BenQ TK850 4K DLP Projector
Projector Central Highly Recommended Award

Highly Recommended Award

Our Highly Recommended designation is earned by products offering extraordinary value or performance in their price class.

  • Performance
  • 4
  • Features
  • Ease of Use
  • Value
Price
$1,699 MSRP Discontinued
Buy Online
Pros
  • 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) resolution from TI's fast-switching pixel shifting, .47-inch DMD chip
  • Designed for sports and TV programs in family rooms with ambient light—rated at 3,000 ANSI lumens vs. 2,000 ANSI lumens for the nearly identical HT3550
  • HDR10 and HLG HDR support
  • Brighter, punchier 3D compared with HT3550
Cons
  • High brightness level is at the expense of some color accuracy and dark-black levels, as demonstrated by comparison to the HT3550, which delivers higher color accuracy and darker blacks but lower brightness
  • Input lag is too high for serious gamers
Our Take

The BenQ TK850 is a tempting choice as a TV-replacement for a family room with ambient light.

tk850 front45
BenQ TK850

Editor's Note: The $1,699 BenQ TK850 is a nearly identical projector to the well-reviewed BenQ HT3550, except for a different accent color for its front and rear panels, and a different color wheel that effects a significant boost in brightness—3,000 rated ANSI lumens for the TK850 vs. 2,000 ANSI lumens for the HT3550. The trade-off for the extra brightness is a modest sacrifice in color gamut, color accuracy, and deep black level. As with these projectors' predecessors, the HT2550 and TK800, they are specifically designed for optimal viewing in a darkened home theater (HT3550) or a moderately-lit family room (TK850).

Rather than conduct a standalone review for the newer TK850, our Contributing Editor David Stone performed a direct side-by-side comparison of the HT3550 and TK850, which you can find here. Dedicated star ratings for the TK850, as well as its Highly Recommended award designation, are found above.

For a more complete description of the TK850, you can refer to our standalone review of the HT3550 (also Highly Recommended), which discusses the many features shared by both projectors except for those specifically noted in the shootout. —Rob Sabin

For more detailed specifications and connections, check out our BenQ TK850 projector page.

 
Comments (4) Post a Comment
Robert Collins Posted Mar 23, 2020 10:08 AM PST
I know you also recently reviewed the LG HU70LA. I know that many people have compared the LG to the Benq HT3550 and have reasons to prefer the LG, but I wonder if you can compare the LG to the TK850, especially in terms of perceived brightness in ambient light.
Rob Sabin, Editor Posted Mar 23, 2020 10:54 AM PST
See my comments to this same query found under the LG HU70LA.
Ankuj Sharma Posted Oct 28, 2020 4:19 AM PST
Hi,

I am from India. Want to upgrade now to my home theater (earlier i was using viewsonic 8200) . Confused between Benq TK850 and Epson Home cinema 3800 (in india it is named as EH TW 7100). Can you suggest which one is more suitable as the price range is almost similar. My preference is a better 4k content viewing expereince.

Thanks in Advance . Regards,
Michael Posted Jan 22, 2021 8:01 AM PST
I am sorry to say this, but it looks like you either tested different projector from what I have, maybe from different batch or assembled on other factory (which I doubt). Have you actually turned this thing on or just reviewed it solely based on its spec? This TK850 is total crap. The "out off the box" color set up on all preset profiles is awful. You can sped hours and will never tune it to show a real yellow. The Brilliant Color bug is so annoying - it is pre-set to 10, you can change it but no matter what you set it will go back to 10 on next power on, the scale will still show your previous set up value, but actually it will perform at level 10. On my unit, I had very noticeable brightness gradient from corner to corner. Right top corner was measured at 75 lux (white) and bottom left corner only 35 lux (white). I suppose it s a lamp issue (not sure), I returned this unit right away and ordered a new BenQ TK850, I was hoping that I just was "lucky" to get defected unit. When the new unit arrived I was just mad - in addition to all the problems I had with the first unit, the new one had a lens issue - could not set focus properly. If one corner of the screen was sharp the opposite one was fuzzy and vice versa.. I am very disappointed with BenQ, and more than that I am very disappointed with people who write reviews, because review on your site caused me to select this specific projector at the first place.

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