Go Big and Go Home

Who needs a four-figure 4K TV when you can have a 100in screen for less than a grand? As these three projectors show, you don’t need to break the bank to get a gloriously big, clear, punchy and entertaining picture in your home.

 

Projectors are no longer the daunting, high-end option reserved for AV enthusiast, nor do you need to rearrange your living room or knock down walls to accommodate one. Today’s projectors – especially budget ones – are compact, portable and deliver the kind of cinematic grandeur you get only in cinemas.

In this test, BenQ and ViewSonic take on the Award-winning Epson to be crowned the new budget champion. Three Full HD projectors, all vying for a new home – pick your favourite.

BenQ W1090 £600

BenQ has had a good run of sub-£1000 projectors, with four- and five-star reviews peppering its range in the past couple of years. Its recent efforts missed out on a Best Buy at this year’s Awards, but there’s no doubt that if you’re in the market for a budget projector, BenQ is one of the companies to look out for.

The new BenQ W1090 proves this. With its compact size, short throw ratio and big picture (100cm from 2.5m away, says BenQ), this DLP projector is perfect for those with small rooms and home cinema fans on a restricted budget.

Effusive quality

Crisp edges, glossy detail and an exuberant way with colours means that the BenQ W1090 pleases from the start. Play Star Trek Beyond on Blu-ray and the W1090 delights in delivering the special effects with vibrancy. Starfleet uniforms are solid and the pristine interiors of the U.S.S Enterprise shine brightly, with stark whites and gleaming metal bursting from the screen.

Black levels are deeper on the BenQ W1090 than its £600 Epson EH-TW5350 and ViewSonic LightStream Pro7827HD rivals. This gives a pleasing solidity to scenes, especially when you can see pinpricks of stars twinkling against the vast expanse of space.