The 5 Best Projectors under 700 for Home Movies

The 5 Best Projectors under 700 for Home Movies in 2022

Is there anything better than a home movie night? Well, to help you out today we are looking at the best projectors for under $700. These are some of the more “premium” projectors that are out there, but they are still all well under the thousand bucks mark.

As a huge film buff, myself, I know how important it is to have something that can play your movies in as high a quality as possible. So do not worry, all of the projectors that we are looking at today are great in their own way, but hopefully, we can help you narrow down your projector purchase.

The 5 Best Projectors Under $700 Reviews

I decided to make sure I picked the projector that I personally use while making this list. However, the rest that we are looking at today are all damn fine projectors and have a great reputation online.

  1. Optoma HD146X High-Performance Projector
  2. BenQ TH671ST 1080p Short Throw Gaming Projector
  3. Epson Home Cinema 1060 Full HD 1080p
  4. ViewSonic 1080p Projector
  5. Xgimi Mogo Pro, Mini Portable Projector Smart

1. Optoma HD146X High-Performance Projector

The first one we are going to talk about today is the Optoma HD146X High-Performance Projector which as I write this, I currently have set up in my home theatre. This is priced at the 500 to 550 bucks range and I feel that is a very fair price. It comes with a media remote that is very easy to use and you will have this up and running in no time at all. I have this with a 120-inch screen and it was set up in mere minutes. It is lacking on the ports front with only one HDMI port, but I use a splitter to connect multiple devices and I have never had a problem.

I have been using this for a long time now and the image is still just as good as the day I set it up. This offers full HD viewing and movies look amazing. The blacks are nice and defined on this which is something some projectors do struggle to do. It also has a gaming mode, but that is something I have not used. One thing I have had a great time with this with is 3D movies, it plays 3D movies amazingly well, actually no matter if I am streaming Netflix or watching a Blu-Ray, I have never had an issue with the image quality.

What Other People Are Saying

This is a very popular projector. It has well over customer reviews and over 80 percent of these reviews are for four and five stars. “I’m amazed by the crispness of the image. Words are easy to read and you can see even the individual blades of grass in the projected image” is what one reviewer had to say and many people seem to say they are amazed or blown away by the crispness of the image.

I have to say that I probably use my Optoma HD146X High-Performance Projector on a daily basis! No matter if it is watching a movie, a sporting event, or whatever. I have never had an issue with it, some may say that the fan can get loud, but I usually have my volume pretty loud so I do not notice this. This one is a very easy recommendation for me to make.


Pros:

  • Every movie I have watched looked fantastic
  • It does also have a gaming mode
  • I like the sleek black design of it
  • I feel the asking price is very reasonable

Cons:

  • The black design may not fit into your home theatre décor
  • Some people say the fan gets loud

2. BenQ TH671ST 1080p Short Throw Gaming Projector

This BenQ TH671ST 1080p Short Throw Gaming Projector is currently priced at $699.99 which puts it right at the top of the pricing spectrum we are looking at today. BenQ certainly knows what they are doing and this projector is known as their High Brightness model. This actually won an award in 2019 (all be it a gaming award) and it is a projector that is held in very, very high regard and it is easy to see why.

This is a 3000 lumens projector so the image is going to be very bright and very crisp. It has your standard HDMI, USB, and so on connectors. It can be used from as little as 6-feet away which is pretty impressive and from what I have read the image is just as clear if you do. The only negative I have come across with this is the legs on the front can be a bit finicky to get just the right height. Of course, if you are using this thing on the roof, that will not be an issue for you.

What Other People Are Saying

This is a very projector and I can see why. There are many great video reviews for this projector such as this one, but many do seem to focus on the gaming aspect. Still, if it is great for gaming it will be more than fine for your movies. As far as Amazon reviews for this thing goes, there are a little under 300 customer reviews on there for this and 92 percent of them are for four and five stars which is very impressive.

This is a very well-made projector and it is easy to see why so many people have decided that this is the one to get for their home theatre. It provides a bright and solid image that will make any movie you watch come to life. Even though it is close to your 700 bucks price limit, it is still well worth considering.

Pros:

  • The design is pretty cool
  • It has a very solid reputation online
  • The image quality is fantastic
  • It works great at shorter distances

Cons:

  • It is close to the 700 bucks mark
  • Some people have said that it can get loud when used for a while

3. Epson Home Cinema 1060 Full HD 1080p

The very first home projector I used was an Epson and a good friend of mine does actually have this Epson Home Cinema 1060 Full HD 1080p so it is something I have played around with and experienced. This is the slightly older model and it is still priced at around the 600 bucks mark. It is worth noting that Epson does offer a newer and more expensive version of this. I like the elegant design of this and the vent on the front is pretty handy as it will spit out air which in theory may keep dust particles from getting on the lens.

This is a 3100 lumens projector so movies will be nice and bright. Actually, a couple of weeks ago my buddy and I watched Bumblebee on this and it looked fantastic. The way it manages to still keep the finer details during darker scenes and then be nice and bright when it is needed is great stuff indeed. It has two HDMI ports and from what I have experienced setting this up, changing sources, tweaking the settings and so on is very easy to figure out.


What Other People Are Saying

This is a very well-received projector for a home theatre. The place to go for reviews is of course Amazon and with over 500 customer reviews I was very happy to see that over 90 percent of these were positive. What I liked about the customer reviews that I read was how diverse they were. People who like to watch sports, play video games and of course, watch movies all were singing the praises of this projector.

I am a big fan of Epson and their range of projectors and I absolutely feel that their Epson Home Cinema 1060 Full HD 1080p needs to be in consideration for being one of the best projectors under $7000 for home movies. Everything that I have seen playing via this looks great and it also runs fairly quiet too which is always nice.

Pros:

  • I liked the smart design of the unit
  • It uses color very well
  • This is a projector that can play pretty much anything you ask it to
  • Epson makes great projectors!

Cons:

  • You will need a special adapter as this does not have its own speakers
  • You might be better paying the extra 80 to 100 bucks to get the newer model

4. ViewSonic 1080p Projector

Next up we have this pretty awesome looking ViewSonic 1080p Projector that is currently being sold for $499.99 so it is saving you a couple of hundred bucks off our $700 ceiling. The design of the unit is quite interesting, you have your vent at the front and sides, but there is this strange cupcake/ice cream logo thing on the front. Look, most people will not care about this, but I know that it would drive me nuts and I would end up having to put some kind of white tape on it to cover it up… yes, I am fully aware that I have OCD problems!

At 3500 lumens, this is going to be nice and bright no matter what you are watching. It states that it offers cinematic colors which I think sounds very interesting and any projector that is trying to get that cinema-style image gets a thumbs up from me. While I know we are looking at projectors for movies, it does also state that is this suitable for gaming as well. It has the usual inputs as you would expect such as HDMI and USB. So, if you are not a physical media type of person, you can just hook up a Firestick, Roku, or whatever to this, power it with the USB, and have it be one all contained device which I think is really cool.

What Other People Are Saying

I found a pretty fun video unboxing where you can see someone unbox the device which gives you a better understanding of this things form factor, inputs and so on which is handy. Over at our good friends Amazon, as I write this three are over 1000 customer reviews for this projector. 93 percent of these reviews are for four and five stars so the reception on Amazon is overwhelmingly positive.

I think that the ViewSonic 1080p Projector looks like a damn fine projector for home movies. I am sure everyone who has this is going to have a lot of fun with it. No matter if they are watching movies, playing games, or whatever it is they want to get up to with this. It is very well made and while the design may not exactly be to my own personal taste, I think that for the asking price this projector is one that is well worth being in consideration.

Pros:

  • The projector is reasonably priced
  • It is a 3500 lumens projector
  • Great for someone who wants a quick setup projector
  • It has a solid reputation online

Cons:

  • I do not like that weird graphic on the front of the projector at all
  • It appears to only have the one HDMI port

5. Xgimi Mogo Pro, Mini Portable Projector Smart

Ok, so full disclosure on this one, I have not used or even seen this Xgimi Mogo Pro, Mini Portable Projector Smart in person, but it looked so unlike any other projector that I have seen I had to put it on this list. The first thing that captures your attention is the strange vertical design that it has going on. I guess the idea is that the compact design makes it a projector that you can move around to where ever it is you need it to be. It has Android TV built in, so you can use some of your favorite apps on here. You can put Netflix on, but you have to sideload it.

I have to say that I have yet to come across a portable projector that can match a “proper” one for brightness and general image quality. From reading the specs of this I do think that it could perhaps be a tad on the dark side, but again, I have not personally used it so I cannot confirm that. It offers two hours of playtime on a full charge which is pretty impressive all things considered.

What Other People Are Saying

There are over 400 customer reviews on Amazon for this with a positive rating of over 80 percent so the reception to this is mostly positive. “this device provides high quality image in 1080p resolution with decent speakers and really works quite well” is what one reviewer has to say. Most of the positive reviews I read about this all praised how much better it was than they thought it was going to be.

I will admit that at first glance the Xgimi Mogo Pro, Mini Portable Projector Smart did not appeal to me at all. I thought it was going to be an expensive toy (you are looking at anywhere between 400 and 500 bucks depending on where you shop) however, the more I read about this the more impressed I become. I think this is a projector that is great if you want to have something on hand for a family movie night, but you do not have a full theatre room or you do not have the space to have a projector permanently hooked up.

Pros:

  • The design is pretty cool
  • It is very popular online
  • It is an all-in-one device with everything you need
  • You can sideload most apps that are not officially supported

Cons:

  • Rather low lumens number
  • The two-hour battery life is not great if your movie is over two hours!

What Is The Best Projector Under $700?

For me personally, I am going to pick the Optoma HD146X High-Performance Projector. It is a projector I have used a lot, I actually just watched Avengers: Endgame on this last night, and even after all this time I was blown away by the picture quality. It is a tremendous projector and one you will have a lot of fun with. I can also personally vouch for the Epson Home Cinema 1060 Full HD 1080p which is another solid projector.

Truth be told, I feel that all of these (even the strange Xgimi one) are well worth consideration.

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