BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector Review – Picture Quality

Posted on September 27, 2018 by Chris Kahl

BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector Review – Picture and Sound Quality: Color Modes, Video Image Quality, Text and Presentation Quality, Audio Quality

Color Modes

BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector Review – Color Mode: Cinema Mode

BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector Review – Color Mode: sRGB Mode

BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector Review – Color Mode: Presentation Mode

BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector Review – Color Mode: Bright Mode in Normal Brightness

BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector Review – Color Mode: Bright Mode in Economic Brightness

BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector Review – Color Mode: User 1 and User 2 customizable Color Modes

❮ ❯

The BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector has four preset color modes, three brightness modes that do not affect color, and offers a “Wall Color” setting (which we discussed on the Special Features page.) In addition to the preset color modes of Bright, Cinema, Presentation, and sRGB, there is the option for two custom color modes (User 1 and User 2) which are based off a “reference mode,” which is one of the four preset color modes. When using the User 1 and User 2 modes, individual colors can be adjusted for optimal color performance.

BenQ MW535A Color Temperature Fine Tuning Menu — BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector Color Temperature Fine Tuning Menu

In Normal brightness mode, I found Cinema mode and sRGB to have the best color; colors are a little warm, but we’ll discuss that later. Presentation mode displayed colors that were a little on the cool side. Bright mode using Normal brightness offers far better color than Bright mode using the Economic brightness mode; if you must use the Bright Color Mode, you are far better off running it in Normal Mode or ECO Smart Mode, not in Economic Mode.

Video Image Quality

A scene from The Last Reef: Cities Beneath the Sea, as projected by the BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector.

A scene from Journey to Space, as projected by the BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector.

A scene from Bill Nye Saves the World, as projected by the BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector.

❮ ❯

As stated above, I found Cinema Mode to have the best color, so all photos in the above image slider were taken using Cinema Mode. I found skin tones to appear a little rosy, but certainly acceptable for a projector designed for the business and education market. I have included images taken from IMAX: The Last Reef: Cities Beneath the Sea, IMAX: Journey to Space, and Bill Nye Saves the World. I was impressed with the sharpness, especially while watching Journey to Space; that scene with the spacecraft approaching Mars is as impressive as you would hope. I have watched Star Wars The Force Awakens using the MW535A, and even though it is not a projector designed for home entertainment, I have no complaints about the video image quality. Though the black levels are not fantastic, they are definitely acceptable for the primary applications for this unit. Take a look for yourself!

Text and Presentation Quality

Text in various sizes to illustrate readability of text projected by the BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector.

A presentation slide as projected by the BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector.

An infographic as projected by the BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector.

The Projector Reviews website as projected by the BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector.

A website as projected by the BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector.

❮ ❯

BenQ makes a point of illustrating their claim of a 15,000:1 contrast ratio in their marketing materials for the MW535A, pointing out that text is clearly readable for use in presentations and note taking applications. They also make a point of stating this projector is designed for smaller rooms, with a maximum of 10 participants. Projected on my new 90 inch screen, the Go-90 model from On the Go Screens, I found text to be legible and acceptable for small office and smaller classroom presentations. The BenQ MW535A is equipped with digital zoom to focus on smaller text and details within images, allowing text that isn’t initially clear in the projected image to be presented in a usable fashion.

The MW535A is a 3,600 lumen projector, which means it should be bright enough to use with moderate ambient light. Will it live up to this expectation? We’ll find out on the next page in the Brightness section, as we discuss our measurements.

Audio Quality

The BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector is equipped with a single 2 Watt speaker. It’s important to remember that this is a projector, not a stereo. That being said, at max volume, I couldn’t make out the audio for Disney/Pixar’s Coco streamed from Netflix above the sounds from the over-the-range hood (exhaust fan over my stove) in the next room. I tried again later in the evening with a BluRay copy of Disney’s Lilo and Stitch, only to have the same issue.

I ended up using an old, and very load, pair of PC speakers I dug out of the garage to try to increase the volume. I connected the speakers to the project’s Audio Out Mini-Jack, and got a slight increase in volume. However, even with these speakers, there were points where the audio was too quiet to understand.

While writing this, I have had Journey to Space playing at full volume in the next room on the internal speaker; if I hadn’t been the one to put it on, I wouldn’t know there was anything playing. My conclusion on the speaker inside this unit is that it is essentially unusable, aside from one or two, maybe three people, in an otherwise completely silent room, with the volume turned all the way up, sitting next to the projector and leaning into it; they will be able to hear and understand some of the audio. I suggest using a splitter between media source and the MW535A projector to route the audio signal into sound equipment that is entirely separate from the projector.

BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector Review – Picture and Sound Quality: Color Modes, Video Image Quality, Text and Presentation Quality, Audio Quality

Color Modes

BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector Review – Color Mode: Cinema Mode

BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector Review – Color Mode: sRGB Mode

BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector Review – Color Mode: Presentation Mode

BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector Review – Color Mode: Bright Mode in Normal Brightness

BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector Review – Color Mode: Bright Mode in Economic Brightness

BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector Review – Color Mode: User 1 and User 2 customizable Color Modes

❮ ❯

The BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector has four preset color modes, three brightness modes that do not affect color, and offers a “Wall Color” setting (which we discussed on the Special Features page.) In addition to the preset color modes of Bright, Cinema, Presentation, and sRGB, there is the option for two custom color modes (User 1 and User 2) which are based off a “reference mode,” which is one of the four preset color modes. When using the User 1 and User 2 modes, individual colors can be adjusted for optimal color performance.

In Normal brightness mode, I found Cinema mode and sRGB to have the best color; colors are a little warm, but we’ll discuss that later. Presentation mode displayed colors that were a little on the cool side. Bright mode using Normal brightness offers far better color than Bright mode using the Economic brightness mode; if you must use the Bright Color Mode, you are far better off running it in Normal Mode or ECO Smart Mode, not in Economic Mode.

Video Image Quality

A scene from The Last Reef: Cities Beneath the Sea, as projected by the BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector.

A scene from Journey to Space, as projected by the BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector.

A scene from Bill Nye Saves the World, as projected by the BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector.

❮ ❯

As stated above, I found Cinema Mode to have the best color, so all photos in the above image slider were taken using Cinema Mode. I found skin tones to appear a little rosy, but certainly acceptable for a projector designed for the business and education market. I have included images taken from IMAX: The Last Reef: Cities Beneath the Sea, IMAX: Journey to Space, and Bill Nye Saves the World. I was impressed with the sharpness, especially while watching Journey to Space; that scene with the spacecraft approaching Mars is as impressive as you would hope. I have watched Star Wars The Force Awakens using the MW535A, and even though it is not a projector designed for home entertainment, I have no complaints about the video image quality. Though the black levels are not fantastic, they are definitely acceptable for the primary applications for this unit. Take a look for yourself!

Text and Presentation Quality

Text in various sizes to illustrate readability of text projected by the BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector.

A presentation slide as projected by the BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector.

An infographic as projected by the BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector.

The Projector Reviews website as projected by the BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector.

A website as projected by the BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector.

❮ ❯

BenQ makes a point of illustrating their claim of a 15,000:1 contrast ratio in their marketing materials for the MW535A, pointing out that text is clearly readable for use in presentations and note taking applications. They also make a point of stating this projector is designed for smaller rooms, with a maximum of 10 participants. Projected on my new 90 inch screen, the Go-90 model from On the Go Screens, I found text to be legible and acceptable for small office and smaller classroom presentations. The BenQ MW535A is equipped with digital zoom to focus on smaller text and details within images, allowing text that isn’t initially clear in the projected image to be presented in a usable fashion.

The MW535A is a 3,600 lumen projector, which means it should be bright enough to use with moderate ambient light. Will it live up to this expectation? We’ll find out on the next page in the Brightness section, as we discuss our measurements.

Audio Quality

The BenQ MW535A WXGA Business Projector is equipped with a single 2 Watt speaker. It’s important to remember that this is a projector, not a stereo. That being said, at max volume, I couldn’t make out the audio for Disney/Pixar’s Coco streamed from Netflix above the sounds from the over-the-range hood (exhaust fan over my stove) in the next room. I tried again later in the evening with a BluRay copy of Disney’s Lilo and Stitch, only to have the same issue.

I ended up using an old, and very load, pair of PC speakers I dug out of the garage to try to increase the volume. I connected the speakers to the project’s Audio Out Mini-Jack, and got a slight increase in volume. However, even with these speakers, there were points where the audio was too quiet to understand.

While writing this, I have had Journey to Space playing at full volume in the next room on the internal speaker; if I hadn’t been the one to put it on, I wouldn’t know there was anything playing. My conclusion on the speaker inside this unit is that it is essentially unusable, aside from one or two, maybe three people, in an otherwise completely silent room, with the volume turned all the way up, sitting next to the projector and leaning into it; they will be able to hear and understand some of the audio. I suggest using a splitter between media source and the MW535A projector to route the audio signal into sound equipment that is entirely separate from the projector.