BenQ Joybee GP2 Mini Projector Preview

[admin]

Almost every complaint we had with the BenQ Joybee GP1 was addressed with the Joybee GP2. They've greatly expanded the number and types of connections. They've included a carrying case for the power supply (and even added an optional battery). The only thing we don't know is if they've reduced the size of the power supply and if the fan noise is still an issue. With 2 gigs of internal memory, HDMI connection, Made for iPhone/iPod dock, doubling of the brightness, and so much more, it's unlikely to matter. If you thought the BenQ Joybee GP1 sounded like a good deal, for $50 more, the Joybee GP2 is an absolute steal.


Discuss "BenQ Joybee GP2 Mini Projector Preview" here. Read the article.

[BMXTRIX]

Being, as I am, a tool when it comes to how projectors are, these little toy mini projectors are stil a few years out it seems. But, this is starting to step into the realm of 'usable' toy instead of 'unusable' toy the way it was for the past few years.

If a unit were in house (if you need someone to test, let me know!) it would be interesting to see if the BenQ could hit the numbers because at 200 lumens it could realistically deliver a very acceptable 80" diagonal screen size in a dark room.

I think that focus issues have been brought up as well as image uniformity, but that seems to hit more with Pico projectors instead of the micro projectors like this BenQ.

The addition of the HDMI input is nice, but it almost would be nicer if it was a multi-use display port connection with both analog (composite through VGA) and digital in a single connection format. I suppose I don't own a laptop anymore that doesn't have a HDMI/DP connection on it, so it may not matter to me or many others if there is a VGA connector.

Brightness, fan noise, and speaker quality.

They are really taking on that first point this year, but we also have a couple of 300 lumen micro projectors out there which are worth note. The fan noise is as yet unknown, but I would bank on the speakers still being extremly low quality.

I would take a case just a bit larger to pack in a bit more oomph from the speakers, as well as a bit more muffler for the fans, or allow for larger, quieter fans.

I figure in 3-5 years we will really start to see LED projectors make inroads on the replacement of traditionally lamped projectors.

Still, this unit is best served as a travel projector for watching movies in the hotel, or having a fun 'game night' with the kids. It will leave customers extremely underwhelmed if you try to use it for PowerPoint in a normally lit boardroom, which will keep this model as a niche market product until it learns to excel for brightness.

[RollTide22]

BmxTrix...

Whatd you think is best in this class of new LED Mini Projectors? And what should someone like me a total KNOOB be looking for when it comes to this type of projector.

[bsomerville]

To connect this projector with my girlfriend's MacBook Pro, we ended up going with the mini DisplayPort to HDMI option (beware, if you go this route, that the projector is HDMI Type C (mini)--not type A as I thought).

However, a very strange thing happens when we connect the projector to the MacBook. All the open windows on the computer become neon purple, or sometimes aqua. The movie itself looks normal, but in order to get the computer back to normal afterwards we have to go to System Preferences > Displays > Color > Calibrate.

I would love to know why this is happening and if there's a fix for it.

[Patrick G.]

Good review.

[SirPickles]

I originally bought a pico projector. Returned it the next day as it was clearly the worst purchase I ever made. I used the money to buy a Joybee GP1. It was great. I bought it in the winter, and here in Oslo Norway, that means you can use it in a normal room nearly 20 hours a day. There was one additional issue which wasn't mentioned in the review which was that the scaling engine struggles and causes odd scanning issues. And since the native resolution of the projector is 858x600, it is a real problem. When summer came around and instead of 20 hours of use per day, ther were 20 hours you couldn't use it, I covered the windows with black cloth which helped a lot, but it was still dim.

I purchased a XJ-240a this summer and when I hooked that up, I started getting full picture quality on a matte medium gray wall with the windows open in summer. That being said, this projector is a 2500 lumen LED/Laser projector and other than not being full HD is the worlds best projector ever. It's half way between the Joybee and a bulb projector in size, and it makes a little too much noise, but the picture quality is the best I've ever seen from any projector.

Now my son and I use both projectors in the same room at the same time to play video games together, but the Joybee is almost entirely unviewable when the XJ-240 is showing mostly bright colors. So I'm currently trying to find whether I should buy the xj-230a as a second projector or the GP2.

Your comment about whether led projectors have caught up would be entirely valid except for the Casio Slim Green projectors which are in a league of their own. By mixing LED and Laser, Casio has produced what must be the greatest product ever. LED doesn't need to catch up to bulb, they have already passed them on nearly every front.

[BMXTRIX]

The Casio projectors are terrible for color quality and aren't just noisy, they are outright loud.

I've tested about 5 different Casio laser hybrid engines and they are a very unique breed of projector which Casio has absolutely fallen flat on its face to deliver the best possible product to consumers.

It is still an extremely budget friendly projector concept, but it absolutely has terrible colors on all their mid-sized models or smaller.

They have their A series, M series, and H series - small, medium, and standard size.

In a shootout between a properly color balanced projector, the Casios were way off on color in all modes, and this is a well documented fact from people who have tried to use them for home theater. Likewise, the high pitched whine from the tiny fans is extremely intrusive to any home theater viewing experience.

What's most unfortunate, is that their H series projector doesn't have this issue.

Why is that unfortunate?

Because every OTHER model they produce they have a 1280x800 native widescreen, but the H series is limited to a XGA (1024x768) projector only. The larger case of that model allows for the extra filters needed to produce a projector which has colors that are far more accurate across the board. As well, it gives room for a full sized fan which moves more air, with less noise.

The entire reason lamp based home theater projectors are so large is not because they have to be, but because the larger size allows for more airflow and less noise! Something Pico and micro projectors just don't deliver, yet no manufacturer has figured out that if you build a full size LED/laser projector with 500+ lumens, in at least 720p format, or better yet, 1080p, and get the colors close to accurate with low noise, that the home theater market is really dying to make it their go to product.

As much as I wish I could recommend the Casio projectors for home use, I simply can't, and I was very excited when I saw their projectors for the first time.

Hopefully Casio will release an H series projector with native HD resolution in the next year so I can test that out and start recommending it to those on a budget.

The hard part is that for about $1,000 you can pick up a true 1080p home theater projector with a lamp which will last about a year or two for typical home use. For those using it 'occassionally' then it could last 3-5 years on the first lamp, which means paying a few hundred dollar premium may not make sense for many at this time.

Still, I would like to see what Optoma will deliver with a follow up to their 500 lumen micro projector.