Sound option
The W1200 has a token on-board sound system driven by a 2 x 10W amp. This is bolstered by SRS Wow HD sound processing to boost bass. Frankly, the noise it makes is akin to a transistor radio, and from an AV point of view is insignificant. On the plus side, if you do whip out the PJ for a quick session on the Gears of War 3 beta, there’s no real need to wire the games console into a sound system.
Casting shadows over high-end alternatives
Verdict
Overall, the W1200 presents a great argument for not spending an arm and a leg on a high-end home cinema projector. Bizarrely, I’m going to advocate you spend even less. The W1200 has a lookalike sibling which lacks frame interpolation and is £200 cheaper: the W1100. My suggestion is if you like the sound of this model, audition the W1100 first, as I’m inclined to think the frame interpolation isn’t worth the extra wedge. ®
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BenQ W1200 HD DLP projector
COMMENTS
Shockingly good
A product as good as rivals costing three times more. And therefore a score of...80%?
What is it with Reg reviews that everything comes in between 60-90%, with the majority at 70 or 80? Just get rid of the %'s and use stars out of five.
£1,000 is budget priced
I think £1,000 is perfectly reasonable for a budget projector of this specification.
Clarification
Under Resolution, you listed the supported resolutions, but not the native resolution. I mention this because the company I work for has had more than a few projectors that "support" HD resolutions but are actually 800x600 projectors -- and their downsampling is really crappy.
Fortunately, that's not the case here. From BenQ's product site:
Native Resolution 1080p (1920 x 1080)
So which is it?
1080 lines or 1200 lines.
The spec list says 1200 whereas your text says 1080.
I had to laugh at the 'light controlled dark room' :) :) :)
Nearly 3 years ago Optoma briefly sold a projector with similar specs and for the same price. I'm lucky to have been in the market for one and snapped it up. It has taken that long for prices to drop to what I call more reasonable levels.
Oh, and a Canon Xeed does not cut the mustard. I've compared the Optoma and the latest Xeed and its chromatic abboration is truly awful. For a company that makes optical kit I am very surptised.
This seems like a nice bit of kit.
It is a real pity that there is nowhere in the UK where you can actually go and see a whole load of projectors side by side and compare them for the sort of use you are going to make of them. You basically have to buy sight unseen.
If El Reg knows of a place, please let us know.
Got excited by the W in the model name
I thought El Rej had leapt to the the forefront of cutting edge tech and were reviewing a Wireless projector but alas not
Any chance of you doing one?
