BenQ W7500 Projector Review Summary 2

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Art Feierman

W7500 PROJECTOR - SUMMARY: Gadgets, Assorted Comments, Warranty, The Bottom Line I've had a lot of fun with the W7500, to the tune of over 100 hours. In the $2000 - $3500 range there's a need for an especially good DLP projector, and the W7500 fits the bill. I think the value proposition is a very good one. Feature Summary I'll just go quickly on some things discussed in the heart of the review. The W7500 has good Creative Frame Interpolation, with some artifacts noticeable on the high setting, but not bad. low and medium settings definitely work well for sports. The W7500 projector's Clarity Control seems of the "detail enhancement" variety, and adds a slight amount of definition on the first setting 1, compared to 0 off. Moving the setting to 2 adds another small change in perceived detail. Those two settings worked best, I start noticing changes to close-ups on faces and other areas, at the higher settings (3, 4). The iris is generally smooth. I like it. Perhaps not the most invisible iris, but I rarely noticed, even when "watching the projector".

The Bottom Line: W7500

The BenQ W7500 is a serious contender. It's more than just a pretty picture. Over 1700 lumens calibrated should be able to handle almost any theater. I do imagine that some people who otherwise like this projector may pass because its too bright for many small screens. That's a personal issue though. Plenty more will get to enjoy this projector, especially those who like the DLP look and feel, which includes the natural sharpness of a single chip design, with a good optic. Gotta love the clarity.

Who's the competition? Well, I can't really count the Sharp XV-Z30000, which may have an overall better picture, but is far less powerful, less than 1/3rd as bright calibrated!

The W7500 nets out slightly more expensive than the Epson 5030UB, and the Panasonic PT-AE8000U, but almost $1000 below the Sony HW55ES and the JVC DLA-X35. Note though that the W7500's 1 year warranty is the shortest of the group as well.

All fine projectors, these are my favorites in the price class. The W7500 is a projector I could own, and I barely saw a rainbow thanks to the 6X wheel. Of these, the W7500 excels at natural sharpness, and comes up representable but at the bottom of the pack in terms of black levels. 3D fans will be pleased with something hard to find: The combination of bright and crosstalk free! I like that!

Placement flexibility is, I repeat, very good, but all of these others mentioned have more zoom range, and most have a little more lens shift range. No worries though, you start by eliminating projectors that won't work for you because of the way your room is setup. The W7500 will work fine for most. Most people should be able to rear shelf mount, with this projector.

As I wrap this up, I've got The Hunt For Red October on (with sound low). The iris is handling the underwater scenes smoothly, Sean Connery looks intense. And the interior lights of all the equipment are producing a vivid picture. Looks good to me.

All considered the W7500 looks to be the best DLP in the general price range, and one that challenges the 3LCD and LCoS projectors. I class it with the PT-AE8000U, in that, I respect that projector as well, but there are others that are, I think a little better overall. It comes down to which one's right for you, not which is the "best" projector! The BenQ W7500 is going to be the "right" projector for a lot of people.