Home cinema – five things to look for when you buy a projector, including brightness, resolution and size
- Projectors have become an affordable option for microflats too small for a television; pricier models cater to those who want the cinematic experience at home
- Among the factors to consider is whether you will use a projector with a blackout or in daytime, and whether you want to be able to place it off-centre
Smartphones may be one of the main ways we watch video today, but we all know that movies look better on the big screen – and the bigger, the better.
For a long time, projectors were a luxury option for those of us with the room to dedicate to a home cinema. Now they are at last becoming affordable and – just as importantly – more practical for use in small and shared spaces.
You can spend as much as you want, but an excellent big-screen picture of 80 inches or more can now be had for less than US$650.
Here are five things to look out for when buying a projector for your home.
Size and shape
Firstly, there’s the size of the projector to consider. Most affordable options weigh less than 6kg (13lbs), which makes them easy to bring out from storage for special occasions. The more you pay, the bigger and heavier they tend to get.
Secondly, there is the shape; a standard boxy “short-throw” projector that can be placed on a table, or a slimmer “ultra-short-throw” model that sits on the floor and projects upwards onto a wall. Examples of the latter are the pricey LG CineBeam HU85LA (US$6,000), which is good for small rooms, and the app-packed (and far more affordable) Anker Nebula Capsule II smart mini projector (US$580), which is designed for bookshelves.
Resolution and image
Know that HDR – which stands for high dynamic range – is a default feature on any projector that handles 4K video, so you do not need to go looking for it as a stand-alone feature. However, do hunt for a contrast ratio of about 30,000:1, which promises a good black level and dynamic, more convincing images.
Brightness
If you want a projector for special occasions – such as a movie or games night – and it is going to be used in low light or even with a blackout, then brightness is not that important. However, if you want to set up your projector semi-permanently, or use it during the day, look for a model whose light engine can pump out 3,200 lumens or more.
Whatever your need, you will have to keep direct sunlight off the wall or screen onto which you project images, and dimming the light in a room will always increase the quality of a projected image.
DLP versus 3LCD
Although these two projection technologies – digital light processing (DLP) and liquid crystal display (LCD) – have been going head to head for more than a decade, there is very little to choose between them. Both produce excellent colour and detail, although cheap DLP projectors can produce a nasty “rainbow effect” for some viewers.
Though invisible to most people, some see a spectrum of all the colours as a DLP projector’s colour wheel spins. A three-chip DLP projector – the latest kind – banishes that problem. Epson uses LCD (in the guise of its own 3LCD tech), while Optoma, LG, BenQ and ViewSonic use DLP.
Some projectors are powered by lamps, others by laser light sources. Sony uses SXRD tech, a hybrid between the two.
Extras
Some projectors have lens-shift levers that allow you to physically move the lens, which means you can get a great image even if the projector is placed way off-centre in relation to your screen or screening area on a wall. That is an extremely useful feature, as are built-in speakers and/or Bluetooth for streaming audio wirelessly to a soundbar or speaker.
If you want to watch Netflix and YouTube, be sure to check that the projector’s HDMI inputs can accept dongles such as the Google Chromecast and Amazon Fire Stick. Most newer models do, although few can be voice-controlled using Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant commands; the exception is the Optoma UHD51A (US$1,700).
