[136th review] old manufacturers fight is strength - BenQ i500 projector evaluation

With the improvement of living standards, pure TV or smart TV can no longer meet the increasing visual demand. The smart projector, because of its good scalability and changeable screen size, is increasingly popular with the public. This time, the author was very lucky to get the BenQ i500 Smart Projector provided by Yi Xunzhong. What is the performance of a high-end home projector produced by a traditional manufacturer? Let us enjoy the performance of i500.

Before we begin, the author first describes his own intuitive requirements for home projection:

1 The appearance should be exquisite and beautiful, because after all, for the general public, the projection is more similar to a commonly used home appliance, so the value of the face is still very important;

2 The operation should be simple, various settings can be easily made, and it is also suitable for the elderly and children;

3 UI is clear and easy to understand; film source is the best, if not widely, it can be expanded by APP;

4 The lumens can not be too low, the actual effect of the projection to a high degree of color reproduction, so that it is an enjoyment for the eyes.

OK, we immediately begin to experience. The first picture is not very good-looking, because the evil express delivery even made the box very broken; the author received the courier, and even some worried about the product will not be damaged.

The overall packaging is more traditional, in the packaging above, highlighting several very important performance: Bluetooth speaker, HDMI high-definition output, 1M distance 80-inch projection effect, built-in massive film source.

Open the box, the author shines! The projection is really beautiful! Let's look at the packing list: i500 Projection 1, Power Cord & Adapter 1, Remote Control 1, Instruction Manual 1. Overall, it is very concise and practical; there are no flashy accessories such as 3D glasses.

Above the plug of the power cord, it is meticulously protected by plastic packaging. And above the adapter, more conventional identification of technical parameters. However, it is regrettable that the product may be in the case of violent transport, the adapter's opening even there is a crack, but fortunately does not affect the use. Therefore, the author here suggests that the protection of internal packaging can be done in more place.

The design of the remote controller is very simple, similar to the current mainstream smart TV box design. The workmanship is very pleasantly surprised. In actual use, the key process is short and the reaction is sensitive.

In addition to the standard function buttons, the remote control has three special buttons on the first row of buttons below the power button. From left to right are:

Signal input selection buttons (can be switched in various signal input modes such as HDMI/VGA), blank interface setting buttons (shielding the current system UI), and MENU (recalling system setup menu functions).

The remote control itself is very slim and uses a button battery design. The battery compartment is designed at the bottom of the back of the remote control and can be opened with a flexible card slot.

The manual is very detailed, using a combination of graphics and text, a detailed description of the use of the product; In fact, the author in practical use, the projection quickly get started, the specification is more suitable for the first contact with the smart projection of the crowd.

OK, the above is the basic information related to the projection. We also learned about the appearance of the projection from the above picture. However, i500 still has a lot of exquisite designs.

At first sight of i500, the adjective that appeared in my mind was: Harmony. At first glance, the i500 feels very smooth, whether it is from the appearance of the product, to buttons, radian design, cooling holes, speakers, or color matching; perhaps this is the technical details.

The symmetrical design of the product is reflected in all aspects. At the top, the projector's switch buttons and the Bluetooth speaker's switch buttons are distributed on both sides, and these two physical buttons are also the only buttons on the projector.

Keys work fine, full metal texture. The top BENQ English LOGO is also in the middle, very beautiful (Virgo can be bought with peace of mind to buy O (∩ _ ∩) O ~)

Looking at the front, the first impression of the BenQ i500 is my tradition. The front still uses a symmetrical design, the right lens is protected by a lens protection cap, and the left side is the same size of a suction lens protection cover.

In addition, above the lens, the black window is the infrared receiver; while the lower button can open the bracket at the bottom, most of the traditional projectors will be more common when placed on the desktop.

Above the lens cap, the design of the two magnets is more special. In this way, the lens cap can be easily absorbed in the frontal prototype area.

To be honest, the first time I saw this big shot, the author was really shocked. Large size, can create a projection ratio of 0.6! The lens imaging uses 10 high-transmittance spherical glass lens sets manufactured by Nippon Denshi precision optics. The outer layer uses a high-precision resin aspherical mirror to ensure the quality of the lens material. The BenQ i500 has a total of 11 lenses!

The workmanship is very delicate. Even if this bracket adjustment button is used, it is also neat and tidy, and the key process is moderate. However, the usage scenario is not so much, and it is generally used when the desktop is placed.

In general, the product is a combination of projection and Bluetooth speakers; on the side, it is particularly noticeable. The Bluetooth speaker has a gold-tone grille and the front is pure white. There is only a cooling hole on the right side of the projection. The fan of the product can be seen near the observation.

On the left side of the product, the design is almost identical, but in the lower right corner, the power input hole is hidden. On the left front, it is the focus adjustment knob. This knob is very sensitive, but it is easy to control and it feels great when it comes to actual experience.

Looking from the back, the golden speaker net cover is very tall, the metal texture is strong, the surface treatment is smooth, and the transition of the net cover is very smooth, and the processing technology is quite good.

It is estimated that everyone will have questions, where is the projector interface? Haha, in fact, the back of the BenQ LOGO metal bar, is a magnetic design, can be adsorbed on the back of the interface above, hide and protect the interface, but also makes the product more beautiful.

Open the protective shell, you can see a wealth of expansion interface; it can be said that the author has contact with the home projector, i500 is the most abundant interface, not one, in addition to the conventional HDMI high-definition interface and USB 3.0 interface, but also Carefully joined the USB 2.0 design. In addition, including VGA input, mic microphone interface, audio input and output, LAN interface (i500 itself supports WIFI) readily available, can adapt to most of the application scenarios.

The bottom of the bracket is made of silicone material, which is non-slip and shockproof.

The bottom of the support site, also uses a plastic material design, excellent workmanship. Nowhere is the performance of a veteran manufacturer.

Below the bottom, there is a description of the basic parameters of the product. The product I got was O(∩_∩)O~, which was just produced in November.

The bottom of the support frame, after use, the angle of the projection will change greatly, can be adjusted when using the desktop, to adapt to the best angle.

The system UI of the BenQ i500 adopts a method of cooperation with the “internet and all sides” and has built-in rich audiovisual resources.

The home page of the UI can be selected for the search, playback history, application download, etc. of the video resource, which is relatively convenient.

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Of course, mainstream video sources such as TV dramas, movies, and children's programs can all be accessed directly by the connected parties.


The application part of the product has built many common applications. Of course, because of its Android-based system, any application that is needed can be downloaded and installed through the application market at any time.

The built-in application is also more convenient and can basically meet daily needs.

What's more interesting is that the manual for the product is also available in an electronic version and is built into the app.

Of course, the built-in UI skin can be customized and replaced freely.

The setting interface is relatively simple, and the network, system, etc. can all be embodied in this interface.

Of course, more extensive settings can also be retrieved via the MENU button on the remote control.


Colorful eggs are very rich, image mode, brightness, contrast and other settings can be changed through this interface.

However, although there are 3D models, the lack of product 3D glasses is somewhat inconvenient.

More rich settings button, click in, you can set common operations.

Here, the most anticipated one is the trapezoidal correction function (that is, the screen can be automatically corrected after the product is offset).

Some basic information of the product, follow-up should be able to use OTG firmware upgrade.

The remote control also has an entry option, HDMI, VGA, Miracast, and USB, all of which can be freely changed and set.

In application management, the product also has built-in security butler software, which allows free application management.

First of all, the product is an excellent Bluetooth speaker. In the case of a shutdown, click on the Bluetooth button on the i500 to activate the Bluetooth speaker. Using the mobile phone, connect the speakers.

However, this feature can only be implemented in Bluetooth speaker mode; if the projector is turned on, Bluetooth will not play a role.

The mobile phone can easily connect and play songs.

The author tried classic tracks such as “The Ferry” and “California Hotel”. The low frequency transition of the high school speakers was natural and the bass dive effect was great.

OK, let's focus on the effect of projection.

When the switch is turned on, the lens instantly turns on, thanks to the high brightness of 500 lumens, so the surrounding environment is also very bright.

It is worth noting that due to the high transmittance of 0.6, the author used a distance of 2m between the projector and the wall. The screen will have a large screen size of about 150 inches, which is very powerful.


Let's first take a look at Miracast projections for Android. Here, the most commendable is that the connection speed is very fast, and the delay between the mobile phone and the projector is very short. After the basic mobile phone interface operation, the projection is an instant follow operation, like this!

The content on the phone can be easily delivered to the wall.

Because of the short delay, the effect is really great, far beyond the author's TV box products and projector products.

Let's take a look at the projection imaging effect of the projector. Before the show, it should be noted that all the images were taken straight out of the SLR and no changes were made to the color and brightness.

Camera: nikon D70S; Exposure: 1/20S; f4.5 aperture; ISO: 200.

The author sets all the settings as default, and does not make any changes; the following is a partial test interface.



It can be said that BenQ i500's color reproduction is very high, and the product's color gamut is 100% NTSC, so the display effect is indeed very full.

Through this colorful picture, we can see that the colors are rich and the visual effects are great, beyond the author's other home projection effects.

So, is the brightness of 500 lumens suitable for use during the day? The author also conducted some tests:

1 Original image:

2 In the dark environment, the image display effect:

3 under direct sunlight, the projection effect real shot:


In summary, the effect of the projection is very good. In the direct sunlight, the effect seen by the eyes is far more than the effect of the camera; in addition, if the ordinary table lamp is lit indoors to supplement the ambient light, it will not affect the projection effect.

The projected text of the product is also very sharp, and the actual viewing effect is great. It is more than sufficient for the office.

Of course, watching high-definition MTV is also more than enough. The fluency of the product and the degree of color reproduction are also very satisfactory.


About heat dissipation:

Heat dissipation is a place where the writer is not very satisfied. The performance is very unstable. When playing for the first time, after 2 hours of playback, the heat sink on the right side actually reached 50.2°C, which was very hot, but the performance of other positions was relatively even. The left side of the cooling hole and the body is only 30 degrees, the difference is relatively large, making the author very confused.

Moreover, this situation does not occur intermittently and can not reach 50 degrees each time.

When two of them watched, it turned out that because of the high temperature, the display turned off automatically.

OK, finally, we look at the heavy function of the product: trapezoidal correction. This feature should also be used for more functions on high-end projectors.

1: Auto Keystone, Off:

As you can see below, the picture below is a picture of the author using a tripod and shifting the lens downward. As you can see, there is a clear picture shift.

2 Automatic Keystone Correction: On

After the automatic keystone correction is turned on, when the projector lens is moved up and down, the screen is automatically adjusted to the right angle, which is very powerful.

Through the narrative of the full text, we should be able to see that this BenQ i500 projector, in the use of the product above, can be said to meet the requirements of the author mentioned in the previous article, fast, UI simple, can be expanded, clear and natural quality, High Brightness.


Of course, there are some defects in the product itself, such as heat dissipation problems, and forced shutdown caused by the same, and hope that the follow-up can be resolved through firmware upgrades. However, it doesn’t matter if the projection is different from other brands of home projections, with its rich interface and powerful image quality, it can be used for both home and work, and the applicable scene is more extensive. Moreover, the workmanship and detailed performance of the product itself, especially the "short focus" shows a strong throw ratio, and more reflects BenQ as a veteran projector manufacturer, a good technical heritage.


Finally, I sincerely thank Yi Xunzhong test! Thanks to BenQ, the manufacturer of excellent products!

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