BenQ is known for its innovation across the home-entertainment industry. In fact, its range of 4K-enabled home theatre projectors is taking the whole world by surprise. That’s why we’ve created this comparison to determine the best amongst BenQ’s entry-level 4K projectors, TK800M vs. HT2550.
Both projectors support 4K native resolution and are priced in a similar ballpark. Thus, it’s a natural choice to pit the BenQ TK800M and BenQ HT2550 against each other.
Compared to other native-support 4K projectors, these are available at an affordable price. However, with this comparison, we’ll decide which one is better if you’re going to spend your money anyway.
Ready?
Let’s get started!
BenQ TK800M vs HT2550
- True 4K UHD Resolution: 8.3 million distinct pixels deliver awe-inspiring 4K UHD image quality with stunning clarity and crisply defined details
- Projector-optimized HDR: supercharged by HDR10 support with BenQ exclusive Auto HDR color rendition and cinema-optimized technology
- Cinematic Color technology accurately reproduces >96% of Rec.709 color gamut for authentic cinema experiences
- Smallest & lightest 4K HDR Projector: light, sleek, compact design with Auto vertical Keystone and 1.2x zoom make installation quick and easy
- All units purchased after 3/16/2018 include Firmware Update 1.0.3
- 4K PROJECTION TECHNOLOGY - 8.3 million distinct pixels deliver awe-inspiring 4K UHD image quality with stunning clarity and crisply defined details. NOT Double HD or 2K like other manufacturers
- DLP BETTER BY DESIGN - DLP Technology provides a better image resolution and quality without the "jaggier" and more pixelated compared to other technologies
- PLAY GAMES IN 4K.: Play your favorite console games in sharp 4K and picture quality. Lower input lag on this projector makes gaming fun on your PS4, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and others.
- HIGH CONTRAST RATIO: A high Native contrast ratio ensures that the image quality is sharp and has the best Black levels in its class
- OUTSTANDING BRIGHTNESS: Packed with 3000 Lumens of brightness, this projector is a great living room addition to watch all your sport events.
- CRYSTAL CLEAR IMAGE: All glass 4k-optimized lens Array (7 elements/4 groups) with greater light penetration increase image clarity and sharpness
- Included Components: Remote, Power Cord, User Manual, Quick Start Guide, Lens Cover
First Impression & Design
Let us begin by talking about BenQ TK800M first! This 4K projector was released back in Feb 2019, nearly over a year after the HT2550 was announced. This relatively makes it new as compared to its counterpart. You might initially be unable to spot any particular aesthetic difference between the two.
That being said, the BenQ TK800M flashes a rather unusual cyanic hue on its front panel. This might appear a bit flashy to some. Nonetheless, the color totally does its job of setting the projector apart from others.
BenQ TK800M comes in a white casing with the signature cyan front panel. The top right corner of the case is dedicated to a zoom dial and focus ring. These are located right over the lens, and they obviously help configure the perfect size and focus of the projection.
The top also features navigation keys towards the back left side. It includes a power button, eco/blank mode selection button, projection mode selection button, and source selection key. It even has indicator LEDs for power, temperature, and lamp conditions!
It comes with a powerful fan to cool it during extended viewing sessions. You may even observe the grills on the front panel to aid this purpose. The grills on the left, host the 5W mono speaker system for casual audio listening.
Comparitively, BenQ HT2550 is a more subtle looking 4K UHD projector. This one too comes in a white casing. Nonetheless, the front casing of this projector boasts a dark grey shade. Other than this, there are no significant changes in aesthetics compared to the BenQ TK800M!
The casing comes with similar sorts of grills all around the body. Some of these aids the inbuilt fan, while the remaining few are meant for sound dispersion. Speaking of which, the HT2550 comes with an identical 5W mono speaker like its counterpart!
However, the 5W mono speaker (in both the projectors) won’t be able to suffice your audio requirements. Hence, getting a dedicated home theater speaker system or a compact speaker will be a great choice.
The top panel of the projector hosts the lens and zoom adjustment rings. These enable you to adjust the projection to your liking. In any case, if you fail to achieve a proper rectangular shape for your projection, you’ll be aided by the inbuilt Keystone Correction adjustment feature. In short, the projector pretty much adjusts itself to give you the perfect rectangular projection!
One key difference between the Benq TK800M and HT2550 is the way they process an image. While the former can give you a brighter picture with 3,000 ANSI lumens, the latter uses 2,200 ANSI lumens for the task!
Built Quality & Performance
BenQ TK800M comes in a casing with dimensions 10.70 x 13.90 x 5.30 inches. The overall weight of this smart-looking device is nearly 9.20 pounds. BenQ TK800M is an improved version of its predecessor, the BenQ TK800.
Unlike most manufacturers, BenQ doesn’t simply repack its old products in new boxes with new labels. On the contrary, the TK800M comes loaded with a lot of additional features. [Check Review]
These include a whole new lens that has an Iris/Aperture ratio of 1.94 – 2.06. This allows the lens to have a varying focal length of 15.57 – 18.67 mm. In other words, it can cast projection size from 30″ to 300″.
The lens is securely contained in a sturdy lens mount that can definitely take a few hits before giving in. As much as we like this feature, we must warn you against trying to replace your sandbag with this projector.
BenQ TK800M hosts a powerful fan, given all the heavy lifting it has to go through. Even so, it sometimes makes us despise the very existence of the fan. That’s primarily because of its reasonably loud noise at 29 – 33 dB.
Having said that, we do acknowledge the brilliance that went into creating this machine. We say so because of its capability to process HDTV and 3D videos alike! In fact, it is compatible to project all HDTV videos under the range of 480i, 480p, 576i, 576p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p, and 2160p.
Moreover, its 3D compatibility enables it to produce beautiful images with resolution ranging from 1280x720p 120Hz, 1080p 24Hz, 1080i 60Hz, and 1080p 24Hz for Frame Sequence, Frame Packing, Side by Side, and Top – Bottom rendering!
As far as BenQ HT2550 is concerned, it comes enclosed in a similar casing with dimensions 10.70 x 13.90 x 5.30 inches. These are the same as its counterpart, although this projector weighs a bit more at 9.26 lbs. One thing that we like about this projector is the color accuracy it projects with.
To offer a vivid out, it uses Cinematic Color technology to achieve this feat. Moreover, it comes with a default 30 bits (1.07 billion colors) projection band and covers 96% of the Rec.709 color space. In simple terms, it produces life-like image. That being said, it is not as bright as the TK800M, and is mostly targeted towards budget home theater setup.
That’s because it uses a 2,200 lumens lamp to project the images. As a result, the projection isn’t idea for a bright room and might look faded during daytime or room with bright lights. [Check Review]
However, the Benq HT2550 is meant to be used as a home-theater projector in a controlled environment, which will help the projector function in its full glory.
Connectivity Options
On the connectivity front, both projectors have a similar set of inputs and outputs. This improves the connectivity range across all devices.
BenQ TK800M and HT2550 comes with 2x HDMI ports, Type-A USB port, mini-B USB port, VGA port, DC 12V trigger and RS 232 port.
Inclusion of these ports allow both the projectors to be connected to a wide range of devices like laptop, gaming console, streaming media player, set-top-box, digital cameras and so on.
Important Features & Functions
Both BenQ HT2550 and TK800M are 4K UHD projectors. And they both use the famed DLP system for projection. Furthermore, they come equipped with 3840 x 2160 pixels resolution powered by the XPR pixel-shifting technology.
That being said, you may choose to resize your projections down to 640 x 480 pixels via the VGA mode. The projectors retain their native aspect ratios of 16:9, nonetheless.
On top of that, each projector uses a 240W lamp as the primary light source. This enables both projectors to cast projections with a dynamic contrast ratio of 10,000: 1. This is slightly less than our favorite budget projector that offers a 15,000:1 contrast ratio.
Despite all similarities, BenQ HT2550 can cast more vibrant images over TK800M. On the other hand, TK800M compensates for this shortcoming by offering 3,000 lumens brightness output.
In short, the Benq HT2550 is geared towards home-theater usage, while the Benq TK800M is meant for an all-around usage for office, home theater, and gaming purposes.
Thus, casting brighter pictures with negligible effect on the color accuracy! As far as lamp life is concerned, TK800M comes with three distinct settings. The default setting is ‘Normal’ that exhausts the lamp within 4,000 hours.
The ‘Economic’ setting hugely compensates for the projection brightness to prolong the lamp life up to 10,000 hours. We won’t entirely recommend using this setting all time, given the difference you can observe in the picture quality!
The third setting is called the ‘SmartEco,’ and it adjusts the images’ brightness to avoid impacting the picture quality too much while also enhancing the lamp life to 8,000 hours.
BenQ HT2550, on the other hand, comes with four distinct brightness settings. The first three settings are identical to its counterpart. However, we were thoroughly impressed by the additional 4th setting it has.
We’re referring to the ‘LampSave’ mode. Using this, one will hardly show any difference to your images than the ‘Economic’ mode. Nevertheless, it does manage to enhance the lamp life to as much as 15,000 hours!
BenQ TK800M comes with six primary display modes to choose from. These include Bright, Vivid TV, Cinema, Sport, Football, and 3D. The Football mode emphasizes on producing lower latency over the usual Sport mode.
The Vivid TV mode is optimal for day-to-day viewing. In contrast, the Cinema mode pays proper attention to color details. We won’t recommend using the Bright mode unless you need to demonstrate a presentation! You also get two additional slots to save your custom settings within the projector.
BenQ HT2550, on the other hand, also has six primary modes, including Bright, Vivid, Cinema, Sport, ISF Night, and ISF Day. The additional ISF modes enable the projector to better adjust to its environment. Thus, giving this projector a definite edge over its counterpart.
Pros & Cons of BenQ TK800M
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Cons
Pros & Cons of BenQ HT2550
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Conclusion
To be honest, we feel Benq TK800M and Benq HT2550 both have certain unique features that help them thrive. That being said, we clearly see the difference in both. Therefore, we’d recommend going with the Benq TK800M because it is an all-around performer.
It will also come in handy while trying to present business or educational demonstrations. On the other hand, HT2550 has a definite inclination toward finer details such as color accuracy. Hence, if you want a budget home theater projector, then then BenQ HT2550 makes better sense
We’d suggest this projector if you consider yourself to be a connoisseur of movies and sport.
That being said, we’d still recommend going with the BenQ TK800M to get the best bang for your bucks. Moreover, it will find its use in Home Theater, Office, Classroom, Sports Bar, and is versatile due to its brighter lamp and multitudes of features.