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BenQ PalmPro 7763PA
BenQ PalmPro 7763PA
pros and cons
- Compact, lightweight and reasonably bright relatively affordable.
- No component or digital video inputs moderate contrast ratio for a DLP projector no wide-screen mode.
- Editors' review
- Specs
BenQ has produced a compact, portable and relatively affordable projector that may appeal to those with restricted space and budget. However, its technical specifications aren’t outstanding, and if you're after the highest image quality for movies, you may be disappointed. It has few features that make it suitable for use with DVD players, or DVDs played on a PC.
The £1,399 (ex. VAT) PalmPro 7763PA is a DLP (Digital Light Processing) projector with a native resolution of 800 by 600 pixels and a contrast ratio of 450:1 -- which is relatively low for a DLP unit. The brightness rating of 1100 ANSI Lumens is respectable, especially for a projector of this size. Although we’d still recommend lowering the light level in the room when using the projector, the picture shouldn’t be completely washed out if you can’t eliminate ambient light. But if you want vibrant and contrasty images, you should consider other projectors.
The image from the PalmPro 7763PA is crisp and clear. Since the projector uses a DLP engine, the pixel boundaries are less visible than with LCD-based projectors. However, the colour wheel used doesn’t appear to rotate particularly fast, as colour fringing can be seen if you wave your hand in front of the projector.
This is the most compact and lightweight projector in our group test, measuring 24.3 by 19.8 by 6.2cm and weighing 2.3kg. However, the unit's small size also has its drawbacks, notably the limited efficiency of the cooling system -– the front of the top panel can get quite hot in use. However, its portability makes the PalmPro 7763PA suited to homes where you want to use the projector in more than one location, or where it needs to be packed away after use.
Both focus and zoom are manually operated, and on our review model the actions were quite stiff. There’s a slight upward slant to the projection, making the PalmPro 7763PA suitable for placing on a coffee table, for instance, rather than on a stand or shelf behind and above the audience. The image sizes at minimum and maximum throw are around average for our group test, and the zoom ratio of 1:1.3 is at the higher end of the group, which means you should be able to get a satisfactory image size at a range of throw distances.
The basic projector only has a VGA input, but an adapter is supplied that allows you to use a number of resolutions with Macintoshes. Add the supplied adapter -- called the AV box by BenQ -- and you get additional S-Video, composite and audio inputs. No digital or component inputs are available, so DVD image quality from PC or DVD player sources may not be as good as with some other projectors. There’s also no HDTV support, so you’re stuck with standard TV signals, unless you have some external way of converting signals.
There’s a single infrared receiver on top of unit, and the remote control works from most angles. The remote itself has lots of buttons, most unrelated to the projector’s operation -– they’re there for mouse functions, and the optional TV tuner that’s available for the PalmPro 7763PA. The large number of buttons mean it’s not a small unit, and you only use four or five buttons to control the projector. The menu system is simple and quite clear. Having few configuration options means it won’t take you long to find the one you want. There are basic image controls such as brightness, contrast, colour temperature, phase, size and position. You can’t alter the aspect ratio of the image, so you won’t be able to feed an anamorphic image to the PalmPro 7763PA.
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The PalmPro 7763PA isn’t particularly suited to watching movies, particularly widescreen ones. However, if you anticipate wanting to use your projector in more than one room with different computers, it may well suit you. There are other projectors available at a similar cost to BenQ’s offering, so if you are on a limited budget you still have a number of options –- it just depends what you plan to use your projector for.