GIGA Buying Advice: The Best Projectors

2023 Author: Sheila Hailey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 04:29

The dream of home cinema no longer has to be a dream. For the price of a mid-range 4K TV, you can already get a complete home theater setup with a full HD projector. And the lifespan of the lamps and projectors themselves has also improved significantly. GIGA took a look at the current selection and presents the best projectors for 2019 and gives you some useful tips for getting started with home cinema.

Buying advice

Facts

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Overview

4K projector at an affordable price: BenQ W1720
Sparfuchs-Beamer: Viewsonic PJD7720HD
Price-performance king and test winner: Epson EH-TW5400
Beamer Guide: What you should know to get started with home cinema
- positioning
- Projection surface
- Where does the sound come from?
- Brightness and contrast
- DLP vs. LCD
- The 3 big weaknesses

4K projector at an affordable price: BenQ W1720

Anyone who relies fully on 4K UHD at home and does not want to stop at the home cinema will get a comparatively compact, light and inexpensive device with the BenQ W1720. You have to do without lens shift and a particularly high brightness, but this 4K projector should also fit into any normal living room without sticking out of a science fiction film like a giant plastic block.

resolution	3,840 x 2,160 (4K UHD)
technology	DLP
HDR	Yes (HLG + HDR10)
Lens shift	No
3D support	Yes
Projection size (in inches)	100-300
Projection ratio	1.50-1.65: 1
Optical zoom	1.1
Keystone correction	+/- 40 ° (vertical)
Brightness (in lumens)	2,000
AV connections	2 x HDMI (1x HDMI 2.0 / HDCP 2.2 & 1x HDMI 1.4b / HDCP 1.4) 1 x VGA 2 x 3.5mm jack (1 x in, 1 x out)
Width x height x depth (in cm)	35.3 x 13.5 x 27.2
Operating noise (in db)	29-33
Weight in kg)	4.2
Power consumption (in W)	330-385
Lamp life normal / economy mode (in h)	4,000 / 15,000
Replacement lamp (in euros)	approx. 210
Price in euro)	approx.1,200 (IDEALO)

BenQ W1720 at Amazon

Sparfuchs-Beamer: Viewsonic PJD7720HD

Nowadays, getting into the home theater doesn't have to be expensive. The Viewsonic PJD7720HD already delivers a super full HD picture at just over 400 euros. The Viewsonic still provides a satisfactory contrast even in rooms that are not completely darkened. The only drawback is the cost of replacement lamps.

resolution	1920 x 1080 (Full HD)
technology	DLP
HDR	No
Lens shift	No
3D support	Yes
Projection size (in inches)	30-300
Projection ratio	1.49-1.64: 1
Optical zoom	1.1
Keystone correction	+/- 40 ° (vertical)
Brightness (in lumens)	3,200
AV connections	1 x HDMI 3 x 3.5 mm jack (2 x in, 1 x out)
Width x height x depth (in cm)	31.6 x 10.4 x 22.8
Operating noise (in db)	30-35
Weight in kg)	2.4
Power consumption (in W)	Max. 330
Lamp life normal / economy mode (in h)	4,000 / 10,000
Replacement lamp (in euros)	about 175
Price in euro)	approx. 425 (IDEALO)

Viewsonic PJD7720HD at Amazon

Price-performance king and test winner: Epson EH-TW5400

The Epson EH-TW5400 was the winner of the Stiftung Warentest in 2018 and now costs just over 600 euros. The full HD projector convinces with a sharp picture and its ease of use. Compared to the Viewsonic, the purchase costs add up to just under 200 euros, but it has some comfort features, more connections, the sharper image, lower power consumption and less for replacement lamps.

resolution	1,920 x 1,080 (Full HD)
technology	LCD
HDR	No
Lens shift	No
3D support	Yes
Projection size (in inches)	34-332
Projection ratio	1.22-1.47: 1
Optical zoom	1.2
Keystone correction	+/- 30 ° (vertical & horizontal)
Brightness (in lumens)	2,500
AV connections	2 x HDMI 1 x VGA 1 x 3.5 mm jack (Out)
Width x height x depth (in cm)	30.9 x 12.2 x 28.5
Operating noise (in db)	27-37
Weight in kg)	3.2
Power consumption (in W)	227-296
Lamp life normal / economy mode (in h)	4,500 / 7,500
Replacement lamp (in euros)	about 90
Price in euro)	approx. 600 (IDEALO)

Epson EH-TW5400 at Amazon

Beamer Guide: What you should know to get started with home cinema

When you buy your first projector, there is a lot to consider. Unfortunately, setting up a home theater is not as easy as getting a new TV out of the box and putting it on the TV cabinet. We want to give you a few tips and hints that will make your entry into projector life easier.

You can find even more tips in the following article: The most practical accessories for the projector & your own home cinema.

positioning
Projection surface
Where does the sound come from?
Brightness and contrast
DLP vs. LCD
The 3 big weaknesses

positioning

Before you think about the specific projector, you should first look at where and how the projector can best be placed in the living room. Depending on which screen size you want to achieve, different projectors need different distances from the projection surface.

Ideally, a normal long-distance beamer with the lens should be positioned exactly in the middle on the opposite side of the room. Either you put it on a flat surface here or you attach it overhead using a ceiling mount.

If the projector has to be positioned slightly angled, this can usually be compensated for with the keystone correction (also keystone correction). Depending on the degree of compensation, the projected image also becomes somewhat smaller and loses image quality. Some projectors also offer horizontal keystone correction so that the projector can be set up at an angle to the projection surface.

Overall, the corrections are not recommended due to their disadvantages. Better but less often: lens shift. With the lens shift you have the possibility to shift the image position up or down. Some models also offer a lateral shift, so that the projector does not have to be absolutely in the center and a little more flexibility in the installation is guaranteed.

Projection surface

If you are lucky enough to have a white and smooth wall in the living room, you can simply project the image onto it with small losses in brightness and contrast. If you have paint, woodchip or pattern wallpaper on the wall, you will have little pleasure.

In general, a suitable screen is always the best solution for the right home cinema experience - regardless of whether it is rollable, motorized or permanently attached to the wall. The prices start with normal roller screens at around 80 euros, for a motor screen you already spend 180 euros and up. Depending on the size and equipment, the screen can also cost the same or even more than the projector itself.

It is important here that you buy a canvas in the right size and with the right aspect ratio, so that the picture fills the entire canvas up to the black border.

White canvases are still the standard, they are cheap and usually offer the better white value. However, they also have the disadvantage that they react more to stray light and at the same time emit more stray light, which weakens the contrast. Gray high-contrast screens offer - as the name suggests - better contrast and thus better black levels. This also results in a better picture when the light falls.

Anyone who uses a short-distance projector should use a frame screen that is firmly attached to the wall. While slight movements of the canvas cloth due to, for example, a draft or vibrations in the ceiling are hardly noticeable in a long-distance projector, the distortions and deformations of the image in short-distance beamers resemble strong waves.

Where does the sound come from?

If you do not have a hi-fi system, AV receiver with surround speakers, active speakers or at least a soundbar, the next cost point follows. Most projectors have a small built-in loudspeaker, but this is at most sufficient for the short sound effect during a presentation in a small meeting room or the classroom. Watching a movie or football game about it is absolutely no fun.

Start photo gallery (11 photos)

Brightness and contrast

Unfortunately, the brightness and contrast values given by the manufacturers rarely correspond to reality. In contrast, values are sometimes given in particular that appear utopian even under absolute ideal conditions.

The brightness values in ANSI lumens deviate somewhat less here, which is why you should orientate yourself primarily to these values if you want to use the projector in daylight or in rooms that are difficult to darken (open kitchen, generally brightly equipped rooms). The higher the lumen value, the better the projector should be able to cope with low light.

Laser beamers are particularly well suited for use in bright conditions. It should be noted, however, that with an average of 20,000 hours they have at least twice as long a life as the light sources of conventional projectors, but they cannot be replaced for this. If the light goes out on the laser projector - it stays off.

DLP vs. LCD

The image generation differs greatly between DLP and LCD projectors. DLP relies on a rotating color wheel to color the light source and a microchip that projects the final image with millions of small, movable mirrors. In the case of LCD projectors, the three primary colors are separated by semitransparent mirrors and meet individual LCD panels, which only let the color through where it is needed in the picture. These three monochrome pictures come together at the end and result in the finished picture.

The process has various advantages and disadvantages. While DLP produces a more homogeneous image with better black levels and higher contrast, LCD is known for its more natural colors and sharper display of fonts and numbers. Due to the image generation, some people see a rainbow effect with DLP projectors, which is perceived as annoying. In the case of LCD projectors, the pixel structure is easier to recognize and fast objects can lead to them due to the lower response time.

If you are somewhat sensitive to image errors and weaknesses, you should therefore "see a sample" beforehand in shops or at friends.

The 3 big weaknesses

Since projectors are becoming ever more durable and affordable, the dream of having your own home cinema has long ceased to be just something for “better earners”. Despite the progress, projectors have always had these three big problems: they are loud, hot and power-hungry.

If the fan is near the seat, it must be drowned out by the system or you can look with headphones. Watching a movie in a small home theater during a summer heat wave with several people? Only if you also have air conditioning! And even if you have a huge 4K television, it usually only consumes half or less of the power than your full HD projector.