Review:/ Christopher Holder

SYSTEM SPEC

The EH620’s operating system is an IoT version of Windows 11. There are advantages here.

The first is the user interface. You can work within the familiar Windows 11 ‘desktop’ interface or you can operate within BenQ’s ‘Launcher’ UI or you can toggle easily between the two.

The Launcher UI is friendly and graphical. The Launcher Home screen is dominated by three buttons accounting for the three key operations you’ll want to instantiate — sharing, VC and finding files.

Like I said, it’s friendly (written as a dyed-in-the wool MacOS person).

For enterprise clients, the Windows 11 OS means you’re immediately speaking the IT department’s language. The projector can be seamlessly incorporated into an enterprise Microsoft platform. Thanks to the Windows OS, the EH620 has beefed up security features, including WPA2-Enterprise wireless security to protect all of its Wi-Fi traffic and also features AES-128 data encryption. For any business that takes its IT seriously, this is a big deal.

VC FRIENDLY

When it comes to video conferencing, IT Admins will also appreciate the Windows and Teams pairing. Naturally, the EH620 isn’t preloaded with Microsoft Office but if you’re a Microsoft customer, the tools will play seamlessly with the projector. Teams is huge in Australia and this feature is non-trivial. The projector also likes other VC platforms, in fact, it comes preloaded with Skype, Google Meet and Teamviewer. As a business manager, you might have a remote operative who needs to share presentations and combine remote participants into a VC call. With the EH620 it’s easy to wirelessly access files on OneDrive — again negating the need for a PC. In fact, I can see how the EH620 could be the travelling rep’s best friend. For these presentation situations, I’m grateful for the beefed up audio on the EH620, with the 2 x 5W speakers — that doesn’t sound like much but they’re grunty enough to not detract from the call experience, or be an embarrassment when playing back those video presentations.

COLLAB HABIT

Apart from video conferencing, screen sharing is probably the next most important feature. The EH620 ships with a wifi dongle that easily slots into a port just under the bonnet of the unit. Once you’ve found the network, participants can cast to the projector via Miracast, Airplay, Google cast or BenQ’s own InstaShare system, which is very capable. Up to four participants can cast at once — a big improvement on BenQ’s original smart projector. Here’s when you’ll fully appreciate the oversized image afforded by a projector such as this. You’ll achieve a sizeable 100-inch image from around 2.5m away — just point it at a clean wall.

EDUCATION

I suspect there are education applications for this projector. Not necessarily as a permanently installed item in a multi-classroom institution but perhaps as a tool for itinerant educators or in secondary spaces. I could imagine having a couple of EH620 projectors ready to roll in the IT storeroom or on a media trolley.

It’s worth noting that with the EH620’s 64GB ROM and 4GB RAM, it’ll happily natively run any Windows application your school relies on.

IFP OR SMART PROJECTION

If you’re still struggling to fully wrap your head around the smart projector concept, perhaps think of it as a 4kg Wintel laptop with a full HD, 100-inch screen. Okay, admittedly you do need to add your own keyboard, mouse and webcam but it really does provide that laptop-style portability and convenience. The EH620 isn’t trying to directly compete with a meeting room IFP but there are instances where it would be more flexible and more cost effective. Especially when the Windows OS is important, an oversize image is required, and/or when portability is key.

The EH620 is a neat self-contained collaboration and VC appliance. At around A$2200 — plus the cost of a keyboard, mouse and webcam — it’s decent value, considering the onboard Intel processing and the 100+-inch image size you can easily achieve. An equivalent 65-inch interactive flat panel with similar functionality will likely cost double.

The fact the EH620 runs on a version of Windows 11 is significant. For anyone working in the Microsoft ecosystem, it’s instantly reassuring, and the Windows 11’s familiarity and security features are just as reassuring.