The research

Why you should trust me

I’m the editor overseeing all of Wirecutter’s audio and video device coverage, and I write our projector guides.

• For this guide, I have tested more than a dozen projectors since 2022, and I have researched many more.
• I am an Imaging Science Foundation Level III–certified video calibrator, and I have the full complement of objective testing gear to measure and evaluate the performance of these projectors.
• In accordance with Wirecutter standards, I return or donate all products I’ve tested once my assessment of them is complete. I never hang on to “freebies” once testing is done, though I do hold on to our official picks (when possible) for future comparison testing.
• Like all Wirecutter journalists, I review and test products with complete editorial independence. I’m never made aware of any business implications of my editorial recommendations. Read more about our editorial standards.

How we picked and tested

I use the following criteria to decide which projectors to test:

• Price: I limit my search to 4K projectors priced under $5,000 and sold directly through retail channels, as opposed to specialty dealers.
• Light output: A good 4K projector needs to be bright enough for you to use the projector with a large screen (over 100 inches). The larger the screen, the more brightness you’ll need. I look for 4K projectors with a claimed light output of at least 1,000 ANSI lumens, but preferably much higher. Most projector brightness specs are exaggerated. At worst the numbers are straight-up lies; at best they’re obtained in highly inaccurate picture modes that you’d never actually use. That’s why I measure the true light output of every projector I test.
• HDR support: Every 4K projector now supports high dynamic range in at least the basic HDR10 format, and I’m seeing more support for advanced HDR formats like Dolby Vision and HDR10+. You can read more about HDR formats in our TV buying guide.
• Throw ratio: A projector’s throw ratio indicates the distance it needs to cast a certain image size, and there are three general designations: standard (1 and above), short (under 1), and ultra-short (under 0.4). For this guide I consider only standard and short-throw models. We do not recommend ultra-short-throw projectors for most people, for reasons we explain in this article.
• Physical lens-adjustment tools: A projector with a good amount of lens zoom and horizontal and vertical lens shifting makes it easier for you to precisely size and place the image on your screen. Motorized focus, zoom, and lens-shifting controls are ideal because they make setup even faster. Projectors that offer only digital image adjustments (such as digital zoom or keystone adjustment) are becoming more common, but they are less desirable because those functions affect image clarity.

To evaluate each projector’s performance, I conduct both objective and subjective tests. For objective tests, I use Portrait Displays’s Calman color calibration software and C6 HDR2000 colorimeter, along with a Murideo Six-G test-pattern generator, to measure each projector’s contrast ratio, light output, and color and color-temperature accuracy. I measure all the available picture modes and brightness settings to find the best combination of performance attributes. I test all the projectors on a 100-inch Silver Ticket STR Series screen.

Since measurements don’t reveal the whole picture, I also do subjective comparison testing by placing projectors next to one another and sending them the same signal using an HDMI splitter. This arrangement makes it easy to see differences in black level, contrast, color, and detail.

I use a Microsoft Xbox One X gaming console, plus Chromecast and Roku 4K media streamers. I watch a variety of Ultra HD and Blu-ray movies, streamed 4K movies, and HDTV content in both darker and brighter room conditions.

Best 4K home theater projector: Epson Home Cinema LS11000


Michael Murtaugh/NYT Wirecutter

Top pick

Projection tech:	LCD	Zoom and throw:	2.1x (motorized), 1.35 to 2.84
Light source:	laser	Lens shift:	96.3% vertical, 47.1% horizontal
Frame rates:	4K and 1080p at 120 Hz	Smart-TV platform:	none
HDMI inputs:	two HDMI 2.1	3D support:	no
HDR formats:	HDR10, HDR10+, HLG	Size and weight:	20.5 by 7.6 by 17.6 inches and 28 pounds

For the home theater enthusiast willing to pay a premium to get the best picture, the Epson Home Cinema LS11000 is the best 4K projector under $5,000. It produces a theater-worthy image with great contrast, brightness, detail, and color, and its robust setup tools allow you to precisely position the image on your screen without compromising picture quality.

**The LS11000 serves up a rich, high-contrast image. **Contrast ratio (or the difference between the brightest and darkest portions of the image) is the most important performance element in a projector, as it determines whether the picture looks rich and inviting or flat and washed-out (especially in a dark room). Lots of projectors are bright, but only the best movie projectors can combine high brightness with deeper, darker black levels — so movie scenes look more saturated and three-dimensional.

The LS11000 combines an all-glass lens with excellent brightness, a good black level, and a well-designed dynamic iris that automatically fine-tunes the lens to suit the image being displayed. This results in a clean, detailed image that looks great no matter what type of content you’re watching on the big screen — SDR or HDR, movies or HDTV, games or sports.

The 11-step brightness control allows you to tailor the LS11000’s light output to suit your viewing environment, and you can store custom picture setups for different types of room lighting and content.

The projector’s high brightness and contrast are good for HDR video, too. The LS11000 doesn’t support the Dolby Vision HDR format, but it does support HDR10+.

**The color accuracy is superb. **My measurements showed the LS11000 to be wonderfully accurate in its Natural picture mode, requiring no advanced adjustment or fine-tuning. Just set it to the desired brightness level, and you’re good to go.

Colors are bright but natural, and this projector can reproduce about 89% of the large P3 color gamut currently used for 4K HDR video. That’s solid, though not as good as what the Hisense C2 Ultra can deliver.

The Epson Home Cinema LS11000’s connection panel includes two high-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 inputs, a rare feature for most projectors. Michael Murtaugh/NYT Wirecutter

Epson is generous with its setup tools. The motorized, 2.1x zoom control gives you more flexibility in where you put the projector in relation to the screen — which is especially helpful in a theater room where you may need to place the projector farther back.

Also, the 96.3% vertical lens shift and 47.1% horizontal lens shift makes it easier to position the image precisely on your screen, without having to rely on digital adjustments like keystone correction that can degrade image clarity and add latency for gaming.

Plus, all the lens controls are motorized, so you can adjust them via the remote and set up different configurations for different video aspect ratios, such as 16:9 for HDTV or 21:9 for some movies.

**The inclusion of HDMI 2.1 is quite rare on projectors. **The LS11000 has two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 inputs that can accept a 4K 120 Hz signal from the latest Xbox and PlayStation consoles. Combine that with its low input lag under 20 milliseconds, and it’s a good choice for hardcore gamers.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It doesn’t support 3D or Dolby Vision. Although 3D is dead in the world of TVs, it still has a fan base in the projector world. New 3D content is rare, but if you have a large collection of older 3D discs and still want to watch them, this omission could be a dealbreaker.

Only a handful of new projectors support the more advanced Dolby Vision HDR format, and sadly the LS11000 isn’t one of them. But projectors don’t handle the nuances of HDR as well as TVs anyhow: They can’t get as bright, and their light control isn’t as precise. So I don’t consider this omission to be a dealbreaker.

It doesn’t have built-in streaming. This projector is best used in a more formal space where you’ll be routing sources — including your media streamer of choice — through an AV receiver. But you could connect a media streamer directly, and the built-in speakers sound respectably full.

Best 4K living room projector: Hisense C2 Ultra


Michael Murtaugh/NYT Wirecutter

Top pick

Projection tech:	DLP	Zoom and throw:	1.6x (digital only), 0.9 to 1.5
Light source:	laser	Lens shift:	none
Frame rates:	4K at 60 Hz, 1440p at 120 Hz, 1080p at 240 Hz	Smart-TV platform:	Vidaa
HDMI inputs:	two HDMI 2.0	3D support:	yes
HDR formats:	Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, HLG, IMAX	Size and weight:	11 by 9.5 by 9.5 inches and 14.6 pounds (with stand)

If you’re looking for a smart 4K projector to use in a living room or family room, the Hisense C2 Ultra is an excellent choice. It has all the features you could want — including a streaming platform, a speaker system, and support for AirPlay and 3D video — and comes pre-mounted in a tiltable stand. Unlike many all-in-one “lifestyle” projectors, this one doesn’t have any major performance flaws.

The C2 Ultra has excellent contrast, brightness, and detail. My measurements showed this projector to be among the best 4K lifestyle projectors in image contrast and brightness. Its native contrast is close to that of the Epson LS11000, though it doesn’t have the effective auto iris to dramatically improve the dynamic contrast.

Still, the image looked rich, vibrant, and very sharp. The 10-step brightness control helps you match it to your viewing environment, and it uses a long-lasting laser light source that provides instant on/off capability.

The color accuracy is solid in the Cinema Day, Cinema Night, and Filmmaker picture modes. The colors themselves are bright and accurate, but the color temperature (or color of white) measured a bit too greenish-blue in bright scenes. But that actually helps give the image a little extra pop in a room where you can’t completely control the ambient light, so it works for a living room environment.

And unlike a lot of lifestyle projectors, it doesn’t throw extraneous light outside the borders of your screen, which is very distracting in a dark room.

It delivers great-looking HDR video. The C2 Ultra’s overall brightness with HDR video is excellent, and the signal’s brightness level tracks more accurately from dark to light than any other projector I’ve measured (a lot of them produce HDR video that’s too dark).

The C2 Ultra has excellent HDR format support, too. This is our only pick that supports Dolby Vision HDR, in addition to HDR10+ and IMAX Enhanced. Plus its TriChroma (triple color) laser is capable of producing over 95% of the wider P3 color gamut used for 4K HDR video.

More importantly, because Hisense is a major manufacturer of televisions, the company seems to have a better understanding of how HDR works than some of its competitors. This projector has a variety of HDR picture modes that are set up properly in terms of brightness and color standards, and it switches automatically between SDR and HDR modes the way it’s supposed to. That’s not true of a lot of lifestyle projectors from companies like JMGO and Xgimi, which often require you to wade through confusing picture menus and make HDR adjustments yourself if you want the picture to be accurate.

The C2 Ultra has two HDMI 2.0 inputs, two powered USB-A ports, a LAN port, and both analog and digital audio outputs. Michael Murtaugh/NYT Wirecutter

This all-in-one projector is great for streaming and gaming. The built-in Vidaa streaming platform is Hisense’s own proprietary platform, and I appreciated its simplicity. The menu design is similar to Google TV, voice search is available, and all the major services are represented. It supports Bluetooth 5.3 to send the audio to external speakers and headphones, or to use the projector as a Bluetooth speaker. It also supports AirPlay and HomeKit.

This projector has Microsoft’s “Designed for Xbox” designation, and I measured a respectably low 34.3 ms of lag with a 1080p 60 Hz signal (you should get half that for a 120 Hz signal). There’s an auto game mode to switch into low latency with games, and the menu includes a pop-up gaming dashboard. However, the two HDMI inputs are only version 2.0, so you can’t do 4K at 120 Hz, only 1440p.

The speaker system sounds a lot better than you’d normally get from a projector. The C2 Ultra has a 20-watt, 2.1-channel speaker system with a woofer built into the base of the stand. It has excellent dynamic ability and good sonic balance, so it can also serve as a home Bluetooth and AirPlay speaker. Just don’t drive music too loud, as deep bass notes will cause the cabinet to rattle.

The woofer definitely adds heft and bulk to the stand, though. If you don’t care about the extra bass or plan to use a separate sound system, you might consider the C2 Pro instead. It omits the woofer and has a bit less light output, and it typically costs about $500 less.

**The C2 Ultra is easier to set up and use than many rivals. **This projector’s throw ratio falls in between standard- and short-throw designations, so you get a larger image when you set it in the front of a room (like on a coffee table). The tiltable, swiveling stand makes it easy for you to direct the image where you want it, and the automatic picture-sizing and focusing tools work well to get you up and running quickly.

This projector has several picture modes for both SDR and HDR video that look great without requiring a lot of tweaking. All of the advanced picture adjustments are here if you want to pay a professional calibrator to dial in the most accurate image, but most people will be happy with the default choices.

The Bluetooth remote control is more like a TV remote, with helpful buttons to mute the sound and change inputs.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It’s not ideal to use in a dedicated theater room. Some of the things that make the C2 Ultra great for a living room make it not so great for a home theater — namely, the bulky, swiveling stand, the shorter throw ratio, and the digital picture-sizing tools.

The stand can be screwed into a projector mount, but it won’t lock the projector itself in place. And since power runs through the stand, you have to use it, even if you don’t plan to use the internal speaker system. (If you want a similar performer that does not require the use of a swiveling stand, check out the Valerion and Nebula projectors listed in Other 4K projectors worth considering.)

Add in the C2’s shorter throw ratio and lack of physical lens adjustments — with only 1.6x digital zoom and keystone correction — and it would be hard to put this projector in the back of a theater room and precisely place the image on a screen. Plus, the use of digital instead of physical lens adjustments diminishes the 4K detail and adds latency for gaming.

Budget pick: BenQ TK710


Michael Murtaugh/NYT Wirecutter

Budget pick

The best budget 4K projector

BenQ TK710

This 4K laser projector has surprisingly good image contrast for the price, and it’s easy to set up and use. But the color accuracy and sound quality are just okay.

Projection tech:	DLP	Zoom and throw:	1.3x (manual), 1.15 to 1.5
Light source:	laser	Lens shift:	10% vertical, 0% horizontal
Frame rates:	4K at 60 Hz, 1440p at 120 Hz, 1080p at 240 Hz	Smart-TV platform:	none
HDMI inputs:	two HDMI 2.0	3D support:	yes
HDR formats:	HDR10, HDR10+, HLG	Size and weight:	11.98 by 4.43 by 9.15 inches and 6.61 pounds

If you want to keep the price under $2,000, the BenQ TK710 delivers a bright, sharp image that has surprisingly good contrast for the money. While it lacks a built-in streaming platform, you can easily attach a media streamer to one of the two HDMI inputs, and this 4K laser projector is excellent for gaming.

The measured contrast is fantastic for the price. Contrast ratio is the most important performance element in a projector, as it determines whether the picture looks rich and inviting or flat and washed out (especially in a dark room). Most of the sub-$2,000 4K projectors I’ve tested had a measured native contrast in the 500:1 to 900:1 range. The TK710 measured a shockingly good 1,700:1. It combines a fairly deep black level with a lot of brightness to create an image that looks good in a brighter or darker room.

In terms of light output, the TK710 is technically the brightest of all our picks — measuring about 2,600 lumens — but it achieves that number in a highly inaccurate picture mode (with a very green color temperature) that you shouldn’t use. In its more accurate Cinema and RPG picture modes, its brightness is comparable to that of the Epson LS11000.

The 4K image is very sharp and clear, though you do have to manually adjust the focus control using a dial around the lens. You don’t get the automatic or motorized controls found on our top picks.

The TK710 has two HDMI 2.0 inputs, plus a powered USB-A port, an RS-232 control port, and an analog audio output. Michael Murtaugh/NYT Wirecutter

It’s great for gaming. This projector is targeted at gamers, with gaming-specific picture modes like RPG and FPS that tailor the signal brightness to suit the type of game you’re playing. The dual HDMI inputs are only version 2.0, so you can’t feed the projector a 4K 120 Hz signal, but you can feed it a 1440p signal at 120 Hz or a 1080p signal at 240 Hz.

I measured a very low input lag of 16.7 ms with a 1080p 60 Hz signal in the RPG picture mode, which translates to about 4.2 ms for a 1080p 240 Hz signal.

The TK710 supports the HDR10+, HDR10, and HLG formats for HDR video, and it has gaming-specific HDR modes, too. The SDR and HDR modes are set for the correct color and gamma standards, and the projector switches seamlessly between them — something that is not true for a lot of lifestyle, smart projectors in this price range.

3D video is also supported, though the glasses are sold separately.

The form factor works for either a theater room or living room. The TK710 has a traditional shape that’s fairly small and light (under 7 pounds). You can set it on a coffee table or put it in a small projector mount.

Unlike all of the lifestyle projectors in this price range, the TK710 has a little bit of zoom (1.3x) and vertical lens shifting (10 percent), which gives you more placement flexibility in your room and makes it easier to position the image on your screen. But the picture-sizing tools are manual, not motorized or automatic.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The TK710 falls short of our top picks in its color accuracy and HDR performance. The Cinema and RPG picture modes measured accurately in color temperature (or color of white), but with real-world video, I did detect a reddish hue — especially in darker scenes. The deepest blues and blacks in my demo scene from Stranger Things had a purplish tint that should not be there.

While this projector uses a laser light source, it’s not the triple-color laser you get with the pricier Hisense C2 Ultra. As a result, colors are not as bright and vibrant. They measured a bit darker than they should, and the projector can only reproduce about 83% of the wider P3 color gamut currently used for 4K HDR video.

Also, this projector simply doesn’t get as bright overall with HDR video as our top picks, and the HDR signal was consistently darker than it should be.

**The 5-watt speaker emphasizes voices but lacks bass. **The built-in speakers don’t have much gusto. Voices sound clear, but there’s not much in the mid to lower bass region. You’ll probably want to add an external sound system, and the connection panel includes analog, digital, and HDMI ARC audio ports to do so.

It lacks built-in streaming services. This projector doesn’t have a streaming platform built in, nor does it come with an add-on streaming stick, like the X500i. But you can add a 4K streamer for less than $50. If you really want an all-in-one smart projector in the same price range, check out the Xgimi Horizon S Max in Other 4K projectors worth considering.

Best 4K short-throw projector for smaller spaces: BenQ X500i


Connie Park/NYT Wirecutter

Best for...

Best for smaller spaces

BenQ X500i

This 4K projector casts a larger image from a shorter distance, so it’s good for smaller spaces. It performs well with all content types, as long as the room has some light control.

Projection tech:	DLP	Zoom and throw:	1.2x (manual), 0.69 to 0.83
Light source:	LED	Lens shift:	none
Frame rates:	4K at 60 Hz, 1440p at 120 Hz, 1080p at 240 Hz	Smart-TV platform:	Android TV
HDMI inputs:	two HDMI 2.0	3D support:	yes
HDR formats:	HDR10, HDR10+, HLG	Size and weight:	14.4 by 4.6 by 9.6 inches and 7.9 pounds

The short-throw BenQ X500i is an excellent choice for smaller spaces because it can produce a larger image from a shorter distance. I filled a 100-inch reference screen from a distance of 5 feet. This 4K projector delivers surprisingly good performance that will appeal to both movie lovers and gamers, but it isn’t bright enough to use in every type of room.

It offers impressive contrast and color accuracy but has less light output. In my measurements, this projector actually bested our top picks in native contrast ratio, though the Epson’s auto iris does a better job of automatically adjusting the image’s black level and brightness on the fly to improve contrast.

Black levels were impressively deep in our tests, and this projector did a good job of revealing fine details in darker scenes. Darker movies and games looked rich and well saturated when the lights were low.

The X500i delivers bright, accurate color, thanks in part to its LED light source. It’s better than our budget BenQ pick in its color accuracy, but like the TK710 it can only reproduce about 84% of the wider P3 color gamut used in 4K HDR video.

But the X500i has less light output overall than our other picks, so it isn’t ideal for a room with a lot of ambient light. I measured about 1,050 lumens in the most accurate picture mode (Cinema), and it maxed out at about 1,750 lumens in the less-accurate Bright mode. You’ll want to turn off the lights and pull the curtains before using this one.

The connection panel on the BenQ X500i includes two HDMI 2.0 ports and a USB-C video port. Connie Park/NYT Wirecutter

**It’s targeted at gamers. **Like the TK710, this projector has gaming-specific pictures modes, and I measured similarly minimal input lag. The dual HDMI 2.0 inputs support 1440p at 120 Hz or 1080p at 240 Hz. But this model goes a step further by adding a USB-C video port for you to directly connect a Nintendo Switch, with no need to add Nintendo’s optional HDMI dock.

Despite the gaming emphasis, this projector is also great for watching movies and TV shows. It comes with an Android TV dongle (which hides in a recessed chamber on the top panel), and it supports 3D video, though you have to provide your own glasses. The built-in speakers sounded respectably robust and balanced.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The lower light output affects HDR performance. This projector’s peak HDR brightness was only about 60% of the Epson’s and 50% of the Hisense’s. The high contrast ratio means HDR movies and games will still look rich and inviting; they just won’t pop as much.

The X500i offers limited lens adjustments. The zoom is just 1.2x, and this model has no vertical or horizontal lens shifting. This is actually a common limitation in short-throw projectors, which tend to require more complicated optical manipulation — and it’s still better than what you get from a lot of lifestyle projectors, which usually offer only digital adjustments like keystone correction.

**It lacks a powered USB-A port. **If you want to use a different streaming stick than the supplied Android TV dongle, you have to plug it into a power outlet.

Other 4K projectors worth considering

If you prefer a living room projector with a more traditional form: If you don’t like the Hisense C2 Ultra’s design that requires running power through the swiveling stand, the Valerion VisionMaster Pro 2 and Nebula X1 are great alternatives. Both projectors are similar to the C2 Ultra in performance and features, but they have different designs that may suit your living room better. They usually cost about $500 more than the Hisense.

The VisionMaster Pro 2 has a square, stylish, eye-catching design and comes with a great, backlit remote with all the helpful buttons you’d want. In my tests, it had slightly better brightness and native contrast than the Hisense, but it was less color-accurate. The color temperature has more of a greenish-blue push, and the color points are farther off the mark. The Pro 2’s picture looks very sharp, but I could clearly see the pixel structure in bright whites and solid colors, which is not an issue with the Hisense. Still, the Pro 2 has good versatility to perform well in a brighter or darker space, and it did a good job rendering fine detail in darker scenes. The “enhanced black level” function can produce very deep, dark blacks that dramatically improve the image contrast, but it lowers the projector’s overall brightness, and I could see subtle brightness fluctuations when it was activated, which I found distracting. The Google TV OS is fast and stable.

The X1 is the brightest living room projector I’ve tested to date, so it’s the best choice if your room has less light control. Its contrast is high, its color accuracy is a little better than the Valerion’s and a little worse than the Hisense’s, and it does not have the Valerion’s visible pixel structure. But I found the Google TV OS to be more sluggish, the automatic image-placement tools did not always work as expected (I preferred to manually adjust them), and this one does not support a 1440p resolution at 120 Hz for gaming like the other two do. The design is a big, gray, rectangular box, but the pop-up carrying handle makes it easy to move the projector around. This is the only one that you can pair with optional wireless speakers to add surround sound, if you want a more home-theater-like audio presentation. I tested the speaker system and found that it’s fairly easy to set up, and the completely wireless design gives you a lot of placement flexibility. Each speaker has four drivers to handle the main, surround, and up-firing channels, while the projector handles the sub channel; together, the system definitely provides a cleaner, broader, more dynamic soundstage than you’ll get from the projector itself, but the package adds $700 to the already-high price. For that money, you could get a fantastic Atmos-capable soundbar system that would create an even more dynamic, enveloping effect. Nebula also sells a bundle (with a carrying case and two karaoke microphones) that costs $1,000.

**If you want a smart 4K projector under $2,000: **The Xgimi Horizon S Max is a close competitor to our budget pick, with different strengths and features. This all-in-one smart projector has built-in Google TV (but no Netflix), a better speaker, Dolby Vision and IMAX support for HDR, and a pre-installed tiltable stand. It has similar brightness to the TK710 in its usable picture modes, as well as brighter, more accurate colors. It also has better contrast than the older Horizon Ultra.

But in my tests, the measured contrast was still much lower than the TK710’s, the picture didn’t look as sharp, and this one was harder to set up — there are too many confusing picture adjustments laid out in a busy menu. To get the best picture quality, you have to know what you’re doing, especially with HDR video. Plus it has a longer throw ratio and minimal connections.

The Hisense M2 Pro costs even less than the Xgimi Horizon S Max and has a similar list of features. This 4K laser projector has better measured contrast than the Xgimi and looks very sharp, but its brightness capability is much lower, so it’s best used in a room with solid light control. You can read more about it in our guide to home theater projectors under $1,500.

What to look forward to

BenQ’s new high-performance W4100i has a traditional form factor designed for a home theater environment. It uses a laser light source, has a claimed light output of 3,200 ANSI lumens, and offers 1.3x zoom and 60% vertical lens shifting. This 4K projector supports HDR10+ high dynamic range video, but not Dolby Vision. It comes with an Android TV dongle and has three HDMI inputs, plus analog and digital audio outputs, a powered USB-A port, and a USB-A media reader.

The Dangbei DBOX02 Pro is a 4K laser projector with a claimed light output of 2,000 ANSI lumens. Like the Hisense C2 Ultra, this lifestyle projector comes premounted in a tiltable stand, and power runs through the stand. It has Google TV and supports HDR10+, but not Dolby Vision. Dangbei has also introduced the brighter MP1 Max, which uses a hybrid laser/LED light source and has a claimed light output of 3,100 ANSI lumens. It, too, is a lifestyle design with a gimbal stand and Google TV.

Valerion has introduced the VisionMaster Max, a step up from the VisionMaster Pro 2 we discuss in Other 4K projectors worth considering. The new model has a similar form and features, with a higher claimed light output of 3,500 ISO lumens, purportedly better black-level performance, a new anti-rainbow technology, and support for interchangeable lenses. But it costs significantly more than the Pro 2.

The competition

Companies such as JVC and Sony make excellent 4K home theater projectors, but even their lowest-priced models cost more than $5,000, so I did not test them. But if you’re willing to pay more than $5,000 to get the best black levels and contrast for a premium home theater setup, they’re worth a look.

The Dangbei DBOX02 is similar to the Xgimi Horizon S Max in features and brightness, but it had lower measured contrast, a higher black level, worse HDR performance, and light-spill problems around the screen.

The Epson Home Cinema 3800 and Epson Home Cinema 5050UB are older, bulb-based projectors that technically produce half the resolution of 4K, so the image is not as detailed as what our picks deliver. But they have good contrast and color. The 3800 is extremely bright for use in a living room, and the 5050UB employs Epson’s UltraBlack technology to produce great black levels for a home theater.

The Epson Home Cinema 2350 is the company’s most affordable “4K” projector, but like the Home Cinema 3800 and 5050UB, it is actually a 2K projector. Also, other reviewers we trust have said that its contrast represents a big step down from the 3800, so we chose not to review this model.

The JMGO N1S Ultra is close to being a great smart projector, but the Hisense C2 Ultra is better. In my tests, this 4K triple-laser projector measured very well in contrast, brightness, black level, and detail, and it has Google TV and Dolby Vision support. But it throws significant light spill around the screen, and all of its picture modes are locked into the wide color gamut used for HDR. So, with SDR content like regular Blu-ray discs and live HDTV and sports broadcasts, the color is way off. You could hire a professional calibrator to dial in an accurate SDR mode, but you shouldn’t have to.

The Nebula Cosmos Laser 4K is a smaller, more affordable 4K HDR laser projector that comes with an Android TV dongle. The image brightness and detail were good, but the contrast and color accuracy were just average, and this model gives you none of the advanced picture adjustments or zoom and lens-shifting features that you get with our picks.

Likewise, Nebula’s newer Cosmos 4K SE ($1,300) runs Google TV and uses a hybrid laser/LED light source. It’s one of the most affordable smart 4K projectors to support Dolby Vision, but the measured contrast was subpar, and the brightness and color accuracy were just okay.

Viewsonic’s X2-4K is our former recommendation for a 4K short-throw projector. It’s still a very good choice that’s extremely similar to the newer BenQ X500i in design, features, and performance, but the BenQ model slightly outdoes it in color accuracy and image sharpness. If you plan to add your own HDMI streaming stick, this projector might be the better choice because it has a 5-volt/1-amp USB-A port to power such devices, whereas the X500i lacks that feature.

This article was edited by Grant Clauser and Ben Frumin.