Last year, Taiwan-based BenQ launched a short-throw projector with a focus on low input lag that was aimed at big-screen gamers. Now the company has crammed the same low lag chops into a new gaming projector that's billed as the first in the world to use a 4LED light source.
The x3000i DLP gaming projector features a 4LED light source with auto color calibration that's reckoned good for up to 20,000 hours of "normal" use, or up to 30,000 in eco mode.
As the name suggests, 4LED projectors make use of four LEDs instead of the more common RGB LED setups – and actually gain an extra blue LED that's "converted to green via the ceramic phosphor medium in order to amplify the overall output of green light." In addition to boosting green light output by some 40 percent, overall brightness also gets a bump by up to 12 percent (compared to a 3LED unit).
The rated 3,000 ANSI lumens should mean that you won't necessarily need to dim the lights or pull the blinds to enjoy a bright and colorful 4K UHD (3,840 x 2,160) image on the wall or screen. There's support for HDR10 content and 100 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut for true-to-life visuals, and included technologies promise to deliver "vivid contrast and realistic shadows."
The gaming projector comes with 1.3x optical zoom, rocks auto keystone correction for placement ease and runs Android 10. It also ships with an Android TV dongle for access to thousands of entertainment apps. Bluetooth 4.2 and 802.11ac dual-band Wi-Fi are cooked in, and users can mirror mobile content on the wall using Google Cast.
BenQ boasts that the x3000i offers refresh rates of up to 60 Hz in 4K or 240 Hz at 1080p, and it can be used with gaming consoles like Sony's PS5 (if you've been lucky enough to actually buy one), Xbox Series X and Nintendo Switch. Achieving those top refresh rates in Full HD mode could be problematic though given that the projector's HDMI 2.0b ports max out at 120 Hz at 1080p.
Input lag at 4K/60 Hz is reported to be 16 ms, and if you do manage to get 1080p/240 Hz throw output that goes down to just 4.16 ms (and it's 8 ms at 1080p/120 Hz).
Audio can be routed to a Dolby Atmos 7.1-channel home theater sound system via HDMI eARC audio pass through, though the x3000i does include a treVolo sound system comprising two 5-W full-range speakers and stereo field enhancement is included too. S/PDIF multi-channel audio out and a 3.5-mm headphone jack for quiet gameplay are available as well.
The x3000i 4LED gaming projector is currently up for pre-order for US$1,999, shipping is due to start from March 7.
Product page: x3000i
