Specifications
The BenQ Joybee GP1 uses DLP technology and has a SVGA resolution on 858 x 600. The little projector offers 100 ANSI lumens of brightness and a contrast ratio of 2000:1. The aspect ratio is 4:3 or 16:9 and is user selectable. The display can show 16.7 million different colors. The zoom ratio is fixed and the projector can throw an image from 15-inches to 80-inches.

The projector also supports 720p and 1080i resolution. Connectivity options include D-sub, component video, composite video, and USB reader. Outputs include a stereo mini jack and a 2-watt speaker. Overall projector dimensions are 136 x 54 x 120mm and the projector weighs 1.4 pounds.

In Use
The BenQ Joybee GP1 is small, but it is about twice as large as the Aaxa Pico Projector I reviewed previously. An accessory iPod/iPhone dock is available for the BenQ Joybee GP1, but it was not provided with my test unit. The BenQ Joybee GP1 looks like a miniature version of any full size projector with a square shape that is about the size of a CD case, but much thicker.

On the top of the projector are the touch sensitive controls and the focus knob. On the rear of the projector are the input jack and a USB port. Using the USB port you can plug in any USB drive that contains video or images and directly play them back via the projector without needing a computer.

The input cable also includes RCA inputs that will allow you to connect cable boxes and many other types of electronic devices to the projector. On the bottom of the device is a standard tripod port to allow for playback in spaces with no desk or shelf to sit the projector on.

BenQ claims that the LED projector covers 120% of the NTSC color gamut. For use in locations where a white wall or a projector screen may not be available, the BenQ Joybee GP1 features a wall color correction system for better image quality. The projector can be optimized to work on light yellow, pink, light green, and blue walls as well as on blackboards.

The onboard sound system has a 2W speaker that offers good volume levels allowing it to be heard even in larger spaces. Other features of the projector include automatic keystone adjustment so you get a perfect square without fussing about with settings.

For testing I streamed Hulu videos form the Internet and used a USB drive to playback some BenQ supplied videos. The USB streaming functionality of the BenQ Joybee GP1 is dead simple to use. All you need to do is plug in the USB drive, pick video or images and the video plays. Image quality is very impressive on most video and image sources. Colors are bright and vibrant with realistic skin tones and good brightness.

One of the videos provided by BenQ showed the most significant issue with the BenQ Joybee GP1 -- motion tearing. One of the videos was of an Asian countryside with lots of trees, flowers, bees and other things. The still images of flowers and slower moving items like people walking and buds flitting around were smooth and had great color.

In one of the movie scenes, an old steam locomotive shoots down the rails. The fast moving train had some significant motion blur and tearing in parts of the image. I also noticed motion blur in videos streamed from Hulu. I think that the BenQ Joybee GP1 projector will find more use in presentation environments that for video playback, the projector really isn’t aimed at home theater use anyway so for most users the motion blur problem may not be that big a deal.