Did you decide to invest in a new video projector for your home cinema, school or work office?
This comparative guide is here to help you choose the best device under a thousand dollars.
With this budget, you can find semi-professional projectors with both excellent image and sound quality, but also a remarkable feature set and lifespan.
That’s why this guide will focus on the following criteria to select the very best models on the market:
- - Image quality: resolution, brightness, color, contrast, image size
- - Sound quality: speakers, audio inputs and outputs, noise reduction
- - Connectivity: HDMI, USB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth…
- - Lamp lifespan: at least 10,000 hours, which corresponds to about 10 years of daily use
- - And extra features: Smart OS, screen mirroring, auto-focus, keystone adjustment, low latency, 3D support, …
- Follow the guide to find the video projector of your dreams!
The Best Home Theater Projector: Wemax Vogue Pro
For a budget under one thousand dollars, the Wemax Vogue Pro definitely has the most valuable features:
First, its image quality (4K/8K support, 2.07 million pixels, 1600 ANSI Lumens, full-channel LED, HDR10, 125% Rec 709 color coverage) is ideal for watching movies, playing games or working in the best conditions. On the audio side, it also has a very quiet ventilation (32dB) and its speakers output a high-fidelity DTS-HD + DOLBY Audio sound. Its connectivity is complete with two HDMI ports, two USB ports, as well as RJ-45 Ethernet, 3.5mm headphone, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and even S-PDIF optical audio.
It leads the market with its gigantic 30,000 hours lifespan, and includes a smart OS with app store, 32 GB of internal storage, screen mirroring, auto-focus, and auto-keystone with intelligent object avoidance.
Finally, this elegant model is ideal for a tabletop display, and it can also be mounted on a wall for a projected image as big as 200 inches. If you’re looking for a high-quality ALR screen, you can find your ideal model on Wemax’s website.
The Brightest Projectors: Optoma and Epson
With one grand in your pocket, you may be interested in purchasing a video projector with the brightest possible image.
Indeed, this comes with some advantages, like watching movies with some ambient daylight in the room, or even outdoors.
Optoma and Epson are the brands that produce the brightest lamps for this price range (4000 ANSI Lumens or more), though we advise you to double-check the lifespan of your video-projector before buying it, as the extra brightness makes the lamp last much less than the other models, and these models are often a bit more noisy, too.
Here Are Our Picks:
- Optoma UHD38 is a model with both 4000 ANSI Lumens, UHD 4K resolution and 3D compatibility using active glasses. It also has nice contrast and colors, low input lag, despite a pretty noisy fan, mono 10W speakers and a lifespan between 4,000 and 10,000 hours (4,000 hours corresponds to the brightest settings).
- Optoma HD29HLV proposes the brightest model with 4500 ANSI Lumens, in exchange for a lower resolution (FHD 1080P, with 3D support). It is also much quieter than its big brother. In this brightest model, Optoma has also cut all the extra features present in most other brands such as Wi-Fi, Smart OS, auto-focus and auto-keystone.
- Epson Pro EX9240 stands between the two Optoma models: 4000 ANSI Lumens brightness, 1080P resolution, no 3D support, and it is a bit noisy. However, its look and features are much more interesting: 3LCD display (for a better color accuracy), better lifespan (5,500 to 12,000 hours), 16W built-in speakers, Miracast screen mirroring, and auto keystone. Moreover, the Epson brand is much more renowned and probably more reliable than Optoma.
The Best Multimedia Projectors:
Epson EpiqVision Mini EF-12 Android TV and Samsung SP-LSP3 The Freestyle
If you are fond of multimedia, and looking for a projector with great image and sound, but also a remarkable connectivity and software dedicated to playing all kind of videos, here are two models that you can check out:
Epson EpiqVision Mini EF-12 Android TV: with a format similar to the Wemax Vogue Pro, this tabletop model is a little bit behind in terms of brightness (1000 ANSI Lumens), maximum image size (150 inches in diagonal) and lifespan (20,000 hours). However, it excels for its color quality and contrast, the embedded 20W Yamaha sound system, and of course, Android TV with Google Play and Chromecast. Finally, keep in mind that this projector is not suitable for gaming, as its input lag is very high (around 130ms).
BenQ HT2050A: with a much more classic design, this video projector has very good brightness and image quality thanks to its DLP technology. It can project an image as big as 300”. The colors (96% REC 709) and lifespan (3,500 to 7,000 hours) are sadly a little bit worse. But in terms of multimedia, it’s a very good contender with its immersive sound system, low noise, 3D support and a great 16ms input lag.
The Best Gaming Projectors: BenQ W1300i and Viewsonic PX701-4K
For exigent gamers, the main criteria are the image quality and low input lag.
The connectivity is also important to support multiple video sources such as PC and video game consoles.
The following models will be the perfect allies to complete your adventure:
BenQ W1300i is an excellent tabletop video projector. It offers a great brightness (3000 ANSI lumens), supports HDR and has both a low input rate (8ms) and high frame rate (up to 120 Hz). The side buttons, the easy settings and the included Android TV are also pretty handy. However, the image size, the sound system and the lifespan are a little behind the Wemax model.
Viewsonic PX701-4K: this model has impressive stats for gaming and for movie enthusiasts: 4K resolution, 3,200 ANSI Lumens, HDR support, 5ms input lag, frame rate up to 240 Hz and image size up to 300 inches in diagonal, however it is more classical in terms of looks, contrast, sound, connectivity and lifespan. Moreover, the Viewsonic brand is probably a little less renowned than the other ones present in this guide.
The Longest Lifespan: Xiaomi Mi Smart Projector 2 Pro
The Xiaomi Mi Smart Projector 2 is a very good contender in the 1,000 dollars price range.
Just like its little brother “Xiaomi Mi Smart Projector 2” which was a great choice under $500, this “Pro” model offers a 30,000 hours lifespan, similarly to Wemax’s Dice and Vogue Pro models.
It is also a little bulkier, to include the following features: 4-channel LED, auto-focus, auto-keystone, Android TV with Netflix and Chromecast support, a great 10W stereo sound system, completed with a full wired and wireless connectivity.
Though, it suffers the comparison with Vogue pro on the brightness (1300 ANSI Lumens), the colorimetry, the maximum image size (120 inches), the lack of zoom feature, and according to users, it has a poorly designed remote controller.
The Best Portable Projector: Wemax Go Advanced
Crowdfunded last year, the Wemax Go series is a true revolution if you want the most advanced video projector technology with ultra-portable capabilities.
With a thickness under one inch, Wemax Go Advanced is the world’s thinnest Laser Projector, with a price tag well under 1000 dollars. The ALPD® Laser technology allows a very detailed, colored and contrasted image, while offering a great comfort for the eyes, a ultra long lifespan (more than 25,000 hours) and a comfortable brightness of 600 ANSI Lumens. The connectivity and extra features are not left behind:
This pocket model has both HDMI, USB, 3.5mm audio and Wi-Fi inputs, and supports 4K video input.
Moreover, it has screen mirroring capabilities, and includes auto-focus and auto keystone adjustment along with intelligent object avoidance, which will help you set up your display extremely easily and get started in just a few seconds.
Finally, the included 1.5 hour battery and Smart OS makes the Wemax Go Advanced the perfect choice for nomad users who want to watch movies, play video games or do business on-the-go!
And why not complete your purchase with a 10W Bluetooth Speaker, a 20,000 mAh external battery or a 50-inch ALR Portable Projector Screen, which are also manufactured by Wemax ?
Conclusion
If you’re a gamer, a student, an office worker or a movie enthusiast, in the comfort of your living-room or on the go, this guide has you covered when it comes to choosing the ideal video projector under one thousand dollars.
Remember to use coupons and promotions to buy your projector and accessories at the lowest price: for example, Wemax is currently offering a -25% discount on your first purchase.
If you have a different budget, you can also read my other guides: The best Video Projectors under $500 and The best Video Projectors under $1500.
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