BenQ W1000 - Review Summary2

Posted on March 14, 2010 by Art Feierman

The very bottom line

Of the three $999 projectors, I like the BenQ W1000 the best. The reason is that it is exceptionally bright, and it has very good color, even in its brightest, cut through the ambient light, mode.

The W1000's brightness makes it ideal for a family room setup. The sheer brightness of it, had me thinking about buying one, and mounting it to the bottom of my rear shelf that holds my JVC. Too bad the zoom lens doesn't have the range. I'd just love those 2000+ lumens for my sports.

The BenQ W1000 is an entry level 1080p projector. In color accuracy, black levels and some other areas, it's not a match for projectors that start at about double the price, but, more importantly, the W1000 is still extremely impressive, with a dynamic image that dazzles.

BenQ W1000 Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities

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Captain Pike here (below) really looked good on the bridge of the Enterprise (which looked great!).

The BenQ W1000 becomes an excellent choice for a bonus room, or family room, expecially for watching a wide range of content, including movies, TV, HDTV, and definitely sports. At the same time, it can work as a first projector if you are creating a darkenable home theater.

BenQ W1000 Projector: Pros

Brightest of the low cost 1080p projectors - great for family rooms, bonus rooms, where some light is present
Good color, very satisfactory for most folks (though definitely not a purist's projector)
Built in speaker - ideal for quick setup or taking outside, when you don't need "big sound". Speaker does a respectable job, though no low bass
Perfectly suitable as a portable business projector, with sufficient brightness, sound, other features
Lamp life very good 3000 hours at full power, 4000 in low power
Or as a portable in your home projector, move from family room to outside...
Two HDMI 1.3 inputs, full support for 24 fps, Deep Color, CEC etc.
Sharp image - not the sharpest of the DLP projectors, but sharper than many more expensive LCD projectors
No filters to change, minimizing maintenance

BenQ W1000 Projector: Cons

Black level performance is very basic more typical of 720p projectors than the bulk of 1080p models. It's fine, though, for use in rooms that always have some light
Limited placement flexibility, and no lens shift (typical DLP projector)
Slow 2x color wheel, will make rainbows more visible for the small percentage who are susceptible
Fan noise is slightly louder than average, but typical of the smaller DLP projectors. In that regard it's far from the noisiest
In "brightest" mode, image noise becomes a bit noticeable, as Brilliant Color type features are engaged
No support for an anamorphic lens
Warranty - one year - too short for my taste, but typical of most lower cost 1080p projectors, although a few under $2000 models have 2 year warranties

BenQ W1000 Projector: Typical Capabilities

Lamp life (2000/3000 hours (full/low power)
Documentation (full documentation is on disc, there's a hard copy Getting Started guide)
Size, weight and styling
Menus