BenQ GP1 Mini Projector Review [PICS]

GTOViper

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 13, 2007
Messages
209
Hi guys, I got a review sample of the BenQ GP1 mini projector with the build-in player via USB from BenQ of America and wanted to share my thoughts with you guys. So here it is!

BenQ Joybee GP1 Mini Projector

Official Specs
Native Resolution SVGA (858 x 600)
Projection System DLP® technology by Texas Instruments®
Brightness 100 ANSI lumens
Light Source 3LED (RGB) technology
Contrast Ratio 2000:1 (Full on/Full off)
Weight 1.4 lbs (0.64 kg)
Aspect Ratio 4:3 Native, 16:9 Selectable
Display Color Full 16.7 million color palette
Lens F=2, f=17.7 mm
Zoom Ratio Fixed
Image Size 15” to 80”
Throw Ratio 1.92
Computer Compatibility VGA(640 x 480) to SXGA(1280 x 1024)
HDTV Compatibility 480i, 480p, 576i, 576p, 720p, 1080i
Video Compatibility NTSC, PAL, SECAM
Horizontal Frequency 31-79 kHz
Vertical Scan Rate 50-85 Hz
Input Terminals PC:Computer: D-sub 15 pin x 1(through CEA 30pin) AV:Component Video: D-sub 15 pin (through CEA 30pin) Composite Video: RCA x 1 (through CEA 30pin) USB reader: USB Type A Audio:Audio L/R: RCA x 2 (through CEA 30pin)
Output Terminal Audio:Stereo mini jack x 1 (for USB reader) 2 Watt Speaker x 1
Dimensions(W x H x D) 136 x 54 x 120 mm (5.35 x 2.12 x 4.72 inches)
Power Consumption 60W
Noise level 28 dB
On-Screen Display Language English/ French/ German/ Italian/ Spanish/ Russian/ Traditional Chinese/ Simplified Chinese/ Japanese/ Korean/ Swedish/ Dutch/ Turkish/ Czech/ Portuguese / Thai/ Polish * The language options vary depending on regions.
Preset Modes/ Application Modes English/ German/ Swedish/ Polish/ Czech/ Spanish/ Hungarian/ Romanian/ Traditional Chinese/ Simplified Chinese/ Japanese * The language options vary depending on regions.
Picture Modes Brightest Mode PC Mode Movie Mode Photo Mode User Mode
Functions Auto Keystone PC-less Auto Search Resolution Reminder High Altitude Mode Standby power consumption <1W USB Reader Wall Color Correction Instant On/Off Blank Security Password
Accessories (Standard) Quick Start Guide Soft Carry Case CEA 30 pin Cable Remote Control Power Adaptor Manual CD Power Cord
Accessories (Optional) iPod/iPhone Universal Dock Presentation Plus
USB Reader (Support Format) Photo: JPEG, GIF, BMP, TIFF Video: MPEG-1, MJPEG Audio: MPEG-1 layer 2, PCM It is recommended to use ArcSoft MediaConverter Software (inside Manual CD) to convert video files.

Unboxing and build impression
What would a new product review be without some sweet unboxing pictures to go with it, right? The GP1 is extremely small and light.

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As expected, the mini projector came in a relatively small box

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Made in China, Mfg. Date April 2009

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Top of the box

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Side of the box

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Contents in the box including BenQ GP1 Projector, carrying case, AC adapter, VGA/Composite input cable, infrared remote, quick start guide, manual CD w/adobe reader

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Top of the projector with the protective plastic film still intact

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Front of the projector. Too bad there isn't any build-in protective cover to protect the lens when it's not in use. The little white circle in the center seems to be the remote receiver. The left side is the fan intake.

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Back of the projector. Yup, you see that right, an USB port. you can hook up a flash drive to play movies and photos straight off a flash drive, or even a USB HDD! It has a build-in player and browser. But wait you said, if you can only see the pictures then whats the point. Nope, it also has a build-in speaker! If you choose to, you can also hook up the sound to an external speaker via the Line-Out port under the USB port there. The bottom left skinny port seems to be an proprietary input port for the included composite/VGA cable. But it seems awfully similar to the Ipod interface port... hmmm.

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Side view of the projector. The AC adapter goes into the port there, there are also DLP by Texas Instrument branding and the PhlatLight branding.

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The bottom view. If you notice, in the center there is a tripod screw port so you can put the projector on you tripod, which would probably be the most stable and easiest way to set the unit up at a location without having to find a stack of books or dictionaries to try to get that extra height for good eye level projection.

Build-in player interface and settings
Ok, some things I want let you guys know after going through some trouble to set up the movies to play from USB. The USB reader only supports FAT32 file format and there are a good deal of file format restrictions. Here are the exhaustive list for all the media format supported with the pre-release firmware.

Photo: .jpeg (Baseline JPEG) .jpeg (Progressive JPEG) .bmp .gif .tiff
Movie: .avi (V: Xvid/3vix/MS ISO MPEG4/Motion JPEG. A: uLaw/aLaw/pcm/aac-lc) .mp4/.mov/.3gp/.3g2 (V: MPEG-4/Motion JPEG A: uLaw/aLaw/pcm/aac-lc)
Subtitle: .SMI .SRT .SUB .ASS .SSA .PSB


As you konw, FAT32 is fine for the most part other than the 4GB file size restrictions, that might be a problem for some of the higher quality full length feature films. Also the lack of MP3 support for audio is problematic also, since most videos (AVIs, etc) has a MP3 audio track. If you playback an AVI with a MP3 audio track the pictures will play, but it'll pop up a message saying audio format not supported. What this means for consumers is that there will be some work required to get some of the movie files you already have in your video library. Good news is, after talking to the BenQ rep, there will be file format conversion utilities included when the unit is launched June 6th.

Also know that windows XP and Vista will NOT fomat FAT32 partitions bigger than 32GB. So I had to download some other utitlies online to format a 2.5" portable HDD I had that's 60GB in capacity.

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USB reader interface. Photos, Movies, and Settings.

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The file browser interface, it's very easy to use, all the recognizable file formats will show up and the other misc files will not.

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Settings for photo viewing

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Autoplay options for when you plug in your USB drive

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Custom options, you can select the repeat mode after the movies is done playing, stop? or go to the next alphabetical folder etc. Adjust volume (can also be done via remote of course), OSD language, subtitle language.

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Here is the projector detailed settings change. One of the feature worth mentioning is the auto-keystone, if you tilt your projector up or down, the image will be auto corrected vertically.

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A handful of picture setting presets, including custom settings.

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Test patterns for projection calibration, ie see if the image is rectangular and not skewed into a trapezoidal shape.

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A low blank timer can extend the life of the projector lamp, although the LED lamp on the GP1 has a really long life of 20,000+ hours, where as usually normal projector lamps has a life of 3000-5000 hours at best.

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You can change the menu type to "simple" to hide some of the more advanced settings for faster navigation through the menu.

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Current display mode information and a handy onscreen FAQ for quick reference.

Usage impressions
The GP1 is really a joy to use due to its form factor, portability, and the build-in player. In my opinion these are the three biggest advantages of the BenQ GP1. Over the couple days of testing I've projected movies on a projector screen, played some Smash Brothers: Brawl on the wall, and even watched The Office on my bedroom ceiling!

The 100 ANSI lumen brightness might be a tad low to give the user an enjoyable movie viewing / game playing experience during day time, however, that's one of the main drawbacks on most projectors anyways. During night time with the lights turn off, the brightness is easily seen and produces bright colorful pictures. Did I mention the redering engine produces 120% NTSC color gamut?

The build-in speaker produces enough volume for the users to hear dialogues clearly without trouble. But if you seek a higher quality audio out definitely hook the unit up to some higher output external speakers via the Line-out port.


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Time to fire up the Wii for some testing.

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OOO YAH, SSBB on 80inch screen!

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Moving pictures seems a little blurry here because it's hard to get a good picture under low light conditions.

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The colors are very vibrant.

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Pineapple Express, if you haven't seen it yet, go watch it, James Franco definitely delivers in this Comedy.

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I had a lot of trouble taking pictures in a dark room.. sorry. These pictures look a little washed out because the ceiling yellow light is shining on the projector screen.

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Yah, NO, DWIGHT!

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Can't wait for season 6.

Conclusion
Overall, what the GP1 brings to the table is it's ability to transform virtually anywhere with a AC outlet and a surface into a movie theatre, it's really something unique that no other projector on the market right now offers.​
Rating 1 (Least satisfactory) to 5 (Most satisfactory)

Ease of use - 4/5
The unit is easy to setup, and easy to use, the only gripe I have is I have to go through the trouble of converting all my movie files into something the GP1 can read.
Overview picture quality - 4/5
The picture quality is excellent, due to the size of the unit 100 ANSI lumen is superb, but a little bit more brightness on a projector never hurts. 120% NTSC color gamut brings alot of pop to the overall image quality, however the low resolution might also be another turn off for some.
Portability - 5/5
You won't find another projector on the market right now thats nearly as portable as the GP1. period.
Features - 4.5/5
The build-in player and speaker adds a tremendous amount of usability to the GP1 and is one of the main reasons to own this mini projector. And the final release/future firmware updates might bring even more playable file formats in the future. h264 .MKV anyone?
Value - 4/5
MSRP is $499 on BenQ USA website as I write this, it's fairly steep for the resolution and brightness that you're paying for. However, I think the portability, build-in player, speaker, and ease of use that you get in return is definitely worth the entry price.

Thanks for reading this review, all comments are greatly appreciated! I can answer questions about the GP1 also if you guys have any.
 
WOW!!! Sweet! I've been wanting one of these babies!

I have a question, how would it perform if you were to project it at a 45 degree angle? I'm just curious as I'm wonder if I could project it into my ceiling, as it's in a loft. Otherwise I'd have to put up a screen, which wouldn't be a problem.

The colours look awesome on this and in the dark shots it looks pretty damned good. Plus 80" would be freaking awesome for movies and TV shows. Who cares if it's not 1080p!
 
I have a question, how would it perform if you were to project it at a 45 degree angle?

It is definitely not a problem if you project it at an angle, as the unit will automatically adjust the image so the picture will be flat on the wall. Ceiling projecting definitely works as well, as I've done a that a couple of times. ;)
 
Great review! 2 thumbs up!
One question though, how far the distence is for projecting the maximun 80" screen?
 
Great review! 2 thumbs up!
One question though, how far the distence is for projecting the maximun 80" screen?

Hmm, I don't have a tape measure handy at the moment, but I'd say it's around 15 feet ish.
 
More questions :) Will GPI be able to hook up to tv through a regular cable cord. I do not have a digital box. If not, what kind of cord I would need to hook GP1 to the digital box? Thanks GTOViper.
 
It doesn't have a cable box build in so you'll need to hook up your TV to a cable box and use either composite or a component cable to hook up to the GP1.
 
great review! have you get a chance to hook it up to iPod? how's it?
 
Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to try out hooking up the ipod yet, I don't have the optional connector :(
 
question again...the VGA cable comes in the box is male or female?
 
The VGA cable included has a female connector, so you can just use a regular VGA cable (male) supplied on standard monitors to connect to the GP1.
 
Thanks a bunch! I have a friend who is interested in GP1 and asked many silly questions..I just checked BenQ's website and it seems GP1 is available now.
 
nice review
which one would you prefer over the Benq and the DELL m109s?
of course the Benq is better specswise (in particular the Benq is better in brightness and contrast, and about connectivity) but the DELL seems to bee much cheaper: I found new ones as low as 199Eur meanwhile the Benq lowest price is around 450eur. Do you think a difference more than double of the price is justified?


many thanks!

cheers!
 
Well, there is one huge difference between the two units, the Dell unit is a pure projector, all it does it project images. The BenQ unit has a BUILD-IN player that actually plays photo and movie files. So with the price difference not only are you paying for better specs across the board, you also get the convenience of being able to have movie files on a flash drive and play it on the go without the need of having to lug a laptop to go with it.
 
oh...another big difference is the lumens - BenQ's is 2X brighter than the Dell!
 
Im curious how a 1080 source would look on this.. aka an xbox set for HD. Been thinking about either buying a flat screen tv.. or a projector for my portable needs for system link xbox games.
 
3 questions:

1. What kind of inputs it has? hdmi, dvi, component, composite, vga etc???? I don't see any on it, does it come with adapters???

2. if I hook up a computer to it, since the computer HD is in NTFS, I would not be able to use it? or the FAT32 restriction is just for the built in player?

3. What would be a good projection screen for this?
 
Im curious how a 1080 source would look on this.. aka an xbox set for HD. Been thinking about either buying a flat screen tv.. or a projector for my portable needs for system link xbox games.

Well, you would connect your xbox to the GP1 using the included VGA cable dongle to stream the source. If the picture source is 1080p, then it'll just look scaled down to 480p range due to the 16:9 aspect ratio. Meaning you'll lose some details, but generally speaking, it'll still look good.
 
3 questions:

1. What kind of inputs it has? hdmi, dvi, component, composite, vga etc???? I don't see any on it, does it come with adapters???

2. if I hook up a computer to it, since the computer HD is in NTFS, I would not be able to use it? or the FAT32 restriction is just for the built in player?

3. What would be a good projection screen for this?

1.The GP1 comes included with a composite and vga dongle. And supposedly you can also purchase a component dongle separately when it becomes available.

2. If you hook your computer to it, then you would be using the vga dongle, then it doesn't matter what file system it's using now does it...;). The file system only matters if you're using the USB reader by putting your movies/pics on a pen drive or portable hdd.

3. Any projection screen you can find will be 1000x better than projecting the image on a wall.
 
A little followup on the GP1, I've recently got my hands on some Apple's video out cable for ipod/iphones. And they work well with the GP1, it's pretty much plug and play. The only gripe I have about the whole setup though is this: Too many cables that I have to lug around the manage keeping it from being portable friendly.

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So to get the whole connection hooked up and working you need:
1. GP1
2. iPod/iPhone with videos.

3. GP1 power cable (Requires power outlet)
4. GP1 composite video input cable
5. Apple video output cable (**Requires a power outlet for the video-out to work)

As you can see, with all these things to carry around it's really far from Ideal. However, at least the option is available for people that rely on their iPod/iPhones for their on-the-go video entertainment.

Overall, the output quality of the video-out from iPod/iPhone is quite good, they don't look much different from the previous shots from seen from the initial review. I was expecting a noticeable degradation in video quality but it seems that's not the case here.

Therefore, if you have all your videos on your iPod/iPhone and has a GP1 handy, you can easily share them with your friends screen 50 times bigger than your iPod/iPhone.
 
I'm going to be moving to Argentina soon and I need a monitor for the small form factor PC I'm going to bring with me. Unfortunately Argentina has ridiculous import taxes on electronics (they cost 2 to 3 times as much as in the states). This means either paying ridiculous prices for a monitor in Argentina or bringing my used monitor from home. I'd like to avoid packing my monitor and checking it in for my flight so I was thinking of using the Benq joybee gp1 as my pc monitor (I'll be bringing the pc as carry on luggage).

Any advice as far as feasibility? Are there other portable solutions that I'm missing? I'm ok with using it in a dark room, I'd just like to know if it's feasible for me to use it as a monitor for everyday pc use (word, browsing, etc).

Cheers,
MB

p.s. why are prices for the gp1 ranging from $650-1000, well above the $499 MSRP?
 
It's definitely feasible, I don't know how your living situation is, but if you have a good surface to project the image onto, I don't see why not. Also, you can buy directly from the BenQ official site for MSRP... I'm sure there are other places selling below MSRP if you shop around google for a bit.
 
Great, so the text isn't overly blurry? Also, what's the image/text quality like if you use a 1280x1024 resolution?
 
Well you can set your computer resolution to 1280x1024, but the native resolution of the project will downscale the image down to 800x600. So it'll be legible provided you have a big enough wall/surface to project it on I guess.
 
I think you can set the projector to display images outside it's native resolution; at least that's what a few reviews have said - apparently it can display up to a 1024x768 resolution (link: http://www.techspot.com/review/173-benq-joybee-gp1-projector/page2.html)

Was just wondering if the text is noticeably more blurry at that resolution - it's hard to tell from the photos, especially since they are being taken in low light conditions. Thanks for the input, I think I'm going to order one and play around with it. It looks like it should do the job though.
 
The images look really great. I travel quite a bit and this would be great to pull out of a suitcase in a hotel. The wii maybe not so much... Using it for my computer on the road would be a cool second feature. Looking forward to your review of using it as a monitor, Madbadger.
 
Just pulled the trigger on the BenQ JoyBee GP1.. should have it next week.

I know my 5870 graphics card is laughing at the native resolution.. Oh well, I can expect frame rates in the 100s on all games lol

Playing Dragon Age at 80" should be a real treat :D
 
Can anyone help me please?Yesterday i buy'd a JOYBEE gp1?i try'd to play avi's,divx and jpeg buth nothing recognized.always not good AV format.iT try'd with differend memorysticks,extern harddisks,Kabel between GP1 and Laptop....even the laptop can not find the projector.
One thing works! With a video out (yelow)kabel connecting with DVD-player and optional cabel to GP1.I downloaded the convertor(maybe it was the extention again)buth again notting to see on the wall:confused::(
 
I did a lot of research into projectors only recently, and have actually built my own projector now, due to cost savings and spec. I looked into this projector also but seriously 858x600 res native for $500, I'm in the UK and I can't find one anywhere near the £400 mark.

I'd like to share my experience maybe it might be of help to those who are looking into getting projectors. I'm not really talking about this projector but projectors in general.

First the native res is 858x600, don't confuse input resolutions, no matter what input res you put into it, it will only display 858x600 max res, of course this one is actually higher than most which are 800x600, or 640x480 but if you have been using Hi-res PC monitors all your life these resolutions will be very disappointing. But if you want HD resolutions then your looking at the 1k areas.

My projector is 1280x768 and just about acceptable after using it, For movies if you NEVER watch 720p or higher, then lower resolution might work for you but the difference between an HD movie and a DVD res movie on a projected screen is like night and day only because the screen is so enormous.

Don't even bother trying to use low res for normal PC use unless you already do it, just switch your monitor to 800x600 and see if you can live with it, if you can then you might like these projectors.
 
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