BenQ W5850 Review | 84 Data compared

The BenQ W5850 is a unique 4K home cinema projector priced at £4599, distinguishing itself in a highly competitive market with a specialized shorter-throw lens. This physical design allows users to cast a significantly larger image within smaller room constraints, making it highly practical for coffee-table setups. Physically, the projector features a large but svelte chassis that measures 53cm wide. While wider than some competitors, it maintains a slimmer and shallower depth profile, accentuated by elegant "swoopy" lines and a gold ring surrounding the lens cavity. It also features a unique, tactile installation process where the lens arrives packaged separately and must be manually twisted into place. In terms of market positioning, the primary drawback of the BenQ W5850 is the fierce competition it faces from established rivals at this price tier. Specifically, the highly acclaimed Sony VPL-XW5000ES laser projector—originally priced higher at £5999—frequently retails for the same price or less than the W5850, ultimately keeping Sony at the top of this category. Additionally, buyers have to weigh it against the Epson EH-QB1000, which sits nearby at £4799. While the...

The Sony VPL-XW5000ES retains its class-leading crown in this head-to-head review due to its superior fundamental performance, utilizing true native 4K resolution and highly effective X1 Ultimate processing to deliver exceptional image sharpness, depth, and motion handling. The Sony excels with impressive black levels and a cinematic True Cinema mode that eliminates motion blur without creating an artificial "soap opera" effect. On the downside, it features a lower peak brightness rating of 2000 lumens, relies on tedious manual lens adjustments, lacks HDR10+ support, and suffers from occasional "black crush" or raised black levels during rare, very dark scenes that contain high-contrast bright highlights. In comparison, the newcomer BenQ W5850 stands out as a highly capable five-star challenger, offering a short-throw 16-element lens capable of projecting a massive 180-inch image from just four meters away, making it ideal for smaller spaces. Its standout strengths include a higher 2700-lumen brightness, motorized lens controls, HDR10+ compatibility, and immaculate, factory-calibrated color accuracy that perfectly reproduces the DCI-P3 spectrum. However, the BenQ falls short because it relies on DLP XPR pixel-shifting technology rather than native...