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As an ultra-short-throw data projector intended primarily for classroom use, the BenQ MW855UST ($1,999) offers good brightness, resolution, and port selection. When placed very close to the screen, it can throw a large image up to 100 inches (diagonal). The included wall mount makes it easy to permanently install above a screen, and the vertical lens shift makes it easy to the image’s height. Although the Editors’ Choice Epson PowerLite 585W WXGA 3LCD Projector ($1,431.99 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) provided better image quality for data and especially for video in our testing, the MW855UST is worth a close look.
Design and Features
The MW855UST is a DLP-based projector with WXGA (1,280-by-800) native resolution and a 16:10 widescreen aspect ratio. Its rated brightness of 3,500 lumens is above average, and it’s slightly brighter than the 3,300-lumen Epson 585W. The projector is large and heavy, measuring 7.9 by 13 by 11.3 inches (HWD) and weighing 11 pounds.
This projector can either be set up on a table or other surface at the base of the screen, or attached to an included wall mount positioned just above the screen. (The Epson 585W also includes a wall mount.) The MW855UST must be affixed to the wall mount using a bracket that comes attached to the projector. For a tabletop setup, you need to either remove the bracket or prop up the left side of the projector, as the off-center bracket will otherwise cause it to tilt. The W855UST provides up to 8 degrees of vertical lens shift, allowing you to move the image up or down without moving the projector. This provides some leeway in the projector’s placement relative to the screen, so, for example, if your wall mount isn’t at quite the right height relative to the screen, you can adjust the image to compensate for it. You adjust the lens shift using an included hex key (aka, Allen wrench).
The MW855UST has a thorough set of ports. They include two VGA-in ports (which double as component video), one monitor-out port, and two HDMI ports (one of which is MHL compatible for connecting with mobile devices). There are three RCA jacks for composite audio/video jack, one audio-in and one audio-out jack, an S-video port, and an Ethernet port for controlling the projector over a LAN. In addition, there is a USB Type B port, strictly for firmware downloads, a mini USB Type B port for connecting an optional PointWrite interactive module ($199.99), and a USB Type A port for powering the module. To highlight the fact that attaching the projector underneath the wall mount will be the preferred configuration for many users, the labeling on the ports is upside-down when the projector is set on a table and right-side-up when it’s suspended from the mount.
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Unlike the Epson 585W, the MW855UST can project 3D content that’s compatible with the DLP-Link system. You need to purchase a pair of active-shutter DLP-Link glasses, available at various retailers for $50 or less, for each member of your audience.
The projector has a long lamp life, up to 6,000 hours in Eco mode, which matches the Epson 585W. But while replacement lamps for the MW855UST list at $149, Epson sells lamps for the 585W for just $49.
Data-Image Testing
I tested the MW855UST in theater-dark conditions, where it projected an image about 70 inches (diagonal) with the front of the projector about 10 inches from the test screen. The image stood up well to a good amount of ambient light.
In data-image testing using the DisplayMate(Opens in a new window) suite, the MW855UST showed good image quality, and should be fine for typical classroom or business presentations. Overall text quality was good, with black text on white, and white text on black, easily readable at sizes down to 9 points.
See How We Test ProjectorsColor balance was solid, with only the slightest hint of red in some gray backgrounds. However, colors looked slightly muted, with yellows looking a bit mustardy. It’s not unusual for colors to look a little dull with DLP-based projectors, as they tend to have lower color brightness than white brightness. Lower color brightness can affect color quality, and it also means that full-color images won’t be as bright as you would expect from a projector, based on its rated brightness. In LCD projectors such as the Epson 585W, color brightness matches white brightness.
Over a VGA connection, I noticed mild pixel jitter in several gray-scale images during data-image testing. When I adjusted the Phase setting with the remote control, it was reduced, and it disappeared altogether when I changed to an HDMI connection. There were obvious rainbow artifacts—little red-green-blue flashes, especially in light areas against dark backgrounds—in several images. Still, the rainbow effect, which all single-chip DLP projectors are potentially subject to, was not severe enough in data images to be a significant issue.
Video and Audio
The rainbow effect is more of problem in the MW855UST’s video, with rainbow artifacts apparent enough in both 2D and 3D content that those sensitive to the effect would likely be distracted by them. LCD-based projectors like the Epson 585W are free of rainbow artifacts. Color in the MW855UST is well balanced for video, and free of tinting. I did notice more digital noise than usual, in the form of granulation. Sound from the two 10-watt speakers is of decent quality, and loud enough for a small to midsize room.
Conclusion
The MW855UST is a very good ultra-short-throw WXGA data projector intended primarily for classroom use. It’s bright, delivers solid data image quality, and it comes equipped with a wall mount. Feature-wise, it’s very similar to the Epson PowerLite 585W, and offers a few perks that the Epson model lacks, such as vertical lens shift and an extra VGA port. Since theMW855UST’s data-image quality isn’t quite as good as the Epson 585W’s, and its video shows enough rainbow artifacts to be suitable only for fairly short clips, the 585W remains our Editors’ Choice. However, the DLP-based MW855UST can project 3D content, unlike the Epson 585W, so if that’s on your must-have list, it’s the better choice.
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The BenQ MW855UST ultra-short-throw projector offers solid brightness and resolution, can display a large image when very close to the screen, and includes a wall mount.
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