The BenQ W2720i is finest understood as a mid-level projector amongst moderately inexpensive 4K house theater fashions. Priced at $1,999 at this writing—and slated to go as much as $2,199 shortly, as a consequence of lately imposed tariffs—it is about double the price of entry-level fashions just like the BenQ HT2060, however lower than half the worth of the Epson Pro Cinema LS12000, our costliest Editors’ Selection decide for house theater, and our prime decide general. Key options embrace assist for a number of variations of HDR, plus good distinction and black ranges for viewing in darkened house theaters. Nevertheless, it is also appropriate for house leisure performed again beneath ambient gentle, and it even presents brief lag instances for severe avid gamers. It misses a couple of methods, most notably assist for Dolby Imaginative and prescient, however until you’re liable to seeing rainbow artifacts (purple/inexperienced/blue flashes) simply, it is a stable selection for the worth.
Design: Android TV Dongle Included
As with most 4K projectors within the four-figure value vary, the W2720i delivers its 3,840 by 2160 pixels to the display screen utilizing a 1,920-by-1,080-pixel DLP chip that takes benefit of TI’s fast-switch pixel shifting. The projector has a four-channel gentle supply: purple, inexperienced, and two blues. The second blue channel boosts brightness, and based on BenQ, it additionally helps enhance shade accuracy. BenQ charges the colour gamut (the vary of colours) at 98% of Rec.709, the usual for HDTVs. The rated life for the sunshine supply is 30,000 hours in Eco mode or 20,000 hours in both the brightest (Dynamic) or Regular mode.
The setup course of is normal stuff. The W2720i weighs 14.1 kilos and measures 5.6 by 16.5 by 12 inches (HWD), making it finest suited to everlasting set up. The 1.3x handbook zoom presents flexibility for a way far to position the projector from the display screen, and a small vertical lens shift helps you to transfer the picture plus or minus 5% of the picture top from the vertically centered place. That is simply sufficient to compensate for a small error in positioning or mounting it, to nonetheless level on the display screen with out having to tilt the projector and sq. off the picture with keystone correction (an answer that is all the time finest prevented, because it lowers brightness and may add artifacts to some photographs).
(Credit score: M. David Stone)
The “i” within the W2720i’s title signifies that it comes with an Android TV dongle. As is typical for BenQ, it’s a must to set up it your self, however little work is concerned. The Android TV 11 setup itself is normal, with Wi-Fi as the one connection selection. Observe additionally you could management each the projector and the Android TV with the identical distant. Nevertheless, every has its personal menu, which could be a little complicated till you be taught which menu does what.
Different connectors are all on the rear panel, together with three HDMI ports and two USB Kind-A ports, one in every of which may learn information from a USB reminiscence key. One of many HDMI ports helps eARC for audio, and one other can settle for as much as 4K/120Hz enter to downconvert it to 1080p/120Hz for gaming. Totally different options for various ports imply it is advisable to watch out to plug every supply into the precise port.
(Credit score: M. David Stone)
House theater projectors historically skimp on audio since most people who find themselves severe about house theater will join an exterior sound system. In that context, the W2720i delivers higher audio than many, because of twin 5-watt audio system and Dolby Digital Plus assist. The mixture delivers excessive sufficient quantity to fill a big household room and fairly usable sound high quality. Nonetheless, if you would like home-theater-level high quality, you must join an exterior audio system to the three.5mm or S/PDIF audio-out ports or to the one HDMI port that helps eARC.
Testing the BenQ W2720i: Little to No Tweaking Wanted
The menus provide a number of predefined image modes for SDR and HDR, together with ISF Day and ISF Evening modes when you’re keen to pay for a calibration. Nevertheless, it is exhausting to suggest getting one for this projector. Calibration is pricey, and BenQ boasts that the W2720i is calibrated earlier than it ships.
After my preliminary exams, I select Cinema AI mode for viewing SDR materials in each a darkish room and in ambient gentle. BenQ says that the mode adjusts the picture primarily based on the room’s degree of sunshine and the contents of every body to offer the very best picture attainable. In my exams, that translated to providing good shade accuracy, distinction, and a way of three-dimensionality in scenes throughout the vary from darkish to mid-tones to vibrant. Cinema AI additionally delivered the darkest black degree of any of the image modes and did the very best job of holding shadow element.
(Credit score: M. David Stone)
The only option of image mode for HDR10 enter for motion pictures on disc depends upon the person film. Each HDR10 and HDR AI Cinema provided more-than-acceptable shade accuracy, distinction, and shadow element in testing. Nevertheless, there is not any option to inform simply by watching which mode has extra correct shade. In one in every of our normal take a look at clips, HDR10 provided higher shadow element, however that wasn’t true for all motion pictures, making the selection between the 2 primarily a toss-up.
Observe that the menus embrace a handbook HDR Brightness setting. The choice is required for HDR10 as a result of the very best setting varies each from one film to a different and beneath completely different lighting situations. HDR10+, which the W2720i additionally helps, was designed to get rid of the necessity for the setting, and the function was not obtainable when the projector negotiated an HDR10+ connection in my streaming exams. I used to be shocked to seek out that the function can also be obtainable with the HDR AI image mode, since I might have anticipated the mode’s picture adjustment on a frame-by-frame foundation would get rid of the necessity for it. Nonetheless, you will need to experiment with utilizing it for HDR AI mode as properly. You will additionally discover an HLG mode, a Filmmaker mode, and an HDR Filmmaker mode, however I could not discover any on-line sources that the projector would negotiate a connection to utilizing any of these modes.
(Credit score: M. David Stone)
The W2720i additionally presents a single 3D image mode, which helps DLP-Hyperlink glasses. I did not see any crosstalk in my exams, however 3D-related movement artifacts had been on the excessive finish of the everyday vary for current-generation 3D fashions.
The excellent news about rainbow artifacts is that I did not see them as typically as with most projectors. The dangerous information is that once they confirmed, they had been extra apparent than typical. In the event you’re involved concerning the concern, the opposite excellent news is that BenQ presents free returns inside 30 days of the delivery date, so you’ll be able to check it out for your self.
(Credit score: M. David Stone)
Informal gaming is unquestionably attainable on the W2720i. I measured the enter lag utilizing a Bodnar 4K Lag Tester at 18.1 milliseconds (ms) for 4K/60Hz enter, 18ms for 1080p/60Hz, 12.7ms for 1080p/120Hz, and 6.5ms for 1080p/240Hz. Every of those is only one or two milliseconds longer than the present cutting-edge.
As a result of the W2720i is designed to be used in ambient gentle in addition to in a darkish house theater, it presents excessive sufficient brightness for a satisfyingly massive picture, even in a household room with lights on. Utilizing the Society of Movement Image and Tv Engineers (SMPTE) suggestions, the rated 2,500 lumens ought to make it suitably vibrant for roughly a 230-inch, 1.0 achieve, 16:9 display screen in a darkish room. Nevertheless, the brightest image mode has a inexperienced tint. (Most individuals would contemplate it tolerable, however finest reserved for daytime viewing on a vibrant day.) In my exams, utilizing my most popular Cinema AI and HDR10 image modes, it simply stuffed my 90-inch, 1.0-gain display screen, delivering wealthy shade in a darkish room and standing up properly to the extent of sunshine typical of a household room at evening.
Verdict: A Strong Selection for Lights-On and Lights-Off Viewing
The BenQ W2720i succeeds in delivering each the excessive distinction and darkish black degree wanted in a darkish room and the brightness wanted in ambient gentle, making it a good selection whether or not you need it for conventional house theater, house leisure, or each. In the event you’re contemplating it, nevertheless, be sure you additionally check out the Epson House Cinema 4010 (which we did not evaluation however is similar projector because the Epson Pro Cinema 4050—one in every of our prime picks—as defined in that evaluation). And when you can stretch your price range, additionally check out the Epson Home Cinema LS11000 and Professional Cinema LS12000.
One benefit all three Epson fashions have is that they cannot present rainbow artifacts. Between the 2 dearer fashions, the LS12000 prices greater than the LS11000, and it presents increased distinction. Both is vibrant sufficient for rooms with ambient gentle, however the LS12000 delivers the very best picture high quality of all of the fashions talked about right here in a darkish room. If neither matches your price range, the 4010’s value makes it immediately aggressive with the W2720i. Nevertheless it is the one mannequin on this group with a regular lamp (which you will doubtless want to interchange sooner or later).
In the event you’re not notably delicate to rainbow artifacts, the W2720i’s solid-state gentle supply alone makes it the higher selection than the 4010; plus, it helps extra variations of HDR. And one different key profit is that it comes out of the field able to ship good picture high quality with little to no tweaking.
Professionals
View
Extra
The Backside Line
For customers who do not see (or do not thoughts) occasional rainbow artifacts, the BenQ W2720i house theater projector can serve properly for viewing in a darkish room or with lights on.
Like What You are Studying?
This text might comprise promoting, offers, or affiliate hyperlinks.
By clicking the button, you affirm you’re 16+ and conform to our
Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy.
You might unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
About M. David Stone
Contributing Editor
