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What to Know Before Building 4K Home Theater? (2021 Update)

What is true 4K and does it matter?

BenQ
2021/03/02

There are many components to building your own home theater system, we’ll start with a projector first. For a picture like you see at the cinema you’ll need to get one that’s capable of true 4K resolution. When we talk about 4K for projectors there are generally 2 specs: 3840x2160 or 4096x2160 pixels. The more pixels, the more vivid the picture contents are. Other than resolution, the technology that’s used inside your projector to produce the picture is important too. DLP is the leading projection display technology on the market. The DLP chip inside BenQ’s 4K projectors uses a technology called pixel-shifting, which can achieve true 4K resolution with 8.3 million distinct pixels.

Another key piece to your home theater experience is the source, or what you’re watching. The best picture right now comes from 4K Blu-ray discs using a 4K Blu-ray player. While you may be familiar with Blu-ray, 4K Blu-ray discs have started making their way on the market and offer improved picture quality if you have the right setup to take advantage of it, meaning, a projector capable of 4K, a Blu-ray player capable of playing 4K, and a 4K Blu-ray disc. And so does streaming 4K. We’ve put together a few questions to help you pick out the right 4K DLP projector. These can get a bit technical so feel free to get out your tech acronym dictionary.

What is TRUE 4K UHD?

According to CTA (Consumers Technology Association), 4K UHD must deliver 8.3 million distinct pixels on the screen, which is four times the resolution of Full HD 1080p.

Resolution Horizontal x Vertical Pixels Total Number of Distinct Pixels Other Names Devices
Resolution
2160p
Horizontal x Vertical Pixels
3840x2160, 4096x2160
Total Number of Distinct Pixels
8.3+ Million
Other Names
4K, UHD, Ultra HD, Ultra-High Definition
Devices
Projectors, TVs
Resolution
WUXGA
Horizontal x Vertical Pixels
1920x1200
Total Number of Distinct Pixels
2.3 Million
Other Names
Widescreen Ultra Extended Graphics Array
Devices
Projectors, monitors
Resolution
1080p
Horizontal x Vertical Pixels
1920x1080
Total Number of Distinct Pixels
2.1 Million
Other Names
Full HD, FHD
Devices
Projectors, TVs, monitors
Resolution
720p
Horizontal x Vertical Pixels
1280x720
Total Number of Distinct Pixels
0.92 Million
Other Names
HD, High Definition
Devices
Projectors, TVs

What powers our True 4K DLP technology?

True 4K DLP Technology is Texas Instruments’ pixel-shifting technology that helps projectors to achieve true 4K resolution with 8.3 million distinct pixels.

True 4K DLP Technology achieves true 4K by producing 8.3 million distinct pixels regardless of the DMD chip’s number of native pixels. In addition to doubling the 0.66” DMD’s 2716x1528 pixels, 4K DLP also perfectly quadruples the 0.47” DMD chip’s 1920x1080 pixels to generate true 4K 8.3 million pixels with lightning-fast pixel shifting speed.

What is the difference between True 4K DLP Technology and 4K-Enhancement Technology?

Although both True 4K Technology for DLP projectors and 4K-Enhancement Technology for other projector mechanisms are pixel-shifting technologies, the results they produce are completely different.

• True 4K DLP Technology produces 8.3 million distinct pixels regardless of the DMD chip’s number of native pixels. In addition to doubling the 0.66” DMD’s 2716x1528 pixels, 4K DLP also perfectly quadruples the 0.47” DMD chip’s 1920x1080 pixels to generate true 4K 8.3 million pixels with lightning-fast pixel shifting speed.

• 4K-Enhancement Technology can only produce 4.1 million pixels by doubling the native 1920x1080 pixel resolution, achieving less than half of the required 8.3 million pixels for true 4K resolution.

*This is due to the nature of liquid crystals, which can’t withstand the switching speed required to produce 8.3 million pixels.

What do you need in order to enjoy 4K HDR?

• 4K Blu-ray player

• BenQ 4K HDR projector

  ‧ Make sure source output is set to 3840x2160 at 60 Hz

  ‧ Make sure the BenQ 4K HDR projector uses the correct HDMI color range (full or limited of RGB, YUV limited). Also be sure to confirm the source player output.

• 4K movies or 4K videos

  ‧ 4K UHD Blu-ray sets come with two discs: one 1080p disc and one 4K UHD disc. Be sure to use the 4K UHD disc.

• HDMI 2.0 cable connected to HDMI 1 port

Which HDMI cables are needed for 4K HDR?

Not all HDMI cables can support 4K UHD resolution or HDR content. What is the difference between HDMI cable versions and which one do you need?

Certification Standard
Version
Characteristics
Remark
Certification Standard
Standard
Version
Pre-1.4
Characteristics
Cannot support 4K or HDR
Remark
 
Certification Standard
High-Speed
Version
1.4
Characteristics
Certified for 4K at 24/30Hz fps only
Remark
 
Certification Standard
2.0
Version
Certified for 4K at 60Hz fps
Characteristics
 
Certification Standard
2.0a/b
Version
Certified for 4K at 60Hz fps with HDR
Characteristics
Great Choice
Certification Standard

Premium High-Speed
Version
N/A
Characteristics

Stricter testing for 4K HDR at 60Hz fps and expanded color

Remark
Best Choice

What’s HDCP 2.2? Is HDCP 2.2 compatibility important?

HDCP 2.2 is a copy protection file format, and all standard Blu-ray discs are protected by HDCP 2.2. For those who want to enjoy a smooth Blu-ray disc viewing experience without any hindrance, all associated disc players, amplifiers, projectors, and HDMI cables should be checked for compatibility with HDCP 2.2 decryption, so as to ensure the Blu-ray discs can play properly.

Can I stream 4K Netflix content with BenQ’s 4K projectors?

Yes. However, as explained in the question above, since 4K Netflix files are also protected by HDCP 2.2, meaning that for all the Netflix packages you’ve subscribed to, the audiovisual system, the projector, and the HDMI cables used must be compatible with HDCP 2.2. Also, an internet connection speed of at least 25 megabits per second is strongly recommended for an optimal 4K streaming experience. Furthermore, for 4K 60fps video contents, a 4K 60Hz-compatible HDMI cable is also required. (Please refer to the question “Which HDMI Cables Are Needed for 4K HDR?”). For more information regarding Netflix, please refer to their website.

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