BenQ GV50

Once upon a time, acquiring, installing and using a projector was a far more complex and costly endeavour. In a way it still is, but fortunately, technological developments have led to far more accessible alternative products on the market that make it a whole lot easier to project a display onto a bright surface and seamlessly enjoy a larger image without the need for a television.

My personal exposure to the projector category is few and far between, but like the recent Meta Quest 3, which was my first VR experience in a long time and really opened up this world for me, it's striking how simple it is to start and use BenQ's GV50.

This projector is primarily battery-powered and can play for something like 150 minutes, it weighs just 2.4 kilos and that's even though there's a decent built-in speaker and it's even created in conjunction with Google's TV OS, so all apps work directly from the projector, no HDMI or Chromecast connection from a phone is required. It works as a standalone unit, and when you rotate the circular body against a relatively white surface and use the included remote control, this is a totally seamless experience.

But okay, let's take a step back, quite literally, and examine whether the GV50's ability as a projector is satisfactory. It's a DLP projector that can display an image up to 120 inches if you have three metres of distance to the surface, as its throw ratio is 1.2. Those images are in 1080p and projected via an ANSI lumens brightness of 500 NITS, which works well in relatively darkened conditions. We have only tested by projecting an approximately 100-inch image onto the ceiling. This was done in the evening hours, and thus under fairly ideal conditions. Our ceiling is a slightly cracked white, but in the settings you can actually adjust the surface you use to red, green or other pretty wild colours. Whether it makes a difference is really hard to tell, as we don't have those kinds of surfaces in our home.

Beyond that, BenQ has a single setting that auto-adjusts via automatic keystone, digital zoom and repositioning based on the surface, lighting conditions and a number of other factors. It presents 24-bit colours, covering a whopping 92% of the Rec 709 colour spectrum, but the GV50 can't completely escape the drained, colour-matte feel of the image that results - the question is whether or not the intended consumer cares.

Setup is done via Google, so it's like setting up a giant Google Home device. It's actually a bit of a tell, as ease of use and simplicity seem to be paramount to the consumer's understanding of the GV50. I think this projector is designed for those who don't really want to have a TV, or find it liberating not to reserve space for a giant black rectangle in the bedroom or living room. With that in mind, the GV50 is perfectly serviceable, and we watched much of the second season of Severance and a small film here and there this way (Companion on Max is recommended). The 1080p limitation makes it unsuitable for much more than this kind of casual use, but with pretty solid speakers and a really compact size, it's hard to find a real complaint here.

For my money, BenQ could have added an extra kilo to give us a bit more battery life. We didn't experience 150 minutes, but more like 120 minutes, and in some instances the whole joy of the GV50 is that there's no need to plug it in somewhere. That said, this is decent and then some, and really comes into its own as it appeals to those who aren't waiting for a bargain on an LG G-whatever, but who want great enjoyment and power without the bulk.