Many Americans are looking for a home theater projector to get the ultimate movie experience at home. There are two main types of projectors to choose from: Digital Light Processing (DLP) and Liquid Crystal Display (LCD).

These two forms both have their advantages and disadvantages, although the latest models are looking to bridge some of the quality gaps to make both types of digital projectors indistinguishable. Traditionally, the LCD projector has been known for its color saturation and sharpness.

LCD projector
The largest manufacturers of the LCD projector are Epson, Sony and Panasonic. The Epson Home Cinema 6500UB 1080p home theater projector is a good choice, retailing around $2,999 full price. This projector uses a new feature called “creative frame interpolation” to smooth out fast-moving motion and eliminate ghosting or rainbow effects.

Reviewers say that this Epson has some of the best black level performance of any other 1080 model, although it’s shadow detail is not quite perfect. The brightness is above average, the image is sharp and the two year warranty is solid.

While it’s quieter than a DLP projector, this model is a bit noisier than other 3LCD projectors. The Epson Home Cinema 6100 is a similar model for under $2,100.

The Epson is good, but for those consumers who demand ultra-high-contrast, there are some other LCD projectors on the market to consider. It only takes one movie filmed in the dark, where minutes of the film are lost due to poor performance to inspire someone to seek out this feature.

LCD projector manufacturers were hip to this concept and, as a result, nearly all 1080p projectors have decent black level performance. The best of the bunch are 3LCD projectors, which harness new polarization techniques and dynamic irises.

The color saturation is as impressive as the luminance.

video projectors
Over the years, the LCD projector has made significant advances in contrast and pixel resolution, which used to be the DLP projector’s strength. They are also bringing more affordable high-definition, wider screens to the public, with all of the 1280 x 720 HDTV projectors retailing under $5,000 classified as LCD products.

While Sharp has announced a DLP unit for $3,999, it is still double the least expensive LCD video projectors. All the projectors with the highest ANSI lumen ratings (3,000 – 6,000) are LCD, except for one DLP model by Optoma and one by ViewSonic.