The BenQ TK700STi is a 4k HDR short-throw projector primarily meant for video games. Its short-throw lens projects a 100" image at a distance of 6.5 feet, 120" at a distance of 7.8 to 9.4 feet, and a very large 150" at a distance of 9.8 to 11.8 feet. The projector comes with 2D Keystone technology to eliminate trapezoid effects when it's installed off-center or at an angle, and also includes a picture rotation feature. Finally, it has two external and one internal HDMI 2.0b ports for 4k @ 60Hz or 1080p @ 240Hz gaming and an integrated 5W chambered speaker. It has Bluetooth support and comes with Android TV 10 on its included QS01 dongle.
Our Verdict
The BenQ TK700STi is alright for watching movies. Its native contrast is okay, and its brightness is decent, leading to a pleasant viewing experience when watched in a dark room, although its colors are a bit dull. Unfortunately, the projector's color accuracy before calibration is mediocre, and it doesn't improve significantly with calibration, so it's not ideal for color purists.
Bright enough for a dim room.
- Full suite of smart features with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support.
Passes through DTS audio formats.
Somewhat dull and inaccurate colors.
No Dolby Vision or HDR10+ support.
The BenQ TK700STi is a very good choice for gaming. It's bright enough to give you a comfortable image on a big screen in a dim room, with alright contrast and color that look fine for most titles, even if blacks never get truly deep. It's a very responsive unit with a ton of supported resolutions, and it has very low input lag, especially at 120Hz and 240Hz at 1080p. It doesn't officially support 1440p, which is a bummer for those using a Nintendo Switch 2, although it can be forced at 60Hz on the Xbox Series S. Finally, there's no Dolby Vision support for Xbox gamers.
Bright enough for a dim room.
120Hz and 240Hz support at 1080p.
Very low input lag.
Somewhat dull and inaccurate colors.
No 1440p support.
No Dolby Vision or HDR10+ support.
The BenQ TK700STi is bright enough to drive a large screen in a dark room without looking dim, which works well for both movie nights and long gaming sessions. You will want the lights mostly off for the best experience, as it does not have the sheer output needed to fight a lot of ambient light, and colors can look a touch muted rather than really vibrant.
Bright enough for a 100" screen in a dim room.
Very good brightness uniformity.
Not strong enough for very bright rooms.
Colors look a bit muted.
The BenQ TK700STi's contrast is okay enough to make movies and games look solid, but not dramatic. In a dark room, letterbox bars and deep shadows appear gray instead of truly black, so very dark scenes lack some depth. During typical gameplay or brighter movie scenes, though, the image looks clean and reasonably punchy, which suits its role as a fast gaming projector more than a dedicated home-theater machine.
Okay contrast for mixed movies and games, especially in brighter content.
Very poor contrast in dark scenes: blacks look washed out.
Changelog
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Updated Jan 14, 2026:
We've modified the text in our Brightness and Native Contrast text boxes as a result of our latest test bench and added a Sequential Contrast test. We've also added Brightness and Contrast performance usages in the Verdict section.
- Updated Jan 14, 2026: We've converted the review to Test Bench 0.11, which renames our Contrast test to Native Contrast, and adds a Sequential Contrast test box. We also added new Brightness and Contrast performance usages in Our Verdict. See the 0.11 changelog.
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Updated Oct 03, 2025:
We made some minor adjustments before our official TBU 0.10 launch.
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Updated Oct 03, 2025:
We've added text to the Imaging, Optics, Noise, Supported Resolutions, HDR Format Support, 3D, Input Lag, and Audio Passthrough boxes as a result of our latest test bench. We've also added Gaming and Game Mode Responsiveness usages in the Verdict section.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We bought and tested the BenQ TK700STi. This projector has a lower-end model, the BenQ TK700, which doesn't have Short Throw capability and doesn't come with the BenQ QS01 dongle.
| Model | Short Throw | Included Android TV Dongle |
|---|---|---|
| BenQ TK700STi | Yes | Yes |
| BenQ TK700 | No | No |
Our unit was manufactured in May 2023.
Popular Projector Comparisons
The BenQ TK700STi is a gaming-focused projector that really shines with 1080p @ 240Hz gameplay: it is responsive, reasonably bright, and easy to set up thanks to its short-throw design. It is also perfectly serviceable for watching movies in a dark room, with its alright contrast and brightness, but it is not trying to compete with BenQ's more movie-centric models when it comes to deep blacks or rich cinema picture quality. The included Android TV dongle gives you plenty of streaming apps without needing an external box. Still, if you don't need the short throw or the Android TV dongle, consider the cheaper BenQ TK700, which is almost identical, except that it lacks these two features.
Check out our recommendations for the best 4k projectors and the best short-throw projectors. If you prefer a cheaper product, consider the best projectors under $1,000 instead.
The BenQ TK700STi and the BenQ X500i are both part of BenQ's 'Immersive Gaming' series, and share many similarities. Still, outside of the TK700STi's higher peak brightness, the X500i is the better product overall due to its much better contrast, wider color gamut, and superior pre-calibration accuracy. Plus, the X500i comes with the newer QS02 dongle, which has more features than the older QS01 dongle that comes with the TK700STi.
The BenQ HT3550 and BenQ TK700STi are meant for different uses, as the HT3500 is primarily meant for home theater use, while the TK700STi is a gaming projector. Still, the TK700STi is no slouch for watching movies due to its satisfactory contrast and decent brightness, although the BenQ matches it for contrast. However, the HT3550 is significantly more colorful and much more accurate than the TK700STi post-calibration, making it the better choice for color aficionados.
The BenQ X3000i is better than the BenQ TK700STi, although the TK700STi is smaller and lighter and is a short-throw projector, so you can place it closer to the wall or screen. Still, the X3000i is brighter, has better contrast, is much more accurate, and has a wider color gamut. They both support 4k @ 60Hz and 1080p @ 240Hz, so they're equally great options for gaming.
The XGIMI HORIZON Ultra offers better image quality than the BenQ TK700STi, but the BenQ is a Short Throw projector, so you can place it closer to the wall or screen. The BenQ is also better for gamers as it can project both 4k @ 60Hz and 1080p @ 240Hz, while the XGIMI is limited to up to 4k @ 60Hz. Still, the XGIMI is brighter, has a wider color gamut, and is the more accurate of the two projectors.
We've independently bought and tested over 60 projectors, and we've published all the 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 methodology is also public on our website, so you can validate the results yourself.
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Test Results
The BenQ TK700STi projector has decent brightness in its Cinema mode post-calibration. It is comfortably bright enough for a 100-inch screen in a dark room and still looks fine with just a small lamp on, but it is not a true bright-room projector. Brightness uniformity is very good, so there are no distracting dark corners, but whites are noticeably brighter than colors, so the image looks a bit dull.
The table below shows how the other picture modes behave if you prioritize brightness over accuracy. Bright mode is by far the brightest but has much lower color brightness, so whites pop while colors look washed out. Living Room, Game, Sports, and User are all a step up in brightness from Cinema while keeping color brightness closer in line, making them better options if you want a punchier image for casual viewing or gaming. If you're looking for a similar gaming projector with better brightness, check out the BenQ X3100i.
| Picture Mode | WLO | CLO |
|---|---|---|
| Bright | 2393 lm | 719 lm |
| Living Room | 1436 lm | 782 lm |
| Game | 1598 lm | 820 lm |
| Sports | 1597 lm | 783 lm |
| User | 1598 lm | 783 lm |
The BenQ TK700STi's native contrast is okay. In very dark scenes, blacks sit above true black and look dark gray, so shadow detail is not as rich as on higher-contrast home-theater models. Once the image gets a bit brighter, though, the contrast holds up well enough that movies and games look reasonably deep and clean, especially if you keep a little ambient light in the room. Overall, it delivers a pleasant dark-room experience for mixed content, even if it will not satisfy someone chasing truly deep blacks.
The BenQ TK700STi's color gamut is decent. It does a fantastic job with the Rec. 709 color space used with SDR content, but it can't adequately display the wider Rec. 2020 space.
Before calibration, the BenQ TK700STi has mediocre color accuracy. While its white balance is good and its color temperature is excellent, albeit a bit warm, the projector's color accuracy is poor; all colors are significantly inaccurate, so this isn't the product for color purists.
The projector's image accuracy improves slightly after calibration, but it could be much better. Its color accuracy is better, but still subpar, and its white balance remains about the same as before calibration. Its color temperature improved, but it was already excellent.
This DLP projector uses a lamp as its light source, which can last from 4,000 to approximately 15,000 hours, depending on the selected eco mode. After this time, you'll need to replace the lamp with a new one. It isn't a true 4k projector, as it uses pixel shifting to create a pseudo 4k image. This offers better quality than a pure 1080p projector but isn't as good as a native 4k unit.
Unlike laser/LED engines, which often have one or more narrow spikes in their SPDs, this unit's UHP lamp helps produce less saturated peak output in deep reds/blues than some laser models.
The BenQ TK700STi is a short-throw model with manual zoom/focus and manual keystone (no lens shift). Below are real-world throw distances for common 16:9 screen sizes:
- 80″ → ~5.23–6.28 ft
- 100″ → ~6.54–7.84 ft
- 120″ → ~7.84–9.41 ft
- 150″ → ~9.81–11.77 ft
- 200″ → ~13.07–15.69 ft
- 300″ (max) → ~19.61–23.53 ft
For the best sharpness and lowest artifacts, keep the lens centered on the screen and avoid digital keystone when possible.
The BenQ TK700STi projector has a somewhat compact design, but it isn't meant to be portable. You can carry it around, but at 7 pounds, it's a bit chunky. It also doesn't have an integrated battery, so you must ensure you have access to a power outlet to use it. The projector has auto keystone correction, but only on the vertical axis, so you must still center it horizontally. It doesn't have autofocus, so you must manually adjust that to get the clearest image possible.
The projector features two external HDMI ports, one of which also serves as the eARC port. It also features one internal HDMI port located behind the rear BenQ cover, intended for use with the bundled BenQ QS01 Android streaming device. However, you can also utilize it with other devices if you don't require the dongle. Google Cast is supported with the QS01 dongle, and the projector supports Bluetooth.
The BenQ TK700STi projector accepts 4k @ 60Hz and 1080p up to 240Hz. Full 4:4:4 chroma is supported at 1080p @ 60Hz. Unfortunately, the unit doesn't officially support 1440p.
The BenQ TK700STi has very good latency, especially at 120Hz and 240Hz. Outside of Game mode, lag roughly doubles.
Even though there's no advertised DTS, the projector passes through DTS:X (via DTS-HD MA) and DTS 5.1 without issue.
