BenQ has been long known for its affordable projectors targeted at the corporate and education sectors. The company has now started launching a new range of affordable Full HD and 3D capable DLP home cinema projectors. Review Central received a unit of the new BenQ W1070 projector for review a few weeks ago. We have been using the projector for movie sessions over the last couple of weeks. Read on to find out how it fared.
The W1070 is one of the latest additions to BenQ’s DLP home cinema projector line-up. It’s 3D ready and has a Full HD (1,920×1,080) resolution with a brightness of 2,000 ANSI lumens. The projector features Texas Instrument’s DarkChip3 DLP Technology that offers a 10,000:1 contrast ratio. The W1070 also supports multiple forms of 3D, including HDMI, Blu-Ray, 3D broadcasting, video games and NVIDIA 3DTV PC connectivity – all of that in 1080p Full-HD format.
In terms of dimensions, it measures 312 x 104 x 244mm and weighs 2.75-kgs. There is a large exhaust vent on the front left, with an intake grille on the right hand side of the chassis and a built-in speaker. All the connectivity options are located at the rear of the projector. Connectivity options include two HDMI inputs, a VGA connector, a component video input, a composite video input and a S-Video input. You also get 3.5mm audio in and out jacks, along with a L/R stereo input.
In addition, you will also find a mini-USB port, a 12V trigger and an RS232 connector for system control, along with a three-pin power connector. One thing we were not quite impressed with is the projctor’s bundled remote control. The remote control that accompanies the W1070 is too small – unless you have tiny fingers, you would find it hard to use. Also, while the projector itself is a home cinema projector, the remote control does not have backlight. Hence, using the remote with all the lights switched off during a movie marathon can prove to be tricky.
Though the W1070 is a home cinema projector, it does not come with 3D glasses – these need to be purchased separately. Also, you might probably want to plug-in your speakers into the W1070 when watching movies. Though the internal 10W speakers have plenty of volume and a very small amount of bass, they hardly compare to a dedicated sound system.
Having said all of that, the W1070 overcomes all these shortcomings by offering brilliant image quality. The projector worked well under brightly lit conditions, too. Colours were crisp and vibrant and the overall picture quality was excellent. Especially, there was a smooth transition from black to white and no discolouration or other artefacts, resulting in some very pleasing images.
Another strength of DLP, motion handling, was also excellent with smooth and judder-free movement and no smearing, blurring or loss of detail on pans. As you might expect, 24p content in particular had both great detail and lovely smooth motion. However, thanks to the excellent video processing, standard definition content also scrubbed up nicely and overall the W1070 delivered the goods.
Since the projector runs on a DLP chip, it excels in 3D. The faster response time of the DLP panels results in 3D images that are completely free of crosstalk and as such, the experience is far more enjoyable. The W1070’s internal fan however is quite loud, despite the unit having what BenQ refers to as SmartEco modes, which help prolong lamp life by optimizing consumption. Regardless of which lamp mode you choose or let BenQ choose for you, the internal fan is loud, which we found troubling, given that the W1070 also has a built-in speaker.
While not perfect, BenQ’s W1070 single-chip 3D HD DLP projector is a great starting point for those considering getting into the front-projection game. It is quite affordable, has supreme brightness, and offers above-average performance.
Price: AED 4,500 approx.
Specifications:
Projector Technology: DLP
Lamp Brightness: 2,000 ANSI lumens
Lamp Life: 3,500 hours
Lamp Life in Economy Mode: 5,000 hours
Contrast Ratio: 10,000:1
Native Resolution: 1920-by-1080
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Projection Distance: 1m to 7.7m
HD Ready: Yes
VGA Input: Yes
DVI Input: No
Sound Inputs: 2 x 3.5mm
Composite Input: Yes
S-video Input: Yes
HDMI Input: Yes
PAL Support: Yes
SECAM Support: Yes
NTSC Support: Yes
