The BenQ HT1075 3D home-entertainment projector ($1,099) is most notable for a feature it doesn't yet have at this writing. BenQ plans to offer a Wireless Full HD accessory ($349 list), so you can connect the projector to a video source—even in another room—to show 1080p video without having to string cables. Not having that option available to test makes it impossible to know how well it will work, but even without it, the HT1075 ($892.60 at Amazon) offers enough to make it worth considering.

Aside from being DLP-based, the HT1075 has a lot in common with the LCD-based Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 2030 ($895.00 at Amazon) , which is our Editors' Choice 1080p home-entertainment projector. In addition to full-HD native resolution, both models are similar in their rated brightness, weight, size, and even feature sets. Both, for example, include two HDMI ports, one of which is Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL)-enabled, which opens up possibilities like being able to plug in, say, a Roku Stick for streaming TV.

Both are definitively home-entertainment projectors, suitable for supplementing or replacing a TV in a family room, rather than home-theater projectors designed primarily for permanent installation in a room with theater-dark lighting.

A projector in a family room or living room requires a bright image that can stand up to ambient light. Following the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) recommendations for theater-dark lighting, the HT1075's rated 2,200 lumens would be bright enough with a 1.0 gain screen for an image size of 183 to 248 (diagonal) inches. In moderate ambient light, it's bright enough for roughly a 120- to 130-inch image.

For smaller screen sizes or dimmer lighting, you can also lower the HT1075's brightness by switching to Eco mode or a lower brightness mode. Keep in mind, however, that as with most DLP projectors—and unlike LCD projectors like the Epson 2030—the HT1075 has lower color brightness than white brightness. I measured the difference at about 20 percent in each of its predefined modes. So although its rated brightness is a little higher than the Epson 2030's rated white brightness, its actual brightness for full-color images is a little lower. (For more on color brightness, see Color Brightness: What It Is, Why It Matters.)

One other factor that makes the HT1075 a home-entertainment projector is its built-in sound system. The 10-watt mono speaker delivers suitable quality and enough volume to fill a family room or living room.

Basics and Setup

Like most home-entertainment projectors, including the Epson 2030 and the BenQ W1080ST ($949.46 at Amazon) , the HT1075 is small and light compared with home-theater projectors. It measures 4.1 by 12.2 by 9.6 inches (HWD) and weighs 6.3 pounds. Setup is mostly standard, with a manual focus and 1.3x zoom. One useful extra is a vertical lens shift that can move the image up or down from the center position by about 5 percent of the screen height. The lens shift makes it a little easier to position the projector without having to tilt it up or down, and then having to worry about adjusting the image for keystone distortion.

Connectors for image input on the back panel include two HDMI ports, along with the usual VGA and composite video ports. In addition, there's a component video input, with three RCA-phono plugs. There's also a USB Type A port, but it's strictly for power output. You can connect a cell phone to charge, for example, but you can't read files from a USB memory key.

The MHL-enabled HDMI port makes it easy to connect a compatible phone or tablet to show images. And because both HMDI ports support all of the HDMI 1.4a 3D formats, you can show 3D from video sources like a Blu-ray player or a cable box. Still other ports include both RCA and mini-jack audio-in ports and a mini-jack audio-out for an external sound system. And the optional Wireless Full HD accessory, which BenQ expects to be available by the end of 2014, will add another connection choice. 

2D and 3D Performance

Image quality for the HT1075 was good, but well short of excellent in my tests. The projector handled shadow detail (details based on shading in dark areas) well, and I saw barely a hint of posterization (shading changing suddenly where it should change gradually) in clips that tend to cause that problem. Colors are nicely saturated, and color quality is more than acceptable, although a little dulled down, as is typical for a slightly low contrast ratio.

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Unfortunately, the projector tends to show judder easily—the jerkiness in movement that's inherent in movies filmed at 24 frames per second. I even saw it in one clip with people simply moving their arms. I also saw some moderately obvious noise, even when I tried turning noise reduction to maximum.

One other potential issue, which the HT1075 shares with most single-chip DLP projectors, is that it shows rainbow artifacts, with light areas breaking up into flashes of red, green, and blue. If you see these flashes easily, as I do, you will definitely detect them with the HT1075. However, they show far less often than with many DLP projectors, so even those who are sensitive to them aren't likely to find them bothersome.

For 3D capability, the HT1075 offers essentially the same strong points as for 2D, with the additional benefit of much less of a tendency to show judder. I saw only the slightest hint of 3D-related motion artifacts, and I didn't see any crosstalk. Note that BenQ doesn't include any DLP-Link glasses with the projector, however, and you need 144Hz, rather than earlier-generation 120Hz, versions. BenQ's glasses are $59 each.

If you insist on a projector that's absolutely free of rainbow artifacts, you'll need to look at three-chip LCD models, like the Editors' Choice Epson 2030. Beyond that, if you want a projector for a small space, you might be better served with the BenQ W1080ST, which offers a short throw lens to give you a big image with the projector close to the screen. If you don't need the short throw, however, and you don't see rainbow artifacts easily, or at least don't find them bothersome, the BenQ HT1075 offers a bright, reasonably good image, with the tantalizing promise of wireless setup, once the Wireless Full HD accessory becomes available later this year.

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Further Reading

• How We Test Projectors
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• Hands On With ZTE's SPro2 Smart Projector