UHD PROJECTOR
BenQ headlines this as a ‘console gaming projector’, part of the company’s ‘X’ gaming series. And it has gaming features, yes, but it’s equally suited to more general entertainment, coming as it does with consumer 4K resolution, HDMI inputs, built-in speakers and even an Android TV stick to give it a smart streaming interface for standalone operation.
But despite its friendly operation and appearance, this is a serious projector. Pictures of the X3000i often don’t suggest its full size: it is 27cm wide and 20cm high, reaching back 26cm in depth.
This large cabinet gives it room to employ a 4LED light source, which adds a bonus blue/green LED to the previous 3LED ecosystem, thereby boosting brightness and colour luminance.
And it has the very latest in DLP projection technology, Texas Instruments’ DLP650TE, which has new larger flipping micromirrors in its four-flash delivery of Ultra High Definition.
So gamers may swoon for its bigscreen low-latency immersion; we were equally happy to load up a movie and kick back.
Android smarts
The X3000i is designed to work either way up, so table-mounted, conventionally ceiling-mounted or upside down on a high shelf… though that would be a fairly deep shelf. It will fire upwards from a table, or downwards from a ceiling, and usefully all its controls and air vents are on the sides, so it could be ‘hush-boxed’ easily, not that it turned out to need hushing.
There are two UHD-capable HDMI inputs onapps, BenQ says! For Australia this includes all the terrestrial catch-up channels, plus Disney+, Stan, Prime (with a direct access button on the remote), Binge, Kayo, Paramount+, Apple TV, Tubi, and many more. Not Netflix, yet (not BenQ’s fault — Netflix has been slow at licensing its app for projector use; several projector company are still “in discussions”). Meanwhile the QS01 can support Netflix via the included Wireless Projection app from a Chrome browser on another device, or more easily and reliably simply by having something plugged in by HDMI.
