Projectors

Animation is an obvious beneficiary of the V6050's colour finesse. Star Trek: Lower Decks (Prime Video) looks glorious when supersized. Reds are deep red, not orangey. If you're looking for textural nuance, meanwhile, then Pixar's WALL-E (Disney+) has that in abundance. Colour depth is first-rate, the projector's laser light engine offering superb fidelity.

The V6050 exhibits a decent dynamic range, albeit with some qualification. Limitations inevitably centre on its inability to deliver a truly convincing deep black. Like any other single-chip DLP projector, letterbox movie bars tend toward a dark grey.

HDR presentation remains a thorny issue for projectors, as they can't deliver the kind of specular highlights so commonly associated with HDR TVs. So what we really want to see is the ability to deliver dynamics without sacrificing average picture brightness, and here the BenQ doesn't disappoint. Under the banner of HDR-Pro processing, it cleverly mixes tone mapping techniques with brightness and contrast image optimisation to great effect.

The eldritch spells cast in Fate: The Winx Saga (Netflix, HDR) have a suitably spooky luminosity, a good example of the projector's ability to maintain a consistent picture level, yet still lift parts of the screen as required.

The V6050 supports regular HDR10 and HLG. This gives it an advantage over its principal rival, Optoma's CinemaX P2, which doesn't implement HLG support over HDMI.

Gangs of Lemur Island, Sky's 4K HDR nature showcase, looks beguiling, its titular cast gloriously depicted roaming around the Berenty Reserve in Madagascar. The fine texture of their coats, bathed in brilliant sunlight, makes for a wonderfully three-dimensional presentation.

There's also some solid image interpolation under the hood. MEMC motion estimation is useful for smoothing sports, without painful artefacting.

Keep It Down A Bit
The BenQ's laser light engine is adjustable between Normal, Economic and Smart-Eco, and your selection here will have an impact on its running noise. Stick to Normal, and operational clamour is relatively high at 37dB. Inevitably, the Eco mode drops brightness, but also reduces running noise to around 30dB. In a light-controlled cinema room, this brightness reduction is a price worth paying. In a room with moderate ambient light, you're going to have to get used to the whirr.

While the V6050's images are enviably crisp, the forward-facing sound system has a tad less clarity. Unlike Themyscira, it's sometimes rather muddy, and not as convincing as that of Optoma's CinemaX. It comes with a variety of audio modes (Standard, Cinema, Music, Game and Sport), but they all sound largely the same, with the notable exception of Sport, which strips out the bass.

That's not to say I was ever really tempted to route audio to an external sound system. The V6050 plays loud enough and has decent mid-range clout.

It's worth noting that the projector doesn't recognise Dolby Digital Plus, so bear that in mind when hooking up your source components. This all-in-one merely requires a regular stereo feed.

Ideal Partner
Overall, this is an impressive UST home entertainment projector that will look good anywhere. Stylish in repose, when powered up it delivers huge images with outstanding colour and detail. And while its onboard sound system isn't as engaging as that found on its Optoma rival, it trumps it with support for HLG HDR over HDMI, making it an ideal partner for streaming players and premium pay TV boxes.

HCC Verdict

BenQ V6050

Price: £4,000
www.benq.eu

We say: This high-brightness 4K laser-based UST all-in-one is gloriously vibrant and easy to live with – a megascreen proposition with living room smarts.

Overall: 4.5/5

Specifications

3D: No 4K: Yes. 3,840 x 2,160 via Texas Instruments DLP mirror technology HDR: Yes. HDR10; HLG CONNECTIONS: 2 x HDMI inputs; optical digital audio output; RS232-C; 3 x USB (one with powered output) BRIGHTNESS (CLAIMED): 3,000 Lumens CONTRAST (claimed): 3,000,000:1 ZOOM: N/A DIMENSIONS: 500(w) x 157(h) x 388(d)mm WEIGHT: 10kg

FEATURES: Ultra-short-throw lens (with 0.25:1 throw ratio); 70in-120in image size; laser light engine; 10W built-in sound system; 20,000-hour claimed lamp life; claimed 32dB fan noise in Eco mode; MEMC motion compensation; vertical keystone correction; claimed 98% DCI-P3 colour space; motorized lens cover; eye protection sensor