I had only recently discovered the portable projector market, and honestly thought it was too good to be true, but after getting hands-on with BenQ’s GV1 Portable Projector, I couldn’t believe that such a brilliant display could come out of such a small device.
The BenQ GV1 is equipped with a 470p display that is capable of 200 lumens of brightness and whilst this doesn’t sound like a lot, I was pleasantly surprised with how well it fared for use in not only my bedroom but also to use as being projected on outdoor surfaces at night time.
If you’re somebody who spends a lot of times outdoors, camping as such or somebody who wants to project an image onto a wall outside of your house, then this little projector is perfect. It’ll get you roughly four hours of battery life, and there’s an in-built speaker too, so all you need is the projector and you’re set.
When it comes to getting content onto the projector there’s a number of options. If you’re wanting to connect an external device, the GV1 projector has a USB-C port, so any USB-C device can easily be connected. There’s also a HDMI to USB-C converter in the box, which is what I used to connect my Apple TV 4K, and it felt like the best experience. This would result in me turning the projector on and my Apple TV being there ready to go. Depending on your setup, I was able to connect the Apple TV to my HomePod in my bedroom, but honestly the speakers in the projector themselves really give a nice kick. So much so that BenQ has given this projector a dedicated Bluetooth mode which is easily accessible on the top.
Obviously, you won’t be playing any 4K games on the GV1, but to take it to parties with your Nintendo Switch will be super handy. I was able to whip it out to play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe at other people’s houses with ease and project a large enough image so that everybody could see.
If you’re somewhere where there’s Wi-Fi then there’s a built-in apps such as YouTube which can be downloaded from the built-in Aptoide store, although apps such s Netflix and Disney Plus were available but not compatible.
You’re also able to AirPlay content from your iOS device, although this seemed to be limited to either music or YouTube content with content from other platforms such as Netflix weren’t available. If you’re on Android you can do the same using Google Cast.
If you’re wanting to connect an external device, the GV1 projector has a USB-C port, so any USB-C device can easily be connected. There’s also a HDMI to USB-C converter in the box, which is what I used to connect my Apple TV 4K, and it felt like the best experience. This would result in me turning the projector on and my Apple TV being there ready to go. Depending on your setup, I was able to connect the Apple TV to my HomePod in my bedroom, but honestly the speakers in the projector themselves really give a nice kick. So much so that BenQ has given this projector a dedicated Bluetooth mode which is easily accessible on the top.
The real positives of this device is how easy it is to put anywhere and setup, it’s stable without the need for any kind of tripod. It has a 15 degree tilt so that you can aim it up or down at your surface and it has auto keystone which will automatically adjust the vertical sides of the screen. There’s a little wheel on the size that allows you to get the focus correctly, and it can be a little bit fiddly at times, but once you get it right, the picture looks great.
All-in-all, I think that portable projectors are about to take off in a big way. I was really expecting the quality of something like this to be worse, but the picture is bright, the speakers are very vibrant and it’s super easy to use.
