Today, I spend most of my time in my bedroom, which doubles as my home office. I’ve also now spent a lot of time (and money) upgrading my space to make it as efficient (and relaxing) as possible. Of course, that also includes home entertainment upgrades. At the end of each workday, I enjoy ending with tea and a good movie, so I wanted to invest in technology that made my viewing experience enjoyable.
I always thought projectors were reserved for movie theaters, but after some research, it was hard to understand why I was still using a TV. First, projectors produce a ‘screen’ that is much larger than the average TV – the one I use now produces a 100-inch image. This makes a typical projector much cheaper than a TV in screen size per dollar.
I live in an apartment in New York City, where space is a luxury. Projectors are much more compact, making them easy to move in and out of an apartment, and even take with you if you want to look elsewhere. There are also no cords or mounting problems. After weighing these pros, I decided to put my TV on the curb and buy a projector.
This projector produces the highest quality images I’ve ever seen, and the speaker is omnidirectional, so it sounds like I have a surround sound speaker setup in my room. The image quality is well preserved, even in bright light.
One of my favorite features of this projector is that it connects to Wi-Fi, which means you don’t need an HDMI cable to connect your laptop. If I’ve used an HDMI cable with my TV in the past, streaming movies and TV shows is a challenge – buffering sometimes seemingly takes forever. Because this beamer connects wirelessly, I can stream with fewer disruptions.
The projector itself is extremely compact and lightweight. To avoid accidentally jostling it while watching, I installed a floating shelf above my bed and placed the projector on it. Popular streaming apps are already installed on this projector, so I just had to enter my passwords to start watching. I was even able to download an app on my smartphone that doubles as a remote control for the projector.
Other projectors to consider
Before purchasing a projector, make sure you have adequate wall space. Not all projectors have their own screen, which means you should have a wall that is preferably white and unstructured (this can affect the quality of the image).
Home theater from Epson
This projector is ideal for a large home theater – it can project an image up to 300 inches diagonally without sacrificing image quality. I’ve seen this projector in action and it feels like I’m in a real movie theater. It has loud speakers and even comes with manual controls to adjust image functions such as focus and zoom. You need to connect your laptop or device via an HDMI cable to stream content.
QKK mini projector
My roommate uses this affordable, compact projector. It gives a strong picture and comes with its own screen measuring 100 inches diagonal. This model also comes with the necessary cables to connect your smartphone or computer, plus a remote control. Keep in mind that this is not a smart projector and you will need to plug in your device and stream from there.
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