When TVs, desktop monitors, and even laptops embrace more pixels at lower prices, home theater and office projectors follow, but often lag in affordability. So while 4K resolution (3,840 by 2,160 pixels) has long since taken over as the standard for flat-screen TVs, 4K projectors are only now approaching and even dipping below $1,000 to reach the sweet spot as consumers’ preferred resolution. If you’re shopping for a 4K model, you need to know that some issues shake out a little differently than they do with 1080p and lower resolutions, and some new factors come into play, too. But if you choose carefully, you’ll have a big-screen image you’ll love—at least until 8K becomes the norm. But that’s not going to happen anytime soon.
What are the issues to look at for 4K projectors? Some features were newly introduced along with 4K, notably support for high dynamic range (HDR) imaging, and a different approach to native resolution. Others, such as brightness and portability, need to be considered differently with 4K versus lower resolutions. And some—display technology, light source, audio, and input lag—are essentially the same as for any other projector. Below, we’ll first cover our favorite models for common projector applications, choosing from among the projectors we’ve reviewed, then cover the issues you should consider when choosing a 4K model.
Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
Epson Pro Cinema LS12000 4K Pro-UHD Laser Projector
Best 4K Projector for Top-Quality Home Theater (Cost No Object)
Why We Picked It
Despite its high price, the LCD-based Epson Pro Cinema LS12000 is a near-bargain for the image quality it delivers, and it’s a solid step up from Epson’s less expensive models that also use pixel-shifting. Thanks in large part to video processing and lens quality, those less expensive Epson models deliver images that are virtually indistinguishable from a true 4K UHD picture— particularly one produced by pixel-shifting DLP models—while using only half as many pixels on screen. The LS12000 maintains the reliance on top-quality lenses and processing while also boosting the pixel count to a full 3,840 by 2,160. The result is more detail than we’ve seen from any of Epson’s earlier models or from any pixel-shifting 4K DLP projector.
An added benefit over DLP models is that because the image is produced by three LCD chips, it can’t show rainbow artifacts—the red-green-blue flashes that single-chip projectors are prone to. Most important, it also offers top-tier color accuracy, contrast, and shadow detail, and it will let you easily adjust the lens to give you the same image height when switching between movies with different aspect ratios.
Who It’s For
The LS12000 is the projector to beat for serious videophiles who plan to put it in a home theater with dark walls, ceiling, and seating to minimize reflections back to the screen. However, even less-demanding viewers will notice the bump in image quality compared with most affordable 4K models, making it a good home theater projector for anyone. It’s also bright enough to serve in a family room, particularly if you plan to watch movies with lights off at least occasionally. It doesn’t support 3D, however, so if you’re looking forward to seeing Avatar and its sequels at home in 3D, you’ll need to look elsewhere.
PROS
- Delivers a full 3,840 by 2,160 pixels on screen
- 2,700-lumen laser light source rated to last the life of the projector
- Supports HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG HDR
- Good color accuracy, contrast, and shadow detail, plus dark blacks for a laser model
- Easy to maintain image height for different aspect ratios
- Three-chip LCD design guarantees no rainbow artifacts
Read Our Epson Pro Cinema LS12000 4K Pro-UHD Laser Projector Review
Epson Pro Cinema 4050 4K Pro-UHD Projector
Best 4K Home Theater Projector Below $2,500
Why We Picked It
The Epson Pro Cinema 4050 is built around the original version of Epson’s approach to pixel shifting, which uses three 1080p LCD chips—one for each primary color. It puts only half as many pixels on screen as in a 4K (3840-by-2160) image, but between the limits of human visual acuity, which make it hard to see any difference at normal viewing distance, and a combination of a high quality lens and sophisticated video processing, it actually delivers equal or better image detail than many projectors that put a 3,840-by-2,160 matrix on screen. In addition to top-tier detail, color accuracy, and contrast for anywhere near its price, it also offers sophisticated features that include substantial lens shift combined with a powered shift, focus, and zoom, to let you easily maintain the same image height when switching between movies with different aspect ratios.
Who It’s For
The 4050 is a strong contender for anyone who wants a projector for a traditional home theater with controlled lighting. But it’s also bright enough, at 2,400 lumens, to stand up to ambient light in a family room, which makes it an equally good choice for more casual viewing. Keep in mind as well that the three-chip design means it can’t show the rainbow artifacts that most single-chip DLP models show, which makes it particularly attractive to those who see the red-green-blue flashes easily and find them annoying.
PROS
- Checks all the image-quality boxes: color accuracy, contrast, shadow detail, black level, and more
- Epson’s 4K Pro-UHD essentially matches the detail of true 4K resolution
- Powered lens with memory for easy aspect ratio switching and placement flexibility
- Supports HDR10 for movies on disc
- Three-chip LCD design guarantees no rainbow artifacts
- Brightness drop from 2D to 3D is less than most projectors’
BenQ x3000i
Best 4K Gaming Projector
Why We Picked it
As the flagship model in BenQ’s Immersive Gaming Series, the BenQ X3000i is the obvious top pick for a 4K gaming projector. It supports both HDR10 and HLG HDR; offers a 3,000-ANSI-lumen LED light source; and houses a pair of 5-watt stereo speakers that can fill a large family room with high-quality sound. It features three predefined variations on game mode, which tweak both image and audio for the type of game each is named for: first-person shooter, role-playing, and sports games. And it offers state-of-the-art short input lag. We measured it at 16.7 milliseconds (ms) for 4K/60Hz and essentially the same for 1080p/60Hz; and at 8.7ms for 1080p/120Hz—all of which are consistent with the rated 4.2ms at 240Hz.
Who It’s For
Who’s the X3000i for? In a word: gamers. In two words: serious gamers. As with any gaming projector, you can use it for movies and video, too, and it even comes with an Android TV 10.0 streaming stick to make that easy. But BenQ says the X3000i’s video is tuned to optimize the look of HDR when using game consoles as opposed to, say, Blu-ray players. Plus, features include the convenience of a dedicated button on the remote to rotate through the three game modes easily. If you’re a gamer, in short, the X3000i was designed with you in mind.
PROS
- 4K (3,840 by 2,160) resolution
- Bright LED light source (rated 3,000 ANSI lumens)
- Very short input lag
- Three paired video and audio modes for three categories of gaming
- Includes Android TV 10 dongle, controlled by projector remote
CONS
- Wi-Fi is sole network connection option
- Prone to rainbow artifacts
- Some tricky assembly may be required
Xgimi Horizon Pro
Best Room-to-Room or Backyard 4K Projector
Why We Picked It
The Horizon Pro delivered impressively good image quality for the price for all but the darkest scenes in our tests, hitting all the right marks for color accuracy, contrast, and a level of detail suitable for the 4K resolution. It also offers fully integrated Android TV, and while no easy-to-use Netflix app is available for it, workarounds let you stream Netflix, anyway. Very much on the plus side, it’s also brighter than most room-to-room portables, rated at 2,200 ANSI lumens. As with any projector, you won’t get the best-quality image at the highest brightness, but the picture mode we chose for viewing delivered a suitably bright image at 90 inches in the dark and at 80 inches in moderate ambient light.
Who It’s For
The Horizon Pro offers terrific bang for the buck. In addition to all the features already mentioned, it adds 3D plus more ports than most of its competition at a competitive price. We saw more rainbow artifacts (red, green, blue flashes) in our tests than is typical for current-generation DLP projectors, but if rainbow artifacts don’t bother you, that won’t be an issue.
PROS
- LED light source designed to last for the life of the projector
- Rated at 2,200 ANSI lumens; suitable for a midsize family room
- 4K resolution with XPR pixel shifting and full HD 3D support
- Small, light, and easy to set up
- Integrated Android TV for streaming
- Impressive audio quality
CONS
- Rainbow artifacts more obvious than with most modern DLP projectors
- No optical zoom
- Missing shadow detail in dark scenes
Optoma UHD55
Best Lamp-Based 4K Projector for Home Entertainment and Gaming
Why We Picked It
Most gaming projectors can serve reasonably well for home entertainment, too, and most home entertainment projectors can handle gaming, but the Optoma UHD55 stands out among 4K models for handling both well enough to be a top-tier choice for either one if that’s all you care about. Specifically designed for both gaming and home entertainment, it offers 4K resolution (3,840 by 2,160 pixels) on screen (using a DLP chip equipped with TI’s fast-switch pixel shifting) and a bright-enough image to stand up to ambient light. It also supports HDR10 and HLG HDR; delivers good color accuracy, contrast, and shadow detail straight out of the box; and offers full HD 3D support and built-in streaming features. For gaming, it features state-of-the-art short input lag. Rated at 4.2ms for 1080p/240Hz, we measured it at 16.9ms for 4K/60Hz and 1080p/60Hz, and at roughly half that (just 8.6ms) at 1080p/120Hz, all consistent with the rating.
Who It’s For
The UHD55 is of obvious interest to gamers who need fast reaction time for first-person shooter or sports games. It’s an equally good pick for a family room as a TV replacement or for watching movies. And if you’re looking for a projector for enjoying both gaming and home entertainment on a big screen, it could be your ideal choice. Its 4K HDR output—for movies or games—is especially worth putting eyes on.
PROS
- 4K UHD resolution
- Full HD 3D
- HDR10 and HLG HDR support
- Bright enough for a room with ambient light
- Good out-of-box color accuracy
- Short input lag
CONS
- Only one of the two HDMI ports offers the short input lag
- Limited number of streaming apps
Hisense 100L5G-Cine100A
Best Entry-Level Ultra Short Throw 4K Projector (With Bundled Screen)
Why We Picked It
The Hisense 100L5G-Cine100A is aimed at first-time buyers of ultra short throw (UST) projectors. The company bills it as a smart laser TV, prices it at what passes as entry level for the category, and sells it as a complete package that includes a 100-inch ambient light rejection (ALR) screen. The projector itself, the L5G, offers the best image quality we’ve seen in its price range. And for those who want an even bigger image, the same projector is available with a 120-inch screen, as the 120L5G-Cine120A.
With either version of the bundle, the projector comes with a fixed focus for the screen you get it with, which means that positioning it to fill the screen automatically gives you optimum focus. Getting the bundle also eliminates any need to customize settings for the screen material, because the default settings are chosen with the bundled screen in mind. In our tests, the projector-plus-screen combo delivered good color accuracy, contrast, black level, and shadow detail straight out of the box. You don’t have to be a first-time projector buyer to appreciate that.
Who It’s For
The L5G should be on the must-see list for just about anyone who’s considering buying a low-price UST laser model to serve as a big screen TV and doesn’t already own a UST ALR screen. Keep in mind that any projector you’re planning to use as a TV replacement in a room with ambient light should be paired with an ALR screen, so when you’re comparing prices to models that aren’t bundled with screens, add the screen cost in the comparison. When you do, you’ll quickly see why the L5G counts as “entry level.”
One potential issue for the L5G is that it’s built around a single DLP chip, which means it can show rainbow artifacts. We didn’t see many in our tests, but if you’re sensitive to them, be sure to buy the projector from a source that allows easy returns even if you’ve already assembled the screen.
PROS
- 4K (3,840-by-2,160) resolution using TI’s XPR fast-switch pixel shifting
- Good color accuracy, contrast, and shadow detail
- 100-inch ambient light rejection screen included
- Integrated Android TV and built-in TV tuner
- Laser-phosphor light source, rated at 2,700 ANSI lumens
CONS
- No 3D support
- Fixed focus means you can’t upgrade to a larger screen
Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS800 3-Chip 3LCD Smart Streaming Laser Projector
Best Ultra Short Throw 4K Projector (Shortest Throw Distance)
Why We Picked it
The Epson LS800 takes the key advantage of a UST projector a step farther—or closer, really—by offering the shortest throw we’ve yet seen. It will let you place the projector where it can fill a 120-inch wall-mounted screen without having to pull the furniture it’s resting on away from the wall. Beyond that, it offers a laser light source with 4,000-ANSI-lumen brightness, a three-LCD design that guarantees that it can’t show rainbow artifacts, a high-quality image with good color accuracy and contrast, and the shortest input lag we’ve yet seen for a 4K UST projector. It’s just a few milliseconds longer than today’s best gaming projectors at a measured 20.4 milliseconds (ms) for 4K/60Hz input, 21.4ms for 1080p/60Hz, and 11.7ms for 1080p/120Hz. It even offers a stereo audio system that amounts to a built-in soundbar, with two 5-watt speakers and a 10-watt subwoofer.
Who It’s For
The LS800 doesn’t support 3D and doesn’t offer options that allow a full calibration, which means you’ll have to look elsewhere if either feature is essential to you. For anyone else looking for a TV replacement, it’s a sterling choice, thanks to its excellent image quality out of the box and both its notably short input lag for gaming and a notably short throw even for a UST projector. And for those who can’t abide rainbow artifacts, the fact that it can’t show them will be enough by itself to make it strong contender.
PROS
- Bright laser-phosphor light source
- Three-chip LCD design means no rainbow artifacts
- Fully integrated Android TV
- Short input lag for gaming
- Good sound quality
CONS
- No Ethernet port; streaming requires Wi-Fi
- No 3D support
Read Our Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS800 3-Chip 3LCD Smart Streaming Laser Projector Review
Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS500 4K Pro-UHD Laser Projection TV
Best Ultra Short Throw 4K Projector (No Rainbow Artifacts)
Why We Picked It
Available with or without a bundled ALR screen, the Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS500 can give you the equivalent of a 100-to-130-inch smart TV (depending on the screen size) for far less than the same-size flat-screen TV would cost. It’s also significantly brighter than the DLP-based UST competition, and tied with the Epson LS800 for offering the highest brightness of any laser TV projector we’ve tested.
At 4,000 ANSI lumens, the LS500 can throw a 130-inch image that’s bright enough to stand up to the typical level of ambient light in a family room. Beyond that, it delivers top-tier color accuracy, contrast, shadow detail, and black level for the category straight out of the box, and it even offers menu options that allow for professional calibration for your room for those who are willing to pay for it. Even better, it’s built around three LCD chips, rather than one DLP chip, which means it’s guaranteed not to show rainbow artifacts.
Who It’s For
The LS500’s high brightness makes it a top contender if you want a 130-inch screen or you plan to watch in a family room with lots of sunlight streaming through the windows and a skylight. The three-chip design also makes it a prime choice if you, or anyone in your family, sees projector rainbow artifacts easily and finds them annoying. It’s also a strong contender for those who insist on top-tier image quality, or simply want to buy a projector bundled with an appropriate screen, and know that the default settings were chosen for that screen.
PROS
- Laser-phosphor light source rated at 4,000 ANSI lumens
- Epson’s Pro-UHD matches the ability to resolve detail of true 4K resolution
- Price includes 100-inch ambient light rejection (ALR) screen
- Three-chip LCD design means no rainbow artifacts
- Android TV dongle includes Netflix app
CONS
- More costly than DLP-based competitors
- Android TV not fully integrated
- Dongle supports Wi-Fi connection only
Read Our Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS500 4K Pro-UHD Laser Projection TV Review
Buying Guide: The Best 4K Projectors for 2022
Understanding Native Resolution: Must My Projector Have a True 4K Chip?
Native resolution—the actual number of pixels that are physically on a chip—is a big deal for lower-resolution projectors. A projector with a 1,280-by-720-pixel chip can accept a 1080p (1,920-by-1,080-pixel) signal and downconvert it to a 720p image on screen. But no matter how high-quality its lens, the resulting image will have a softer focus than an otherwise identical projector with a 1080p chip. The same is not true, however, for 4K projectors. That’s partly because of a trick called “pixel shifting,” and partly because there are limits to human visual acuity (even if you don’t need glasses).
Almost all projectors that offer a 4K image or its equivalent and cost less than about $4,000 use one of two pixel-shifting techniques. The majority are based on 1080p DLP chips that use TI’s XPR fast-switch pixel shifting. This technology breaks each 4K frame into four sets of 1,920 by 1,080 pixels, then displays all four sets on screen one at a time, shifting the pixels’ position between each set. Your eye integrates all four sets into a single 4K image.
Epson’s Pro Cinema 4050 is one of the company’s Pro-UHD 4K projectors.
(Credit: Epson)
At this writing, the only projectors in this price range that use a different pixel-shifting technology are Epson’s 4K Pro-UHD models. The Epson scheme is available in two versions, both of which use three 1080p LCD chips. The newest, and more expensive, 4K Pro-UHD models, including the Epson Pro Cinema LS12000 4K Pro-UHD Laser Projector, also deliver four sets of 1,920 by 1,080 pixels to the screen for each frame, much like DLP-based models. The older version of the technology, still available in less expensive models, puts two sets of 1,920 by 1,080 pixels onscreen per frame.
By sheer pixel count, the older, more affordable version of Epson’s approach is only half of 4K. But surprisingly, it delivers image resolution—in the sense of ability to resolve detail—that’s indistinguishable from models based on TI’s pixel shifting. One reason is that your perception of image sharpness and detail depends on other factors besides pixel count, including contrast, lens quality, and video processing, which Epson’s Pro-UHD technology takes advantage of. Another reason is that your eyes may be wonders of nature’s engineering, but they aren’t exactly the James Webb Telescope—there’s only so much detail you can see.
Sit far enough back from a screen, and you won’t be able to tell the difference between a 4K image and VGA (640-by-480-pixel) resolution. An eagle might, but the human visual system can’t. As you get closer, the differences between resolution levels get easier to discern, but you’d have to be closer to the screen than recommended for any given screen size to spot any difference between an image produced by a TI XPR-based projector and the original version of Epson 4K Pro-UHD technology. So when shopping for a 4K projector, don’t let the difference in pixel count between those two choices affect your decision.
That said, you might or might not see the difference between either of those approaches and the newer version of the Epson’s 4K Pro-UHD, depending on how good your eyesight is and where you prefer sitting within the recommended range for the image size—closer to or farther from the screen. However, keep in mind that for models that use Epson’s newer approach, other factors besides the pixel count also add to any increase in sharpness and image detail that you might see.
Somewhat tangentially, note that the term “4K,” which more or less universally means 3,840 by 2,160 pixels for TVs, is actually defined to include other resolutions, such as the 4,096 by 2,160 used in digital cinema. However, prices for projectors with those variations start at $4,000 and up, making them less affordable than the models we’re focusing on here.
Do I Need HDR in a 4K Projector?
As you may already know, the improved image quality of 4K flat-screen TVs over 1080p models depends not only on quadrupled resolution but even more on the shift from standard dynamic range (SDR) to high dynamic range (HDR), which was introduced along with 4K. Unfortunately, current projectors simply can’t produce the peak brightness required by HDR, unless you make the image so small that you lose the inherent projector advantage of delivering a much larger image than any similarly priced TV or other display. Many have trouble delivering suitably dark blacks, as well. As a result, although many 4K projectors offer HDR support, some don’t support it at all, and some of those that do don’t handle it well.
If you’re buying a projector for business presentations or education, and you want 4K resolution so you can show more detailed line graphics or make small text more readable, poor HDR handling or a lack of HDR won’t matter. In most situations, it won’t be an issue even if you include video in your presentations or show an occasional film in your classroom.
For home theater use and TV replacement, a projector with HDR support is better, at least in theory, than one without it, but the quality of HDR varies so much between projectors that you need to confirm from an independent source how well it actually works. That’s why we cover HDR quality separately from SDR quality in our reviews.
Which HDR Formats Should I Get in My 4K Projector?
There are several HDR formats. To take advantage of any of them, your projector must specifically support it, which means you need to check before buying which HDR formats a projector supports and make sure they include those used by the image sources you want to watch.
The most common format for projectors is HDR10, which is the version on discs and is also widely supported by streaming services including Netflix and Hulu. Many projectors also support Hybrid Log Gamma, better known as HLG HDR or just HLG. Although less common among image sources than HDR10, it’s becoming more popular—it’s currently supported by YouTube, for example.
The Optoma CinemaX P2 supports HDR10 and HLG HDR.
(Credit: Optoma)
An up-and-coming format, which should quickly become widespread, is HDR10+. This builds on HDR10, both improving image quality and eliminating some of the manual adjustment HDR10 requires when switching from one image source to another. A fourth format, Dolby Vision, is common in TVs but exceedingly rare in projectors, and likely to stay that way due to technical issues.
How Bright Is Bright Enough in a 4K Projector?
The easiest way to know whether a projector offers sufficient brightness for your needs is to read some reviews of it. Ours discuss the usable image sizes we found to deliver the best image quality in different lighting conditions. They also mention the screen size and type of setting (dark home theater, conference room, family room with ambient light) the projector is best suited for. (For more about screens, check out our guide to finding the right screen for your projector.)
It’s possible to calculate the exact brightness you need for SDR images. However, it takes some math and depends on enough variables that there isn’t room to detail the process here. Briefly, the variables include screen size; ambient light level, which determines how bright an image you need; and screen gain, which is the ability of some screen materials to boost image brightness by reflecting more light toward the viewing area.
As a point of reference, using the most common recommendation for SDR brightness in a dark room, a projector rated at 500 ANSI lumens is bright enough to light up a 100-inch diagonal, 1.0-gain screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio. In the low-to-moderate level of ambient light in a typical family room at night, you’d need 1,200 lumens for the same screen size. For the brighter light of an office, you’d need 1,500.
The Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS500 is a 4K TV projector available with a bundled 100- or 120-inch screen.
(Credit: Epson)
Keep in mind that the best image quality almost always comes at a lower brightness than the projector’s rating (or its brightest available mode if the projector doesn’t live up to its rating). A good rule of thumb is that the mode you’ll want to use will usually be 40% to 50% as bright as the brightest mode.
Unfortunately, there is no widely accepted standard for how bright an image you need for HDR viewing, which makes it impossible to make broad recommendations for how bright a projector has to be. Some people recommend HDR brightness levels for dark rooms that almost everyone agrees would be too bright for SDR viewing. Others disagree, but still suggest levels near the top of the range for SDR.
These differences of opinion are due both to subjective preferences and to variations in how HDR is implemented from one projector to the next. As a practical matter, unless you can test a projector for yourself, reviews like PCMag’s are your best source of information for deciding whether a given projector’s HDR image is bright enough for your needs. Pay particular attention to descriptions of HDR image brightness as distinct from SDR brightness, and whether the HDR image is suitably bright at the same image size used for SDR, or seems darker overall.
Should I Get a Portable 4K Projector?
At this writing, there are no palmtop or pico projectors with 4K resolution, and none that works on battery power. The most portable 4K model we’ve seen is at the high end of the mini projector range, but only if you stretch the definition of “mini” to just under 4 pounds, and that model is now out of production.
Xgimi’s Horizon Pro is under 9 inches square and weighs 6.4 pounds.
(Credit: Xgimi)
On the other hand, it’s easy to find “room-to-room” portable 4K projectors, which are just a few pounds heavier. Too bulky for briefcases or backpacks, they’re suitable for carrying from one room to another or to the backyard (with an extension cord) for an outdoor movie night.
What Display Technology Should I Get in a 4K Projector?
As mentioned earlier, there are currently only two display technology options for affordable 4K and 4K-equivalent projectors: DLP (what most manufacturers use) and LCD (from Epson). The key advantage for DLP models is price: Between projectors with similar features and image quality, DLP units cost less. In addition, DLP is currently your only choice for a less expensive entry-level or portable projector.
A key advantage of LCD technology is the same for 4K as for 1080p: It can’t produce rainbow artifacts. These red-green-blue flashes come from using a single chip for all three primary colors and rotating through the colors in sequence. LCD projectors (except for a few lower-resolution portables) use three chips rather than one, which lets them project all three primary colors on the screen at once.
Some DLP projectors are more prone to showing rainbow artifacts than others, and some people see these artifacts more readily than others, so you may or may not see them with any given DLP model. For business and education applications, most viewers will consider occasional rainbow artifacts at least tolerable for presentations. Whether you’ll consider them an issue for home entertainment or home theater depends on how often you see them with a given projector, and whether you’re annoyed by or don’t mind them.
The DLP-based AAXA 4K1 is $999 with carrying case.
(Credit: AAXA)
If you don’t see these artifacts or don’t find them bothersome, more power to you. However, some people see them so easily and find them so distracting that they can’t enjoy watching videos or movies with most DLP projectors. If you’re in this group, you definitely want a three-chip LCD model.
If you can tolerate some rainbows but not too many, you may or may not be happy with any given DLP projector. Our reviews always mention whether we saw these artifacts and, if so, how often. But because you may see them either more or less easily than our reviewer, we suggest that if you’re bothered (or don’t know if you’re bothered) by rainbow artifacts, you should try to buy from a dealer who allows easy returns without a restocking fee, so you can test the projector out for yourself.
Which Type of Light Source Is Best in a 4K Projector?
More and more projectors today use solid-state light sources, meaning LEDs or lasers, but some advantages remain for traditional lamps. (Plenty of projectors still use them.)
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For the best possible image quality in a dark room, a well-designed home theater projector with a lamp will deliver darker black levels than the vast majority of models with a solid-state light source, as well as better contrast, which translates to more visually dramatic dark scenes. The darker blacks make a significant difference only when viewing in a dark room, which largely eliminates this advantage if you’re buying a projector for office or classroom use, or for home entertainment in a room with ambient light.
Another advantage of traditional lamps is that they cost less than LEDs and lasers, so a lamp-based projector will be less expensive than an otherwise identical solid-state model. However, if you keep the projector long enough to need one or more lamp replacements, your total cost of ownership may be about the same. When comparing a less expensive lamp-based projector to a more costly one with an LED or laser light source, be sure to check the cost of replacement lamps—often as much as $300 or more—as well as how often you’ll need to replace them.
A replacement lamp for an Epson projector
(Credit: Epson)
The primary advantages of solid-state light sources are their longer life and slower loss of brightness as they age. A typical lamp will lose about 25% of its brightness over the first 500 hours of use, then continue to lose brightness more slowly until it needs replacement. Both LEDs and lasers will pretty much last for the life of the projector, or 20,000 to 30,000 hours. They also lose brightness as they age, but the rate of loss is closer to a straight line. That means they retain more than 75% of their original brightness considerably longer than lamps do, both in terms of hours of use and percentage of lifespan.
What about choosing between LEDs and lasers? LED projectors are more likely to have oversaturated color, but not all models have that problem. Similarly, lasers allow higher brightness levels, but the ranges for the two overlap, and there’s no reason to ignore LED-based models in that overlapping range. Just pick a projector with good color accuracy and the brightness you need, and don’t make assumptions based on the technology.
Note that when comparing projector brightness, you should limit your comparisons to ANSI or the equivalent ISO lumen ratings. There is no standard for LED lumens, which makes comparisons meaningless.
Is the Projector’s Input Lag Short Enough for Gaming?
Input lag, measured in milliseconds (ms), is the amount of time between a projector’s receiving a video frame and showing it on your screen. If you’re making a business or classroom presentation or watching movies and videos, even a long lag won’t matter. If you’re projecting a first-person shooter game, a shorter lag can make the difference between surviving to the next frame or not.
The input lag for any given projector will vary with its resolution and refresh rate (how many times per second the image is redrawn.) Doubling the refresh rate will generally cut the lag in half. However, a projector capable of a 240Hz refresh rate at 1080p resolution will likely be limited to 60Hz at 4K, and input lag that’s four times as long. For current gaming projectors with the shortest available input lag, that translates to slightly longer than 4ms at 1080p/240Hz and 16ms at 4K/60Hz.
Epson’s EpiqVision LS500 offers relatively low input lag, about 27ms at 1080p and 21ms at 4K.
(Credit: Epson)
Obviously, the input lag that matters to you is the one for the resolution and refresh rate you plan to use. Hardcore gamers should look for input lag measures of no more than 17ms at their desired settings. Casual gamers may be comfortable with lag up to about 50ms, or a bit more. In either case, a shorter lag time is always better.
Do I Need External Audio in a 4K Projector?
The conventional wisdom for projectors (inside the business, as well as among users) has long been that people who need high-quality or high-volume audio are going to use external soundbars or speakers, so there’s little point in trying to build a deluxe sound system into the projector itself. For that reason, home theater projectors traditionally don’t have any onboard audio.
Most projectors designed for business or education, by contrast, include an audio system, but in many cases it’s just a convenience feature with volume far too low for the size of the room the projector is likely to be used in. Sound quality is usually tolerable, but rarely better than that. If you’re buying a projector for these applications, be sure to check for both audio quality and volume.
The BenQ V7050i has two 5-watt virtual surround sound speakers.
(Credit: BenQ)
Recently, manufacturers have begun to target some projectors specifically as TV replacements, adding audio systems in those designs to match the intended task. The two categories of 4K projectors most likely to offer decent onboard sound systems are ultra short throw (UST) laser projectors and room-to-room portables.
The UST models, which are often billed as TV replacements or simply TVs, are typically a size and shape that makes it easy to add what amounts to a built-in soundbar on the side facing viewers. Room-to-room portables, most weighing roughly 6 to 9 pounds, often have a nearly cubical shape, with enough room inside the box for surprisingly high-quality audio.
So, Which 4K Projector Should I Buy?
The good news is that the number of affordable 4K projectors is climbing quickly, making it ever easier to find one that fits your needs and budget. The favorites listed here, both above and below, with links to detailed reviews, are the best 4K or 4K-equivalent models we’ve tested for various usage cases and price points, and an excellent starting point for your search.
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