BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector Review – Hardware Page 2

BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector Review – Hardware Page 2: Control Panel, Remote Control, Menus

BenQ located the control panel for their MW535A WXGA business projector on the top of the unit.  It’s an extremely simple design, consisting of only three indicator lights, and seven buttons with a circular directional keypad.  The indicator lights are located on the top of the projector and are, top to bottom, Power, Temp, and Lamp.  The different LEDs that illuminate in each of those indicators light up red, orange or green, and indicate different operating conditions and errors.

Left to right, the first button is the Power button.  To turn the projector on, simply press this button once.  The unit will beep to let you know it has woken up and is in the process of warming up.  Press the power button twice to power down the unit; it will display a window to let you know it is in the process of powering down, and will beep twice once the unit has powered down.  Please note, the hot air exhaust fan will remain on for a minute or two to cool down the lamp and other internal components.

Next to the Power button is the Source button, which allows the user to choose between the different input sources; PC-1/YPbPr-1, PC-2/YPbPr-2, HDMI-1, HDMI-2, S-Video, Composite Video.  Next is the circular directional keypad with an OK button in the center which functions like an “Enter” button.  The directional keypad has an Up Arrow and a Down Arrow, which double as vertical keystone correction controls.  The Left Arrow and Right Arrow double as volume controls for the 2 Watt internal speaker.

To the right of the directional keypad is a button called “Eco Blank.”  Eco Blank is part of the suite of Smart Eco options, and reduces power consumption by the lamp by as much as 70%.  Eco Blank gives a blank, black image over the entirety of the projected area, rather than the bright white BenQ splash screen or a paused slide presentation or paused film.

Below the directional keypad is a Back button, to return to the previous menu.  The next is Menu, which accesses the array of system menus, which we will go into detail on further down on this page.  Auto allows for a “One-key auto-adjustment,” which automatically displays the best picture quality immediately.

The BenQ MW535A comes with a small remote control that makes configuring the projector, toggling between inputs and general command and control functions a breeze.  Its thin profile fits comfortably in the hand.  At the very top of the remote control there are two colored buttons, a big, bright green ON button and a big, bright red OFF button.  Unlike the control panel on top of the projector, there is no Power Button, but two separate buttons; one for On and one for Off.

Next is the directional keypad, Up, Down, Left Right, with an OK button in the middle, and surrounded by four other buttons.  It’s important to note that the Up and Down arrows have double uses just like on the projector’s control panel, however, the Left and Right arrows do not control volume; that’s a separate set of buttons a bit further down.  The four buttons surrounding the directional keypad are, clockwise start from the top left, PC 1, to quickly switch to that source, Source, Menu and Back.

Below the directional keypad are two rows of two larger buttons.  The top row, left to right is Eco Blank, which we discussed above.  To the right is the Auto button, which we learned automatically displays the best picture quality.  Below Eco Blank is Freeze, which freezes the frame on the screen while allowing source video to continue to advance.  To the right of the Freeze button is the Mute button, which we all know how to use.

Next are three groups of + and – buttons.  The first for Page, which is used in presentations to advance to the next slide and return to the previous slide.  Next is Zoom, which controls the digital zoom function for extra close examinations of an image for details.  On the right is the volume button, which controls the internal 2W speaker.

Two more rows of buttons follow, and they are top row left, CC for closed captioning, Info for the projector’s system status, and SMART ECO.  SMART ECO displays a menu offering the choice between the brightness modes of Normal, Economic, and Smart ECO.  The bottom row of buttons display a menu for 3D Settings (the BenQ MW535A is a 3D capable projector).  The Aspect button gives a choice of five different aspect ratios, and Quick Install displays a menu with options for Test Pattern, Vertical Keystone, and Installation (options for front table, rear table, front ceiling and rear ceiling.)

That concludes our tour of the BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector's hardware! Next we'll have our discussion on the projector's picture and sound quality.