A swanky room that is definitely not mine featuring a really expensive Sony short-throw projector.
SonyI'm a projector guy. I've had a projector as my main -- and only -- "TV" for over 15 years. There is something incredibly addictive about a 102-inch screen for TV shows, movies and video games. For years I've advocated getting a projector over a big TV, not least because of the price but also for the much larger image possible compared to the largest TV screens.
The last few years, however, have seen significant shifts in both prices and technology. If you're thinking about upgrading to a really big screen, is a projector still the way to go in 2020? Let's break it down.
Price vs. performance
When I originally wrote the sage words "Don't buy a jumbo LCD TV, buy a projector" eight years ago, the TV and PJ landscape was far different. Ultralarge TVs were extraordinarily expensive. For far less, roughly what you'd pay for a 50-inch TV, you could get a projector and a screen that had four times as much screen real estate. A 100-inch TV makes watching anything an event. The better projectors also had far better contrast ratios, and therefore better image quality, than most TVs of the time.
Short-throw projectors can help fit a projector into just about any room but they can still look washed out in brighter lighting.
Sarah Tew/CNETLife moves pretty fast. Technology even more so. Now you can get a CNET Editors' Choice-winning 75-inch LCD for $1,400, or a 77-inch OLED (OLED!) for under $4,000. These still aren't 100 inches, but they're really big, bright and, unlike many similarly priced projectors, Ultra HD 4K. While the added resolution of 4K isn't vital in smaller screen sizes, it becomes far more noticeable on larger screens. At 100 inches, the difference can be significant.
Or to put it more simply, the price of big TVs has fallen sharply and their performance has increased significantly, both at rates far faster than projectors. Yes, you can get inexpensive and bright projectors, but their overall performance pales in comparison to most TVs.
Read more: Best 75-inch TVs of 2020
TVs win for HDR
A related issue is HDR, or high dynamic range. The amount of HDR movies and TV shows is always growing, and the greater highlight detail, and usually greater color range, can be a big improvement over standard 4K video.
The problem is projectors have a really, really hard time with HDR. While many projectors can, in fact, accept HDR video, almost all have issues displaying HDR video. The problem is two-fold. The first is that even the best home projectors aren't that bright, at least compared to the average television. The second is that the more affordable PJs also don't have the contrast ratio needed to show HDR at its best. Many models aren't able to display wide color gamut at all.
Read more: Why you shouldn't expect great HDR from a projector
Two projectors, side by side, running the same content. This is an example of good and bad HDR processing. Notice how there are three individual lights in the left image, but a single blob of light on the right.
Geoffrey Morrison/CNETNow, higher-end projectors can do WCG and do a decent job with HDR, but at a far greater price than a large TV. Even the best and brightest projectors are still only a fraction of the brightness of a midrange television. Brightness isn't everything (though arguably, contrast ratio is), but when it comes to HDR light output is a much bigger deal.
Can a projector look good without HDR? Yes, but this is another piece missing in the PJ puzzle.
Come into the light
The biggest image quality issue with projectors is light. Namely, ambient light. A projector throws light at a screen, but any other light in the room is also getting thrown at the screen. The brightest parts of the image aren't hugely affected, but the darker parts are. Which is to say, if you're watching sports or something that's bright overall, you're fine. If you're watching a dark movie, it's going to be hard to see.
Yes, there are ambient light-rejecting screens, but they're expensive. And physics is physics. No matter how good a fancy screen is at reducing the impact of ambient light, it's still going to look worse than the same screen in a dark room. If you want to watch your projector during the day in a room with lots of windows (like the one at the top of this article) and enjoy the best image quality, you'll need lots of curtains.
A TV is going to create a much brighter image, one that holds up better in bright rooms. This obviously hasn't persuaded me to switch to a TV, but I also use black-out curtains in my TV room. Most people probably aren't willing to make that sacrifice.
This is one more piece, and one that's harder to forgive when TVs are now cheaper and far better performing.
The future
It pains me to say it, but for most people TVs are a better option than projectors. This was somewhat true when I said the opposite a few years ago, but it's definitely true now. Unless you're willing to make sacrifices to your living situation, the slightly smaller screen of a TV is going to be easier to live with. And in the case of OLED and many of the best-performing LCD and QLED TVs the image quality will be significantly better too, especially with HDR.
These days projector ownership means sacrificing a variety of things, like image quality, livability, possibly price, all in the name of the largest possible image. Don't get me wrong, a huge image is awesome, but it's a lot harder to justify now, given how much better and cheaper truly huge TVs have gotten.
This isn't to stay projectors have stagnated. They continue to get brighter, and their contrast and color capabilities keep improving. Models using lasers and LEDs, while still often behind in performance compared to their UHP-lamp siblings, keep getting better and dropping in price.
Projectors aren't going away any time soon. It's just that their value compared to TVs has shifted. For those of us who still aren't satisfied with 75-, 85- or even 98-inch screens, projectors are the only way to go. At least until MicroLED drops in price.
Watch this: Behind the scenes with Vizio's new OLED TV and more
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Got a question for Geoff? First, check out all the other articles he's written on topics such as why you shouldn't buy expensive HDMI cables, TV resolutions explained, how HDR works and more.
Still have a question? Tweet at him @TechWriterGeoff, then check out his travel photography on Instagram. He also thinks you should check out his best-selling sci-fi novel and its sequel.
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