BenQ MP772 ST Readability

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Art Feierman

The MP772 ST provided a very sharp, clean image and did so across the displayed image. Many short throw projectors, due to the type of lens used, have problems maintaining sharpness and clarity in the corners of the image. This was not the case with the MP772 ST, which maintained highly readable text across the screen. Using our usual spreadsheet with a range of text sizes and colors, there was no problem reading small (8 pt.) text on a 70” diagonal projected image. This solid readability was also apparent with white text-on-black and yellow text-on-dark blue backgrounds as well. Click on the image below to view a larger version to see the type quality. Note that the text is already compressed to 75% in Excel, so 24 point is seen as 18 point. Sorry about that. The MP772 ST also had few problems with resolutions higher than its default 1024 x 768. Switching to 1600 x 1200 and then 1600 x 900, to test its ability to scale and resize these resolutions, there was little difference in the MP772 ST’s display of the text spreadsheet from its native resolution. It should be noted that compression and scaling technology has made some significant advances in recent years, such that quality display of non-standard resolutions and aspect ratios is becoming the rule rather than the exception.

Nonetheless, some projectors in the lower price range of the BenQ MP772 ST have difficulty accurately displaying the different colored text/background combinations in our spreadsheet, so it’s still a treat to see such variations from the norm handled so well. Small text remained quite readable and there was no color separation or overlap as can be found on some LCD projectors. As we’ve mentioned previously, this is an advantage the single chip technology of DLP projectors has over three-chip LCD projectors, which are often prone to issues due to misconvergence.

Overall, BenQ MP772 ST did an excellent job maintaining readability through a variety of situations, made even more impressive by the fact it sits so close to the screen.

BenQ MP772 ST Video Performance

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While watching video would not be the usual use of the MP772 ST, its 3-D capability will likely promote its use with video in the future. To check its video performance, I used the DVD playback from my laptop computer, connected via VGA. Staring in Cinema mode, the picture quality of the MP772 ST was disappointing. Cinema mode, although the least bright, still had somewhat washed out colors, providing little improvement over Presentation mode. However, in sRGB mode (which still puts out over 1100 lumens) the MP772 ST displayed much greater depth of image, as well as improved contrast. Skin tones were a bit too red, but that could easily be adjusted in User mode. Overall, the video performance was quite good for a projector in this class.

For video viewing in an average lit room, the high brightness of the MP772 ST in Presentation mode still provides for a highly watchable image, making it a good choice for video presentations in the classroom. Fortunately, the MP772 ST’s built-in 10-watt speakers (two speakers of 5 watts each) also have enough power to create an acceptable volume level for watching a video with audio in most classrooms.

As is the case with most multimedia projectors, the MP772 ST’s forte is not movie or TV viewing. Nonetheless, it’s still able to provide video reproduction in a variety of lighting conditions that is not fatiguing and still pleasant to watch.