BenQ TK800 4K DLP Projector

Projector Central Highly Recommended Award

Highly Recommended Honor

Our Highly Recommended designation is earned past products offer extraordinary value or performance in their toll class.

Editor'southward Note: Our original review of the BenQ TK800 posted June 2018 referenced and made comparisons with the BenQ HT2550, a sis product that is essentially the same except for BenQ's use of a dissimilar colour wheel. Our recent second look at the HT2550 following a firmware and lens upgrade prompted us to update that review, and as well to look once more at the TK800 and edit this review accordingly. This revision, dated Oct 2, 2018, was handled by contributing editor K. David Stone and reflects his work and that of the original reviewer Evan Powell.--Rob Sabin

The BenQ TK800 is a brighter version of the BenQ HT2550 one of several new 4K projectors to hit the marketplace in the terminal few months that is built around the latest 0.47" UHD DLP chipset and selling for $1499.

Like the HT2550, the TK800 is 3D capable in native 1080p style, which is 1 of the main distinguishing factors between these ii models and several other 4K projectors under $2000. For those who take a collection of 3D discs in 1080p Hard disk resolution, this is a welcome feature.

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The TK800 weighs 9.3 lbs, so it is portable enough for lawn pic night or other transportable uses. It has a much better than average onboard speaker with dynamic range that is surprising for its size--again a squeamish feature for occasional backyard apply. And information technology has keystone adjustment, a feature that is missing on several of its competitors.

BenQ TK800 4K Projector

At the electric current price of $1499 the BenQ TK800 competes most straight with the ViewSonic PX747-4K at $1299, which is ViewSonic's brighter version of the ViewSonic PX727-4K, too at $1299. The essential change in both the BenQ TK800 and the ViewSonic PX747-4K is the switch to a colour bicycle that has a white (clear) segment to heave white light output.

BenQ TK800 Functioning

Brightness. The BenQ TK800 is rated at 3000 lumens compared to the 2200 lumens of the HT2550. Every bit is typical, this projector has an exceptionally bright manufactory calibration, chosen "Brilliant," which is greenish in tint and for the most part non recommended for video presentation unless you don't heed a green film. It also has presets labelled Vivid TV, Movie house, Sport, and 2 custom adjustable User modes.

Like the HT2550 it has a Brilliant Colour function that can exist turned On or Off (no incremental calibration of i to ten as on many DLP projectors). Turning it off reduces lumen output by nearly 55%.

There is also an Economic lamp style which reduces lumen output by 36%.

BenQ TK800 ANSI Lumens

Manner
Full
Economic
Vivid
2603
1666
Vivid Television
1792
1147
Movie theater
1792
1147
Sport
1792
1147
Football
1792
1147


Zoom lens light loss. The TK800 has a 1.2x zoom lens that we measured a losing about 3% at the telephoto end, so there is no reason to worry about which terminate of the zoom you're using.

Brightness Uniformity. Our TK800 sample measured a very skilful 82% uniformity, better than what nosotros saw with either of our two HT2550 examination units. Since this is essentially the same light engine with a dissimilar colour cycle, we doubtable the difference may be due to manufacturing variance. In any event, none of the 3 samples had any observable uniformity bug while viewing program fabric.

Color Effulgence. The white (clear) segment in the color wheel produces a lot of white light compared to color calorie-free when the Brilliant Color choice is set to "ON." When Brilliant color is Off, color brightness equals 100% of white brightness, every bit one would expect. Still, the issue is not attractive. Turning Vivid Color off drops lumen output by 55% (Picture palace way drops from 1792 lumens to almost 800 lumens). Just it also reduces contrast and shifts color residue toward greenish, and then it is not likely to exist a preferred selection for users, who in the end will be buying this model specifically for its increased lumen output. With Vivid Color on, the extra white low-cal improves dissimilarity, neutralizes the greenish tint in the colour scale and shifts the prototype toward a more than neutral merely still cool, bluish cast. With Vivid Colour on, color brightness is only 46% of white, and so there is some loss of color saturation. Practically speaking, the nearly obvious effect of this is that white objects in the picture show pop a lot brighter than surrounding colour objects. This gives a college contrast picture which is quite a scrap more appealing, but the picture is not in its intended residuum.

3D Performance. As of early October 2018, the TK800 was one of just a few sub-$two,000, 4K-compliant projectors to offer 3D, a feature that makes it of special involvement to those who have a collection of 1080p 3D discs. The other 4K projectors in this group are the BenQ HT2550 ($1,499), the Optoma UHD51A ($1,699), and the Optoma UHD51ALV ($1,799). Additionally the Epson Dwelling Cinema 4000 ($ane,749), and the recently announced Epson Dwelling Movie theatre 4010 4K PRO-UHD Projector ($ii,000)are "4K enhanced" models that accept UHD signals and perform pixel-shifting with 1080p 3LCD panels.

HDMI Bandwidth. This projector has two HDMI ports. The offset is HDMI 2.0 / HDCP 2.ii compliant with a bandwidth of 18 Gbps. The second is a standard HDMI port with bandwidth of ten.2 Gbps.

Input Lag: Input lag at 44 ms on the TK800 is slightly faster than the 50 ms on the HT2550. This is fine for near casual gaming, simply serious or professional person gamers may desire a faster unit of measurement since many 1080p projectors can become down to 16 ms. However, they are non 4K projectors - 44 ms is virtually as fast as nosotros've seen on 4K models; just the PX747-4K beats the TK800, simply only past one at 43 ms.

Rainbow artifacts. Rainbows are very low on virtually DLP dwelling theater projectors these days, including the TK800. However some people are uniquely sensitive to this artifact, and at that place is no way to predict whether you may exist one of them. If you are uncertain, buy from a reseller with a friendly render policy and then you tin can test it out yourself.

Fan noise. BenQ has washed a expert task with fan noise on this projector. The dissonance is aural in full lamp mode, but not at all excessive or objectionable in our opinion. Dropping the unit into Economic mode will render the fan very quiet with just a low buzz that you tin detect in a silent room. Fifty-fifty in High Altitude way, which is required at 1500 meters height, fan noise is remarkably unobtrusive compared to a lot of projectors we've heard. And in High Altitude, dropping it into Economic fashion renders it surprisingly tranquillity.

On-board Audio. The TK800 has a single 5W speaker mounted on the side. However, the audio is quite good compared to nigh other portable projectors. The audio is louder and has ameliorate dynamic range than the 10W speaker on the PX747-4K, so specs are non relevant for comparative purposes on this feature. This on-board audio capability, while it is no substitute for a skillful environment system or even a sound bar, is specially handy for backyard movies or other portable applications where you might want sound on lath.

Lamp Life and Replacement Cost. BenQ is quoting 4000 hours of lamp life in Full lamp mode, and 15000 hours in SmartEco mode. A replacement lamp is $149.

Warranty. The BenQ TK800 comes standard with a 3-year warranty.

BenQ TK800 review connection panel

BenQ TK800 Installation / Set Up

The TK800 has a fixed project angle that throws an prototype such that the bottom border of the projected image is a few inches (or about ten% of the epitome top) above the centerline of the lens. In that location is no lens shift, so take intendance to install the projector as precisely equally possible relative to the screen.

This projector has a 1.2x zoom lens that will throw a 120" 16:9 epitome from a distance of about 12'10" to xv'3". If you lot take your seats virtually 1.25x the screen width (a comfortable viewing distance for many people), they would be positioned about eleven anxiety from the screen. So the projector would be positioned just behind the seating area. To cheque the throw distance required for your desired screen size, run into the BenQ TK800 Project Calculator.

Due to the stock-still offset that positions the epitome entirely above the centerline of the lens (or beneath it if ceiling mounted), the ideal installation in many cases will be a ceiling mount. It is besides possible to place the projector on a rear shelf or stand backside the seats and project over the heads of the viewers. Even so in most cases this will require a downwards tilt of the projector in lodge to hit the screen. If you lot do this, you tin can use keystone adjustments to foursquare upwards the resulting trapezoid. Keystone control is driven from the remote. To activate Keystone adjustments, shut the menu and use the upwards and down arrows on the remote'southward navigation pad.

Every bit an aside, nosotros generally circumspection against aggressive use of keystone adjustments on any projector due to the fact that information technology operates by deactivating a portion of the display. Doing this reduces lumen output and pixel resolution. And then proceed keystone adjustments to a minimum whenever possible.

BenQ TK800 Limitations

Dark frame effectually image. This projector creates a very night simply not perfectly black frame around the projected epitome. The frame is almost four.5% of the motion picture width. And then for a 120" diagonal image (105" in width), the projected dark frame is almost 5" wide around the entire agile area of the 16:9 image.

Two notes on this: Get-go, this artifact exists on all of the projectors that have the 0.47" UHD DLP chip, so it is not unique to the TK800. Second, the projected image of the TK800 itself is vivid enough and high dissimilarity enough that the dark frame is difficult to notice in most circumstances. Though some users have reacted as if this is a ramble outcome, we suspect in practice that most users won't notice information technology or be bothered by it, at least on this projector.

3D Manual Settings. The BenQ TK800 has 3D for 1080p sources simply (not 4K). The projector volition non automatically recognize a 3D source signal. Y'all must go into the carte du jour and turn 3D on in order for it to play properly. Once 3D is turned on, any subsequent 4K material existence displayed will exist projected in native 1080p until yous go back into the menu to turn 3D off.

BenQ TK800 4K Projector

BenQ TK800 vs. ViewSonic PX747-4K

Equally noted above, the almost direct competitor to the BenQ TK800 at $1499 is the ViewSonic PX747-4K at $1299; both are brighter versions of the HT2550 and PX727-4K respectively, with the chief difference in both being the substitution of an RGBRGB color cycle with an RGBW color wheel. The white segment boosts maximum light output on the TK800 and PX747-4K at the potential cede of colour saturation.

These ii projectors are virtually identical in many respects -- physical size, 4K resolution with 0.47" chips, ane.2x zoom and throw distances, vertical starting time, lumen output, connections, etc. Input lag measured 43 ms on the PX747 and 44 ms on the TK800. Brightness uniformity measured 78% on the PX747 and 82% on the TK800. Color brightness in Movie/Cinema modes measured 46% on the TK800 and 57% on the PX747-4K. However, though they share all of these similarities, the pictures await a lot different when y'all fire them upward due to the pattern engineers' radically different approach to calibration and programming, and (apparently) somewhat different versions of the RGBW colour wheels.

The video optimized presets are called "Movie theatre" on the TK800 and "Movie" on the PX747-4K. In these modes (with manufactory defaults) the PX747-4K delivers the more than satisfying motion picture out of the box--information technology is higher in contrast and colour saturation, has greater image depth (three dimensionality), and information technology has a warmer and closer to neutral colour balance that makes flesh tones in detail look more natural.

The TK800 has a preset called Vivid Boob tube that does not have a similar counterpart on the PX747-4K. When putting information technology into Bright TV mode, the whites pop substantially with a cold, bright white and contrast is improved. Color saturation is likewise substantially enhanced to the point of being somewhat overdriven. Color balance shifts from cool, slightly blue to more of a light-green hue and some item in the highlights and shadows is lost. Still, the overall subjective issue of the Bright TV way is that the picture is more dramatic, richer, and college in contrast than Cinema manner. Though Vivid TV produces somewhat of an artificially overprocessed character that videophiles would find objectionable, many coincidental users will be attracted to the Vivid TV mode because it is rich, colorful, and dynamic. Many would find information technology a skillful option for viewing in ambient calorie-free.

Both of these projectors have an array of picture controls that will allow you to alter color residue, saturation, blackness levels, sharpness/resolution, and so along. The TK800 can be professionally calibrated to reach the warmer and more neutral picture of the PX747-4K, although the PX747 retains a pocket-sized but noticeable reward in contrast and saturation in their Cinema/Movie modes.

The lesser line in sorting these two projectors out is this: If you want 3D and/or you'd prefer to have the Bright Boob tube mode for ambient lite viewing, the TK800 is the better selection. If you want ameliorate colour out of the box without having to mess with calibration, and you are willing to surrender 3D for an incrementally higher dissimilarity/ college saturation picture, the PX747-4K is the better option, and yous relieve $200 to boot.

Conclusion

Our original conclusion for the BenQ TK800 observed that information technology performed noticeably meliorate than did our early production sample of the BenQ HT2550. Since and so we've tested a later sample of the HT2550 with both upgraded firmware and an upgraded lens that'south now found on both models.

Comparing the TK800 with the 2nd HT2550 exam sample, each does amend than the other on some performance issues, and they necktie on others. Both focus sharply from edge to border across the screen, for example. The TK800's, measured brightness uniformity is better compared with either of the HT2550 exam units, perhaps due to manufacturing variance, though as noted earlier, these differences were meaningless in daily viewing.

Colour balance in factory default calibrations is also similar between the two. Compared with a reference paradigm, both evangelize a reasonably close match, just they differ slightly in different means, so each is more than like to the reference image than they are to each other. With Bright Colour on, the TK800 has the better color balance. With Brilliant Colour off, the HT2550 gives a very close match to the reference image, and better color balance than the TK800. I last plus for the TK800 is that it is a brighter projector, and its increased brightness does not overly compromise color saturation to any significant caste. Based on the second HT2550 exam unit, we are equally enthused with both units. Nosotros'd put the TK800 higher on our curt listing for a room with ambience low-cal, and give the HT2550 the higher spot for a dark room.

From a value perspective, the BenQ TK800 combines 4K resolution with a brilliant motion picture, very proficient uniformity, 3D capability, and a 3 year warranty for $1499. Bright TV mode in particular gives information technology extra vibrancy for ambient calorie-free viewing. If that combination of features for that price hits your hot button, we believe you'll have a lot of fun with the TK800.

For more than detailed specifications and connections, check out our BenQ TK800 projector page.