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Best for Most
Optoma UHD55
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Also Great
BenQ TK860i
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Easiest Setup
Hisense PX1-Pro
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High-End Pick
Epson LS12000
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There’s nothing like watching your favorite films in a dark room on a massive screen. For that authentic movie theater experience at home, you’ll need a projector (and a popcorn maker).
You used to have to shell out more than $10,000 to get an excellent projected experience, but you can now get a massive, beautiful picture for less than the cost of a flagship TV. Projectors are also much more portable and easier to set up than ever. And if you have space, there are excellent pocket-sized and short-throw models that make lawn-side movie nights as easy as finding an extension cord and a level chair to set them on. Below are our favorite models and a couple of screens to pair with them.
Working on a total home-theater overhaul and need some help? We’ve got an entire guide to How to Set Up a Projector. Also, be sure to check out our buying guides to the Best Soundbars and Best 4K Streaming Devices.
Updated September 2023: We added the Optoma UHD55, BenQ TK860i, and BenQ W4000i.
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Photograph: Optoma
Best for Most
Optoma UHD55
The previous Optoma model, the UHD50X (9/10, WIRED Recommends), offered one of the best pictures you’ll find at a reasonable price, and the newer UHD55 keeps with that tradition. At 3,600 lumens, this projector is now bright enough for even lit rooms, and the image quality and ease of setup are directly comparable to the BenQ model that follows it on this list.
Plug in a gaming computer with a good enough video card and it will offer a 240-Hz refresh rate and low enough response time that you can play most online games. The high refresh rate also makes the UHD55 great for sports, which often look weird on projectors. I also like that this model supports Alexa, so you can literally ask your phone to turn the projector on.
If you want an upgrade, check out the UHZ50 ($2,800), which uses laser projection, which makes it faster to turn on and off, and quieter for smaller rooms.
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Photograph: BenQ
Also Great
BenQ TK860i
The latest bright-room projector from BenQ is another solid option for most people. With 3,300 lumens, the TK860i is more than bright enough for lit rooms, and it makes the thing positively gleam in the dark. This projector also comes with Android TV, which makes it easy to stream your favorite shows and movies instantly, no other streaming device is required.
It’s light and easy to position. The projector can be placed between 9.9 and 12.8 feet from the wall, with up to 120-inch screen size. The Optoma above gets a bit brighter, but this has a bit better color and is still an excellent projector for most people. My advice? Go with whichever is cheaper at the moment.
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Photograph: HiSense
Easiest Setup
Hisense PX1-Pro
Most traditional projectors require a significant distance between the device and the screen you want your image on, but not this laser projector. This all-in-one device (8/10, WIRED Recommends) sits right on a traditional TV stand and projects an image upward onto an up-to-130-inch screen. It comes with a Dolby Atmos soundbar built in, which means you don’t even need to splurge for better sound until you really want to. Best of all, the setup couldn’t be easier, with a built-in Android TV interface and laser projection system that will be projecting your favorite shows and movies in no time.
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Photograph: Epson
High-End Pick
Epson LS12000
Epson’s flagship 4K projectors have always been some of the best that money can buy. It feels like every generation builds in more value. It’s hard to perceive value when it comes to a $5,000 projector, but this thing looks like a $20,000 (or more!) projector would have 10 years ago.
This three-chip laser projector is capable of 2,700 peak lumens for a bright picture in even moderately lit rooms, and it’s so precise with color that it can do full 10-bit high dynamic range. It’s also decent for gaming and watching sports, thanks to a 120-Hz refresh rate. If you have a theater room and need a new projector, this is a solid option.
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Photograph: Optoma
Best for Gamers
Optoma UHD38x
Our top pick is good for most casual gamers, but if you demand an even shorter lag time, the UHD38x from the same company is your best bet. Projectors have always had slower input response times (the time it takes your motion on a gamepad to react onscreen) than regular TVs, but the UHD38x fixes this with a superfast 240-Hz refresh rate at full HD resolution. That lowers the input latency to a mere 4.2 milliseconds, compared with 16 on the UHD55X—more than good enough for all but the most competitive gamers.
When you’re not using it to play Tears of the Kingdom on an up-to-300-inch screen, you can watch all your favorite films and TV shows in 4K. At 4,000 lumens, it’s also bright enough for medium-lit rooms. The one thing I don’t like about it? You can’t shift the lens inside if you want to reposition it, so you’ll want to make sure you have a proper mounting solution planned before you pull the trigger.
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Photograph: BenQ
Best Under $3,000
BenQ W4000i/HT4550i
This bright 4K projector from BenQ has two names: It’s called the W4000i in the rest of the world, the HD4550i in the United States. Regardless of the model number, it looks and acts the same, with the best picture quality I’ve seen this side of three thousand bucks.
This projector meets 100 percent of DCI-P3 and Rec. 709 color standards (read: colors look bright but not washed out), and the black levels are also pretty awesome for a projector. I also like that this model comes with an Android TV system, which allows you to easily stream your favorite shows and movies in no time. With 3,200 lumens it’s bright enough for even lit rooms, with 4 LEDs rated at 20,000 hours of viewing time before you’ll need to think about replacement. Another benefit to spending a bit extra? It does a 240-Hz refresh rate at 1080p, which means this projector is shockingly adept at gaming and sports.
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Photograph: LG
The Smartest Projector
LG CineBeam HU710PW
This gorgeous 4K laser projector from LG (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is also beautiful to look at when media is playing, and it’s just about the easiest to use when it comes to finding stuff to play. It has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and LG’s TV operating system built in, including the awesome Wiimote-like LG Smart Remote. That means you can access everything from Netflix to Apple Airplay casting.
It’s a bit cumbersome to mount (you’ll want two people), but once you do, vertical and horizontal adjustments for the lens make lining it up with your screen a breeze. It even has HDMI eARC, which makes it easy to connect to soundbars and other modern receivers. The projector’s remote can control them.
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Photograph: LG
A Portable Smart Projector
LG Cinebeam PF510Q
If you have Wi-Fi in your back yard, this portable little model from LG is a great way to have movie night. It has a built-in smart TV interface that features all the biggest apps, and the onboard speakers are loud enough for a small gathering (though you might want to consider speakers or a soundbar if you’re playing for more than a few.
I like how easy it is to set up and get things streaming on this model, which easily focused in seconds using the slider on the top of the device. The screen size gets up there, too, with this little thing capable of 450 lumens (you’ll want it to be night to watch outside) and up to a 120-inch screen. It’s full HD (1080p), and though it will go that big, I found this model best for a normal-to-large TV-sized screen (about 80 inches in diameter). Be aware: It wavers in an out of stock on Amazon but can be found elsewhere regularly.
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Photograph: LG
Best for Phones
LG CineBeam PH30N
The CineBeam PH30N is a blast. It has two hours of battery life, so you can watch a short movie anywhere (plug it in for longer sessions), and you can even stream things straight from your cell phone—no cables required. With 720p resolution and up to a 100-inch image size all from a projector that fits easily in a purse, you’ll be watching Netflix in the woods in no time. Just wait until it’s dark, because portable projectors aren’t nearly as bright as their beefier, cabled counterparts.
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Photograph: Silver Ticket
Best Indoor Screen
Silver Ticket STR-169100
If you’re gonna splurge on a projector, you should snag a screen to go with it. You’ll get better colors, sharper highlights, and have a more cinematic experience overall. My favorite is this Silver Ticket model, which looks as good as screens that cost much more. It’s also super easy to mount.
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Photograph: Elite Screens
Best Outdoor Screen
Elite Screens Yard Master 2
Outdoor movie nights shouldn’t rely on an old white sheet or the scruffed-up wall of your garage. Instead, grab the Yardmaster 2 from Elite Screens, which assembles in minutes and comes with a carrying case for storage between events. Don’t want two screens in your life? Do what I did and just move it inside during the cooler months.
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Photograph: Marko Geber/Getty Images
Tips and Tricks
What to Know Before Buying a Projector
Projectors offer larger screen sizes and a more cinematic viewing experience than their TV counterparts, but that doesn’t mean they’re easier to set up. That’s why we have an entire guide to How to Buy a Projector to check out!
Unless you’re going for a portable option, you’ll want to make sure you have a projector mount ($24) and audio cables properly routed to the location of your projector. This is because setting up full-size projectors to fit your screen, be in focus, etc., can be a pain, so once you get everything dialed in, you’ll want to leave it as-is.
Make sure you get enough lumens (how bright your projector will get at its peak, the higher the number the better). Over 2,000 lumens is a good starting space for any kind of lit viewing, but we recommend 3000 or above if you’re viewing in a bright room.
Another thing to bear in mind before you get a projector is just how much space you’ll need to properly set it up. In most cases, you’ll need 10 to 15 feet between the screen and the projector (be sure to check the “throw distance” listed by the manufacturer in the manual) to achieve screen sizes over 100 inches.
Without a completely dark room, the image can look washed out and be hard to see. If you don’t have a room without windows, consider getting blackout curtains. For more detailed information on how to set up a projector after it arrives, I highly recommend this video.
