A home theater projector is a projector which has been designed for use in a home theater. Home theaters are significantly smaller than most movie theaters, but they provide a much more immersive viewing experience, with some people preferring home projection to using a television screen to watch movies, television, and other visual media. It is also possible to use a home projector in business applications for presentations, and schools often use home projection units for presentations of audiovisual materials.
There are two basic types of home theater projectors: film projectors and digital projectors. Film projectors require the use of film, which can sometimes be difficult for consumers to obtain, with the advantage of film being a high image quality. A digital home theater projector utilizes digital media like DVDs and hard drives, projecting the image through a chip in the projector.
In some cases, a home theater projector comes as an all-inclusive unit, with a sound system, DVD player, and all the assorted connection cables which will be needed. In other instances, the projector is sold as a standalone unit, and the consumer will need to establish a home sound system and buy a DVD player, hard drive, or computer to connect to the home theater projector. The projector may be mounted on the wall or ceiling, or managed from a table or shelf in the back of the room, depending on the layout of the room, the style of the projector, and the desire or the user.
Home theater projectors also need a screen to project on, and there are an assortment of choices for projector screens, ranging from hanging a sheet up to purchasing a specialized projection screen. Establishing a home theater can get quite expensive once all of the supplies have been purchased, but some people feel that the expense is worth it, since the result is a room which feels a lot like a movie theater, with surround sound and a huge picture.
When purchasing a home theater projector, there are some things to consider. The size of the room is an important issue, as is the resolution of the projector. A projector in a big room with poor resolution will produce choppy, pixellated images, which is very undesirable. The ability to cope with multiple aspect rations is also a big bonus in a projector. Many electronics sites have ratings and reviews of home theater projectors, for consumers who want to do a bit of product research, and these sites discuss the best projectors for the best settings.