The BenQ HT4550i is a 4k HDR10+/HLG 4LED projector primarily meant for watching movies. It projects a 100" image at a distance of 8.3 to 10.8 feet, 120" at a distance of 10 to 13 feet, and a very large 150" at a distance of 12.5 to 16.3 feet. The projector has a 1.3x optical zoom to help adjust the projection size without moving the unit. The projector comes with auto vertical keystone technology to eliminate trapezoid effects when installed at an angle. It includes a lens shift feature of up to 60% on the vertical axis and 15% on the horizontal axis. There are three HDMI 2.0 ports; one is reserved for the included QS02 HDMI Media Streaming dongle, and another doubles as the eARC port for advanced audio passthrough. The dongle also supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0, as well as Android TV 11.0. The projector can do up to 4k @ 60Hz or 1080p @ 240Hz with very low input lag when gaming. Finally, the projector has one 5W speaker.
Our Verdict
The BenQ HT4550i is very good for watching movies. Its native contrast is good, and its brightness is excellent, leading to relatively deep blacks and a very bright image when watched in a dark room. The projector is bright enough to handle moderately lit rooms, so you can watch movies with a few lights on. The projector has a very wide color gamut and is bright enough to make some colors pop. The projector's color accuracy before calibration is good, but you can improve it further with the unit's extensive calibration options.
- Good contrast for a pleasant viewing experience in dark rooms.
- Very wide color gamut.
- Excellent peak brightness.
- Good pre-calibration accuracy that can be improved even more with calibration.
Changelog
- Updated May 21, 2024: Updated text throughout the review according to Test Bench 0.9, mainly in the Verdict, Compared To Other Projectors and Contrast sections.
- Updated May 21, 2024: We've converted this review to Test Bench 0.9. We've overhauled our Contrast tests, as we now measure contrast at various average pixel levels (APL). You can see the full changelog here.
- Updated Feb 20, 2024: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We bought and tested the BenQ HT4550i. The projector is a high-end product within BenQ's Dark Room Home Cinema Series, with only the BenQ HT5550 and BenQ HT8060 sitting above it. It doesn't have any variants.
Our unit was manufactured in May 2023; you can see the label here.
Popular Projector Comparisons
The BenQ HT4550i is a very good higher-tier 4k HDR10+ projector for watching movies due to its good contrast, excellent brightness, and very wide color gamut. It's also a good gaming projector with 1080p @ 240Hz support with low input lag. However, as good as it is, it's expensive for what it offers; if you're only interested in a pure home theater experience, then the Epson Home Cinema 5050UB is better for a similar price. Otherwise, the BenQ X3000i and Epson Home Cinema 3800 are just as good as the BenQ HT4550i for a much lower cost, and the X3000i, in particular, also matches the HT4550i for gaming features.
Check out our recommendations for the best 4k projectors and the best projectors for home theater. If you'd prefer a cheaper unit, look up the best projectors under $1,000 instead.
The Epson Home Cinema 5050UB is better than the BenQ HT4550i for watching movies, but the BenQ has the edge in gaming and smart features. The Epson has better contrast, so it looks better in dark rooms and is more accurate out of the box than the BenQ. The BenQ, however, includes an Android TV 11 smart dongle with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support, while the Epson has no smart or wireless features. The BenQ is also better for gamers with its 1080p @ 240Hz with low input lag capabilities.
The Epson Home Cinema 3800 is better than the BenQ HT4550i for watching movies due to its edge in brightness and contrast, but the BenQ is the more modern device with its smart features and better gaming capabilities. The BenQ also has a much wider color gamut, but the Epson, in turn, is the more accurate of the two projectors out of the box. The BenQ comes with an Android TV 11 smart dongle with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support, while the Epson doesn't have any smart features, although it does have Bluetooth with aptX support. Finally, the BenQ is also much better for gamers due to its 1080p @ 240Hz with low input lag capabilities.
The BenQ HT4550i is better than the Hisense C1. It gets significantly brighter and displays more accurate colors, though the Hisense has better contrast, so it looks better in dark rooms. The optical zoom on the BenQ gives you more flexibility with placement, and ports like a 12V trigger make it more suitable for a dedicated home theater setup. That said, the Hisense may be a better-value option for those who just want an all-in-one solution.
The BenQ X3000i and BenQ HT4550i are marketed for different uses, with the X3000i meant for video games and the HT4550i for home theaters, but they're similar, with the HT4550i having a very slight edge in image quality. The HT4550i has better peak brightness and a wider color gamut, although the X3000i is the more accurate of the two out-of-the-box. They're a match for gaming, both having 4k @ 60Hz or 1080p @ 240Hz support with low input lag. They both come with Android smart dongles, but the HT4550i comes with the better dongle, which has Android TV 11 and Bluetooth 5.0, versus Android TV 10 and Bluetooth 4.2 on the X3000i.
We've independently bought and tested over 80 projectors and published detailed results for each, so you can decide which one to buy. These have all been tested under the same standardized methodology, allowing you to compare them side by side. We still have all these projects in our lab, so we can continually go back and compare them to ensure our reviews are still accurate. All our test methodologies are also public on our website, so you can validate the results yourself.
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