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BenQ MP724 review

David Bayon Read more October 7, 2009

£800

Price when reviewed

If you want the best you’re going to have to pay for it, and no projector highlights that fact as well as BenQ’s MP724.

With a 280W lamp – far brighter than anything else here – it projects its image at an impressive 3,500-lumen brightness, giving brilliant whites and tremendous performance in even the worst lighting environments.

In our tests, it produced perfectly sharp lines and even focus across the 1,024 x 768 image, and its rated 2,800:1 contrast ratio made for some deep blacks and plenty of detail in light and dark areas throughout our images and video clips.

The rear of the MP724 is well-equipped too, with HDMI, DVI and VGA inputs, along with serial and USB control ports for added flexibility. The bundled remote is responsive and includes a laser pointer for presentations, and the only major omission in the slightly awkward menu system is auto-keystone correction.

But the BenQ’s top image quality is let down somewhat by a few key weaknesses. The 52in image is small at 2m, and the 1.85m minimum recommended projection distance isn’t exactly ideal for cramped rooms. It’s also noisier than most, and the speakers are reasonable but not outstanding.

And then there’s the price. It isn’t so much the £696 exc VAT purchase cost that hurts – the brightness and quality justify that – but the ongoing pain to your bank balance. At that brightness the lamp lasts just 2,000 hours and will set you back £259 per replacement, so unless you’re a light user the BenQ will most likely cost you more than a grand over its lifetime. The superb brightness will tempt many, but consider your likely usage before buying.

Details
Image quality	6
Basic specifications
Projector technology	DLP
Resolution	1024 x 768
Lumens brightness	3,500 lumens
Contrast ratio	2,800:1
Keystone correction?	yes
Speakers?	yes
Speaker type	Mono
Speaker power ouput	3W
Dimensions
Dimensions	325 x 254 x 95mm (WDH)
Weight	ERROR: Script can't be evaluated
Optics
Max diagonal image size	7.6m
Measured image size at 2m	52.0m
Lamp & running costs
Lamp power	280W
Lamp life, standard mode	2,000hrs
Lamp life, eco mode	3,000hrs
Replacement lamp cost
Power & environment
Typical power consumption	360W
Peak noise level	37.0dB(A)
Idle/eco noise level	34.0dB(A)
Video inputs/outputs
VGA inputs	1
DVI inputs	1
S-Video inputs	1
Composite video inputs	1
HDMI inputs	1
VGA (D-SUB) outputs	1
Data ports and connectors
Front panel memory card reader	no
Other memory media support	None
Audio inputs/outputs
3.5mm audio input jacks	1
3.5mm audio jacks	1
RCA (phono) inputs	1
Miscellaneous
Carry case	yes