BenQ GV50 Review: Highly Portable, but With Quality Trade-Offs

You tin descent the projector up oregon down connected the basal for a vertical displacement up a partition oregon ceiling. For a horizontal tilt, you tin fold retired the base’s 2 feet and constituent the projector astatine a flimsy space connected the ceiling. No substance the direction, it’s casual to descent astir but besides stays put.

The projector lone has 1 HDMI port, which you tin usage for ARC 5.1 pass- through audio oregon connecting to different source, similar a gaming console. There’s a USB-A larboard and a USB-C port, some for connecting a thumb thrust oregon a hard thrust (or charging a gadget), positive a 3.5-mm port. The GV50 does not person an Ethernet larboard and uses Wi-Fi 5, which is older and not arsenic wide compatible oregon arsenic speedy arsenic modern standards similar Wi-Fi 6E oregon Wi-Fi 7. I had immoderate transportation issues with my Google Nest mesh web wherever the projector couldn’t connect.

Aside from needing to implicit a strategy update that took astir 45 minutes, setup was ultra-smooth and mostly progressive utilizing the Google Home app to scan a QR codification and instal the apps. The GV50 utilized auto-keystoning to representation to my projector screen, and it worked well. When I utilized the projector connected a partition and connected the ceiling, the keystoning besides worked—I lone made a fewer insignificant adjustments to the size. The GV50 distant uses the typical, intuitive BenQ layout with a Home fastener successful the center, a setup fastener that's casual to find, and shortcut buttons for Netflix, YouTube, and Prime.

Not lone tin the GV50 tally connected artillery power, but it besides has plentifulness of settings to negociate its efficiency, including powering down automatically aft a acceptable period. I recovered Battery mode to beryllium marginally helpful, since I usage the instrumentality successful my house, connected to a partition outlet, but the capableness does adhd portability should you privation to usage the projector portion camping oregon surviving anyplace other that outlets are sparse. You tin usage the projector connected artillery complaint unsocial for a fewer hours, but the instrumentality volition dim a small spot to prevention power.

Picture Quality and More

The GV50 is not trying to beryllium a cinematic marvel by immoderate means, but the projector failed my emblematic Spears & Muncil benchmark tests. I noticed the tegument code tests were astir mean for a midrange exemplary similar this, not showing overmuch tonal variation. In the demo reel tests, the 1080p prime and deficiency of bully opposition and brightness were overmuch much obvious. A reddish cactus and yellowish angiosperm lacked vividness, and trees successful the foreground of a upland country looked excessively acheronian and mixed into the inky achromatic background. Butterflies that should person looked agleam and colorful looked dull, flat, and a spot lifeless.

When I switched to streaming from my iPhone 17 Pro and an iPad 12.9-inch, the GV50’s dilatory processing velocity became an issue. While some Google Cast and Apple AirPlay were functional, the playback was choppy and jittery. If I tried to fast-forward, the watercourse would intermission oregon neglect altogether owed to the paltry 2 GB of RAM and 1.5-GHz processor.