BenQ EP5920 DLP 1080p Entry Level Projector Preview

You really can't understand how convenient a portable projector is until you own one. All you need is a semi-flat, semi-white surface and you are moments away from having an image bigger than anything your friends have in their homes. Having friends over and don't want to share the home theater with the kids? Set up the portable in the back room. Got a bunch of people coming over for the big game? Have it playing it two rooms. Going on vacation? Now you've got a cinema-sized image right next to the 23" CRT that came in your hotel room.

Portable projectors are a different breed from normal "theater" projectors. Your main home theater projector is going to be used in very little ambient light and is designed to operate best in those conditions. Portable projectors have to deal with more ambient light and therefore have to be brighter and tend not to have black levels that are as dark.

The new BenQ EP5920 projectors has one main claim to fame - 1080p. This is an entry-level portable projector that will give you full HD resolution. It sports 1800 lumens (which means you'll still want some light control) and a 4500:1 contrast ratio. The EP5920 sports DLP technology and the bulb, in eco-mode, will last 5000 hours. Replacements will run you about $200. With the projector only costing $900, the replacing a few bulbs is not too big of a deal.

Glancing at the back, we see something you may not expect on a portable projector - two HDMI inputs. Since this projector may be used standalone, the dual inputs (version 1.3) are a nice touch. Also included are component video, S-video, composite, and VGA inputs. There are also RCA stereo audio inputs, a 3.5mm inputs for audio, and a 3.5mm output for audio. If you don't have access to external speakers, you can "pinch-hit" and use the 10 watt one included in the EP5920.

Image size can be between 28 and 300 inches but expect, under normal circumstances, not to really enjoy anything much larger than 120 inches. The EP5920 is fairly compact at 13 x 9.7 x 6 inches and weighs in at just under 8 lbs. While many portable projectors on the market weigh less, they often don't have 1080p resolution. That's a tradeoff we think many would be happy to make.

While there is 1.2:1 zoom and vertical keystone correction, don't expect too many bells and whistles like horizontal and vertical offset on an entry-level projector like the EP5920. It does have a quick-cooling feature which allows the projector to cool down 60% faster than others (they don't say which others). It also uses a filter-free design which is convenient and reduces aftermarket costs.

Conclusion

Looking for a portable projector to throw ultra-bright images on your wall outside at noon? This ain't it (of course, neither is anything else, really). The BenQ EP5920 is, however, a great little DPL projector to take with you when you know you'll be able to control the lighting. While it will look best in the context of having some ambient light, the 1080p resolution, dual HDMI inputs, internal speaker, and filterless design should keep you very happy. With a price tag of only $900 (we've seen it over $100 less online), this would be a great second projector for an enthusiast or a nice first projector for those that don't want to plunk down the cash for a more feature-rich home theater projector.

For more information, please visit www.benq.us.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.