TK700STi

You mentioned you have audio. Could you share some details on the audio components you have? If it were me, I'd spend 1k on the projector (I'm using a used BenQ TK700STi and it's been more than enough for me) and 4k on upgrading my audio... heavily weighted on the subwoofers.

Not 4k120, but I play Rocket League on my BenQ TK700STi in 1080p240 and it’s lovely. So good in fact that I permanently moved my gaming PC to the theater after trying it out. Personally I’d be more concerned with the response time than framerate or resolution. Anything more than 10ms will be annoying for most competitive play.

RBE hater here represented - I actually tried out a TK700Sti after reading all the good stuff about it. Turns out, I see RBE literally almost every second, and hated it. Returned it, and now have an Epson TW7100 (or 3800 for US) and love it. Tiny bit softer picture, but other than that it's perfect for my needs.

from those the x500i, if you absolutely need the extra brightness then the tk700sti but even better is the updated tk710sti so i'd personally go for that (ebay refurbished that ones is $1563)

I love my BenQ TK700STi. It works very well, even in a slightly lit room. It's perfect for gaming with a really low input lag. And it being a short throw projector, I get 110 inches at just 6 feet away, which works really well for me because I have it in my mancave. The only issue i had with it was after 4 years of use, my DLP chip went, but it was very easy to replace on my own. It was the first time ever doing work on a projector, so it's not like I'm an expert at it either.

Look into BenQ TKI700STI, it's 4k with good brightness and shorter throw distance than regular projector. I got one and I have been very happy with it, ofc image is not as good as TV, but I appreciate the size over TV like quality. But the image quality is still pretty good! I find it usable for not so intense watching on daylight even during summer, but if I want to have a gaming session or watch movie on it then I prefer to completely blackout the whole room. I got 120" picture from around 3m throw distance.

DLP projectors often overstate their lumen specs and Optoma tends to be especially egregious about this. I’d honestly be surprised if that 4500 lumen Optoma was putting out more than 2000 real ANSI lumens in any mode you’d actually want to watch. I’m also dubious the lamp is the issue. You say it’s acting wonky? What’s wonky? I’ve had several lamp based projectors and, yes, the lamps do go bad but they are fairly easily replaced. All that said: I really DO like DLP especially for outdoor applications. You don’t have to worry about filters or dirt getting into the light path. They are comparably compact and efficient. Lastly, there is such a wide variety of DLP make/models out there that almost everyone can find something to fit their needs. I also really like the idea of solid state. While lamp has a cost advantage we’re at the point where LED and laser projectors are getting reasonably priced and offer a substantial upgrade in terms of longevity and picture quality. The Epson you picked out seems to be a nice model for high brightness applications. But like AV said: these high brightness, business use models tend to have a reputation for pretty mediocre contrast/blacks. That extends to both 3LCD and DLP but a comparable price/performance DLP like the $1300, 1080p BenQ LH730 would probably do a bit better here and be sharper to boot. I run a projector outside on a 120” Elite screens yardmaster. But I prefer to stick with 4K these days. If I’m traveling I take a BenQ TK700STI which is a 3000 lumen (but not really) short throw, lamp based, gaming projector. I love that thing for how compact and convenient it is and how you can throw a big image without needing a lot of space. Built in wifi streaming and Bluetooth audio out in a package that weighs less than 7 lbs. At home my upstairs sometimes outdoor projector is a BenQ X3000i (replaced with the X3100i now in BenQ’s lineup). That projector is even brighter and a lot more colorful and has the benefit of LED so no lamp to fuss with. But at 15lbs and requiring more throw I wouldn’t exactly call it portable. For reference my home theater projector was a BenQ HT4550i, then an Epson 5050UB (temporarily) and I’m now using a BenQ W2720i in that space.

In that group— unless you need to compete with a lot of ambient light the X500i will have the best picture quality. It has one of the highest native contrast specs of any 4K projector and color is excellent. It’s also a true short throw. The TK700STi would be my second choice. It’s very bright so will do better on larger screens or rooms with some lights on. But it’s lamp and the color won’t be as good. See my review here: https://www.avsforum.com/threads/benq-tk700sti-review-owners-thread-4k-hdr-low-lag-short-throw-gaming-projector.3198258/ Of those models the X300G would be my last pic. It’s a great projector for what it is: a small semi-portable with easy setup. It will have better picture quality that the 700 But its lumen output is limiting.

Fair enough. What I would say is the 700 with its single lamp light source and colorwheel is likely going to exhibit RBE more for folks that are sensitive to it than the newer multi-light 4LED models. I think I even mentioned in my review that I saw it more with text and subtitles than I did other models I have reviewed around that time. So it’s likely worse case scenario at this point. Problem is: if you’re sensitive to RBE the ONLY option in this price range is Epson and their 3LCD technology. While the Epson 3800 is a great projector it is now 6 years old. No full 4K resolution, no solid state light source, no high refresh rate support, no wide color support, no ALLM… Epson appears to be letting their lamp models die on the vine and has shown no interest in updating them to solid state. And that’s a shame.

For a 60-inch screen with the BenQ GP500 (500i), the projector is designed to sit level with the bottom edge of your screen. Because it has a 100% offset, if you place the projector on a table, the image starts right at the lens height and projects upward. If your table is significantly lower than the screen, you will have to tilt the projector and use Auto Keystone, which can slightly reduce image quality and create a faint "glow" around the edges of the frame. Recommendation: For the best results, try to get the projector lens as close to the height of the screen's bottom edge as possible. If gaming is your priority, the BenQ TK700STi is a superior alternative under $1,600 CAD due to its much lower input lag.

All of these units would perform really well. If you’re planning to place the unit on the far end of the room, 12 feet we need to eliminate the BenQ TK700STi. The **TK700** would better suit the space. At 12 feet we can fit a , 110” image size on the wall • 110” diagonal is 8 Feet Wide by 4’6” Tall. For projector screen options, I would recommend these: • Manual Pull Down: • [Akia Screens 110 inch Pull Down Projector Screen Manual B 16:9](https://amzn.to/4kK19ZA) • [Elite Screens Manual B 110-INCH Manual Pull Down Projector Screen](https://amzn.to/4n88Fiu) • [Akia Screens 110 inch Projector Screen Pull Down 16:9 Manual, Ceiling Mount or Wall Mount Retractable Projection Screen with 10 inch Bracket White bundle](https://amzn.to/4jX8gNh) —— • Fixed Frame Screens: • [Akia Screens Fixed Frame Projector Screen 110 inch 16:9](https://amzn.to/3HNe3ru) • [Silver Ticket 110” Fixed Frame Projector Screen 16:9](https://amzn.to/4leW0c4)