AV & Presentation | News

BenQ Ships 3,000-lumen, $700 Projector

• By David Nagel
• 12/04/12

The new BenQ MX520 offers a lamp life of up to 6,500 hours.

BenQ has started shipping its new MX520 projector, a midrange model designed for medium-sized rooms. The DLP-based MX520 is designed for energy savings and provides up to 6,500 hours of lamp life.

The MX520 is an XGA-resolution projector (1,024 x 768 pixels) offering a brightness of 3,000 lumens and a contrast ratio of 13,000:1. It's capable of displaying 1.07 billion colors and offers support for a range of 3D formats, including 3D frame packing, side by side, field sequential, and top-bottom.

On the economy side, it includes a feature called SmartEco mode, which dynamically adjusts light output to the bare minimum required for optimal contrast and brightness. It also includes other energy-saving features, such as eco blank mode (which lets presenters blank the screen manually to reduce power consumption by 70 percent), automatic blank mode when no source is detected, auto power off, and 0.5 watt standby mode.

Other features include:

• 1.1x zoom;
• ±40-degree vertical keystone correction;
• 120 percent offset ±5 percent;
• 4,500- to 6,500-hour lamp life;
• Integrated mono 2 watt speaker;
• 60 percent reduction in cool-down time; and
• Direct power on and instant restart.

AV inputs include HDMI, dual mini D-sub 15-pin, S-video, composite video, dual stereo minijacks, and stereo RCA jacks. AV outputs include monitor out (mini D-sub 15-pin) and stereo minijack. Networking and control ports include USB type B, RS-232, and IR.

The new model measures 11.31" (w) x 4.5" (h) x 9.15" (d) and weighs in at 5.28 pounds.

The MX520 is available now for $699. Additional details can be found on BenQ's site.