The BenQ HT3560 is a 4k HDR home theater projector with advanced gaming features. It has a 1.3x optical zoom, letting you adjust the projection distance without physically moving the unit; it projects an 80" image at a distance of 79 to 102 inches, up to a 200" image at a distance of 197 to 256 inches, depending on the zoom level. The projector comes with auto vertical keystone technology to eliminate trapezoid effects when installed at an angle and includes a lens shift feature of up to 10% on the vertical axis. It has two USB 2.0 ports and three HDMI 2.0 ports, with eARC support, for up to 4k @ 60Hz or 1080p @ 240Hz gaming. It doesn't come with a smart OS or any wireless features. Finally, it has two integrated 5W speakers.
Our Verdict
The BenQ HT3560 is decent for watching movies. Its brightness and contrast are both okay; good enough to offer a pleasant viewing experience in dark rooms, but nothing exceptional. The projector's real strength lies in its excellent out-of-the-box color accuracy; this is a projector that color purists will be satisfied with without feeling the need to have it calibrated. It also has a wide color gamut, although it's not quite bright enough to make its colors pop.
-
Wide color gamut.
-
Excellent out-of-the-box color accuracy.
-
4k @ 60Hz/1080p @ 240Hz support, with eARC and HDCP 2.2.
-
No smart OS or wireless features.
- 7.4 Movies
- Updated Aug 07, 2024: Review published.
- Updated Aug 02, 2024: Early access published.
- Updated Jul 24, 2024: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated May 17, 2024: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated May 14, 2024: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We bought and tested the BenQ HT3560. It is the highest-end model in BenQ's mid-tier HT3550/3550i/3560 line of projectors. While it doesn't come with the BenQ QS01 Android TV dongle (which you can buy separately) like the BenQ HT3550i does, the HT3560 has three HDMI ports instead of two and has eARC support instead of simply ARC. Each HDMI port also supports up to 4k @ 60Hz or 1080p @ 240Hz, while the other models are limited to 4k @ 60Hz. Strangely, the HT3560 has two USB 2.0 ports, while the HT3550 and 3550i both have a USB 3.0 port alongside a USB 2.0 port.
|
Model |
Streaming dongle | ARC/eARC | 1080p @ 240Hz | USB ports | HDMI ports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BenQ HT3560 | No | eARC | Yes | 2 x USB 2.0 | 3 x HDMI 2.0 |
| BenQ HT3550i | Yes | ARC | No | 1 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 2.0 | 2 x HDMI 2.0 |
| BenQ HT3550 | No | ARC | No | 1 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 2.0 | 2 x HDMI 2.0 |
Our unit was manufactured in February 2024; you can see the label here.
Compared To Other Projectors
The BenQ HT3560 is a decent 4k HDR projector for watching movies in a dark room. It's extremely accurate out-of-the-box but offers only 'alright' image quality due to its okay brightness and contrast. Still, it's competitively priced for what it offers, as it has advanced features for gamers and movie aficionados alike, with HDCP 2.2 support on all three HDMI ports, eARC support, and up to 4k @ 60Hz and 1080p @ 240Hz. If you don't care about image accuracy, the ViewSonic PX701-4K is cheaper, has similar gaming features, and has slightly better image quality. If you don't care about gaming features but would like the projector to have a smart OS and wireless features, the XGIMI HORIZON Pro is a less accurate alternative.
See our recommendations for the best 4k projectors, the best cheap projectors, and the best projectors for home.
The BenQ HT3560 is better than the BenQ HT3550. They're extremely similar, but the HT3560 is vastly more accurate out of the box, making it the superior product for anyone who cares about image accuracy. It also has three HDMI ports instead of two and has eARC support instead of ARC. The HT3560 is also capable of up to 4k @ 60Hz or 1080p @ 240Hz, while the HT3550 is limited to 4k @ 60Hz. The latter does have one USB 3.0 port alongside a USB 2.0 port, while the HT3560 has two USB 2.0 ports.
The BenQ X500i is better than the BenQ HT3560. They're about equally as bright, but the X500i has better contrast and is slightly more accurate out-of-the-box. The X500i also comes with the advanced BenQ QS02 dongle, giving it a plethora of wireless and streaming features, while the HT3560 doesn't have a smart OS or any wireless features out-of-the-box. Finally, the X500i is a short-throw projector, so you can place it closer to the wall than the HT3560.
The ViewSonic PX701-4K is better than the BenQ HT3560 if you don't care about image accuracy; if you do, then the BenQ HT3560 is the better option, as the ViewSonic is very inaccurate and can't be improved much through calibration. Otherwise, the ViewSonic has a better contrast ratio, offering a better movie-watching experience in dark rooms. The BenQ has a much wider color gamut, but neither projector is bright enough to make their colors pop. They both support 1080p @ 240Hz for gamers, alongside 4k @ 60Hz through pixel shifting.
The BenQ HT3560 is a bit better than the Optoma UHD35, especially if you care about image accuracy, as the Optoma isn't very accurate and can't be improved much through calibration. The Optoma does have slightly better contrast, offering a better dark room experience if you don't care about image accuracy. Another advantage of the BenQ is that it has more ports overall, with three HDMI ports, eARC support, and two USB ports; the Optoma doesn't have any USB data ports, no ARC/eARC support, and only two HDMI ports.
The BenQ HT3560 is a bit better than the XGIMI HORIZON Pro, although the XGIMI comes with a smart OS and wireless features, while the BenQ doesn't. Still, the BenQ has slightly better contrast, is vastly more accurate, and has 1080p @ 240Hz support for gamers, making it somewhat more well-rounded; just make sure you get a streaming dongle if you care about watching content from streaming apps.
Test Results
The BenQ HT3560 isn't meant to be portable as it's a moderately sized projector without an integrated battery, so you need to plug it in. It has auto keystone correction, but only on the vertical axis, so you still need to center it horizontally to avoid a crooked image. It doesn't have autofocus, so you must manually adjust that to get the clearest image possible. It has two 5W speakers, so you can move it around without worrying about connecting it to speakers or a soundbar.
This DLP projector uses a lamp as its light source. Depending on the selected eco mode, the lamp can last from 4,000 to about 15,000 hours, after which you'll need to swap it for a new one. It's not a true 4k projector, as it uses pixel shifting to create a higher-resolution image. This offers better quality than a pure 1080p projector but isn't as good as a native 4k projector. It has a 1.3x optical zoom, letting you adjust the projection size without physically moving the projector.
This projector's brightness is alright. It's not bright enough to provide a good viewing experience in a moderately lit room, although it's bright enough to provide a pleasant experience in darker rooms.
The BenQ HT3560's contrast is okay. It performs a bit better in moderately bright scenes than in dark or very bright scenes. Overall, it offers a somewhat pleasant viewing experience when viewed in dark rooms, even if its blacks lean towards gray.
The projector has excellent image accuracy out of the box. Its gamma is almost exactly on point, with some minor accuracy errors throughout. Its white balance is amazing, with blues underrepresented in some shades of gray, but it's extremely minor. This means that the projector's color temperature leans a bit red when set to the 'Normal' temperature setting. The color accuracy is excellent, with only minor color mapping issues.
The projector's image accuracy post-calibration is fantastic. Its white balance is almost perfect, with barely any accuracy errors remaining. Gamma is now almost exactly on point, with only some brighter scenes that are still too bright overall. The color temperature is now on target, so it's neither too cold nor too warm. Finally, the color accuracy is fantastic overall, with only minor errors throughout.
The BenQ HT3560 has a wide color gamut. It does an excellent job with the Rec. 709 color space used with SDR content. It also does a good job with the wider Rec. 2020 color space, although there are some noticeable color mapping errors here, especially with yellows and cyans.
The BenQ HT3560 doesn't have a smart OS, but it does have two 5W speakers.
The projector has a 12v trigger out port that lets you signal a screen to unfold when the projector powers on and inversely retracts the screen when the projector is powered off, as long as your particular screen is compatible with that functionality. Unfortunately, the projector doesn't support Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. One of its USB 2.0 ports has power delivery, making it well-suited for powering a streaming dongle.