BenQ’s Smartest Projector Yet? W2720i Promises AI-Enhanced Home Cinema

This projector is designed to deliver a theatre-quality experience in modern living spaces. It offers easy setup, high-quality images, and future-proof connectivity, making it an attractive choice for first-time home cinema buyers and anyone seeking an accessible introduction to home projection.

One of the intriguing features of the W2720i is AI Cinema Mode, which automatically adjusts brightness, contrast, and colour settings in real-time to match ambient lighting conditions. Benq says this ‘intelligent system’ aims to ensure viewers experience optimal picture quality without tinkering with complex calibration settings. Whether watching in a dimly lit home theatre or a moderately lit living room, the projector adapts to maintain vibrant, true-to-life visuals. For purists who prefer an untouched, filmmaker-intended experience, the W2720i includes Filmmaker Mode, which disables motion smoothing and preserves original colour accuracy for an authentic cinematic look.

BenQ has recently gained recognition for its commitment to colour precision, and the W2720i looks to continue this legacy. Featuring CinematicColor™ technology, BenQ says this allows the projector to deliver a 90% DCI-P3 colour gamut, ensuring a rich and accurate reproduction of film-grade colours. Each unit undergoes factory calibration, with a Delta E<3 rating for imperceptible colour deviations. Backed by THX and ISF-certified experts, the factory calibration ensures that out-of-the-box performance meets the highest standards of colour fidelity.

HDR enthusiasts will appreciate the W2720i’s support for HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG, allowing for dynamic scene-by-scene contrast and brightness adjustments. BenQ’s HDR-PRO™ technology is claimed to enhance this with multi-stage light control, including Global Contrast Enhancer, Local Contrast Enhancer, and Dynamic Black, delivering deeper blacks and greater shadow detail for an immersive viewing experience.

At the heart of the W2720i is a 4LED light engine, which BenQ rates for a lifespan of up to 30,000 hours in Eco Mode. Or think of it this way - If you were to watch five average feature-length films per week, the projector could last for well over 50 years before reaching its rated lifespan! The actual lifespan may be lower in standard or high-brightness modes, but maintenance is significantly reduced compared to traditional lamp-based projectors.

BenQ has engineered the W2720i to accommodate various room sizes and setups. It features a 1.3x zoom for adaptable placement options, a 120” screen projection from just 2.7m away, a Vertical Lens Shift (±5%) for image height adjustments, and 8-point Corner Fit correction for precise image alignment. These features make the W2720i a compelling option for users seeking hassle-free installation, even in non-dedicated home theatre rooms.

The W2720i comes equipped with Android TV, which BenQ states provides direct access to 4K streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video without additional devices. Chromecast functionality allows seamless content sharing from compatible devices, ensuring a fully integrated streaming experience. HDMI 2.1 with eARC support for audio enthusiasts enables Dolby Atmos pass-through, delivering immersive 7.1-channel surround sound. The projector also includes three HDMI 2.1 (HDCP 2.3) ports, SPDIF optical audio output, USB media playback, and RS232 system integration, ensuring connectivity for various home theatre setups.

The W2720i is shaping up as a notable advancement in the more affordable segment of home cinema projection. It combines cutting-edge AI, HDR advancements, and eco-friendly LED technology in a thoughtfully engineered package. We'll reserve final judgment for now, but look out for our review of the W2720i soon, where we'll test its features and performance.

The projector is available now and sells for US$1,999 / £1,999 / €1,999 / A$3,299

Visit BenQ for more information