A Budget 4K Beamer

BenQ Cineprime HT3550 4K DLP Projector

- By Al Griffin

AS YOU might expect, low-cost projectors are much more common than premium models. Survey the market, and you’ll find loads of options in the under-$3,000 range, while projectors priced above $10,000 are rare birds, indeed. Even so, affordable models are by no means basic: a look at the under- $1,500 range will turn up plenty of projectors with features such as 4K and HDR10 support—BenQ’s $1,499 CinePrime HT3550, for example.

What lies in store for the discriminating home theater-phile when they venture beneath that $1,500 price threshold? You mainly forego projectors with display chips featuring true 3,840 x 2,160 (or higher) resolution like those available from JVC and Sony. DLP models like the HT3550 combine a lower-resolution chip (BenQ uses the latest 0.47-inch DLP XPR offering from Texas Instruments) with a rapid pixel-shifting process that effectively achieves Ultra HD onscreen resolution. And while that might sound like a workaround, it’s hard to argue with the results, since even fussy viewers would be hard-pressed to distinguish a pixel-shifted Ultra HD image from one generated by a discrete 3,840 x 2,160-pixel display chip when watching movies or TV.

Another reality of the under- $1,500 projector range is that models lack many amenities provided by higher-end models that help simplify installation such as a zoom lens with a substantial range, along with powered focus, zoom, and lens shift controls. This essentially means you have to work harder when initially installing the projector, and your placement options are more limited as well.