Best Video Projector for Home Theater: Epson LS11000, LS800, BenQ

A home theater projector promises a picture far bigger than any TV you'd fit on the wall, and the good ones deliver. Getting there depends on more than the projector, though: the room, the screen, how far the projector sits from the wall and how dark you can make the space.

Projectors have also split into very different designs. Long-throw models sit at the back of the room, ultra-short-throw models sit right under the screen, and newer laser models skip the old bulb replacements, with very different prices and trade-offs for each.

Owner reviews matter more than usual here, because projectors are expensive to send back. Several owners have run into units that arrived damaged, ports that failed and steep restocking fees, alongside plenty who have called their projector the best upgrade they've made.

Below are a premium laser pick, an ultra-short-throw option and an LED alternative, with what owners have found after living with them.

The Epson LS11000 is the premium laser pick, the LS800 is the ultra-short-throw pick, and the BenQ HT4550i is the LED cross-ref. One owner who upgraded has called the difference nothing short of amazing, and another has found the image sharp, bright and colorful after a year.

The Premium Laser: Epson LS11000

One owner who moved up from an older Epson has called the difference nothing short of amazing and one of the best home theater upgrades they've made. Another has owned it for a year and has called it among the best home projectors in its class, with a sharp, bright and colorful image.

The laser light source is the reason the year matters: no bulb timer, no brightness decay, and the 2,500 lumens hold spec after the honeymoon.

One owner who moved up from 1080p has found setup easy and the picture superb, and the lens shift and zoom range is the install question the spec sheet buries. One reviewer has said it gives a very TV-like picture, only a little short on contrast in a totally dark room.

That contrast caveat in a fully dark room is the honest limit of the TV-like picture. One frustrated owner's unit kept cutting off after 20 to 30 minutes and went back, and another owner has said they're glad they ordered when they did, because the model has been hard to find.

Check the copy in the first week, because these flaws are hard to fix once the window closes.

The UST ALR screen tier covers the screen side, the home-theater PC build covers the source, and the free editing software page covers the post tier. No Film School's projector guides frame the cinema side, and PetaPixel's display coverage reads the same panels from the photo side. Check B&H's 4K projector stock for the lengths.

An owner resisted buying it for over a year until their old 1080p projector stopped working, and has found the picture incredibly sharp, with fantastic color and deep blacks

The Ultra-Short-Throw: Epson LS800

This ultra-short-throw projector is totally amazing when you pair it with a special ALR screen, because you can't even tell that the image is being projected instead of showing a TV. It includes an app that helps you fix wavy walls if you don't have a real screen set up in your room.

The buyer without a screen has praised its great color, deep blacks and contrast, along with an app that adjusts the picture for wavy walls

An owner has found the projector itself huge, about the size of an old dot matrix printer, and another has had the HDMI and optical audio ports lose connection easily

One unhappy buyer has called it a classic case of superb optics held back by a poor user experience and serious audio and video compatibility flaws, so test it with your own gear right away.

An owner received it with two broken HDMI ports, which showed up as a Fire Stick input that appeared in the menu but wouldn't work

The LED Cross-Ref: BenQ HT4550i

This is the best projector they've ever owned, because the picture is great and the 3d look is truly amazing when you watch movies at home, one buyer reports.

Since the image is so clear, it feels brand new when it finally arrives. You'll love how the colors pop on the screen during a very dark night.

One unhappy buyer received a recertified unit that didn't work with anything, and the only option offered was a return. One owner's recertified unit looked like new outside but had a flaw inside the slot, so check it on arrival day, not in week two.

An second owner has found their gear was packaged so well, so it looked like a fresh find

Frequently Asked Questions

Is laser better than lamp?

Laser lasts longer, lights up faster, and skips the bulb-replacement tax - and the LS11000 owner who has had it for a year backs that up, since the 2,500 lumens and the color hold without the decay that made lamp owners recalibrate brightness every season. The owner who used an older lamp-based Epson for years is the baseline the upgrade gets measured against.

Do I need an ALR screen?

Using the LS800 with a specialized ALR screen makes it impossible to tell projected from TV - 'you can NOT even tell that it is a projected image when you pair it with a UST ALR screen (in my case the VividStorm [S Pro])'.

On a bare wall, the waviness app helps, but the ALR screen is the difference - it rejects the room's ambient light and lets the laser do its job in a lit living room, which is the entire use case the UST tier exists for. Ceiling-mount people buy the LS11000, shelf people buy the LS800, and the room decides before the wallet does.

How is the contrast in dark rooms?

The LS11000's TV-like picture comes with a contrast caveat in a fully dark room, and owners of the LS800 have praised its blacks and contrast. Test the room before the room test.

Is UST better than long-throw?

One LS800 owner has found the short throw very, very nice, and the printer-sized chassis is the price you pay for it. Long-throw needs the distance, UST needs the shelf, and the install math - throw ratio times screen width - decides which one fits before the budget does.

Why is there a restocking fee?

The return contract is the answer. One owner hit a steep restocking fee on a return after eight months of daily use. Read the return policy before the mid-range buy, not after.