Buyer's Guide: The Best Video Projectors

A video projector should display a sharp image with accurate colours and high contrast levels. It should also be well-designed, with all the controls and options you need. Here are a few things to look for when shopping for a projector:

- Technology. There are three main kinds of projector technology—SXRD, LCD and DLP. Each has its own advantages and drawbacks. Head over to our projector reviews page to find out more.

- Colour fidelity. Accurate colours are very important. Out of the box, most projectors will display colours that are verging on crazy. Thankfully, switching to Cinema or Movie mode usually sorts things out.

- Depth of black. A nice deep black really brings out the best in projected images. In a video projector, the black tone reproduced can be considered sufficiently dark from 0.20 cd/m² and lower.

- 3D support. Unlike TVs, 3D projectors only use one kind of 3D technology—active 3D. The advantage of this is that Full HD resolution can be maintained.

With these factors in mind, here's our pick of the best projectors out there right now.

Editor's Choice

The Sony VPL-HW20 is an excellent home cinema projector. It produces great-quality HD pictures with accurate colours and nice, high contrast levels. It's also one of the quietest models we've ever tested! What more could you ask for?

If the HW20 is a bit out of your price range, then you should consider Sony's HW15. While this projector doesn't give quite as deep a black, it still delivers excellent image quality.

Two Alternatives

Best of the Rest

Here are a few more of our favourites.