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Labs

Home cinema projectors

BenQ W500   [Computer Shopper]
COMPANY: BenQ PRICE: £688inc VAT  
RATING: ISSUE: 240  DATE: Dec 07
   

BenQ's W500 looks good, with white curves and silver sides. Hot air is expelled from the right side and the front, which may affect where you can place it. You needn't place it straight-on to your screen, though, as a 55 per cent horizontal and vertical lens shift makes it easy to align. BenQ says this projector has a 28dB(A) noise level, but we found it the quietest of the home cinema projectors.

Like Epson's EMP-TW680, the W500 has a dynamic iris, although

 
 
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its contrast ratio is half that of Epson's projector at 5,000:1, and less than the 6,000:1 of Optoma's HD73. It has a good array of connections, with two sets of component inputs, as well as HDMI. The Windows desktop looked crisp when connected to a PC digitally using HDMI to DVI, but the focus was soft on the right-hand side when using an analogue connection.

The image quality of standard-definition clips blew us away. Images were sharp, with little noise and excellent anti-aliasing to smooth jagged edges. It handled our HD movie clips with ease, producing rich colours and a good level of detail. It struggled with detail in very dark scenes, though.

The W500 displays 720p at its native resolution of 1,280x720, and downscales 1080i and 1080p footage. Running costs for the W500 are exceptionally low, as the lamp costs 5p an hour in economy mode.

The W500 has a good range of features and great image quality at a reasonable price. Its superior handling of standard-definition images gives it the edge over Epson's EMP-TW680.

SPECIFICATIONS:
1,280x720 native resolution, 5,000:1 contrast ratio, 1,100 ANSI lumens
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