clean lcd panel epson projector brands

A premium projector screen is the focal point of any home theater. The humongous display dazzles with brilliant colors as it reflects a projector’s light. While a high-end screen can impress for years, just like everything else in life, it’s going to need to be cleaned.

Projector screens collect dust and the oils on your hand (or your kid’s hands) can leave smudges. And who hasn’t thrown popcorn at a terrible movie? A buildup of dust and oils can hurt the reflectiveness and overtime can leave permanent stains.

However, you can’t just throw a projector screen into a washing machine or scrub it with chemicals like you would a window. If you don’t clean it the right way you run the risk of damaging your screen. So how do you clean a projector screen the right way?

WARNING: Follow this guide to cleaning a projector screen carefully since not all screens use the same materials. Before sprucing up your screen be sure to check the user guide for details on what to do or not do. If your screen was custom installed talk to your home theater installer to make sure the material won’t be damaged.

Do not use glass cleaner or any harsh materials to clean the lens and do not subject the lens to any impacts; you may damage it. Do not use canned air, or the gases may leave a residue. Avoid touching the lens with your bare hands to prevent fingerprints on or damage to the lens surface.

The BenQ TH585P 1080p DLP projector is the lower-priced sibling of the TH685P we discuss in Other good budget projectors under $1,000. In terms of picture quality, it looks very similar to the TH685P and has the same performance limitations (mediocre contrast, color, and black-level performance, plus light spill around the screen), plus the built-in speaker is just dreadful—so movie lovers will be much happier if they spend a bit more to get the HT2050A. And for gamers, we like the TH685P’s better complement of features: 4K HDR signal input, 120 Hz refresh rate, better built-in speakers, and slightly short throw ratio and higher zoom for easier image placement.

Epson’s Home Cinema 880, which is the lowest priced model in the company’s Home Cinema line, is a mixed bag. On the one hand, it’s one of the brightest projectors we’ve tested for this guide, measuring 3,160 lumens in the Dynamic picture mode and 2,276 lumens in the Game picture mode, which is also very color-accurate. I had no problem watching movies, TV shows, and sports on my 84-inch-diagonal screen during the day, even with the window blinds open. But the 880 also had the worst black level and one of the worst contrast ratios of any projector we’ve measured, so movies—even in bright scenes—looked flatter and more washed out. Plus there’s no optical zoom or lens shift and only one HDMI input, and the fan noise is loud at maximum brightness. We can’t recommend the Home Cinema 880 for movies, but if you need a more affordable projector for daytime use—especially for gaming and sports—this one might be worth a look. The newer 880X is basically the same projector packaged with an Android TV stick and a carrying case.

The Epson Home Cinema 2200 is almost identical to the Home Cinema 2250 in its features, except it has a lower zoom of 1.2x and no lens-shifting capabilities. In a direct comparison with the Home Cinema 2250, we found that the Home Cinema 2200 had a greenish push to the color temperature and a higher black level, resulting in lower contrast. We think paying a little more for the Home Cinema 2250 is worth it, especially for movie-watching in a dim to dark room—but if you find this model on sale, it is a solid choice for bright-room viewing.

Epson’s EF-100 was the company’s first “mini” LCD projector. It has a small, portable (but not battery-powered) form, a laser light source, and a stated brightness of 2,000 lumens, but only a 1280×800 resolution. It comes with an Android TV stick for streaming video. We did not review this projector, but regular Wirecutter contributor Geoff Morrison reviewed it for CNET, comparing it directly with the BenQ HT2050A. He found that, although it had comparable brightness, its contrast and black level were much worse. The newer EF11 and EF12 (which adds Android TV) have a 1080p resolution but are less bright (a claimed 1,000 lumens). With selling prices around $800 and $1,000, respectively, these mini projectors are quite pricey for what you get. For a similar price, the Home Cinema 2250 is a much better performer.

The Fangor F-405 is a sub-$300 LCD projector sold almost exclusively through Amazon. The picture quality on this one is flawed but not horrible. It didn’t have the major brightness-uniformity and focus issues we saw with the similarly priced Yaber Pro V7, and the black level was decent—but this projector was even dimmer than the Yaber (only measuring 266 lumens) and had the worst color accuracy we’ve measured in a long time. The color temperature (or color of white) is really green—with minimal adjustments available—and this projector can only reproduce 70% of the color gamut for HD video (most projectors come in above 90%). But if you’re willing to forgive the color problems, it’s a watchable image for the occasional movie night, and it comes with features like Bluetooth audio output and Wi-Fi screen mirroring. The biggest frustrations here are ergonomic: The power cord has a big DC brick in the middle that makes it hang heavily and awkwardly, there’s no zoom and lens shift, and the F-405 casts the image 20 inches lower than the BenQ HT2050A—so to get the image up on the wall or screen, you have to place the projector on a higher surface or aim it up and use more keystone adjustment (and there isn’t much of it to work with).

The Optoma HD39HDR is a gaming-oriented 1080p DLP projector. It accepts a 4K signal (and downscales it to 1080p), supports HDR10 playback, and has a 120 Hz refresh rate and a gaming mode with low input lag. This projector is very bright, but its measured contrast is lower than our picks, and it’s not as color-accurate. Plus, it reproduces much less of the HD color gamut than other DLP projectors we’ve tested, like the newer BenQ TH685P. It’s also slow to switch between different frame rates and resolutions.

We did not review the Optoma HD28HDR, a lower-priced sibling of the HD39HDR that has a slightly lower stated brightness (3,600 versus 4,000 lumens). Like the HD39HDR, it accepts a 4K signal (downconverting it to 1080p), supports HDR10 playback, and has a 120 Hz refresh rate and low input lag for gaming. It has no lens shift and only limited 1.1x zoom. Geoff Morrison reviewed this projector for CNET and found that, while it does look good with HDR content if you watch a lot of that, the BenQ HT2050A is a better overall performer.

Vankyo offers a number of sub-$300 LCD projectors, similar to the models from Yaber and Fangor that we tested. While these projectors mostly have small form factors, a 1080p resolution, and Wi-Fi streaming, they have low light output that is not ideal for big-screen home theater viewing. The V630 is one of the company’s “higher-performance” models, and after reading this thorough comparison with the BenQ TH585 (the older version of the TH585P) on ProjectorReviews.com, we decided not to test it.

The Viewsonic PX701-4K is one of the few 4K DLP options currently available under $1,000, and it’s a decent overall performer, delivering a crisp, bright 4K picture. The Game and Movie picture modes have a pleasingly neutral color temperature (or color of white) right out of the box, with less of a greenish-blue tint in brighter scenes than the HT2050A. But the black level and contrast are not as good as our picks, so movies look so somewhat flat by comparison. The bigger concern is that the colors look too dark and undersaturated by default. The PX701-4K uses DLP BrilliantColor technology to improve image brightness at the expense of color accuracy; you can turn the BrilliantColor function down or off to make colors look brighter and more accurate, but you’ll lose overall brightness and contrast in the process. An experienced calibrator could help set up this projector to get the best balance between brightness and accuracy, but the similarly priced Epson Home Cinema 2250 delivers this balance right out of the box, just without the 4K HDR support. Also Viewsonic omits features like lens shift and optical zoom, so this projector has less placement flexibility.

ViewSonic’s PX727HD is a good-performing 1080p DLP projector in the same price range as the BenQ HT2050A. In our tests, the picture was clean and detailed, the color temperature (or color of white) was more accurate than the BenQ HT2050A’s, and its color was almost as accurate. It wasn’t as bright as the HT2050A, and its overall contrast wasn’t as good—but its black level was better than that of many of the other projectors we tested, without the use of a dynamic lamp or iris mode. If you’re looking for a projector to use primarily in a dim to dark room and the HT2050A is unavailable, this model is a good choice.

Yaber’s Pro V7 is another low-priced 1080p LCD projector sold primarily through Amazon. Despite its ridiculous claimed light output of “9500 L,” we measured 316 lumens (16.6 ft-L) on our 84-inch-diagonal screen, which is not even a quarter of our top pick’s capabilities and more in line with some of the mini projectors we"ve tested. Its color accuracy is average at best, and the included picture adjustments don"t help much. The 1080p image consistently looked a bit soft and unfocused, no matter how much we fiddled with the manual focus dial. And the brightness uniformity was very poor—when we put up an all-black test screen, we saw large patches of light around the screen (like a low-quality LCD TV screen), and this was evident in dark movie scenes. There’s also no physical lens shift or zoom to help position the image on your screen.

The projector is simple to install and use thanks to pre-installed geometry manager software and a new easy-read information LCD monitor. In addition to dual laser drives ...

... epic viewing experience virtually anywhere with the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF11 Laser Projector. With a built-in high-quality speaker system, this all-in-one projector is the perfect way to watch all your ...

... binge-watching your favorite TV show or watching the big game, this dynamic, versatile projector provides a stunning, larger-than-life viewing experience with true 3-chip, 3LCD technology, Best-in-Class ...

The Pro Cinema G6550WU home theater projector is the perfect choice for premium home entertainment in large, open spaces with ambient light. Offering high ...

... EX3280 projector, offering 3,600 lumens of color and white brightness1 to deliver crisp, detailed presentations, spreadsheets and videos – even in well-lit spaces. From home offices to large video ...

Enjoy instant entertainment in any room with the ViewSonic® M2e portable smart LED projector. Simply power on the projector and its advanced instant auto focus and auto keystone features deliver a perfectly ...

... ViewSonic® PX701HDH delivers stunning Full HD images for versatile projection. With 3,500 ANSI lumens, this high-brightness projector delivers clear pictures even in brightly lit rooms. What’s more, an energy-saving SuperEco™ ...

Content can be played directly from a USB stick, including: playlists, videos, and signage content using the built-in content playback feature and Epson Projector Content Manager software. Users ...

Television sizes grow bigger by the day and so do their prices. However, theres a way to get a theater experience at home without having to invest in a huge TV. One way is with an Epson projector that you can mount in your home, but before you buy a projector, you should know the answers to a few common questions.What devices can you hook up to an Epson projector?

The actual hookups on the back of a projector vary depending on the make and model. In general, even cheap Epson projectors offer multiple HDMI ports. With these ports, you can hook up any devices that display picture via an HDMI connection. They include the following:Video game consoles

Not all projectors offer a 4K resolution. However, some Epson projector 4K models are available. Those that support 4K resolution typically cost more but display a crisper picture. Its also important to remember that the quality of the picture being projected depends heavily on the screen on which you project it. With a high-quality screen, even an Epson projector with 1080p resolution will provide an image thats on par with most TVs.How large of a picture does an Epson projector display?

The size of the picture depends heavily on the make and model of the Epson projector that you choose. For example, the Epson projector Home Cinema lineup can display a nearly 25 times larger picture than a 60-inch flat screen TV. In most cases, this is large enough to cover an entire wall in a home. These projectors can support this large picture size because they have three times higher color brightness over digital light processing.Do Epson projectors have built-in speakers?

Some Epson models have built-in speakers for ease of use. These speakers are typically located on the back of the projector and play audio directly from the source. Many of them also offer hookups in the back that allow you to connect external speakers for even more audio options. The size of the room you place your projector in will determine if you need additional speakers or not. Most units come with a remote control too, so you can easily adjust the sound and size of the picture from the projector. Regardless of whether you want speakers or not, you can find what youre looking for on eBay.Content provided for informational purposes only. eBay is not affiliated with or endorsed by Epson.

When you look for really cheap projectors they are easy to find. Search "cheap projectors" on Amazon and many unheard of brands like Digital Galaxy, Fugetek, and Paramount will pop up, all touting HD 1080P projectors that put out lots of lumens with 20,000 hour LED lamps, many for under $200. They are hard to miss.

Everyone instinctively knows they will get hosed if they buy allegedly high-performance projectors at low-ball prices. But just how bad are these models? If the Amazon user ratings are to be believed, a lot of customers seem to be quite happy with them--lots of 4 and 5 star ratings. Do these projectors really give you decent home theater on the cheap?

To be honest, we"d never looked at them until now. They are made by vendors who would never send them out for professional review. So we ordered three of them on Amazon from three different brands and put them through our normal testing procedures. Our overall take is as follows:1. Some are better than others. From what we"ve seen in our test sample of three models, they cannot all be written off as total junk. None of them are high performance projectors in any sense, but some of them can produce a decently watchable picture as long as your expectations are not too high. Some can"t.

2. Many who buy these projectors have never seen a good projector. The 4 and 5 star ratings on Amazon are written by folks who are not picky about image quality. To be fair, people who buy very cheap projectors are generally not familiar with higher performance models and don"t have anything to compare them to. For many buyers, just to power one on and get a big picture on the wall for the first time is worth a 5-star rating.

3. The cheap projector vendors publish false brightness specs. We only measured three of them, but none of the three were remotely in the ballpark of their specs. The Digital Galaxy DG-757 claims a whopping 2800 lumens in their Amazon ad; the unit we got from Amazon measured 137 lumens. The Fugetek FG-637 touts 1500 lumens; the turkey we received put out 87 lumens. The HTP-LED33 claims 2000 lumens; we measured 190.

4. You can get MUCH better projectors for not much more money. What many don"t realize is that the full-line projector manufacturers offer inexpensive low-resolution products capable of displaying HD signals, and they are much better at it than the cheap brands on Amazon or eBay. Unfortunately, the major manufacturers promote these products as business projectors rather than home video or HD projectors. But in pretty much all cases they are much brighter and higher in contrast, with comparable resolution. The cheap projector brands thrive on the inexperience of consumers, hoping that they will not realize they have better options.

Bill has written up three individual reviews of the projectors we looked at. You can read through them to get an idea of the flaws we found. The models are as follows, including the current Amazon price and the promotional language the vendors use to describe them:$249

These three projectors have given us a good idea of what to expect when spending a minimal amount of cash on a home theater projector. Do they create a big picture? Yes. Is the picture watchable? In some cases yes, if you use it in a dark room and the projected image is not too big. Are there better options? Yes, without question ... you can get much better performance from the cheap business projectors made by BenQ, Epson, Optoma, and others, than you can from these products.

I love this line... "To be fair, people who buy very cheap projectors are generally not familiar with higher performance models and don"t have anything to compare them to."

I have owned over 700 projectors and like the Digital Galaxy Models. one thing to know when buying one is that the lens requires you read the distance and throw specs. I used to show movies outside the recommended distance from the screen and found some image quality loss. As soon as I took a tape measure and corrected that issue every image issue was corrected and I enjoyed the beautiful quality of a now clean image. People using computers need to keep that in mind too. Pix-elation of the image is due to image distances being incorrect by the owner . This is not a lens issue. I recommend using a white Shower curtain as a screen for front and rear projection. Only buy the cheapest white model often sold in bags below $12.00. The exception to the rule costs a tiny bit more because it has the metal grommets at top but also works. Frame it or hang it and enjoy.

Hi folks . I have just recieved a projector from China . Its interactive but they forgot to include the CD so it doesnt work . Its 3000Lm but I had to turn the lights out to see the screen. The electrical power is only 90 watts . How can a 90 watt projector make 3000lm ? Can anyone help ? T W

very informative.. I just had a quick view about the cheap high quality projectors.. most of them clamming high pixels lumens etc. and its true for people like me it is very hard to get the comparative idea.. but for sure i will take care all parameters before buying.. thanks

My wife and I recently put our ideas into action. We built a home theater I our basement. We purchased fancy wood trim, stained and hand painted the leaves on the wood. We measured the specs for our recently purchased projector attached to ceiling and turned it on. We shut all light off and with a level marked the wall. I cut the wood and used fancy corner blocks. The frame looks great. We used flat white paint for the viewing screen. The walls are painted a burgundy red and looks great together. We did buy a cheap projector and we do need the lights off but even though it"s not a high quality picture we enjoy it and none of our guests have mentioned or asked about the quality of the picture. Moral of this post is, everything will work. If you are unhappy with the quality of the image buy an LED tv, but if you"re looking to have a small movie theater experience in the comfort of your home without dipping into your child"s tuition savings then spend between $250 and $500 and make sure you READ the directions and distance specs that will help ensure you are getting the "best" display with which ever device you decide on." Good luck and I hope this helped.

Thank you for the info. Need an inexpensive projector for outside movie theater. Nothing fancy but not total junk. Any recommendations? Thankyou in advance.

People who buy inexpensive models ("To be fair, people who buy very cheap projectors are generally not familiar with higher performance models and don"t have anything to compare them to." ) might not have the resources to buy an expensive one or in my case I need one for ONE evening to show a slide show at a rehearsal dinner. The hotel wants $200 to let me use theirs. I"d sooner buy a "cheap" one and store it for...who knows what. The end.

Jane -- Keep in mind that hotels usually provide screens with the projectors. If buying your own cheap projector means you need to also acquire a screen that you need to haul in with you, you may find that the $200 fee is the easier way to solve the problem.

T Rambo -- Our favorite home theater projector under $500 at the moment is the Viewsonic PJD5555W. It"s about $450. See the review on this site. If you need to go less than that, it doesn"t really matter what you get since they will all be much lower in image quality than the 5555W. As noted above, buy from major vendors if you are concerned about reliability and warranty.

Hi to all. What about the "Unic UC-40", at 100€ (130$) ? it should be a 800 lumen, 800x480 pixels. I need a projector just for some indoor video mapping experiment, most of all I need just the white color.

I need to do the same as Mando. Do I really need an expensive projector to this? I mean simply projecting a coloured image onto canvas or onto a wall and then tracing over the image.

I would be curious if Mando, John Demetri or others looking at artist applications have found a product they are happy with? Looking to buy a project for my girlfriend who is a fine artist/photography. She is often working with photos or paused videos, sometimes composites of many images and the projector would simply be to throw only a large canvas for composition and proportions. Many thanks for a great forum

First off this is a good read for those who are looking into getting their first projectors. Great job to Evan. The budget friendly projectors on the market today are actually pretty good if you know what to look for especially now that mini projectors are aggressively competing with each other. Lesser known companies are pushing out good products like Elmo Boxi, AAXA ST200, and ViVitek Qumi. I think consumers often look too much at pricing rather than what that price is getting you. We all know the saying you get what you pay for.

The article says you can get a much better projector for not much more money. Do the authors have suggestions? I"m going to build a projector screen for outside for watching ball games. The screen a friend built is 12" x 16". He spent about $500-$600 on his projector and the picture looks pretty good. I would like some suggestions. Thanks in advance.

Hello everyone,I find some good reads and points about projectors here but I have a couple of questions and need some advice.I have a 8 year old son and live in a small neighborhood in a suburb just outside of Cincinnati.My son and some of his neighborhood friends always talk about being able to watch movies outdoors.Im trying to think of a easy inexpensive way to do that for them.I was thinking about hanging a white sheet on garage door and getting a projector that is easy to set up and able to play DVDs.Im disabled so I cant carry much weight around and cant be laying all kinds of cords and wires around.Just would like something that"s not to complex.All the kids love the Star Wars movies and some have not seen the new one so Im sure they would get a kick out of watching it outside on a nice night.Any recommendations/advice/info would be great.I would leave my email but I don"t know if its allowed here so I will just check back.Thanks for your help.

To those asking for alternatives to the very cheap Chinese units, you will be much better off with something like the Epson HC640, which runs around $329 at the moment. See the review on the Caiwei A8 for comparative comments.

Good article - have you thought about updating it and reviewing some new < $100 projectors from Amazon? I"m curious to see if the newer ones perform any better since the article is 2 years old.

Trust me, I recently purchased and fooled by false ebay/amazon advertisement. Very cheap and poor projectors. The one I got touts native 1280X800 but I highly doubt if its case.

I purchased a W330 unbranded LED projector from China for $250 shipped on Ebay with the intention of using it for gaming on PS4 and I have to say I"m quite impressed! I"ve owned Epson, Ricoh, and Panasonic projectors (non led) that weigh a ton and get incredibly hot. This unit performs very well in comparison. Of course the build quality is not as superior to the other models I mentioned, but the picture quality is great and the unit is bright enough to be seen with curtains open during the day. It does have a very plastic feel and focus is achieved using a very basic threaded barrel system. This is a cheaper method for sure, but works well. I"ve put the unit on a tripod with Chromecast that I can take just about anywhere and have a movie night without the worry of dropping something that"s $600+ dollars. Bottom line, these units definitely have a niche market of folks not wanting to spend much money while having a home theater experience.

Michael, glad you had a good experience with your purchase. We generally do not recommend products like the W330 because you can get substantially better performance from models that don"t cost much more. You don"t need to spend anywhere near $600 to get a very bright 1280x800 projector. More like $350 will do it, and you end up with a projector that is much brighter and higher in contrast than the W330, as well as being brand new with a warranty--not something you usually find on eBay. Shoppers should use our Projector Database to search for inexpensive models. Just select the resolution and brightness you want. Keep in mind that the dirt cheap Chinese models usually have lumen ratings far in excess of what they promise.

Here in India chinese projectors are available for 50$ equivalent.So that pretty much rules out brands,even if they start at 300$ they are way out of competition price wise.

My advice is be very careful when buying cheap Chinese projectors. I got an AOK 2200 lumen projector when I was a projector novice simply because it touted 1080P and HDMI. Sure you can hook it up to HDMI but the picture quality is very dark and poor and the pixel resolution is not as advertised - supposedly SVGA but I doubt that very much. My old Acer 1161P was 10x better. You get what you pay for. My advice is do lots of research and go with a known brand.

I wanted to find out how much if anything has changed in 3-4 years since I last purchased for a friend a $300 advertised bazillion 4500 lumens piece of chinese rubbish with a flyscreen effect that was horribly visible and made me cringe! It had half the clarity of a second hand infocus $80 halogen projector of 800 ACTUAL lumens. All I can find on youtube is sales videos of people trying to make money out of saying how great the videos are..... Are the chinese actually producing anything half reasonable yet? Has much changed? THREE YEARS on it would be good to see a couple of touted fantastic new models tested to see how much has changed.

There must be a projector mafia because this field is ripe for disruption. Nothing seems to have changed in years since I"ve been looking for a projector. Imagine SVGA on sale still. The last SVGA monitor I used was probably over 15 years ago. Everything is HD now. So why do projectors remain as expensive as a good laptop?

E L ... You obviously have not been watching the projector market for the last 15 years. Back at the turn of the century an SVGA projector weighed 20 lbs, put out 500 lumens at 250:1 contrast, and cost $5,000. Today an SVGA projector weighs 5 lbs, puts out 3500 lumens at 20:000:1 contrast, and costs $300.

Just bought a cheaper projector claimed 7000 lumen from eBay for my friend ; for 70 bucks. When we got it and tested it’s not as bright as we expected . So we asked seller and was told the 7000 lumen is China standard which equivalant to 1200 lumen US standard. (Not sure if it’s S true) So we asked to return it for full refund. But end up settled with $50 refunded. We use it watch movie in room with no lights it’s good enough and fairly clear pics within 3 m distance . For only $20 we think it worth it. No more than that.. lol

Just bought a cheaper projector claimed 7000 lumen from eBay for my friend ; for 70 bucks. When we got it and tested it’s not as bright as we expected . So we asked seller and was told the 7000 lumen is China standard which equivalant to 1200 lumen US standard. (Not sure if it’s S true) So we asked to return it for full refund. But end up settled with $50 refunded. We use it watch movie in room with no lights it’s good enough and fairly clear pics within 3 m distance . For only $20 we think it worth it. No more than that.. lol

I think I"ll keep my eyes open on Ebay for a used one or faulty one that I can fix with a lamp or whatever or get one used working. I don"t think those crappy Chinese projectors are worth it but I have seen some real native 1920x1080 ones on YouTube that look pretty good for $250! The model was Fd30 or something.

Our backyard wall (neighbor’s house wall) is about 15’X25’. A painted panoramic mural of our personal past venues (like Serengeti) would be nice but expensive. What about a projector for evening viewing while dining? The repertoire would be only 3-4 scenes. Distance from porch (camera mount) to wall is an about 15’. Any suggestion for search for a suitable but low-cost projector for this projected mural?

I had need of a projector for art work a few years ago now, i can a crooss one from the U.S. that used 250 watt glob but even these did not last long, however when i wrote bact to the company they sent me half a dozen and got the to me in five days! I later changed the globe to a halogen globe which i ha ve never had to replace, For those wanting a home theatre projector then i would say spend about 4 x-4 hundred but for art work get the best you can afford to get the reults you are after

I have had high dollar optoma projectors and yes the quality is great but if you think I"m going to keep buying bulbs every year or every so many months when it"s only rated at 2000 hours it"s not happening. I"ve been running HD China models ever since with the patio open with light coming in with HD. hooked up to the computer whether it"s gaming or youtube or anything movies or surfing I haven"t had any problem with them. I have dropped them and they were fine. my only issue is once they get some age the dust shows a little when there is no source turned on and I don"t wish to open them to blow them out or at least not the time to do so but other than that as cheap as these things are nowadays we"re talking $80 to $150 why not. Even with the unreliable ratings as long as it says around 2800 lumens or 200 ANSI they"re bright enough for the average use for continuous hours. I"m not going to spend $700 or more on a projector anymore just to last a few months to almost 6 months of continuous use which is what I use them for just to turn around and buy a bulb when these things last for years. Optoma is my favorite projector brand from the professional units and they do have more affordable models nowadays but still I don"t need them anymore. I have even dropped one of these China models multiple times with no issue and once the brightness cut down to 50% from age on my older one I gave away it"s still threw a great image. in the front room i watch at least 130 inches in the bedroom it was at least 100 with no problem no screen direct on a blank white wall. Are they better than the business or great home theater models you can walk out of office Depot with? No but for the price do they work and do they last? Yes. If you want to go expensive do it. If you want to go cheap and you know how to make it work then do that. When I ran high dollar projectors I bought the real movie screen material that you see in theaters from a wholesaler on eBay and I ran 140 inches on that with my optoma. It was a great picture but I don"t need that anymore. With a bright white wall which is what I"m using now it still looks great. HDMI cord maximum monitor settings through the computer as well as highest YouTube settings highest movie settings and highest gaming setting such as modern warfare with no problem.

hi there evan, very interesting read, as pretty much everyone else has commented. i have been rawling through articles and review websites trying to find a decent budget projector and i couldnt agree more with what you have said in your article. its like a minefield out there looking at current lines of projector. i am in the uk. i dont want to spend thousanda but happy to pay a bit more than the cheap budget items, to get some real quality. do you have any recommendations at the moment?

Tom, if all you are looking for is a good budget home theater projector for under $1000, do a search on our website database and look at the 1080p models from any of the major brands participating in this category, in no particular order: ViewSonic, Epson, BenQ, Optoma. You"ll get a well engineered and built projector for something between $500 and $700 or so.

Rule number 1, You get what you pay for. $200 projector with similar specs as a brand name Epson for $2000??? Rule Number 2, Fake reviews. 4K of superb reviews on Amazon. 3999 are fake! Rule Number 3, Fake Specs. 60000 lumens and YouTubers have to demo it in the dark??? I think I will make a Youtube video comparing these. If you see a 3000 lumens Epson look 10x brighter than a 6000 lumens cheap projector, don’t be surprised. Rule number 5, YouTube Experts, anyone can make a video. Does not make them an expert. Just fake entertainment. And so on.

I knew nothing about these projectors and figured that for under $100 I was going to get a piece of junk, but that for $100 in the worst case I"d have at least a cheap lesson and something I could give to a nephew to enjoy at college. Bought a "Mooki" off of Amazon (eligible for free return) that purported to be 1080p with 8000 lumens and a wealth of other features.

Got it home, threw my chromecast into it, and was pleasantly surprised. Now to be fair, this was my first projector, and my expectations were low, but once set up it was actually watchable in a dark environment even blown up to about 80" on the wall. It"s not 1080p (I"d guess 720p at best), and certainly not remotely close to 8000 lumens (if the room is pitch black, it"s very watchable though).

I"ve enjoyed it a bit over the past couple of months, and have been resisting the itch to get a "real" projector, but just had the opportunity to score a new BenQ HT2050A for about $350, so looking forward to putting that into play this weekend and sending my nephew back to school with a new (for him) toy.

The EMP-6100 dust-proof projector was designed to be installed in harsh environments that would cause normal projectors to suffer frequent breakdowns. This includes places where people are constantly coming and going, where doors and windows are frequently opened and closed, and regions with a lot of dust, sand, and smoke.

Projectors that use a lamp to project an image have a cooling fan that constantly draws in cool air and then expels warm air to counteract the increase in internal temperature caused by the lamp. Epson attached a large electrostatic filter capable of absorbing fine particles, similar to the kind used in the engine room of automobiles, to the air inlet of the EMP-6100. This filter, along with a completely air-tight structure except for the air inlet and exhaust, keeps the inside of the projector clean by preventing dust and tobacco smoke (tar) from getting inside the projector and then reducing the brightness of the lamp and harming the performance of the LCD panels.

When the filter absorbs so much dust that it becomes clogged, an internal air flow sensor detects the reduced flow and uses an LED indicator or an on-screen notice to inform the user that the filter needs to be replaced or cleaned. Ease of maintenance was also a consideration when designing the filter, which can be replaced single-handedly while the projector is mounted on the ceiling.

Two years before commercialization of the EMP-6100, Epson began noticing that a significant number of projectors in Chinese elementary and middle schools were breaking down. China had been using projectors in its school classrooms for several years, but large amounts of dust and sand were causing the projectors to break down in just a few years. In addition to the yellow sand that blows across China all year long, building and house construction sites kick up a lot of dust that then gets inside projectors, where it accumulates and causes problems. As a pioneer of the projector business, Epson quickly decided to address the issues facing its customers by rapidly designing a durable product that could resist sand and dust, and thereby increase the presence of its projectors in the promising Chinese market

The development of a dust-proof projector was further driven by the increasing use of projectors for various purposes in many other countries and regions, as well. Even in developed economies such as the U.S. and Europe, dust-proof projectors were needed in high-use environments, for example ceiling-mounted projectors at universities and restaurants and amusement facilities with high concentrations of tobacco smoke.

After the launch of the EMP-6100, more and more users began to recognize the need for sufficient dust protection when installing a projector outdoors or in a dusty room. This, in turn, made dust resistance a new selling point for projectors and drove other companies to also launch products with anti-dust features.

Epson"s lineup of dust-proof projectors, which was launched with just two models, is now being expanded to meet specific customer needs based on the size and brightness of the places in which the projectors will be used. Now, anti-dust features come standard on most of Epson"s major products sold in China and are a driving force in the growth in sales of Epson projectors.

You finally made the leap from a wall-mounted television to a fancy new projector, but now dust particles are slowly gunking up your lens, and you can no longer see every pore on The Gladiator’s face quite like you once could. Well, you can’t use just any household cleaner to restore your projector lens to its glory days, so here’s a quick and simple guide to getting back every detail of Russel Crowe possible.

Len brushes are specifically designed to clean camera and projector lenses without damaging them. Simply brush the lens in a circular motion to remove the dust and debris.

Keeping your projector lens clean can greatly improve image quality, but you don’t want to use the wrong products and cleaning methods that can damage the glass or the electronics inside, the same principle applies to other electronics as well including TV screens (as we explained before).

•Always keep your cleaning products like your microfiber wipes and lens brushes in safe places where they will remain clean. A dirty lens brush is basically useless.

•Never use your breath to wipe the lens, the acidity of your breath can damage the coating on the glass, you’re basically spitting all over it, and lens wipes are so much cheaper than new projectors.

•Never use glass cleaner or other household products not specifically labeled for cleaning your projector lens. The wrong wipes or chemicals could cause irreversible damage to the lens.

• Never touch the bristles of your lens brush as it will leave oils from your skin on the bristles, and then smudge that oil all over your lens the next time you clean it.

The tricky thing about cleaning your projector lens is: you can do it too much. For the most part, your projector should remain pretty clean unless you’re projecting screenings of Jaws at the beach, or Lawrence of Arabia in the desert. A slight amount of dust isn’t really going to impede you from seeing every detail.

How often should you clean it then? It seems obvious, but the answer is: whenever it’s dirty. If you haven’t noticed a drop in video quality, then there’s no reason to clean the lens.

Think of it this way: every time you go to clean the glass, you’re risking damaging it. The more you’re cleaning that glass, the more opportunity you have to accidentally scuff it up. So the most important thing is to prevent it from getting dirty in the first place.

There’s really only one surefire way of stopping dust from getting on your projector lens, and that’s using the lens cap every time you’re not using the projector.

Leave your house for a week-long vacation and look at how much dust your electronics have collected. The longer your projector glass is exposed, the more dust and debris it’s going to collect. It really is that simple.

You must also consider the placement of your projector in the room, ensuring it isn’t near an outgoing vent or fan that is blowing dust and debris onto the lens.

If you’re projecting things on the go rather than running your home theater, then you need to seriously consider how you are storing and transporting the projector. Using the original packaging is an option, but really you just don’t want it sitting out and literally collecting dust.

It actually depends on whether you have an LCD or DLP projector system. LCDs are the more common, cost-effective household projectors. LCDs are less affected by dust when it comes to image quality.

Dust simply collects on the lens and smudges the image. For LCDs, the greater danger is dust collecting in the vents and causing overheating damage to the bulb and electronics inside

DLP projectors are the more high-end and costly projectors. Most movie theaters operate off of DLP projectors but they are more susceptible to image problems caused by dust.

Dust can actually collect on the internal chips of a DLP projector and cause your image quality to become grainy, and cause specks of incorrect color on the image – especially in the blacks of your image. Fixing this problem requires actually opening up the projector, removing the chips, and cleaning them, but that’s a topic for another time.

Cleaning your projector lens is a simple and cost-effective procedure that – if done right – will have your projector back to that fresh-out-the-box picture quality. Remember the best thing you can do is prevent it from getting dirty in the first place, so slap that lens cap on whenever you’re not using it, and enjoy your screenings ofGladiator in full high-definition glory.

A while back we bought a number of projectors to put into reserve to replace our ageing Dell 1409 units which were starting to show DLP failure issues. I won’t mention the brand as this issue may be isolated to this one product line, but it’s a very well-established name in the imaging field.

The first issue was with focussing. Absolute focus simply wasn’t possible, even with the projector set in the middle of its zoom range, and bear in mind this was a brand-new unit.

The second issue was the fact the projectors were now out of the manufacturer warranty period and our supplier didn’t want to know, quite understandably.

The bottom line is if you can’t focus a projector that’s otherwise correctly installed the primary causes are manufacturing defects (it’s never focussed correctly) and impact damage (it focussed correctly once upon a time before it got dropped).

There’s nothing worse than sitting down for your favorite movie and seeing the color isn’t right. Unfortunately, even the best projector can act up from time to time, and you need to know how to fix the color on a projector. The solutions range from simple settings changes to projector color wheel repair.

You don’t need to be a color expert to fix common color issues with your projector. In addition, you may have to fix your retractable projector screen and appropriately adjust your projector screen to reach your projector’s full-color reproduction capabilities. Even if you aren’t experiencing severe issues, adjusting your basic projector’s color alignment can take your picture quality to the next level.

Sometimes the barrier between film colors and dull colors is a dirty screen, which is quite possible if you’re using a top projector in a classroom among little children. A dirty or dusty projection screen contributes to light black levels and color distortion. Clean your screen with a dry microfiber cloth to regain deep black colors and ambient light rejection.

The issue might be a dirty projector lens if you are experiencing color distortion or a yellow tint. Take a dry microfiber cloth to wipe away any particles from your home cinema projector.

Suppose you did the previous steps but saw no difference in color accuracy. In that case, the issue might be your input signal connection cable. First, verify that your connectors are not loose or damaged. Faulty connections or a loose VGA connection will cause image issues. Even if you have a great projector like the one in our Sony HW45ES review, a bad connection can cause bad image problems.

Use your projector remote control to find the color menu. You can optimize the color settings by using certain tools and manufacturer guides. For example, if you have one of the best Panasonic projectors, visit their website for your model’s guide.

Sometimes optical components and a faulty projector lamp create projector color issues. A dying lamp light dulls colors and overall dynamic range. A lamp light replacement can be difficult, so don’t be afraid to call a repair shop.

LCD and DLP (digital light processing) projectors use polarizers and color wheels to produce colors. However, sometimes the accumulation of dirt and dust will cause the small circular disc to stop spinning. In this case, you will need to replace the color wheel.

If you suspect there’s nothing wrong with the color wheel and it may be the screen, read our guide on how to set up a projector screen to ensure it’s correctly installed.

Use extreme caution when you clean your projector screen. Only use soft cotton cloths and only wipe in straight lines. Any scratches might damage any anti-glare or ambient light-repelling film.

A color wheel is essential to color reproduction and image sharpness in a DLP projector. The wheel has primary colors, and colors are reproduced as light passes through the color wheel.

The color range on a projector refers to the overall “color gamut.” Projectors with a wide color gamut can reproduce more colors than more standard models.

People who’ve used televisions all their lives and have grown comfortable with the easy functionality and convenience will likely face issues in the starting stages of using a projector.

If not properly cleaned, the air filters are not changed regularly, and the device is kept running for hours on end, a projector is bound to encounter issues.

One prevalent concern is the dark spots on the projected images. If you see blemishes in your projector images, do not ignore them, even if the marks are minor or not hampering your viewing experience.

Not all dark spots on your projector are the same. Some are big, and some are small. And there are different colors too—brown, black, white, yellow, etc.

Start cleaning the spots using a dry, clean, lens-friendly microfiber cloth or wipe, such as this MagicFiber Microfiber Cleaning Cloths or Koala Lens Cleaning Cloth .

After cleaning, turn on the projector and see if the spots are still there. If they stay put, the issue may be more technical and complex than initially imagined.

Warning: The projector lamp becomes hot to the touch very quickly and the light is extremely bright. Keep that in mind when cleaning the projector while it’s still on to avoid burning yourself.

Pry open the door or unscrew the lone screw holding the flap in place. Since the projector is powered, you’d be greeted with an extremely bright light source. Do not look at the light to not damage your eyes. Cover the light source with your hand if that helps.

If you like the real-time cleaning feedback but are wary of the projector being too hot to the touch, turn the device off and let it cool for some time. Once the heat has dissapitated, turn on the projector and start cleaning.

Solution: Repairing the LCD is not an option, but you can replace it. Unfortunately, changing the LCD could be expensive. Also, you’d probably require a skilled technician to do the work.

The DMD (digital micromirror device) is a silicon chip vital to any DLP projector’s functioning. The chip is comprised of multiple tiny mirrors with reflective aluminum surfaces.

If your lamp is nearing its end of life, the dark spots could be due to the diminishing bulb. But if the projector is relatively new, the light is likely not the cause.

If you do a lot of projector sessions outdoors under the bright sun, with or without shade, your projector will heat up a lot more than usual, causing dark spots on the projected images and, most likely, a host of other concerns.

Not to mention, your projector will become more prone to outside air and the various particles in it, making it much easier for the filter to get clogged up, causing overheating problems.

Sporadic outdoor projector sessions are fine but don’t make that a habit. Most importantly, ensure your projector is under shade and clean the device immediately after you take it indoors.

The above issues clarify one thing: overheating is at the root of it all. If you can control your projector’s temperature, you can avoid dark spots and other related concerns.

Projectors heating is normal, but overheating is not. Therefore, turn off the device if it gets too hot to touch or if the fan is too loud. And if the projector gets extremely hot within minutes, there may be another significant issue.

Dark spots on projector images may seem innocuous at first. But the dots will multiply and get bigger if you don’t get to the root and try fixing the problem.

When you leave the issue unattended, the problem exacerbates over time, necessitating a potentially arduous and expensive repair job. In some cases, the projector could be beyond repair or warrant the parts’ replacement, costing close to a new projector’s price.