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HD GEAR : Highly Recommended
Ranking:
Sale Price: $799 Last Price: $899 Buy now! 3rd Party 717.99 In Stock
Release Date: December 31st, 1969

BenQ HT2150ST 1080p Home Theater Projector

Overview -
OVERALL:
Highly Recommended
Rating Breakdown
Tech Specs & Release Details
Release Date:
December 31st, 1969

PROS

-Bright and sharp image

-Very quiet unit

-Very low lag time for gaming

-Good 3D

-Excellent remote

-Very user friendly

CONS

-Not 4K

-No lens shift

INTRODUCTION


There are tons of home cinema projectors on the market these days. And while many offer similar performance, certain strengths and features can cater different models toward specific customer needs. Some might be brighter than others to show a pristine image in a room with a ton of light, while others might have 4K and 3D capability or even multiple inputs to easily connect every device in a home theater.

Among this highly competitive market of projectors, BenQ just might be leading the charge like Leroy Jenkins with its HT2150ST, delivering a ton of options, a stunning image, and a low price for all that is included.

Originally, BenQ was an offshoot of Acer and is a Taiwanese company that produces LCD monitors, digital projectors, cameras, and more. In fact, BenQ means Bringing Enjoyment N Quality (to life), and that's exactly what they have done with this DLP digital home cinema projector. With a price tag under $1,000, you will receive a multitude of inputs, 3D capability, and very low input lag time, making this an ideal projector for gaming. In fact, you may never want to play a game on a television again after playing your favorite fast-paced video games on this device -- it's that good.

In addition to all of that, this is a Short Throw projection unit (the ST in the model number), meaning you can easily set the device on a table in your living room or bedroom and project the image on a wall or screen from only a few feet away, resulting in a very large screen size. In fact, you can set the projector only 5 feet away from a wall and get a superb 100 inch image. Needless to say, I'm very impressed by the BenQ line, but let's go into detail below, shall we?

SETUP AND DESIGN


The unit looks great itself and comes with a DLP chip with 1080p resolution. The color wheel spins at 4x speed at 60Hz and 6x at 50Hz, making this a very dynamic model with 2200 lumens for image brightness. The device weighs under eight pounds and is 14.98L x 4.79H x 10.91W inches, making it fairly portable. It even ships with an awesome carry bag that fits the unit and accessories, along with room for movies and video games. The HT2150ST has a sleek, glossy white finish with a matte silver front end with the BenQ name on both the front and top of the unit. The lens is spherical in nature with a red painted ring around it.

On top of the projector, there is a sliding door with the Zoom and Focus elements, which is 1.2:1. Also on top of the unit is the power button, a menu and source button, as well as a back button, along with a curser and OK/Enter button, making it easy to navigate menus if you don't use the remote control. The back of the HT2150ST comes with two HDMI inputs, one with MHL support if needed. A VGA input and a RS-232 port are included as well. There is also a USB port and mini USB port on the back of the panel in case you want to hook up a flash drive or mobile device. Lastly, there are two 3.5mm audio jacks, including an input and output for easy to hookup external speakers. If you have a full setup with a receiver, surround sound, and video game systems or Blu-ray players, a simple HDMI cable will do the job here. There is an internal 10-watt stereo speaker system as well. Finally, there are vents on all sides of the HT2150ST, making the fan noise almost non-existent, which is very nice.

The remote itself is quite nice and feels sturdy and has a bit of weight to it without that cheap plastic feel. The remote control is white and gray and is simple to use. There is a Light button on the remote that when pressed, lights up buttons in a bright red glow, making it very easy to see in the dark. It doesn't turn off until you click the Light button again. There are menu navigation controls, a 3D button, PiP, Menu, Source, and back buttons, all clearly labeled. Volume, mute, play, pause, rewind, and fast forward buttons are there as well. Perhaps the best thing with this remote are the nine buttons used to calibrate your color and sharpness options, along with gamma, contrast, and color temperature. Two AAA batteries are also included.

Setup of the HT2150ST is super easy. Once plugged in, the menu screen will appear in a great purple and black color scheme with a side bar of options visible. Once highlighted, a bigger menu bar will appear with even more options, including video, audio, 3D, Fast Mode, System Settings, and more. There are options to calibrate the Lamp Power from Normal to Eco to SmartEco, as well as a two-point grayscale and gamma and color. In addition to that, you can change the image brightness from Game to Vivid or Cinema. There are ISF Day and Night options too, along with all of the contrast, sharpness, and brightness levels to make adjustments. The Fast Mode option will allow you to adjust the input lag, which is excellent here because it's super-fast for gaming. You'll also be able to adjust the screen size, wall and screen color compensations for your best image, HDMI range control, and 3D options. I left the 3D option on auto. The HT2150ST does not come with 3D glasses, but you can purchase separate 3D glasses online for a reasonable price. Needless to say, the setup and settings menu is extremely easy to use and read.

SPECIFICATIONS


From BenQ.us

Lamp Mode (Normal/Eco/SmartEco)*‎ 3500 / 5000 / 7000 hours‎
Projection System‎ DLP ‎
Native Resolution‎ 1080p (1920 x 1080)‎
Brightness* (ANSI Lumens)‎ 2200 AL ‎
Contrast Ratio‎ 15000:1 ‎
Display Color‎ 1.07 Billion Colors‎
Lens‎ F = 2.6 - 2.78, f = 10.2 - 12.24 mm‎
Aspect Ratio‎ Native 16:9 (5 aspect ratio selectable)‎
Clear Image Size/ Maximum Image Size‎ 60"~120" / 300"‎
Throw Ratio‎ 0.69 - 0.83 (100" @ 1.5m)‎
Zoom Ratio‎ 1.2:1‎
Lamp Type‎ 240W‎
Keystone Adjustment‎ Vertical ± 20 degrees‎
Projection Offset‎ 102.5% ± 2.5%‎
Resolution Support‎ VGA(640 x 480) to WUXGA_RB (1920 x 1200) *RB = Reduced Blanking ‎
Horizontal Frequency‎ 15 - 102KHz‎
Vertical Scan Rate‎ 23 - 120Hz‎
Lens Shift‎ N/A‎
Interface‎ PC (D-Sub) x 1
HDMI x 2
MHL x 1 (Share with HDMI-2) 
Audio In x 1
Audio Out x 1
Chamber Speaker 10W x 2
USB (Type A) x 1 (5V / 1.5A power supply) 
USB (Type mini B) x 1 (Service) 
RS232 x 1
DC 12V Trigger x 1
IR Receiver x 2 (Front & Top) ‎
Dimensions (W x H x D mm)‎ 380.5 x 121.7 x 277 mm‎
HDTV Compatibility‎ 480i, 480p, 576i, 576p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p ‎
Video Compatibility‎ NTSC, PAL, SECAM ‎
3D Support and Compatibility‎ Frame Sequential: Up to 720p
Frame Packing: Up to1080p
Side by Side: Up to 1080i/p
Top Bottom: Up to 1080p‎
Audible Noise (Normal/Economic Mode)‎ 29 / 27 dBA ‎
On-Screen Display Languages‎ Arabic/Bulgarian/ Croatian/ Czech/ Danish/ Dutch/ English/ Finnish/ French/ German/ Greek/ Hindi/ Hungarian/ Italian/ Indonesian/ Japanese/ Korean/ Norwegian/ Polish/ Portuguese/ Romanian/ Russian/ Simplified Chinese/Spanish/ Swedish/ Turkish/ Thai/ Traditional Chinese (28 Languages) ‎
Picture Modes‎ ** ISF Disabled: Bright / Vivid / Cinema / Game / Game (Bright) / User / (3D)
*** ISF Enabled: Bright / Vivid / Cinema / Game / Game (Bright) / User / ISF Night / ISF Day / (3D)‎
Accessories (Standard)‎ Lens Cover
Remote Control with Battery 
Power Cord (by region)
User Manual CD
Quick Start Guide
Warranty Card
Carry Bag‎
Accessories (Optional)‎ Spare Lamp Kit
Ceiling Mount
Wireless FHD Kit 
DLP 3D Glasses ‎
Color Wheel Segment‎ 6-Segment (RGBRGB)‎
Color Wheel Speed‎ 6x (50Hz), 4x (60Hz)‎
Power Supply‎ AC100 to 240 V, 50 to 60 Hz ‎
Power Consumption‎ Normal 353W, Eco 292W, Standby <0.5W ‎
Weight (Without Packing / With Packing)‎ 3.6 kg (7.93 lbs)‎
Environmental Notice‎ Lamp in this product contains mercury. To dispose of the product or used lamps, consult your local environment authorities for regulations or see www.lamprecycle.org.‎

PERFORMANCE


How does this BenQ HT2150ST with DLP look when watching films and playing video games? It looks incredible and fluid on all levels. I had to see how great Logan looked here and I was not disappointed. The image was crystal clear as every scraggly hair on Logan's beard was visible and stood out nicely at all times, even in fast-paced action sequences without being pixelated or blurry. The excellent brightness and color here even made it easy to distinguish between different colored individual hairs. Being the semi-western movie that it is, there was a lot of orange and yellow in the picture with a lot of dust and smoke from dirt that is kicked up on film. This projector never pixelated the image or looked soft, but provided a crisp, clear, and filmic image that was beautiful to behold. The contrast of colors, from blue skies to much warmer hues, were bold and simply popped off the screen. Black levels in the dark, abandoned water tower were always deep and never showed any crush. The image was simply fantastic.

I also put in The Exorcist Blu-ray to see how an older filmed looked on the unit and, again, I wasn't disappointed. Everything was crisp and clear with fantastic detail all around. You could see the textures in Regan's makeup and the fine stitching in Father Merrin's wardrobe. The infamous spider-crawl scene down the stairs showcased some bright and vivid colors throughout the regal home furnishings and the bright red blood that poured from Regan's mouth. The pitch black scenes where Regan sees images of the beast were deep and inky with a great layer of grain, and the unit perfectly captured all these filmic elements without any crush, making it such a joy to watch the movie again on the HT2150ST.

I then popped in the Inside Out 3D Blu-ray to check out the projector's 3D performance. While 3D is quickly disappearing as an option on televisions, quite a few digital projectors still include the feature, and the BenQ HT2150ST certainly knows what it's doing when it comes to 3D. I had to change the brightness level a bit higher to be happy with the image, but once I did that, Inside Out looked great in 3D. The colors were vibrant and the detail was very sharp. The little individual hairs on Anger's head were easily seen while all the orb balls in the towering shelves had a ton of depth and detail. The pop out moments looked great as well and, once the brightness was turned up a bit, the depth that this unit gave the film was outstanding without losing any detail.

Outside of standard and 3D playback, the BenQ HT2150ST also has an excellent Fast Mode option that will make your gameplay phenomenal with decreased lag time. Thanks to the amazing DLP chip and Fast Mode Option, lag time was reduced so much, that it was faster than my gaming monitor and LED television. I popped in the popular Overwatch video game on Xbox Onewhich is a game where lag will make or break you. I found myself doing much better while popping ultimate finishing moves and firing guns faster before my opponent. In games such as these or sporting games, lag time is crucial for a win, and this BenQ HT2150ST might be the fastest one on the market. Needless to say, the image quality also looked fantastic and was not hindered in any way here.

FINAL THOUGHTS


With all the unit has to offer, the BenQ HT2150ST is probably the best bang-for-your-buck projector, particularly if you're a big video game person who wants a big screen with almost zero lag time. It's a dream come true really. The projector is bright with 2200 lumens, meaning, the image will stay bright in viewing rooms with natural or ambient lighting and the unit itself is very quiet with little fan noise. It's super easy to setup and get going within a matter of minutes with tons of options to calibrate the image to your liking.

The DLP chip is fantastic in every way, delivering a smooth, rich, and vivid image with everything I watched here. The 3D needed some adjustments, but once I found the right mark, it looked amazing. There are a couple of things missing here though. There is no 4K option, zero 3D glasses are included, and there is no lens shift. That being said, with its $984 price tag, brightness power, and plentiful features, this is one of the best easy to use and portable projectors on the market right now. Heck, it even comes with a carry bag and a fantastic remote control.

If you're looking to buy a new projector and don't want to break the bank, but want a ton of options, great image quality, and easy setup, then this BenQ HT2150ST is the definitive one you should own. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!