However, the compact form and flexibility that a projector affords does make it a better choice in a lot of cases, and the ultra-large, cinematic image they can provide makes them well worth the investment for die-hard movie fans. How important is ultra short throw? Lens shift: Occasionally, you’ll need to adjust your projector’s image to make sure the picture isn’t crooked or change the height of the picture. Lens shift is a feature that allows you to adjust the lens and screen placement without physically adjusting the projector. This is a huge convenience because manual lens adjustments can be clunky and imprecise.

A 4K pixel shifting projector uses imagers that contain are less than 8.3 megapixels, but every pixel’s image is rapidly shifted allowing each one to do the job of multiple pixels. When it comes to pixel shifting, faster is better. The pixel wobbling is done so fast that it fools your eyes into seeing up to four times the projector’s native resolution. We conduct these tests in our state of the art testing room in Bath, which is outfitted with a 100-inch screen and a plethora of external sources to hook the projectors up to, including 4K Blu-ray players, video streamers and games consoles. This is also where each of these projectors meets its rivals, as every product is tested side-by-side with the competition to ensure it meets expectations and so that its place in the market is considered as a whole – no product exists in a vacuum after all.BenQ’s decision to focus with the W1800 on what we guess could be considered good old-fashioned home cinema values has paid off handsomely. Its pictures might not be the showiest around, but they’re refined, natural, authentic and, to use that word again, cinematic. The specified 2,200 lumens brightness might not be as high as some other models in our best projectors guide, but the exceptional brightness control of the Horizon Pro mitigates this, ensuring that light lands where it needs to, and that even daytime viewing affords decent visibility. For the best experience, of course, you’ll want to close the curtains or save your movie plans for the evening, and bright, direct sunlight will banish portions of the image, but the Horizon Pro still fares better than most. The slim remote is a masterclass in sleek design, with a metal casing that stays cold to the touch and has the good sense to limit things to a handful of buttons (power, Google Assistant, settings, home screen, return, and volume controls). The pull-out mechanism for the batteries is a bit flimsy, mind, and you’ll have to be careful to reinsert it correctly.

Most 4K projector bulbs will last hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of hours before they burn out, but eventually, every bulb will burn out. Keep at least one spare bulb around at all times so you don’t have to wait for a replacement to arrive when your first bulb goes out. Extra-long HDMI cable Resolution is limited to 854 x 480, and the brightness is a low-ish 150 lumens, so you’ll need a dark room to enjoy the projected image; nevertheless, the colour performance isn’t bad at all. Its speaker does a decent job of providing emergency audio that isn’t too thin and tinny, plus, if you want to boost audio output, you can hook up a Bluetooth speaker. The next feature is light output, and how that light is created. Brightness is typically measured in lumens, and the bigger the number the brighter the output. Under 3,000 is fine for darker rooms or night viewing but for bright environments you'll want high output.

Looking for the ultimate big-screen thrills? We’ve picked out the best projectors from £250 to £5,999

There are a multitude of factors to consider when choosing the right projector to suit your needs. Whether its budget, resolution, screen size or even the type of lamp, all of these factors can drastically alter the performance of a projector. With its clean, punchy and solid image, the Hisense PL1 is a gem at this price. Undercutting many of its UST rivals and even its own Hisense siblings, it's a TV alternative that actually lives up to its promise. You’d be hard-pressed to find a 100-inch TV for this price, let alone one that features such a punchy and crisp image. While we wish it had a couple more HDMI ports, it’s a compromise we’re willing to make, as its picture performance more than makes up for it. Make sure to place your 4K projector in a well-ventilated area. If a projector overheats, it can break the bulb or, worse, permanently damage the projector’s internal components. FAQ Wireless HDMI: Depending on where you place your 4K projector, you might end up with a tripping hazard: a long HDMI cable snaking around your viewing area. If you’re ready to ditch cables entirely, opt for a 4K projector that supports wireless HDMI – a new technology that can transmit a video signal from any HDMI source like a cable box or streaming box without the need for an extended wire. There are three kinds of light source. Bulbs, LEDs and lasers. Bulbs are the oldest and cheapest technology, but they can generate a lot of heat and bulbs will need to be replaced fairly often.

Then there are portable projectors, which are ideal of taking on the go or using outside to create a grab-and-go cinema experience. They might not match up with the performance of dedicated home cinema projectors – the fact that none have made our list should tell you that – but you're paying for the experience and versatility here. You can't beat an open-air cinema experience under the starry night sky after all. BenQ divides its consumer projector range into quite specific categories these days. There's premium ‘CinePro’, mid-range ‘CinePrime’ and entry level ‘CineHome’ home cinema models, as well as more general purpose (usually brighter and more affordable) home entertainment models, laser TV models, and dedicated gaming projectors. If space is really tight, you might want to consider a short throw or ultra-short throw projector, which can create big images on your screen or wall from incredibly short distances – as little as 10cm for a 50in image in some cases. The downside is the projected image tends to suffer more from geometric distortion. Other things to consider:As good as its picture performance is, the projector stumbles in a couple of places. Its attempts to adjust brightness on a shot-by-shot basis for some content can mean its overcorrecting in a way that makes the lighting quite jarring. Its motion smoothing can also be trouble as it helps reduce panning judder sometimes but introduces some glaring motion artifacts for everything else on screen. Fortunately, the Hisense L9G has a ton of available settings to adjust these features and many more, effectively letting users dial in the display however they like. Throw is a big deal with projectors. Because of the way they work, by beaming an image onto a flat surface, the size of the projected picture will be determined by the distance between the projector and screen. All projectors have what’s called a “throw ratio”, which determines how big the picture will be at any given distance, and some are what’s called short-throw projectors, meaning they’re designed to give a bigger picture even from a distance of one or two metres. When viewed from a normal viewing distance, it is difficult to differentiate between a 4K pixel shift image and an image projected on a native 4K projector. It is only when you do a side-by-side comparison between a true 4K projector versus a pixel-shifting projector using test patterns that the resolution difference is truly noticeable.