BenQ X3000iBenQ X3000i Projection review (2023)

BenQ X3000i: one-minute review

7 min readFeb 17, 2023

BenQ’s choice of a near-cube for the X3000i gives it a friendly footprint for a full UHD 4K projector which incorporates the latest in DLP projection technology to deliver 3000 lumens of big-screen brightness, including the company’s usual excellent color delivery.

This proves to deliver impressive results for movie and TV projection, assisted by the X3000i’s inclusion of a built-in Android dongle to stream nearly all of the major services (though notably not Netflix). This also enables easy Chromecast and Apple AirPlay video streaming, although we found the best and most reliable results to be achieved by plugging in external sources to the two HDMI external inputs.

One of those inputs can welcome a games console or PC, and BenQ has loaded the X3000i with preset game modes for different styles, while the projector achieves input lags down to 4.16ms with 1080p/240Hz material, 16.67ms for 4K/60p.

Pros

+Big-screen delivery with great color
+Latest DLP projection technology
+Gaming-specific features
+Android TV dongle included

Cons

-Built-in sound too small for big-screen viewing
-Android dongle outputs at 60Hz only

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BENQ X3000I REVIEW: PRICE AND AVAILABILITY?

What does it cost? $1,999 / £1,899 / AU$3,299
When was it release? Announced early 2022
When is it available? On shelves now at major retailers
The BenQ X3000i sells for £1,899 / $1,999 / AU$3,299 / €2,399.

Do not confuse this model with BenQ’s X1300i; the two look similar and deliver the same 3,000 lumens of brightness, but the X1300i projects only at 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, not the higher 4K UHD image quality of the X3000i reviewed here.

BENQ X3000I REVIEW: DESIGN

Versatile design for positioning
Twin HDMI inputs with ARC
Internal Android TV dongle

BenQ’s X3000i projector owes more to the design of Best mini-projectors than it does to the more usual wide projector housings of true home-cinema models. Yet it is not as dinky as the pictures can sometimes make it appear, measuring 27cm wide by 20cm high, and 26cm deep. The front edge and curved corners are given a friendly strip of orangey-red, and the lens window is unusually positioned at top left of the front panel.

This smaller footprint is handy for tabletop use; the projector’s throw ratio of 1.15 to 1.5 meant that from a distance of 3.2 meters we could enjoy a screen size from 98 inches to 133 inches by adjusting the zoom.

But you can also flip the X3000i upside down and place it on a high shelf at the back of the room, or attach it via its three mounting holes to a ceiling mount, then inverting the image through the projector’s options. Whether upside down or right-side up, some tilting is available from the adjustable feet, and this is the preferable way to get a rectangular screen image without invoking any resolution-reducing keystone adjustments. It’s there if you need it, though, and indeed automatic if so desired. A test screen of rectangles is available for manual adjustment and for setting the manual focus accurately.

The X3000i has two HDMI inputs at the rear, both UHD-capable, and one supporting HDMI’s ARC audio out to a larger sound system. You can also take the audio from an optical audio output or, less reliably and without surround information, from a minijack stereo analog output.

A third HDMI input is hidden under a top flap, ready to take the supplied Android dongle; USB power for the dongle is also provided here, while there’s a full-size USB-A slot on the rear for power and servicing. An RS-232 socket allows system control from afar.

The remote control is excellent, a friendly, half-size, curvy white wand that controls the internal audio volume as well as video settings, for which it slightly confuses users by having separate ‘settings’ and ‘menu’ buttons for accessing different sets of menus.

BENQ X3000I REVIEW: PICTURE QUALITY

DLP projection
4LED light engine
Eco settings

What’s hidden inside the BenQ X3000i is, of course, just as important to picture quality as the input signals it receives.

The X3000i is a DLP projector, using one of the digital micromirror devices (DMDs) from Texas Instruments, which are one of the miracles of modern projection — a device here just 17mm (0.66-inch) long yet fitting in millions of tiny mirrors that flip and pivot to direct individual pixels to different positions on the screen. This pivoting redirects four separate sets of pixels to be shone onto the screen for each frame, and the claim for this pivoting technology is that four such ‘flashes’ of 1920 x 1080 resolution will deliver a final UHD (consumer 4K) resolution of 3840 x 2160.

While our view is that this method cannot deliver the same single-pixel resolution available to (much more expensive) projectors using native 4K panels, the X3000i shows the pixel-flipping DLP system at its best, especially as this projector was one of the first to adopt the latest DLP650TE, a larger DMD device than most, with the 0.66-inch device allowing larger pixels and so lower noise than the more common 0.47-inch DMDs.

This is backed by a new 4LED light engine that adds a bonus blue ‘pump’ LED to the usual RGB, which BenQ claims raises brightness by around 10% overall, while widening the available color gamut to not only 100% Rec.709 but 100% of the wider gamut of DCI-P3.

BENQ X3000I REVIEW: AUDIO PERFORMANCE

Small built-in speakers
HDMI, optical and analog audio out

There’s a fundamental problem with putting built-in speakers in a projector: where will your projector be placed? Given the minimum distance for a 100-inch screen is 2.5 meters, the BenQ’s sound will come at best from somewhere near where you’re sitting, and at worst from the back of the room, the exact opposite of where you want it. Nor are you likely to get anything remotely stereo from this positioning.

The BenQ’s pair of 5W speakers is in any case not going to rock your world in the manner that a screen image of 100 inches or more deserves. The sound from these rear-facing speakers doesn’t offend as such, it’s just too small and slightly boxy, with some bloom to male dialogue. Things are not in the least assisted by the inclusion of sound modes that include a first-person shooter audio mode “which emphasizes virtual surround sound”. Not usefully so, however.

To enjoy the full level of entertainment available, we’d very much recommend playing audio from your source into a proper audio system (or for gamers, a headset connected direct to the console), or using one of the available ways to extract an audio signal from the X3000i, which are HDMI ARC, optical digital, or analog minijack.

BENQ X3000I REVIEW: GAMING PERFORMANCE

Low latency for projector
Dedicated game modes

BenQ specifies this as a gaming projector even though, as we’ve seen, it’s great with movies too. The high-resolution wide-color projection benefits gaming imagery in the same way as movies, and presents open-world environments in particular as vast cinematic spaces through which to wander.

Meanwhile the projector’s gaming credentials include various ‘game modes’, with a dedicated button for these on the remote control. All three game modes invoke a ‘Fast’ mode that bypasses any unnecessary processing to ensure the projector’s minimum lag times, which are quoted down to 4.16ms for 1080p at 240Hz, though more realistic for console gaming will be the figures of 16.67ms for either 4K/60 or 1080p/120 — excellent for projectors, though a long way over the 1ms or less that a connected monitor might deliver.

Beyond this the game modes have some differentiation, such as FPS mode lightening darker shadow areas so it’s harder for opponents to hide, while RPG and SPG (sports) aim to optimize colors and more general presentation. The manual’s enthusiasm gets out of hand when it claims the FPS mode provides “surrounding sound to hear the distant footsteps and gun shot and recognize their directions”. Given the BenQ X3000i’s two built-in speakers that will be positioned somewhere odd in the room, such a claim is plain daft.