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If you’re thinking about getting a Panasonic home theater projector we suggest shopping for Epson projectors instead. Both brands use an LCD chipset but Epson models are significantly more economical while providing better image quality. JVC movie room projectors offer the best black levels, most dynamic contrast and all around better visuals than any residential brand. Most in-home projectors work best in a dedicated media room where you can control the amount of brightness in the room and the light that gets in through windows or doors.
When buying a home theater projector, you want to shop for one that has a 4K resolution and offers HDR compatibility. While less discerning people may be satisfied with a 1080p beamer, by buying a 4K home theater projector you get a far superior image that will thrill your visual senses. Epson does a fantastic job of balancing the picture quality to price on this home theater projector. We look for high peak brightness and contrast ratios that ensure good visibility even with some light in the room. We look for models that allow for adjustments such as keystone, lens shift and focus, so you can mount your projector on the ceiling and still get a perfect rectangular picture.
BenQ Home Theater Projectors
The zoom range and lens shift are fairly limited, so it won't fit in as many rooms as the Epson 5050 or LS11000, but otherwise it's very good.Read our Optoma UHZ50 Projector review. The Epson Home Cinema LS11000 is similar to the Epson 5050 but instead of a lamp it uses a laser and phosphor combo to create light. This means even better color, no lamp replacements, faster turn on/off and a more usable dynamic contrast ratio. A more advanced different pixel shifter means better resolution than the 5050 as well.
The Xgimi Halo Plus is a relatively small 1080p projector with a 2.5-hour battery and surprisingly powerful speakers. It has Android TV built-in, so streaming is far easier than with many other portables. It performs well for a portable projector, but costs about the same as the BenQ HT2050A, which performs far better. But for regular movie nights far from an outlet, it works great.Read our Xgimi Halo Plus review.
Optoma UHZ65LV
You can also read our guide to buying a projector and if you need more help, our home cinema projection experts are here to help. Any projector under $1,500 just isn’t going to deliver the home movie theater experience that you’re looking for. Typically a good home cinema projector costs between $1,500 for a cheaper projector and can go all the way up to $25,000. However the average price for a home theater projector is between $3,000 to $6,000.
The Optoma UHZ50uses a blue laser and a yellow phosphor to create some incredibly bright, ultracolorful images. It's bright and has the second-best contrast ratio we've measured from a DLP projector. Also, because it's DLP, it has excellent detail.
Best cheap projector runner-up
When you buy through our links, we may get a commission. The tiny P8 performs far bigger than its size suggests. Though in fairness, the hand-held size doesn't suggest it could project an image at all. But it's reasonably bright, has a built-in speaker and only costs $250.
It's not particularly bright, nor loud, but for something that can fit in your pocket it's great. The other options here offer a far brighter, better image, but if size is your main concern, the Capsule looks better than you'd expect for its price and stature. While Barco and Christie are big names in the world of projection, they mainly make devices for commercial cinemas and are typically not appropriate for home theater use. JVC home movie projectors are going to be an overall better option than either of these brands.
Mini projectors are projectors small enough to hold easily in one hand. They're incredibly portable, but they're not as bright nor do they look as good as their larger counterparts. Overall, we like the AAXA P8 for its low size and high performance for its category. Every projector we review goes through elaborate objective and subjective testing. CNET editors pick the products and services we write about based on editorial merit.
It's a lot larger than the P8, the largest cheap projector we've tested actually, making it far less portable. It's still "small" compared to full-size and more expensive projectors, however. The built-in 12,500-mAh battery is good for about three-and-a-half hours, longer if you just run it as a Bluetooth speaker. There are apps built in, some of which consider the Mars II a portable device, meaning you can download content to its 8GB internal memory for offline watching.
Home projectors will offer far better, brighter images, for the same or less money than portable projectors. We wouldn't put this in the "cheap projector" bucket, but the BenQ HT2050A is definitely the best video projector you can get for the money. This modern projector produces a bright picture with great contrast and lifelike color accuracy. It's also one of the only comparable models with vertical lens shift, which makes setup a little easier. It supports most media players, gaming consoles, PCs, Macs, and mobile devices with input options such as HDMI, USB, and more.
Some of these Bavaria professionals work entirely on their own, while others work with subcontractors to get the job done. A perfectly watchable image, and right now you can pick it up for $230 when you activate the instant coupon on the product page. The main downside is that, like the P8, it lacks a battery. If you want the best electronic devices in your movie room you need to get a JVC home theater projector.
Some reports of the picture going dark or black spots appearing on screen. Bring your house into the future — hire a specialist to help with your home theater, smart home automation or home security needs. Qualifying purchases could enjoy No Interest if paid in full in 6 months on purchases of $99 or more.
It projects a 1080p picture and has a two-and-a-half-hour battery. It performs far better than most mini projectors, but it's also way bigger and costs a lot more. A portable projector can give you big-screen TV shows, movies and games just about anywhere.
