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If you're looking for the best home projector, you're in luck, as many good options are available. While the cheap projector market is dire, especially regarding image quality, the number of options increases greatly once your budget ramps up. Mid-range projectors and up have many capabilities; are you shopping for a projector solely for home theater use, or are you interested in a versatile projector equally good at watching the latest movies or playing the latest games? While this article focuses on more expensive models, we still consider some budget-friendly projectors, as they can deliver an adequate viewing experience. Most smaller models also have great smart features, eliminating the need to spend more on an external streaming device, while some of the bigger units require you to buy an external streaming dongle if you need smart features.
We've bought and tested more than 35 models, and below, you'll find the best projectors to buy for a home theater. You can also check out our recommendations for thebest TVs for watching moviesor look at thebest cheap projectorsavailable. You can alsovoteon which projectors you want us to purchase and test.
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Best Home Theater Projector
BenQ X3000i 3
Movies
8.2
See all our test results
If you're looking for the best home theater projector, check out the BenQ X3000i. This projector is versatile, as it boasts advanced home theater capabilities, but it's also excellent for playing video games or streaming content through its included Android TV 10 QS01 dongle. It projects a sharp image with its 4k pixel-shifting technology and is bright enough to look good in moderately lit rooms, but it truly looks its best in dark rooms, with its great contrast providing deep blacks when the lights are off. Even more impressive about this model is its out-of-the-box accuracy; even color purists will be satisfied with this unit without calibrating it. It's also HDR10/HLG compatible, and while projectors don't excel in HDR, this unit is decent in that color space, truly making it a versatile product.
It's also quite capable for streaming content, as its bundled QS01 dongle is fully cast-capable through Google Cast and supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2. It has two HDMI 2.0b ports, each capable of projecting either up to 4k @ 60Hz or 1080p @ 240Hz, giving it advanced gaming capabilities. Its third HDMI port is hidden behind the top cover and is meant for use with the included dongle, although you can use it with any HDMI device. Ultimately, if you're looking for a home cinema projector that can do everything else, the BenQ X3000i is the best choice.
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Best Premium Projector For Home Theater
Epson Home Cinema 5050UB 5
Movies
8.3
See all our test results
If you're a home theater enthusiast looking for the best, no matter the cost, consider the Epson Home Cinema 5050UB. Unlike the BenQ X3000i, this model has no fancy features. It's focused on only one thing: watching movies. It has a small edge over the top pick in image quality; the Epson is slightly brighter, although with worse brightness uniformity, and has slightly better contrast, so it looks better when watching movies in dark rooms. The Epson's pre-calibration accuracy is excellent, and for purists, you can improve it even more with the projector's vast array of calibration features. Its color gamut is very wide, and the projector is bright enough to project a vibrant, colorful image. It's also fully HDR compatible and does a good job of portraying the HDR color space. Like the top pick, it projects a sharp image through its 4k pixel-shifting technology.
If you're looking for other features, you won't find them here. The projector doesn't have Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, and it doesn't have any smart OS built-in. That's easily remedied with an external streaming dongle, and the unit comes with a 2.0A USB port for power delivery only, like for a dongle. It has two HDMI ports to which you can connect external devices and a 12V trigger out port if you want to automate your projector screen. Overall, this projector will provide the best possible image quality and is the best pick for enthusiasts wanting to build a cinema room in their basem*nt.
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Best Value Home Theater Projector
Epson Home Cinema 1080 4
Movies
7.5
See all our test results
If you're looking for the best value overall, look up the Epson Home Cinema 1080, which delivers surprisingly good performance for the price. It projects a sharp 1080p image and is very bright, so it can easily handle moderately lit rooms. It also looks bright and relatively punchy in dark rooms due to its okay contrast. Its color gamut is alright; good enough to project pleasant colors, but certainly nothing approaching what the top two picks can do. You also can't improve the unit's color accuracy with calibration, but that's fine, as it's already great out-of-the-box. It doesn't support HDR, which isn't a great loss at this price point, but if HDR matters to you, you'll need to consider the top two picks instead.
While it isn't truly a portable projector due to its size and lack of an integrated battery, it's only 5.9 pounds, so it's easy to carry around if needed. This means you can bring this unit to a friend's basem*nt for a movie marathon; make sure your friend's basem*nt has power outlets, though! It has automatic vertical keystone correction, which further facilitates its portability, and its optical zoom lets you adjust the projected image's size without further moving the unit. The projector has two HDMI 2.0 ports and a USB-B port, allowing you to control the projector through a computer. Unfortunately, the unit doesn't come with a smart OS. Still, it does have Wi-Fi 5 and Miracast for screen mirroring, so all it is missing for full streaming functionality is an external streaming dongle, which you can power through the unit's USB-A port. Overall, it's the best value home theater projector available and is good enough for most people outside of enthusiasts.
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Best Portable Home Theater Projector
XGIMI Halo+ 2
Movies
6.6
See all our test results
If you want a model you can easily carry without plugging it into an outlet, the best home cinema projector in the portable category we've tested is the XGIMI Halo+. It's a very small unit and weighs only 3.7 pounds, so you can easily throw it into a backpack. Plus, it has an integrated battery promising up to 2.5 hours of uninterrupted playback. This is long enough to watch most movies, so if your friend's basem*nt lacks power outlets, this unit will do nicely. It has many image correction features: full auto keystone, autofocus, intelligent screen alignment, and obstacle avoidance, so this projector is truly easy to carry with you as it corrects its image geometry automatically as you move it. To round up the package, it comes with the Android TV smart interface, Chromecast and AirScreen support, and Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 capabilities.
Like most portable models, it's slightly dim but significantly brighter than most direct competitors. It'll project a pleasant image if all your lights are off. Fortunately, it does have great contrast, emphasizing its dark room capabilities. It also has a very wide color gamut and HDR support but isn't bright enough to take advantage of them. Its color accuracy is quite poor, and while you can improve it somewhat through calibration, this isn't really a product for color purists. It has one HDMI port, which also doubles as an eARC port, and a USB port through which you can play video files directly to the projector.
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Best Cheap Home Theater Projector
Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01 1
Movies
7.3
See all our test results
If you're looking for something cheaper, consider the Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01. While it lacks HDR support, it projects an extremely bright 1280 x 800 resolution image perfect for bright offices. However, this projector's also no slouch for watching movies; its bright image makes content pop, and this model looks great when watching content in a moderately lit room. Unfortunately, the contrast is inadequate; blacks are raised and look gray. This means it'll look its best when a few lights are on. Its out-of-the-box color accuracy is decent, certainly good enough for most people, but color purists can greatly improve it through the projector's 2-point white balance calibration.
Like the Epson Home Cinema 1080, this model isn't made for portability, but it's pretty light at 5.4 pounds, so you can carry it around if you need to. Unfortunately, unlike the Home Cinema 1080, it lacks any auto keystone correction and autofocusing, so you must manually adjust the image if you wish to fix any geometry issues. It also lacks a smart OS and doesn't even have Wi-Fi, so an external streaming dongle is necessary. It does have a USB-B port to let you control the projector with a PC, and you can project a few file formats through the unit's USB-A port, but overall, it's rather barebones when it comes to ports, especially as it has only one HDMI port.
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All Reviews
Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best home cinema projectors for most people to buy. We factor in the price (a cheaper projector wins over a pricier one if the difference isn't worth it), feedback from our visitors, and availability (no models that are difficult to find or almost out of stock everywhere).
If you'd like to do the work of choosing yourself, here's the list of all our home cinema projectors. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. While no projector is perfect, many are good enough for most uses; however, avoid the worst models to ensure adequate quality.
