While there really is nothing wrong with staying at home, it could be the lack of choice that makes it seem stifling. On a positive note, this could be a great opportunity to be close to family, take a break from our regular routines, and appreciate the simple things once again. Going to the cinemas may be out of the question but you surely can build or upgrade your own home theater. You might not even have to spend a huge fortune as B&H and Best Buy’s deals on Epson’s Home Cinema 2100, and Optoma’ HD143X or UHL55 projectors let you in on up to $300 in savings.
Epson Home Cinema 2100
— $550 ($300 off)
Epson’s Home Cinema 2100 is a 3LCD projector that boasts 2,500 lumens for both colored and white brightness. Basically, you get to appreciate its impressive color accuracy on top of its ability to create sharp, detailed high-definition pictures with a 1,920 x 1,080-pixel native resolution. It also has an excellent dynamic contrast ratio of 35,000:1 for rich detail in dark scenes and no rainbow effect regardless of the amount of ambient present in the room. Streaming movies, games, and more is all the more a possibility with two HDMI ports and MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) connectivity. You’ll definitely be able to see your characters come to life with the option to blow up images from 29.9 to 300 inches and its support for 3D. Its 1.33-2.16:1 throw ratio range even guarantees that images are reproduced in their correct proportions.
Setting up is easy and won’t take a toll on your back as the Epson Home Cinema 2100 is lightweight at just 7.5 pounds and the included remote allows you to change its settings from across the room. Plus, it makes the necessary image adjustments for horizontal and vertical orientations for you. The built-in 10-watt speaker provides clear and crisp sound. You’ll hardly hear its fan in the background as it only produces 27-37dBa (weighted decibels). It delivers up to 7,500 hours of lamp life in ECO mode and up to 4,500 hours in normal mode for extended use.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show while Best Buy plummets the Epson Home Cinema 2100’s $850 list price to a more conservative $550.
Optoma HD143X — $379 ($70 off)
Another home cinema projector that won’t have you missing out on a Full HD 1,080-pixel experience in both 2D and 3D (when paired with compatible 3D glasses) is Optoma’s HD143X. Although this sale applies to a refurbished model, its feature set remains intact and gives you a bang for your buck at just $379 instead of the typical $449 price tag.
As mentioned, the HD143X has a native resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 for displaying high-resolution images and videos while its 23,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio serves to enhance the clarity of dark imagery. For an entry-level home projector, its 3,000-lumen claim is more than good enough and well-suited for bright room environments. And since it packs BrilliantColor technology and has a reference display mode that enables REC.709 color compatibility, you might not have to dim the lights or close the curtains.
Its weight of 5.5 pounds and its compact dimensions of 4.2 x 12.5 x 9.7 inches make Optoma’s HD143X easy to move around and stow away. Its 1.1x optical zoom lens and 1.47 to 1.62:1 Throw Ratio then provides you flexible installation options for screen sizes that are roughly 215-290 inches, measured diagonally. This DLP projector completes the immersive viewing experience with an integrated 10-watt mono speaker and a 1/8-inch audio output if you want to sync it with an external speaker.
Playing online and multimedia content is achievable with two HDMI inputs for hooking up your cable/satellite box, Blu-ray player, or gaming system and MHL connectivity to mirror the screens of your tablet or smartphone. And its 15,000-hour lamp life helps reduce the overall cost of ownership. Grab Optoma Technology’s HD143X for $70 less from B&H today.
Optoma UHL55 — $799 ($100 Off)
Optoma’s UHL55 is the most expensive of the bunch but it justifies its high cost as the first 4K DLP home entertainment projector that can be used all around for casual backyard movie nights, gaming sessions, or office presentations. It is a fixed-zoom projector with a throw ratio of 1.2 so it needs to be positioned nine feet away, more or less, for a 100-inch screen to appear with little to no distortion. Although, autofocus and auto keystone makes for easy placement and playback. Its brightness of 1,500 lumens is set to overcome ambient light in most home installations and its 250,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio keeps you in store for vibrant imagery. With REC7.09, DCP-P3, and HDR10 compatibility, you are no less assured of vivid colors.
This LED projector has a 30,000-hour life which should give you more than a few binge sessions. It is also worth noting that an LED light source is relatively more responsive in comparison to lamp projectors. XPR technology combines image processing with the ability of the DMD’s mirrors to shift at the microsecond level to allow each mirror to project two pixels per frame, creating a UHD 4K image from an otherwise non-UHD chip. It can fire up apps such as Firefox, TED TV, Netflix, Smart YouTube TV, Spotify Music/NBA for Android TV, and BBC/CBC News. The Optoma Marketplace app store is available, as is the InfoWall app for customized information display. You can even plug in your USB device, or your Blu-ray players, and cable/satellite boxes through its two HDMI inputs.
Apart from its backlit Bluetooth control, you can experience the utmost convenience with the UHL55’s compatibility with Alexa or Google Assistant when connected to your home Wi-Fi network. And if you just want to blast good tunes, its 8-watt speaker can function as a Bluetooth speaker that offers a well-rounded sound.
Usually retailing for $899, Optoma’s UHL55 can be yours for only $799 when you order it from B&H.
Looking for more? Browse through our curated deals page for the best Black Friday projector deals, work from home tech, indoor gym essentials, and more.
