While we sit around waiting for the next generation of LCOS LCD projectors, Texas Instruments has been sitting on its laurels, selling overpriced 720p projection processors. Thankfully, BenQ, which just happens to be its largest DLP customer, has managed to talk sense into it.

Based on the recent DLP HD2+ chip, the PE7700 offers a native 1,280x720 resolution and so can handle a 720p video signal pixel for pixel. What catches the eye is the price tag: at launch, it’s available for under £1,500. The PE7700 is primarily aimed as an entertainment projector, the giveaway sign being the white and silver styling of the unit. It’s also a tad porky at 5.5Kg, and is certainly edging in on the large side.

Friendly operation
The styling and build of the PE7700 is excellent on every level, from the glowing orange backlit remote-control to the solid, accessible manual zoom and focus controls. We’re even impressed by the fast menu system, which also manages to be extensive.

What’s really impressive about the PE7700 is the lack of fiddling required to get a good picture. At 1,100 lumens, it delivers enough brightness for presentations in a lit office, and it’s perfect for movie action in a darkened room. Usually, most projectors require at least a minimum level of adjustment, but out of the box, the PE7700’s picture only needs minor fine-tuning of brightness and contrast. The comprehensive remote control helps, with input select, screen-ratio and user-preset controls.

The provided inputs are also geared to the home. Apart from the now-crucial HDMI connection (see ‘New ports for old’), the projector is adorned with RCA component, BNC component, composite and S-Video, although VGA is available only through a supplied BNC adaptor. We would still like a dedicated VGA port for old-school sake.

Vibrant image
The updated HD2+ chip powering the display is similar to the HD2 chip, but increases the mirror tilt to 12 degrees, which boosts the overall contrast ratio to 2,500:1. The resulting blacks are deep, and colours and greyscales are excellent. This model has vibrant greens and yellows, which can be dull on many DLP models. There is slight saturation at the bright end of the spectrum on the red and blue, but nothing worrying. We’re glad to see a 6x colour wheel, which eliminates any rainbow effect.

The widescreen PC-quality image is spectacular, and the 1.37:1 zoom makes it easy to super-size things. Geometry is pin-sharp, with consistent focus across the screen; up close, you can make out every one of the 921,600 pixels. Where things shine are with HD content: PE7700 makes the most of any 720p trailers and films you throw at it.

We were interested to see how well the projector would scale up DVD content; we were pleasantly surprised. We couldn’t spot any additional noise or artifacts from the scaling running over S-Video, while details remained sharp. Built-in filter options allow adjustment of sharpness levels. The projector runs quietly during all this, particularly so on its economy setting.

Our main complaint is with resolution selection: using the HDMI port we could only get 800x600, 1,152x678 and 1,280x720 to work. Using the VGA adaptor opened up 1,024x768, but otherwise those were the limits with our test PC – not a major problem but one worth being aware of. The BenQ PE7700 is the first HD projector that can offer it all: dazzling visual performance at an affordable price.