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. Q. How dark does a room need to be for a projected image to look good? Will I still be able to see the image if the lights are on?

LED: These projectors use light-emitting diodes, and much like regular LED lightbulbs, projectors with LED bulbs last much longer – sometimes up to 20,000 hours. LED-based projectors require no maintenance, but they do have an Achilles’ heel: they’re not as bright as DLP or LCD models. LED projectors are ideal for small- to medium-size rooms and users who prefer maintenance-free setup. Resolution is limited to 854 x 480, and the brightness is a low-ish 150 lumens, so you’ll need a dark room to enjoy the projected image; nevertheless, the colour performance isn’t bad at all. Its speaker does a decent job of providing emergency audio that isn’t too thin and tinny, plus, if you want to boost audio output, you can hook up a Bluetooth speaker. I couldn’t say whether it meets all of the specs given but I can say that I very pleased with it. The standard and vivid picture settings are a bit washed out when it comes to colour but you can get a very decent picture if you play around with user settings. I turned up saturation and turned down sharpening and contrast. Key specs – Brightness: 400 ISO lumens; Native resolution: 1,920 x 1,080; Speakers: 2 x 8W stereo speakers; Throw ratio: 1.2:1; Max recommended image: 200in; Inputs and outputs: USB-C, HDMI 2.0, 3.5mm audio; Wireless: 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0; Lamp life: 25,000hrs; Dimensions: 119 x 108 x 161mm; Weight: 1.1kgOne of the best TVs is generally a simpler affair: you put it in your home, on a wall or stand, and it stays there. It's a set screen size, and will offer the likes of 4K resolution or HDR at a cheaper price point than a projector.

The Mars 3 is arguably the most practical portable projector ever made. Thanks to a chunky form factor that makes it look a little like an old-fashioned, high-powered torch, a massive 185Wh built-in battery and weatherproofing, it’s good for movie shows both indoors and outdoors. Smart auto-adjusted features can get you a sharp, well-focused image in just about any situation, and it even has integrated streaming and impressive, meaty sound. You can head off-grid and still watch movies for a little over five hours. Lens shift: Occasionally, you’ll need to adjust your projector’s image to make sure the picture isn’t crooked or change the height of the picture. Lens shift is a feature that allows you to adjust the lens and screen placement without physically adjusting the projector. This is a huge convenience because manual lens adjustments can be clunky and imprecise. The estimated delivery times for the above forms are for the continental United States only. Delivery to Alaska and Hawaii may take an additional 1-2 days. Hannah Tralys - Full-time researcher and tester at Trustmyreview - Written on July 13, 2023 Even if you have one or two good televisions, you can take your entertainment room to the next level with a home theater projector.With a home theater projector, you can get a large screen for a fraction of the price of a large TV, which is perhaps the best part.In this case, we're focusing more on the "go-to" projectors. Mini projectors can be installed permanently or semi-permanently, but for the most part, they're not designed to be.Basically, they go where they are needed.The best mini projectors of 2023 are super bright, super sharp and can give you a crisp, clear image wherever you need it. The W1800 sits squarely in BenQ’s CineHome section, where its focus on serving up a cinematic experience on a budget serves it extremely well.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 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.