Pros & Cons
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- Low price.
- Lightweight.
- Bright.
- Long lamp life.
- Strong sound system.
- Can project 3D content.
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- Rainbow artifacts and noise in video.
BenQ MX570 Specs
| Engine Type | DLP |
| Inputs and Interfaces | Analog VGA |
| Inputs and Interfaces | HDMI |
| Inputs and Interfaces | USB |
| Native Resolution | 1024 by 768 |
| Rated Brightness | 3200 |
| Weight | 4.2 |
As far as budget data projectors go, the BenQ MX570 ($529) offers a good feature set. It's bright, lightweight, and has long lamp life, a nice selection of ports, and a more-than-minimal zoom ratio. Data-image quality is usable, though not spectacular, and video is decent for a DLP-based model. The MX570 represents a good value for a school or business on a tight budget that needs a general-purpose projector for data presentations and light video use.
Design
This DLP-based projector has an XGA (1,024-by-768) native resolution with a 4:3 aspect ratio, and a rated brightness of 3,200 lumens,the 1.3X zoom provides some flexibility in placing the projector relative to the screen. The all-white MX570 weighs 4.2 pounds and measures 3.7 by 11.1 by 8.7 inches (HWD). It lacks a carrying case, which is not unusual at its price point.
View All You get a solid set of ports for a budget projector. They include two VGA-in ports (which double as component video), one VGA monitor-out, an HDMI port, an RCA jack plus an audio-in port for composite audio/video, an S-video port, an audio-out jack, and an RS232 jack.
An Ethernet port lets you connect to a LAN, and remotely operate the projector using a Web browser. There's also a mini-USB Type B port for connecting with a computer. Considering the highly portable nature of this projector, it would be nice to use it for PC-free projection. Alas, there's no USB Type A port for USB thumb drives
Not only is the MX570 modestly priced, it has lower running costs than most projectors of its brightness. Its lamp is rated at up to 10,000 hours when its Eco features are employed.
Data-Image Testing
In testing, the MX570 projected a 55-inch (diagonal) image to fill our test screen from about 6 feet away. The introduction of ambient light did not harm image quality at all.Using the using the DisplayMate suite, the MX570's data-image quality was fairly good, and should be fine for displaying typical business or classroom presentations. Overall text quality was decent, as black text on white, as well as white text on black, are easily readable at sizes as small as 9 points.
Color balance was reasonably good, although I noticed that some gray backgrounds looked a bit greenish. Colors, particularly reds and yellows, seemed muted, with reds looking dull and yellows somewhat mustardy. We frequently see this in DLP-based projectors, which—as opposed to LCD models, whose color brightness matches their white brightness—tend to have lower color brightness than white brightness, but this was a little more obvious than usual.
In testing, rainbow artifacts—little red-green-blue flashes, especially in light areas against dark backgrounds—were visible in images that tend to bring them out. This rainbow effect, which all single-chip DLP projectors are potentially subject to, is seldom a problem in data images, and it shouldn't be with this projector.
See How We Test Projectors
Video and Audio
Based on our testing, the MX570's video quality is suitable for shorter clips as part of a presentation. Although its rainbow effect wasn't particularly severe for a DLP projector, I saw rainbow artifacts frequently enough that people sensitive to the effect would likely be distracted by them. There was a loss of detail in some bright areas, colors (especially reds) were dull in some scenes, and I also noticed an unusual amount of digital noise in the form of graininess.
The upside for the MX570's video is that this projector is capable of projecting 3D content from Blu-ray players or from PCs. To view 3D content, you do need to get active-shutter DLP-link-compatible 3D glasses for each member of your audience, as they are not included. Audio from the MX570's 10-watt speaker is fairly loud, and suitable for a small to midsize room.
Conclusion
The MX570 is a bit brighter than the Epson PowerLite 98 XGA 3LCD Projector , our Editors' Choice low-price XGA data projector, and it can project 3D content, which the Epson 98 is unable to manage. Both projectors have good audio systems, with the Epson 98's even more powerful than the MX570's, thanks to a 16-watt speaker. In our tests, the MX570's data-image quality fell a little bit short of that of the Epson 98, as the latter has better color quality and displays type that's readable at smaller sizes. The MX570's video quality also wasn't quite as good as that of the Epson 98. While the MX570's tendency to show rainbow artifacts isn't particularly severe for a DLP projector, they're still visible, unlike with the LCD-based, rainbow-free Epson 98.
The MX570 has an unusually long lamp life (for a non-LED-based projector) of up to 10,000 hours, while the Epson 98's lamp life tops out at a very good, but mortal 6,000 hours. However, Epson's replacement bulbs are inexpensive, at $99 each, so even if you have to replace one or two over the life of the projector, it won't break the bank.
Overall, the BenQ MX570 strikes a good balance between price, features, and performance. It has a good zoom range, a useful set of connection ports, a long lamp life, and a loud sound system. It can project 3D content and is quite portable. Although its image quality for both data and video is best described as solid, if unimpressive, it offers enough features to make it a viable choice as a budget projector for a school or business.