Benq HT3550 or LG HU70LA

[hdmaniac]

I am planning to upgrade to a 4K projector for my dedicated HT room. After lots of reading, I have narrowed down on the two below that fits in my budget range.

1. Benq HT3550 - best value for the money and lots of good reviews
2. LG HU70LA - LED based DLP projector so longer lifespan without dimming

I am more inclined towards LG this time but having used the brilliant Benq W1070 for a while now, I have no problem going for Benq again. I could not find a direct PQ and contrast comparison review of these two so I would be glad if anyone here has any insight on why Benq would be a better choice than the LG.

Both the models use the same 0.47” DMD chip with XPR so the key deciding point for me is which one handles black level and contrast better for HDR (I am not very concerned about SDR).

Thanks

 

[rshri]

On same boat. Currently have BenQ 2050 Eyeing this one -
BenQ HT4550i

 

[rksingh1]

What price are you folks getting for 3550, 4550 and LG unit? I need brightness so I was thinking about TK850, but I saw TK860 has been launched by Benq.

 

[Gvtpraj]

No experience with LG, but have good experience with BenQ projectors.
I used BenQ W1070 for almost 5 years and upgraded it to HT3550 and currently using its bigger brother HT5550. BenQ 3550 produces excellent image both for SDR and HDR content. Their after sale service has also been very good.
Only complaint for me is it’s fan noise. You won’t notice it most of the time while it’s playing something, but once you pause the video or when it’s idle, it clearly annoys you. You can clearly notice it when some quiet sequence is playing. Fan noise is comparatively louder than W1070.
If the projector is not installed directly above your main seating place, then you should be fine.

 

[hdmaniac]

I finally ended up buying the Benq HT3550 betting on my years of zero problem experience with my w1070 so far. I have spent a few hours since I installed it a week back and so far happy with the PQ and is definitely a considerable upgrade over the 1080p W1070. Sale post for my good old w1070 coming up soon

@Gvtpraj - I have set the lamp to Eco mode so the fan noise is not so annoying personally to me so far...may be the fan noise in Eco mode is at the same level as my Air-Con fan noise which is also at my seating position so may be I am used to the db level of both.

Cheers
Saravanan

 

[hdmaniac]

What price are you folks getting for 3550, 4550 and LG unit? I need brightness so I was thinking about TK850, but I saw TK860 has been launched by Benq.

Sorry I have not attempted to research or enquire the price for these in India because I had a pre-planned travel to the US for an official trip so I bought it there and hand carried it myself last week. Price in US goes about $1200 for HT3550 and sometimes around $1000 on sale if you time it right. 4550 or 4550i is not yet available on retail. Benq US official website has listed it on pre-order for $3000

TK850 is a relatively a better option if you need that extra brigtness for using in a non light controlled environment.