BenQ TK705STi Review: Great for large screen gaming and movies!

Published On: 2 February 2026 | 17:52 IST

If you’ve ever wanted a massive 100-inch cinema experience but thought your room was too small, I say, think again. The BenQ TK705STi is likely the answer you’ve been looking for, for a premium price, of course.

BenQ has launched 2 projectors – TK705i and the TK705STi in India, priced at Rs. 199,990 and Rs. 2,25,000 respectively. First, let’s clear up the confusion between the siblings. While they share similar DNA, the ‘ST’ stands for Short Throw, and that difference is everything. The standard TK705i needs a traditional living room distance to throw a big image. The TK705STi, however, is designed for compact spaces. It can project a massive 100-inch image from just under 2 meters (approx. 6.5 feet) away. If you don’t have a dedicated theatre room and are projecting from a coffee table, this is the one to get.

Table of Contents

BenQ’s Premium Projector Play

Over the years, BenQ has quietly built a strong reputation in the projector space by focusing on two very specific audiences: home cinema enthusiasts who care about colour accuracy and gamers who want low input lag on a big screen. Instead of chasing ultra-luxury theatre setups or cheap portable models, the brand sits comfortably in the premium-but-practical segment, offering feature-packed projectors like the GV50 that work in real living rooms. The TK705STi perfectly reinforces that strategy. Its short-throw design, 4K visuals, and gaming-friendly responsiveness directly address the growing demand for large-screen entertainment in compact urban homes, while helping BenQ stand out against traditional home theatre brands and newer lifestyle projectors that often compromise on either performance or versatility.

Build and Design: Compact & Premium

The projector feels reassuringly premium. It sports a hard plastic/polycarbonate shell that is finished so well that it almost mimics the cold touch of metal. The design is boxy and compact, almost a cube, making it incredibly easy to place on a coffee table without it dominating the room.

Beneath the chassis, you’ll find adjustable feet that allow you to angle the height perfectly for your screen or wall. A thoughtful addition is the physical control layout on the right side: power, volume, focus, and a navigation knob that is tactile and easy to use.

Connectivity

2x HDMI 2.1 Ports: One supports eARC for your soundbar.
1x USB-A Port: For local media or powering devices like the Fire TV Stick.
1x USB-C Port: Supports Power Delivery (PD), meaning you can charge your laptop while projecting from it simultaneously, a huge plus for versatility.
Audio & Wireless: A 3.5mm jack, plus Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.2.

Setup: Truly Plug-and-Play

Setting this up is simple: plug it in, point it at the wall, and turn it on. The Auto Keystone and Auto Focus features kick in immediately to rectify the image.

It handles off-angles surprisingly well, though extreme angles will naturally test the limits of digital correction (I pushed it to the limit just to see, but for normal use, it’s flawless). You can fine-tune it manually if you are a perfectionist. It runs on the Google TV UI, so if you’ve used a modern smart TV, you will feel right at home.

Performance: The Colour Accuracy King

The raw performance is where BenQ flexes its muscles. The projector supports HDR10, HLG, and SDR, and while it lacks Dolby Vision, I honestly didn’t miss it.

The standout feature is BenQ’s colour science. Reds are punchy without bleeding, and skin tones look natural rather than oversaturated.

Recommended Settings: I stuck to the “Auto Cinema” mode. It intelligently detects your ambient light and wall surface to adjust the picture. While the “Bright” mode exists for sunlit rooms, I highly recommend drawing the curtains to let the contrast shine.
Pro Tip: Go into the settings and turn off MEMC (Motion Estimation, Motion Compensation). It creates that artificial “soap opera” smoothing that ruins the cinematic feel of movies.

Viewing Experience

Spider-Man: Homecoming: The reds and blues in the suit were stunningly crisp.
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation: The desert motorcycle chase was immersive, with sandy yellows looking accurate and not washed out.
The Dark Knight: This was the stress test. In deep dark scenes (like Batman fighting in the shadows), you do lose some detail compared to an OLED TV. But unless you are side-by-side comparing it to an LG OLED (like I was), you won’t notice it.

Note: You can manually toggle HDR off in the settings, a rare and welcome feature for those who sometimes prefer the look of SDR.

Gaming: Fast, Responsive, and Immersive

Don’t let the “projector” label fool you; this is a beast for gaming. While the HDMI 2.1 ports don’t support 4K@120Hz (you are capped at 4K@60Hz with no VRR), the experience is fantastic. Sure, it’s not as hyper-focused as the BenQ TK710, but it does the job for most console gamers and then some.

I tested a library of titles, including God of War, Alan Wake 2, the newly released Ghost of Yōtei, and Cronos: The New Dawn.

Input Lag: At 4K/60Hz, the input lag drops to a snappy 5ms (according to BenQ). It felt instantaneous in fast-paced shooters like Doom: The Dark Ages.
Visuals: Games like Ori and the Will of the Wisps looked arthouse beautiful. The colours popped so well that it gave my ageing LG B9 OLED a run for its money.

Important Gaming Setup: Ensure you go into the projector settings -> HDMI EDID Version and select 2.1 to get the full bandwidth performance. Also, try the dedicated RPG or FPS modes to see which colour balance suits your game best.

Sound: Good, Not Great

The audio is handled by a 16W Trevolo system (front-firing). For a projector, it is surprisingly capable, comparable to a high-end Bluetooth speaker. It’s clear, loud enough for casual viewing, and has distinct modes (Cinema, Music, Game, Sports). I found Cinema mode to be the most balanced.

However, physics is physics. When explosions hit in action movies, you will miss the deep rumble and channel separation of a dedicated soundbar or home theatre. It’s great for a holiday trip or casual YouTube music (you can even turn off the projection and use it just as a speaker), but for the full cinema feel, use that eARC port or connect a pair of Bluetooth headphones for a more “personal” immersive experience.

Remote Control: One Light in the Dark

The remote is functional and covers all the bases: hotkeys for streaming apps, Zoom/ keystone controls, and voice search. It works perfectly fine.

My Gripe: It is not backlit. For a premium home cinema device intended to be used in dark rooms, fumbling for the right button is a small annoyance that shouldn’t exist.

Verdict: Great for those dabbling in the premium home entertainment space

For the nerds among us, here is the cheat sheet: The BenQ TK705STi is a DLP projector pushing 3,000 ANSI Lumens, 4K resolution, 5ms input lag, and runs Google TV natively.

Priced around Rs. 2.25 Lakh, this is a fantastic option for anyone who wants a premium theatre experience without dedicating an entire room to it. Its ability to throw a massive, colour-accurate image from a short distance is its killer feature. While the audio output isn’t as bombastic as the visuals and the remote control could have been backlit, I also wish the included power cable were a bit longer, making it easy to place the projector comfortably in my room without resorting to an extension board. Otherwise, this is a fantastic projector for cinephiles and gamers alike!