3 Key Features to Consider When Shopping For Home Theater Projectors
If you are thinking about investing in a new projector for your home theater, the best place to start is online. Read consumer reviews and ratings on popular shopping websites to get a feel for the quality of a projector and to determine if it will fulfill your particular home theater needs. You do not want to take a chance and end up with a projector you are not happy with. To find the perfect home projector, here are three critical features to focus on when projector shopping.
Brightness – How Many Lumens is Enough?
A projector’s brightness is measured in ANSI lumens. The brightness of most home projectors will ranges from 700 to 2000 lumens. Buying a projector with a brightness of at least 1000 lumens is advisable. 1000 to 1200 lumens will be sufficient for a dedicated, dark home theater room.
However, for rooms with a lot of natural or artificial lighting, your best bet would be to go with a projector with a brightness around 2000 lumens. Otherwise, the light will likely cast a distracting glare on the screen.
Aspect Ratio – 4:3 or 16:9?
Aspect ratio is simply the ratio of width to height of an image being viewed. A home projector can feature one of two aspect ratios, 4:3 or 16:9. A 4:3 aspect ratio is ideal for viewing regular broadcasts like television shows and sporting events. A 16:9 ratio is designed for viewing movies in widescreen or letterbox format.
Given that information, the aspect ratio you desire for your home projector will depend on what you will be watching most in your home theater. If you plan on watching sports events and regular television broadcasts, go with a 4:3 ratio. If you are going to be using your home theater primarily to watch movies, choose a projector with a 16:9 ratio.
Price – How Much Do You Want to Spend?
A top of the line home projector can cost several thousand dollars. Fortunately, there are a number of excellent projectors in the sub $1000 range for those on a budget. For example, the Optoma HD65, Epson MovieMate 60, Optima HD20, and Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 700 are four highly-rated projectors that will cost you less than $1000.
There are a number of great home theater projectors including the previously mentioned models above that will take your home theater to new levels. You do not need to spend a fortune to get a projector with a beautiful, crisp picture. If you determine what you are looking for based on the above three features, you will surely experience the best that a home theater projector has to offer.
