BenQ W500

price, usability, image quality, noise

64% of the reviews on Amazon.com give this product a positive rating.

Other specs of the W500 are quite promising, too. The claimed maximum brightness of 1,100 ANSI Lumens is very high for this price level, as is the claimed contrast ratio of 5,000:1. This contrast ratio is dependent - as usual with LCD technology - on a...

Compact size ; Bold and bright presentation ; Affordable

Average contrast performance ; Blacks often appear grey

A great portable solution to your projector needs

Crazily cheap, good sharpness and motion handling, and impressive brightness

The chicken wire effect, very average black levels, some odd colour tones

Good brightness, decent black levels

Loud fan noise, only one digital input

BenQ’s W500 is an entry-level 720p home theatre projector with great brightness levels and high quality imagery. Colour accuracy isn’t perfect, and a short zoom limits options for placement. But with such a reasonable price, the W500 is a compelling...

Good brightness, decent black levels

Loud fan noise, only one digital input

The BenQ W500 is an interesting mix of high-end and low-budget. High lumen output and first-rate image processing circuitry make it a great budget option for video games, sporting events, and HDTV watching. However, a 1.2x zoom range limits placement...

Very bright in best mode ; Very good black levels ; Good out of the box color and image quality, requiring only minimum adjustment to further improve it (issues mentioned, notwithstanding) ; Vertical and Horizontal lens shift simplifies placement ; 12...

Placement flexibility: Limited zoom lens range (1.2:1) ; Filter to clean (like all other LCD home theater projectors) ; One of the louder projectors in full power lamp mode ; Lamp door on bottom, requires removal from a ceiling mount, to change out ;...

Inherently, we all have to figure that any "entry level" home theater projector is a compromise. Afterall, for example, the W500 is the least expensive of five 720p and 1080p projectors they offer.

Pros are moot since now this projector is worthless

Extremely disappointed. Newegg apparently sold a batch of these that require the replacement bulb: 6E.J2K01.001 (elsewhere the vast majority of the Benq w500 projectors sold, take the widely available 5J.J2K02.001 Bulb.) Amazingly, this lamp,...

This PJ is an amazing deal for it's price. I have this throwing a 100" screen and am sitting at about 11' from it. My room is about 90% light controlled (during the day some light does get in). The image is bright, easy to see and looks amazing. I have...

At 100" screen size, there is a screen door effect from up close until about 8-9 feet back. from where i am sitting it isn't noticeable at all.

This is a fantastic projector, folks. I've had it for a few months, and have probably clocked around 8 movies on it. My housemates and I absolutely love it. The image is high-quality and bright, and we project it on a white wall, getting a good 9ft...

Without curtaining, direct sunlight obliterates the image. If you have somewhat thick curtains (or in my case, a giant dark bedsheet pinned over windows), it becomes reasonably good for watching. If you're a daytime watcher, you might have some qualms.