REVIEW

FOR a long time I’ve thought about buying a quality projector and even of forgoing a TV completely.

The idea of de-cluttering a room by getting rid of the TV and turning the occasional viewing experience into something grander is an appealing one.

So I decided to dip my toes into the mid-tier range of the consumer market by testing out one of the most affordable 4K-capable projectors on the market — and I wasn’t disappointed.

When it comes to this type of product, affordable is a relative term. You will need to set aside about $2000 to get something truly decent. But playing around with the BenQ TK800 cemented my suspicions that a quality projector could totally transform a space.

The walls of my living room happen to be ivory white, proving a rather adequate surface to turn it into a mini-theatre. With the projector set up and the doors of my living room open, it had that romantic cinematic feeling akin to a drive-through cinema.

Watching a movie or catching up on World Cup highlights from the night before suddenly felt like a whole new experience.

PICTURE

When it comes to projectors, there’s often a trade-off between picture quality and size as the image can look a bit washed out when you go for the added size that a projector offers.

But that wasn’t noticeable with the TK800, thanks in part to its “Projector-Optimised” high dynamic range (HDR) imaging.

Positioning the projector about 3m back from the wall, you’ll get a sharp and bright picture that’s about 2.6m wide.

The BenQ TK800 supports 4K ultra high definition picture, qualifying for the 4K designation by boasting an impressive 8.3 million pixel resolution.

The result is a clear and crisp picture, even when it’s covering almost the entire wall of your living room.

The projector provides a warm ambience thanks to its 3000 lumen rating, which is a good bit brighter than the company’s previous HT2550’s 4K projector which packed 2200 lumens.

It is this brightness that brings with it great colour, but of course being a projector the best results are achieved in dark or ambient light.

I used to projector to play a fair bit of Mario Kart and the range of sharp and vibrant colours looked fantastic.

When it comes to gaming, the projector’s very short input lag will certainly suffice for all but the most serious of professional gamers.

It also boasts 3D capability (at 1080 pixels) which I did not get a chance to try out.

AUDIO

When it comes to audio, the TK800 packs a pretty decent punch with its 5-watt chamber speaker and CinemaMaster Audio+ 2 technology.

If you’re streaming from a device like your laptop, the sound will come through the projector’s speakers and can be adjusted by volume buttons on the top of the device or the remote control. If you want to take it up a notch, you can connect it to an external speaker system.

The projector’s equaliser algorithms ensure a quality and stable sound and it certainly gets loud enough on its own if even if you’re having an outdoor movie night and dealing with external noise.

Being released to coincide with the FIFA World Cup, the projector has a “Football Mode” which, in addition to adjusting the colour saturation to improve the picture, also includes an enhanced sound feature designed to reduce white noise from the crowd.

On top of that, the projector has a “Sport Mode” which is meant for watching indoor sports like basketball or ice hockey. It works the same way, by highlighting certain colours like a team’s bright-coloured jersey while the sound accentuates the commentary and acoustic details of play such as squeaking sneakers, referee whistles and skates scraping on the ice.

It’s not a hugely noticeable difference but it’s great that the company has made an effort to maximise the performance of the projector while watching different sports.

DESIGN

The relatively light weight of the device (4.2kg) makes it easy to move around or have suspended from the ceiling. The projector is 35.3cm wide, 13.5cm tall and 27.2cm long.

The body of the projector is white with an aqua faceplate which I think looks pretty great.

On top of the projector you will find the menu buttons as well as a zoom and focus dial over the lens. The device also comes with a white, backlit remote control.

INPUTS/OUTPUTS

• 2.0/Power Supply x 1

• HDMI x 2

• USB Type A x 1

• USB Type mini B x 1

• PC input

• Audio in (3.5mm Mini Jack) x 1

• Audio out (3.5mm Mini Jack) x 1

• 12v trigger

• RS-232

Whether you’re watching live TV, streaming from Netflix or playing a console game, a projector like this is going to enhance the experience.

At $2,199, it’s not cheap, but when it comes to genuine 4K projectors it’s still one of the most affordable on the market and well worth a look if you want to bring a quality cinematic atmosphere to your home.