BenQ W1200 review

First impressions of the W1200, BenQ’s latest home cinema projector, are good; it’s compact, quiet and stylish. The glossy white and silver plastic chassis is easy on the eye and the projector is small enough to fit on a shelf. Like most projectors available for around £1,000 it’s a DLP model, but one that supports 1080p resolutions and has multiple HDMI inputs.

The projector’s bulb is rated at 1,800 lumens, and it’s reasonably bright. At its maximum setting images were clear in a bright room, but turning off the lights and closing the curtains is still the only way to get the best picture. Buttons on the remote control illuminate when pressed, which makes it easier to adjust display settings in the dark. This is useful, as there are plenty of options to change; as well as three pre-set picture modes and three further user-defined ones, the Brilliant Colour setting increases colour intensity to produce more vivid, albeit less natural, images.

Of the three preset options, Cinema produced the best image quality; colours were intensified and contrast was increased to draw out better shadows. The Dynamic setting, designed to increase brightness so the projected image is clear even with the lights on, was less impressive. It created an unwanted blue hue that made movie scenes look unnatural. The Standard setting was a decent compromise between the two, but for best results it’s worth adjusting the image manually to suit personal preference. Brightness, contrast and colour intensity settings are all available for tweaking, as are sharpness and flesh tones.

As we would expect at this price, all focus adjustments have to be performed manually. There’s also no physical lens shift, only digital keystone, so you have to be careful when aligning the projector to your screen.

When properly focused, images looked very sharp and detailed, although only when viewed in the dark. The rainbow effect, another inevitability of a DLP projector, was pleasingly absent from most scenes, only becoming visible in high-contrast black-and white images. Frame interpolation managed to smooth out a Blu-ray movie running at 24p, but there were noticeable artefacts in some fast moving scenes; in most cases you won’t notice unless you’re looking for them, but it’s still frustrating when you do. Black levels were reasonable, but nowhere near as good as a Plasma TV or even a high-end LCD.

With a pair of built-in 10W speakers, the W1200 is ready for movie playback right out of the box; unsurprisingly, sound quality was no match for a dedicated speaker system. Volume was reasonable and mid-range frequencies were clear, but there was no discernable bass. The only audio output is a 3.5mm jack, so you’ll need to use an A/V amplifier to get surround sound over HDMI. Video inputs are more plentiful, with two HDMI, D-Sub, component and composite video.

In spite of the usual issues associated with DLP projectors, the W1200 produced a very clear picture that was mostly free of rainbows and artefacts. Plenty of display options and a reasonable range of inputs make it a great addition to any home cinema setup. However, at this price there are several LCD models that are slightly more attractive, including the fantastic Epson EH-TW3200.