Have you ever gone to the movie theater and been wanting to play video games on that display? Yeah, me too. But how about playing on a massive 100″ display from the comfort of your own home? Well, thanks to BenQ’s TH671ST projector, they’ve made this possible for us!
When we were first contacted to review this projector, I spent some time trying to figure out if we should do it. For starters, we don’t really do hardware reviews, but this time, this email showed up at an interesting time. I was in the process of moving and for the longest time, I’ve been staring at a wall where I wanted to mount a television. The perfect empty wall told me to go ahead, test out a projector, why not? To be clear, this won’t be a review, this will contain my thoughts on using a projector from someone who has never used one for gaming. Also, Ace shares his input on using this unit as well. So let’s get to it!
The simplicity of setting up the TH671ST projector was great, you’ll end up spending more time trying to figure out which wall you want the full 100” display to go on compared to the actual on-screen set-up. The best part, 100 inches from just 5 feet away!
With portability in mind, setting up my Nintendo Switch was the first priority. The first game I wanted to test out just to keep everything simple was Tetris 99. Once that passed the quality test, it was time to test Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Honestly, this was one of the most fun gaming experiences I’ve had in quite some time. It made me realize that my house will definitely need to include a dedicated theater room. Not only for movies but for gaming as well. But even with that in mind, there was a flaw with this projector, and I could only imagine it’s the same issue with any projector, the audio.
The onboard audio wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t great. It was clear enough to follow along and get what was happening, but there was very dull and bland. Gunshots when playing The Division 2 while listening via a headset or even though a TV, you get a bass-ey undertone that makes you feel like there is power behind a shot. There is a huge difference between shooting a pistol and a shotgun, but when listening through this projector, it was hard to tell the difference Although it was loud and clear, there was no emotion behind it.
Pairing this projector up with a decent sound system, it is entirely worthy of replacing a TV. There are plenty of options if you are aiming this on a wall, or on a screen. If you are projecting this from the front of from the back of the screen as well as if you are mounting this on a ceiling. When testing this, we even tested it on different colored walls, and oddly enough it seemed to be best on a blue backed wall, something about that blue made the colors pop a lot more compared to a white wall.
Here is what ACE had to say about testing this projector:
Projectors to me have never broken outside of the movie theatres and classrooms. Challenges brought by the prep is partly to blame for the lack of exploration. First the equipment. Need the projector and screen for the prime experience. Once you have the necessities you have to find out where to place the device to get the appropriate depth and size. Too much thinking for a gamer.
This unit provided Premium TV quality and less cable visibility. We had fun experimenting with the settings and how the different color walls and impacted the picture. From cool blue to a hot bright white, it was impressive to see how the projector can adapt to maximize the experience.
My favorite part of the demo experience is when we were able to set the projector to the ceiling. At first, you may be like why the heck will I do that for but once you try it you truly do gain a new unique perspective in visual media. Kick back and watch a movie while laying flat in bed. I felt like spoiled royalty waiting for someone to feed me grapes as I game. Truly made me welcome the idea of replacing a TV.
My only concerns came from the potential overheating issues and power consumption concerns. How does it compare to TVs? Other than this, Oz already shared his thoughts on the audio concerns, but outside of this, thank you BenQ for this opportunity!
Official Website for more information and purchase options: BenQ TH671ST 1080P 3000 Lumens Short Throw Gaming & Home Theater Projector
