BenQ W1800 Review: 4K HDR Projector

For better or worse, projectors appear to be becoming increasingly specialised. There are projectors specifically designed for business, gaming, and, of course, home theatre use. We are fortunate that BenQ characterises its new BenQ W1800 model as a home cinema projector very clearly and offers several encouraging examples to support this claim.

First off, it features BenQ’s CinematicColor technology, in which RGBRGB colour wheels are covered in “rigorously tested” coatings to produce more accurate colours. But perhaps most impressively, each projector that leaves the factory comes with factory calibration reports (to Delta E errors below three). Then, “Zero Light Overflow” technology, which is made possible by heat-resistant matte paint finishes on the internal “opto-mechanical” structure, works to prevent light from being lost as it travels through the projector’s optics. Additionally, lenses are “meticulously polished” to achieve picture purity.

Price and Availability

The BenQ W1800 4K HDR Home Cinema Projector is available for just under ₹245,000. You can get more detailed information about the BenQ W1800 current price and availability by consulting us.

Design

The W1800 is tiny enough to fit on any coffee table and has a charming, domestic appearance thanks to the mix of a goldy brown front panel and a glossy white finish on the majority of its sides. The W1800’s optics, with the lens positioned toward the right front, are protected from the elements by grilles on the side and on the front left corner. Simple zoom and focus gears are accessible around the lens through a cutout in the top edge, and there are screw-down feet to the front and back to help tilt the image where you need it to be.

When you can’t find the remote control that comes with the projector, you can use the control buttons on the top panel of the W1800, which are impressively tactile and ergonomic. The remote control also has backlit buttons to make it easier to use in the kind of dark room that the projector is best suited for.

Picture Quality

The W1800’s photos immediately catch your eye because of how smooth and authentic they appear. The Optoma UHD38 and BenQ TK700 give a brighter, marginally clearer image, but the W1800 excels in terms of cinematic images. I put it to the test on a variety of content utilising the Roku 4K Streaming Stick and 4K Blu-rays, including blockbuster Marvel and Star Wars movies like Avengers: Endgame. When it comes to detail, colour, richness, or depth, the W1800 never let users down. When I forget that I’m reviewing and just settle in to watch, it’s always a good indicator. This frequently occurred when using the BenQ W1800.

Any flaws are foreseeable. If you’re a huge lover of HDR, this shouldn’t be your first choice of projector because the black level is dark but not particularly deep and the brightness levels are poor (I only measured 178cd/m2 reflected off the screen). However, there is a discernible difference between, say, Thor: Ragnarok with HDR turned on and with HDR turned off, indicating that some optimization has taken place.

Specifications

Conclusion

DLP technology is skillfully utilised by the BenQ W1800 projector to produce sharp, highly detailed 4K images. Even though we would have expected even more intricately drawn dark sections and brighter light areas, the HDR rendering is extremely realistic. Although it appears to be impossible to turn off the Filmmaker mode on HDR sources, it delivers a colorimetry that is reasonably realistic. The projector isn’t especially challenging to install, but because of its short focal length, it must be situated fairly close to the audience (in front or just behind), which has the unfortunate side effect of making the ventilation quite audible. Therefore, for a pleasurable home theatre experience, the eco lamp setting is recommended (33 dB measured at 1m compared to 36-37 dB in normal mode).