How to Buy and Set Up a Projector for Your Home Movie Theater

Modern home theater projectors offer the next best thing, since we all want to have a real movie theater at our house. It's a great time to buy a home theater because of the huge screen sizes, cheap prices, and tons of brightness.

It is not as easy to buy and set up a projector as it is to plug in a TV. You need to know your screen space and mount position, and you need to make sure your cables are wired correctly. Buying a larger-sized TV might be too much for some people. They are getting bigger and cheaper. There is no shame in taking the easy route out. Here's how to set up a projector for a theater-like experience.

Our buying guides include How to get the most out of your home theater audio, the best projector, the best TVs, and the best streaming devices.

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Modern TVs have better image quality than most projectors on the market. The ability to deliver strong image quality even in bright spaces is included. For our favorite TVs, read our guide.

If you want a cinematic experience, shooting some photos through the air is the way to go. You can experience your favorite movies and shows as if you have a front-row seat at a movie theater with a projector. Most standard projectors start at screen sizes above 100 inches, which makes them the best way to go big at home, even if you can get a 75- or 85-inch TV.

Throw distance is what it is.

Throw distance is the distance between the projector's lens and the wall or projector screen. Every projector on the market has a spec sheet that tells you how far away from the screen you need to mount it.

The type of bulb, lens, and other factors used in the design of the projector affect the length of the projector's throw. If you're buying a projector, make sure it's not resting right overhead where you'll be sitting to avoid noise from its spinning fans.

The Hisense 120L5G is a short throw projector that can be used in a small space. You can project images from a few feet away, rather than tens of feet away, if you use a projector that sits on a TV stand in front of your wall or projector screen.

Our guide can help. We recommend different types of projectors for different use cases, including a portable projector to take with you wherever you go. How much space you have and what you want to use it for are the main things to think about. A projector with a high refresh rate is ideal for sports and gaming. It means you'll see more frames per second, which will allow for smooth looking action.