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Buying Guide: LED Projectors Keep It Cool
You've chosen to forego the classic lamp-lit projector for a more energy-efficient LED model. Good for you. Doing so reduces your overall power consumption, lowers energy costs, and it won't feel like you're in the engine room of a steam locomotive every time you play a movie.
Keep in mind, however, the decision to buy an LED projector is also an expensive one. What you save in future energy bills will initially cost you in purchase price. But don't forget that with that heftier price tag comes a slimmer and lighter projector. LED tech makes for less weight, with less work and less space.
Just how much can you expect to pay? The price for a standard 500-lumen LED projector can range from the high hundreds to low thousands. Not an ideal price point. While you could get a LCD or DLP projector that can pump out close to 3,000 lumens of brightness for the same price, you're far more interested in being environmentally conscious, toting around something that's light and portable, and generating an energy bill that doesn't need to be split between four people. Fair.
To help you with your search, we have selected decent-quality LED projectors from last year. These projectors have the most reasonable starting prices (anywhere from $499 to $700) and have earned a PCMag rating of at least three stars. They're solid performers, though not quite Editors' Choice material. However, with these models, you'll still impress the audience with the presentation as well as the tech.
FEATURED IN THIS ROUNDUP:
Optoma ML300
$500 street
The Optoma ML300 is a tiny WXGA projector with a lot of strong points—including a solid range of connectivity options—but a few significant downsides.
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ViewSonic PLED-W500
$700 street
The ViewSonic PLED-W500 is a solid representative of a new category of lightweight projectors, but it costs a bit more than its competition without offering anything extra.
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ViewSonic PLED-W200
$500 street
The ViewSonic PLED-W200 offers a bright, reasonably high quality image despite apparent scaling artifacts at its claimed native resolution.
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BenQ Joybee GP2
$599 direct
The BenQ Joybee GP2 is a versatile palmtop projector that packs an iPhone dock and has a solid suite of connectivity choices.
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Dell M110
$499 direct
Artifacts at its claimed native resolution, but offers reasonably good image quality otherwise and a bright image for its small size.
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