Which projector to choose for your home instead of a TV?

A person who has been to a movie theater at least once in his life has felt the difference between a small TV screen and a large screen showing a picture from a projector. Which projector to choose for your home instead of a TV? Let's consider the possibility of using it at home, its types and features.

Types of projectors

Depending on the design, the following types are distinguished:

1. Portable - are small-sized devices with a battery. Most often used for presentations. Also suitable for home or garden.
2. Stationary - are large devices weighing up to 5 kg. Power comes from the network.

Depending on the type of lamp used.

• Laser lamps – service life of 6 thousand hours. However, the picture will not be very bright and clear; you will have to darken the room.
• LED lamps - service life 1-3 thousand hours depending on the manufacturer, device power and other characteristics.

ATTENTION. The size of the projector affects the brightness of the picture. Small devices will only show an image in complete darkness. Large devices show 5 times brighter than small devices. Such an image will not differ from an LCD TV.

• Mercury lamps are quite rare.

Advantages: produces the brightest image.

Flaws:

• it is difficult to accurately determine the service life,
• the lamp is expensive,
• may break if not handled carefully,
• high energy consumption.

Projectors with the following parameters are suitable for home use:

• aspect ratio 16:9;
• lamp brightness over 800 lumens
• contrast ratio 2000:1;
• the presence of several connectors (HDMI, USB), audio outputs and a slot for a microSD memory card.
• The lamp service life is more than 2 thousand hours.

What to look for when choosing?

When choosing a projector for watching movies at home, you need to pay attention to:

Diagonal of the image. The diagonal must be more than 1 m; most often it is limited by the size of the wall on which the image is projected.

Permission. Often on small portable projectors it is 800 x 480 pixels, which is not suitable for watching movies at home.

HD resolution is suitable for home, or even better Full HD or 4K resolution.

Correction of keystone distortion. Thanks to the correction, the projector can be installed close to a wall or on the side and get a high-quality rectangular image.

Contrast. This parameter is indicated in the instructions, however, it is better to read user reviews.

Connection method:

• independent playback from a memory card;
• Portable devices often have the Android operating system installed;
• Large devices rarely have an operating system installed; you can connect a video camera, game console or TV set-top box to them.

IMPORTANT. It is better to make sure in advance that you have the necessary audio outputs, the number and types of connectors.

Installation method:

• hanging;
• Installation on a tripod (appropriate socket required).

With a high matrix resolution and 3D support, you can watch movies in 3D. Glasses sold separately.

The fan cooling the lamp is noisy in large projectors. Therefore, for your home it is better to choose a device with a noise level of up to 20-25 dB.

Devices that project an image onto the wall have their advantages (less eye strain compared to a TV, small size and affordable price compared to large TVs) and disadvantages (image quality depends on the darkness of the room, a small selection of types of devices, limited service life lamps, the need to maintain distance from the screen). When choosing a suitable device, you need to proceed from its technical characteristics, purpose of purchase, room size, price and personal preferences.