High definition projectors are redefining the visual experience in the home and whether its for gaming, binge-watching, or that full movie theater experience, the best 4k projectors on the market today are transforming what it means to be entertained visually.
As far back as you go in the history of home visual entertainment devices, one device ruled the roost – the television.
Simple to setup and use, all-in-one functionality, and providing an ever increasing lists of features, it’s little wonder that the humble TV has been a mainstay in the home for so many years.
Indeed, the latest and greatest smart TVs have even brought the box into the IoT era, allowing you to do everything from setting up actions with your smart lighting (for the cinematic experience), to controlling the device with your voice by hooking it up to a smart voice controller system.
When it comes to creating a truly immersive experience however, the high definition projector really is hard to beat.
High Definition and 4K Projectors – The Basics
While home projectors are by no means a new innovation, what is new is the quality, size, and of course, the increasingly affordable price tag of the latest projectors.
In many ways, with a 4k projector system in place in your home, the setup for the majority of visual entertainment tasks (think hooking up a games console or devices like the Amazon Fire) are basically plug and play.
One of the most important distinctions between a projector and a television comes down to how they both work at the simplest level and this is an important consideration when thinking about whether a 4K projector is a better fit for you than a TV offering equivalent quality.
Viewing Environment
Based on the fact that projectors literally ‘project’ the image against a surface, as a visual home entertainment medium they’re always going to respond to the environment (type/size of room, light levels) when it comes to the performance they deliver.
While resolution is less important with a projector vs a TV, the importance of the viewing surroundings are important, so its pretty much a prerequisite to think about where the projector is going to be installed and operated before taking the plunge.
Ultimately, if you’re thinking of creating a dedicated space which will offer low light levels and a good projection surface distance, you’re almost certainly not going to be able to beat some of the best 4K projectors when it comes to visual detail, whereas if space and light are at more of a premium, then a high-def smart TV is probably going to be the way to go.
Understanding 4K Projectors
The best 4K projectors from a financial cost-benefit perspective generally use hardware such as LCD or DLP to generate the image that you see projected against the surface.
This is slightly different to the way in which comparable 4K TVs operate with projectors often utilizing a few lower resolution chips which offset the pixels in a way that isn’t obvious to the naked eye in the final image on the projection surface.
All of this is to say that for the projectors that go down this route, you’ll often see the actual resolution of the on-board imaging chips as lower than 4K, but the cumulative experience is going to still be very impressive – particularly when you factor in the ability to project on to a surface anywhere up to 100 inches.
The Best 4K Projector Systems
We’ve taken a look at some of the very best 4K projectors to separate the best from the rest.
The devices we explored offer the optimal balance of performance and quality against budget and size to deliver a balanced home entertainment viewing experience that’s second to none.
Some of the projectors in our lineup offer built-in smart functionality which is a definite bonus if you’re looking to fold your projector into a smart entertainment setup and bring it into your wider connected ecosystem.
If you want to find the best 4K projector for your home, then grab a seat and help yourself to some popcorn, you’ve come to the right place.
Sony 295ES 4K HDR Home Theater Video Projector
While not offering the smart functionality of some other 4K projectors in this list, the Sony bites back with the quality of its image output.
Delivering 8.8 million pixels, the Sony provides a 350,000:1 contrast ratio and a 1,500 lumens brightness to really bring the picture home with defined colors and blacks.
On-board motion smoothing is just one example of some of the proprietary Sony tech that this projector includes under the hood and when combined with others such as Sony’s ‘TRILUMINOS’ display tech for color generation, the picture you get for HD movies and gaming is pretty special.
There are a couple of downsides which should be considered with the 295ES which while not deal-breakers given the epic quality of the picture produced by the system, are still things to bear in mind.
Firstly, the Sony projector doesn’t include speakers in the device itself so for audio output, you’re going to want to hook it up to your own rig before you settle down to watch the latest movie or fire up the Xbox.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that this is a large device compared to some of the others on the market (presumably due to the quality of the on-board hardware) so it’s unlikely you’re going to be moving this around the home. This is an install-once kind of job.
Finally, as already mentioned, the 295ES isn’t smart which means you’re not going to be able to connect it straight up to Alexa or Google Assistant to get things going with your voice. With that being said, as with all non-smart devices out there, a good partial workaround to this can be achieved by utilizing services like IFTTT and connecting the unit up to a smart plug to provide a pretty decent hack for some of the missing smart functionality that the Sony doesn’t include straight out of the box.
All in all though, Sony’s reputation as one of the undisputed kings of the visual entertainment world is still resoundingly clear in this 4K projector system and if you’re less bothered about smart connectivity and mobility and more concerned with an unparalleled viewing experience, then the 295ES is hard to beat.
Learn More About the Sony 295ES 4K HDR Home Theater Video Projector Here
LG 4K UHD CineBeam Projector
With a 4K resolution of 3840 x 2160 combined with HDR10 compatibility and an impressive brightness of 2,500 lumens, the CineBeam 4K projector from LG boasts an impressive set of visual display specs.
What takes the CineBeam up to the next level however is the versatility of the projector which unlike larger 4K projector systems, is actually designed to be moved around wherever you want to set it up in the house (or someone else’s).
This versatile flexibility is thanks to the design of the CineBeam which can be setup to operate in multiple ways either freestanding on the floor or a surface or mounted from the ceiling or a wall bracket.
In terms of projected display size, the LG is capable of delivering an image up to 150″ making it a worthy choice if you’re looking for a 4K projector that can do justice to epic HD documentaries, TV shows, or gaming at high resolution.
A nice addition to the CineBeam is the inclusion of Bluetooth sound out for wireless audio output meaning you can effortlessly hook up the projector to a wireless speaker system or dedicated sound bar without having to deal with unsightly cables draped across the room.
LG have a well deserved reputation in the field of high definition TVs and its little surprise that the smart projector range from the brand has followed suit in this tradition.
Learn More About the LG 4K UHD CineBeam Projector Here
