4 Ways to Make a Cheap Home Projector Look Better

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Building your own home theater doesn’t have to be the kind of project that will bankrupt a household. TVs are cheaper than ever, as are audio systems and all the cables needed to wire your equipment. Investing in a projector is also cheaper than ever, especially if you care more about image size than quality. Some of the smaller projectors are still capable of projecting 100 inches or more; it’s variables like brightness and color accuracy that are most affected when the price is ultra low.

That’s not to say that every cheap projector on the market delivers a lackluster image, but if you’re spending less than $100, there will be something relatively lacking. It may not just be about brightness and colors; Cheap projectors may also be limited in terms of available inputs, HDR capabilities, and image correction tools (e.g. auto keystone, zoom, etc.). We also wouldn’t be surprised if a sub-$100 projector had a pretty powerful fan. Fortunately, there are ways to improve the image quality of even some of the worst projectors on the market.

We’ll focus on a few of the more practical improvements, and one of the most important is ambient light control. Cheap projectors usually aren’t capable of producing enough brightness for daytime viewing, but adding a few items to your movie theater or outdoor cinema area can make a world of difference.

A cheap projector may not handle much in terms of brightness, colors, and contrast. To that end, projecting movies and TV shows on a decent screen can make the most of your projector’s capabilities. Many projector screens are made from materials that reduce ambient light, so that the projected image can be made as sharp as possible, without glare. An ambient light rejecting (ALR) display can also help preserve color and contrast, especially in a well-lit room.

Yes, in many cases an ALR screen may actually cost more than the cheap projector you bought on Amazon, but it’s a great investment for indoor and outdoor movie nights. There are many portable ALR displays to choose from, and many can easily be stored away. Visulapex’s 80-inch model, which costs $86, is worth a look. It can be mounted on a stand or hung on the wall, and even comes with a stand and carrying case.

Monetarily, nothing beats the zero cost of projecting on a regular wall, but even the cheapest projection screen is better than nothing. Drywall isn’t very effective at preserving image detail, and things only get worse when you add ambient lighting to the equation. Try to fit the best screen you can afford into your projector budget; you can thank us later.

Technically, we could have fit this part into our discussion above about projection screens, but ways to dim ambient light could also be the subject of a whole other article; think of this section as the happy medium. Right off the bat, we can tell you that keeping your cheap projector indoors will always be your best bet. Other than keeping outdoor lighting to a minimum (and investing in a decent screen), there’s not much more you can do to reduce the mood of the moon and stars.

But inside, it’s a different story. Lamps and other fixtures can desaturate a projected image when placed too close to it. For best results, try dimming the lights, moving your light source(s), or simply keeping the lights off when using the projector. Additionally, if you watch a lot of movies during the day, we recommend investing in one or more sets of blackout curtains for rooms with lots of sunlight. They’re also easy to find and some can even be customized to fit your windows.

If you do most of your showing in a single room in your home and are allowed to paint, darker wall and ceiling colors are less reflective; this means that ambient light will be less likely to bounce around your viewing space. Even painting one side of the room or a single section of wall can have a positive impact on your projector’s visuals.

A cheap projector may not offer many image adjustments, but it’s worth getting familiar with the settings available. On the cheapest budget models, these may only be brightness and focus controls, and even these may offer little improvement. But knowing that you can turn up the lighting, even just a little bit, could be the saving grace when you’re the one with all the gear for movie night.

Let’s take a closer look at this $110 Happrun Native projector: Not only does it offer keystone correction, but it also has manual focus for its lens. The former can be used to straighten a final image that isn’t perfectly aligned with a screen or projection surface, while the latter allows you to increase or decrease the size of the image, which can improve clarity. These tweaks might not make much of a difference, especially on entry-level hardware, but every little bit helps.

It’s also helpful to be aware of your projector’s resolution and refresh rate limits. While Happrun advertises “4K support,” the projector is actually limited to 1080p. This means that when you connect a 4K source, the resolution will be reduced to 1080p. The Happrun unit we’re referring to also has a native 60Hz refresh rate; inputting anything higher (for example, a 120 Hz signal from a gaming console) will result in undersampled motion performance.

Tell us now: heat is the mortal enemy of consumer electronics. This is why the lion’s share of projectors, large or small, usually include a fan, above the chassis vents, for good heat dissipation. It’s normal for a projector to be warm to the touch while operating, but when the heat feels pretty hot and the internal fan is running loudly, your projector is likely at risk of overheating. And even if it doesn’t cause a power outage, it could impact your image quality.

Your projector’s internal components can only weigh so much, and adding too much heat to the equation can lead to lower brightness, washed out colors, and other visual detractors. We’d also be willing to bet that a no-name, sub-$100 projector brand won’t care as much about heat dissipation as the more established and notable manufacturers; a decent fan and sufficient ventilation might be a big ask. This means it will be up to you to keep your cheap projector as cool as possible.

So what can you do? For starters, you should always keep your projector out in the open, as cluttered media cabinets or a bookshelf loaded with books can block your projector’s air vents. Pet hair and other dirt can also get stuck in plastic grills. Our suggestion: keep a can of compressed air in reserve. You can also add a cooling pad to your projector setup, and many of these accessories can be used for laptops as well.