Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
EDITORS’ NOTE
December 22, 2025: With this update, we added the Hisense L9Q, the Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus, and the Anker Nebula X1 to our lineup of recommendations, replacing three Epson models: the Pro Cinema 4050, the EpiqVision Ultra LS800, and the Home Cinema 2350. The rest of our picks have been vetted for currency and availability. Since our last update, we tested and evaluated nine new projectors for inclusion in this roundup and our other projector roundups.
- 4K resolution using TI’s XPR fast-switch pixel shifting
- Triple-laser technology delivers a wide color gamut
- HDR support includes Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, and HLG
- Rated at 3,000 ANSI lumens
- Uses Google TV for streaming
- First UST projector with a Designed for Xbox certification
- Limited 3D support excludes 3D Blu-ray discs
- Out-of-box settings need minor tweaking to get good shadow detail
The PX3-PRO starts with all the strengths that made its predecessor (the PX2-PRO) a top pick and then adds to them. Its strongest feature, and one key reason to put it on your shortlist, is its top-tier image quality for both SDR and HDR content, with HDR support for all four current HDR variations: HDR10, HLG, HDR10+, and Dolby Vision. A close second for gamers is that it’s the first ultra-short-throw (UST) projector to earn a Designed for Xbox certification, thanks to features that include a state-of-the-art short lag and support for 1440p resolution, which is increasingly popular for gaming. It also delivers many additional features, including Google TV for streaming, a powered focus, and myriad useful settings options. All this makes it a triple winner: for image quality, feature set, and gaming.
Discerning videophiles: Suitable for both casual TV viewing and traditional home theater use in dark rooms, the PX3-PRO is for discerning videophiles who want the best image quality and don’t see or don’t mind seeing the occasional rainbow artifact that DLP projectors tend to show.
Gamers: It’s an obvious choice for gamers who want the benefits of an ultra short throw in a projector designed with gaming in mind.
Engine Type
DLP
Rated Brightness
3000 ANSI lumens
Native Resolution
3840 by 2160 using 1920 by 1080 DLP chip with XPR fast-switch pixel shifting
Maximum Resolution
3840 by 2160 120Hz; 1920 by 1080, 240Hz
Inputs and Interfaces
HDMI 2.1, HDMI 2.0, eARC, Bluetooth, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, USB 2.0, USB 3.0
Dimensions (HWD)
4.8 by 21.7 by 11.7 inches
Weight
19.8 lbs
Warranty
2 years
Learn More
Hisense PX3-PRO TriChroma Laser Projector Review
- 4K resolution
- HDR10, HDR10+, HLG HDR, and Filmmaker modes
- 1.3x zoom and modest vertical lens shift for easy installation
- Short enough lag times for serious gamers
- Full HD 3D
- No Dolby Vision support
- Shows obvious (but occasional) rainbow artifacts
The BenQ W2720i is a solid choice for home theater viewing in a dark room as well as home entertainment use with lights on. It delivers a high-quality image straight out of the box, thanks largely to its Cinema AI mode for SDR material and a similar mode for HDR. Both adjust the image based on the room’s ambient light to give each frame the best saturation, shadow detail, contrast, and sense of three-dimensionality possible. Its HDR support includes HDR10, HLG, and HDR10+ (which builds on HDR10 to greatly lessen the need to manually adjust settings), and it offers high enough brightness to deliver a highly watchable image even in ambient light. Beyond that, it adds a 1.3x zoom and modest vertical lens shift for easy installation, 3D support with DLP-Link glasses, and lag times that are low enough for casual gaming. It even includes highly usable onboard audio, which is an uncommon extra for a home theater projector.
People who don’t see rainbow artifacts: The key potential issue for the W2720i is rainbow artifacts—the red/green/blue flashes that any single-DLP-chip projector can show. If you don’t see (or don’t mind seeing) these flashes, the BenQ W2720i is otherwise an impressive choice for its price class. In our tests, we saw them less frequently than with many current models, but when they showed, they were more obvious than typical.
3D aficionados: The W2720i supports 3D with DLP-Link glasses, making it a good choice if you like to watch films in 3D.
Engine Type
DLP
Rated Brightness
2500 ANSI lumens
Native Resolution
3840 by 2160 using 1920 by 1080 DLP chip with XPR fast-switch pixel shifting
Maximum Resolution
3840 by 2160 60Hz, HDR, Full HD 3D; 3840 by 2160 @ 120Hz downscaled to 1920 by 1080 120Hz; 1920 by 1080 240Hz
Inputs and Interfaces
HDMI, eARC, USB-A, Wi-Fi
Dimensions (HWD)
5.6 by 16.5 by 12 inches
Weight
14.1 lbs
Warranty
3 years
Learn More
BenQ W2720i Review
- Epson’s 4K PRO-UHD technology delivers resolution equivalent to 4K
- Supports HDR10 and HLG
- Fully integrated Google TV
- Three-LCD chip design guarantees a rainbow-artifact-free image
- Low input lag suitable for casual gaming
- No 3D support
- No Dolby Vision support
Strictly speaking, the Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus isn’t a home entertainment projector; it’s a room-to-room portable. But like most models in its category, it can serve nicely for home entertainment, too. It’s also technically not 4K, since it puts only half as many pixels on screen as are in a full 3,840-by-2,160-pixel matrix. However, from normal viewing distances, that’s enough to make it virtually impossible to see any difference in resolution between its image and images from DLP 4K competitors that generate twice as many pixels. So what you get from the Flex Plus is 4K-equivalent resolution.
You also get fully integrated Google TV for streaming, plus image quality that’s easily good enough for casual viewing for SDR material and better for HDR, thanks to solid support for HDR10 and HLG. Factor in the $999.99 list price, and there’s easily enough value here to make the Flex Plus the obvious pick for a budget 4K home entertainment projector, even without technically being one.
People who mostly watch movies in the dark: The Flex Plus is rated at 1,000 ISO lumens, which means it will serve best if you plan to watch mostly at night or in rooms that get little light through the windows. With the settings we used for best quality, it was bright enough to fill a 90-inch diagonal screen both in a dark room and a family room at night with lights on. For daytime viewing on a cloudy day, we dropped the image size to roughly 55 inches.
Casual gamers: All but the most serious gamers will be happy with the input lag. We measured it at just 20.9 milliseconds for both 4K and 1080p input at 60Hz.
People who are bothered by rainbow artifacts: The three-LCD chip design ensures that it can’t show rainbow artifacts. For those who are sensitive to these red/green/blue flashes, that alone is a strong argument for putting the Flex Plus high on their shortlist.
Engine Type
LCD
Rated Brightness
1000 ISO Lumens (Equivalent to ANSI)
Native Resolution
Equivalent to 3840 by 2160 using Epson’s 4K PRO-UHD technology
Maximum Resolution
3840 by 2160 60Hz, HDR
Inputs and Interfaces
HDMI (eArc, ALLM), USB-A, USB-C (power only), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Dimensions (HWD)
9.7 by 7.5 by 7.5 inches
Weight
8.8 lbs
Warranty
2 years
Learn More
Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus Review
- 4K native resolution
- Short input lag (supports up to 120Hz refresh rate)
- Video modes for four categories of gaming
- Android TV 11 HDMI dongle included
- LED light source rated at 3,300 ANSI lumens
- Wi-Fi is the only network connection option
- Shows rainbow artifacts
- Hardware setup requires some tricky assembly
The BenQ X3100i, BenQ’s current flagship gaming projector, ratchets up the bar set by the model it replaced, which was already our top pick both for 4K gaming and gaming overall. Its newfound features include a 10% boost in brightness, to 3,300 ANSI lumens; a vertical lens shift for adjusting image height without tilting the projector; and support for 1440p (2,560-by-1,440-pixel) resolution at 120Hz, a popular choice for gaming. And all of that is in addition to keeping everything we liked in its predecessor: an LED light source, HDR10 and HLG support, robust audio that can fill a large family room, and state-of-the-art short input lag. The measured lag ranged from 16.9ms at 1080p/60Hz and 16.7ms for 4K/60Hz to 4.2ms at 1080p/240Hz.
Serious gamers: The X3100i is aimed squarely at serious gamers. You can also use it for watching movies or videos, and a bundled Android TV 11 streaming stick makes that easy. But that’s almost beside the point. If you’re not all jazzed to take advantage of the short input lag, predefined game modes, and 1440p support, you probably don’t need the X3100i. If you can’t wait to get your hands on those features, it’s likely the gaming projector you’ve been waiting for.
Gamers who like to adjust settings for each title: It has racing, first-person shooter, role-playing, and sports game modes, so you can set the image and audio for each type of game simply by switching modes.
Engine Type
DLP
Rated Brightness
3300 ANSI lumens
Native Resolution
3840 by 2160 using 1920 by 1080 DLP chip with XPR fast-switch pixel shifting
Maximum Resolution
3840 by 2160 HDR; Full HD 3D
Inputs and Interfaces
HDMI 2.0b, USB 2.0, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct
Dimensions (HWD)
8.4 by 10.7 by 10.2 inches
Weight
15 lbs
Warranty
3 years
Learn More
BenQ X3100i Review
- 4K resolution
- Higher-than-typical brightness
- Good color accuracy, contrast, and shadow detail
- Supports HDR10, HLG, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, Filmmaker mode, and IMAX Enhanced
- Integrated smart TV OS includes Netflix app
- Designed for Xbox certification
- Single-chip DLP design can be prone to rainbow artifacts
Although unusually heavy for a 4K room-to-room portable, at just shy of 14 pounds, the Hisense C2 Ultra offers a trio of features that are both responsible for the weight and largely justify lugging it around. The first two—a gimbal mount and an optical zoom—work together to help make setup after moving it quick and easy without resorting to a digital zoom, which can degrade image quality and lower brightness. The third—a JBL audio system with two 10-watt speakers and a 20-watt subwoofer—lets it deliver high enough volume at high enough quality that you should never need an external sound system for it.
The C2 Ultra also offers a 3,000 ANSI lumen brighness rating, which translates to top-tier brightness for the category; a color gamut rated at 110% of the spec for 4K UHD projectors and TVs (BT.2020 aka Rec.2020); and leading-edge features ranging from every current variation of HDR support (including Dolby Vision), plus Filmmaker and IMAX Enhanced modes to a Designed for Xbox certification for gamers. We also found its Vidaa OS, which it uses for streaming, easier to use than the more common Google TV. We’d like it even better if it were lighter, but even as it stands, the C2 Ultra is our top pick for a high-end room-to-room portable.
People who mostly watch in a single spot: The C2 Ultra’s weight makes it fit best for applications that don’t require moving it very often or very far. (A prime example: installing it semi-permanently in a family room, with rare trips to the backyard for a movie night.) It’s even a good choice for installing permanently as a home entertainment projector.
People who prioritize image quality: It’s the most portable option available that doesn’t sacrifice image quality for the sake of portability.
Engine Type
DLP
Rated Brightness
3000 ANSI lumens
Native Resolution
3840 by 2160 using 1920 by 1080 DLP chip with XPR fast-switch pixel shifting
Maximum Resolution
3840 by 2160 @ 60Hz, HDR; Full HD 3D
Inputs and Interfaces
HDMI 2.1, USB 3.0, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HDMI (eARC)
Dimensions (HWD)
11.3 by 9.7 by 9.7 inches
Weight
13.9 lbs
Warranty
1 year
Learn More
Hisense C2 Ultra Review
- 4K resolution
- Hybrid laser/LED light source
- Supports HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Vision
- Automated image adjustment for fast setup after moving
- Built-in handle for easy carrying
- Black level is high enough to hurt contrast in a dark room
The Anker Nebula Cosmos 4K SE is our top pick for a low-cost 4K room-to-room portable projector because of its solid performance at a price that’s not much more expensive than its 1080p competition: $1,299 list and selling for less on Amazon at this writing. Strong points include a 1,800-ANSI-lumen rated brightness for its laser/LED hybrid light source, a color gamut rated at 123.3% of BT.709 (the standard for HDTVs), and HDR support that includes Dolby Vision along with the more common HDR10 and HLG HDR. Other noteworthy features include fully integrated Google TV for streaming, easy setup after moving, and two 15-watt speakers that offer robust audio with both high volume and good quality.
Most important? It delivered good image quality in our tests, checking the right boxes across the board for color accuracy, shadow detail, sense of three-dimensionality, and more.
People who prioritize portability over aesthetics: The 4K SE is shaped like a tall car battery with a handle on top, which makes it look less like a sleek projector for a family room than a piece of test equipment that belongs on an electronics workbench. However, the handle makes it easy to carry, whether you’re taking it from room to room, out to the backyard, or on a longer trip. And for anyone who cares more about how well it works than how good it looks, it’s a solid choice.
Budget-savvy buyers holding out for 4K: It earns higher marks for both image quality and audio than some competition that costs more. If you want a 4K projector that combines good image quality with a budget price, the Anker Nebula Cosmos 4K SE can easily be the projector you want.
Engine Type
DLP
Rated Brightness
1800 ANSI lumens
Native Resolution
3840 by 2160 using 1920 by 1080 DLP chip with XPR fast-switch pixel shifting
Maximum Resolution
3840 by 2160 60Hz
Inputs and Interfaces
HDMI 2.1, HDMI (eARC), USB-A, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, USB Thumb Drive
Dimensions (HWD)
8.7 by 6.5 by 10.4 inches
Weight
9.9 lbs
Warranty
1 year
Learn More
Anker Nebula Cosmos 4K SE Review
- 4K resolution
- Bright; rated at 3,300 ISO lumens
- Supports HDR10 and HLG HDR
- Includes Google TV OS for streaming
- Good audio quality, suitable for a family room
- Rated at 110% BT.2020 color gamut coverage
- Wi-Fi only; no Ethernet
- No support for Dolby Vision, HDR10+, Filmmaker, or IMAX Enhanced modes
Gimbal mounts for fast setup are common on room-to-room projectors today, but the version on the JMGO N1S Ultimate is notable for being among the best available. Its two gimbals, for pivoting vertically and horizontally, make it easy to point it using only one hand, so it takes just a few seconds to position the picture where you want it, and a few seconds more to let the projector’s automatic adjustment features—from focus to screen fit and more—finish the setup for you.
Beyond that, the N1S Ultimate is bright enough that its lowest power setting (1 out of 10) delivered a satisfyingly bright image in a dark room on a 90-inch-diagonal screen in our testing, and a setting of 8 was enough to fill a 130-inch screen under low-to-moderate ambient light. Other strong points include integrated Google TV for streaming; a tri-color laser engine with a color gamut rated at 110% of the standard for 4K TVs (BT.2020, aka Rec.2020); and robust onboard audio that will let you easily do without an external sound system in most situations.
People who watch in many different locations: For some, the strongest arguments for the N1S Ultimate will be its high brightness and its quick-and-easy setup after moving. But even if you never need anything more than the lowest brightness setting, and rarely move the projector, the image and audio quality are both easily good enough by most people’s standards to make it worth considering.
Casual gamers and 3D aficionados: It also offers 3D support and a suitably short input lag for all but the most serious gamers.
Engine Type
DLP
Rated Brightness
3300 ISO Lumens (Equivalent to ANSI)
Native Resolution
3840 by 2160 using 1920 by 1080 DLP chip with XPR fast-switch pixel shifting
Maximum Resolution
3840 by 2160 60Hz, HDR; Full HD 3D
Inputs and Interfaces
HDMI 2.1, USB-A
Dimensions (HWD)
9.3 by 9.5 by 8 inches
Weight
9.9 lbs
Warranty
3 years
Learn More
JMGO N1S Ultimate Review
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The Best 4K Projectors for 2026
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Buying Guide: The Best 4K Projectors for 2026
Understanding Native Resolution: Must My Projector Have a True 4K Chip?
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. Crucially, that starts with the native resolution—the actual number of pixels physically present on a chip.
Native resolution is a big deal for lower-resolution projectors. A model with a 1,280-by-720-pixel chip can accept a 1080p (1,920-by-1,080-pixel) signal and down-convert it to a 720p image on the screen. But no matter how high-quality its lens is, the resulting image will have a softer focus than an otherwise identical projector with a 1080p chip. The same is true for a 1080p projector down-converting 4K input to its native 1080p. However, it’s not true for those 4K projectors that are built around 1080p chips (which are the only reasonably affordable 4K models). 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 4K projectors that cost less than about $4,000 (as well as many that cost more) use one of two pixel-shifting techniques. Most 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.
At the time of writing, the only projectors in this price range that utilize 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 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 on the screen for each frame.
(Credit: Epson)
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 its 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 Space 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—at least for screen sizes typical for home use. When shopping for a 4K projector, don’t let the difference in pixel count between the two choices affect your decision.
That said, you may or may not notice the difference between these approaches and the newer version of Epson’s 4K Pro-UHD, depending on your eyesight and your preferred seating position within the recommended range for the image size—closer to or farther from the screen. Also, keep in mind that for models that use either version of Epson’s approach, other factors besides the pixel count also add to your perception of sharpness and image detail.
(Credit: M. David Stone)
As an aside, note that the term “4K,” which for TVs more or less universally means 3,840 by 2,160 pixels, is actually defined to include other resolutions, such as the 4,096 by 2,160 pixels used in digital cinema. However, with the exception of some discontinued models that may still be available, prices for projectors with those variations start at well above $4,000 for current models, making them significantly less affordable than the projectors we’re focusing on here.
Do I Need HDR in a 4K Projector?
As you may already know, the improved image quality of 4K 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 struggle to deliver suitably dark blacks, as well. As a result, although many 4K projectors offer HDR support, some don’t support it at all, and even among those that do, some don’t handle it well. That said, while some older models produced HDR images that you wouldn’t want to watch, the issue for more recent models that don’t handle HDR well is more often that the image is watchable, but lower quality overall than the SDR image from the same projector.
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 occasionally show a film in your classroom.
For home theater use and TV replacement, a projector with HDR support is generally preferable to one without it, at least in theory. However, the quality of HDR varies significantly between projectors, so it’s essential to verify its effectiveness from an independent source. That’s why we cover HDR quality separately from SDR quality in our reviews. Another potential issue? Some projectors handle HDR significantly better for streaming sources than for 4K discs. That’s why we test using both kinds of sources and report any image-quality differences between them.
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. This means that before buying a projector, you need to check which HDR formats it 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 used on discs and is widely supported by streaming services like 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.
(Credit: M. David Stone)
An emerging format is HDR10+, currently supported on select 4K discs and certain streaming services. This builds on HDR10, both improving image quality and eliminating some of the manual adjustments HDR10 requires when switching between different image sources. A fourth format, Dolby Vision, is commonly found in TVs, supported by several major streaming services for at least some content, and is available in a growing number of projectors.
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. Our reviews discuss the usable image sizes that we found deliver the best image quality under the lighting conditions the projector is best suited for—whether in a dark home theater, a bright conference room, or a family room with ambient light).
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. (For more about screens, check out our guide to finding the right screen for your projector.)
As a point of reference, using the most common recommendation for SDR brightness in a dark room, 500 ANSI lumens is sufficient to illuminate a 100-inch diagonal, 1.0-gain screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio. In a typical family room at night with low-to-moderate ambient light levels, you’d need 1,200 lumens for the same screen size. For the brighter light of an office, you’d need 1,500 lumens or more.
Remember 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.
The problem: No widely accepted standard exists for how bright an image needs to be for HDR viewing, which makes it impossible to make broad recommendations around 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 if it seems darker overall.
Should I Get a Portable 4K Projector?
At this writing, no palmtop or pico projectors offer 4K resolution and work 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.
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. Some even include built-in handles.
What Display Technology Should I Get in a 4K Projector?
As mentioned earlier, you’ll currently see 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: Among projectors with similar features and image quality, DLP units tend to cost less. In addition, DLP is currently the far more common 4K choice in portable projectors and less-expensive, entry-level models.
A key advantage of LCD technology is the same for 4K as for 1080p: It isn’t prone to 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. All 4K LCD projectors use three chips rather than one, letting them project all three primary colors on the screen simultaneously.
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 educational applications, most viewers will consider occasional rainbow artifacts at least tolerable for presentations, although frequent flashes can be more problematic. 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 find them annoying.
(Credit: M. David Stone)
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 readily than we do, we suggest that if you’re bothered by rainbow artifacts or don’t know if you are, you should try to buy from a dealer who allows easy returns without a restocking fee so that 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.)
Recommended by Our Editors
For the best possible image quality in a dark room, a well-designed home theater projector with a lamp will usually deliver darker black levels than similarly priced 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, though; they matter a lot less if you’re buying a projector for office or classroom use, or for home entertainment in a room with ambient light. Note also that the issue for solid-state light sources isn’t that projectors can’t be designed to deliver sufficiently dark black levels. It’s just harder to find one that does, and these models tend to be more expensive than comparable lamp-based ones.
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 $300 or more—and how often you’ll need to replace them.
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, in almost all cases, are meant to last for the life of the projector, with rated light-source lifetimes of 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.
(Credit: Epson)
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. So, don’t make assumptions based on the technology. Just pick a projector with good color accuracy and the brightness you need.
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. You may also see some brightness ratings using CVIA lumens, a relatively new spec defined by the China Video Industry Association. CVIA is not directly comparable to ANSI or ISO, but if done correctly, it should be a lower number than the ANSI or ISO lumen rating for the same projector.
What Projector Input Lag Is Short Enough for Gaming?
Input lag, measured in milliseconds (ms), is the time between when a projector receives a video frame and when it shows up 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 building a flight simulator or 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 often 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 an 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.
(Credit: M. David Stone)
Obviously, the input lag that matters to you is the one for the resolution and refresh rate you plan to use. Hard-core gamers should look for input lag measurements of no more than 17ms at their desired settings. Casual gamers may be comfortable with lag up to 50ms, or even a bit more. In either case, a shorter lag time is always better.
Do I Need External Audio in a 4K Projector?
For a long time, the conventional wisdom for projectors (both inside the business and among users) was 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, the best home theater projectors traditionally didn’t have any onboard audio, and some still don’t.
By contrast, most projectors designed for business or education include an audio system, but in many cases, it’s just a convenience feature with a 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, check for audio quality and volume.
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 better than decent onboard sound systems are ultra short throw (UST) laser projectors and room-to-room portables.
(Credit: BenQ)
The UST models, often billed as TV replacements or laser 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.
Ready to Buy the Best 4K Projector for You?
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. Our favorites listed here in our mini-reviews and our spec chart, with links to detailed reviews, are the best 4K and 4K-equivalent models we’ve tested for various usage cases and price ranges. All are excellent starting points for your search.
