I had a lot of fun with BenQ’s GV50 Ceiling Projector, whether gaming or watching movies against my garage door and ceiling. However, some questionable design choices, inconsistent autofocus, and poor battery life are nagging concerns.

Price and Availability

The BenQ GV50 Ceiling Projector is only available via the official BenQ website. It retails for $799 and includes the base, power cord, and remote control. A carry case is available for $59 on the BenQ website.

Entertainment Above Your Head and Beyond

When I first caught wind of BenQ’s GV50 projector, it was posed primarily as a ceiling projector. Note, not one you mount on the ceiling, but one you watch while lying on your back. Admittedly, I was skeptical. How often are we in a position to watch content on our ceilings? Even when I started testing the oddly shaped projector, I was left with only one answer: when you’re lying in bed. This, of course, goes against the convention that you should never put a TV in your bedroom, but I guess I can see the merits if you have a bedroom that allows for such a thing.

Luckily, the circular design and included base allow the projector to face in virtually any direction you need, with a 360-degree horizontal and 135-degree vertical tilt. So, even if you don’t have the ceiling space to enjoy its most luxurious feature, you can still enjoy the surprisingly clear, vibrant, and vivid 1080p image cast against your wall. I know 4K is on its way to being the industry standard, but I really don’t think 1080p is a detriment here. In fact, I fear the price increase for a 4K model when this one is already $800.

Move Aside 4K, 1080p is Still Radiant

So long as ambient lighting is practically nonexistent, colors pop off virtually any flat surface. I tested the GV50 against a cream-colored textured wall and darker garage door and initially saw no reason to invest in a screen. One reason did present itself shortly after, as I noticed the light black outline that presents when the image doesn’t fit the entire light projection. It’s not super distracting, but some may take issue with it. Overall, though, the 500 ANSI lumens, while I’ve tested brighter projectors, made it easy to see and certainly didn’t produce a dull image.

I cycled through a few high-quality ambient YouTube videos and my go-to movie, “Ghostbusters 2” (via Amazon Prime Video), for testing. I was not disappointed with the results. Across the board, the video ran smoothly thanks to the 60Hz refresh rate. Even when I switched over to my Xbox Series S and booted up “Alan Wake 2,” I remained more than pleased with the visual capabilities of the GV50. Gaming can be a bit of a weak point for the projector, though. Despite the advertised 22.4ms response time, there were a few noticeable jumps in latency. It was hardly problematic, just not something I’ve experienced on my monitors or TV.

Port Placement Supports the Projector’s Versatility

The projector supports HDMI, USB-C, and USB-A inputs, which are placed on the device’s side. While rear ports seem most convenient, due to the projector’s range of angles, they wouldn’t have worked on the back without limiting the angle at which you could project a DVD player, game console, or other USB-C-enabled device.

If, for some reason, you need to flip the GV50 to have better access to the ports, the unit automatically flips the image to accommodate.

Very Poor Battery Life

One of the more baffling things about the GV50 is its battery life. BenQ doesn’t really mention that it comes with a built-in rechargeable battery, and it feels intentional considering the dip in performance and limited run-time without an external power supply.

Watching “Ghostbusters II,” even on the power-conserving Eco mode, which lowers the brightness to conserve power, resulting in a duller image, the battery barely made it through the entire movie. To make matters even more confusing, it uses an external power supply to make the unit lighter and more portable, but without a power cord, you’re not watching for all that long.

The USB-C port doubles as both a charging input and output. So, you can keep the GV50 charged via a portable power bank or top off your phone. Considering how little time you get while running on the battery, I wouldn’t recommend the latter.

A Feature-Rich Projector With a Few Flaws

Though the GV50 has a decent number of features to improve the viewing experience, almost all presented some sort of issue. Autofocusing, for example, took more time than expected every time it tried to refocus the image, which wouldn’t have been such a big deal if it didn’t fall out of focus so easily. The worst of it was on the Xbox home screen, which it simply couldn’t home in on. There was always a touch of blurriness until I launched a game, at which point the lens corrected itself until I went back to the home screen.

Additionally, the auto-keystone gave me a few issues. For much of my testing, the GV50 was aimed head-on at a large, flat wall with enough space to mount at least a 100-inch TV. Despite the near-perfect conditions, the image remained slanted on one side, as if the projector were at an angle. Thankfully, you can manually adjust the keystone, but I couldn’t figure out why it refused to straighten the image when nothing should have been causing it to be lop-sided. The same issue presented itself during one of the ceiling tests. Though it did eventually right itself, it took a few tries at launching the automated process.

Other features like obstacle avoidance, image rotation, and digital zoom were better implemented, and worked as I expected. Unfortunately, like with other projectors I’ve reviewed, including the XGIMI Halo+, focus and keystone are critical to the overall experience.

Decent Audio at Higher Volumes

Another pivotal part of enjoying the GV50 is its audio. If you’re not looking to wake up the whole house but still take advantage of the 18W speaker system, which includes a 10W bass, this model may not be for you. At lower volumes, audio is muffled, as if being put through a filter. This effect goes away completely at higher volumes, instead delivering a very clear, enjoyable sound that fills the room.

One of the benefits of the overall circular design is the tri-directional audio flow. There’s no bad seat in the room as sound is emitted from the sides and back, so the purest sound isn’t wasted in some forward projection.

Google TV Runs a Little Slow

Possibly the weakest link in the GV50 is Google TV running on Android 11. I have a Samsung smart TV that’s five years old and very clearly on its way out. Apps take forever to load, and the interface doesn’t always respond to remote inputs. The GV50 reminded me of that old TV. YouTube took a full 30 seconds to load, while quick-swapping from one app to another using the preset app buttons on the remote was even slower.

Some of this bleeds into navigating through apps, as YouTube ran slowly. Netflix was a little quicker but still lagged behind my remote inputs a little here and there. It’s a little frustrating, as the whole smart TV aspect is probably how most users will enjoy the projection on their ceiling, considering the versatility and number of apps available to download.

Should You Buy the BenQ GV50 Ceiling Projector?

I’m on the fence with the BenQ GV50 Ceiling Projector. It’s a fantastic unit that surprisingly benefits from an unusual design. However, its shortcomings are enough to warrant concern when it’s meant to be a portable unit. First and foremost, the battery life is very short, giving a little more than an hour of viewing time before needing to be charged.

Other issues with auto-keystone and autofocus adjustments also seemed unfriendly to the “go anywhere” functionality the GV50 presents, but they’re not so bad that they’re broken. The one thing that shouldn’t sway you is the 1080p and 500 lumens. If anything, the projection is beautiful even if you don’t have a screen.