“When compared to TVs, projectors have taken a back seat because projectors cannot be used in a bright room.”
While the above sentence was true a few years ago, it isn’t the case nowadays. With advancements in technology, we can now get projectors that produce high brightness at an affordable price.
Thus in this article, we’ve listed the 5 Best Projector for Bright Room that you can use during the daytime or with lights on.
When using a projector during daytime, it can be tough to achieve complete darkness in a home or office environment. Thus, getting a bright room projector is an ideal pick for your requirement.
Are you ready?
Let’s get started!
Best Projector for Bright Room: Top 3 Picks
5 Best Projector for Bright Room
1. Optoma HZ39HDR
The Optoma HZ39HDR is one of my favorite bright room projectors that is available at a reasonable price. The Optoma brand produces many high-quality projectors in the budget, mid-range, and premium segments. Optoma HZ39HDR sits in the mid-range category and offers tons of features.
For starters, the Optoma HZ39HDR sports a LASER light source instead of a lamp-based light source. Compared to lamp-based projectors, laser projectors offer consistent illumination and have 5x more life.
The laser light source on this projector can last up to 30,000 hours, and it can project up to 4000 lumens of brightness. This brightness value is excellent enough for daytime viewing; thus, you can do office presentations, classroom teaching, and daytime movie watching at home.
Design-wise, this projector looks very straightforward. It is encased in a white box that sports the projector lens at the front. The zoom ring, focus ring, and controls buttons are at the top, and a good amount of connectivity options are available at the back.
In terms of wired connectivity, you get a 2x HDMI port, micro-USB port, 1.5A USB port, VGA port, RJ-45 LAN port, RS-232 port, and audio in & out ports.
Talking about its usability, with 4000 lumens brightness and HDR10 & HLG support, this projector can output bright images along with fantastic picture quality. Owing to this, you can add this projector in your living room rather than building a dedicated home theater room.
Due to its 1.3x optical zoom, the Optoma HZ39HDR can produce a 100-inch screen size from a distance of just under 9-feet. At the same time, a 120-inch screen requires just a 10.5-feet distance. Thus, you don’t need a big room to output a big theater-like experience at home.
For its price, this projector has a native resolution of 1920 x 1080p and can support up to 4K HDR input. This projector is 3D capable and requires DLP link 3D glasses to enjoy 3D content at its full glory.
“The Optoma HZ39HDR is a great balance between features and pricing. Compared to DLP projectors, this laser-powered projector sits at a higher price. However, you get instant startup and cooling period, and need not deal with low life of lamp-based projectors.”
Pros
Cons
2. BenQ MH760
If you’re looking for the best projector for bright room, then the BenQ MH760 is the perfect pick for you.
This projector can output a whopping 5000 lumens of brightness and is ideal for daytime usage in the office and educational environment.
The BenQ MH760 is available at an approachable price point and costs just over $1000. If your office hosts plenty of presentations throughout the day, it can be cumbersome to dim the lights and use the blinds.
Using this projector, you don’t need to do this task every time. It can work effortlessly in a bright room unless sunlight is not directly hitting the projection surface or the projector.
For starters, this projector offers 5000 ANSI lumens brightness and has a native resolution of 1920 x 1080p. Full HD resolution offers crisp display quality; thus, you don’t need to squint your eyes to read the text displayed on the screen.
This projector weighs 10.36 pounds; thus, carrying it around won’t be much of an issue. Most office projectors are ceiling mounted, and this projector will work like a charm.
With 1.3x optical zoom, this projector can project a 100-inch from a distance of just 8.4 feet. Since it’s strictly meant for office and commercial usage, it has low contrast of 3,000:1; hence watching movies or sports won’t be an enjoyable endevor on this projector.
Talking about connectivity options, you get a plethora of wired and wireless connectivity options to satisfy your most needs and situations. It comes with a LAN port, RS-232 port, mini USB port, 1.5A USB port, 2x HDMI port, VGA port, monitor out port, 12V trigger, component ports, S-video port, audio in, out ports, and mic ports. Using these ports, you can connect plenty of devices in one go.
To do wireless streaming, you can use BenQ’s Qcastmirror dongle to add software-free wireless connectivity options to this projector. You can use Crestron, AMX, and PJ-Link for network control via the LAN and RS-232 ports.
“The BenQ MH760 is a through-and-through office projector. It can project up to 5000 lumens brightness and has plenty of connectivity options to support older devices. Plus, you can use it in a bright room or conference hall without putting off all the lights.”
Pros
Cons
3. Viewsonic PG703X
Suppose you’re looking for a compact-size high brightness projector for office or school usage. In that case, the Viewsonic PG703X fits the bill perfectly.
It weighs just 5.29 pounds and is small enough to carry around easily. Even with its portable size, this projector can produce 4000 lumens brightness, which makes it a good pick in a bright environment usage.
The Viewsonic PG703X has XGA native resolution that translates to 1024 x 768p resolution. This native resolution is ideal enough to view infographics and text with crystal clear quality in a work or education environment. The projection will seem clear, and the output won’t look blurred.
Talking about its design, it looks similar to Viewsonic PA503W projector. It has a projector lens and IR sensor at the front. The zoom ring and focus ring are placed at the top, along with the power button, indicator lights, and control buttons.
The sides feature exhaust perforations along with a 10W speaker. The back features connectivity options like a 2x HDMI port, mini USB, VGA port, monitor out port, RS-232 port, LAN port, S-Video port, component video port, and audio in and out port.
As you can see, you get a plethora of wired connectivity options; however, it misses out on wireless connectivity. To add WiFi and Bluetooth options, you can use a streaming media player Amazon Fire Stick, Chromecast, or Roku to add wireless capabilities to this projector.
This projector uses DLP projection technology and is illuminated by a 240W metal halide lamp. This lamp can last up to 15,000 hours in SuperEco mode. It can last up to 4000 hours in regular mode, which uses its total 4000 lumens of brightness.
With all features mentioned above, the Viewsonic PG703X also offers low input latency of 16ms. During regular usage, you won’t feel much difference with this feature; however, if you prefer fast-paced gaming, then the 16ms low input latency will be a boon for you.
“If you’re looking for a compact projector for a small office or educational usage, then the Viewsonic PG703X is an ideal pick. You get all the necessary features that you’ll require from a home and office projector. Plus, the addition of 4000 lumens brightness makes it usable in a bright room.”
Pros
Cons
4. Epson Pro EX9220
If you’re looking to set up a movie theater-like experience right in your living room, then the Epson Pro EX9220 will fit your needs like a hand glove. With its 3600 lumens brightness, you can use this projector in your office or classroom environment.
Office and educational-use projector are notorious for having high brightness but poor color output. However, with 3LCD projection technology, the Epson Pro EX9220 can produce vibrant colors, making it ideal for home and office usage.
With Epson’s 3LCD technology, watching movies on this projector will be a breeze. Owing to its WUXGA native resolution, you get crisp image quality and clear text display.
The WUXGA resolution translates to Full HD+ i.e. 1920 x 1200p resolution. Thus, compared to a Full HD resolution, you get larger vertical pixel space. The 16:10 aspect ratio makes it ideal enough to view presentations and infographics in their full glory.
Talking about its performance, this projector works like a charm in both work and home environment. While viewing presentations, the 3600 lumens brightness ensures that whites look very bright, which offers a great contrast between other colors.
This projector is available in a compact form factor and weighs just 6.2 pounds. Thus, carrying around this projector won’t be an issue. Plus, Epson is generous enough to provide a messenger-style carrying bag within the package. Hence, you wouldn’t need to micro-manage while transporting this projector.
In terms of connectivity, this projector has 2x HDMI ports, 1x VGA port, 1x RCA port, USB port, 1x USB Type-B port, and audio in port. Epson claims this projector also has wireless capabilities; however, it doesn’t work as advertised in our testing.
“Epson Pro EX9220 improves upon Epson’s Home Cinema projectors, which makes it a great choice between the office and educational usage. Plus, WUXGA resolution offers much better resolution than a Full HD projector.”
Pros
Cons
5. Optoma H184X
Suppose you’re absolutely at the fence about investing over $500 on a bright room projector. In that case, you should take a wide-eyed look at the Optoma H184X.
Like its premium counterparts, Optoma’s budget-range projectors are feature-packed to the brim, and the Optoma H184X is no exception.
This projector costs just over $400 and owing to its price, it comes with 1280 x 720p native resolution with support for Full HD resolution.
This projector has a brightness output of 3600 lumens and can project up to 300-inch screen size if that’s what you require. Although in terms of practical usage, this projector can produce a 120-inch screen from a distance of 14-feet. Being a long throw projector and low optical zoom of 1.1x, you need a reasonably big room to get a massive projection screen.
The Optoma H184X supports HDTV color quality within the Rec.709 color space. Thus, you get vibrant color output, which makes it ideal for movie watching, even in a brightly lit room.
Talking about lamp life, this projector can last up to 15,000 hours in Eco Mode. However, in Eco mode, the projector’s brightness reduces by a significant margin. Hence if you want to take advantage of all 3600 lumens brightness, expect the projector light source to last up to 4000 hours.
Talking about connectivity options, this projector offers a 1x HDMI 1.4a port, 1A USB port, VGA port, composite video port, monitor out port, RS-232 port, and audio in and out port.
The Optoma H184X is available in a compact size and weighs just 6.7 pounds. The casing also hosts a 10W integrated speaker that is suitable for casual audio listening.
“The Optoma H184X is an affordable bright room projector and available in a compact casing. It is manufactured by a reliable projector brand and is a great option for work or entertainment usage.”
Pros
Cons
Things to Consider Before Buying the Best Projector for Bright Room
1. High Lumens Brightness
Isn’t it obvious? If you’re looking for a bright room projector, the projector needs to produce high brightness. Currently, lamp-based projectors produce the highest brightness and are available at an affordable price. You can get 3600 lumens lamp-based projector for as low as $299, which is good enough to be used during daytime or brightly lit room.
In our list, we’ve featured projectors that can produce up to 5000 lumens brightness. Such high brightness value ensures that you do not need to darken the room every time you want to use the projector.
2. Projector Light Source
Currently, tons of projectors are available with different light sources. We have lamp-based projectors, laser projectors, and LED projectors.
For our requirements – lamp-based projectors and laser projectors get the job done efficiently. The #1 pick on our list, i.e., Optoma HZ39HDR, contains a laser light source, which can produce up to 4000 lumens brightness and last longer.
On the other hand, you can find a lamp-based projector that produces up to 6000 lumens brightness at an affordable price range. Comparatively, LED-based projectors are available for as low as $50. Still, most of them do not produce enough brightness for use in complete darkness.
Any projector that you find under $300 that claims to produce 6000 or 7000 lumens is a false claim, and please don’t fall into the trap. Hence, if you want the best projector for a bright room, make sure it has either a lamp-based or laser light source.
3. Usability
Not all projectors are created equal. Many high lumen projectors are targeted towards office, commercial and educational usage. Since most offices and schools work during the day, it is crucial to get a projector that can produce high enough brightness during daytime.
Every office or school can’t invest in room darkening interior setup; hence picking a high lumen projector is a viable option.
Having said that, high lumen projectors are notorious for skimping on color accuracy. Hence, if you decide to use such a projector for watching movies or sports at home, you’ll be highly disappointed.
Hence, before choosing a projector, make sure it’s targeted towards home or commercial usage.
Moreover, a projector meant for home usage will have visual enhancing features like HDR, HLG, Rec.709 color space coverage, and a higher refresh rate. Whereas projectors meant for office usage tend to have better network control and are portable in size.
4. Lamp Life
Lamp life is an essential factor to consider when picking a high brightness projector. Many lamp-based projectors claim to last up to 15,000 hours but fail to mention that you can achieve that number in SuperEco mode. In SuperEco mode, the projector’s lamp brightness by up to 70% and might not be usable in a bright room.
Realistically, a lamp-based projector can last anywhere between 2000-6000 hours in Normal mode with full brightness. Alternatively, laser-based projectors have better lamp life. The Optoma HZ39HDR projector mentioned in our list can last up to 20,000 hours in full brightness mode. Whereas, in Eco mode, the lamp life can be extended up to 30,000 hours.
5. Price Range
As mentioned above, you can find a bright room projector for as low as $299. Hence, you aren’t restricted to a stipulated budget to suffice your requirement. However, a lower price means lesser features and connectivity options.
For comparison, the Viewsonic PA503S is available for just under $300. It offers 3800 lumens brightness, but you need to deal with lower SVGA resolution and older connectivity ports.
On the other hand, the Optoma HD146X is available for under $550 and offers 3600 lumens. But you get features like Full HD resolution, 16ms response time, lightweight body, and a plethora of connectivity options. Hence, you need to decide if you’re getting your money’s worth or not for the price you pay.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 2200 lumens good enough for a bright room?
No! Projectors within the 2000 lumens category are usually meant for home theater usage. Since you don’t need a high brightness in a home theater setup, the manufacturer’s settles with lower brightness to put forward better color accuracy and improve lamp life.
For a bright room, you need to consider a projector that produces above 3600 lumens of brightness.
Can I replace the light source on laser projectors?
Unlike lamp-based projectors, you cannot replace the light source on a laser projector. Laser projectors work on a complicated principle, and the light source is not user-replaceable.
On average, a laser projector is rated to last up to 20,000 hours. This means the projector can last anywhere between 10-15 years, depending on usage.
Conclusion
If you’ve reached till here, I can safely assume that you liked this article and are indeed interested in getting the best projector for bright room usage.
I know it can get confusing to choose the best projector within your budget. The 5 projectors that we’ve picked offer the best price to performance ratio.
If you’re confused regarding which projector to go for, you can leave your query in the comment section below, and I’ll surely help you out.
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