BenQ MH733 Review: Budget Projector for your Presentations

Recently, numerous projectors are being released solely marketed towards gaming and home cinema. This has somehow neglected one of the main contributors to the popularity of projectors; presentations. Needless to say, you can use a gaming or home cinema projector for presentations (business or classroom). The drawback is, you will have to pay for features that you will not necessarily use.

For example, if you’re only doing presentations, low input lag or 4K resolution is of no use to you. Cinematic color technologies might also not be a priority, but could be helpful. The features serve to inflate the prices of projectors. Fortunately, there is a projector designed for business and education presentations.

BenQ MH733 is a full HD DLP projector designed and marketed towards a single goal; to enhance presentations. Despite only having a single DLP chip it performs remarkably well in terms of brightness and sharpness compared to the 3LCD projectors. It also performs outstandingly well on cinema mode delivering accurate colors. Individuals intending to use this projector for business and education presentations stand a chance to get the best out of it.

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That being said, let’s have a deeper dive into its features.

Features of BenQ MH733

A bright projector to support your presentations

BenQ MH733’s lamp has a light output of 4000 ANSI lumens. It is among the brightest projectors in the market today. If you need to present in a room with ambient light, it won’t be a problem. We must mention that this is the brightest mode, in other selected modes, this projector will not be as bright. It is also important to know that most projectors tend to have a ~25% deficit in lumination from the value claimed by the manufacturer. The MH733 is no exception.

In the Eco and Cinema modes, the light output is bound to plummet dramatically to:

• Save energy and
• Deliver accurate cinematic colors respectively.

In large meetings, this will promote collaborations, note-taking, discussions, etc. This projector’s lamp has such a high light output that allows the people sitting the furthest in the room to see it and contribute. This is also facilitated by the large screen size, which brings us to the next section.

Large image size

This projector is capable of producing a 300” image. This is a very large image size that supports presentations in large conference rooms/classrooms. It enables the people farthest in the room to see the image clearly and participate. The recommended clear image size is 60” – 180”. This is still large enough as most projectors are usually not clear past 120” of image size.

Good throw ratio

The BenQ MH733 is not a short-throw projector, but the throw ratio is still quite good. It has a throw ratio of 1.15~1.5, which allows you to project a 100” image at 10 feet away from the projection surface. So if you have a small conference room, it won’t be a problem. The adequate image size can still be projected.

Flexibility in installation

This projector weighs about 5.5lbs and has the following dimensions 4.7h x 11.7W x 8.7D. It is compact and lightweight, you can easily lift it with a single hand. For this reason, it doesn’t need to be installed permanently in one room. You can easily move it to different rooms. It also has the option to be placed on a surface (usually a table) or mounted on the ceiling. So if you’re a presenter on the go, this is the projector for you.

The MH733 has a 2D vertical keystone correction of ± 30 degrees and an additional horizontal keystone correction of ±25 degrees. This makes it more flexible than most projectors which have only a vertical keystone correction. The vertical keystone correction serves to eliminate the trapezoid image generated as a result of placing the projector at an angle. It will allow you to adjust image distortion at the top and bottom.

The horizontal keystone correction, on the other hand, will allow you to adjust distortion at the left and right sides. You don’t have to move the projector to get an even image. This projector also has a 1.3x zoom that allows you to enlarge images to this extent.

The MH733 has a Corner Fit feature that does a similar job to the lens shift feature present in more high-end projectors. This feature allows you to adjust all 4 corners of the image independently, resulting in an even and professional image.

All of these features contribute to the flexibility of this projector. It does not place limits on the environments in which you can install it.

Full HD resolution with 3D support

It has a native 1080p full HD resolution that generates high-quality and clear images. The 1080p has over 2 million pixels that ensure that an image does not lose its quality as the size gets larger. So from 60” to 180”, the 1080p resolution functions to maintain a high degree of clarity in images generated by this projector. It also supports 3D content.

Color performance

The color performance in MH733 depends on the picture modes selected. It is quite a versatile projector having 7 picture modes: 3D, Bright, Cinema, User 1, User 2, sRGB, and Presentation.

For this projector, color accuracy is optimum in the Cinema picture mode. As expected, the brightness drops in this mode, to 2350 ANSI lumens. Despite being made for presentations, the color performance in this mode can actively compete with some low-end home cinema projectors. Apart from the sRGB mode, the other modes still struggle with color accuracy. This should not be a problem because a majority of presentations do not involve colors.

It has a 6 segment RGBYCW color wheel that enables it to deliver accurate colors. The white and yellow segments of this color wheel enable the MH733 to deliver a high level of brightness. It also has a high contrast ratio (16,000:1) to generate sharper text, which does not lose sharpness as image size increases. This will reduce strain for your audience.

In general the MH733 delivers very accurate colors to adequately support your presentations even when they have watchable media content, such as videos.

Long lamp life

In the LampSave mode, BenQ MH733’s lamp can last up to 15,000 hours (that’s almost 2 years). In the Economic and Bright modes, it lasts 8000 and 4000 hours respectively. This is sufficient time for you to use the projector without worrying about replacing the lamp. At 240 W, this lamp consumes less power. You can always switch to the economic mode to extend lamp life.

10W speakers audio

It has a 10W mono speaker capable of providing adequate sound if your presentation involves media files. Even with surrounding sound in the room, this speaker is still loud enough. It has a minor limitation however, the volume control is irregular. Even the lowest sound setting is still loud. If you need audio that can get quitter, we recommend that you connect it to an external sound system.

Network-powered presentations

The MH733 is compatible with most projector control systems such as Crestron, AMX, PJ-link, and Extron Control IP link. These systems allow you to remotely control the projector via a local area network (LAN). Crestron for example, allows you to control the projector via a web browser.

Just like other BenQ projectors, it is compatible with the QCast app when connected to the internet. You can use this to project content from your phone, PC, or other smart devices on the big screen. This is convenient if you have the content you want to present on your device.

It allows you to connect up to 4 different devices via the QCast app, allowing your team to collaborate effectively. You can also split the screens so that different screens are presented simultaneously.

USB reader for PC-less presentations

What if you do not have a PC? No problem. The MH733 has a USB Type-A port for connecting your flash drive. You can place files on your flash drive and use it for presentations. This projector supports a wide variety of files including PDFs, JPEG images, MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, etc.

Low fan noise

When powering up the MH733, the fan noise generated is considerably low. In the bright mode it generates about 33dB while in the Eco mode, this number falls to 27dB. Fan noise can be quite annoying, especially in a quiet conference room. The MH733 ensures that you don’t have to go through that.

Moderate power consumption

This projector typically consumes 320W of power. This is still within acceptable margins, but some projectors consume much less. In the standby mode, however, it consumes as little as 0.5V only, but 2.0W when connected to a network. This power consumption allows it to operate at temperatures below 40 degrees celsius.

Affordable pricing with a good warranty

BenQ MH733 retails at less than $1000 which is justified by the features it is offering. One of the best things about BenQ projectors is their outstanding warranty. The MH733 is no exception, having a limited warranty of 1 year. It is important to note that projector lamps, refurbished products, mounts, and all other accessories are excluded from this warranty. This long period warranty will allow you to comfortably purchase the product knowing there is ample time for customer service provided the projector malfunctions.

Having looked at the features, does this projector have any limitations? Let’s compare the pros and cons to find out.

BenQ MH733 Pros

Optimized for presentations

This projector was designed to specifically address the needs for an optimum presentation. Whether it is a business conference room or a classroom, it’s got you covered. The size of the room is not an issue as it can generate large sizes of images while still maintaining clarity. The audio is adequate for this purpose as well. It is well integrated to support a wide variety of file formats and media.

Useful accessories

Within the package, this projector comes with a standard 1.5m VGA cable to connect your PC monitor to the projector. It also comes with a lens cover to protect the lens from mechanical damage and 3D glasses, which are optional, for your 3D content.

BenQ MH733 Cons

Irregular volume control on the speakers

The lowest volume of the speakers in this projector still produces a considerable amount of noise. Suppose you want some quieter sound, let’s say if you’re in a smaller room, you will be forced to acquire an external sound system.

Distorted color in bright modes

Just like all bright projectors (>2000 ANSI lumens), there is a green bias in the brightest modes for this projector. So when using it in a room with ambient light, the color won’t be fully accurate. Fortunately, the Cinema mode corrects this problem.

30% brightness deficit

The manufacturer indicates that this projector’s lamp has a light output of 4000 ANSI lumens. Tests done indicate that the lamp’s light emission is 30% less than that indicated by the manufacturer. This can be misleading, especially if you were looking for a very bright projector.

If these cons have been off-putting for you, here are some alternatives to consider.

Alternatives

If you’re not satisfied with what BenQ MH733 has to offer, here are some alternatives to consider:

• BenQ MH760
• BenQ MH750

Both the MH760 and the MH750 are brighter than the MH733, having a light output of 5000 and 4500 ANSI lumens respectively. The screen size of MH733 remains unmatched. The MH760 has a more powerful 20W speaker. With both alternatives, you should be willing to part with more money to purchase them as they both retail at above $1000. That being said we still think that the MH733 is the better option.

Conclusion

BenQ MH733 is a remarkable projector in a niche that is not currently hot in the market. It would be a wonderful addition to your presentations as it is well equipped to ensure they are efficient and collaborative. Its competitors offer nothing over it, despite costing a lot more. So if you’re looking for a projector to support your presentation, look no further than BenQ MH733.