can be equipped with an optional filter if needed in dusty conditions. This can mean renting a lift whenever a “clean filter” warning light goes off if the projector is suspended from a high ceiling.

Both BenQ and Epson offer three-year standard warranty on their projectors.   But the Epson warranty has restrictions that may impact how you use the projector.  For example, if you want to use the BenQ LU935 to continually run a video or digital signage in a public area, there are no usage restrictions that jeopardize your warranty. 

The Epson PowerLite L630U projector has three specific warranty exclusions.  First, you can void the warranty by using the projector too much.   The specific language is “excessive, continual usage” in their warranty, but there are no specific indications of how many hours per day or days per week of how much usage is “excessive,”   Secondly, if you don’t maintain the filter, it may be possible to void the warranty.  The user manual indicates the projector should be maintained “regularly” but does not provide a recommended interval.    Waiting until the warning light comes on could damage the projector and void the warranty – so consider checking the filter regularly to keep your projector covered under the warranty.  Finally, if a projector happens to be subjected to “excessive dust” this can also void the warranty.   There is no exclusion for dust exposure in the BenQ warranty – since it is designed to handle excessive dust like this as part of the IP5X. 

Figure 1- Every BenQ Laser projector is subjected to the IP5X Dust test to ensure it can work in a dusty environment without a filter.

While the two projectors are similar in many ways such as throw ratios, lens shift, and connectivity, there are some differences that may make one model more attractive than the other.  While the Epson has a higher lumen rating, the BenQ LU935 has near-perfect color accuracy just like a TV and has an advanced sealed laser engine while Epson has the traditional open design that requires filters.   Only the BenQ is certified under the IP5X dust test – which means you will never have to rent a lift to clean a filter.  The BenQ also doesn’t have any warranty restrictions on how much you can use the projector, or requirements to keep the filter clean.

Bottom line – while the BenQ LU935 projector may cost a little more than the Epson PowerLite L630U it delivers lower operating costs due to its more advanced sealed light engine that eliminates usage restrictions, superior color accuracy, and peace of mind knowing that the image from the DLP chip will never turn yellow after long-term exposure to laser light.