The article provides a step-by-step guide on cleaning a projector lens to ensure optimal image projection and longevity. It emphasizes the importance of regular cleaning, as dust and dirt accumulate around the intake vents. To clean the lens, use a vacuum cleaner to remove accumulated dust and dirt. The projector should be turned off and allowed to cool down before cleaning any part. The projector automatically adjusts projection brightness for efficient low-power operation, requiring an “Eco Mode” setting.
The article also warns against using the product if it is malfunctioning or if its display is abnormal, as continued use can create a fire risk. The cleaning process involves cleaning the inside of the projector with compressed air, removing dust, cleaning the housing exterior, and cleaning the lens.
Disadvantages of cleaning a projector lens include dust, dirt, and debris that can hinder image quality, brightness, and color accuracy. To address these issues, contact your original dealer or authorized CASIO service center once a year for an interior cleaning. Carefully wipe the lens with a lens cloth or lens cleaning paper, which can be purchased from a nearby eyewear or camera shop.
📹 Projector lens cleaning tip you probably don’t know
I recently found out a way to clean inside the lenses easily on some budget projectors.
📹 Avoid these 7 common PROJECTOR buying mistakes
Projectors keep getting cheaper and easier to own and use, make sure you don’t make one of these 7 common home theater …
Great Tip, Thanks. I have a Abox and was already thinking of blowing the Dust out with a commercial Air Compressor I use to run pneumatic tools. I did have limited success, but after your tip of opening the access lid underneath the Air cleaning tip worked much better. I set the Compressor at about 30 psi. The end result removed all the noticeable spots on the screen.
All of my projector recommendation articles have been updated for 2023-2024: Best Sub $100 Budget Projectors: youtu.be/ooFvyudbxNE Best $100-$600 Midrange Projectors: youtu.be/8mVX_29gXHE Best Portable Projectors: youtu.be/jmmGQOSAReI Best Modern Laser Projectors: youtu.be/3KmKv-TTIQQ Best Ultra Short Throw Projectors: youtu.be/Ef0tNjGDoOU Best Premium Home Theater Projectors: youtu.be/TjgXfRMtmSU Best Gaming Projector: youtu.be/biXPgm-pxiU Best Golf Sim Projector: youtu.be/c42W02UF_nI Best UST Projector Screens: youtu.be/2b8PXZtL1q8
Sitting here grinning as I have the x3000i on order, have a 110″ white 1.1 gain screen waiting, calculated all the throw distances and vertical offsets as much as I could, and it seems that I didn’t make even 1 mistake from the above ones! Great article, and I wish it was out a month ago when I’ve dove in deep into all these topics to save me some time.
Excellent article mate. I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say that we really appreciate your efforts and more importantly, your integrity. You’re one of the few creators I consider to be in my list of uncorrupted reviewers. Along side Project Farm and Teaching Tech. Also there is something about the density of information in your articles that I really appreciate. So many articles these days need to be played at 2x speed or even skipped through just to get to the point. But with yours it’s the opposite, it feels like a university lecture where I should be taking notes and even going back and perusal sections again to really take it in. I know that sounds like a negative but that’s a big positive I think, you aren’t wasting anyone’s time by dragging things out or milking as many articles out of a subject as possible. Also also, haha, one other thing I really appreciate that you have in common with Project Farm, is that you really do cover everything from a absolute budget entry level up to the high end level. I believe that a review of a high end expensive product isn’t complete without seeing what that extra expense gets you compared to a quality cheaper option. Thank you
Thank you so much for the recommendation! I have a double-doctorate and STILL couldn’t figure out which one would be the best for my needs! 🤣 Using your affiliate link, I purchased your recommendation for the best projector for under $200. As a business consultant, often times my clients have a terrific room, with all the technology needed for me to conduct my workshops and seminars, but once in a while, it’s been an issue, so I feel great, knowing that I can offer to bring my own equipment when the client needs it. Thanks to you putting this article together, I NOW feel like I’m an “official” (and fancy, I might add) traveling roadshow! 🙌🏻😎Lol.
Excellent presentation, although not all of your audience will be able to digest English narration delivered at 250 to 300 words per minute. At 6:03, regarding the throw ratio of short throw projectors: I was under the impression that short thow PJs are those with lenses capable of 0.5:1 to 1.0:1 TR. And not only to 0.7:1 TR. Also, standard throw PJs usually go from 1.0:1 or 1.1:1 to 2.2:1. However, most of the Epsons HT PJs that have a truly ridiculous 2.84:1 throw ratio in tele setting on the zoom, making them wholly indadequate for home theater use.
I am a Sunday school teacher in Kenya at a remote area. I am actually in need of a projector to help the children learn the bible and interact with the world. Most of their parents cannot afford smart phones. There are nice interactive programs online and I hope to help them have the same experience as children elsewhere. If anyone has a second hand projector they are not using they can feel free to donate to us. Or if one can donate a projector for us we would be so greatful. I would like buy one for them but I can afford right now and it would be so far fetched to tell the church to buy one because of the bigger needs at our parish.
Hi, thanks for your extensive advice, great work as always! I’m kind of stuck in the middle with a high-pressure WAF, whereby the projector must disappear after perusal anything, and has to be put in place quite quickly. So I do agree with all of your spot on points, but then for some of us, reality hits hard. We settled for a BenQ GV50 for its portability and for the qualities you outlined in your latest article. I’m still wondering if an XGIMI Horizon (pro or not pro) would have been a better choice. Maybe an idea of a article, the best quick-to-disappear easily storable projector, halfway between lifestyle and portable 😀
Great article – been considering what do in the bedroom and didnt want to do a tv as didnt want this permanent thing hanging off the wall. and was considering a projector…. Not sure anymore since seems like a screen is highly recommended and that sorta defeats purpose. Was going to do portable since aesthetically it has spouse approval points but seems like UST (on dresser against the wall) is the way to go ..but seems like you lose a lot just for being portable … Do you have a article or consider doing one for a magic mirror type display so it can be mirror regularly and a screen too
One other thing that can make a big difference (and is a bit more technical) is the type of chip and number used. A “single chip” DLP projector (common for most cheaper projectors) compared to a 3 chip projector (LCD or DLP) of “identical brightness” (ANSI lumens) will appear significantly dimmer when projecting images using color. Single chip DLP projectors use a single RGB color wheel to produce color. That wheel is divided into 3 segments (one for each color) and spins quickly as the light passes through it. But because each color is only visible 33% of the time, individual colors may be as little as 33% of the reported brightness. In other words, a DLP projector that claims to be 3000 ANSI lumens will only appear that bright when projecting white (as mentioned in the article the measurements are taken using a pure white image). Whereas a pure red, green, or blue image may only measure 1000 lumens. Obviously mixed colors (which would be common) will register varying degrees higher. For that reason, I almost never recommend a single chip DLP projector unless price is absolutely the most important factor.
bought my projector few years ago, i made the mistake to get a smart projector. 4 Years later i’m only using the fire TV 4K for every smart function the projector has with an UI way more quick and confortable to use. I always have to select HDMI source to use my amp that have all the devices plugged in and no way to have the projector start on HDM 1 source. Still i didn’t had to by a sound bar for 4 years because the projector sound is correct and i could upgrade recently to a full sound system.
How is ViewSonic PS502W as a short throw projector in your opinion? It is not FullHD unfortunately, but WXGA 1280×800. Do you think that would matter so much? Other alternatives are: ViewSonic PX701HDH, Epson Home Cinema 880, NexiGo PJ40, Optoma HD146X. I am looking for a Home Theatre, and my room is not so big. I have around 3- 3.5 meters of space to the wall. Looking forward to your reply!
Great article as always. One other thing that I would add to ignore while selecting projector is anything related to built-in sound. If you are springing for a projector, you should be able to buy dedicated speakers as well. One of the most common mistakes while creating full home theater is not allocating correct amount of money for audio. Audio setup in general should cost as much, if not more than a good projector for home theater. But even if the goal is not a home theater, but just a random projector, built-in sound should never be consider as an option.
Super article. I have a doubt.. Am planning to set up a home theater in my room. But all my movie contents are in 1080p, which are downloaded. And I seldom watch movies from OTT. So, what is the best projector suited for my room to project it to a 120 inch or say to a max, 150 screen?.. I know, only 4K content looks sharp. But I only have 1080p, with more than 2000 titles. Please advice.
Great article and it ticks almost all the boxes for me in choosing the right UST projector. One thing I am still considering and actually missing in the vid is input lag. I know that a projector probably is not the most perfect way to game on, but I would like to have the opportunity to play a couple of race games on it and I am still a bit in the dark on how to compare the “gaming options” on the available projectors…
Lately I’ve been gathering info for a couple upcoming purchase decisions: a replacement for my aging 720p bulb projector, and a budget security cam for my parking space (damn catalytic converter thieves!). Gotta agree with others giving props to The Hook Up website- it’s giving me the exact type of comparison/shootout reviews I find valuable, coupled with excellent context / “big picture” nuanced background knowledge. This website’s reviews of specific product categories are so good it makes me realize the vast majority of online “review” articles are worthless wastes of time… they’re essentially just unboxing articles posing as a “review.” I want to see direct head-to-head, side-by-side comparisons in multiple test environments… and for what I’m shopping for right now, The HookUp is the gold standard of pre-purchase “research” Keep up the great work you’ve doing with this website.
A couple of quick questions. When I look at dedicated theater room with full light control capability, I see a lot of focus on the bulb projectors and ones like Epson 3800, Benq HT3550, and Optoma UHD38x (although Optoma gets dug at alot for dead pixel quality issues). With plenty of room for a standard throw in that dark room with no windows, would you still recommend a lower gain screen (or cinegray equivalent)? How do you feel about the Dangbei Mars PRo, BenQ X3000i, or Nebula Laser as compared to the above models in a ceiling fixed installation?
Hi. This was really helpful. Have you done any comparisons of motion smoothing settings on different portable projectors? I don’t like perusal movies and tv with the heavy smoothing that comes as a default setting on most hdtvs and projectors. It sounds like some devices let you turn it off but others have low/high settings. Thanks.
Your article is an awesomely intuitive source of information, I like how you laid it out, and noticed the things you described about different projectors. There’s one thing that bugs me though, is the advice to use grey screens with less gain to reject ambient light. It doesn’t make sense at all that they would enhance contrast or dynamic range because you’re just making everything dimmer by the same amount. The contrast ratio of the image would be exactly the same as a bright white wall or a gain of 1.0 … But… if that screen has special optical properties such as an ALR surface you mentioned, that’s the feature which will achieve that. I’d still avoid a plain grey color as part of that function. I’ve seen online, special surfaces/paints which are engineered to reflect only the narrow RGB color bands projected, so that they look darker in ambient light but still reflect most of the projected image. I’d be interested in seeing coverage on that 👍. As for keeping ambient light off screen while keeping usable light in the room, especially a home theatre, I’ve used tricks such as using track lighting, or wall sconces behind the sides of the screen, using down-lights aimed just at the coffee table/seating keeping most of the room a dark color, such as furniture, carpet, ceiling and floor. Avoid lighting the walls or keep them dark too. So you can have usable light with minimal reaching the screen. Thanks again for an insightful article!
Very good article, but I think you possibly made one mistake regarding what is meant by screen gain, or perhaps were simplifying the explanation to make it easier to understand. I believe you stated that a gain of 1.0 meant all the light hitting the screen was reflected back, whereas a screen with a gain of 0.8 only reflected 80% of the light. This would imply that a screen with a gain of 1.3 somehow reflected more light than actually hit the screen which would imply energy being created from nowhere and would violate the laws of physics. My understanding is that a gain of 1.0 represents the amount of light reflected by a nominated material (i think it may be calcium carbonate or something similar) over a specific angle, which is not 100% reflective but is used as a reference standard for comparison purposes.
Thanks for the quality strong review. I’m looking for a quite home projector which i can use on ceiling(occasionally as a normal horizontal setup) mostly to read comics while in the bed. Thanks to your review i decided not to try Samsung Freestyle. Are there any other recommendations which have similar mobility? (thinking of XGIMI Halo+ but need to make it stand vertically, with cables plugged somehow)
Lots of great info here! I recently became the owner of about 60 3D movies! I’ve never had a 3d tv, but I do have the 3d bluray player. Wondering about a budget ultra short throw 3d-ready unit and screen options. Would love to see comments about any home 3d viewing experiences, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of talk about the format anymore…..is it worth taking a look??
I was planning to buy an Xgimi Horizon Pro and use it in my room in the evenings/nights with low or no ambient light. And I don’t have a special screen for that – just a white wall. I was wondering? Will it do the job? Does someone have it and can’t nudge me in the right direction? Should I buy it or not? Is it a good projector? Truth be told I will be coming from a 27 inch screen monitor where I watched my 1080p or 4k content and this would be my first projector. So… you understand my doubts and concerns. Thanks a lot in advance!
Hi, thanks a lot for this article, could you please help me, I ordered HUPPRUN H1 9500L and it’s the first time I deal with projectors, I want to hook it to my smartphone, what kind of cable i need to order from Amazon and is it ok to have a Motorola G power phone, is it gonna work or not, if not can I use a usb stick with SD card to make my child watch downloaded movies? Thanks a ton.
I partially agree about your 4K vs 1080P, however typically 4K content comes with HDR and HDR+ metadata in the article stream which is the big win for 4K and why getting a good 4K projector that is able to benefit from that content is a winner. I have had a BenQ HT3550 (aka W2700) for nearly 3 years now, and it does a fantastic job with 4K content. Lord of the Rings 4K and Dune 4K release looks absolutely amazing on my 120 Inch custom screen. It also does 3D in 1080P (no HDR) really well … just wish studios would release more 3D BluRays for movies they have shown in cinema’s in 3D, but thats a conversation for another day 🙂
Placement is a big deal, except perhaps for ultra short throw. Getting lens shift (or keystone correction) both horizontal and vertical may add a bit to the price of a projector, but it’s way cheaper than remodelling a room. In my den, a door in the back wall means I can’t mount on centerline of screen; a ceiling fan means I can’t mount on ceiling; and though I have a short throw I prefer not to have cords running to the coffee table; but from the height of a bookshelf, on the back wall beside the door, I have a well aligned image thanks to lens shift.
Great overall article. I don’t think any major manufacturer openly discloses On/Off contrast specs, especially those with a dynamic iris. Another good thing to keep in mind is that bulb projectors lose brightness over the lifespan of the lamp, whereas laser models maintain most of their brightness through their expected lifespan.
I use optoma cinemax ultra short throw in two standard quality white screen. And really try avoiding ambient light as it really doesn’t matter if you got the best projector and alr screen to combat external light. Projectors are designed for dark rooms and people need to stop fighting that hence why you still have theaters in all dark rooms.
An unfortunate downside of current laser projectors that I hope will be improved upon by the time I purchase one for my theater system (it’s the last component I’m buying because the tech is changing so quickly) is the relatively high input lag, making them not necessarily ideal for gaming. Smart is fortunately not a consideration for me at all (caveat: I LOVE the smart features on my LG 4K TV in my upstairs living room), since for my system I’ll be building a media box from a Raspberry Pi 4.
Hi there I was wondering if you could help me I’m looking for a good 4K ceiling mounted projector Plus I electric ceiling mounted screen and I have plenty of room so it doesn’t have to be close To the screen I would also like two wire it into an amplifier and speakers Will be use for every day use mainly sports and movies
thank you very much for this review, please, what would you recommend for a play on stage so that that the actors can go in front of the screen, I looked for laser projector, but unfortunately you can not go in front of it, as I understand the laser projector has a protection and not allow it.We have as room in front of the stage about 80m2. Thanks
Thank you for this high quality article, a lot of useful pointers. Great! Although i fully agree on the statement to not focus on the app-capability but to buy a separate media player, i do not think the Nvidia Shield is the best media player. Actually, i think it is a low-quality media player, because it is extremely difficult (and quite often impossible) to output movies in their native 24Hz refresh rate for the different streaming apps. If you buy a beamer, you are a movie enthousiast, and for many movie enthousiast the article quality is the most important factor. Reality is that almost all media players have the same drawback (and therefore, they all disqualify). There is one shining exception: the Apple Tv. It can correctly push out 24hz for Netflix, Amazon, Disney Plus, Infuse Pro (for playing your own articles from a plex server) and other apps. I bought the Apple Tv 4K, and i’m not even an Apple fan. But it is the only media player that respects the source material native refresh rate, making it literally the only viable option if you care about picture quality.
I think the biggest pitfall is audio issues even with newer projector units. There are new $2000+ projectors that don’t have HDMI ARC port or even an optical port, so people can’t plug in modern surround soundbars. For instance, I love Epson projectors, but there audio ports suck and even there flagship projectors only have mini jack 3.5 port. Meaning you won’t get true 7.1 Dolby surround sound quality. Actually I’ve noticed MOST projectors only have a crappy 3.5 audio jack.
Heyo, I’d like some help if you could offer. Anyway, I’d like to choose a projector for home-use case, it would probably serve as a 2nd monitor for my laptop (mainly perusal movies or anime, or perhaps streams) preferably under 500$ (tax included) (I have no idea if that’s enough but I don’t wanna spend too much) – more realistically, under 300$(tax included) and it’d be used mainly during the night (closed curtains) – or when I feel like perusal with projector preferably available shipping to Czech Republic recap: 1. use case: home 1.5: already have a speaker system, so if it had digi_out, that be great – HDMI in 2. budget: <300$ (tax included) 3. most likely short throw range 4. at night or when I feel like it 5. shipping to Czech Republic
I recently bought the XGIMI H Pro, but I really dislike the brightness, incompatibility with Netflix and hottest from the back, so I ended up returning it. And I recently bought the new JMGO 1s Ultra with Google TV and Netflix Built-In. And I’m so happy with the features and improvements. Can you make a review about the new one. Thank you for the article. It helped me a lot to decide.
I have a question.. I have a Sony hw65es and thinking of getting an woven acoustic screen. The gain is advertised as 0.8 and size will be 106″. The throw distance will be 3.2m approximately. This distance allows the lens focus to be on full wide zoom (non-zoom). The room will have full light control but white ceiling and light walls. Will the Sony hw65es give a decent picture on this screen in this environment. It’s the acoustic screen that gain of 0.8 that makes me wonder if the image at 106″ will still have the great color and contrast. Any personal experience will be appreciated 👍
Yeah I finally got my projector for my golf simulator but it took around 2 full weeks or more to come around to the information you have about projectors in this article. Some of the waste of time came from going to Best Buy to see what they had. All I had to do was look at the image they had on display with ambient light that made me say I won’t get anything below 3600 ANSI lumens. I decided on an Optoma GT2100HDR that was selling for $1800 street price and when Black Friday came along they dropped it to $1399. Incredible savings? I just hope it lasts +5 years. Thanks for putting this up wish I saw your article 3 months ago when I first started looking it would have saved me some time (headaches).
You can count on one thing, projector manufacturers numbers are a lie. Brightness….. lie. Resolution… lie! Don’t believe anything they say. Order a projector, and be ready to send it back when it doesn’t live up to the description. Name brands lie less than the fly-by-night no name projector companies.
Hi. You don´t recommend spending more than 100 for a projector with 720p resolution? Neither for a WXGA projector? I wanted to buy a 3lcd epson like the eb-w06, but costs 500, and it´s only 1280 x 800. And i followed the logic that brightness and contrast ratio is more important than resolution, but then you confusedm me with that statement not to spend more than 100 for a 720p projector. What to do now? My budget is 500, movies, sometimes not in dark room.
I’m looking for a projector to use outside on our patio or pool, maybe when the sun is starting to set in addition to when completely dark. I have a power source so don’t need built in battery. I’m stumped. I was looking for Netflix certified for ease of use and because I heard streaming sticks don’t necessarily work for Netflix. What do you think? Budget is $500-$1000.
Didn’t actually realise how much goes into a projector thank you lol, I’m currently setting up a bar in my house and want a projector with a pull down screen from the ceiling to project on to so I can mainly stream football and occasionally gaming and films, I would like the screen to be between 50″ – 100″ (adjustable) can you please recommend me one with a budget up to £300 maybe £400 please 👏 I don’t have a clue 🤣
I’ve been considering going the projector route when my 4k Samsung 50″ gives up the ghost but the more articles I watch the more confused I become. What with the costs involved and if I manage to convince my family to go with it my head is for the chop if perusal TV during the day means having the curtains permanently closed in order to match the picture quality of our current telly. Think I’ll give it another five years in the hope the projector technology catches up with the television.
I love your articles. I wonder if in your conclusions you could also focus your recommendations on people that already have a soundbar? I am actually quite puzzled why all these $2k even bother to bring super duper speakers of their own. I would expect people in this prize range to usually have soundbars already.
I bought an Epson EF 100, I bought an older model because the specs say it’s 2000 ansi lumens versus 1000 for the newer model. We will be using it outdoors with our camper, quiet hours are usually starting at 10 in most campgrounds, so starting movie around eight when the sun is it always all the way down. What type of screen would work best for outdoor viewing a little after dusk in the summer. I plan on hanging the screen on the side of the camper under the awning so the awning will help block a little bit of light. Or would I have been urban? Better off with a Epson short throw WXGA 3500 lumen? The reason I wanted this one was because it’s small portable and the price was right.
Good day! New subscriber here as I am going to setup a home theater. What size or projector screen do you recommend if my wall distance is about 8’5 inches? I figured that 100 inches would be too much and uncomfortable and now I’m stuck on thinking what size should I buy. Thank you so much for a very informative article! Cheers!
I now watched a bunch of articles about projectors and spend hours trying to find one that’s best for me…. I have a budget of about 400euros for the projector itself, I would like to have it 1080p and good brightness and as good of colors as possible but most importantly for me is the fan can’t be to extremely loud cuz I’ll sit right under the projector. If possible low latency cuz I would like to play games as well. I dont care about sound cuz i have great speakers. The projector will be parallel on a shelf about 290cm/9.5feet/114inches away from the projector screen and I have trouble figuring out how big the screen will be, I don’t want it to be too big so it’s on the floor and zoom decreases the resolution… One that I have my eye on is the NexiGo PJ20 but there now is a PJ30 and it’s basically just brighter. One that is basically perfect is the Optoma HD146X but the cheapest one is up for about 630bucks which is a bit much for me but might be doable when I close one eye… I would very much appreciate any help and recommendations that I can get! Thank you very much!
i bought a rca combination dvd player projector from amazon it boasted wonderful built in surround sound speakers that boom !!! actually it was a bust !! i plugged it into my pioneer reciever and the sound is pretty good, the bightness is fair when i have no lights on at all but im a senior and im just terrified of falling in the darkness i paid under a $100.00 for it because thats all i could afford… now on fb marketplace there are tons of just projectors floating around all different brands.. but i have a friend who had a GO article projector and the lamp was shot and my friend went to radio shack and bought a new lamp and was standing right next to him and the sales person said that will be $250.00!! i almost fainted !! so i would be a little unsure to buy a used projector maybe because all the lamps were about to expire, as i mentioned before im a senior and i dont have that kind of cash to throw around..ive asked severasl of the sellers what is left time of their lamps and no one knows.. i just dont want to get screwed, i love your post, thankyou..
The point about how you need to focus on brightness before 1080p vs 4k is so important. You would think it would be easier to tell the difference on a huge screen. But it is actually quite common to set up a home projector in a medium or large room where the distance to the screen means your eye is physically incapable of telling the difference. Figure out your screen size and how far away you are going to sit, then go look at the charts on the internet that show how close you have to sit to get any benefit from 4k. You’ll likely be stunned when you see how big a screen you need to have if you are sitting even 15 feet away to get any benefit from 4k. The only reason you can easily tell the difference on a phone or a laptop is because you put the screen so close to your face.
great article for those using projectors for movies or TV.. but another thing to think about is how your prpjector throws its image.. meaning what is the height of it in relation to your screen.. some throw it straight out meaning that the lese will be in the center of the image so iof you are mounting on a ceiling it may have to hang too low .. or on a table at a friends house it may have to sit way too high.. the other thing is always buy a projector that has the proper up / down throw. and dont use the built-in keystone adjustments if you dont have to… these typically degrade the image quality and if your projector natively displays a trapezoid (so you can set it low on the table).. you will never get a good focus across the whole screen… the lense is desinged for the unit to be set up where the projector displays a perfect rectangle with no adjustments turned on.. this will get you the best focus.. using mechanical adjustments like lense shift (BenQ LK936).. or the manual Zoom ring wont affect image quality other than too large an image may be too dim.. so feel safe in using those and stil lgetting good focus.. Focus is most importabt for those using projectors as computer monitors and for gaming.. also you can shine a projector on a wall.. esp if you are grabbing it to watch a sports game in lifesize or just general TV perusal.. unless you are a cinephile or very picky about TV images being perfect a painted wall (light gray satin if you have some ambient light) works just fine.
one tip for people, if you have a screen that can be projected on either side so that you can project from front or back, if you are projecting from front, put a black sheet that isnt heavy on the backside of the screen and it will help out. i bought a screen that can be projected from either side and when i added a black sheet behind it, it made it way better and i can actually turn lights on and still see the picture.
1) Brightness More light in room better – ANSI Lumens matters (LUX is by square area) – LED lumens = Nits – Light source to ANSI x0.015 – LED to ANSI /2.4 – Outside required, of course, more ANSI Lumens which is higher price – Depends on how dark is the room. More dark requires less ANSI lumens 2) Buy planning fixed location DO NOT BUY Portable projector due to less performance Portable?? Then look a xGimi Halo Plus spec. Not Portable?? Then Optoma GT1080HDR spec. 3) Picking the wrong Light source A) HID Bulb – Only for once in a while projects – Low cost – High Brightness – LOW LIFESPAN – HIGH ENERGY – MORE HEAT B) Led – For Replace TV projects – Low cost – Less energy – High LIFESPAN – LOWER BRIGHT unless you buy a good one C) Laser – For replace TV projects – High Brightness – Low energy – Low heat – High life span – OF COURSE HIGH COST 4 ) Ignoring throw ratio – Standard (1.0-1.5 Ex: 1.5 and 100″ means 150″ (3.81m)) – Short (Ex: 0.5-0.7 100″ x 0.5 = 50″ (1.27m)) – Ultra short 0.2-0.3 (Ex: 100″ x 0.2 = 20″” (0.51m)), best option 5) Not buying a screen Screen gain == 1.0 : all the light reflect back to the viewer Screen gain < 1.0 : improves black levels by absorbing ambient light Screen gain > 1.0 : Uses lensing to focus light from the projector to a narrower viewing angle (GOOD) – Multiply by the Lumens Ex: gain 0.8 X 650 Lumens = 520 Lumens 6) Resolution means nothing Bright and contrast matters Native type Shift type (DMD) 7) Smart functionality may not work – Check NVIDIA Shield
Respectfully, this was a good article, but (unless I missed this) why not speak about sound systems, connectivity issues, etc. Again, unless I missed this, which projector system ‘generally’ offers the best image? You mentioned 3 – the close-up, the mid-distance, and the 1.5-distance projector unit…which one provides the best image? I have not purchased my projector system yet, but I ‘sort of’ prefer the 24″ close (to the screen) projector system. Additionally, for a small home system, projecting 100″ to 120″ size, let’s speak about PEOPLE – if there is a sofa, how many people can sit side by side and still have a good view/a good image of the screen: I’m not saying this well, but the further from the center of the screen (moving laterally), I understand that the image degrades – you know what I am saying…sorry to not be more clear. In any case, good article – thank you – how about another addressing some of my thoughts – please.
Hello, I’ve been perusal your articles today, you have a ton of great info, but there are so many choices. Wondering if I can get your insights. I’m looking for a projector that is portable, both for images and articles in dark conference rooms and on against the wall (or screen in front of the wall if needed) in a gym (we can get it pretty dark, but for safety reasons wouldn’t want it pitch black, though we can have the lights on far enough away from the projection surface that the projection area is very dark), and maybe a rare camping trip. I probably want at least a 60-100″ inch image while being within about 10 ft of the image. Most of my articles are 780 or 1080, so 4k is a bonus, but not necessary. It would have to be able to play mp4, and ideally flv and mkv files as well, off of a USB stick and I would want the option for a direct connection from my phone when wi-fi is not available. I would need to be able to get about 4 hours of continuous playback, ideally through an internal battery, or the battery supplemented by a normal usb power bank, though if the quality is much better for a corded projector I can probably make it work. Ideally the sound would be at least as loud as my old hmdx jam speaker (the original). I could always upgrade with an external speaker if needed, so unless there is a massive difference at the same price point, the sound is beyond this is just a bonus. Also, wondering if you’re reviewed any of the really small projectors like the WEMAX Go Advanced or those little pocketable kodak ones (I’m assuming brightness would be a limitation).
very informative article thank you. Need some advice please. Searching for a projector for outside only that will throw my picture about 25 feet or so to a 20/25 foot inflatable screen. The screen will sit on the outside of a pool so everyone on my deck/pool/entertainment area can view please advise on some viable options. Let’s say projector price 2000 or so or under and a screen under 1000 to start thank you very much in advance love your website
There are a few common mistakes that people make when buying a projector. The first is not doing enough research. You need to know what type of projector you need and what features are available. The second mistake is not checking the warranty. Make sure the projector you are buying has a good warranty. The third mistake is buying a used projector. Used projectors may not have the same features as new projectors and may not be covered by a warranty.
Really great summary – I would just stress one more thing about brightness: More brightness from the projector means more light bouncing around the room and if you have white walls and ceiling, you will have nothing even approaching real black even at night with the room lighting turned off. It will look ok in dark secens, but any brighter scene will light up your whole room and instead of staying immersed in the movie you will see the room as if someone just turned on the ceiling lamp. That’s why it’s better to choose a lower-brightness projector or a grey screen for such rooms – even if it seems to you that the image is not particalurly bright, after a minute your eyes adjust and you will enjoy the depth and immersion. With ambient lighting, you’re not going to achieve a cinema experience without closing the curtains anyway and the picture will always be inferior to a TV. Just get a cheaper TV for casual day-watching and a low-brightness projector with white screen or a higher-brightness projector with a grey screen for the evening big-screen perusal when you can turn off the lights and really enjoy it. That’s what projectors are for and they’re not good at pulling double duty.
QUESTION: Do you or anyone else know of any projectors for artists that can project an image that can go as small as a foot or less? I’m looking for one to allow me to trace a picture on a small canvas. All the ones I see are 40″ or larger it seems. Can never find specs on how small it can project? If a person just moved the projector really close is the problem the inability to focus? I don’t care if it’s practically sitting on top of the canvas. Also money isn’t really an object as long as it works. Thank You for supplying a lot of great info in this article; it certainly helps explain what many of the terms mean and why it’s important. Now I just need to find one that can cast much smaller images.
Do you have any recommendations for portable projector screens that have less than 1.0 gain? Looking to take it on a plane.. All the ones I find online are 1.1 that can fit into a bag. I bought one and it’s okay, but like you said, it does add too much brightness in my opinion at the expense of contrast.
Why don’t people focus on the crap rainbow effect RBE that projectors suffer from. I spent so much on the LG HU915Q and in returning it today because of that unwatchable rainbow effect. Makes perusal films painful. Especially darker films like tron. With a big screen your eyes dart around a little to see different parts of the image and boom every time rainbows like mad. It seems like consumers just put up with it but then focus on stuff that’s way less important like how many billions of colours or what ever. What’s the point of the whole time we see RGB CHROMATIC split or the rainbow effect.
Good point about resolution. I originally started looking at 1080 but for the price of a 1080ust vs 4Kust it doesn’t make sense… The 4k (true resolution or no) usually like £400 more and seems silly to not consider it. But think i am clearly missing something here… Will check out your recommendations! 😊
i just purchased the capsule 3 because of course before I saw this article, i fell in love with the laser brightness and functionality. but my main reasoning for it was to start a small biz and do backyard movie parties. now learning about ansi vs led lumens im wondering if im too low at 300. but my main purpose is to use it at night in the dark with minimal light. I tested it in my house yesterday when it came in and we had lights on and it showed fine. so as much as I learned, i still fee somewhat confused. but your article was the best ive seen explaining so much
Buy a projector magnifying glass piece from Amazon or if you can the locally, a cardboard box, a offline Android streaming phone, if wanted a extra SD card, and do it yourself (DIY) project to make it cheaper because of the end of the day you’re going to get screwed with these projectors because businesses are there to screw you because you don’t know how to do it yourself and that’s the reason why rich people are so corrupt this because they know they can take advantage of people. They even offer online if you don’t have a white wall a projector screen on Groupon that stands up with a bipod. Don’t get screwed and get scammed.
Thinking of replacing my 82″ TV with an LG Gru510N with a 120″ (maybe 135″) VIVIDSTORM ALR Slimline Motorized Tension Obsidian Long Throw ALR Projector Screen (.8 gain). Bright part of the house (though we do have blinds). We sit 16 feet away from the screen, would the 135″ screen be too big and do you like the LG units? Thanks so much!
I have absolute blackout curtains in a 14ft x 14ft room. I’d prefer to have the projector overhead but slightly Infront of the viewer which is about 13ft from the image. Instead of a “screen” can I use a dedicated kilz white wall, matte/glossy, or some other paint made for this? with an image when @ 80 – 100 inches is 1080p at least 720p. Dead cheap, something that with last a while. Under 75- 100$
You should never look at ANSI lumens. It is a totally worthless measurement since we don’t watch a white screen all the time. Look up the projector’s colour light output. Most manufacturers make this number hard to find. 4000 lumens could be a bright white image and 700 lumens of colour brightness, or if it’s a good projector it’ll spit out, say, 2500 lumens of colour light and 4000 of white.
Thanks. very clear. i am struggling between a 4K projection (such as benq w2700) or a solid 1080p such as the Benq w1090. Especially with netflix or my collection of UHDdisc..; the projector will have to sit in front of me because i can’t fix it above on the ceiling. I find Xgimi type of device wery attractive spec wise, but overloaded with features i don’t need (speakers, oss…)
It is a real shame CRT projectors are no longer a thing… After more than 20 years of home cinema on a number of different CRTs it’ll be a very sad day when i finally have to retire the current Barco Cine 9… Good thing is i have two complete working units and a number of spares, including 3 sets of good tubes. I have over 30,000 hours on that Barco, and it has hardly ever been an issue. It’ll spit out a razor sharp 1920x1080p image, and a perfectly clear 2560x1440p image. Being CRT, there is no native resolution, it’ll display whatever you send it with a perfect 1 to 1, so even VHS can look good enough to watch on it. Great brightness, exceptional contrast ratio, absolute true blacks, and it looks nothing short of incredible having that HUGE 3 eyed monster hanging from the ceiling…
Best thing to do if you’re on a budget is get a used projector. The best projectors from 10 years ago are significantly better than any entry level device of today. The specs tell you nothing useful. “There’s been huge advances in projector tech” is a big fat lie. There has been almost zero meaningful improvement. Cheap projectors are still ruined with poor quality plastic lenses, small chips that limit clarity and light reflection, poor quality control and limited color calibration. There have been advances in image processing so a new processor may help more than a new projector.
I bought a Viewsonic M2. (Amazon) I upgraded from a much larger, cheep Wimius P28 projector. The Wimius was big, and very loud, all plastic. It had no auto focus/ tripod, and had a cover over the projector lens. It was LED. That ran about $80-100 on Amazon. The Viewsonic I have now is very small compared, is all metal, and the lens does not come out. Auto focus and Auto Tripod, and it is portable, but I will use it inside plugged in most of the time. That ran about $750.
For a generalistic tech website this was unexpectedly good explained. I would like to add another point and this is about advertising contrast ratio which on 99% of time is a plain lie. Usually an average DLP projector can have a native contrast (real contrast, not fake advertising) anywhere between 300:1 to 2000:1. More expensive dedicated home cinema projectors, like Epson 5050 or the new LS12000 have around 4000-5000:1 native contrast and the top projectors which are sold by Sony and JVC have very good native contrast which is visible only in pitch black rooms. So forget about claims like 2 millions:1 contrast ratio, this is totally fake, not even projectors that cost 200000 $ are able to do that.
I love your articles! And I am currently trying to find a good home projector for periodic use at around the $1000 mark. Unfortunately though, it seems like the Epson HC2250 & Optoma GT1080HDR both are hard to come by in europe (at least in Denmark). Do you maybe have some alternatives to these projectors? Based your articles I’m mostly looking for a bulb projector with approx. +2.500 ANSI, since I would love to be able to used it when it is not completely dark inside. Hope you see this and can help!
Hi, thanks for this fine website. Is it right, that single laser projector is better than the triple laser models, because of possible convergence problems of the 3 lasers, on screen? Looking for laser projector replacement of my BenQ 1080st at 270cm trow distance with 150″ screen… Waiting for you suggestion Dont need Gaming only for movies. THX
I dont know if you have done a streaming box comparison yet, but the Chromecast with Google TV is the best that I have used and the worst is the Roku and Skystream, I like the larger selection of apps on the Chromecast and the UI is very clean and simple to use, I like that you can turn off the suggested content and just have the apps, I dont have to waste time scrolling through apps since they are all easily visible.
I was gonna go for an ultra short throw monitor as they can be placed on a TV stand or furniture but then the distance they need to be away from the wall is around 20+ inches which is a lot. Not many tv stands are 20″ in width. This I believe is from the wall to the back of the projector unit. Unless I’m greatly mistaken? In youtube articles, even in hisense official one, they show placement of the unit pretty close to the wall, more like from the wall to the front of the unit. For reference I was going to get the hisense laser tv which comes with an ALR screen and free set up of that screen here in the UK.
One of the best reviews for people that are new to the Projector world. This is a must view before purchasing a Projector. I built an acoustically silent dedicated Theater room with a Projector (Panasonic AE-4000U) . After 15 years of upgrading and educating myself I learned a lot perusal this article. The time is now for a new 4K UST projector so this article really helps. Hisense seems to be the leader right now.
I purchased one of your recommended indoor projectors (Yaber) “1080p” it is a great projector especially for what I payed for it lesss than $400. However it’s not as great as I’d hoped for fast action sporting events. Can you do a article or just recommend the best less than 1k projector for perusal sports in basement with no ambient light issues, and have a 130″ drop down screen and mount is about 9.5’ from screen. Thanks for all the articles and reviews!
Vertical lens shift is extremely important as well. You should get a projector with 100% vertical shift where the projector lies flat and the bottom of the image will be level with the projector. If you don’t have lens shift then you can’t get the best picture from the projector by putting it on a table, or mounting it on the ceiling since you will need to adjust keystone correction and it’s impossible to focus the entire image. In order to avoid keystone adjustment you must place the projector level with the middle of the image which means that the projector cannot be placed in front of you as it will block your view, the only option is to place it behind you, but then it will be you blocking the projector! So vertical lens shift is a must, but adjustable lens shift is a nice to have. Edit: I realise after writing this that vertical lens shift may have been omitted from the article because it should almost be assumed that a projector has it. If you don’t buy super cheap then it probably will and actually finding the cheapest projector with vertical lens shift is probably a good way to get good bang for your buck.
What are your thoughts on using a projector geared more for classroom or workplace settings for a home theater set up? Currently looking at a Panasonic pt frz60 which is a $4,000+ projector but someone is selling it for much less than that. It has really high brightness at 6,000 lumens But the 20,000:1 contrast ratio is throwing me off. Not sure if it would be a good choice for a home theater set up or not
Up to your usual excellent standards. All the info you need, without too much extraneous noise. Would have converted the 150″ to 12 1/2′ for the metric impaired (and 50″ to “just over 4 feet”) Yes, that would be a big room! Going to think hard about the short throw with the special screen: makes the most sense to me.
Bro u are very good at explaining but i have 1 question. I want to buy optoma uhz50 projector with 2500ansi lumens and 2.500.000:1 contrast rasio. Its a long throw projector. Do i still need ALR screen for long throw? Or normal cheap screen can work? Which gain do i use for the screen because i usually see tv with oled (i know projector cant compete the black level, just i want something that can reach my minimum standard) if i use 0,6 gain screen with 2500 ansi lumens can it goes like 1000 nits on screen like real hdr on oled?