Best Epson Projectors in India for Home (2021) -Review and comparison

The best epson projectors are a pleasure to watch movies. Big screen TVs are perfectly good, but with picture sizes typically exceeding 100 inches, the best projectors are another world of fun. The best 4K HDR projectors can deliver a glorious sense of cinematic depth with that extra-large screen action. It uses quiet operation, a decent AV amplifier and surround speaker package and gives you a true home theater night.

We’ve rounded up our favorite projectors, including native Full HD and 4K models, which also support HDR, and some short throw projectors for even those with smaller spaces. There are even a laptop or two that would be a great addition to take to a garden party for an outdoor movie experience. The only question is how much do you have to spend?

Of course, a great 4K projector will cost more than a Full HD one, and true native 4K costs even more than those that use pixel shifting to fake that high-end resolution. Fear not though, we have something for every budget on our list of the best projectors below. Just remember to save some money for the projector screen and popcorn!

Here are the 10 Best Epson Projectors.

Let’s take a look at the Best Epson Projectors!

Finding the best was next up on our list of challenges. After several hours of testing, we decided on a few models that we think are suited.

A Comparison of our Favorite Best Epson Projectors

What is a projector?

A projector may be best thought of as an inverted camera, spitting light out of a lens rather than receiving it. For the sake of this buying guide, we will be considering digital projectors—that is, projectors with video inputs that serve a similar function to a TV or computer monitor while offering several benefits, which may include:

• Larger image sizes
• Increased portability
• Flexible installation possibilities

The principles I will outline below apply to all types of projectors. However, it will help to start by dividing digital projectors into four categories:

• Pocket, also called “pico”
• Home theater
• Multimedia
• Large venue and fixed installation (a subset of multimedia)

Obviously, there will be overlap, and not all models will fit easily into a particular category. For example, home theater and multimedia projectors are very similar. In most cases, it will be clear from your application which type you need. Boardroom presentations: this will be multimedia. In a living room: home theater. For a lecture hall, seating 500 people: large venue. Ultra-portable, where a small screen size is acceptable: pocket or pico projector.

Pocket Projectors

Pocket projectors are ultra-portable, some not much larger than a smartphone, some resembling miniaturized multimedia projectors. They are best seen as a substitute for a computer monitor or small TV you can take with you. Since they typically use LED lamps to avoid high power consumption and bulky cooling systems, what they give you in portability they sacrifice in image size. Brightness will be discussed in detail below, but for the sake of comparison, pico projectors typically range from 25 to 1500 ANSI lumens, whereas decent multimedia projectors start at 2500 lumens. They also tend to lack optical zoom, meaning you will need to be flexible with your projector placement to achieve the desired image size.

Multimedia Projectors

Multimedia projectors represent the largest category, and are the most widely sold at B&H. Multimedia projectors are general purpose, and are used for everything from giving PowerPoint presentations to screening video clips and slideshows at weddings. They are typically considered portable, weighing from 3 pounds for the ultra-slim models and increasing from there. Their brightness tends to range from 2500 to 4500 lumens or so. They virtually always have zoom lenses; however, the zoom range is usually shorter than that of their home theater counterparts: 1.2x to 1.5x (compared to 2x in the home theater realm). This means special care needs to be taken when choosing, to make sure the screen size is compatible with the projector’s throw ratio. Multimedia projectors offer a range of inputs. VGA is still the staple, but digital inputs such as HDMI, DVI, DisplayPort, and even SDI are available. Many also support interactive and wireless presentational functionally, as well as the ability to give presentations without a computer.

Multimedia projectors tend to follow computer (VESA) resolutions rather than SD or HD video resolutions. These resolutions included SVGA (800 x 600), XGA (1024 x 768), WXGA (1280 x 800), and WUXGA (1920 x 1200). The most popular resolution is WXGA, and is well suited for PowerPoint presentations, as well as high-definition video.

Short Throw Projectors

An important subcategory of multimedia projectors is short throw and ultra-short throw. Generally, a throw ratio of less than 1:1 is considered short throw. The most common throw ratios are 0.5:1 and 0.3:1, with the latter fulfilling the distinction of being “ultra-short throw.” Short throw projectors almost never have zoom lenses and, in the cases of ultra-short throw projectors, use a mirror onto which the image is projected first, before being reflected at the screen. They lend themselves to wall rather than ceiling mounting, and are designed to be installed very close to the screen: 18 inches to 2 feet. Short throw projectors are most often used in classrooms, and are ideal for pairing with digital whiteboards. One might be tempted to place a short throw projector farther back than the recommended couple of feet to achieve a very large image in a small space (assuming sufficiently low ambient light levels, of course). This probably won’t work, since short throw projectors keystone severely when used outside their recommended throw distance range, and will require some very creative mounting to produce an undistorted image. Because they are meant for smaller screen sizes (8 feet wide or less), short throw projectors normally top out at 3000 lumens. If you require a brighter projector and have limited space, you will need to look at a fixed installation projector with interchangeable lenses instead. See the Epson PowerLite 675W for an example of an ultra-short-throw projector, shown with its separately sold wall mount.

Home Theater Projectors

True home theater projectors—as opposed to multimedia/home theater crossovers, which from a feature perspective can be treated as multimedia projectors—place the emphasis on image quality above all else. They run lower brightness—say 1800 lumens average—and have the most zoom of any projector type that features built-in lenses.

Home theater projectors often feature low-voltage control (LVC), so that turning the projector on or off can trigger the screen to rise or descend, or open and close if it is a fixed frame covered by drapes. To achieve the quietest possible operation, they have more efficient—or more elaborate—cooling systems, making them relatively bulky and, in some cases, unable to support inverted (upside down) installation. They are also the dearest type of projector, relative to specifications. Most are Full HD and a handful are 4K (true DCI 4096 x 2160 4K, in fact). Be careful, though. Companies often lump what are essentially restyled multimedia projectors into the home theater category. Telltale signs of faking are high lumen ratings (more than 3000 lumens), VESA rather than HD video native resolutions (such as WXGA and WUXGA), and zoom that’s shorter than 2x.

If you want a great picture, can block out all ambient light, and are working with a screen size of up to 100 inches or so, home theater projectors are a great choice. Otherwise, you may be better served with a brighter multimedia projector, even if you plan to use it in a home theater setting.

Where is my 4K?

Admittedly, 4K hasn’t gained ground as quickly in projectors as TV and computer monitors. With most LCD and DLP chips being produced for the A/V rather than consumer market, likely the pressure for pushing the bounds of resolution just isn’t there. You still have options to view 4K content without much compromise. The Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 5040UB, for example, features a “pixel-shifting” technique that boosts its apparent resolution beyond the 1920 x 1080 pixels of each of its three LCD chips.

Is 3D still “a thing?”

Consumer electronics manufacturers openly admit they’ve given up on 3D. You might still want 3D. If so, you’ll probably need to look for a home theater projector. Many multimedia projectors purport to be “3D-ready”—in most cases, this means the feature “DLP Link,” a 3D technology that only works with select computer graphics cards and software. Home theater projectors are more likely to offer what you really need, HDMI 3D support so you can use them with Blu-ray players. When spec’ing for 3D, keep in mind that you are effectively cutting the brightness in half. As an alternative to buying a 3D-ready projector, you can also use a combination of two-projector “stacking” and polarizing filters. In this case, a special processor is required to demux the left- and right-eye streams from the HDMI signal.

Fixed-Installation and Large-Venue Projectors

Fixed-installation and large-venue projectors are often included together with multimedia projectors. They are the brightest type available in the consumer market, starting at around 4500 lumens and going up to 20,000 or more. Installation projectors are generally not considered portable, and take time to set up. In most cases, they feature interchangeable-lens systems, making them the most adaptable in terms of throw distance. They are normally used in lecture halls, movie theaters, houses of worship, stadiums, and other similar settings that require screening for large groups. In addition to large screen sizes, they are used in settings where ambient light can’t be controlled. Many also support “stacking,” meaning the output from two or more projectors can be aggregated to increase the brightness beyond what a single projector can achieve. Alternatively, “edge blending”—the projection equivalent of a video wall—can be used to increase the total resolution or create custom aspect ratios.

Because of their weight and the nature of the lens systems they use, in most cases, installation projectors should be spec’ed out by an integrator, and require installation by a professional.

Now we come to implementing the three pieces of information mentioned earlier.

Why do screen size and throw distance matter? Or: What is throw ratio?

Projectors have a very important specification called “throw ratio.” Throw ratio is a specification that is determined by the first two pieces of information in the equation:

• How far is the projector is from the screen (throw distance)?
• How wide is the screen?

Glossary

Brightness (lumens)

Projector brightness is measured in ANSI lumens (lumens, for short). Since the lumens rating is often measured by taking a reflected reading from a screen rather than directly from the light emanating from the lens, there is a fair amount of room for number fudging. This is because different screen surfaces have different reflectivity characteristics, and you can probably guess which surfaces projector makers prefer when rating their own products. On top of that, the image center is brighter than the edges by some factor, so manufacturers will measure from the center (in some cases they are honest enough to admit they are taking a center reading, but this is typically on professional models that the companies know will get more carefully scrutinized by the end user).

Multimedia projectors start around 2500 lumens, going up to around 4500 lumens or so, though the line gets blurry between multimedia and fixed installation. So, you may see what is advertised as a multimedia projector having up to 6500 lumens. Home theater projectors used to hover around the 2000-lumen mark, but in recent years more and more high-brightness models haves started to emerge. As of this writing, pico (pocket) projectors, because they rely on LED lamps, are rated at 1000 lumens or less; some as low as 10 lumens, or about the brightness of a Maglite. At the other end of the spectrum, if you want to build a typical movie theater, you’re looking at 20,000 lumens or more.

DLP

DLP stands for Digital Light Processing. There are two types: single chip and three chip. Single-chip DLP is the most common, and uses a combination of a color wheel and micro-mirrors to generate an image. Its historic advantage over LCD is that it can produce better color and contrast since the wheel can—in theory—be dyed to reproduce any color value or tonal value it wants. In addition, there is less space between pixels, thanks to advances in micro-mirror design, so you are less likely to perceive the so-called “screen-door effect.” The drawback to DLP compared to LCD is an artifact known as “rainbow effect.” However, recent DLP projectors spin the color wheel so fast, the rainbow effect is all but impossible to perceive.

Three-chip DLP is rare, and forgoes the color-wheel in favor of three arrays of micro-mirrors, one for each primary color. In some ways, three-chip DLP is the best of both worlds: eliminating the rainbow effect while keeping the pixel spacing reasonable. However, the technology is generally regarded as cost prohibitive and not often used.

Edge Blending

Edge blending allows the images from two or more projectors to be seamlessly merged to produce a single, larger image. Edge blending is the projection equivalent of a video wall, and can be useful for creative applications, allowing the creating of non-standard aspect ratios. Edge blending may be a built-in feature, or a third-party video processor may be used. In either case, the projectors must be of the same model and they must be carefully calibrated to ensure the images match.

Hybrid (LED/Laser) Projector Lamp

To produce higher brightness than is currently possible using an LED lamp exclusively, while retaining an acceptable CRI (Color Rendering Index), some projectors use “hybrid” lamps that combine an LED with an array of green lasers, combined using a reversed beam splitter. The benefit of this technology is a light source that does not burn out and offers lower energy consumption compared to traditional metal-halide lamps of the same brightness. The drawback is that the CRI obtained remains lower than what metal halide lamps can produce. Therefore, this technology is deployed in “presentation”-oriented projectors—that is, for giving PowerPoint presentations and similar applications. A projector optimized for video playback, showing photos, or anything else where good color reproduction is required will use one or more metal-halide lamps.

Keystone Correction

Keystone correction is a digital process that counteracts the keystone effect to a specified percentage. Most projectors have vertical keystone correction only, some have horizontal and vertical. The “keystone effect” (or “keystoning”) causes the projected image to appear wider at the top when the projector is too low, or wider on one side when the projector is horizontally off-center. Vertical keystone correction fixes keystoning when the projector is too low or too high, but requires horizontal centering. Horizontal correction compensates if the projector is horizontally off-center. Some projectors require manual adjustment, and some calculate the required correction automatically.

The drawback to keystone correction is that because it is a digital effect, the more correction applied, the more resolution will be reduced, a bit like digital zoom on a video camera. To avoid quality loss, lens shift should be used.

LED Projector Lamp

LED (Light Emitting Diode) is the most energy-efficient means of projector illumination. Additionally, LED lamps do not burn out in the ordinary sense. As with any circuit, they can fail, but they have a life expectancy on the order of 20,000 hours, compared to less than 5,000 for a typical metal-halide lamp. Currently, LEDs face two primary limitations to wider adoption in projectors: lower brightness and a lower CRI (Color Rendering Index) compared to the metal-halide counterparts. As of this writing, many LED-only projectors emit less than 1000 lumens and belong almost exclusively to the pico (pocket projector) category.

There is a very small minority of multimedia projectors that use a hybrid technology that combines LED with a green laser.

LCD

Three-LCD (often styled “3LCD”) is the most common imaging system used in multimedia projectors. In its most common implementation, three-LCD uses a beam splitter (prism) to break light into its RGB primaries, sending each color through a dedicated monochrome liquid crystal panel. Compared to DLP, LCDs do not tend to produce perceptible motion artifacts since they render the image line-by-line like a TV or computer monitor, and there are no moving parts in the imaging system. The drawbacks are lower contrast ratio than DLP, and more space between pixels, making the “screen-door effect” more apparent at a given resolution.

LCoS

LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicone) is also called SXRD (Silicon X-tal Reflective Display) on Sony products. It is a reflective technology like three-chip DLP, but in this case, the light is reflected from three silicone-backed LCD panels rather than micro-mirror arrays. This system currently claims to produce the least screen-door effect and, because it is LCD, is free from the “rainbow effect” and other color-wheel-related artifacts associated with single-chip DLP. It is used in multimedia projectors targeting critical viewing applications and some high-end home theater projectors.

Low Voltage Control (LVC)

LVC (Low Voltage Control) is an output found on many projectors that allows the projector to trigger another component of the A/V or home theater installation. For example, connecting a projector to a motorized screen that has LVC support allows the projector to automatically trigger the screen to lower when the projector is turned on and raise when it is turned off. The LVC output may be connected directly to the screen, or it may be connected to an automation system which, in turn, controls the screen and possibly performs other actions, such as dimming the house lights.

Lens Shift

Projectors with lens shift have a movable lens-projector interface that allows the angle of the lens to be adjusted slightly (“shifted”) with respect to the image plane. Like keystone correction, lens shift can be used to correct for keystoning, but unlike the former does not result in resolution loss. In addition, it can be used to reposition the image slightly to aid in the installation of the projector or to help align two or more images when using stacking or edge blending. Lens shift has to be adjusted manually on some projectors, and is motorized—operable by remote—on some models. Large-venue projectors with interchangeable lenses typically have motorized shift.

Metal-Halide Projector Lamp

Despite advances in LED technology, metal-halide lamps remain the most common because they are bright and have high CRI (Color Rendering Index). The drawbacks: they burn out after several thousand hours (2,000 to 5,000 hours), force projectors to use noisy cooling systems, and are notoriously expensive. On typical multimedia and home theater projectors, only a single lamp is used, and it will be encased in a housing. Typically, the entire housing assembly will be replaced, not just the lamp itself. The old lamp should be allowed to cool fully before attempting to remove it, and care should be taken not to touch the lens. Oils on your fingers can degrade the lens coating and potentially cause the lamp to explode when it is turned on. There is minimal risk of physical harm since the lamp will be sealed inside the projector; however, it will mean buying a new lamp.

Dual Lamp

Some projectors use two (or more) lamps as a cost-effective way of increasing the total brightness. Dual-lamp design also provides a degree of redundancy—assuming only a single lamp fails, you could continue to use the projector, albeit at half the original output. On some models, it also means you could switch off one lamp to conserve lamp life and energy in situations where the full output is superfluous. This may not be ideal from the perspective of maintenance, however, since it means the lamps must be replaced at different times, and the sort of projectors that use dual (or multi-lamp) tend to be installed in places where they are not readily accessible.

Native Resolution

Native resolution is the resolution, measure in pixel dimensions, of a projector’s imaging system, and should not be conflated with its maximum supported resolution, which is often higher. Resolutions can either be SD or HD “video” formats, such as: 480i (NTSC), 576i (PAL), 720p, 1080i, UltraHD 4K (3840 x 2160), or DCI 4K (4096 x 2160), or computer VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association) formats, such as: VGA (640 x 480), SVGA (800 x 600), XGA (1024 x 768), WXGA (1280 x 800), UXGA (1600 x 1200), or WUXGA (1920 x 1200).

Ideally, the connected device should be set to match the projector’s native resolution. Otherwise the projector will scale the image, resulting in image degradation.

Rainbow Effect

Rainbow effect is an artifact observed on many single-chip DLP-based projectors and is principally caused by the color wheel putting out different colors at different times. The effect is perceived as a rainbow trail in the corner of your peripheral vision as you move your eyes across image. As DLP technology has matured, faster-spinning wheels have significantly reduced this effect to the point people hardly notice it today.

Screen-Door Effect

The screen-door effect is an artifact produced to varying degrees by all imaging systems digital projector’s use: DLP, 3LCD, and LCoS. It can be described as a grid pattern, and is caused by the physical space between the individual pixels. At a given resolution, LCD projectors tend to exhibit the most screen door effect and LCoS projectors the least. Apart from choice of imaging system, higher-resolution projectors typically produce less screen-door effect than lower-resolution models at a given image size.

Stacking

Stacking doesn’t mean physically stacking projectors on top of each other (though stackable projectors usually support this arrangement). Rather, it means identical images from two or several projectors are projected over the same area of the screen, hence, the images are what is “stacked.” Stacking becomes a way of increasing brightness beyond what a single projector in the system is capable of, and may be more cost effective that buying a single projector of the same brightness. Projectors must be the same model, and calibration is required to ensure the stacked images match. Stacking is built in on many fixed-installation projectors that have lens shift. Additionally, third-party processors are available that allow images from projectors that do not have built-in stacking to be merged.

Throw Ratio

Throw ratio describes the relationship between the width of the screen and the distance between the projector and screen, with the first number representing the throw distance and the second the screen width. It is styled “throw distance:screen width”, e.g.: “1.3:1”. So, for example, a lens with a 1:1 throw ratio will produce a 4-foot-wide image at 4 feet from the screen. A “short throw” (or wide angle) lens with a 0.5:1 throw ratio will produce a 4-foot-wide image at 2 feet from the screen. And, finally, a long throw (or telephoto) lens with a 3:1 throw ratio will produce a 4-foot-wide image at 12 feet from the screen. Projectors with zoom lenses will specify throw ratio as a range, e.g., “1.3:1 to 1.7:1”. Unless otherwise noted, throw ratio is based on the native aspect ratio of the projector.

Multimedia and home theater projectors generally have throw ratios of 0.3:1 or more at their widest setting and of 3:1 or less at their most telephoto. Special short-throw projectors will have a ratio of 0.5:1 or less. Interchangeable-lens projectors will offer an assortment of lenses, covering ratios from 0.8:1 to 10:1 or more. In some cases, add-on lenses can be purchased to increase or decrease the throw ratio of the stock lens. As with converter lenses for video cameras, distortion and other forms of image-quality reduction may result.

Contrast Ratio

Contrast ratio compares the darkest value the projector can produce to the brightest, can range anywhere from 500:1 to 100,000:1, and tends to be higher on DLP-based projectors. It is important to note, in many cases, the manufacturer-specified contrast ratio is dynamic contrast. Dynamic contrast varies the lamp brightness between images (or scenes), basing the ratio on the brightest possible white the projector can make when the brightness is maxed out, versus the darkest possible black when the lamp is at its darkest setting (or completely off for some technologies). This means the advertised contrast ratio will only be perceived if a dark image immediately follows a bright image or vice-versa.

Apart from dynamic contrast, determining projector contrast ratio is problematic because the type of screen fabric (other projection surface) and the presence of ambient light significantly affect contrast ratio. In the case of ambient light, the more ambient light there is the worse the effective contrast ratio will be. And any amount of ambient light beyond trivial will bring the ratio down significantly, making comparisons based on contrast ratio meaningless anytime ambient light will be encountered.

Advantages of having a home projector

Having a projector at home has its benefits. It allows you to watch movies, videos, and play games on a large screen. Here are some of its advantages.

Large screen

Watching movies on the big screen is always an enjoyable experience. Having projectors at home allows you to enjoy the same feeling at home. Some of the projectors available today can project images on screens as large as 300 inches.

Easy to install and use

Most of the projectors available today are portable. It is easy to set them up either on a tabletop or on the ceiling. Usually, these are plug and play devices.

Saves Space

Hang your projector from the ceiling or the wall to save space. It makes the room appear bigger.

Portability

Almost all projectors discussed here are light and portable. Some of them are ideal for outdoor use as well.

Product life span

Projector lamps have a long life span with some of them capable of lasting for more than 30000 hours. Anyway, the lamps are replaceable.

Now, it should be convenient for you to select the perfect projector depending on your requirements.

A projector allows you to see movies, play games, and make presentations and a host of other activities on a large screen. It has become an integral part of offices, schools, and other educational institutions.

Conference halls come equipped with projectors to enable people to make office presentations. The projectors have great utility as home theatre systems.

Gamers love to connect their gaming consoles to the projectors and have a fantastic time playing their favourite games on the large screen.