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The BenQ HT2050 has the best picture quality of any projector under $1000. It's also quiet and very easy to set up, making it a great entry-level projector.
SpecsUpdate
Pros
Pro Amazing picture
The BenQ HT2050 has the best picture quality of any projector under $1000. Compared to other similarly priced projectors, it has better contrast, much higher brightness and more accurate colors. It produces a surprisingly high quality picture for such an in-expensive projector.
The 2200 Lumens of brightness on this BenQ is high enough to deal with some ambient light. You can watch movies in daytime as long as you have the curtains rolled down.
A 15,000:1 contrast ratio means that the white image is 15,000 times brighter than the black image. This gives the projector great black-levels and shadow detail so the dark scenes in movies will look great.
Pro Easy to set up
The 1.3x zoom lens allows some flexibility in the throw distance. The vertical lens shift on this projector lets you move the image up and down by about 10% of the image size. This is helpful if you happen to install the projector with a small offset. Setting up the HT2050 is easy and worry free.
Cons
Con Rainbow effects
Rainbow effects are an issue for this projector, as is the case for most DLP projectors. They create rainbows on bright objects with dark backgrounds, for example streetlights. Some people don’t notice them, some find them extremely annoying. Luckily, the BenQ proves to show less rainbow artifacts than an average DLP.