Home Projector Comparison Report: Summary

View the Best In Class Awards page for a detailed summary of the winners, and why the won their awards!

The Home Theater Projector Awards could be considered the summary, of course, but, On this official Summary page, we not only provide links to all of the award winning home theater projectors (including home entertainment projectors), but also have included our lists of:

Best Home Theater Projectors for those only interested in 2D movie viewing.

Best Home Theater Projectors for those really interested in lots of hi-def sports and general HDTV viewing

Best Home Theater Projectors for Smaller Screens - under 100" diagonal

Best Home Theater Projectors for reasonably bright 3D viewing

4/20/2013 - Art Feierman

 

 

C o n t e n t s Best Home Theater Projector Report 2013 What You Need To Know About this Report Under $2,000 Projector Highlights $2,000-3,500 Projector Highlights $3,500-10,000 Projector Highlights 2013 Award Winners Physical Tour Image Quality Performance Calibration Projector Screen Advice Compare Projectors Warranty Summary --------------------------- 2012 1080p Home Projector Report 2011 1080p Home Projector Report 2010 1080p Home Projector Report 2009 1080p Home Projector Report 2008 1080p Home Projector Report

 

 

All Home Theater Projectors Winning major awards in this report

Winners are listed by Award.  In the case of ties, they are listed alphabetically.

Entry Level Projector Class - Under $2000:

Best In Class Award, 3D and 2D Only: Sharp XV-Z30000

Best In Class Runner-Up, 3D and 2D Projector (Tie): Acer H9500BD

Best In Class Runner-Up, 3D and 2D Projector (Tie): Epson Home Cinema 3020

Best In Class Award, 3D and 2D for Best Value Proposition: BenQ W1070

Best In Class Award, 2D Only for Best Value Proposition: Epson HC8350

Best in Class - Special Award, 2D Only: Panasonic PT-AR100U 

Mid-Priced Projector Class: $2000 - $3500:

Best In Class Award (Tie): Epson Home Cinema 5020UB/e, Pro 6020UB

Best In Class Award (Tie): Sony VPL-HW50ES

Best In Class - Special Award: Mitsubishi HC8000D

Best In Class - Special Award: Panasonic PT-AE8000

Premium Priced Projector Class: $3500 - $10,000

Best In Class Award: Sony VPL-VW1000ES

Best In Class Runner Up Award (Tie): JVC DLA-X75R

Best In Class Runner Up Award (Tie): Sony VPL-VW95ES

 

 

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Projector Recommendations For Those Only Interested in 2D Movies

These are projectors that are generally great for movie viewing, but for one reason or another, are less practical for watching other content. I don't really mean only, but let's define it as really caring about movie performance and not really concerned about anything else.  The key reason a projector makes this group: limited brightness in brightest modes. That means the inability to handle any significant ambient light, since most people don't watch sports or most TV in a pitch black room. These projectors should have at least very good black level performance for their price range.. Almost all of these have "brightest modes" that are only average or below in brightness.

Projectors that are completely well rounded, and equally good at HDTV and Sports (requiring at least average "brightest mode" performance), are not included in this list.

After all, the best overall projectors, are the ones that win our Best In Class awards, and don't need to be also on these additional lists, even though they could be. For example, the Epson Home Cinema 5020UB could be said to be very good at movies, but it is equally good at sports and HDTV. As a result it's not listed as a "movies only" projector even though it would serve well as one.  Generally, these are projectors that produce barely 1000 lumens at maximum.  They may be perfectly fine all around projectors if you have a small screen (less than 100" diagonal), but as most people have 100" or larger screens, these are best in a dedicated theater or other suitable room, as projectors that are at their best, when viewing movies in a darkened room.  For sports and general TV viewing, where most don't want to be in a fully darkened room, these home theater projectors are at a disadvantage to other brighter projectors. 

Some of these projectors are also definitely very limited in brightness for 3D movie viewing, which would be a reason why they appear on this list.

This is not intended as a comprehensive list, rather a good sampling:

• Mitsubishi H8000D
• Sharp XV-Z30000
• JVC DLA-X35/X55R
• Optoma HD20
• JVC DLA-X75R/X95R
• Runco LS5
  

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Best Projectors For Sports (and HDTV) Viewing

The projectors on this list may also be very good for movie viewing, as well, but are listed here, because of combination of features (brightness, CFI, etc.) that make them particularly good for sports events and digital content.  All of the projectors listed here, except for a few in the under $2000 price range, offer CFI for smooth motion.

Forget movies for the moment, these are the projectors that are best suited for HDTV and sports. They might be great at movies.  The projectors must have at least average brightness to make this list (1000 lumens or more), in brightest mode.

• Acer H9500BD
• BenQ W1070
• BenQ W7000
• Epson Home Cinema 3020
• Epson Home Cinema 5020UB
• Epson Home Cinema 8350
• Panasonic PT-AR100
• Panasonic PT-AE8000
• Sony VPL-HW50ES

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Projectors That Really Come Into Their Own on Smaller Screens

This is just a small group of projectors that really don't have the ability to easily work with larger than 100" diagonal screens (unless the screens are higher gain, or the room fully darkened). Their quality varies, and not all are necessarily great projector values, but all of them share the trait of not really having the ability to work well with screens of 110" to 130" diagonal, usually due to lack of lumens in "best" mode, rather than "brightest". Some of these projectors would have been serious contenders for top awards, but for the lack of lumens. I have no stats on the breakdown of the various sized screens in terms of number of owners, so I don't know if 30% or 50% or 70% of home theater projector owners are using screens 100" diagonal or smaller. Best I can tell, the most popular screen sizes are 100, 106, and 110 inch. These projectors are iffy on anything bigger than a 1.0 gain 100 inch screen, due to lack of lumens, but all of them do a great job on smaller screens.

This is not a list of all the dimmer projectors, but a list of the best of the dimmer projectors (from a value proposition that considers price, features and performance).

• Mitsubishi HC4000
• Mitsubishi HC8000D
• Optoma HD33 (for 3D)
• Optoma HD20
• JVC DLA-X35
• Optoma HD8300
• Runco LS5
• SIM2 Nero 3D-2

Thanks for reading. A last reminder: Virtually all of these projectors are very good products. Within most price ranges, it's not a question of which is the best projector, but rather the best one for you, your viewing preferences, budget and room. Good luck in the hunt! -art

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Brightest Projectors for Best 3D Viewing

Here's a short list of the projectors that have the horsepower - the lumens to tackle 3D and produce good brightness. That is, in most circumstances these projectors will produce a brighter 3D image than you are likely to find in your typically somewhat dim 3D movie viewing at the local cineplex. All of the lower cost projectors listed here measured at least 1500 lumens in brightest modes.  In the two higher price tiers, all of these projectors measured at least 1250 lumens (not exactly light cannons at 3D, but adequate as most of those more expensive projectors end up in dedicated home theaters, or something "close enough" with really good lighting control

• Acer H6500
• Acer H9500BD
• BenQ W1070
• BenQ W7000
• Epson Home Cinema 3020
• Epson Home/Pro Cinema 5020UB/6020UB
• Panasonic PT-AE8000
• Sony VPL-VW1000ES (4K)

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