*** Edited 2021-12-21 from the original Q3 2020 review. *** After 18 months with this projector, I have the same opinion of this project. Lots of compromises. The well-received reviews of it being a "no-compromise" projector are particularly troubling - this projector is literally defined by its compromises. 4k-ish. Fake HDR. The loss of features that exist in previous models. See the original review. Interestingly, the manufacturer responded to my review, confirming the very compromises I reported. That response and my return response have since disappeared. I write this update to report that the projector does not age well. The projector's weaknesses impact the viewing experience more as high-quality HDR content becomes available. Instead of improving the experience, the Benq "HDR Pro" feature, which fakes 10-bit HDR support toward the content source, causes the displayed content to have muted color. Practically speaking, it means that your content source will detect an HDR-capable projector. If HDR content is available, It will serve the 10-bit HDR content instead of the 8-bit non-HDR content, which it also has for non-HDR displays. The TK850 will then down-convert the 10-bit content to 8-bit, which, unfortunately, will be of lower quality than what would have been display if the native 8-bit content had been served. The output will be worse. This is bad - the project is creating a worse experience by lying about its capabilities covering it up. More unfortunately, the TK850 is capable of very nice color that it won't be displaying! Even if you display HDR in the projector, it will still report HDR capability to the content source. 99% of consumers won't recognize the problem and the solution - completely disable HDR. Disabling HDR, not only in the projector, but your content source - in my case, a Roku. Movies with HDR10 support and brilliant color are how you can see this. For completeness, I'm using a current Roku Ultra running through an HDFury Arkana (for Dobly Atmos, another crutch I've had to take on for this projector). Try these movies: - Disney+: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - Disney+: Coco - Netflix: Altered Carbon I have attached a screenshot from Coco with HDR turned on and off. Turn off HDR and you have yourself a better projector! It's not terrible, by any stretch. But I interpret this as deception, a marketing department that has gone too far. I'll be on notice next time I'm looking for a projector. Reports of dead pixels are true. I have had one dead pixel that appeared about a year after purchase. Luckily, I don't notice most of the time. If I had more, it would become another sore point. *** Original *** This review is about the BenQ TK850. It's worth noting that here on Amazon, reviews for the TK850 and similar BenQ HT3550 are intermixed. The TK850 is significantly brighter, while the HT3550 is a lower-lumen, more color-accurate projector. I purchased the TK850 to replace a BenQ HT2150st, a short-throw 1080p projector. I also have a BenQ W1070P. These are mounted on the ceilings of urban lofts with relatively high exposure to outdoor light. They do a great job of reducing the space required for TV and sound while providing a great viewing experience. Having been happy with the first two projectors, going with BenQ for the third seemed like a no-brainer. The reviews for the TK850 were great. However, now that I know more about what I purchased, I will be more cautious in the future. With a price as high as the TK850's, I am surprised at the number of compromises and limitations. This isn't to say that the project cannot create a great picture - it can - but at this price, I question the value. This projector does a lot of "faking it." More concerning is the fact that many half-implemented features are branded and offered as selling points. I'll point these out throughout the review. First, a key selling point. At 3000 lumens, the TK850 is indeed brighter than the 2200 and 2000 lumen BenQ projectors. Is it ready for full sunlight? Definitely not. But it is viable in more lighting scenarios than the others. "True 4k" - The projector produces the 3840x2160 resolution it claims, but not as a "native 4k" project. In a technique called "pixel shifting", known to some as "faux-k", it does so by rapidly shifting a 1080p (1920x1080) image slightly, rending four offset 1080p images that approximate a 4k display. The resulting visual is better than 1080p, but not as good as a native 4k projector. Real, native 4k projectors cost significantly more, so this compromise seems like a sensible one. The "True 4k" marketing is intentionally misleading, but is also the norm for 4k projectors in the same price range. Moreover, a setting exists called "silence", which reduces the noise produced by the projector; it does so by stopping the pixel shifting process, rendering the projector a 1080p device. "HDR-Pro" - HDR, or High Dynamic Range, is a technology that claims to offer brighter brights and deeper darks, enable colors to "pop" and providing a richer visual experience. It does by providing greater color depth, 10-bit rather than the traditional 8-bit. For it to be enabled, the content must support it. The TK850's "HDR-Pro" half-implements HDR. Toward the content source, a Roku Stick, for example, it is able to accept and process HDR. But by the time the light is projected, it has been down-factored to 8-bit. The TK850's HDR support renders better, brighter images, but they aren't true. Occassionally, content will appear oversaturated, noticably flattening a bright object and reducing the detail across its surface. Not a show-stopper, but once you've seen it, you'll see it every time. When content changes from non-HDR to HDR, expect a 5-second transition time in which the screen is black. Tolerable, since sound begins and the screen does eventually appear. Not desirable. Weak darks - HDR suggests that the TK850 can do dark darks. It can't This is a relatively high-lumen projector, and the darks suffer. The project has many features to attempt to improve dynamic range. Dynamic Iris. HDR "levels". Fancy color calibration. Purple fringing - At the borders of solid whites, usually used in on-screen titles and descriptions, a purple fringe can be seen from several feet away. This is a common optics issue, and easily missed with moving pictures. It does impact one's perception of image quality. The speakers - just forget these. If they were twice as good, they would still be unacceptable. At the end of the day it usually pretty good! But it doesn't take it over the line to native 4k, real HDR, and full P3 color gamut. Two unexpected limitations are particularly problematic: HDMI ARC is stereo only. HDMI ARC is a feature in which the projector sends its audio signal back to a receiver via HDMI. The feature can simplify wiring significantly. It was not provided on either the HT2150 or the much older W1070. Unfortunately, no matter what signal is provided by the content source, that content will be down-rendered into stereo. No surround sound. No Dobly Digital, DTS, ATMOS, etc. The limitation ensures that having surround sound will be significantly more complicated, if not impossible. Pairing the TK850 with a Sonos Beam or Sonos Arc, there is no realistic wiring scenario to support surround sound. The problem comes from the fact that HDMI ARC relies on a different set of the cable's pins, and most sound equipment supporting HDMI ARC will not take audio directly from the content. BenQ should look seriously at supporting surround sound in its future projectors. No HDMI CEC - CEC, or Consumer Electronics Control , enables one HDMI-connected device to control another. Most notably, it enables a content source - Roku, etc - to turn the projector on and off. The content source might detect that no one is watching, gracefully shutting off the projector to save power and projector bulb hours. Both of the older projectors supported it, this TK850 does not. At the end of the day, the TK850 was a slight visual improvement (one step forward), that complicated how I control the AV system and prevented me from upgrading my stereo (two steps back). I canceled an $800 Amazon purchase, the Sonos Arc soundbar, because this projector couldn't do what a TV does with HDMI Arc. And I now have to think much more about turning the projector on and off. I'm still keeping the projector, but I might not buy it again, and I would spend more time looking at competing products. I emailed BenQ about some of these issues. The loss of CEC, in particular, was a concern for me. They never responded. If you expect technical support for your future projector, look for reviews discussing how well each manufacturer did.