In August 2020, Taiwan's BenQ aimed to replace living-room televisions with the launch of two Laser TV projectors that promised "astounding 4K visuals with precise HDR colors and high brightness" from 100-inch projected images. Now the company has added two more ultra-short-throw all-in-one projectors to the range, this time coming with Android TV cooked in.
Ultra-short-throw projectors like the new V7000i and V7050i DLP Laser TVs can be shoved really close to the wall and will still project a large image onto a wall or screen, so you don't need to worry about hanging them from the ceiling or suffer from movie-spoiling shadows as the family cat wanders in front of units sitting on the living room coffee table.
The new projectors promise 3,840 x 2,160 resolution with a maximum throw of 120 diagonal inches, a brightness of 2,500 ANSI lumens, and 2,000,000:1 dynamic contrast. They support 98 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut and 96 percent of the Rec.709 standard, as well as HDR10 and HLG content formats. And dynamic tone-mapping adjusts the brightness and contrast in real-time for optimum viewing.
BenQ says that the unit will impress even in a brightly lit room, with a "color volume level 1.3 times greater than other laser TVs in the same class." Filmmaker Mode optimization has been included too, which disables all post processing (such as motion smoothing) and retains the correct aspect ratios, colors and frame rates for content "to display the movie or television show precisely as it was intended by the filmmaker for a genuine cinema experience."
Films, TV shows, games, sports, music and more – more than 5,000 Android apps can be had – are served up by Android TV via an intuitive interface. And there's one-button app access to Amazon Prime content as well. However, these new units are not on the authorized device list for Netflix, but the product page does suggest a workaround.
The Laser TV projectors rock two 5-W treVelo speakers, which are reckoned to put out punchy sound, though HDMI 2.0b and SPDIF ports are also available for connecting the units to an external speaker system. There's an integrated auto eye-protection sensor, automatic keystone adjustment, and the laser light source is reckoned good for 20,000 hours of use. And these models feature an automatic sliding lid that closes when the unit is not in use, to help prevent dust buildup on the lens. Neat.
The only difference between the two models appears to be the color, with the V7000i coming in white and the V7050i in black. They go on sale in Europe later this month for €3,799 (that's about US$4,600, though there's no mention of US availability).
Product page: V7050i
