Review: BenQ W2000

If you are — or thinking about becoming — a projector owner, chances are you have already come across the BenQ W1070. The W1070 is a 1080p projector launched in 2012 that has, to this day, remained one of the best choices for first-time home cinema projector buyers.

 

Well, that was 2012 and this is 2016. So meet the W1070’s big brother — the W2000.

 

The DLP projector is priced at Dh4,299, a few hundred dirhams more than the W1070 that’s currently averaging a Dh3,800 price tag. 

 

The W2000 is incredibly easy to set up and is good to go in less than five minutes out of the box. Compared to the previous W1070 and the Optoma HD26 (my personal favourite among the three), the W2000 stole the beauty part of the showdown. It features a curvy and sleek design that puts the boxy designs of the older projectors to shame. Think Tomb Raider 1999 versus Tomb Raider 2016.

 

It features three HDMI ports, component video, a PC input, an audio in, an audio L/R, an audio out, an RS-232 port, a 12V trigger and a 3.5mm audio jack.

 

The W2000 can project up to 100 inches from 2.5 metres away and sits somewhere between a short-throw and normal projector.

 

It features a brightness of 2,000 lumens — which would require you to dampen out ambient room light a bit in case it washes out the image — and a contrast ratio of 15,000:1. 

 

You can use the W2000 in a few lamp modes such as normal, SmartEco and Lampsave that offer a lamp life from 3,500 to 6,000 hours. A common concern with first-time projector buyers is lamp life, but if you watch an hour on the W2000 a day, this machine will last more than 16 years. 

 

Finally, this projector features a technology called CinematicColor that is calibrated to a global HDTV standard that ensures what is projected in terms of the picture’s colour reproduction is exactly the same as the original content, as the directors intended it to be. This works with HD content so if you are a rare colour purist, I trust that all your entertainment meets high-def standards, so it shouldn’t be a worry. If not, it isn’t a worry anyway.

 

In-built speakers offer sufficient audio for regular viewing — though if you are planning on dropping upwards of Dh4,000 on the W2000 as the crowning jewel of your home theatre setup, I trust you have a plan for surround sound as well.