The BenQ GV30 (review), which was launched back in 2021, came with a radical new circular design that completely changed the way we look at portable projectors. Since the projector can rotate on its axis with the magnetic stand, you can adjust its projection as per your requirement with tremendous ease. On top of this, the streaming device from BenQ can be placed inside the projector like a battery and it works like a charm. The one common thing about successful designs is that they stick around. And this is what BenQ has done with this GV series of portable projectors. The new GV31 comes with the same design but still includes massive upgrades. These make it such a drastically different device that the brand has still not discontinued the GV30.
GV30 continues to be available for Rs 41,989 in India while the GV31 is currently available for Rs 59,990. As these projectors cater to different audiences in different price segments, it would be wise to not treat this as a direct successor to the GV30 but rather a different product altogether. Having clarified that, let me share my experience with the GV31.
Design
The GV31 is an LED projector that features a compact design and a rotating angle projection, enabled by a magnetic base. It measures 131.3 x 203.2 x 191.4mm and weighs just 1.7kg, making it ideal to carry around in a bag to parties. For other projectors, you have to change the stands or place them at a certain angle to change the projection angle. In the case of the GV31, you can simply rotate the projector to cast an image on either a wall or even the ceiling without having to change the stand or place something beneath the projector to give it the required elevation. The GV31’s rotating lens offers a massive range of projection angles. On top of this, the projector’s stand allows for convenient adjustment.
- HDMI port
- USB Type-A port
- USB Type-C port (supports data transmission, DisplayPort output (DP Alt Mode), and power delivery (PD inputs and outputs)
- Audio jack
- Charging port
Much like the GV30, the GV31 also comes with a mesh design on both sides. Also, you can remove the right side cover to get access to the dedicated slot where you can either use the brand’s own streaming device (QS02) or you can even plug in an Amazon Fire TV stick. At the top, the projector comes with just four buttons – input, volume up/down, and power buttons.
The BenQ GV31 remote controller is fairly long but comes with most of the essential keys and the build quality is pretty good too. Due to the large size of the remote and its white colour, it isn’t easy to misplace it either.
Features
Despite being a compact offering, this portable BenQ projector comes loaded with a lot of features. It boots Android 11.0 out of the box (which means you get access to all the popular streaming apps) and uses a DLP projection system. For the uninitiated, this is a type of projector technology that uses a digital micromirror device (DMD) to produce images. At the heart of a DLP projector is the DMD chip, which is covered with thousands (or millions) of tiny mirrors. Each mirror represents one pixel in the projected image. The GV31 comes with a native resolution support of 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixels) and has an LED as the light source. The life of this light source is expected to be 20,000 hours in Normal mode and 30,000 hours in Eco mode. Some of the key features of the BenQ GV31 are the following:
- Peak brightness of 300 ANSI lumens
- Contrast ratio of 100,000:1
- Native aspect ratio of 16:9
- A throw ratio of 1.2
While the peak brightness might not look impressive on paper, in real-world usage, it was never an issue for me while watching content in a dark enough room. The contrast ratio is particularly good for the price range and allows for depth and detail in both the bright and dark scenes.
But the interesting aspect here is that the projector comes with a built-in battery as well! This allows the projector to offer up to 300 minutes of music playtime and 180 minutes of video playtime without being plugged into a power source. This makes it a perfect companion to an outdoor party where you would typically not be able to find a source of power. Keep in mind that this claimed battery life also depends on the content type, media source, and projector settings. In my usage, I ended up getting around two hours and 15 minutes of video playback before the battery died on me. This means that you can watch a movie or 2-3 episodes of your favourite show with ease. If you carry a power bank, you can easily use this projector through the night.
The projector offers a 98 percent coverage of the Rec. 709 colour gamut and comes with Bright, Cinema, Daytime, Game, Living Room, and Sports picture modes. At 1080p (60Hz), the projector presents an input lag of 45ms. The GV31 supports Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi Standard 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax (2.4GHz/5GHz), and wireless projection features (AirPlay and Google Cast).
Viewing experience and sound
One of the best aspects of having the GV31 with you is that you do not feel that you are limited in any sense. You can easily pick it up and take it to your friend’s place, you can easily place it in any room of your house, and you can even start projecting on your ceiling if you feel like it. From a distance of just seven feet, the projector can get you an image size of up to 80 inches. If you place it at a distance of 8.7 feet, you can get an image size of a whopping 100 inches. The maximum image size goes up to 120 inches but if you want to get the best picture quality, I would recommend setting the size to around 90 inches at most. And setting up is an easy process too with the Smart Autofocus feature that lets you avoid the hassle of manual adjustment. With Auto vertical keystone, the projector instantly provides you with a square image too.
But let’s move on to the most important aspect of any projector – image quality. Thankfully, the GV31 provides clear and detailed visuals with a surprising level of colour accuracy. I watched some of my favourite movies and TV shows on this projector and I enjoyed this experience, despite being capped at 1080p resolution. I would love to see a future version of this projector supporting up to 4K resolution too but even in 1080p, the content quality was quite impressive and for most people, the picture quality at offer would be more than sufficient. One caveat, which comes along with any projector in this price range is that any ambient light will result in a drastic drop in legibility.
BenQ has been pitching the GV31 as the “Best Partner for Portable Parties” and this is a particularly smart move. With a built-in battery, convenient setting up process, compact and lightweight design and a rotating angle projection, this projector is meant to be carried with you. It is not just about the picture quality but the enjoyment of watching movies, TV shows, or your videos with your friends in the most effortless way. As most of us shoot videos of each other in 1080p resolution and not 4K, this projector captures a sweet spot of price sensitivity, image quality, form factor, and portability.
Coming to the sound, the BenQ GV31 features an integrated 2.1-channel sound system with Trevolo-branded dual 4W midrange tweeters and an accurate 8W woofer. Notably, you can play music straight from the GV31 via built-in streaming apps and the dedicated wireless speaker mode. I found the audio performance offered by the projector to be pretty good and I didn’t feel the need to connect my soundbar to it. Volume level and audio quality were both satisfactory with the built-in speakers.
Verdict
With a compact and lightweight design, the BenQ GV31 is a portable projector that is ideal for both indoor use and outdoor parties. This device has been designed keeping convenience in mind and it successfully achieves that. In my time with this device, I thoroughly enjoyed switching it on and setting it to my preferred angle in any room. If you want a better image quality and a dedicated home theatre setup, you can always go for the higher priced X300G (review) but if you just want a projector to have a good time at parties with your friends and family, the GV31 is the ideal candidate. It offers an impressive image quality and even the sound offered by the built-in speakers is pretty good. Having said that, I would want BenQ to launch its successor with a native 4K display resolution and a better battery backup. If that happens, the next device in this series will dominate the market and how.
Editor’s Rating: 8.0 / 10
Pros:
- Compact and portable design
- Built-in battery
- Good image quality
- Rotating angle projection
Cons:
- Battery backup could’ve been better
- High input lag is not ideal for gaming
