Best home theater projector 2020

Home theater projectors offer a fairly affordable way to view content on a big screen and their display size easily trumps that of even the largest mass-market TVs. Not to mention, TVs larger than 75 inches in size can cost several thousand dollars. Please note that in addition to a large room and tall ceilings, projectors require the purchase of a dedicated screen and potentially some mounting equipment for an optimal viewing experience. In order to help you find the best projector for your home theater, we've researched and evaluated a slew of different models from all the top brands to help you find the best one for your needs, budget, and setup. Our picks not only offer large pictures — they deliver outstanding image quality.

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Content:

• Best home theater projector for 2021
• The best home projectors for gaming and movies on any budget
• Best projector 2021, including 4K and HDR models for film or sport
• The Best 4K Projectors for Your Next Indoor or Outdoor Movie Night
• The Best 4K Projector
• The best projector for your home or apartment
• The Best Budget Projector for a Home Theater

WATCH RELATED VIDEO: Best Projector in 2021 [TOP 5 Home Theater Projectors]

Best home theater projector for 2021

Big-screen TVs are ten a penny these days, but what if you hanker after something greater, something bigger and better? A projector might be just the box-office ticket.

But which one should you buy? To the untrained eye, one projector looks very much like another. First, resolution. If you want 4K, expect to pay more. Of these, DLP projectors are the most common, the most compact and tend to deliver the most bang per buck, while LCD projectors tend to be bulky and slightly more expensive. DLP projectors do have a downside, though. If you want the very best quality, however, a laser light source projector is what you want.

Here, you need to consider throw distance how far you place the projector from the screen for a given screen size , optical zoom and lens shift capabilities, all of which will have an impact on projector placement. Optical zoom allows you to enlarge or reduce the screen without moving the projector, while lens shift lets you move it up, down, left and right without losing quality — or moving the projector physically. The cheaper the projector, the more limited these options will be.

If space is really tight, you might want to consider a short throw or ultra-short throw projector, which can create big images on your screen or wall from incredibly short distances — as little as 10cm for a 50in image in some cases. The downside is the projected image tends to suffer more from geometric distortion.

Projectors typically aren't very good at reproducing HDR content due to their limited black and brightness levels. However, what this projector does well is recreating colours at close to HDR levels.

Indeed, if you feed it a 4K Blu-ray, it will lap it up and project an image that's as close to a movie screen in your own home as anything this side of five grand.

It may not be the brightest projector around with a peak of only 2, ANSI lumens, but it has a short throw lens that allows it to create a large display from relatively close up.

It also has all the connectivity you need without any frivolous extras, plus adjusting the image to suit your screen and room setup is a doddle thanks to zoom and vertical lens shift capabilities.

Quite simply, the BenQ W is a stunning projector. If you're looking to recreate a movie theatre vibe in your living room and don't have many thousands to spend, this is a very good place to start.

Read our full BenQ W review. The LG PF50KS isn't in the same league as the full-size projectors in this list when it comes to brightness but it's cheap, unobtrusive and stuffed with features. It's a portable projector and absolutely tiny — about the size of a thick hardback book — and it weighs a mere 1kg, so it's easy to stow away once you've finished with it.

Otherwise, though, it punches well above its weight. Brightness is fine at lumens, although you'll need to dim the lights and close the curtains to enjoy it fully. The resolution is native p and great for movies and the projector is able to project images up to in as well. Pick the Expert Dark Cinema preset and you'll be rewarded with superbly accurate colours as well.

The projector can also output audio via Bluetooth audio, keeping cable clutter to a minimum. Overall, the LG PF50KS is an excellent alternative to a full-size projector and the best thing is it doesn't cost all that much, either. Key specs — Resolution: p; Brightness: lumens; Contrast ratio: ,; Throw ratio: 1. Its image quality may not quite match that of the BenQ W, but the ViewSonic XK is a cracking projector and has its own benefits.

For starters, its RGB LED light source means you'll only have to replace it every 30, hours as opposed to the 4, hours that the BenQ's lamp lasts. That's more than 16 years of watching at five hours a day. It looks smart, comes with an integrated carry handle to make it easy to carry around the house and picture quality is sublime. It's bright and that LED light source means it can create more vivid colours than most projectors at around this price.

Combine that with a sharp 4K image, easy setup thanks to its autofocus and auto-keystone adjustment, Alexa and Google Assistant support and a good quality built-in 16W speaker system, and the XK makes a solid case for itself.

Overall, it's a very impressive all-rounder. Read our full ViewSonic XK review. Brightness is a touch weak at 1, LED Lumens, which means you have to dim the lights and draw the curtains. It will produce a screen size of a maximum of 80in display from a distance of 2. Overall, the ViewSonic M2E is a top-quality compact projector. If you've bought yourself one of the latest games consoles, you're going to want a display that can keep up and that's exactly what the Optoma UHD38 delivers.

Not only can it project your games at huge screen sizes, but it can do so at high refresh rates: up to an incredible Hz at p and Hz at 4K resolution. Games look epic on this thing. It's also an accomplished home cinema projector, with support for HDR10 and HLG and a bright image of 4, lumens that means it's watchable during the day, although black level response isn't the best.

Focus is manual and, as it isn't a short-throw projector, you'll also need a fair amount of space to maximise your screen size. There's also nothing in the way of smart connectivity here, as you get with some of the compact projectors on this page. However, if you're a gamer and you want to play on the biggest screen possible, there aren't many better ways to do it than on this potent projector.

Read our full Optoma UHD38 review for more details. Buy now from Scan. The one unit combines a 4K laser projector with a Dolby Digital 2. Picture quality is excellent. Sign up for our daily newsletter Newsletter.

Best projector The best p and 4K-ready projectors you can buy Best Buys. Jonathan Bray. Stuart Andrews. See related. Best portable projector The best tiny, lightweight and battery-powered projectors. Read more Best Buys.

The best home projectors for gaming and movies on any budget

An underrated option when looking at a main screen in is one of the best home projectors. It'll give you options on screen size that can safely eclipse those that TV offers and are perfect for those who have always fancied a home cinema experience. After all, and as good as they are, there's only so much the best gaming monitors and the best gaming TVs can offer - particularly before getting crazy expensive. One of the best projectors will get you enjoying your favorite films and games large enough to truly get immersed in them, while also offering the ability to host unparalleled movie, sports or game nights where everyone can actually see.

Best projector 2021, including 4K and HDR models for film or sport

The smell of the popcorn, the hush of the auditorium, the lights go down and on goes the film; there's nothing quite like the cinema. Making one's own private movie house can be a lot easier than you think. The key to the experience, of course, is choosing one of the best projectors that money can buy and that's what we have for you right here as well as all sorts more on Home Cinema Week on What Hi-Fi? With picture sizes often up to in, the best projectors are the only way to get that genuine big screen feeling. We've rounded up our favourite projectors, including Full HD and native 4K models, which also support HDR, and some short throw projectors too for those with smaller spaces. There are even one or two portables that would make an excellent bring-along addition to a garden party for an outdoor cinema experience. The only question is how much do you have to spend? Naturally, a great 4K projector will cost more than a Full HD one, and real, actual native 4K costs even more than those which use pixel shifting to spoof that top-end resolution. Fear not, though, we've got something for all budgets in our best projector list below.

The Best 4K Projectors for Your Next Indoor or Outdoor Movie Night

Products featured are independently selected by our editorial team and we may earn a commission from purchases made from our links; the retailer may also receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. The last time my friends came over for movie night pre-pandemic, we decided to take the entertainment outdoors. Blankets and lawn chairs were hastily arranged to form a makeshift viewing area around a king-size sheet, that had been pulled tightly against a fence. Flames licked marshmallows roasting over our outdoor fire pit while we passed around hot toddies and black coffee until we were all delighted and settled in for the film. Not all projectors are created equal.

The Best 4K Projector

While 4K TVs and now even 8K TVs are getting all the attention, especially as big purchases around sales events, projectors get left out in the cold. That's despite the fact that many quality projectors can offer an excellent picture, deliver enough brightness to work in the daytime, and are far more portable than most TVs while offering a projected image that can be much larger. That big picture can make for an amazing gaming setup as the game worlds you're exploring stretch across the width of your living room wall. If you're worried that a projector might fall short compared to a TV when it comes to gaming, you can set those fears aside, as we've found a bunch of projectors that can offer big, bright, sharp images while succeeding in one of the most important aspects: keeping low enough input lag for gaming. We've got projectors from massive 4K and high refresh rate models to compact models that can run on a battery — and click here to find them in the UK.

The best projector for your home or apartment

Big-screen TVs are ten a penny these days, but what if you hanker after something greater, something bigger and better? A projector might be just the box-office ticket. But which one should you buy? To the untrained eye, one projector looks very much like another. First, resolution. If you want 4K, expect to pay more. Of these, DLP projectors are the most common, the most compact and tend to deliver the most bang per buck, while LCD projectors tend to be bulky and slightly more expensive. DLP projectors do have a downside, though.

The Best Budget Projector for a Home Theater

Every product is independently selected by obsessive editors. Things you buy through our links may earn us a commission. Related Articles: Mini-projectors Projector screens. With close to five-star reviews, this home projector from ViewSonic gets praised for striking the right balance between price and performance.

Thank you for shopping with us. Due to global chip shortages and supply chain issues affecting our industry, we strongly encourage you to start your holiday season shopping early this year. These issues are causing significant delays for many products, and consumer demand during the holiday season will likely make the situation worse. Please note that items ship on a first come, first serve basis — reserve your desired items today to ensure you have them before the holiday rush.

From portable projectors to affordable p models to light cannons built for gaming or 4K HDR, these are the best projectors for the money. You can take your entertainment room to the next level with a home theater projector , even if you have a good TV or two. With a home theater projector, you can get a huge screen size for a fraction of the price of a big TV , which may be the best part. And when you want to take movie night outside, there are portable and outdoor projector options to consider. Whether you're looking to buy a 4K projector , want something that'll make HD sources look great or need something you can use on the go , you're going to find the best home theater projector on this list. Take an excellent contrast ratio, paired with impressive brightness and accurate color, all with better detail than what's possible with a p native resolution projector, and you've got all the pieces for a fantastic image. It's not cheap, but it offers a significant step up in image quality over other projectors on this list aside from the Sony, which is nearly double the price.

It's never been more tempting to pick up one of the best projectors for a big home viewing upgrade. Blockbuster movies heading home faster than ever, either on Premium VoD or snapped up as an exclusive by the likes of Netflix, and projectors can give you that true cinema experience at home. And whereas in the past, the best projectors were decidedly costly, now only some of them are. They're also more flexible than ever in terms of size and positioning requirements, so can find one that's suitable for any room.