Where they actually differ
The most decisive specs, ranked by how much they matter — before the full spec table.
| Spec | BenQ - TK860i | Epson - Home Cinema 3800 |
|---|---|---|
| Brightness | 3300 lm | 3000 lm |
Between the TK860i and Home Cinema 3800, the TK860i comes out ahead in brightness, while the Home Cinema 3800 wins on several specs. Overall, the TK860i scores 76.6 and the Home Cinema 3800 scores 74.3 on our Mars Score.
Which should you buy?
These two are nearly even on the Mars Score (76.6 vs 74.3). The decision is not about overall quality — both clear the bar — it is about which specific trade-offs fit your use.
Pick the TK860i if you care most about brightness. The biggest gaps in its favor are brightness. The single most decisive one: Brightness — 10.00% more. 3300 lm vs 3000 lm.
The Home Cinema 3800 similarly does not carry a headline advantage on the popular specs — look at the full table for category-specific deltas.
Both ship with comparable resolution, light source, short-throw, so those specs do not separate the two — focus on the differences below.
Bottom line: there is no wrong answer here — match the spec advantages to how you actually use the product. The Mars Score parity says both are well-rounded; the differences are about trade-offs, not quality.
Which should you buy: BenQ - TK860i or Epson - Home Cinema 3800?
BenQ - TK860i leads the current Mars Score by 2.3 points.The more useful decision is the trade-off behind that result: compare brightness against the way you will actually use the product.
Choose BenQ - TK860i if…
BenQ - TK860i has the measurable edge on brightness lumens.
Choose Epson - Home Cinema 3800 if…
Epson - Home Cinema 3800 does not lead a decisive measured field here, so choose it for price, ecosystem, design, or availability when those matter more to you.
This is a structured comparison of the published catalog values. It is not a claim of identical real-world performance across every workload; use the linked spec drill-downs and methodology page to inspect the inputs.
Why BenQ - TK860i wins
- ▲Brightness — 10.00% more. 3300 lm vs 3000 lm.
Why Epson - Home Cinema 3800 wins
- No decisive advantages.
Spec comparison
Image
| Spec | BenQ - TK860i | Epson - Home Cinema 3800 |
|---|---|---|
| Resolutionⓘ | 4K | 4K |
| Brightnessⓘ | 3300 lmlead | 3000 lm |
| Contrast | 600000:1 | 100000:1 |
| Light source | Lamp | Lamp |
| Short-throw | false | false |
Smart & Connectivity
| Spec | BenQ - TK860i | Epson - Home Cinema 3800 |
|---|---|---|
| Smart OS | Android TV | None |
| HDMI inputs | 2 | 2 |
| Built-in speakers | true | true |