One of the most common specs used to compare projectors is a measure of how bright each model is: lumens. This is because, in theory, a 1,000-lumen projector will be brighter than a 500-lumen projector. With projectors, the brightness not only determines how bright and easy to see the image will be, but also how large the image can be. A brighter projector can create a larger image without being too dim to watch.Â
Frustratingly, it’s a lot more complex than that. If you’re interested only in the broad strokes of how many lumens you need in a projector, the sections below will cover that. If you’re interested in digging a little deeper, including why the numbers can only ever be used as broad guidelines, further sections will, ahem, illuminate the subject more.
Read more:Â What are Nits, and Why are They Important?
Under 500 lumens
The smallest and cheapest projectors typically have 500 or fewer lumens. These often-battery-powered pico projectors aren’t designed to create huge images, despite what their marketing claims. A TV-size image will be watchably bright, but a 100-inch image will be very dim. Watchable in a totally dark room? Technically, yes, but it won’t look great.Â
For reference, the hand-holdable AAXA P8 pico projector is rated at 430 lumens. During our testing, it was able to create an image that was roughly 25 nits on a 100-inch screen. For comparison, many 65-inch TVs can create over 1,000 nits. Even if you make the AAXA’s image 65 inches, it’s still only creating an image that’s roughly 61 nits. Other portable projectors, especially the ultra-cheap variety, are even dimmer than the P8.Â
Now, for their size and convenience, this is all totally fine and expected. Just don’t believe the marketing of wall-size, TV-bright images from something the size of a book and cheaper than a cellphone.Â
Around 1,000 lumens
The next step up from the tiny portable projectors are typically still “portable” but are…
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