BenQ GV30 Review : Portable Projector That Hides A Secret | Tech Reviews
If you are one of those who likes to improvise a cinema wherever you go, with this BenQ GV30 projector you will have an all-in-one pack with native 720p resolution and high-quality sound with up to 2.5 hours of autonomy.
First impressions are important, but much more than that is day-to-day performance and the rest of the characteristics of electronic devices. BenQ has done a great job with this model of portable projector it’s good, pretty and… ok just good and pretty.
This is a model that is accompanied by a perfect transport case to prevent it from being damaged during transport. It is clear that we are not dealing with a projector that appears to be of low quality due to its curious disc-shaped design and its finish in this anti-fingerprint white that we like so much.
In fact, to make matters worse, it has an accessory in the form of a magnetic base that allows the projector to be rotated 135 degrees vertically in order to enjoy a projection both on the wall and on the ceiling without effort.
| BenQ GV30 | |
|---|---|
| Dimensions and weight | 120 x 195.8 x 185 mm | 1.6 kg |
| Projection | DLP LED Native resolution 720p Projection ratio 1.2 |
| Maximum brightness | 300 ANSI lumens |
| Light source duration | 20,000 hours | 30,000 h ECO |
| Projection size | Up to 135 inches |
| Operating system | Proprietary (Android TV Dongle) |
| Extras | Remote control | sling transport |
| Voice control | Google Assistant |
| Sound | 2 x 4 W RMS |
| Connections | 2 x HDMI 1.4 external / internal USB-C – DisplayPort Salida 3,5mm minijack Bluetooth 4.2 Wi-Fi 2.4 / 5 GHz |
| Price | 549 euros |
The design of the BenQ GV30 is one of its strengths
This is a portable projector that stands out for its unusual design, with a wheel shape that attracts attention.
On both sides it has the output of the speakers offering a wide stereo field and with a level of bass that we did not expect .
In terms of the materials used, we are dealing with a plastic casing, but of good quality. It is a polycarbonate of remarkable thickness and that gives rigidity to the equipment.
Along with this projector comes a base to rotate it on the horizontal axis and allow projection both on a wall and on the ceiling. This base is held magnetically and makes this rotation very simple and does not require any effort, as you will see in a video afterwards.
In addition to that base, we have a perfect remote control to manage the entire menu, settings, and move around Android TV. It has rubbery buttons with a good touch and enough travel to know when you press and when not.
And yes, we say Android TV because although the projector does not integrate the serial software, it does keep a surprise inside.
If we remove the side cover, we find a perfect hole to insert a FireTV or the dongle that comes in the pack, connect it via HDMI and feed it. And the most interesting thing is that all this is collected inside under the lid , so we can use it without having to hang anything.
It is a projector with a very versatile connection system since it has both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity and physical connections HDMI , USB-C with DisplayPort support and USB-C PD power as well as 3.5mm audio output in case you want to connect it to an external audio system.
Fair image quality for a projector of these dimensions
There are several features that this BenQ GV30 excels at. However, in the image quality section is where it goes most unnoticed. Not bad either, don’t get me wrong.
It is a portable projector that stays at a native resolution of 1,280 x 720 px and a brightness of 300 ANSI Lumens . It is a fair brightness that will allow you to see an image up to 135 inches but in a dark room. Unlike other projectors with this same concept of portability, it lags a bit behind like Samsung’s The Freestyle , for example.
As extras we have an auto keystone and autofocus system that works very well and allows us to continue viewing content after changing the distance or angle of projection.
This projector has a mode of use called Daytime, but it is clear that it is not designed to work with ambient light at distances that are not short since that situation requires much more than the 300 ANSI Lumens that it can deliver.
And it is that in terms of technical specifications, we are left with a native resolution of 720p and depth of 24 bits, that is, it does not reach to be able to correctly offer HDR content neither by brightness nor by color depth .
The resolution is enough to be used on screens up to 80 inches , beyond those 720p they fall a bit short and we will start to see pixels if we look for them. Of course, the image treatment achieves a correct definition even in texts, something important if you watch series and movies with subtitles.
As examples to illustrate the issue of brightness, we can comment that in situations where the color palette is very vibrant, for example cartoons, it behaves quite well. The problem begins when we start to see darker content.
It is there where either you lower the ambient light or it will be unlikely that you will see series like The Mandalorian or Stranger Things correctly.
The problem with such low brightness projectors is that the dynamic range is very small, so from the darkest part to the brightest part there is little range compared to traditional projectors.
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The sound is where this projector really shines.
As we said in the previous section, this projector has audio support that other portable projectors would like to have and that is that it not only offers true stereo thanks to two 4 W RMS full-range speakers each. But they are very well balanced.
We are talking about a good balance in frequencies both in contained volumes where a certain punch in the bass is also noticeable .
When you turn the volume up it sounds good too for what we might expect from projector speakers. We are talking about good clarity in the voice frequencies and more acute and some bass than. without being very deep, they do stand out, have an impact and do not distort.
This projector can also be used to play music via Bluetooth as a portable speaker by turning off the projection system and that is another plus. If, on the other hand, you want to connect this projector to a more powerful or complete sound system, you can do it from the physical minijack connection.
Android TV is the safe bet for this type of device
Something that has surprised us and what I personally have been dealing with for years with other models is that this projector does not need to carry any dongle to view content from any streaming platform or even play a game.
This is possible thanks to an HDMI spike with Android TV . It comes in the pack and has the perfect measurements to be integrated into the hole under its side cover. It has similar dimensions to a FireTV Stick and is also powered from the inside.
Once the projector starts, if it has this plug connected, we have the HDMI source with Android TV. And we are not going to go into detail about what is possible with this operating system because we already know it , but we will have applications such as Prime Video, Disney Plus, Crunchyroll, Apple TV, HBO and much more thanks to its application store.
We miss Netflix although, well, it is possible to load the APK manually in case you want to use it and it is a lesser evil that we have found in different projectors on the market and the impossibility of installing it from the app store is a matter of licenses.
Although it is a product that stands out for its audio, here we do recommend it to be used with Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music and even YouTube / YouTube Music.
Autonomy, versions and price of the BenQ GV30
This portable projector has been on the market for more than a year, although it was in 2022 when it officially arrived in Spain.
It comes in a single pack, with its transport case and the Android TV stick at an official price of 549 euros .
It has direct competition with other projectors such as the Nebula, Anker models and even if we go to the higher price category, the Samsung Freestyle . All of them offer better image quality, without getting excited either, yes.
In price comparison, it seems to us that those 300 ANSI Lumens weigh down a bit, and the price seems a little above where it should be.
However, we do appreciate the versatility of this rotary use of the base and its sound quality.
In terms of autonomy with the integrated battery, we are facing a maximum duration of 2 and a half hours if we use the ECO mode and just over 1 hour and 40 minutes if we use the Daylight mode with maximum brightness.
It is a fair autonomy to watch a movie if we use the “high” brightness mode that it has, so we will need to use it with the light adapter.
It is not a marvel in autonomy, but sufficient for casual uses. Plus you can always plug in a USB-C PD power bank in case you want to keep using it on-the-go.
BenQ GV30 review conclusions
This BenQ projector is a versatile device, capable of projecting onto vertical, sloping walls or ceilings without having to find a way to hold it.
It is capable of auto-adjusting focus and keystone and is small enough to throw in a briefcase in the trunk when you go on a trip.
On the other hand, it is large enough to make you think about whether to carry it in a backpack, since you will surely also have to charge it with its light adapter, or a power bank with USB-C PD to extend its autonomy.
In terms of price, it moves towards the top of this portable category with the handicaps and virtues that we have mentioned. Fair brightness, excellent sound for its size and Android TV software .