State of the art
Want to enjoy the big screen movie experience without leaving the house? Now you can, but allow us to recommend the best equipment
As winter approaches and the nights draw in, it’s time for any self-respecting film fan to think about building a home cinema or perhaps upgrading their existing setup. If you want the best big screen experience, a projector should really be at the heart of your system, and these days laser-powered beamers are all the rage.
Why laser? There are two important reasons why a projector with a laser light source is superior to one that uses a traditional lamp. The first is that lasers are bright. Really bright. This is especially important in rooms where there’s a degree of ambient light. Lasers also achieve this luminance without generating enough heat to fry an egg, thus requiring less noisy cooling, and they power up and down quicker than bulb-based models.
The second major benefit of a laser light source is it has a very long lifespan of up to 20,000 hours. To put that in perspective, you could easily watch a film a day for nearly 30 years without having to worry about updating your projector! And unlike a bulb-based projector where the brightness tends to fall off a cliff after about 2,000 hours, a laser projector retains its luminance for the majority of that incredibly long lifespan.
The really good news is that a laser light source is no longer exclusive to high-end projectors, and can be found on more affordable models like the three in this article.
WHAT’S ON TEST…
This has a laser light source, but it’s super-bright and has been specifically designed by Optoma for use in rooms with a lot of ambient light. It supports 4K, HDR and 3D, plus it features Optoma’s PureMotion tech, making this beamer ideal for big screen sports action. £3,499, optoma.co.uk
SPECS
Panel DLP
Resolution 3840 x 2160
Brightness 5,000 lumens
Light source life 30,000 hours
HDR HDR10
Connectivity HDMI x2 (2.0 x1, 1.4 x1), USB, VGA, S/PDIF, RS-232, ethernet, 3.5mm jack
Dimensions 498x331x171mm
Weight 10.52kg
This entry-point to JVC’s projector line-up eschews the brand’s usual D-ILA tech for single-chip DLP, but includes its BLU-Escent laser light source with a peak brightness of 3,300 lumens. The NZ30 supports 4K and includes JVC’s Auto Tone Mapping feature for a better HDR performance. £3,799, uk.jvc.com
SPECS
Panel 0.47-inch DLP
Resolution 3840 x 2160
Brightness 3,300 lumens
Light source life 20,000 hours
HDR HDR10
Connectivity HDMI 2.0 x2, USB x2 (USB-C x1, USB x1), RS-232, Ethernet
Dimensions 405x145.8x341mm
Weight 5.9kg
This 3-chip LCD projector doesn’t just use a laser lig
