Home Theater Projectors Buying Guide
Home theater projectors prioritize image quality with high contrast and deep blacks. They are ideal for dark rooms and can be placed closer to the screen or wall than typical portable projectors.
Almost every new projector geared toward home entertainment offers 3D capability. Many boost brightness at the cost of color accuracy, which is less critical in a dark room setting.
1. Brightness
When buying a projector for home theater setups, presentations, or educational environments, brightness is one of the most important aspects to consider. Brighter lamps or bulbs produce more lumens than their less-bright counterparts and, when properly matched with the screen size and ambient light levels in your viewing environment, provide vibrant colors and high-quality image clarity.
However, there are many different ways that manufacturers measure brightness and contrast ratios and, sadly, these methods often conflict with each other. As a result, comparing specs between different models is often challenging and can be misleading. One of the most significant factors that can affect how many usable lumens get to your screen is ambient light, which can ruin a projected image by adding its own brightness and color to the picture. You can avoid this by having reasonable control over the ambient lighting in your room and using a dark screen. This is why most projectors rated for 3,500 lumens or more typically deliver half of their rated brightness when adjusted for optimal video quality. This is not the case for all projectors, but it is a good general rule to follow.
2. Contrast
Contrast ratio is one of the most important factors in determining image quality, as it is what makes bright highlights stand out against dark backgrounds and enhances overall image depth and realism. Projectors with high contrast ratios display luscious images, with deeper black levels and brighter whites.
Projectors come in a variety of imaging technologies, but LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) projectors are known for their color accuracy and excellent native contrast. LCD projectors typically use an imager that consists of three chips, one for each primary color (red, green, and blue) to modulate the light from a standard UHP mercury lamp. Other popular projection technologies include DLP (Digital Light Processing) and LCoS (liquid crystal on silicon).
However, it’s important to understand that contrast measurements based on a 50% APL checkerboard pattern don’t paint the full picture of how a projector will perform in real scenes with different APLs. This is why we use custom APL-based test patterns to evaluate and compare contrast performance between projectors. We also look at a projector’s dynamic contrast spec, which is a measurement of the blackest black in a dark scene against the brightest white in a bright scene, to get a better idea of how well the projector will perform in a variety of situations.
3. Color
Accurate colors create spectacular impressions that bring a movie to life on screen. Projectors generally offer better color than flat panel displays because they can deliver higher contrast and a wider color range.
Most modern projectors use a Home Theater Projectors liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCoS) light engine to generate an image on the projection screen. This technology is a variant of LCD and provides the valuable potential for lower native black level and superior contrast.
Some of the best projectors for home theater are based on this technology, including JVC’s D-ILA and Sony’s SXRD. These projectors support both HDMI 1.3 and HDR, the latter of which offers a wider color gamut than SDR and helps the video processor preserve more fine detail in bright scenes.
For a true cinema experience, you’ll want to look for a projector that supports Dolby Vision and has an advanced video processing feature such as CinematicColor. This capability allows you to tone-map an HDR source so it looks good on your home theater system. If you’re considering an SDR-based projector, it should support at least HDMI 1.3 and preferably both HDR and Dolby Vision.
4. Size
Home theater projectors offer a larger, more immersive image than most TVs, and can transform any room into a cinematic wonderland. However, they require more care and consideration than TVs to set up properly.
The main specification you need to look for is lumens, which describes how bright a projector can be. This is usually written on the packaging, but it’s not a very clear or consistent metric — one company’s “3,000 lumens” could actually be something very different.
Front projection projectors work best in a dark environment, and you will need to ensure that the image is projected onto a flat surface with a lcd projector supplier minimum of light reflection. To do this, it’s worth looking for a model that has throw distance adjustment functions and sideways keystone correction.
If you have more than one row of seats, it’s also important to consider sightlines. Our home theater tool will calculate the perfect screen size and mounting height for your space to ensure excellent sightlines. You can purchase screens in a wide range of sizes, with surfaces optimized for different projectors and room lighting.
5. Audio
Home theater projectors offer a truly cinematic experience and can transform your living space. But with so many options on the market, choosing the best one can be difficult. This guide will help you make the right choice to suit your needs and budget.
Projection Technologies
The image quality of a projector depends on the imaging technology used, which can differ across models. LCD (liquid crystal display) projectors excel in color accuracy and brightness levels while DLP and LCoS models are renowned for their sharpness.
For the best image quality in this price range, opt for an HDR-capable model like this one from Epson. It offers excellent contrast and shadow detail while also displaying vibrant highlights and satisfying black levels. Its brightness is a bit lower than our top pick, but it’s still plenty bright enough for most rooms.
This 4K projector from BenQ has great overall image quality and offers a premium movie-watching experience at an affordable price. Its high contrast, good color, and HDR support earn it top marks in its class.