Our Favorite Budget Projector Isn’t Cheap. But You Can’t Put a Price on Family Movie Night

By home theater standards, the HT2050A and HT2060 are considered budget projectors due to their 1080p resolution. They lack the contrast and detail of our favorite 4K projector. But they’re the best projectors we’ve tested for $1,000 or less, offering good-enough image quality for most people.

• They’re a lot brighter than the super-cheap projectors you’ll find all over Amazon.
• They produce richer, more-accurate colors than other budget projectors. We’ve watched plenty of Pixar features and shorts on the HT2050A that look fantastic.
• They’re easy to set up because of a flexible lens that has both zoom and vertical shift. The 1.3x zoom gives you some flexibility to place the projector closer to the screen (I use an 80-inch pull-down screen, although you can go larger or smaller).
• The built-in speaker isn’t amazing, but it produces fuller sound than what you’d get from most budget projectors. After using the HT2050A for years, I do think it’s optimal to buy a soundbar or other speaker to amp up the volume (although I haven’t bought one yet).

Our pick from BenQ isn’t just for Pixar buffs. In her guide to the best budget projector for home theaters, supervising editor Adrienne Maxwell says, “The BenQ HT2060 stands above every projector we’ve tested in the $1,000-and-under price range because it gets the important things right in the picture-quality department and doesn’t have any major ergonomic annoyances to contend with. You can find projectors below $1,000 that offer good brightness or a solid black level or accurate color, but it’s rare to find all three in the same package.”

It doesn’t have built-in streaming capabilities, so you’ll need to either connect your laptop or other source via an HDMI cable or invest in a streaming stick. My family uses the Roku Streaming Stick+, but Wirecutter also recommends the Google Chromecast with Google TV.

Because my family lives in a relatively small apartment, we didn’t want a large screen taking center stage in our living room, so we invested in a projector mount and a pull-down screen to attach to the ceiling. We can retract it when it’s not in use—a solution we borrowed from other friends with a similarly small NYC home. Wirecutter also recommends a projector mount and better-quality screens that don’t roll up.

The older HT2050A uses a lamp to create its light, and that lamp will gradually dim and need to be replaced. It should last between 3,500 and 7,000 hours (which should translate into years of use for most people), depending on the lamp (brightness) mode you choose. Don’t be tempted to buy a generic lamp replacement. Instead, buy directly from BenQ, if possible. Generic bulbs don’t meet specs, can be too dim, and can even explode inside the projector. You can check the hours left on your lamp in the Projector Info menu. A replacement lamp from BenQ currently costs around $250.

The newer HT2060 replaces the lamp with a long-lasting LED light source, rated for up to 30,000 hours of use. It also allows the projector to turn on and off instantly, whereas the HT2050A takes a minute to ramp up or down. Since you’ll never need to replace a bulb, the lifetime cost of the HT2060 will be less, even though it costs more up front.

Use the HT2050A’s lens cover to keep the lens clean and protected when you aren’t using the projector. If the lens gets dirty or dusty, clean it with the same tools you’d use for a camera lens (we have some tips).

This article was edited by Rachelle Bergstein and Adrienne Maxwell.