BenQ has heard the anguished cries of movie enthusiasts who don’t have the luxury of large rooms for a home cinema setup. The W5850 4K projector sports a shorter-throw lens for big-screen visuals in smaller spaces.
Released in Europe last year, this model was described by Tom Parsons at What Hi-Fi “as a delight to use and a pleasure to watch” when awarding his 5-star review in December. Now the 4K laser projector has crossed the pond for launch in the US.
BenQ
This is not a dinky smart projector that streams content over Wi-Fi to a spare wall or big screen. It’s designed for home theater setups – often dedicated spaces with a projector hanging from the ceiling way back in the darkened space, and powerful speakers dotted around the comfy seats strategically placed for optimum viewing. So you’ll need to cable up to a media source or streaming stick for this beast.
The W5850 comes with a 16-element lens that has a throw ratio of 1.0 – 1.6, meaning that viewers can enjoy 180-inch “True 4K” visuals when the projector is positioned some 13 ft (4 m) away from the vertical viewing surface.
That’s two extra lens elements compared to its immediate ancestor, but more importantly the W5800 needed a viewing space with at least a 20-ft (6-m) gap between the business end and the screen. So we’re looking at setting up in a medium-sized room here rather than a large space. Motorized optical zoom and four-way lens shift make for even more flexible placement, and app-directed positioning assistance is available too.
BenQ
Beyond the optics, the old and new models appear to be well matched spec for spec. The laser light source puts out 2,600 ANSI lumens, which may have a hard fight against powerful ambient enemies but should suit the carefully controlled theater zone well. There’s 3-million:1 dynamic contrast plus 100% coverage of both the DCI-P3 and Rec.709 color gamuts, as well as Delta E color accuracy of less than 2 (the lower the better).
The unit supports HDR10+ content that can be further enhanced using BenQ’s own HDR-Pro technology, including dynamic tone mapping and dynamic light output tweaking. Ethernet LAN allows users to plug into a home network, though there are PD USB ports to power streaming sticks plugged in nearby.
That will be over HDMI 2.1, with one of the two available ports supporting audio return, allowing for integration with external 7.1-channel and Dolby Atmos audio systems. Input lag at full resolution comes in at 17.9 milliseconds at 60 Hz, but dropping to Full HD will get you 120-Hz response and 13 ms – which should be fine for casual console gaming.
The price of admission to this 20.6 x 5.7 x 15.4-inch (525.2 x 145.7 x 392.2-mm), 10.5-lb (23.1 kg) home cinema box is US$6,999, and it’s on sale now.
Product page: BenQ W5850
