by Jim Samposzi
For the best in entertainment in your home big screens and excellent sound quality can transform your viewing experience. In fact, it is even feasible to transform your living room into the next best thing to a movie theater.
Though big LCD televisions offer a high quality viewing experience, there is nothing to equal a real video projector to bring movies and television to life. Projectors, aka multimedia projectors or home theater projectors, have been in existence for decades. But it is only more recently that projectors have become affordable for the average consumer.
Also, projectors have become lighter and compact, and picture quality and brightness has improved a lot. Good video projectors are available for well under the $1,000 mark, although you can pay a few thousand dollars for some models.
Buying a video projector can be sizable out-lay so you need to know exactly what you need. There are a couple of major kinds of video projectors – Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and Digital Light Processing (DLP).
Liquid Crystal Display projectors – These are the older of the two varieties, although they remain popular and are inexpensive. They have decent brightness and color, and are a popular choice for presentations.
DLP projectors – Digital Light Processing (DLP) projectors have become more popular among home users because they are more suited for movies and TV. Usually they are more compact and lightweight, although they are also more expensive.
If you are in the market for a projector it is a good idea to have a good knowledge of the terminology and have an understanding of what features you need.
Resolution – The chief reason for having a projector is so you can enjoy a big, cinema-like screen at home. However, large displays require high resolutions. The smallest resolution you should consider is 1280×720. If you want a real HD video projector, 1920×1080 is the way to go, but you will have to pay for the luxury.
Brightness – This is arguably the most essential feature on any video projector. That said, it is also important to buy a projector that is not too bright. Much will depend on the brightness of your room.
Contrast – Any home projector must provide good contrast for cinematic quality. Also, a quality high-contrast gray screen will help.
Versatility – Your video projector should be capable of connecting to a wide range of media, including TV receivers, DVD/BluRay players and computers so you may watch what you want, when you want.
Jim is a freelance writer with more than 10 years writing experience. Jim is presently working as a freelance writer for many well-known b2b portals and has become the in house expert on projectors. Be sure to visit our very useful web portal for additional information on Projectors and Portable Projector.
