BenQ has launched the W1700, a 4K HDR projector, coming in at less than €2,000 (£2,000), making it one of the most low cost 4K offerings on the market.
To date Optoma’s first offering for the residential market, the much lauded UHD65 projector, had been the frontrunner in the 4K HDR projector market, but stalwart of the commercial industry, BenQ, are hoping to change that.
So what exactly does BenQ hope will disrupt the entry-level 4K market? According to the manufacturer, the 2,200 lumen projector features pixel-shifting technology and a native 1080p chipset from Texas Instruments. Nothing new there you may think, but the company is quick to assure would-be buyers that because of its relationship with Texas the W1700 will in fact feature ‘newer’ chips that puts the projector’s performance ahead of other low-cost products.
The W1700 offers two HDMI connections (one of which supports HDCP 2.2-compliance) and according to BenQ can support HDR10 out of the box. In addition to these connections is a port for connecting to a PC, a RS-232 connection, a USB and 3.5mm jacks for audio output and input (without added input audio is delivered via its in-built speaker).
BenQ will release the W1700 projector in January 2018. At its launch event, the manufacturer also launched its 2,200 lumen 1080p W1050 projector.