BenQ W5000 Projector: Cons

BenQ W5000 Projector: Typical Capabilities

•  Documentation – not bad, but more explanation of many options would be a real improvement
• Average lamp life (2000 hours in full power, 3000 hours in low lamp mode)
• Typical control panel on the unit, with all the usual amenities
• The number and types of inputs

BenQ W5000 Summary: The Bottom Line

If you favor DLP projectors in general for their depth and film-like qualities, then the BenQ has to be at the top of your shopping list, if your budget is around $3000 or less. The only significant flaw seems to be the amount of image noise. I’m still working with BenQ to find out if there is a solution, since the controls are grayed out when feeding hi-def sources.

Like the Epson, the BenQ has much to offer. They are the two, that if I had to give up my JVC, and spend around $3000, would be the ones I would really consider. Let me put it this way, I watched the Epson extensively for a month, it seems, and only occasionally used my JVC. I enjoyed it thoroughly. The same is true of the BenQ W5000. Those are the only two less expensive projectors that I would pick as a temporary replacement for my RS1, as both have a different flavor to their images than my RS1. The BenQ has definite strengths, especially sharpness, that, at least in part, offset the JVC’s unbeatable black level performance.

The BenQ W5000 is, but for the image noise issue, a projector that certainly “coulda been a contender”, for best $3000ish projector. Even so, it is a serious competitor, with few equals at that price.