In this report, we review all the home theater and home entertainment projectors we have reviewed over the past year. 2025 was another great year for home theater enthusiasts, and several notable new projectors were introduced in 2026.
This year, we considered dozens of projectors and decided to feature those we found would best fit the needs of a home theater or home entertainment user. Breaking them down by price point and features (in the case of the Smart projectors) we hope to make this guide easy-to-use.
You will also see several award-winning projectors throughout this report — these are the projectors that caught our attention for different reasons throughout the year. Projectors focused on home entertainment are often announced at one of two major US trade shows, which are CEDIA in September and CES in January. We will continue to update this report throughout 2026 as new home theater projectors are announced and reviewed.
Whether you are looking for a value projector to use for backyard movie nights or a premium unit for your dedicated home theater, you should be able to find an option that fits your budget and application. In this year's report, we have broken the projectors down into these categories:
You will not find the full reviews for any of the projectors featured here. However, there are links to all their reviews if you want to learn more. The purpose of this comprehensive guide is to assist you with insight and information as you enter your Home Theater projector-buying journey and ensure you find the best suited to your unique needs.
This guide includes all the Home Theater and Home Entertainment-focused projectors currently on the market that we have reviewed over the past few years. If you need a condensed list of the best home theater projectors, explore our article on the best home theater projectors for 2026.
While the prices of large flat-panel TVs continue to drop, there are reasons companies like Epson continue to manufacture projectors. If you are a home theater enthusiast who desires a massive immersive image, a good home theater projector still delivers the best value per inch.
An 85” flat panel TV is a large image, but anyone looking for a large screen is looking for a MASSIVE-size screen measured in feet, not inches. This is why there is still a demand for good home theater projectors. Are you debating between a projector or a large flat panel? Check out our article entitled Projector or Flat Panel: Things to Consider When Choosing a Display
More and more manufacturers are introducing ultra-short-throw smart projectors commonly referred to as “Laser TVs”. Laser TVs are easy to install and offer an unbelievable picture in a much larger image than a traditional flat-panel TV. They can produce a really big image in your living room, family room, and other “common” areas of your house while sitting only inches from the screen.
These projectors are intended to be TV replacements, so they include all the smart features and apps found in a modern TV along with an upgraded, built-in sound system. With the number of ultra-short-throw (UST) projectors continuing to grow in popularity and the significant increase in USTs available in the market, we have created a separate UST buyer's guide dedicated to that category.
Also, when many people think about projectors, they visualize them in a dedicated home theater or man cave. Since many projectors are specifically designed for those types of spaces, they include technologies designed to deliver amazing picture quality on a larger screen so they can be larger, bulkier, and sometimes sensitive pieces of equipment.
However, an increasingly popular way to use a projector is outdoors, so we also have an Outdoor/Portable Projector Buyers Guide, which not only covers our favorite models but also goes into more detail, describing the technologies that make a projector truly “portable” rather than simply “movable.”
We would, once again, like to thank Epson for sponsoring this guide, and you will see several Epson models throughout, including some of the best projectors available on the market today. Be sure to check out their full line-up in addition to all the projectors we reviewed during 2025..
Looking forward to another great year of Home Theater here at Projector Reviews! Thank you for being a part of it.
