PRICE $1999
AT A GLANCE
Plus
- Input lag lower than a snake’s tummy
- Three-point, easily accessible leveling feet
- Larger 0.65-inch (2716×1528 pixel) Texas Instruments Single DMD
- Preset modes tailored to FPS and RPG gaming
- 3-year/20,000-hour warranty
Minus
- No Color (Saturation) or Tint (Hue) main controls
- No HDMI 2.1 features such as ALLM or VRR
- Anemic onboard 5W Mono audio
- Compressed color gamuts dull cinematic nuances
- Some might feel the asking price outweighs the provided amenities
THE VERDICT
BenQ’s résumé for its TK710 intimates it seesaws back and forth between being defined as a gaming or entertainment projector. From the gaming perspective, it provides an excellent, class-leading big screen platform for bright, fluid images with ultra-low input latency. Its long-lasting, zero-maintenance laser illumination has ample oomph to adequately overcome moderately elevated ambient light environments.
Cinematically, it does not compete with the same vigor or achieve the same valor as its gaming persona. Images are bright and colorful and likely to please gaming enthusiasts desiring sports viewing or an occasional movie. However, average contrast and passable, but not accurate, color fidelity, does not elevate the TK710 to the same standard as its gaming performance elicits.
The TK710 commands a solemn recommendation for its splendid gaming performance, accompanied by the mention that its strongest attributes heavily tilt in that direction, which should be considered the primary reason for purchase.
BenQ TK710 Overview
BenQ refers to the TK710 as a Casual Gaming Projector, a category series descriptor it has cultivated to describe a number of projectors specifically designed for dual-purpose entertainment interests. Not marketed as a lifestyle contender and instead ‘dressed’ in traditional projector street garb, pricing for the TK710 is near enough the exchange rate for lifestyle-themed projectors, and its gaming strengths appeal to a fair share of the same audience, that it merits consideration by consumers shopping for a projector with tasty gaming chops yet versatile enough that Food Network’s Chopped looks appetizing in RGB.
Engineering for the TK710, however, appears to have been tailored to optimize gaming functionality, with broadcast or movie viewing as an included bonus and not necessarily reflecting principal design efforts. Indications pointing to this are basic Gain/Offset color temperature tuning, omitting expanded multipoint adjustments, and preset gamma selections, also sans multipoint fine-tuning. Most peculiar, missing from the main menu are color and tint (or, saturation and hue) controls, in place traditionally since color TV debuted. With most displays sold today, color decoding has attained a level of refinement where these controls are accessed seldomly. Still, their absence from the TK710 signifies either a bold step by BenQ engineering or a misstep by BenQ marketing. Curiously, a full color management system (CMS) is included. We’ll discover whether, if necessary, it can in any way circumvent issues that may arise from the previously mentioned omissions.
Features, Hardware, and Specified Performance Metrics
The TK710 sheds features found on similarly priced, highly rated tote-about PJs, such as a Smart TV OS, canyon-wide color gamuts, and motorized auto-wizardry. Additional frill-paring gives way to manual lens mechanicals and no dynamic metadata-enhanced video formats (Dolby Vision or HDR10+). In this new DOGE-influenced world, BenQ bean counters have additionally reasoned that five-watt monaural audio can in some way be enthralling.
Perhaps the just-mentioned bean-skimping enabled the pathway for TI’s larger single DLP chip, the 1080p native 0.65-inch pixel-shifter, which generates 8.3 million viewable pixels via Optotune’s actuator-controlled beam-shifting XPR (eXpanded Pixel Resolution) technology . While the TK710 employs a blue laser phosphor light source, this is no longer the unique feature it was when laser light engines were first introduced. The EU’s January 2026 ban on some mercury-based products (EU regulation 2023/2049), which includes metal halide and UHP bulbs in new projectors, by default, effectively bans lamp-based projectors. Manufacturers saw this unfolding, which led to the proliferation of alternative light source technologies.
Single-chip DLP light engines are known to create a visual artifact commonly known as the Rainbow Effect (RBE). The physics associated with a multi-segment color wheel spinning at up to 7,200 RPM and sequentially bouncing light off of mirrors gyrating in four directions invariably combine to enable color streaking to become possible, which, on objects or text, appears as rainbow-hued fringing.
Routinely plaguing highly sensitive viewers, while others only occasionally, the luckiest amongst us never detect it. I did not see RBE during gaming or movies on the TK710 with colleagues, testing its gaming pretensions, concurring.
Design and Connectivity
Measuring 12.0 x 4.4 x 9.2 in (WxHxD), the thermoplastic chassis shell is finished in sterile snow-white, interrupted by a gun metal gray fascia. The recessed lens cavity is lined in black. Minus curvy punctuating flairs that chassis designers are often fond of sculpting, rounded edges soften the TK710’s otherwise rectangular minimalist silhouette.
Rear panel connections include two HDMI 2.0b inputs with HDCP 2.2 support. HDMI 2 supports audio return channel, including Dolby Atmos support. Audio also exits via a 3.5mm mini-jack. A USB 2.0 Type-A input is rated to provide 1.5A power output, with the remaining tether to the outside world, a DB9-pin male RS-232 connector. At the rear, facing you as the projector is aimed at a screen, located on top of the chassis shell are navigational hard buttons, including the ubiquitous multipurpose directional pad, though all everyday menu options are accessible via the remote.
Image Size
On the TK710’s official website, an impressive and comprehensive BenQ Projector Calculator provides options for projector placement and screen diagonals from an impractical 30 inches up to an incredible 300 inches. Realistically, images larger than 150 inches diagonal will begin to suffer from a strained contrast ratio, exhibiting a washed-out appearance.
Optical Quality
Focus for the TK710 is adjusted manually, and despite the plasticky controls, sufficient precision exists (with a few solo trips to-and-fro the screen and machine) to produce a crisp center image. Clarity tapers off somewhat at the extreme image edge, ever so slightly blurring fine details compared to the center, using the ISF HD 1.78:1 geometry pattern from a Murideo SIX G Metal signal generator. While not severe, it merits notation. This is not unexpected for a projector in this price range, as lens assemblies alone for top projector models can be five figures.
Not as prominent as when a 100 IRE full white field pattern is displayed, but still perceptible with content, is a modicum of chromatic discoloration produced around the screen perimeter when the lens is zoomed fully open. This perimeter “haze” varies in intensity with picture mode as the white pattern reveals the color temperature differences in the picture mode presets.
Placement Options
The TK710 is designed with a throw ratio of 1.15 to 1.5 and a 1.3x zoom ratio. Lens adjustments are manual, with the included +10% vertical shift, while not overly generous, nonetheless welcomed for finessing the image into place. Today, marketing of compact take-along projectors highlights their ease of portability and digital geometry correction measures that correct for less-than-perfect temporary placement options. The lightweight, 6.6 lb. BenQ TK710 can make effective use of its version of this, dubbed 3D keystone, when the unit participates in gaming road trips on various neighborhood walls. While beneficial for non-critical viewers in impromptu setups, the use of digital geometry aids, in lieu of available physical correction measures, as a projector is prepared for permanent installation, should be avoided entirely.
For projector newcomers, describing the deleterious effects of digital image correction is far less demonstrative than the ubiquitous “one picture is worth…”
Below is the TK710 with a multiburst pattern comprised of vertical straight lines.
Lines vary in width in each of the five sections, with equivalent spacing between each line. The arcing artifacts displayed on the left side of the pattern are introduced by one click of vertical keystone adjustment made in the BenQ menu, altering correct pixel mapping. In gaming and cinema content, these artifacts smear fine details in the image.
Remotely Speaking
In some adult hands, the remote control might feel smallish. Lacking a requirement for additional buttons likely accounts for its size, with it merely a coincidence that leaning toward gaming-centric use would have BenQ scale its dimensions for younger palms. While not backlit, by-touch navigation is quickly familiarized, and frequent use is not required with this machine, which is limited to lean and mean features.
No Mean Feat
Mega-super kudos for three-point chassis adjustment feet, accessible while the unit remains stationary. This is something I have particularly groused about, frankly, for far too long. A tri-planar trio of accessible knurled plastic feet, two in the rear corners and a Godsend front (and still accessible) single-point foot, enables easy physical leveling of the projector without repeatedly having to alter its placement or disrupt dutiful screen fitting to simply accomplish leveling.
While these feet share zero DNA with the type tasked with balancing Wilson WAMM loudspeakers, using them once to level the machine underscores their value in this unvarnished design. It might remain unappreciated until attempting to level a projector with feet accessible only by hoisting the chassis and disturbing carefully toiled-over placement. Or, even worse, discovering adjustable rear feet, with fixed feet at the front, leaving no recompense for accurate leveling to properly align with the screen. For frequently relocated units, this frustration gnaws at you over time. A hat tip to BenQ, and a heartfelt suggestion to continue this across your projector mix.
Security Alert
One well-intentioned menu item, with the potential of becoming a down-the-road issue with curious or prank-prone types, is the password function found in the menu under System > Security Settings. Initiating it, then using the arrow keys with their manual-correlated number associations, and subsequently activating the Power On Lock function, leads to a fait accompli. Without the numerical password, you’re doomed as doom can be.
A feature common for projectors installed in educational environments, if the password ultimately cannot be produced, the ordeal involves contacting BenQ and providing proof of purchase. Understandable, but nevertheless, a nuisance.
Lagging Indicators
Addressing the all-important gaming side of the equation, BenQ placed a keen focus on input lag reduction. By their own contention, the TK710 touts the lowest input lag in the world, BenQ indicating an ultra-fast, pointedly specific 4.2 ms input latency in 1080p@240Hz. Supporting gameplay are new, specialized HDR FPS and RPG game modes designed to enhance colors and eliminate murky dark scenes.
Measured Performance
Rated Brightness by the Book
BenQ officially specifies ANSI lumen brightness at 3,200. In the lab, I positioned the projector-to-screen interface to allow lens zoom to be at its widest option without over-spilling the screen. This placed the TK710 (screen material to lens) 99 inches from a Stewart Filmscreen StudioTek 100, 100-inch diagonal (reflective screen material measurement), 1.78:1 aspect ratio screen. In this size and configuration, the aggregate reflective surface material totals 2.755 square meters (m2). This figure becomes the final multiplier by an average derived from readings at the screen from a lux meter facing the light emitted from the projector lens in a specified 9-zone pattern. These guidelines are per the ISO 21118 standard for measuring projector brightness in ISO lumens.
Display manufacturers routinely embellish contrast ratio, using wonky methodology to contrive cosmic-shattering results. BenQ specifies 600,000:1 as the contrast ratio for the TK710, measured Full On/Full Off. Not outlined is in what picture mode the projector was measured (presumedly, Bright), what adjustments, if any, were made to the picture mode, what pattern size was used, and the proximity of the lens to the screen when measuring.
Divulging this information makes for relatively easy duplication of the procedures employed and verification of published results.
Real World Brightness
From the protocol above and in the “Bright” picture mode, which produces the greatest amount of light output (at default settings). The aggregate of nine measurements, subsequently divided by nine, revealed 2,503.38 ANSI lumens. ANSI lumens multiplied by 0.8 converts the total to ISO lumens, the end result totaling 2002.70 ISO lumens. Accompanying the Bright mode is a pronounced greenish coloration. With the coarseness of the white balance controls, adjusting the green out in combination with lowering the contrast level, if not to meet 100 nits but simply to eliminate how the default setting was clobbering high frequency (image bright area) detail, the lumens advantage drops precipitously.
More appropriate for viewing use, in the Living Room picture mode, with the machine’s limited calibration options adjusted and light output reduced to as close to 100 nits as possible for correct ITU-R BT.709 playback, the TK710 produced 661.20 ANSI lumens from a 100 IRE full field (full screen) white pattern. Converted to ISO lumens, the unit produced 528.96 ISO lumens in real-world use mode for SDR content.
Color Reproduction Range
ITU-R BT.709 gamut coverage is specified at 95%. While instances of 100% saturated colors in content are rare due to the risk of “clipping” the signal (masking or losing detail), from a marketing perspective, it is somewhat puzzling that BenQ did not feel compelled to engineer five more percent into this design.
Undoubtedly, easier said than done. However, ramifications from a constrained or shifted color gamut can manifest as color deviations inside the gamut.
BenQ does not list a UHDA-P3 or ITU-R BT.2020 gamut coverage specification, but my measurements (see Test Bench) revealed an acceptable P3 color gamut, though at 81% gamut coverage, it falls below the UHDA minimum spec of 90%.
CMS Woes
While equipped with a full-color management system, prodding it to respond and make a difference with color decoding was another matter. I calibrated the TK710 in the Living Room picture mode memory with Normal as the color temperature selection.
Unfortunately, unlike BenQ’s fabulous W5800 I reviewed in November 2024 ( where x,y coordinates and luminance targets align perfectly for color decoding using its CMS controls, the TK710 falls quite a bit outside the shadow of the marque’s tallest tree.
After a ton of torque on the remote while consuming an inordinate amount of time (compared to other manufacturers), I managed to only get the TK710’s secondary colors (cyan, magenta, yellow) to fall into place. The primary colors (red, green, blue) simply would not respond accordingly. On the TK710, white balance gain and offset controls are far too coarse, with alterations in numerical increments of just one or two enacting wholesale measurement changes. Conversely, the range provided by the CMS controls traverses a broad chasm.
In one example with a primary color, I could finesse the green channel into the 20% saturation target; however, it collapsed the 40%, 60%, and 80% measurements inward, far from their targets. Resetting and then repeating the procedure at 40%, and then 60%, in both instances, the other percentages similarly failed to comply. The blue color channel, in particular, could not be coaxed into proper alignment. Defeated, I returned the CMS to its default settings, leaving it in that state for all subsequent viewing and measurements.
Typically, with a global color/saturation menu control, easing back on saturation a few steps will at least “pull” oversaturated colors “in” toward the middle black square in the Calman ITU-R BT.709 graph shown above, especially in critical skin tone regions between 20% to 40%. As mentioned, the TK710 forfeits this control, and unconventional attempts at accomplishing the same objective (equally reducing all gains and offsets by a large percentage, or reducing CMS saturations) all failed to impact desaturating these decoding errors.
Still, colorimetry was found relatively acceptable when viewing content or playing games. The errors did not grossly over-illuminate colors, and luminance levels (Y) shown above, with yellow as the example, tracked relatively close to their targets. Rather, the amount of chroma (x,y) for nearly every saturation level was elevated. Kaleidescape movie content viewed on the StudioTek 100 matte screen material displayed as slightly oversaturated, though on screen surfaces with gain, oversaturation would have appeared gradually more exaggerated.
For example, the faces in the SDR version of Lawrence of Arabia would be sunstricken, not merely weatherworn.
The results for HDR10 were similarly off-target. Below is the post-calibration snip from Calman. In Test Bench, you can see that simply correcting for an error in the blue color channel increased the grayscale deltaE from 6.9 to 16.7, and the max dE from an already stout 19.9 to 22.8.
Observed SDR Performance
Measuring the sequential contrast ratio of 1456:1 in the calibrated Living Room picture mode, I sought to determine if this was as penalizing as feared (given the specified contrast ratio of 600,000:1). While not OLED-like, scenes from 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back convincingly conveyed the stark black of space on the Stewart StudioTek 100. Sampling the stunning version of 2001, in early scenes where Dr. Floyd is en route to the moon station, and in the Star Wars remaster, nothing in the way of contrast ratios diminished my enjoyment or misinfluenced my interest in what I was viewing. The star fields were sufficiently “inky” as a backdrop to action in the foreground, and I would be hard-pressed to testify that twinkling stars were missing where they might have been present on the lab’s Sony BVM-HX3110 mastering monitor. Black bars atop and beneath the 2.20 and 2.40 aspect ratio images were not as black as the star fields (when projected on a matte screen, no consumer technology is), which, in turn, were not as black as the screen’s Velux velvet border.
Checking for subtle color hues and whether the constrained SDR gamut weened away those nuances, I played the animated film Inside Out in SDR from the Kaleidescape Strato V/Terra system. This manifested as a glaring instance where contrast ratio is as important for color vibrancy as it is for black not to appear as an elevated dark gray. Despite the TK710 oversaturating color images, the chroma palette displayed on Inside Out was winnowed down, with the normally explosive Pixar trademark colorimetry noticeably subdued.
Finally, with SDR, I tuned to the 4K live stream of F1 qualifying from the Hungaroring on the remote outskirts of Budapest, via AppleTV and the F1 TV app. 4K broadcasting on the app is new for 2025, and this might be why F1 owners, Liberty Media, are shopping the USA television rights. 4K for ESPN (at least in Tampa on Spectrum) is nowhere in sight, but interested streaming platforms such as AppleTV+ and Amazon are going front wing to gear box in a duel to outbid Disney/ABC.
Similar to Inside Out , the vibrant, punctuating “papaya” of McLaren instead looked like the dullish orange of an NBA basketball. Speaking of orange, in 4K, Ferrari’s 2025 paint scheme loses the ITU-R BT.709 tangerine tinge, plotting closer to its original, deeper-red hue that first debuted in 1947. Scuderia Ferrari calls their new color Rosso Racing 2025 Opaco. The livery’s hint of burgundy, viewed on the Sony BVM-HX3110, instead on the TK710, leads with Mandarin undertones paralleling tracking in Calman’s saturation sweeps where the gamut arcs red toward yellow. Interestingly, the BenQ takes the signal in from the F1 app on AppleTV and displays it at 50 Hz (middle image below).
Observed HDR10 Performance
After adjusting only the white balance gain controls in the HDR mode, I cued up Inside Out 2 , where I noted “the TK710 begins to redeem itself.” While not a total transformation, the wider (though, as noted above, not to UHDA spec) gamut coverage offered more dimensionality to the emotive characters. Riley’s driving forces exhibited greater textures with a hint of depth, which was lacking in SDR with the original movie, where they appeared painted onto plywood, pale, as if the colors were only partially rendered. The sequel was composited with greatly advanced graphics programs that enabled particle shapes unavailable when the original was under development, contributing to “dimension” in items such as hair and the appearance of skin.
HDR10 performance, which will likely dominate movie watching for game-oriented younger TK710 purchasers, may not fully satisfy cinema enthusiasts in trade for disappointing them less.
In the opening chapter of Top Gun: Maverick , the desert testing operation for the experimental plane and its Mach 10 intermediate goal reveal where a greater contrast ratio would benefit shadow details, though blacks were solid.
Game Performance
In the lab are a PlayStation 5 and an Xbox Series X. Never accused of being a gamer, I dabble, simply for testing in reviews. The discs for each are racing-oriented: Gran Turismo 7 for PlayStation, and Forza Horizon 5 for X Box. My old hockey “hand-eye” days are well past me, but I found on the TK710, I seemed to fare better than normally, with lag not an issue, at least for my skill level.
Input Lag Times
BenQ specifies input lag as follows: 16.7 ms (1080P 60Hz), 16.7ms (2K 60Hz)* downscaling to 1080p 60Hz, 16.7 ms (4K 60Hz), 4.2 ms (1080P 240Hz), 8.3 ms (1080P 120Hz), 8.3ms (2K 120Hz) *downscaling to 1080p 120Hz
My lag measurements were very close to BenQ’s specifications, but not bang-on. I used a 3-meter Bullet Train 48 Gbps HDMI cable from the Bodnar to the projector, which may account for my 1920x1080p 240 Hz measurement being .5 ms slower and at 4K/60p, 1 ms slower than specified. These are excellent measurements nonetheless.
Observing colleagues, far more adept at gaming, stepping in (well, demanding) to play while I noted the colorimetry of the game modes, the racing games from both platforms were vivid and bright. Detail Adjustment, more for the pop-up threats in FPS games, was not needed. The only downside noted: Audio.
Audio
Last and least, in order of capability and desirability, is the onboard audio.
Giving away my age, with eyes closed, the sound was nearly identical to EPRAD drive-in movie speakers you would hang on the inside of your car door.
While not the reason for buying a projector, if it is included, at least provide a reason to use it. Acceptable for newscasts, expectations it will do justice to the Dune franchise sadly need to be lowered.
Final Analysis and Conclusion
The BenQ TK710 is the quintessential “riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” The omission of Color and Tint controls, more so at least a throttle governing color saturation, is perplexing. The SDR Saturation Sweeps snip from Calman in the Test Bench section clearly depicts the TK710’s inability to track primary and secondary colors to match ITU-R BT.709 x,y, and Y targets. UHDA-P3 HDR10 sweeps exhibit similar mistracking. A color/saturation control (aside from individual saturation channel controls in the CMS menu) might have been able to desaturate the 20%, 40%, and 60% areas to more closely align with their targets around those coordinates, representing color regions where skin tone reproduction resides. Attempts at desaturation by equally and substantially reducing the gains and offsets failed to produce a meaningful result, nor did reducing the saturation controls in the CMS section. Manufacturers do things for a reason, and while not overtly discernible with the TK710, with minimal correction to reign in white balance, color approximately tracks within tolerances deemed acceptable to “casual observers,” meaning, by eye, skin tones do not appear distractingly off the mark.
Still, viewing content in both SDR and HDR10 and intentionally seeking wayward colorimetry, the TK710 was puzzlingly free, or at least reasonably distanced from, color miscues in broadcast or more importantly movie content, egregious enough to remove you from “suspension of belief.” Familiar or reference content might not ideally register with the same depth of color and dynamic contrast you are accustomed to.
If the hunt is on for a projector with Academy Award potential that can accommodate occasional game play, the TK710 might not do justice to your priorities. However, if what tops the list is first-class gaming performance and you are making the jump from a small flat panel into your first projection setup, image size and total immersion will overtake the just-passable cinema color performance, and when prioritizing this perspective, the TK710 can easily be recommended.
TEST BENCH
Associated Calibration and Evaluation Equipment:
Video calibration signals were supplied by Calman Ultimate calibration software from Portrait Displays, sent through a Murideo SIX-G-8K-M generator using Bullet Train 48 Gbps HDMI AOC and copper cables.
Lag signals were supplied by the Leo Bodnar 4K HDMI Signal Lag Tester.
Measurements were performed by a Colorimetry Research CR-100 colorimeter, profiled by Calman from a Colorimetry Research CR-300, 2 nm spectroradiometer. The projector (lens) was centered on and 99 inches from an ISF-certified Stewart StudioTek 100, 1.0 gain, 100-inch diagonal matte reference screen.
Lux readings were taken by a Datacolor LightColor Meter (lux readings only).
Reference Display For All Images: Sony BVM-HX3110 Mastering monitor.
Sources: Kaleidescape Strato V Player/Terra 6TB Server, Panasonic DP-UB9000P1K, ADTH NextGen 3.0 TV Tuner/Antop AT-800SBS Antenna
Apple TV 4K Gen 3
HDMI Signal Switching (when used): AVPro Edge AC-Axion X 16×16 HDMI Direct-connect Matrix Switcher (most testing and evaluation signals are direct-connect from sources).
AC Power Monitoring by Brand Electronics One Meter 127 Digital Power Meter
This power meter monitors and logs AC wattage draw from its single AC outlet by the connected device.
Note: The BenQ TK710 drew 185 watts in default Bright Mode (the highest light output and most stringent draw on the power supply), displaying a 100 IRE full field white pattern. The meter varied in the 0.XX domain but never pulled more than one watt over a 10-minute monitoring period.
Meter Profile
Colorimetry Research CR-100 profiled from a Colorimetry Research CR-300
Meter profiling generates a Four-Color Correction Matrix, an industry-standard correction method developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This matrix adjusts the colorimeter’s readings to closely match the spectrophotometer’s accuracy for the measured display.
Pre-Calibration Settings
Pre-Calibration, Living Room Picture Mode
I selected this mode for calibration as the light output in ECO was the lowest (158.017 nits), making it closest from the start to the 100 nits target for ITU-R BT.709
Pre-Calibration Bright Mode
In RGB balance, notice the heavy green emphasis, with blue and especially red plummeting to become severely deficient in the range of colors principally controlled by gain adjustments.
Pre-Calibration RPG Mode
RPG is an SDR game mode. Tracking close enough to the just noticeable difference (JND) for cinema viewing, it will appear “warmish” from the rising red.
Pre-Calibration FPS Mode
Nearly identical to the RPG mode with white balance, the FPS SDR game mode is characterized by the lifted gamma (the gray arc riding above the yellow reference line in the Luminance square, bottom left. This is designed-in, to brighten shadow visibility for FPS action games.
Pre-Calibration Cinema Mode
Cinema mode tracks nearly identical to the RPG game mode.
Pre-Calibration User Mode
Post-Calibration Living Room Picture Mode
With a minimum of control (essentially white balance only), the TK710 manages to track extremely well. The downside is CMS decoding (note the drastic gamut luminance errors for all but yellow.
The TK710 tracks RGB balance very well, with adjustments to only the red and blue gains (see settings, further below). Color temperature at 10 IRE (dark gray close to black) is elevated, which is not uncommon with single-chip DLP designs reflecting controlling light splay, which affects contrast ratio.
Targeting gamma for 2.4 and for proper tracking at 100 nits, gamma was required to be set to 2.5 in the Living Room picture mode.
Post-Calibration Living Room Picture Mode After 15 Operational Hours
This reading was taken at the end of all testing and viewing, which took place over 15 operational hours, three weeks’ time, and dozens of power cycles.
Notice how closely it matches the original post-cal taken. This indicates that the BenQ TK710 maintains excellent calibration and display stability, in fact, tightening up RGB balance over time as the machine accumulated hours.
Ongoing, I will continue this protocol, as it provides potential purchasers with a barometer of long-term performance and not a simple analysis of a projector in a reviewer’s hands for merely a few hours or days.
ITU-R BT.709 Color Gamut
The TK710 comes within a whisker of BenQ’s specified 95% gamut coverage.
ITU-R BT.709 Saturation Sweeps
ColorChecker ® Analysis
The errors depicted in both the saturation sweeps and color checker graphs are central to the TK710’s lackluster cinema performance. The deltaE errors, which correlate to color anomalies readily perceptible visually, in addition to instrumentation, are massive.
While the TK710 has a full Color Management System, the CMS only partially worked (as the review mentions, with the secondary colors), and with an extreme amount of alteration, despite the range provided. Radically swings in settings departing from their manufacturers’ defaults, no matter if the software indicates things appear to be falling in place, typically coincide with inducing errors elsewhere, perhaps not measurable, but visible, such as banding in the image.
Contrast Ratio
To attain a 100 nit target for ITU-R BT.709, contrast was reduced from its 50 default to 39. Normally, reducing contrast should be avoided, as it will reduce contrast ratio. Other luminance reduction methods, such as laser power, should be used. However, laser power for the TK710 is controlled only by presets and not by a sliding scale adjustment, making contrast reduction the only possibility. On the ISF white pluge pattern, the contrast default of 50 masked all the white “boxes” above 235 (referred to as “clipping”), which backing contrast down to 39 restored. Content information above 235 would include details in clouds.
This is the Sequential Contrast Ratio (On/Off) with the TK710 calibrated to 100 nits in Living Room Mode, which can be considered the “real-world” contrast ratio for the SDR mode.
Sequential Contrast Ratio in Bright Mode Default
SDR Post Calibration Settings
HDR Calibration Report
While normal practice is not to make adjustments to offsets, it was the only means to bring the RGB balance
close. Note in the data that the offset correction worsens the deltaE error post-cal, increasing the average from 6.0 to 6.9, but increasing the maximum error from 14.1 to 19.9. This reflects what I mentioned about CMS and about making radical changes that manifest elsewhere. In content, I did not perceptually detect these changes as having created issues, with the black detail in Top Gun: Maverick appearing as anticipated. Additional content viewed, though not commented on in the review, such as Star Wars and 2001 in their Kaleidescape HDR10 versions did not appear discolored in any manner.
UHDA P3 Gamut Coverage
BenQ has no specification for UHDA-P3, however as noted in the review, 81% is below the UHDA specification minimum of 90%.
ITU-R BT.2020 Gamut Coverage
BenQ TK710 Spectral Power Distribution
The graph above represents the “fingerprint” of the TK710’s laser light source across the various wavelengths of visible light. In this instance, measurement data was collected by a Colorimetry Research CR-300 photoradiospectrometer and profiled for review readings to a Colorimetry Research CR-100 colorimeter. Calibration informed by meter profiling ensures that color matching by the software is precise and reliable.
Due to their extremely slow data collection times, photoradiospectrometers are impractical for full calibration. However, the SPD reading from a 2 nm photoradiospectrometer, like the CR-300, through the Calman profiling process can be used by faster colorimeters to aid in calibration, with Calman software performing a transform (Four-Color Correction Matrix) that in effect, retains and transfers the photoradiospectrometer’s accuracy to the colorimeter.
