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Buying Guide:
About Home Theater Projectors

Home theater projectors were once the staple of only higher end, expensive home theaters. But as prices have lowered to a level of affordability of more consumers, their usage in HT setups have risen. We expect this trend to continue since they deliver more video real estate value while affording greater flexibility and portability than their television counterparts.

Some aspects of buying home theater projectors are similar to that of buying a television. Things such as resolution, contrast, and the types of inputs/outputs offered are considerations to make in your purchase decision. In this article, we'll educate you on the basic elements and features of home theater projectors in today's market so you can make a more informed decision.

To select the right unit for your system, we encourage you to use the information in the order in which it is presented below.

Placement and Screen Size

The placement of home theater projectors and the size of the image you wish to project go hand in hand with one another. Throw distance and throw ratios are terms you'll commonly run across when researching projector equipment. Essentially, throw distance is typically a range of how far a projector can be placed from the screen and throw ratio is a measure of relationship between distance from the screen and the width of the screen. These measurements coupled with the size of image you desire will dictate the optimal placement of your projector, so they should not be taken lightly.

While we'll discuss zoom lenses used in home theater projectors in a little more detail later, it's important to note that you shouldn't let the characteristics of these features weigh too heavily on your decision. The reality is that zoom lenses have a relatively minor impact on throw ratios. Besides, like the digital zoom on cameras, it can have a degrading effect on picture quality.

Several calculators are available on the internet that you can use to determine screen size and throw distance for various projector models. For your convenience, we've provided links to the reputable calculators we've come across below.

• Projector Central
  
• Projector Point
  
• InFocus
  
• Canon
  
• Sanyo
  
• Panasonic
  
• Focused Technology
  
• Da-Lite
  
• ViewSonic
  

Aspect Ratio

Unfortunately, this is one of those topics that has no clear-cut answer. Simply put, aspect ratio refers to how a video image is presented by a video source, stated in terms of the relationship between the width and height of the image. Since there is no standard aspect ratio for any video programming, all video sources must make some sort of adjustment to display the image coming from the source when the aspect ratio of the source doesn't match the native format of your projector. Depending on the format, your video source will either be cropped to fit the image in the frame, letterboxed (black bars at the top and bottom of the image), or pillarboxed (black bars on the left and right of the image). Your goal in purchasing a projector is to minimize any of these things happening to preserve the image as it was intended to be seen.

The type of native format you look for in home theater projectors will inherently depend on the sources of your video programming. If you're using your projector solely for watching DVD's, then you will probably want to look primarily at 16:9 format projectors, unless your DVD collection consists of old films prior to the early 50's (which were done in 4:3 format). If you're primarily going to be watching television programming, then you may choose to buy a 4:3 projector to match the format.

The key point is that you're not going to be able to buy something that will satisfy all formats. Our recommendation is that you think carefully about what you'll be doing with your projector in your home theatre environment before you settle on a particular unit. From a movie enthusiast's perspective, we've done the analysis on our own DVD collections and can't recommend anything other than 16:9 format home theater projectors and screens if you're primarily watching DVD's like we are.

Resolution

Denominated in terms of pixels, resolution is simply a gauge for the quality of picture capable of being produced by the projector. Obviously, the higher the resolution the better. Similarly, the higher the resolution, the higher the cost.

Resolution is typically stated in terms of rows and columns. For example, a 1920x1080 projector is capable of displaying 1920 pixels on a row and 1080 pixels in a column. You'll also come across various acronyms for identifying common resolutions, such as XGA, SVGA, or SXGA. Don't worry about keeping up with these -- it's one less thing to have to remember. Like televisions, most projectors advertised on the open market now come in a 1280x720 (720p - HD) or 1920x1080 (1080p - Full HD) resolutions. Both resolutions will give you outstanding picture quality. The real question boils down to what type of budget you're on.

Brightness/Contrast

It's difficult to differentiate the level of importance of any of the items we've discussed so far, and brightness/contrast is no different. Regardless of how good the unit's contrast capabilities, ambient light will negate the effects that can be achieved by your projector if you cannot eliminate it.

Contrast ratio is the common measurement provided in home theater projectors specifications. Simply put, this ratio refers to the display of the brightest color (white) to the darkest color (black). The greater the ratio, the better contrast the unit will provide, meaning more depth, definition, and colorfulness to the images produced by the projector.

Projector units that take advantage of a built-in dynamic iris are highly desirable for enthusiasts. This feature allows the unit to make adjustments to the amount of light passing through the unit to optimize the contrast for each frame of video. The result is deeper blacks and crisp video throughout the duration of the program.

You need to carefully consider the contrast ratio in tandem with availability of a dynamic iris. Home theater projectors with a good dynamic iris and have a lower published contrast ratio could be as good or better than units with a higher contrast ratio but with no dynamic iris.

Lenses

Unless weight is an issue, make sure that your projector takes advantage of a glass lens as opposed to a plastic lens. A glass lens, while heavier, will deliver superior results compared to a plastic lens. A zoom lens is also a nice feature on today's home theater projectors, as it allows for some flexibility in resizing the image. If you're a do-it-yourselfer, this will help offset some of the image issues that you might encounter if your unit isn't installed perfectly at the right location based on the location and size of your screen. One word of caution, however, is to avoid installing your projector in such a way that you have to use the maximum zoom capability of the lens, as this can have a degrading effect on the picture quality.

Moreover, a variable lens shift feature can also ease installation for the do-it-yourselfer. Having the capability of shifting the image up or down and/or left or right can offer greater flexibility in where the unit is placed in your home theater. If the unit that you have selected doesn't have this feature, you might want to consider hiring a professional to complete the installation as you'll need to ensure that it's placed in precisely the correct location to obtain the proper image.

Keystoning is a phenomena that occurs when a project is installed off axis relative to the screen, which causes the image to appear in shape of a trapezoid. To combat this, some units will advertise a keystone correction feature, which should be avoided if at all possible. This feature essentially is digital mechanism geared to making sure your image is rectangular in shape. This feature can have a degrading impact on the picture quality and can produce distorted images, especially at the sides.

Lamp Life

Since it's very expensive to replace the lamp/bulb in a projector, the life of the lamp/bulb should be considered in your purchase decision. The type of projector bulb used can have some impact on its life expectancy. While it's part of owning a projector, you should at least be cognizant that they can cost $300-$400 and typically last around 1500-2000 hours, depending on the technology upon which the projector is based.

You can get the most out of your lamp/bulb by operating the unit in a clean environment. Taking preventative measures to operate the unit in an area with as little dust as possible will help increase the life of all home theater projectors. Moreover, cleaning your unit regularly and changing your air filters frequently will help, as well. Also, like normal light bulbs, avoid turning the power on and off to preserve life. Some units feature an economy mode that will allow you to operate the unit at a percentage of its peak brightness, which will consume less energy from the lamp/bulb. This does have some effect on the brightness of the picture, so this becomes and issue of conservation versus optimizing the home theater experience for the enthusiast.

Throw Distance

Throw distance refers to the range in which you can place your projector and obtain an acceptable image. You'll want to make sure that the published throw distance for any unit you're considering will work in the framework of your home theatre. Be sure to take advantage of the calculators provided above to help you with your research.

Projector Installation

Lastly, your home theatre environment may necessitate certain installation needs. Many enthusiasts wish to mount their home theater projectors to their ceiling -- in which case, you'll need to verify that the unit is capable of a ceiling mount (i.e., projecting the image upside down). Don't worry -- most unit on today's market will accommodate this need.

Home Theater Projectors → Buying Guide