I put together a quality list after spending a few hours researching the best projectors for a variety of price ranges. Here are a few things to look for that may help you choose the right one. I also included the one that I personally use.
There is no “right” projector brand to go with, as you should measure the quality of the projector on an individual basis. I’ve researched and found that companies produce projectors of varying degrees of quality and price range. At the end of the day, it’s best to go off of people’s individual reviews since companies all seem to claim that they deliver superior quality. But when it comes to buying online, it’s really hard to tell which ones stand out. See the end of the article to watch the video review of the one I use!
These are the top 3 projectors for 2018:
High End
Optoma UDd 60 4K (click to check current price on Amazon: This is a high-end 4k, extremely bright with 3000 lumens and arguably the sharpest 4k bang for the money
Perfect End
Epson Home Cinema 2045 (click to check current price on Amazon): This is the one I took home from Best Buy expecting to return it just because I wasn’t ready to make the investment but ended up loving so much that I just kept it (weird how providing a 14 day free trial works).
Budget End
Optoma HD27 (click to check current price on Amazon): This is a 1080p, 3200-lumen projector (bright). It’s priced very similarly to the Epson 2045 that I have but it’s under $600 which I think is impressive for a projector that delivers such good quality. This is a great bang for the buck- just ask all the people that have reviewed this one. I think this is also a good example that you don’t have to spend tons and tons of $$$ trying to get an authentic movie theater experience but can still have an awesome projector that makes you feel like you’re sitting in an actual theater (minus the dude on his cell phone in the back row… unless that’s you).
Why I Picked the Epson 2040
Having a home theater cinema in my bedroom was already “pragmatic” enough, but finding a projector that actually delivered a quality experience for well under $1000 wasn’t. Just the idea of filling an entire wall with an image vs a small 27 inch TV was an exciting thought and having a projector that does that with 1080p quality is perfect. Sure tvs deliver just a little bit more quality but not on an entire wall that completely immerses you. The best recommendation I can make is to at least try out the projector with the mindset of thinking you will probably return it and then see what kind of quality each type delivers.
Features to Look for In a Quality Home Theater Projector
- Good brightness (measured in Lumens)- anything above 2000 is good (mine is 2200 and some go up to 3200+)
- Good bulb life ( 5000+ hours)- mine has 7500 and it’s considered a budget projector. I’ve had mine for almost 3 years and it’s going strong without any sign of wear. You can also get these bulbs replaced if they burn out
- Settings that can resize and scale an image– different rooms and setups require that the projector image is tweaked and angled without having the physically move the projector- a good projector will have these settings on the remote and on the device itself
- Make sure you have 8ft from the screen to where you will put the projector in order to fill a 120-inch screen
- Subtle fan noise- projectors under $150 have loud fans because they are cheaply built- any projector will have fan noise but if you keep them cool then they’ll pipe down unless it’s a cheap model
Check out my video review of the one I use: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8XI92BPYb4
