PART 2: LEGACY AND FUTURE

Reviewed by Michael Lim, Filmmaker & Curator

(Part 1 of the article is available here)

In this second part of the article, I’ll take a closer examination at some of the new technical specifications of the BenQ W2700, as well as its Stereoscopic 3D viewing.

As mentioned before, the W2700 has a CinematicColor 95% DCI-P3 technology. What is DCI-P3?

DCI-P3 is a common RGB wide colour gamut defined by Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) for digital movie projection in professional cinemas. When using the WCG option in HDR mode, W2700’s colour performance is 1.2 times wider than other DLP 4K projectors with Rec.709 color gamut. DCI-P3 faithfully preserves and reproduces the colors and emotions for 4K HDR content that directors envision for their blockbusters. In effect, it gives you a color range closer to what is shown in digital cinema.

HDR PRO is also supported.

I have a small home theatre room and found that the best way to see the WCG option is when the room is in complete darkness. This is when the projector produced the best results.

Watching stereoscopic 3D is possible with the W2700 as backwards compatibility. I’m not sure of current Blu-ray 3D releases as production may have stopped owing to normal UHD sets no longer supporting the format despite movies still being released in cinemas in 3D. However, I was pleased that the W2700, like the W1700, still supports the playback of these 3D Blu-rays. In order to watch them, you still need a pair of 3D glasses.

BenQ uses an active pair of glasses which means you need to charge them fully before viewing (recommended). There were, however, no additional settings in 3D stereoscopic mode other than its automatic default mode. In higher end 3D projectors, I found that there were other settings to control the depth of the 3D. But for the BenQ W2700, it wasn’t the case. I haven’t tried controlling the settings on the Blu-ray player but I’m sure that this might still be possible on the Oppo-203.

UHD as a disc format does not support 3D and it doesn’t look any more likely in the future. Home consumers simply don’t like the inconvenience of wearing a pair of glasses apparently for the length of a movie. This is a shame as the quality of 3D in the cinemas has improved greatly. I recently watched THE LION KING in IMAX 3D and the results were stunning as this was a completely CG-generated film and home cinema screens are large enough to get an immersive experience as well.

I managed to get ROUGE ONE and THE LAST JEDI in 3D Bluray but I wished I could view them in 4K though with added sharpness, contrast and color. I do hope the manufacturers for projectors will continue to offer 3D still as there are a few home cinema owners who did support that format. Maybe there will be a resurgence in the near future with better content out there.

VERDICT – I was impressed by the sleek new look and picture quality of the BenQ W2700 as compared to the BenQ W1700. Both of these models are at entry level prices for a 4K HDR projector and therefore should not be placed on the same pedestal as higher end range 4K HDR projectors by BenQ and other manufacturers. If you’re looking for something that fills the upgrade gap between a full HD projector and a 4K HDR projector, there’s no question that the W2700 is certainly worth your time for exploration. In order to get the maximum out of the projector, a 4K HDR setup with 4K HDR content is necessary. Hopefully it will continue with 4K HDR physical discs as well as they have a higher bit-rate for content playback than streaming.

• Learn more about W2700 at BenQ Website
• Check the price at BenQ Brand Store: http://bit.ly/2WuUqvP

PART 1: OUT OF THE BOX AND INTO 4K

Reviewed by Michael Lim, Filmmaker & Curator

(Part 2 of the article is available here)

Joining the range of the latest BenQ projectors is a recent model released a few months back to much fanfare – the BenQ W2700. The BenQ W2700 is the next level up from the previous model W1700 which I reviewed last year. It is more of an upgrade with new improvements that make the W2700 stands out even more, enabling BenQ to be the No. 1 4K projector brand in 2019 in Asia-Pacific with the biggest market share (according to BenQ).

Out of the box, we can already experience a refreshed look with a brand new design which is sure to please. I like the new rectangular capsule design which looks modern and sleek to fit any home and its polished front panel finishing as well. The new back panel places all the inputs and outputs strategically all in one row conveniently.

One particular new little feature which is minor but important is that there are now 2 HDMI 2.0 ports to support two inputs for 4K. Previously, the W1700 could only handle one 4K and one full HD input separately. With this new model, both HDMI inputs now support 4K which is a nice touch. Another port of interest is the USB 3.0 port, which is also a media player, making it convenient to play 4K content directly to the projector.

One new feature on the W2700 is the ability to raise a cover over the lower portion of the lens (see below), which will reduce reflections from a table surface or, if ceiling mounted, from reflective ceilings to ensure the best possible image quality. Weight-wise it is almost the same as the W1700 at 4.2kg.

More importantly, from the moment I hit the start button, that’s when things get exciting. The power-up speed has been improved from the W1700 as the lamp powers up. The menu design is more or less the same as that of the W1700, which makes it an easy upgrade to operate. One hopes in future versions that BenQ may improve on its menus to include perhaps apps to include streaming content but that’s only in my wish list.

As usual to view 4K HDR content, you need the appropriate 4K HDR-supported equipment. In my viewing room, I am using the Oppo 203 as my 4K Ultra-HD source player. In my previous review, I used an Xbox One S. It was a simple swap around between the W1700 and W2700 in the setup. In fact, the BenQ is the No.1 short-throw 4K home projector in the market according to BenQ. It is an easy swap for those who have a 1080p projector*.

*BenQ W1070/W1070+/W2000/W1110/W1090

This means that users of those models can do an immediate swap around with minimum fuss or without even changing ceiling mounts – this is excellent news for upgraders. There’s also a vertical shift and 1.3 zoom for the lens with auto keystone to help as well.

PICTURE QUALITY
I was quite surprised as to whether I would be able to detect any significant picture differences between the BenQ W1700 and W2700. In comparison, the W2700 has slightly less lumens of 2000 compared to the W1700 which has 2200, but more significantly it was the added contrast ratio of 30,000: 1 that gives the pictures a greater punch along with the CinematicColour with 95% DCI-P3. I will get to more tech specifications in Part 2 of this article.

The degree of black reproduction has definitely improved and colours appear more vivid in range than the W1700, which is saying a lot since that for me was already a benchmark for an entry level 4K projector.

I used the UHD of Mission Impossible: Fallout as a reference video for my viewing. The projector handled the subtle nuances of the black areas in the halo jump sequences quite nicely, and bright day action scenes such as the motorcycle chase in Paris looked stunning. The colour reproduction came close to what I recollected when I first viewed the movie at the cinemas as well. The HDR 10 was very effective. The UHD also has a well-mixed Dolby Atmos track to accompany the visuals as well which is decoded by my slightly older Denon receiver in 11.2.

Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk was another reference UHD which I used. The beach scenes were very detailed and I could almost see and feel the grains of sand on the beach. Flesh tones were quite even throughout.

One drawback of the projector was that I found the fan noise a little noisy although it is within acceptable range. I didn’t use the internal speakers during the initial testing but there are two 5W speakers placed at the back which sounded better than the W1700.

OVERALL IMPRESSION
The BenQ W2700 is definitely a well thought of advancement over the W1700. The design of the projector, picture quality and colour reproduction have been improved . Overall, BenQ has done once again an excellent job of looking after improving its projector and I can look forward to seeing what they plan to do in the future as well.

It is slightly more expensive than the W1700 but well worth the price if it is in your budget range. Currently it is retailing at SGD$2,699 in Singapore. However, if that’s still above your price point, the BenQ 1700 is still available at a lower price.

I will be reviewing some of the other features of the projector including the 3D function as well as writing in more detail about the CinematicColour 95% DCI-P3 and what it means in Part 2 of this article.

• Learn more about W2700 at BenQ Website
• Check the price at BenQ Brand Store: http://bit.ly/2WuUqvP