BenQ has unveiled a pair of new 4K home entertainment projectors designed to make cinema-sized TV, movie and gaming thrills in the living room as affordable, accessible and flexible as possible – without (if its on-paper specifications are anything to go by, anyway) sacrificing performance.
The TK705i and TK705STi make their living room friendly intentions clear right from the off with a seriously cute cubic design featuring a gleaming silvery finish on their top edge, an attractive grey felt cover on their front edge, and grille-style finishes on their left and right sides that are speckled with sweet little star decorations. If ever a projector design has practically shouted ‘fun for all the family’, it’s this one.
Tucked within the TK705i and TK705STi’s appealing forms, though, is some pretty serious projector tech. For starters, they are both capable of playing 4K game and video sources, courtesy of DLP’s XPR technology (which uses a combination of pixel shifting and multiple ‘flashing’ of the DLP’s digital mirror devices to create a convincing 4K effect from a sub-4K mirror count).
The projectors are also both able to deliver high dynamic range video in the HDR10, HLG and even HDR10+ formats, the latter of which allows extra scene by scene image data to be included in the HDR video stream so that compatible displays can deliver more accurate and natural-looking picture results.
To support their HDR capabilities (as well as enabling them to punch through the sort of ambient light living rooms usually contain), the TK705i and TK705STi projectors are both claimed to be capable of pumping out 3,000 ANSI Lumens of brightness. They’re equipped with BenQ’s proprietary CinematicColor and HDR-Pro technologies too, which in this iteration are claimed to accurately deliver 98% of the Rec 709 colour space as well as more depth, sharper detailing and, thanks to both Global and local contrast enhancement technologies, punchier HDR.
The TK705i and TK705STi’s living room friendly features continue with a Smart Image Adaptation system that includes auto 2D keystone correction, fast auto-focus and auto screen fit, automatic obstacle avoidance if a vase or the like ends up between the projector and its on-screen or on-wall images, automatic eye projection, an auto cinema mode when a movie source is detected, as well as optical motorised zoom and four-direction digital shifting tools.
Both projectors also carry adjustable feet to help you angle their pictures to the right place on your wall or screen, and these can even support angling the projector down from a high shelf while in an inverted position. Three integrated ceiling mount holes mean you can inconspicuously hang the projector above you, too, if you don’t want to have to keep finding space for it on a potentially inconveniently placed coffee table. You can even pick up a desktop stand/ceiling mount bracket as an optional extras if you want to take the projector’s set up flexibility to the next level.
Gamers who fancy enjoying their favourite hobby at image sizes up to 150 inches will be pleased to hear that BenQ claims an input lag figure in the two new projectors’ fastest response picture mode of just 5ms with 4K/60Hz feeds – including HDR ones. That’s a phenomenally low figure by both projector and TV standards, putting BenQ’s latest projectors in almost gaming monitor response time territory.
Its HDMI ports also support auto low latency mode switching, so you should be able to enjoy the projectors’ ultra-fast response times when you fire up your Xbox, Playstation or Switch without having to make any manual interventions. The projector even includes a couple of pre-calibrated HDR game presets designed to give optimal results with RPG and FPS game types.
The TK705i and TK705STi’s connectivity is bristling with lifestyle-friendly touches, too. They get two HDMIs for starters, one of which is equipped with Audio Return technology so that it can be used to pass audio out to a connected soundbar or AV receiver. There’s a 12V trigger output for firing up an electronic screen or electronic masking curtains too, as well as a seriously handy powered USB-C port that’s capable of delivering up to 30W of charging power to anything you connect to it, and a USB-A port thats capable of playing media stored on USB sticks and hard drives. Or you can establish a wireless connection courtesy of integrated Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi networking.
Wrapping up the TK705i and TK705STi’s lifestyle projection credentials are the ability to control them via voice or BenQ’s mobile app, and integrated Google TV smart systems. Integrating Google TV means you can play TV shows and movies from most of the biggest video streaming platforms without needing to attach an external source.
The only major differences between BenQ’s two new projectors are that the STi model sports a short throw lens suited to use in relatively small spaces, while the TK705i is the only one of the two to sport the optomized zoom feature. In the UK BenQ’s new projectors have been priced at £1,249 for the TK705i and £1,399 for the TK705STi, and I’ll update this story with US pricing when it is confirmed later today.
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