All that said, the BenQ GV30 offers a lot for the price, even in a crowded field of capable machines. The clear sound profile means that your content is perfectly hearable even at low volumes, and the added bass lends weight to more intense or impactful scenes. Having said that, even when using keystone, at no point did we note the GV30 descending to visible pixellation or screen-door effect; images remained enjoyably smooth, and you dont notice the softness of edges once playing a video. Theres a useful minijack headphone socket, and an attractive and solid remote control comes with the unit. Keystone correction to square off the image is on by default, though you can use manual correction instead. In fact there are at least four paths to Netflix. What the BenQ GV30 gets right, it gets fantastically right. But what singles out the new GV30 is its physical design, and how this overcomes a bugbear of all projectors, small and large positioning. is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. By removing the side panel, you have access to a slot for the (included) QS01 HDMI streaming stick. You will receive a verification email shortly. Rhys is Hardware Writer for TechRadar Gaming, and while relatively fresh to the role, he's been writing in a professional capacity for years. I saw some loss of shadow detail in dark images, but I could still make out what was going on even in the most challenging scenes. Thats great news if you watch films and TV shows with subtitles enabled, whether out of necessity or as a preference. His true passions, though, lie in video games, TV, audio and home entertainment. BenQ pointed us to another workaround (there's a YouTube walkthrough at tinyurl.com/benqnetflix (opens in new tab)) this uses the dongle's AptoideTV app with its own Netflix app. The GV30 absolutely nails the sound department, so much so that it can fill a room with clear, bassy sound that admirably replicates the feeling of going to a movie theater. struggled with the darker colors. BenQ's innovative GV30 delivers 720p video, robust audio, and streaming in a projector you can carry from room to room on one finger, and point at any convenient surface to use as a screen. However, in my tests it negotiated a 1080p connection by default with video sources, which means it behaves like a 1080p projector with slightly soft focus. By PCMag, PCMag.com and PC Magazine are among the federally registered trademarks of Ziff Davis and may not be used by third parties without explicit permission. The GV30's image in Normal power mode and Game picture mode was roughly a match for what I expect from a 250-ANSI-lumen lamp-based projector. When Rhys isn't on the clock, you'll usually find him logged into Final Fantasy 14, Halo Infinite or Sea of Thieves. Don't believe the hype: Bluetooth LE and the LC3 codec won't improve audio quality. Enter the GV30. This is a truly portable projector in that the BenQ GV30 is light, has a carry handle, and can operate on batteries for something like 2.5 hours, long enough to play a movie somewhere that mains power is unavailable. I didn't see any colors that were obviously off, even in our test clips, which I'm very familiar with. While Netflix is missing a common sight on projectors the GV30 more than makes up for it with Google Play Store support, which will allow you to download apps like Prime Video, Disney Plus, Crunchyroll, Apple TV, ITV Hub, Peloton and more. BenQs design team has clearly put in some overtime coming up with the GV30, which it declares to be the worlds first mini portable projector with multichannel audio though by 'multichannel' they mean stereo delivered in 2.1, rather than the more common definition of multichannel as meaning surround sound. Prior to his desertion he was Editor of the UK's Stuff magazine, and before that Editor of What Hi-Fi? Animated shows like The Simpsons and Rick & Morty display fantastically on the GV30, and as such is perfect for binge watching shorter-length cartoons. On-screen messages indicate how you can easily switch to manual correction and focusing if preferred. Instructions are in pictures only, and I'm not sure I could have decoded them if I weren't already familiar with similar panels on laptops. Are they any good? It makes foreign subbed movies like Parasite and The Raid much more watchable, too. The GV30 uses a teeny 0.23-inch DLP digital micromirror device from Texas Instruments (most likely the DLP230NP), along with an Osram LED light source, with LED having the significant advantage over lamps of long life (20-30,000 hours is quoted here), not to mention less objection to being rotated into unusual orientations. TechRadar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. So is BenQ quoting the three numbers to boost its own sales proposition? A Media, Writing and Production graduate, Rhys has prior experience creating written content for app developers, IT firms, toy sellers and the main TechRadar site. This is the first time we remember a respected projection company quoting light source lumens, which is simply the light level emitted by the LED source itself, not the projector as a whole. Find out more about how we test. BenQ told us to use the BenQ Smart Remote app on a separate device (a useful extra in any case, especially if you ever lose your remote, since the GV30s physical buttons cant access settings etc.). It was stereo only, but at last we had a genuinely big sound to accompany the BenQs genuinely big picture. Heres why you can trust us. As weve noted before, this Android stick, like most others, are locked to 60Hz output, so that with Australian catch-up services delivered at 50Hz you would expect notable 50-to-60Hz pull-down judder. While the GV30 is bulky enough to make moving it around the house potentially a bit of a hassle, its relatively small form factor keeps it from becoming too cumbersome. Sign up for Lab Report to get the latest reviews and top product advice delivered right to your inbox. You can even use the GV30 just as a Bluetooth speaker for music, sans video. It also works as a Bluetooth speaker. This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. This allows users to position and rotate the beamer as theyd like, which makes viewing on walls and ceilings as easy as adjusting its position on the swivel, with a total radius of 135 degrees. It comes with a little rubber-footed base on which the body connects firmly using the power of magnetism, and in which position it can then rotate to face anywhere from down to up, and all angles inbetween. The best tech tutorials and in-depth reviews, Try a single issue or save on a subscription, Issues delivered straight to your door or device. It excels where other beamers like the Viewsonic M1+ can make text appear blurry no matter how much you focus. Many, though not all, of these attributes have been available on other BenQ mini projectors, such as the GS1 and the delightful little Sound+Image award-winning GS2. The cones have an interestingly ribbed structure in a kind of tangerine pattern, potentially a stiffening measure to reduce warping under pressure, and to raise the break-up frequency out of the audible frequency band. As such, the GV30 isn't one of the best projectors, but it is a decent choice in this regard for casual home theater viewing. The control panel near the lens includes buttons for volume, power, and switching to and from Bluetooth speaker mode. The M1+s battery life more than doubles that of the GV30 at six hours from full charge. There was a problem. With the dongle in place, you can plug in the AC adapter, turn the power on, wait for the auto-focus to finish, and then set up the Android TV, which requires a Wi-Fi network with an internet connection. But the brain is fairly adept at becoming accustomed to such disjointed physical delivery, so you get used to it. In addition there is a side HDMI input for external video sources, whether movie players or games consoles, and a USB-C socket which can not only usefully power a phone or tablet while its streaming (best used if the GV30 is mains-powered, to avoid reducing that battery life), but which can also play video via USB-C, a relatively recent innovation for devices supporting USB-C DisplayPort, so you can screen extend from a MacBook, say, or screen mirror from a Samsung phone. The brightest power mode, and the default setting for AC power, is Normal. In practice, we saw hardly any of it; the lower resolution potentially makes it less obvious than had we been watching a 4K-flipping DMD in action. Build quality is important to you There is no battery life rating for Eco or Normal modes. We definitely recommend investing in a power bank if you havent done so already, as this will greatly extend how much the projector can be used wirelessly. LED lumens is even less useful, as theres no recognised definition for measurement, though as you can see, it provides a number rather higher than the proper standard of ANSI lumens. That wireless projection system is easy to use, remembering only that it requires the BenQ and the sending device both to be connected to a Wi-Fi network, so youre restricted to the range of your home network. Please refresh the page and try again. The magnetic connection is strong, too, so it wont easily be removed without deliberate force being applied. At a price of AU$999 (499, US$599), the GV30 is an excellent way to get your bigscreen entertainment rolling. PCMag.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering lab-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services. Even shows with relatively brighter colors like Marvels What If? Put simply, we love the physical design of the GV30. Sadly, not quite. M. David Stone is a freelance writer and computer industry consultant. And thanks to the effective auto keystone, the projector can reliably adjust to find the best viewing angle most of the time. It comes with BenQs QS01 Android 9.0 HDMI stick, which hides away inside attached to an internal HDMI socket and USB power source, providing built-in access to streaming services, and the ability to stream video wirelessly from phones, tablets and computers using not only the Android sticks Chromecast but also AirPlay. The best home entertainment buying advice, Issues delivered straight to your door or device. There also seems a desire among some mini projector users to shine the image on the ceiling not something we often do ourselves, but for those more prone to prostration, or perhaps to cinematically-enhanced canoodling, we admit that ceilings are more likely to provide a more suitably white surface clear of obstructions like pictures or picture hooks than the walls which many mini projector users will employ as a substitute for the genuine screen material we would otherwise recommend. (A BenQ representative later pointed me to an instruction video that shows the process.) While it doesnt have the brightness to be fully enjoyed in day-time use, and its resolution is only 1280 x 720, the combination here of built-in speakers, Android apps, external inputs and AirPlay and Chromecast wireless streaming makes content playback easy in any number of ways, while that magnificent rolling versatility of positioning, together with auto focus and keystone correction, make it a unique design in making bigscreen entertainment truly easy. For the sake of comparison, the cheaper Anker Nebula Solar portable projector is 400 ANSI lumens, and we even found that to be dimmer than wed have liked. Don't expect to take this portable projector outside for showing backyard movies unless your neighborhood's nighttime ambient light level is very low or you're willing to scale the image down to 30 or 40 inches. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). There BenQ can fairly claim that the GV30 can achieve 97% of the Rec.709 colour space, and its by far the best way to enjoy this mini projectors abilities. Or, as noted, if you play video from a laptop via HDMI, you can route audio a different way for example we AirPlayed it to a Yamaha Aventage A8A receiver. is supported by its audience. However, you can't control any other settings if you misplace the remote. Keep an eye on your inbox! But even in optimally dark conditions, youll struggle to get a truly perfect image with the GV30. Unfortunately, the GV30s battery life falls well short of what wed expect from similarly priced beamers. David has significant expertise in imaging technologies (including printers, monitors, large-screen displays, projectors, scanners, and digital cameras), storage (both magnetic and optical), and word processing. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. The driver implementation for the 2.1-channel audio is interesting, though things are difficult to see clearly through the holes in the casing, so forgive us if our guesswork is flawed. What Hi-Fi? optical digital), well take it. Simultaneous to the launch of the GV30 an excellent explanatory text appeared on BenQs site, detailing the differences; its full-length URL includes the phrase why LED lumens are a marketing ploy; heres an easier link: tinyurl.com/BenQlumens (opens in new tab) its well worth the read, and great kudos to BenQ for stating things so clearly. The streaming stick provides access to a range of apps you can use to view online streaming content. The GV30 weighs 3.5 pounds, not including the external AC adapter, and is 4.7 inches wide. If you want a larger image than it can give you in any given level of ambient light, and you don't need to hide a streaming stick inside the projector, consider the AAXA M7, a native 1080p projector that's bright enough to serve as a permanent TV substitute in a family room. It has a pleasingly round design that complements the included magnetic swivel. Logically enough, then, the stereo speakers fire from each side of the projector, and if you prise off the right side (as is possible, to install the Android stick) there are clearly two drivers on each side see the image above. last updated 20 September 21. This was a pain to remove via the included rubber pick, but you likely wont have to do this process more than once. The 2.1-channel chamber speakers, with two 4-watt tweeters and an 8-watt woofer, deliver full-bodied sound without the tinny quality so common in small projectors, and the volume is high enough to fill a large family room. The best that can be said for the brightness is that it's sufficient to be useful. Youre on a tight budget You'll want to avoid it unless you absolutely need the projector's top brightness to project a larger image or combat ambient light. At just 300 ANSI lumens, the GV30 is nigh unusable in bright environments, and its poor battery life practically begs for the device to be plugged in at all times. Before you even get to switch the device on, youll find that it comes in a nifty, high-quality carry case, which is easily unzipped to reveal the projector and its components inside. magazine, and before that of the erstwhile Audiophile magazine and of Electronics Today International. The GV30 does such a good job of rendering text sharply, making subtitles perfectly readable for those that need them. The 7.3 inch "depth" in the specs is the diameter of the rest of the wheel. Portability is important to you Nor will you approach the colour gamut of which the GV30 is capable until watching under darkened room conditions. Rhys Wood The Miroir Synq M189 ($349.99) remains our pick among portable streaming projectors, but there are plenty of reasons to consider the clever, capable GV30. For many people, the main source will be streaming using either the internal Android stick's apps or Chromecast/Airplay. The spec for height is 7.7 inches measured at the point where the lens and control panel stick out from the overall wheel shape. Better still, sensors alongside the GV30s tiny lens deliver auto focus and auto vertical keystone (with up to 40 degrees correction either way), and if you have this set to automatic in the projectors menus, this will leap into action whenever the GV30 senses it's been repositioned. Click here for more information on Sound+Image, including digital editions and details on how you can subscribe. BenQ says the projector was designed with indoor portability in mind, and rates it as drop-proof for up to 27.6 inches, which is table-top height. There are HDMI and USB-C DisplayPort inputs; the USB-C can also be used to charge a device. New York, After the initial setup, using the projector is a matter of optionally plugging in the AC adapter and/or an additional video source, turning the projector on, and pointing it at a screen or any handy flat surface. Of course, there is a penalty for keystone correction it reassigns pixels, which potentially reduces sharpness and resolution. Powered by Android TV, the amount of apps on offer is actually quite impressive. As the lumen count is already so low with the GV30, movies and shows with consistently vibrant color palettes fare much better. What Hi-Fi? There is absolutely no way to get audio out of the GV30, other than the headphone socket, so no way to listen to material streaming from the stick or wirelessly other than the built-in sound system. (, Clever design and outstanding portability, In most modes, delivers neutral color and acceptable or better color accuracy, Includes Android TV dongle for streaming and Chromecast, Rugged enough to withstand drops from table height, Does not support HDR or the copy protection on 4K UHD discs, Brightest mode shows a noticeable green tint, Read Great Stories Offline on Your Favorite, PC Magazine Digital Edition (Opens in a new window), How to Free Up Space on Your iPhone or iPad, How to Save Money on Your Cell Phone Bill, How to Convert YouTube Videos to MP3 Files, How to Record the Screen on Your Windows PC or Mac, Read Our InFocus Genesis IN118BB Projector Review, How to Choose the Right Screen for Your Projector, How to Create the Perfect Backyard Movie Night on the Cheap, Vankyo Leisure 495W Dolby Audio Projector Review. With HDMI from our MacBook, Netflix (and everything else) was rock-solid and we had the option of routing audio a different way, so could use a separate sound system if we wanted. The roll surrounds are slashed, also reducing distortion by having a more stable area and reflecting waves on the cone surface differently at different points of the circumference. It's also available when using the built-in rechargeable battery, which isn't true for many portable projectors. NY 10036. See all the latest Australian reviews from Sound+Image and Australian Hi-Fi. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). For audiophiles, Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube Music are also available to download, and the GV30 is perfect for these apps given its clear, bassy sound profile. This is no fault of BenQ Netflix currently just doesnt work with projection companies because its busy supporting TVs and media players, though heavens, youd think it would have enough cash sloshing around to allocate development in that direction as well. There is one speaker firing from the top just behind the carry handle; from its central position we can assume this is the woofer for the 0.1 bass channel BenQ has the politeness not to call it a subwoofer, given its diameter. If the BenQ GV30 were a bit brighter, it would be ideal for indoor room-to-room portability. I typically see these red-green-blue flashes easily, when present, but didn't see any during my tests, even with our test clip that tends to show them. He makes music as well as enjoying it, is alarmingly wedded to the notion that Led Zeppelin remains the highest point of rock'n'roll yet attained, though remains willing to assess modern pretenders. If its a sign that BenQ will pay more attention to audio in future projectors, including perhaps better ways to get audio out (e.g. Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions. He lives in a modest shack on Sydney's Northern Beaches with his Canadian wife Deanna, a rescue greyhound called Jewels, and an assortment of changing wildlife under care. You want a brighter projector This superb build quality carries over to the remote, which has to be one of the best weve used for a projector. The default setting when using the battery is Low Power, which is rated for 1.5 to 2.5 hours depending on the volume, brightness settings, and even content. We got the best result including the sharpest text by first positioning the GV30 where no keystone correction was required, then dropping the sharpness way down to 7 (out of a curious 31) to prevent any ringing around text and objects, with brightness, contrast and colour all around their centre settings. Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, Sadly, the quality of the image is accompanied by one of the GV30s biggest drawbacks the dreadfully low brightness. As already mentioned, the brightest mode, Bright, has a noticeable green tint. With a darkened environment you can switch the Daytime picture mode to Living Room, and enjoy more accurate colours; watching Brian Cox on ABC iView as he stands in Newtons orchard, the apples are bright and red, the grass bright and green. In our testing, this carried over to grittier shows like The Mandalorian and The Walking Dead, which were nigh unwatchable in brightly lit environments. For my viewing tests, I used Game mode along with Normal power mode. Its even rugged, with BenQ claiming it to be drop-proof from 70cm, though since BenQ had sent us the first and only unit in Australia at the time, we decided it would be kinder not to test that. The bass isnt too muddy, either, and avoids distorting the overall sound even when turned up to a reasonably high degree. As it is, it's still a seductively attractive choice with plenty of useful features. Your subscription has been confirmed. You will certainly want to use this projector in a darkened room for best results. While this is where the beamer operates optimally, you lose the portable element that the GV30s compact form factor is perfect for. Theres a fundamental limitation here, which is the projectors position. However, a sharp 720p image, great sound quality and a surprising wealth of available apps certainly go towards making the GV30 a more attractive purchase. We wouldnt want to force you into permanently having the GV30 plugged in, though. Thank you for signing up to TechRadar. That was our first thought, but in fact its quite the opposite. Select the Android sticks Wireless Projection app and youre offered iPhone, Android, or PC, the last using Chromecast, so that Mac users could alternatively select the iPhone option, which uses AirPlay. Both of these delivered little glitches every 20 seconds or so; AirPlay was better than Chromecast for lipsync. The display of third-party trademarks and trade names on this site does not necessarily indicate any affiliation or the endorsement of PCMag. Audio quality and volume are both impressive for the GV30's size and price. At just two and a half hours, you might not even be able to get through an entire movie on a full charge. You certainly wouldnt be able to watch any of the Lord of the Rings movies when the GV30 is unplugged. Also note that there's no 3D support. However, our standard advice still applies: If you find rainbow artifacts bothersome, be sure you can return the projector without a restocking fee, so you can test it out for yourself. If you click an affiliate link and buy a product or service, we may be paid a fee by that merchant. The 2.5 hour battery life for the GV30 isnt ideal, meaning you could be charging the device when youre halfway through your favorite feature-length epic. The accuracy of Game mode is nearly as good, and it does the best job of holding shadow detail, making it the best choice for games and for movies and video with dark scenes (or even dark areas in otherwise bright scenes). Thank you for signing up to What Hi-Fi?. In that context, its certainly adequate, better than any other portable projector weve ever heard, and also judging from our previous notes better than BenQs larger projectors with built-in sound. Jez is the Editor of Sound+Image magazine, having inhabited that role since 2006, more or less a lustrum after departing his UK homeland to adopt an additional nationality under the more favourable climes and skies of Australia. Add in the highly watchable image, Android TV for streaming and Chromecast, and the ability to work as a Bluetooth speaker, and it's hard not to be impressed. Its character is best assessed by playing music through it bass drops away below around 110Hz, treble above about 14kHz, stereo was fully separated side to side though with some bleed through the cabinet, and the bass push via DSP left music rather muddy, if never offensive, and entirely avoiding any treble shriek which could become genuinely unpleasant. Jez Ford HDMI ARC and HDMI eARC: everything you need to know. Image quality is sharp and clear, and the GV30 makes the most of its otherwise limited 720p resolution. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Even if the projector is in front of you, itll have to be directly in front for you to enjoy stereo, otherwise youll hear audio coming from off to one side, and again, nowhere near the screen. New York, Other than for those building projectors its not, therefore, a very useful figure, as what you get out at the end depends on the efficiency of the entire unit. You will receive a verification email shortly. There are four buttons on what well call the top, in front of the little tan leather carry handle; there's power, Bluetooth pairing, and volume up and down. A finger-sized loop makes it easy to carry, complete with the base, and it can survive a drop from table-top height without damage, according to BenQ. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. (Note its NOT possible to AirPlay Netflix from an iOS device, but you can from MacOS.). Should you buy an Insignia TV in 2022? If you need still better audio, there's also a 3.5mm stereo audio out port for connecting an external sound system, but the built-in audio delivers easily enough volume and quality for casual viewing or for serving as a capable Bluetooth speaker. NY 10036. The BenQ GV30 portable projector is launching on September 15 for $599 / 499 (around AU$679), which puts it in the range of other portable projectors like the Optoma ML750e which features in our best portable projectors buying guide. With many portable projectors, positioning can be tricky; on a table the projected screen may fall too low, so that youre left lifting the unit up on a couple of hardback books, or even more perilously tilted upward by shoving things under one side or another. And given the native resolution here is only 1280 720, theres not so much to lose. Sign up to get breaking news, reviews, opinion, analysis and more, plus the hottest tech deals! But projection perfection is not what the GV30 is about its for entertainment made easy, and it delivers that.