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A. Depending on the model, installing a projector mount can be moderately challenging. If you’re comfortable using a stud finder, drilling pilot holes, and following directions to the letter, you’ll be fine installing a projector mount yourself. If you’ve never attempted to mount anything before, call a professional for help. If you're going down the home cinema route, you're generally looking at more premium projectors with 4K resolution, HDR, high contrast and high light output from LED or laser. More portable devices tend to cut a few corners in favour of portability and practicality. The next feature is light output, and how that light is created. Brightness is typically measured in lumens, and the bigger the number the brighter the output. Under 3,000 is fine for darker rooms or night viewing but for bright environments you'll want high output. Yes, with some important caveats. The biggest one is that projectors are not usually as bright as TVs, and as a result most really struggle in brightly lit rooms: the more light there is, the less vivid your projected images will be. Projectors are best suited to home theater setups rather than sun-drenched living rooms, though some ultra short throw projectors like the Epson EpiQVision Ultra LS800 included in our list provides an exception to that rule.
When you stream, you're usually streaming video and audio simultaneously – which is fine if your projector has speakers that you want to use. If not, your projector or your streaming device may enable you to send audio to wireless Bluetooth speakers or a soundbar at the same time as you watch the video. If you’re looking to find one of the best 4K projectorsout there, but don't want to spend the exorbitant sums that top-tier models from JVC and Sony command, look no further than the Epson Pro Cinema LS12000. This machine uses a laser light engine to shine an almost unbeatable image, making it a perfect choice for watching movies at home on a wall-mounted projection screen. If you're looking for the best 4K projector possible for a dedicated home theater, and have a budget that lets you reach for the stars, the JVC DLA-NZ8 should be at the top of your list. You’ll need a screen for your projected image, and there are hundreds of different options available. If you have room for a projector screen, buy one that can be pulled down from the ceiling. If you don’t have room for a dedicated screen, consider using projector paint on a bare wall. Projector paint creates a reflective surface that’s ideal for a minimalist setup. Extra bulbs
Looking for the ultimate big-screen thrills? We’ve picked out the best projectors from £250 to £5,999
You've made up your mind: a projector is the perfect AV solution for you. So how do you choose one?
Sources used for our testing include 4K Blu-ray and streaming services, and Xbox One X and PlayStation 5 gaming consoles. We also use test patterns from the Spears & Munsil Ultra HD Benchmark disc and standalone pattern generators to measure performance factors such as peak brightness. The latest updates to this guide to the best 4K projectors LCD: These projectors use liquid crystal displays to create the image that gets projected. LCD projectors are popular because they’re much more affordable than DLP projectors. However, these require frequent filter maintenance, and some users complain that dark colours aren’t represented accurately. If you need an affordable option that will perform admirably without being the best available, an LCD projector is a good choice.DLP projectors do have a downside, though. As most display colours sequentially use a spinning, segmented colour wheel (there’s the odd exception to this rule), they suffer from what’s called the “rainbow effect”, where small areas of the image appear to splinter into small rainbows when you shift your gaze from one side of the screen to the other. Some people are less sensitive to this than others, though, so if you haven’t experienced a DLP projector, make sure you get a demo before spending your money. The LS800 has claimed a place for anyone who wants a simple, powerful projector that lets them beam a huge image they can view at any time of day they want. The LS12000 is a beefy (we’re talking 50 pounds) projector with a 3LCD system inside. It provides powerful color and white light output, strong contrast, and no artifacts we could detect during our testing. Its immaculate picture doesn’t struggle to overcome bright lighting conditions, but when we turn out all the ambient light, it steps up to simply blow us away. One thing that most 4K projector marketing materials leave out is that the projector speakers are usually terrible. That’s by design. Most projectors are made to be positioned far from the viewer, so they’re built on the assumption that you’ll be providing your own audio solution. The VPL-XW5000ES combines Sony’s 4K SXRD panel and a 2000 Lumens laser phosphor light source, which, along with wide dynamic range optics and its Triluminos Pro colour processing, gives a 4K image so crisp and colour-rich that you could soon forget about the price tag. Throw in the X1 Ultimate Processor, with HDR Remaster and Dynamic HDR Enhancer processing, and you get the kind of picture quality that wouldn’t disgrace your local cinema.
After resolution and technology, the most important consideration is your room and how you’re going to set up and connect the projector. 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. When you first start shopping for a 4K projector, you may notice that there are a few acronyms that are important but can soon get confusing. Here are the three key 4K projector technologies you need to know about to make an informed decision. Although 3D support can no longer be found on televisions, many projectors continue to support the format. If you’re a fan of 3D movies, buy a 4K projector that supports 3D. Just be aware that the 3D standard is for 1080p content, and no 3D content is being produced in 4K resolution. Let there be light: 4K projector bulb technologies The slim remote is a masterclass in sleek design, with a metal casing that stays cold to the touch and has the good sense to limit things to a handful of buttons (power, Google Assistant, settings, home screen, return, and volume controls). The pull-out mechanism for the batteries is a bit flimsy, mind, and you’ll have to be careful to reinsert it correctly. Better still, the picture and sound are excellent. There isn’t enough brightness for use during daylight hours, but at night you get a crisp 1080p picture with punchy colours and even a hint of HDR. The DLP chip inside covers 79% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, which is actually better than some full-sized projectors. Meanwhile, the sound is the best we’ve heard from such a small projector, with plenty of weight at the low-end and crystal-clear highs. Perhaps opt for the Viewsonic M2, if you want a brighter image, but otherwise the MoGo 2 Pro is the mid-range portable projector to beat.Hisense isn’t selling the L9G as a basic projector, but rather as a laser TV with an included ambient-light-rejecting projector screen that’s meant to be permanently installed on your wall. This 100- or 120-inch (varies depending on the model selected) screen will appeal to those who are fussy about image quality, as it will reduce the impact of ambient room lighting on the picture. Throw is a big deal with projectors. Because of the way they work, by beaming an image onto a flat surface, the size of the projected picture will be determined by the distance between the projector and screen. All projectors have what’s called a “throw ratio”, which determines how big the picture will be at any given distance, and some are what’s called short-throw projectors, meaning they’re designed to give a bigger picture even from a distance of one or two metres. Wireless HDMI: Depending on where you place your 4K projector, you might end up with a tripping hazard: a long HDMI cable snaking around your viewing area. If you’re ready to ditch cables entirely, opt for a 4K projector that supports wireless HDMI – a new technology that can transmit a video signal from any HDMI source like a cable box or streaming box without the need for an extended wire. The room needs to be a bit on the dim side but not dark for it to give a decent picture. We are using it now on a wall instead of the TV. The second-generation Nebula Capsule projector takes everything that made the first one so great and adds to it. It’s a similar shape to the original, albeit slightly larger, and just as easy to sling in a bag or pop in a cupboard when you’ve finished using it. It has a built-in rechargeable battery so you can use it on the go without having to faff around with a power cord, and it comes with integrated speakers and a range of connectivity options.
We conduct these tests in our state of the art testing room in Bath, which is outfitted with a 100-inch screen and a plethora of external sources to hook the projectors up to, including 4K Blu-ray players, video streamers and games consoles. This is also where each of these projectors meets its rivals, as every product is tested side-by-side with the competition to ensure it meets expectations and so that its place in the market is considered as a whole – no product exists in a vacuum after all. The Horizon Pro is a projector that fares best with the best sources. 4K HDR content looks great here, with a detailed, cinematic picture to really elevate those late-night movie sessions. The EH-TW6150 is Epson’s answer to the budget 4K DLP projectors from Viewsonic, Optoma and BenQ, combining three LCD panels and pixel-shifting techniques to create 4K pictures from a 1080p optical system. It can be difficult to stand out in the crowded 4K projector market, so many manufacturers have begun to include innovative new features to help differentiate their best models. If you’re looking for a 4K projector that can go the extra mile, keep an eye out for models with these features.
Specs to impress: key 4K projector features
Many new 4K projectors these days come with ultra short throw technology, which vastly reduces the distance needed between the projector and the wall or screen surface it's projecting onto.
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