BenQ W1000 – Physical Tour

The BenQ W1000 is another small DLP based entry level, 1080p resolution projector for the home. It’s finished in off white, with a textured, somewhat coarse finish (anti-skid?). Easy to grip, at any rate. I’d think a finish like this is more likely on a portable business projector (it is a cross-over projector), but serves just fine here. As noted elsewhere, it is, in many ways, almost identical to the Vivitek projector, reviewed not that long ago.

The manual lens is recessed, and offset to the left, looking from the rear of the W1000 projector, Next to the lens is the front infra-red sensor for the remote control.

The control panel is located toward the back of the top, of the BenQ W1000 projector. It is straight back from the lens and lens controls. It’s a pretty straight forward arrangement though different button sizes or spacing is helpful.

The W1000 has a power switch at the top, right below three indicator lights. Below the power is the menu button.

In the top right corner is the Auto setup button

Lower right corner has Source selection, and lower left is Blank, a video mute.

The rest of the buttons make up the navigation system for the menus. The arrow keys are arranged in a diamond shape, with an Enter button in the center.

The W1000 projector comes with a pretty standard set of inputs and connectors. Like most projectors it has two HDMI 1.3 inputs, a component video input (3 color coded RCA jacks), S-Video, Composite video and even a computer input. There’s an RS-232 for service support, and a USB port.

Because the W1000 has its own small speaker, facing rear, there are two sets of stereo inputs, and a stereo output. That’s handy of you want to set up quickly without hi-fi. It also shows the W1000’s cross-breeding as a business projector.

The input panel of the W1000 is virtually identical to the Vivitek H1080FD. Everything is even in the same place. Only Vivitek also offers a 12volt screen trigger, and an additional anti-theft bar. Check this out. Immediately below, the BenQ, and for fun, right below it, the Vivitek: