BenQ W4100i review

The physical design of the W4100i is safe rather than adventurous, but that’s by intent. The compact black box stays out of the way visually, while the generous vertical and horizontal lens shift means you don’t need to lean on keystone correction that kills sharpness. Manual zoom and focus rings are satisfyingly solid, and cooling has been managed well so fan noise is low unless you’re sitting right next to it. It’s not flashy, but in a home cinema you want invisible hardware and visible impact. The rear panel also gets a subtle upgrade, courtesy of three HDMI ports now, including eARC for audio passthrough and ALLM for gamers, plus USB, RS-232 and trigger ports for integrators.

On paper, the W4100i shares the same fundamentals as the W4000i, headlined by a 4-LED light source with 3200 lumens, full DCI-P3 colour coverage, and BenQ’s reassuringly meticulous factory calibration (yes, you still get the printout in the box). But there are serious upgrades here. Dynamic tone mapping analyses content in real time and tweaks the HDR curve scene by scene, avoiding blown-out highlights and muddy blacks. HDR10+ support means content with dynamic metadata gets even more precision. AI Cinema mode cleverly balances the hyper-bright impact of HDR with the fluid motion of Filmmaker Mode, finding a sweet spot that feels both cinematic and watchable. Then there’s BenQ’s Local Contrast Enhancer, which analyses different regions of the picture and selectively boosts local contrast giving shadows depth while preserving highlight sparkle. The new UI is another win. Instead of a massive OSD blocking the picture, a dock pops up along the bottom for quick tweaks, while advanced menus still allow granular control. To round it off, the supplied Google TV dongle sits neatly in its own bay, so streaming is built in without the awkward external stick the W4000i needed.

This is where the W4100i earns its keep. Fire up Blade Runner 2049 and you’ll immediately notice the richer layering. Neon signage sizzles, yet gloomy streets stay textured instead of becoming black soup. Lucy on 4K HDR Blu-ray showcases dynamic tone mapping at its best: bright whites retain fine detail, while laboratory interiors avoid that clinical flatness. Sports are cleaner too and football pitches keep their natural green without obvious banding on pans. Animation like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse proves just how saturated yet controlled its colour performance can be. And thanks to 100% DCI-P3 coverage, skin tones remain believable. Gamers will love it as well since the input lag drops as low as 6.5ms at 1080p/240Hz, with 4K/120Hz support keeping big-screen gaming sharp and responsive. Motion handling is cleaner, posterisation reduced, and overall clarity visibly sharper than the W4000i. As for noise, it’s impressively restrained, never intruding into movie nights unless you’re in a whisper-quiet scene.

The W4100i is a clear evolution of what BenQ started with the W4000i. The familiar design remains easy to install and unobtrusive, but the improvements to HDR, local contrast handling, the user interface, and the bundled Google TV dongle make it feel like a much more polished package. Picture performance is more refined across the board with brighter highlights, deeper shadows, smoother motion, and consistently excellent colour accuracy. Add in gamer-friendly refresh rates and input lag, and this isn’t just a cinema projector but an entertainment all-rounder. BenQ takes everything we liked about the W4000i and dials it up with smarter HDR, richer contrast, smoother usability and a bundled Google TV dongle. A near-perfect home cinema projector that doubles as a gaming beast.