The 11 best projectors for the ultimate at-home cinema experience (2024)

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Technology

By Owen Gough

1 February 2023

Ditch the local cinemax with our pick of the best projectors and get your own dream movie theatre right in your own living room

The best projector can bring the big-screen cinema feel to your home should you so wish, and really, that’s what any self-respecting cinephile is after, isn’t it? Home cinema systems used to be the domain of uber-wealthy movie lovers or people with a total financial disregard to manage pretty much anything else in their life, but now you can get some top-quality displays that cost about as much as a high-end TV and offer similar specs without taking over the entire living room.

And it's not just movie-viewing that you should be excited for – FIFA 23 has never been as awe-inspiring as when you're playing on a 300-inch screen designed specifically for handling fast-paced motion. With next-gen HDMI ports to help you sync up game consoles such as the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, you're well set for a game of Warzone on the most expansive palette possible.

Oh, and if you did fancy upgrading your home entertainment system generally, check out our guides to the best soundbars, best 4K TVs and deals on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X respectively, so you can be fully kitted out.

What's the best projector to buy in 2024?

Best premium projector: Samsung LSP7T

Samsung LSP9T

£4,999

Samsung

Pound-for-pound one of the best options around, this model emulates Samsung’s rock-solid 4K UHD TV image quality, dummy-proof menus, and wealth of connectivity options all in a gorgeous-looking home theater system. It also features one of the best sound systems built into any projector on our list and has all your favourite streaming services pre-installed.

Best 4K projector: XGIMI Horizon Pro Native

What resolution projector should you get?

Much like when researching for a new TV, there’s a lot of tech jargon to wrap your head around and more than a few frustrating examples of letter spaghetti to decipher. The primary spec you should focus on, though, is resolution since it dictates how clear your image is.

If you're shopping with a stringent budget in mind then a standard Full HD projector, which is a 1080-pixel display, will prove the most affordable option. Any self-regarding cinephiles will want to make the stretch upwards to a 4K projector for the latest and best image quality readily available with four times as many pixels as Full HD and a notable leap forwards in clarity.

Although an 8K projector will further enhance the pixel count by four times over HD, it's a far less necessary upgrade – little content has been filmed in the cutting-edge spec save for a few experimental features, and there’s no point future-proofing yourself against the new wave of cinema for at least another few years.

For the gamers and sports fans among you, you’ll want to keep an eye on how well a projector deals with fast-moving images, as any blur or stutter will impact those split-second moments that decide whether you live or die in Call of Duty.

To that end, those playing on the latest games consoles (AKA the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X) will need a projector with what’s called a variable refresh rate, or the ability to refresh the number of frames displayed within a single second ranging from 30, 60, or 120. A faster rate gives you that buttery-smooth motion that sharpens rapid movement, whether you’re whipping the camera around quickly in a first-person shooter, or beholding a long-range rocket shot from Ronaldo.

What about projector bulb quality and brightness?

Next, you’ll want to do your due diligence on a top-quality bulb since there is a set lamp life. Don't worry too much though, you'll likely be able to revel in at least ten thousand hours of viewing before your chosen bulb starts to dim and warrant replacing, and that is a lot of Is It Cake? to be getting on with.

The bulb will also manage the lumen count, which is how bright your images are. Planning a big World Cup watch party? Grab a projector with a higher lumen count, anything more than 2,000 will get you the best results for viewing in direct sunlight, which will be ideal with the mid-morning fixtures. There are a few portable options available that are quite happy being set up in the garden if you can cope with the additional ambient light, but we’re mostly focused on indoor models below.

Just like when buying TVs, there are many different projection methods like DLP (digital light processing) or LCD (liquid crystal display), with DLP projectors and laser models offering higher resolutions at a higher cost. However, if you’re buying 4K models at the below prices, it doesn’t particularly matter which light source you go for.

What image size should you get?

Arguably the best thing about a projector is that you’re not limited to the realms of screen size. All our top picks below can stretch anywhere between 30 and 100 inches as standard, and you can easily adjust this based on how epic you need your movie night to be; some can attain a monstrously large 300 inches if you have the space for it. Most will automatically figure all this stuff out for you, utilising keystone correction to make sure all four corners of the screen are matched up and in sync so you don’t get a wonky image, even if you place the device at an angle to your wall.

Many of our favourites are also what’s known as short or ultra-short throw projectors, which means they can be pushed right up close to the wall or projector screen (within a few inches) and still get a mega-sized display, which is wonderful if you’re short on space or working in an unusually shaped room. Throw distance is important for figuring out where you should be putting your projector in the context of the room and the sofa, but we’d still pay more attention to image quality and size over the placement, as most have features to get top-quality images from wide angles.

Which is the best projector for gaming?

Movie buffs aren't the only ones that can enjoy entertainment on a super-sized screen; gamers are well-treated when it comes to playing on massive hi-def displays. Most of the below are reasonably good for gaming, with exceptional image quality if you want to invest to play the 4K Ultra HD remake of The Last of Us Part 1. However, competitive gamers will have to do a bit more investigating, as projectors have an issue getting the image to respond to your button movements as quickly.

Keep an eye out for something called input latency or button lag, which is the time it takes for something to happen on screen when you move the joystick. In most cases, this will be fractions of a second and you'll barely notice it, but when playing fast-paced shooters such as Call of Duty, it can make the difference between killing and being killed. The sweet spot is around 10-25ms (about a hundredth of a second, but realistically anything less than 50 is grand.

Keep in mind that if you play competitive games, projectors don’t yet have the ability to run variable refresh rates, which makes the next-gen game consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X so special. Unfamiliar? It basically doubles the number of frames shown in a single second for smoother gameplay and more info within a given moment. If you take your gaming seriously, then we’d get one of the best gaming monitors or best 4K TVs, but for those who casually throw on a quick game of OverCooked 2 on the weekend, they can be a dream.

How we test the best projectors of 2024

When the likes of Tom Cruise and James Cameron are telling us the age of at-home cinemas is upon us, you really want to know that the projector you're investing in is worth its salt. We've tested every single model on this list so we're well-equipped to discuss the merits of screen sizes and resolutions. During our reviews, we assessed the ease of setup, the quality of the audio-visual quality, and how simple the UI is to navigate to our favourite shows, with our editors noting how this all stacks up against the price and availability. The below projectors are a selection of our favourite models, so read on to discover your new favourite toy.

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