BenQ TK710STi Review: A Bright 4K Laser Short-Throw for Small Rooms

CouchSetup is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more

Short version of this BenQ TK710STi review: it’s one of the easiest ways to get a 100-inch picture into a normal living room. It throws that image from about 5 to 6 feet away, it’s bright enough to use with a lamp on, and its laser light means no bulbs to buy. For gamers, its lag is about as low as projectors get. The catches: blacks look dark grey in a dark room, HDR is a modest step up, and the bundled Android TV dongle doesn’t run Netflix properly.

Key specs

Spec	BenQ TK710STi
Resolution	4K UHD via DLP pixel shifting, 0.65-inch chip
Light source	Laser, rated 20,000 hours
Brightness	3,200 ANSI lumens
Throw ratio / zoom	0.69 to 0.83 / 1.2x
Offset	102.5%
HDR	HDR10, HLG (no Dolby Vision or HDR10+)
Input lag	16.7 ms at 4K 60Hz, 8.3 ms at 1080p 120Hz, 4.2 ms at 1080p 240Hz
HDMI	2 × HDMI 2.0b, eARC with Dolby Atmos pass-through
Keystone	3D, ±30° vertical, horizontal and rotation
Speaker / noise	5W mono / 31 dB normal, 28 dB eco
Size / weight	12.0 × 4.4 × 10.0 in, 6.8 lb

What the reviews don’t tell you

Real brightness on your screen size

A lumens figure means little until you spread it over a screen. ProjectorReviews measured the closely related TK710 at about 3,265 lumens in Bright mode, 1,977 in Cinema and 1,914 in HDR10. Here’s what that works out to in foot-lamberts on a plain 1.0-gain screen. For reference, about 16 ftL is the usual cinema target in a dark room, and you need far more with lights on.

Mode (measured lumens)	100-inch screen	120-inch screen
Bright (3,265)	about 110 ftL	about 76 ftL
Cinema (1,977)	about 67 ftL	about 46 ftL
HDR10 (1,914)	about 64 ftL	about 45 ftL

Even the accurate Cinema mode puts several times the dark-room target on a 100-inch screen, which is why this projector holds up with lamps on. In a fully dark room, Eco mode or a slightly larger screen won’t make it look dim.

Where to put it

The 0.69 to 0.83 throw ratio gives you a placement window. Measure from the lens, not the back of the case, and leave room for cables behind it.

Screen (16:9)	Closest	Farthest
80 inches	about 4 ft 0 in	about 4 ft 10 in
90 inches	about 4 ft 6 in	about 5 ft 5 in
100 inches	about 5 ft 0 in	about 6 ft 0 in
120 inches	about 6 ft 0 in	about 7 ft 3 in

With a 102.5% offset, the picture’s bottom edge sits just above the lens on a table, so a low coffee table usually lines up with a screen starting around seat height. Keep keystone at zero where you can: ProjectorReviews found the low-lag figures only apply with keystone off. Check your room in our projector throw calculator.

The laser life in years

BenQ rates the laser at 20,000 hours. At four hours a day that’s about 13.7 years; at six hours a day, about 9. The lamp in the cheaper TK700STi is rated at 4,000 hours in Normal mode, so a heavy user would buy several lamps over the same period.

Picture quality

The 0.65-inch DLP chip is larger than the 0.47-inch chips in many budget 4K projectors, and both ProjectorReviews and Simple Home Cinema describe the image as very sharp. BenQ rates color at 95% of Rec. 709, and ProjectorReviews measured about 84% of DCI-P3, so HDR colors are good rather than spectacular. Simple Home Cinema got grayscale error under 1.9 Delta E after calibration. Blacks are a dark grey in a dark room, as with most single-chip DLP at this price; Eco mode deepens them but costs some shadow detail. HDR is noticeable but not dramatic, and many owners prefer SDR in a bright room. Reviewers also suggest turning sharpness down a few steps. For screens, a plain matte white works in a dim room; avoid ceiling-light-rejecting screens made for ultra-short-throw models. See our projector screen guide.

Gaming

BenQ’s lag figures, which ProjectorReviews’ TK710 measurements matched, put it among the fastest home projectors. The catch is HDMI 2.0b: a PS5 or Xbox can’t send 4K at 120Hz, so you choose 4K 60 for sharpness or 1080p/1440p 120 for smoothness. There’s no VRR, so turn it off on the console. A gaming PC at 1080p 240Hz is the real treat. Plan the rest in our couch gaming setup guide.

What you’re doing	Mode	Tweak
Movies in a dim room	Cinema	Sharpness down; try Eco
TV and sports, lights on	Bright or Living Room	Lower red if skin looks warm
Shooters	FPS or HDR FPS	Keystone off, 120 or 240Hz
Story games	RPG or HDR RPG	4K 60Hz

Sound and streaming

The single 5W speaker is fine for a quick video but has no bass. The eARC port passes Dolby Atmos, so one cable connects a soundbar; see best soundbars for small rooms. The bundled QS02 Android TV dongle sits in its own compartment, but Simple Home Cinema notes Netflix doesn’t run on it natively. Plug a Fire TV Stick 4K Max or Roku into the free HDMI port instead.

Other owner notes: corners can be slightly softer than the center, the side vents push out a lot of warm air, and as with any single-chip DLP, a few viewers see brief rainbow flashes.

Against the alternatives

Feature	BenQ TK710STi	BenQ TK700STi	Optoma GT2160HDR
Light source	Laser, 20,000 h	Lamp, 4,000 h normal	Lamp
Rated brightness	3,200 lumens	3,000 lumens	4,000 lumens
Throw ratio	0.69 to 0.83	0.9 to 1.08	0.49
100 inches from	about 5 to 6 ft	about 6.5 to 8 ft	about 3 ft 7 in

More picks in best short-throw projectors and projector vs TV.

Who should buy it

• Buy it if your room is too small for a normal projector, you watch with some light on, you game, or you never want to buy a lamp.
• Skip it for dark movies in a pitch-black room, 4K 120Hz with VRR (a TV does that; see best TVs for PS5 and Xbox), or a one-box setup with good sound and apps.

How we picked

We gathered the measurements and expert reviews (ProjectorReviews on the closely related TK710, and Simple Home Cinema), put them side by side, and worked out what the individual reviews leave out, like real brightness on your screen size and laser life in years. Specs were checked on BenQ’s spec page. Every source is listed at the end.

FAQ

How far back does it go for 100 inches?

About 5 to 6 feet from the lens, using the zoom.

Does it support 4K 120Hz?

No. It does 4K 60Hz, or 1080p/1440p at 120Hz and 1080p at 240Hz.

Does it play Netflix?

Not natively on the bundled dongle; add a streaming stick.

Does it support Dolby Vision?

No. It supports HDR10 and HLG.

How long does the laser last?

BenQ rates it at 20,000 hours, about 13 years at four hours a day.

TK710STi or TK700STi?

TK710STi for less room and no lamps; TK700STi to save money if you have a bit more space.

Related guides

• Best short-throw projectors
• Projector throw calculator
• Best projector screens
• Projector vs TV

Sources: BenQ TK710STi specifications · BenQ TK700STi specifications · ProjectorReviews BenQ TK710 review · Simple Home Cinema BenQ TK710STi review