BenQ TH685i 1080p Gaming Projector Powered by Android TV - 4K HDR Support - 120hz Refresh Rate - 3500lm - 8.3ms Low Latency - Enhanced Game Mode - 3 Year Industry Leading Warranty

My husband and I decided to get a projector instead of a big screen tv for gaming #1 as a budget conscious choice and #2 because we’re both big movie buffs and gamers who truly appreciate the full peripheral vision effect projectors can provide. After hours of research we decided on the BenQ. Now this was an investment of years of movie tickets and the price of a 4k tv we wanted to save, and so far, its been money well spent! The colors are very vivid, even while the sun is still up and trickling through a window, and the gaming experience with it has been unreal. We haven’t yet gotten to set it up in its forever home, but once we do and with a proper sound system, we might never have to go to the movies again! The unit is LIGHT, much lighter than i expected, heat output is minimal, and sound is a low hum thats barely audible with a good sound system set up. Even the onboard sound is decent, and I didn’t expect it to be! This projector will see many uses and wear many hats in the coming years for my husband and I, and I’m excited to have such a versatile tool at our disposal. Definitely worth the price tag.

I needed a projector that would work in the gym with some light. The display was still bright and could be displayed on a large wall. I would definitely recommend this product.

The picture quality is awesome, it holds up well outside during the day, and at night really pops even on a 16ft screen. I would certainly recommend this product baring a couple of very minor considerations. On picture quality I give it an emphatic 5 stars. Read below for a few lessons learned and other points that I hope will help you in making your decision! First off I would like to share a quick experience about lumens for potential buyers. Initially we bought a far cheaper projector but the light output was terrible, it turns out that some products will say 7000 lumens, which is true on some scales, however this converts to 1000 ansi lumens, which is the better measure of light output. It is broadly recommended you have at least 3000-4500 ansi lumens if you want to use the projector with any success outside during the day or in a well lit room. In short it may say 7000 lumens but its only 1000 true ansi lumens and you wont be able to see a strong image unless the room is fairly dark. Back to this projector, the picture is really crisp and the image very responsive. The high refresh rate keeps fast moving images and panning ghost free. Im no expert on picture and color quality but I think the picture quality is amazing. Now a couple of minor dings. Most annoyingly It doesnt come with a lens cap (I mean seriously?!). or a carrying case. We planned on moving this around quite a bit so both protections would have been appreciated. Secondly the inputs/ outputs (i/os) are also a little limited, two HDMIs, fine, but thats really it. There is an old school VGA PC input, and an ancient history RS-232 which I doubt anyone will ever use. Audio output is a single headphone jack so youll need to get your surround sound a different way. Lastly it has one USB port but this is intended as a power output to power a dongle (Firestick, Chromecast etc) and as such will not connect your phone or other device to the projector input image. I am using a Chromecast 4th gen as my main content caster and from what I have read this USB output will not sufficiently power the device so have had to plug into the wall leaving the USB power source totally redundant. We only need HDMI so I dont really mind but for the sake of others reflect on what i/o connectors you need before buying. Hope this helps! ;o)

TH685 is an ok projector for the price. I had an Epson 2250 before benq which I think is a much better projector overall. Refresh rate and picture quality are a bit disappointing. I was expecting more. NO horizontal lens shift is a pain and makes it extremely difficult to setup if you’re not positioning the device in the center and at a certain height. Epson is much easier to setup and is flexible at projecting from different angles. If you don’t have an audio system to connect and rely on the projector then benq has better sound quality compared to Epson. I got the 2250 at a great price during a sale so maybe comparing it to th685 isn’t fair but I think feature wise Epson is better overall.

This is in a conference room, with bright fluorescent (now LED) lighting. Ive tried 5 other projectors that said they would work in high ambient light, but this one actually does. Good color saturation, as well.

Overall, very high quality projector for the price. Very quiet fan and does not get too hot. Has an auto keystone feature so you dont have to adjust much which is awesome. I was confused at first because it said it had smart capabilities - come to find out, theres a hidden compartment that you need to remove a screw to access (this is where the dongle is to be installed to use the smart capabilities). Would definitely recommend!

I was skeptical. Ratings and reviews ranked this higher than more beefy and expensive units. For the price, why not? The funny part is I bought is in Nov 2022 and it sat on the couch for 7 months. I hooked it up last week and I like it. Colors are solid. It is great for gaming. It is so much better than the older dated $7,000 unit I had. It blows my mind that these are so light and compact now, but after a week of movies and upgrading my screen to a 135 the family gives it a big thumbs up. Only con thus far is the throw distance. Ours is about 14 from the screen but casts an overage. I had to buy a bigger screen as it would not adjust smaller. It was either move the projector or get a bigger screen. I am really happy with it thus far.

If youre looking for a gaming projector, especially in a place that has some ambient lighting, this is a solid projector; however, you are trading off reduced input lag and brightness for reduced color accuracy and some stroboscopic effects. List of pros and cons, and some final thoughts, below: PROS: • Input lag amongst the lowest for home entertainment projectors for gaming. • Allows 4K and HDR-10 inputs, which expands your options. Ultimately, downscaled 4K (to 1080p) looks better than native 1080p does. • Included speaker is actually a decent speaker that can hold its own where you dont have access to sound bars, etc. Its been loud and clear enough to watch movies without an issue, though a home theater setup would still preferably have access to a separate sound system. • Has various settings/options that allow you to alter colors, brightness, gamma, lamp, and projector placement, and save these settings to the user. • Supports all major modes of 3D, including frame packing - not just 3D-ready - though I havent gotten to utilize these yet. CONS: • My major gripe is that this projector uses a RGBCYW color wheel spinning at 2X instead of many modern projectors that have an RGBRGB spinning at an (effective) 4X-6X color wheel. This means that the projector is prone to leaving a trail of rainbows in images, especially where there is high-contrast, which can be distracting particularly in movies. • The high brightness means that there is a trade-off with contrast (black-levels), which can make some scenes look washed-out. FINAL THOUGHTS: I will continue to try and adapt to this projector, because it does have a lot going for it; however, I may need to return it for either a faster color wheel or a 3LCD projector if the rainbow effect continues to be problematic/distracting. If you dont care as much about the rainbowing or color accuracy and need a modern, bright projector with low-latency, its what you want.