An important element of home theater design is the display system. Life-like, immersive visuals are one of the hallmarks of any great theater experience and you will need a good video projection system to achieve this in your home theater. Understandably, aside from the quality of the display, factors like cost and portability will influence the type of projector you ultimately choose. Here are some things you need to know to ensure the quality of your home theater projection system.

1)      Projector type

Currently, there are three types of video projectors for home theaters on the market: digital light processing (DLP), liquid crystal display (LCD), and cathode ray tube (CRT). In terms of the brightness of the display, DLP projectors have the brightest display and older CRT projectors are the least bright; however, with LCD projectors, the images are sharper.

Cost-wise, LCD projectors are the least expensive kind of projector you can buy; however, with DLP projectors, the replacement bulbs can cost up to a few hundred dollars.  This goes for LCD projectors as well.

Where portability is concerned, LCD and DLP projectors are lightweight and small and so you can use them in other settings beside your home theater. CRT projectors on the other hand are larger and quite heavy; they usually require fixed installation.

2)      Resolution

The higher the resolution on a home theater video projector, the more detailed and vivid the images on the screen with appear. Also, the higher the resolution, the more expensive the projector will be. “High-definition” is the term used for displays with a very high resolution, 1920×1080 pixels being the ideal. XGA resolution (1024×768 pixels) ‎ and WXGA resolution (1280×768 pixels) are considered standard for an optimal movie-viewing experience. SVGA (800×600 pixels) resolution and VGA resolution (640×480 pixels) are the best bet if you’re working with a low budget.