Apr. 29, 2024
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When shopping for your home theater projector, of course brightness - lumens, are one of the most obvious specs you see. The interesting thing, is that depending on how/where you set up your projector, brightness can vary by almost double!
That's right - a projector placed in one position in your room, might do 350 lumens, but placed more optimally, it could produce as much as 700 lumens. Sound easy? Not! There are always trade-offs. Before I get into all of this, let's be clear up front:
The purpose of this piece is to improve your understanding of the impact of positioning a projector, the lens it has, and your need for achieving a level of brightness. While the information here, may cause you to change some of your installation assumptions, it is unlikely that you will make totally different choices in projector, screen type, or whether you ceiling mount or shelf mount a projector. These decisions will all have some, but minor impact on your overall theater, and its performance.
OK, back to brightness, first, this two to one range of brightness isn't true for all projectors. The huge shift in brightness occurs with projectors that are exceptionally flexible in placement, by virtue of wide range zoom lenses.
When a projector's lens is in full wide angle mode (largest image from a given distance), more lumens make it out the lens. In full telephoto, less lumens.
Many projectors for the home, (mostly 3LCD and LCoS types) now offer 2:1 zoom lenses. That is a placment range from closest to furthest, of 2 to 1. Perhaps, for a 100" diagonal 16:9 screen, that might be from 10.5 feet to 21 feet away.
If you mount it 10.5 feet from the screen, you will get almost double the lumens as mounting it 21 feet back.
There is no straight simple formula, because different lens designs will have some impact on the actual amount of change, but, let's say that with a 2:1 lens, it will be close to a doubling.
If, on the other hand, the projector has a far more limited lens, say with a zoom ratio of 1.2:1, then, the change in brightness from one "extreme" to the other, becomes minimal, and not a serious consideration.
Now, most of the DLP projectors have limited zoom lens (1.1:1 to 1.3:1), so there isn't much to concern ourselves there, but with the 3LCD, and LCoS projectors, where all of them seem to have at least 1.5:1, and most are around 2:1, where you place the projector can matter a lot.
Consider, the reason you get a 2:1 zoom on most of these projectors, is to allow the flexibility not just to ceiling mount the projector, but to give you the option of mounting the projector on the rear wall of your room. The projectors with wide range zoom lenses means that probably 90+% of people can rear shelf mount.
And, rear shelf mounting can save money, in terms of length of cables as well as installation costs - as it's harder to get power to most ceilings, and if you have fairly high ceilings, working up there means ladders or scaffolding. For most, shelf mounting is just plain simpler and less expensive.
For most people that are shelf mounting their projectors, they will find their zoom lens nearer to the middle of the zoom range, or further back. As a result the actual brightness will probably be a little less than we quote, since we measure with the zoom at mid range.
Whether you received it as a gift this holiday season, or gave it to yourself, congrats on your new projector! There's no better way to get a massive image for an incredible movie night. Before you pop the popcorn and settle in for quick end-of-year binge of every Marvel movie in order, there's something you should know: proper placement, and adjustment of a few settings, will make your new projector look it absolute best. Will it work direct from the box? Sure. Will it look better if you take a few minutes to get everything right? Absolutely.
As someone who has used a projector as his main "TV" for over 15 years, not to mention reviewing them professionally even longer, I've set up countless projectors. Seriously, I tried counting. I stopped at "a lot."
From start to sofa, here's what you need to know about setting up your new projector.
On several occasions I've got a projector up and running, only to have missed a second remote, a hidden Wi-Fi adapter, and more. It's also worth taking the time to make sure you've removed all the protective film. It's significantly easier to do anything physical with the projector now compared to when it's placed or mounted.
If you're going to sit the projector on a stand or table, it's also worth checking which of its feet are adjustable. With most projectors only some of the feet screw in and out, which might make getting the image adjusted correctly a bit of a challenge.
If your projector has multiple HDMI inputs, figure out which ones accept the video you want to send. If the rest of your system is 4K compatible, for instance, double-check which input can handle that. With many projectors, only one is HDMI 2.0 and ready for all kinds of 4K, for example.
The vast majority of inexpensive projectors lack a feature known as lens shift. This means they need to have very specific placement relative to the screen, often in line with the top or bottom of the screen. Sometimes the throw angle is even greater, meaning it needs to be below, or above, the edge of the screen.
Definitely need to zoom out a bit here...
This is counter-intuitive, as you might assume you need to place the projector in line with the center of the screen. This is almost never the case with inexpensive DLP projectors , and usually not the case with inexpensive LCD projectors either. Higher-end LCOS projectors, like those from Sony and JVC, typically have lens shift that allows for a greater range of vertical placement options.
Next is the distance from the screen. Most projectors, other than the short-throw variety, can usually fit a 100-inch screen from a distance of about 10-feet. This can vary, though, and it's important to verify before you start drilling holes in your ceiling. The zoom range with most projectors is also fairly limited, meaning you'll only have a few feet of "sweet spot" to fill a specific-sized screen. This info is almost always on the manufacturer's website for your projector, or in the owner's manual.
If you're planning on mounting your PJ, make sure you find a stud. The last thing you want is to have the projector drop to the floor in the middle of a movie, ripping out half the ceiling with it.
Related, if you're planning on running the HDMI cable through the ceiling/walls, check local building codes. Many municipalities require either specific in-wall-rated cables, conduit, or both.
Many inexpensive projectors only have some adjustable feet.
If you're going the wireless route, make sure there's an easy line of sight between the transmitter and the receiver. Most wireless HDMI options don't require line of sight, but for every layer you place between a transmitter and receiver, the possibility of signal loss goes up. I've also tested some wireless options that lost signal when I walked between the transmitter and receiver. If your transmitter is in the back of a cabinet somewhere, beware.
One last piece of placement advice: If you can avoid it, don't use the built-in keystone adjustment. This is a feature designed to correct a particular placement issue. When your projector isn't in the center (horizontally) of the screen, or is too high or too low, the image it projects won't be perfectly rectangular, it will be a trapezoid. A little bit of imperfection is fine since it will probably be unnoticeable from a normal seating distance. Too much, however, and you'll have image bleed and a weird shape that could be distracting.
Watch this: How to buy the best home theater projector
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The keystone adjustment makes the image rectangular electronically. Don't do it. Not only does keystone adjustment lower the resolution of the image, since you're no longer using the entire image-creating chip or chips, but also adds a new layer of video processing that can add quality-reducing artifacts on its own. Or to put it another way, using keystone adjustments on any projector will reduce the image quality of the projector, full stop.
Take the time to find the horizontal center of the screen, and match that up with the center of the lens of the projector (not necessarily the center of the projector itself). Adjust the height using a stand or mount, not by tilting the projector. That way you'll get it as flat and level as possible without having to use keystone.
Every projector has keystone adjustment (the trapezoids). Don't use it.
A crucial consideration that ties in with placement is adequate airflow. Projectors are basically space heaters. They throw out a seemingly equal amount of heat and light. If the airflow isn't adequate, the projector could overheat and shut down, you could significantly reduce the life of the lamp, and theoretically start a fire. The latter isn't too likely, but this isn't something to take for granted.
Goto bitaso to know more.
Projectors are ovens that accidentally create light.
Professional installers build fan-vented cabinets for projectors. If you're not sure how to do this yourself, perhaps don't risk it and leave the projector in the open.
The other side of this is if you're planning on putting the projector behind your sofa, chances are there's going to be at least one "hot seat," with the main fan belching hot air at someone's head. In the winter this could be quite cozy. In the summer, not so much. Different projectors have different fan designs, so it's hard to say the best way to handle this. Most of the projectors I've reviewed for CNET recently have fans on the front and sides. Most of these you can see in the pictures.
The exhaust from most projectors is hot enough that if it's blowing right in your face, it's a bit annoying.
Any light in a room that's not created by the projector is going to reduce image quality. Even if you have a fancy light-rejecting screen, ambient light is bad and you're going to want to do everything you can to reduce it.
The biggest culprit is the sun. If you're planning on watching TV during the day, you're going to need to cut down the light in the room. Even if your projector does OK during the day when you buy it, the lamp is only going to get dimmer over time. In a few years, you're going to need to buy curtains to see anything, so you might as well get them now. If your spouse doesn't like the look of blackout curtains, any heavy curtains or shades will help. If you're watching a lot of content during the day, a projector might not be the best primary option anyway. So for those occasional mid-day movie marathons, sporting events, etc, anything that cuts down the glare should work.
Watch this: Six things to know about home theater projectors
02:33
The next step isn't as big of a deal, but in a dark room all those little LED power lights suddenly become the Beacons of Gondor. Some electrical tape works wonders.
Even expensive projectors leak light somewhere other than where you want it. With inexpensive projectors, this is often a squarish halo of light spilled around the screen. There's not much you can easily do about it, and it's quite common. It's why most theaters have the area around the screen painted black.
Most projectors have manual focus adjustments, either using a wheel attached to the lens, or motorized. Once in a while you'll find one that has autofocus. There are pros and cons to each of the main types, and how best to achieve the sharpest focus possible.
With both options, I find it best to use a bright image, or the bright part of an image. Barring that, you can bring up the user menu, and use that. These will typically have bright lettering on a dark background, which should help.
With a motorized focus, stand up at the screen and slowly adjust until you can see the individual pixels. It's possible they'll be too small to see, depending on the size of your screen, the resolution of the projector, and your eyesight. You should be able to make out the darker outlines, however. Adjust the best you can, but ideally each pixel will be obvious when you're standing at the screen. Sometimes, even with high-end projectors, the adjustments will be too coarse to get perfect. Don't stress about it. As long as you're close it should look fine when you're seated. If your projector is on a stand, you could experiment with nudging it backward a fraction of an inch, if the focus is in between one of its steps.
With analog, manual adjustments, you're actually more likely to get perfect focus as there are typically no "steps" to the adjustments, just a smooth analog rotation of the focus wheel. I've reviewed a few projectors that have focus wheels that stick, or don't move smoothly. The technical term for this is "annoying." The main issue with this type of focusing method is that you're standing at the projector, and the screen is on the other side of the room. If you can't make out the pixels at all from where you're standing, enlisting a hapless, well-sighted aide will work. I believe this is the main reason people have children.
Some projectors have focus you can adjust with the remote, or in the case of the Viewsonic M2, autofocus.
I once used binoculars to get the focus correct on a particularly long-throw, high-resolution projector, but I doubt most of you will need to resort to this, not least because you'll look as ridiculous as I did.
If you have a three-chip projector, either LCD, LCOS, or very high-end DLP, it's also possible each chip isn't precisely aligned. This might appear like a focus issue, with an inability to distinguish individual pixels. It could look like each pixel has an edge that's a specific color. If the red panel is misaligned, each pixel might have a red edge. These projectors usually have adjustments to align the panels in their menus.
Depending on the projector, it's possible not every part of the image will be in focus at the same time -- that's one downside to low-cost lenses. As you can see in the image of the menu in the next section, there are some halos around the letters. That's another side-effect of low-price optics.
Every projector is going to have slightly different settings but there are a few that are fairly universal. Like TVs most have picture mode settings like Sports, Movies or Vivid. Usually the one called something like Movie, Cinema or Theater will deliver the best, most accurate picture.
Projectors have most of the same picture settings that TVs do, so it's worth reviewing how to set those too.
The most important settings specific to projectors have to do with the lamp. Inside most projectors is some kind of super-bright light bulb, called a lamp. A handful of projectors use LEDs or lasers, but these are less common for home theater projectors.
Remember the adage "a candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long"? Well that, basically, with your projector's lamp. While the projector might look its best on its brightest lamp setting, it's not going to last as long as it would in a dimmer setting. Most current projectors are rated to last 4-5,000 hours on their normal lamp setting, which is several years if you're watching 4 hours a day. If the price of a lamp replacement, usually over $100, doesn't seem like a big deal, go ahead and run it full bore. Why not?
A basic settings menu. Note the soft edges to the text, caused by inexpensive optics of some inexpensive projectors.
If you have a smaller screen, only watch at night, or want to save some money in the long run, you can dial back the brightness. Often this is called Eco mode, but the change will be very noticeable regardless what it's called on your projector. Dimmer lamp modes are usually quieter as well, as the fans don't have to work as hard.
There's also commonly a dynamic brightness mode that runs the lamp at 100% during bright scenes, and then makes it dimmer during darker scenes. Usually this mode offers even longer lamp life, but this ramping up and down of the light might be visible. With some projectors the fans getting faster and slower is noticeable as well.
Some projectors have an automatic iris. This works similarly to the dynamic brightness mode, but the lamp doesn't change. Instead, a mechanical iris dims the image during dark scenes. How well these work varies greatly. Some people don't mind them, others find it annoying. There isn't as much of a payoff, however, like the longer lamp life of the dynamic brightness lamp mode.
Don't expect to use the speaker built into the projector. It's like buying a Porsche and putting on tires from a wheelbarrow. The sound just won't match the grand picture.
The speakers built into projectors are small, rarely sound good, and are never loud. So even if the PJ has speakers, you shouldn't rely on them.
The cheapest alternative is getting a decent speaker, and connecting via an analog cable. Some projectors have Bluetooth , as do Roku and Amazon Fire Sticks which you can connect to directly, but Bluetooth has a lag that manifests as a lip-sync error. Not ideal for long-term use. Go analog if you can.
Better would be a soundbar or receiver with speakers. Connect these all with HDMI for a real home theater experience.
Now that you've got everything set up and running, there are a few "best practices" to keep in mind with a projector that are different from a TV. They all center around the lamp.
A traditional UHP projector lamp is a fragile thing. Electricity sparks across two electrodes. This creates the light you see. Over time, the electrodes degrade, sort of like how a candle's wick burns away. Eventually, they'll be too far apart for the arc to form, and the lamp is dead. No picture for you.
The biggest shock to these poor little electrodes actually occurs when you first turn on the projector. Leaving it running, on the other hand, isn't as punishing.
A UHP lamp in the wild.
In another counter-intuitive aspect of projector ownership, it's better leaving it on instead of turning it on and off multiple times in a row. There's no hard rule, but multiple restarts in a single night is bad for lamp life. Leaving it on might be better. For what it's worth, since I use my projector as the main "TV" in my home, it runs for many hours every night. I routinely get many, many more hours out of a lamp than what it's rated.
How strict you want to be with this is up to you because, as I said, there's no hard rule. I'd generally say if the projector is still warm when you want to use it again, you shouldn't have turned it off in the first place. Turn it off when you're done, of course. Don't sweat it if you accidentally turn it off and then want to watch one more episode. If you're doing that every night, that's not great. Just something to keep in mind, and the minds of anyone else who uses the projector.
Also, never ever unplug a projector when it's on, or even when it's off and cooling down. Most projectors will run their fans for a few minutes to gently cool down the lamp. Pulling the plug doesn't allow this gentle cooldown and is also bad for the lamp.
Of course, you're going to need a new lamp eventually. Depending on the projector, your settings and how you use it, this will be a few years away on the short side, perhaps many years away on the long side. This is just the cost of ownership, like owning a disposable razor or getting an oil change in your car. For the most part, lamps aren't outrageously expensive compared to the price of the projector. This isn't printer ink.
Though finding what lamp your projector needs isn't hard, it might be worth writing the exact model and writing it somewhere you won't lose. On the bottom of the projector maybe.
As tempting as it is to find a cheap "knock-off" lamp to save some money, beware. If you find a lamp that's significantly cheaper than the rest, it's probably for a reason. They might not perform as well as the real thing. One friend who also uses a projector full-time replaced his old and dim lamp for a cheap no-name version. I measured the brightness of the many-thousand-hour old lamp, then measured the brightness of the brand new zero-hour lamp. The new lamp was actually dimmer than the worn-out old one. Yeah, that's not great.
If possible, buy the lamp through the projector manufacturer's website, or via retailers they recommend. Sometimes that's not possible, in which case use your best judgment. If all the options for your lamp are $150 on Amazon , and a random website has one for $60, I'd avoid the $60 option.
Read more: Best portable projector with battery power for 2021: BenQ, Anker, LG and more
Note: This article was first published in 2020 but has been updated with new info and links.
As well as covering TV and other display tech, Geoff does photo tours of cool museums and locations around the world, including nuclear submarines, massive aircraft carriers, medieval castles, epic 10,000 mile road trips, and more. Check out Tech Treks for all his tours and adventures.
He wrote a bestselling sci-fi novel about city-size submarines, along with a sequel. You can follow his adventures on Instagram and his YouTube channel.
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