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BenQ HT1075 Projector Review - Hardware Tour 2

Posted on October 4, 2014 by Art Feierman
HT1075 PROJECTOR:  HARDWARE TOUR Page 2:  Remote Control, Menus

HT1075 Remote Control

The HT1075 remote control is very reasonably laid out.  The backlight is bright red, which I think is too bright in a fully darkened room, but not too bad.  I've been less happy with some Optoma remotes which have an even brighter, but blue backlight.

Let's start at the top left with the Power switch (green). Next over is a smaller red button for power off.  The backlight button is on the top far right.

Only four of the six buttons on next two rows work with this projector.  3D toggles 3D on and off (assuming a 3D source).  Next over is PIP which does not work because the HT1075 does not have Picture in Picture.  Below that is Swap, which also relates to PIP so also has no use.  Auto (right side), is auto sync, primarily for analog computer sources.  Invert (2nd row) flips the 3D glasses left and right eyes, when you need it to.   The bottom right of those six buttons is labeled Eco Blank.  Engage that to black the screen, and I believe you will save 70% of energy usage when engaged.

Moving right along, next comes the navigation area.  Four arrow keys in a round formation with an center OK (enter) button.  Below are three buttons - Back on the left, (oft called Escape) to move you back up a level in the menus, the Menu button itself, and the unrelated Source button.  Pressing the Source button brings up your various sources, and then you use the navigation arrows and the OK button to select the source you want.  (The projector also has an Auto source function so that it will find the next working source.)

The next three rows each have a rocker bar with three positions.  The first one is for audio, with the left side being mute, pressing the center lowers volume, and the right side raises it.

The next two rows have "player" functionality. Forwarda and back chapters to the outside, with Play and Pause toggling in the center.  Below them, Fast Rewind, Stop, and Fast Forward.

The remaining three rows of three buttons are all shortcuts to menu features.  The first row offers Keytone correction, Color Mode (Cinema, Standard, User, etc.), and Brightness

The next row serves up Contrast, Color Temp, and Color Temp adjustments (Gain and Offset)

The last row:  Gamma adjustment, the CMS (color management system) for calibrating the individual colors, and finally, Sharpness control.

Overall range of the remote control is pretty good.  20 feet with a bounce off the the screen is not a challenge for its range, which is good for a projector remote running on a pair of AAA batteries (many use AA batteries which have more power).

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HT1075 Menus

HT1075 Menu System

Basic Menu style

By switching to the Basic menu design there are far less things to control, but most of the most likely ones you'll need are present

Basic - Advanced Menus switch

Toggle back and forth between Basic and Advanced if you need an advanced feature's control from time to time.

Basic Menus

When in Basic Menu mode these menus appear on the left side of the screen.

Main Picture Menu

BenQ's advanced menus closely resemble those on almost all BenQ home projectors. The Picture menu has most of the image controls

Lamp Power

Choose from three modes - full power, Eco, and Smart Eco (claiming 3500, 5000, and 6000 hours respectively).

Advanced Picture Menu

From this menu adjust gamma (2.2, the default is what you probably want), Turn Brilliant Color on or off (we use it On), Adjust color temp and calibrate individual colors

Color Temp Controls

Adjust the Gain and Offset for each of the primary colors to target 6500K color temp.

CMS - Color Management System

From here each primary and secondary color can be calibrated

Settings Menu

Use menus to control Mute, adjust the volume, and select the "beep" for Power On/off

Display Menu

Offers Auto or manual aspect ratio adjust, Overscan for eliminating image noise on the edges and 3D controls

3D Sub-menu

Engage/disengage 3D, use auto to select 3D type or manually select...supports all the usual formats

Basic Setup Menu

Language, background color (BenQ purple anyone?) Front/rear/ceiling/table placement, Auto off (timer), menu settings and engaging Auto source select

Settings - Advanced

More goodies include resetting lamp timer, HDMI settings, High altitude fan mode, and more

Info Menu

Typical: Identifies the source, resolution, color system, lamp hours, 3D format (if in 3D mode), and the projector's firmware version!

HT1075 Optional Wireless HD

Since I wrote the Special Features page where I mentioned the Wireless HD option, I have heard back from BenQ.

First, there the price will be $349.  That's not bad, but hardly great.   For comparison purposes, various DVDO Wireless HD packages seem to sell around $200, + or -.  Even their latest entry, which I'll be reviewing shortly, the DVDO Air3 Pro, is MSRP $299, and has more advanced features.  As a result, you might want to look at 3rd party wireless HD solutions before plunking down more than you need to.   Note that the Wireless HD solution BenQ is offering should work with any projector, as would solutions from DVDO, etc.

Another comparison in terms of price would be to the several Epson projectors that offer wireless hdmi.  Epson sports a list price difference for their "e" versions with the wireless as $300 more than the units without, although there are usually one or two other minor benefits found in their wireless projectors.  (There's have 4 HDMI source inputs and a digital audio output!) That said, Epson's latest and lowest cost projector with wireless included is $1899.  In the case of the Epsons though, there's only one piece - the transceiver that goes by your sources, the Epson has the receiving end built into the projector.

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