For a long time, there were only two types of people interested in what makes the best home theater projectors: A/V nerds (wave) with home theater setups that include an unhealthy percentage of their income and college boys who want something for $500 that will turn an entire wall into a FIFA game (waves from the past). For most people, it’s hard to beat How did good televisions come to be? in the past few years; there are $1,000 televisions that are big 65 inches and look pretty good. Anyway, how much bigger screen do you really need?
Answer: without limits. (Okay, the limit is the size of your wall.) Projectors have always had an important advantage – size – and now, thanks to some nice tech developments and 4K streaming, size. that’s now even better put to use. If you always can’t tell the difference between 1080p and 4K on a 50″ TV, then you certainly will on a 100″ screen. For those having trouble visualizing it, it’s as wide as Shaquille O’Neal’s height. It is very large. And it’s glorious. Another big advantage: if you buy a pull-down monitor, you don’t need to have a giant black box in your living room all the time. Now you get the best of both worlds: a big screen when you’re bending over to watch a movie, and one of those cool living rooms that inexplicably doesn’t have a TV when you don’t have one. (Note: don’t trust anyone whose living room doesn’t have a screen.)
Here, our favorite projectors will elevate your little “movie night” to the next level, whether you have a dedicated viewing room or an unadorned white wall.
Best overall home theater projector: BenQ HT2050A
For under $1,000, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a home theater projector as impressive as the BenQ HT2050A. The picture resolution only goes well beyond 1080p, and while that’s not the clearest resolution, it’s still on par with some pretty solid TVs. With this dual HDMI input projector, you get great contrast and sharp images in an easy-to-setup package. The HT2050A has support for vertical lens shift, which basically means you can adjust the lens up and down without sacrificing image quality — which helps with setup as you not be forced to project your image on top of anything that isn’t a Wall. For a long life, the micro-faults of the DLP chip combined with an almost completely sealed DLP engine ensure the projector operates at peak performance year after year with no loss in image quality. Its built-in speaker can be called upon to whatever vehicle you’re using whether you want to feel like you’re in the middle of a sports arena or in the middle of the action of a blockbuster movie.
Best upgraded home theater projector: Optoma CinemaX P2
At a glance, the Optoma CinemaX P2 doesn’t look like your typical projector. First, there’s no convex lens and that makes this one of the sleekest home projectors on the market. However, looking aside, the picture that CinemaX P2 projects is one of the best around. Vivid 4K UHD visuals are just that: come alive. For those with tight spaces but still needing maximum viewing comfort, this is also an ultra-short throw projector, meaning you don’t have to be far from the screen to get the full picture. Its contrast ratio — 2,000,000-to-one — is impressive for its ability to make colors come to life: the shadows are darker and the lights appear brighter. The CinemaX P2 has two inputs for HDMI 2.0 and also has a Bluetooth connectivity option. HDR, or high dynamic range, is critical to picture quality, so CinemaX P2’s compatibility with HDR10 means the color gamut looks as good as possible. Ambient light is not suitable for projectors because it has a screen that rejects ambient light, preventing reflections. Besides picture quality, the CinemaX P2 boasts a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundbar, a far cry from Dolby Atmos, but still some of the best sound quality built into a home theater projector.
Best portable home theater projector: Anker Nebula Capsule
The Nebula Capsule won’t make you think about brightness, blacks, or picture quality less than 720p. But it will blow your mind with its fun and portability. This portable projector has four hours of battery life, which will extend your usage time Return of the king extended version, a built-in speaker, and it’s about the size of a Coke can. What it lacks in terms of detail and color rendition, it makes for easy setup wherever you go (though we recommend using an aux cord and connecting it to a portable speaker). ). Plus, you control the Nebula via an app, so there’s no need to fumble with the remote — we know you always have your phone with you. Let’s face it: projectors are fun because they turn anything into a view experience. You can organize a movie night outside on a bedsheets and thrill a crowd. You can project it against the wall in front of your bed and instantly upgrade your laptop Friend (or whatever your favorite TV show is). You can get stoned and see Moana on it, that’s what another editor did when I showed it to them to check. Capsule makes all of this possible without the cost of assets and without the need for wires.
Best 4K home theater projector: Epson Home Cinema 5050UB
If you want to drop some heavy powder on your home theater projector, this is the one to do. It’s like taking a cinema-quality projector and setting it up at home, so the big screen becomes the home screen. For its price range, the 5050UB’s 2,600 lumens are top-notch, offering the impressive brightness you’ll find in even more expensive options. Its 4K resolution far exceeds the sharp quality of a 1080p projector, and it’s something that any cinema enthusiast or movie enthusiast should drool over. To combat the dreaded showers, in which colored rays will appear around the image, the 5050UB uses 3LCD technology for better images. The 5050UB’s motorized lens automatically adjusts the projection to fit your screen size, making setup easy even for those new to the home theater game. .
Best home theater projector for gaming: Optoma UHD38
When it comes to a good home theater projector for gaming, the two things that matter are picture quality and speed. Then again, they are quite important to not at all good home theater projector. This gaming projector from Optoma has 4,000 lumens of brightness that keeps your video games bouncing off the screen. Crystal clear visuals make for the best scenario for hitting new highs or seeing enemies in the distance. Realistic games run without blur thanks to this projector’s extremely low input lag of 4.2 milliseconds. If you want to play like a pro esports gamer, switch the 4K projector down to a lower resolution for a 240Hz refresh rate. And we’ll do a lot of hype because this projector is especially good for gaming, it’s also great for streaming your favorite movies.
Best Home Theater Projector on Amazon: Auking Mini Projector
With nearly 13,000 five-star reviews on Amazon, this cheap home theater projector isn’t the worst you can buy on the electronics store. Auking’s mini projector has a 2,000 to 1 contrast ratio and supports 1080p resolution, whether you’re sharing the screen from your phone or using it to play games. Its LED has a lifespan of 55,000 hours and it can project an image size from 32 inches to 170 inches. Your favorite bartender might not think this is the best way to watch their movies, but it’s a great little gadget to have for the occasional home movie night.
Best affordable home theater projector: YABER Y30 Native Projector
This amazingly affordable home projector supports 4K picture quality. Yes, you can get 4K picture quality for a little over $200. The Y30 has impressive brightness, and many reviewers note that the picture quality is, certainly, still viewable on a sunny day. It has horizontal and vertical keystone correction capabilities, and it’s easy to set this up in any home or outdoor space. The budget projector has some impressive specs like 9,500 lumens brightness and 10,000-to-one contrast ratio. Home entertainment has never been more accessible (or affordable).
