Gary Collinson reviews BenQ’s W1050 Digital Projector…
BenQ continues to bring affordable home theater to living rooms everywhere with the release of the W1050, the successor to the W1070 and the latest in the manufacturer’s range of high performance projectors aimed at the casual audience, and at a price range to suit. And, thanks to the lovely people at BenQ, I’ve had the opportunity to take one for a rather enjoyable test drive over the past couple of weeks.
Unlike the W1700 4K HDR CineHome Projector which I reviewed earlier this year, the W1050 has a maximum resolution of 1080p HD, so it’s unlikely to appeal to cinema aficionados or gamers who have made the jump to 4K and whose biggest consideration is delivering the absolute highest-quality image possible. However, for those who looking to enjoy a movie night with the latest Blu-ray or DVD, break out the PlayStation 4, Xbox One or Switch for some gaming fun with your friends and family, or bring the big screen sporting experience of your local pub to your living room, then the W1050 may well be just the thing you’re looking for.
Here’s some of the key specs for the W1050:
– DLP Display Technology
– 2200 ANSI Lumens
– 1920 x 1080 (Full HD) Native Resolution
– 4500 Hours Lamp Life (Typical)
– Aspect Ratio 16:9
– 15000:1 Contrast Ratio
– High native ANSI contrast ratio performance
– 96% coverage of Rec. 709 color space
– 2.56 KG’s (Weight)
The first thing to note is that the W1050 is incredibly lightweight (surprisingly so), and so can easily by mounted to a ceiling bracket, or used as a portable projector if that’s how you plan to use it. It’s fairly compact, but still offers a good range of inputs including HDMI (x2), VGA PC, RS 232, USB MiniB, video and audio inputs and audio out, which has you covered for the vast majority of your media such as DVD/Blu-ray, games consoles, home computers and set top boxes.
Setting up the projector is easy, and even technophobes should be up and running in a matter of minutes. It’s designed to be projected directly onto white walls, so a screen isn’t a necessity here, and promises to deliver an image up to 300″ (with full HD up to 100″) depending on the room you have to play with. Sadly, I’m limited with the room I have available, but I was still able to get an image size of around 90″ from about 2.5 metres away using the zoom feature, and without too much of a noticeable impact on picture quality. That’s certainly a lot bigger than any TV in this price range!
Out of the box, the W1050 comes with three picture modes – Vivid TV, Cinema and Sports – as well as a host of controls and settings for those who wish to calibrate the projector to their specific tastes. The image is enhanced by BenQ’s CinematicColor Technology, which conforms to Rec.709 International HDTV standards and ensures that the projector accurately reproduces the vibrant cinematic colours as intended by filmmakers.
The HD picture quality from the W1050 is very impressive, even when using the zoom feature at its maximum. Watching Star Wars: The Last Jedi on Blu-ray, I noticed very little – if any – difference in quality between this projector and the W1700 in all honesty; the image was bright, crisp and highly detailed, and while you’ll naturally get the best out of the projector in a darkened room, the picture quality is also admirable in daylight or with artificial lighting.
For those who haven’t given up on 3D just yet, the W1050 also has you covered, although you’ll need to get yourself some active 3D glasses as they’re not included with the projector. Sadly, I’m a passive 3D guy myself, so I wasn’t able to test the 3D out.
If there’s one criticism I have of the W1050, it’s that it is a little on the noisy end, even when you have Eco Mode enabled. That’s a small gripe however, and one that’s easily rectified – just turn the sound up! – and overlooked when the rest of the package is so good.
Overall, the W1050 is a rather fantastic piece of kit, and given that you can pick it up on Amazon for less than £500, it offers excellent value for money and it’s hard to describe this as anything other than an absolute bargain. If you’re keen to take your first steps into home cinema or thinking about replacing your older HD projector, the W1050 is definitely worth a look.
Gary Collinson is the editor-in-chief of FlickeringMyth.com.
