Swapping my TV for a projector was the best decision: here’s what to know if you’re considering one
Not only does it remove a TV as a focal point in your space, I’ve actually found it a more enjoyable watching experience.
Moving into my home last year, the living room quickly became my favourite space in the house. It has tall ceilings, large windows, and generous proportions. However, there was no obvious place to put a TV. The only clear wall is the one opposite the fireplace, so it would have felt strange to put it there, and I didn’t want the whole room to feel off by forcing it into a space it felt awkward.
Like me, you may have noticed that projectors are popping up on stylish people’s Instagrams as a solution to not wanting a TV dominating your space, but still being able to relax with a good show or movie in the evenings. And while I’m relatively technology-averse, my technology-loving fiancé was more than happy to take on the task of researching a projector that could solve our conundrum.
I’ve compiled what he learned, the most important things to know if you’re considering a projector for your own space. Taking all these aspects into consideration, we’ve ended up with a projector that works perfectly for our space, and it’s turned watching TV or movies into a real experience. Live sport is also particularly good – watching the French Open recently felt like actually being on the tennis court. So although I was initially sold on the idea more for interior design reasons than anything else, I’ve come to love it for how it’s changed our watching experience, too.
Budget
What he found is that you can basically spend as much as you want on a projector, and their features and quality will vary accordingly. They start from just over €100, and go up to the multiples of thousands. Therefore it’s useful to consider exactly what role you want the projector to play, and decide on the features you do and don’t need. For example, will it just be a fun thing you take out occasionally for movie nights, or be replacing your TV for everyday use?
Once you have a few key points in mind, it both makes it easier to narrow down your options, and have an idea of how much it will cost.
Plugged in or portable?
Many modern projectors are “portable”, and don’t need to be plugged in to use. This is useful if you want to be able to easily take it out and about, or place it in a spot in your room that doesn’t have a plug nearby – some options are neat enough to sit on a coffee table, for example. Plenty of the options we looked at had marketing material showing people using them to project a film onto a sheet when camping, or in their garden, but that wasn’t important for us, so we opted for a model that needs to be plugged in.
The upside of non-portable versions is that their brightness and throw distance is usually better – more on that below.
Location
Even if you want to be able to use the projector in different locations, there is probably one particular location that you’ll use it most – in our case, this was our living room. This gives you a good starting point of where you’ll want the projector to be located in the room, and therefore lets you know the throw length it will need – basically the distance that it can project to.
A good option here are ultra short throw projectors. These can sit up against the surface they’re projecting on, and project the image straight upwards, and also means people walking past won’t create a shadow on the image. We didn’t go for this type of projector in the end, but I can imagine it being a great choice for lots of spaces.
It’s also worth considering the positioning of plugs if you’re opting for a non-portable version – will you have to have a cable running across the room for your desired projector location?
Screen or wall?
Consider the wall surface you’re planning to project on. We have a big, clear wall that’s currently painted in a light colour, so we’re able to project straight onto the wall, but a screen is an option if this isn’t the case for you. Should we ever choose to paint the room darker, it’s something we might need to invest in – although as it’s our main mode of watching, I’ll probably avoid this, as I can’t see myself putting down and taking up a screen constantly.
Lumens
The lumens of a projector are basically its brightness, something my partner took very seriously as a bit of a cinema nerd – he wanted the picture quality to be as good as possible. The benefit of this that I didn’t realise until we had the projector, however, is that our projector doesn’t need total darkness in order see the picture clearly, where a model with lower lumens would. We still do usually close the shutters on one of our two windows to use it, so if this would be an issue for you, a projector perhaps isn’t the right option.
Sound system
Traditionally, the speaker quality on projectors has been relatively poor, but it has improved a lot. That said, you can still connect them to speakers for better sound, and this might be important if you’ll be sitting far from where the projector itself is.
Apps and connectivity
Some projectors come with an operating system that has apps such as Netflix or Amazon Prime built-in, while others need an input of some kind to be plugged in.
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