Whether you’re looking for a projector for the ultimate backyard home cinema or for business, you’ll want a projector that presents a clear and bright image with a good range of contrast. While most modern projectors will work fine in a darkened room, you’ll need to check the lumen brightness if you’re planning to use your projector near any kind of ambient light source.
A ‘lumen’ is a measure of the brightness of a light source and refers to how bright the projector can display an image. For example, a candle is around 12 lumens and the lighting on a movie set is around 1000 lumens. A 2000 lumens projector is considered the minimum benchmark for a functional projector in differing ambient light environments.
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What’s The Difference Between Lumens And ANSI Lumens?
ANSI lumens (American National Standards Institute) is a formal industry term referring to the overall amount of light output by a projector. To calculate the ANSI lumens value, the following formula applies:
LED lumen value ÷ 2.4 = ANSI lumens
For example, a 2000 lumens projector will be 833.33 ANSI lumens.
Projector Light Source – LED, Lamp, Or Laser?
A projector’s light source is also an important specification and there are three different light sources used in projectors: LED, lamp, and laser. LED is the most common today, as LED projectors have improved color saturation and luminous efficiency, which allows LED projectors to appear brighter. With this in mind, you’ll often see LED projectors exceed 2000 lumens, with many on the market now around 5000-6000 lumens.
What Lumen Level Do You Need?
There are two principal things to consider before purchasing a projector: ambient brightness, and screen size.
Ambient Brightness
Ambient brightness refers to the amount of light in the environment and can also be measured in lumens. For example, around sunset is approximately 400 lumens.
Ambient brightness will impact how bright your projector is perceived, as too much ambient light, or using a low lumens rated projector, and your projected image will appear washed out and low in contrast. The higher the lumens rating, the less it will be sensitive to ambient light sources (such as windows) within a room.
Screen Size
Screen size also impacts how bright and clear an image is projected, especially when used in a room with some ambient light. The larger the screen size, the harder a projector has to work to provide even brightness over the entire image size.
Typically, 3000 ANSI lumens projectors are capable of projecting clear images up to a screen size of 80 inches, although projectors under 3000 ANSI-rated brightness will be more sensitive to ambient light conditions of the room.
Nowadays, projector manufacturers will offer an image size range (minimum and maximum) and an ‘ideal’ range where the projector works best at providing a sharp and clear image.
Consider Your Environment And Setting
If you’re planning to use your projector in a totally dark room such as a basement, any projector on the market these days will be fine, although if you’re planning to project to the maximum screen size your projector allows, then consider purchasing a projector with a higher brightness level, and a 2000 lumens projector or higher is a great place to start.
If you’re planning to use a projector in a business or educational environment where space is often brighter (an office fluorescent light is around 400 lumens), a 3000-3999 ANSI-rated projector is ideal for displaying an image size up to 80-inches.
If you are planning to use your projector in a large room, such as a large auditorium or meeting room, you’ll need to consider a projector with an ANSI lumen rating of 5000 or more. This will provide a clear image size of around 100 inches, even with moderate ambient lighting such as fluorescent office lighting.
Projectors with a high ANSI rating +5000 lumens will be considerably more expensive and much larger compared to domestic projectors intended for home cinema use so keep this in mind.
Buying Guide – Top 3 Projectors For Home Use
While projectors are usually super easy to use, there are hundreds of models offering a vast range of features and specifications. Choosing the right one for your needs can be tricky so we’ve taken away the hard work and done the research for you.
Here’s our top pick of the best projectors that will be perfect for setting up your home cinema or backyard cinema. These projectors are very affordable and come with a range of distinct features and options, with all on the list featuring 2000 lumens or better.
| PRODUCT | FEATURES | LATEST PRICE |
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1. Pansonite Mini Projector   |
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2. Artlii Enjoy 2 Mini Projector  |
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3. JIFAR Movie Projector With Wi-Fi Bluetooth Function  |
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1. Pansonite Mini Projector
The Pansonite Mini Projector is a great option for creating the perfect outdoor cinema experience or indoor home cinema. This popular projector uses the latest 4.0 LCD display technology with advanced LED light sources, allowing for a comfortable viewing experience without eye fatigue.
The projector is powerful and has a lumens rating of 5200 and a screen contrast ratio of 3000:1, allowing for a native resolution of 1920 x 1080P in HD. The screen size can reach up to 200-inches and has a range of between 5 and 16 feet.
The projector includes a built-in 3w dual stereo Hi-Fi system and can be connected to many devices, from phones to computers and gaming consoles.
Features
- Light source: LED
- Lumens: 5200
- Contrast ratio: 3000:1
- Native resolution: 1920 x 1080P (Full HD)
- Max supported resolution: 1920 x 1080P (Full HD)
- Screen size: Up to 200 inches
- Optimum screen size: 150 inches
- Projection distance: 5 ft to 16 ft (1.5 m – 5m)
- Speakers: Dual 3w Hi-Fi speaker system
- Projector size: 7.8 x 5.7 x 2.7 inches
- Projector weight: 1.9 pounds
- Mounting: Stand/top/side/ceiling
- Connection terminals: HDMI, VGA, USB, RCA, AV interfaces. Also suitable for Chromecast and Fire Stick, PS3/4/5, Xbox, laptops, iOS, and Android phones and devices.
PROS
- Easy connection to a wide variety of devices
- Very affordable
- Excellent screen size
- Bright, vivid screen
- Perfect for outdoor or indoor home cinema use
CONS
- The projector is quite large
- Fan noise can be an issue if seated nearby
- No Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connectivity
2. Artlii Enjoy 2 Mini Projector
The Artlii Enjoy 2 Mini Projector is a great option for a portable projector that is perfect for domestic use. The small size of the projector and powerful LED produces a sharp, vivid image, even under moderate ambient light conditions. The projector has a native resolution HD 1280 x 720P and comfortably projects an image size up to 300 inches, making it ideal for home or outdoor cinema applications.
Connectivity is also excellent with this projector offering wireless Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity alongside wired HDMI, USB, VGA, AV, and SD cards. This projector also has excellent sound quality, supplied by a built-in 5w dual speaker system that can be used independently as a Bluetooth speaker, or alternatively connected to an external speaker system using the 3.5mm audio output.
One of the best features of this projector is the phone or device mirroring, allowing you to view and control playback from your device, or by using the remote control that allows for customized screen size adjustments alongside the usual host of playback options.
Features
- Light source: LED
- Lumens: 6000
- Contrast ratio: 5000:1
- Native resolution: 1280 x 720P (Full HD)
- Max supported resolution: 1920 x 1080P (Full HD)
- Screen size: 30 – 300 inches
- Optimum screen size: 78 inches
- Projection distance: 3.87 – 31.18ft (1.2 – 9.5 meters)
- Speakers: dual 5w Hi-Fi speaker system
- Projector size: 8.07 x 6.3 x 3.54 inches
- Projector weight: 3.1 pounds
- Mounting: Stand/top/side/ceiling
- Connection terminals: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HDMI, VGA, USB, RCA, AV interfaces. Also suitable for Chromecast and Fire Stick, PS3/4/5, Xbox, laptops, iOS, and Android phones and devices.
PROS
- Huge screen size up to 300 inches
- Works well in bright ambient light settings
- Good quality sound system
- Excellent quality and affordability
- Excellent connectivity (wired and wireless)
CONS
- The projector is quite heavy and may require special fixings if ceiling mounted
- Bluetooth sound can lag
- The tilt function can cause some parts of the screen to blur at full-screen size
3. JIFAR Movie Projector With Wi-Fi Bluetooth Function
The JIFAR movie mini projector is an excellent choice for those looking for a superior viewing experience both indoors and outdoors. The projector offers a super bright 6500 lumens LED projection with a native resolution of 1280 x 720P, with 1920 x 1080P supported in HD. The screen size is also excellent, with optimum viewing at 150 inches, and a maximum screen size achievable of 240 inches.
Another standout feature of this projector is its connectivity, boasting the latest 5G and Wi-Fi connectivity for smartphones that provides a lag-free experience for online gaming and seamless video streaming. Connecting to other devices such as a laptop or gaming console is also easy using a wired USB or HDMI connection. Fire Stick and Chromecast are also compatible.
Sound quality is also excellent, powered by 5w Hi-Fi stereo speakers with an SRS sound system that can also be connected to an external speaker making it perfect for an indoor home cinema.
Features
- Light source: LED
- Lumens: 6500
- Contrast ratio: 6000:1
- Native resolution: 1280 x 720P (Full HD)
- Max supported resolution: 1920 x 1080P (Full HD)
- Screen size: 32 to 240 inches
- Optimum screen size: 78 inches
- Projection distance: 4.9 – 23ft (1.5 – 7 meters)
- Speakers: Dual 5w Hi-Fi speaker system
- Projector size: 9.26 x 5.5 x 3 inches
- Projector weight: 5.68 pounds
- Mounting: Stand/top/side/ceiling
- Connection terminals: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HDMI, USB, RCA, AV interfaces, also suitable for Chromecast and Fire Stick, PS3/4/5, Xbox, laptops, iOS, and Android phones and devices.
PROS
- The brightest and highest contrast ratio of all our favorite projectors
- Excellent sound quality from the built-in 5w stereo speaker system
- 5G and Wi-Fi connectivity makes it ideal for iOS and Android smartphone connectivity
- 3-year warranty
CONS
- The projector is very large
- Weighs over 5 pounds
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are plenty of options available that surpass the baseline of 2000 lumens projectors, with many offering over 2000 ANSI lumens ratings even. We hope this guide has helped provide information that allows you to choose the best projector for your needs. Happy viewing!
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