10 Best Short Throw Projectors
for October 2023

The JMGO O1 is a full HD projector with great image quality, but it's held back by mediocre audio performance and awkward controls. The projector has a fairly short throw distance, and image quality is decent, but it struggles when projecting onto textured surfaces. The speaker quality is decent, but it's loud and lacks bass. Also, the projector's remote is uncomfortable to hold, and it's awkward to navigate the projector's menu using the projector's buttons. The JMGO O1 is marketed as a home theater projector, but it has poor audio performance, making it unsuitable for most home theater applications. For home movie viewing, the projector's short throw distance and decent image quality are enough to guarantee a good viewing experience, but it's hard to recommend it as a dedicated home theater projector.

When it comes to laser projectors, image quality is by far the most important feature to consider. The Wemax Nova 4K, while a bit more expensive than our pick, has the brightest projection output (5000 lumens), precision 4K resolution, and sharp, bright colors. The projector's short throw lens makes it ideal for projecting in small spaces, and it even has built-in Google Cast support, so you can easily cast video from your phone or laptop. However, if the Nova's image quality doesn't meet your needs, it's disappointingly slow at connecting to external devices, and its remote is pretty basic and not backlit. The Nova also has a mediocre speaker, so you'll want to pair speakers or a soundbar with it also. The Nova's image quality is the best we've seen, but its slow connectivity and mediocre speakers keep it from being a top pick.

The LG 85LA 120” Laser Smart Home Theater projector offers incredible picture quality and sound, along with a decent feature set. We found it to be highly versatile, thanks to its short throw (2.8°), making it perfect for both large rooms and small ones. The projector is easy to set up, and delivers Full HD image quality at 120”. The 1500 lumens of brightness, combined with the projector's short throw, mean you can easily display movies, video games, and anything else in a bright, clear, and realistic manner. The projector's native contrast ratio of 2000:1 is also impressive, and its 8° projection lens provides a wide viewing area without taking up too much space. The projector supports both HDR10 and Dolby Vision, both of which are great options, although only the Dolby Vision version supports Dolby Atmos, which the LG 85LA 120” projector lacks. The projector also has plenty of connections, including HDMI and USB, making it easy to connect it to your home entertainment system. The LG 85LA 120” projector also has Google Assistant built-in, so you can use voice commands to play videos, run Netflix, and more.

The EpiqVision LS300 is a small but mighty projector, with a 3LCD image engine and 3600 lumens of color brightness (compared to 2400 lumens for competing models). The projector produces a sharp image, with impressive color accuracy for such a small machine. It also produces impressive black depth, with high levels of contrast. Setup is quick and easy, and the system automatically calibrates itself when you turn it on. The EpiqVision LS300 also offers built-in Wi-Fi, so you can connect and stream content directly from your phone, tablet, or computer, with Chromecast built-in. And this projector even comes with its own wireless remote, which has built-in Google Assistant, so you can control it with simple voice commands. The projector's built-in speakers are surprisingly good, too, with integrated stereo speakers that offer plenty of volume without sounding tinny or tinny, and they offer great sound for movies and music. The EpiqVision LS300's short throw laser array also produces an unusually bright picture. The projector works well in bright rooms, and while it's not ideal for large rooms (it works best when the image fills the screen to around 60-70%, and the image gets washed out in larger rooms), it's perfect for a smaller home theater or bedroom, and it's ideal for a living room or backyard with a screen up to 120 inches. It also comes with a remote, a projector stand, a power cord, and a mounting plate.

The LS860WU is an ambitious projector that offers 5000 lumens of brightness, a vertical/horizontal lens shift, a 1.3x optical zoom, horizontal and vertical keystone correction, and 4-corner adjustment. The projector is bright enough to be used in most well-lit rooms, and it's more than bright enough to be used in a room with ambient light. The projector's color reproduction is crisp and vibrant, and it also has an HDMI input. The projector's vertical/horizontal lens shift and 4-corner adjustment make it easy to install. The projector's 0.8 throw ratio makes it easy to project a large image, and its 1.3x zoom allows you to display images from any distance. The projector's remote is simple to use, and it offers buttons for power, volume, and input selection, as well as buttons for adjusting vertical and horizontal lens shifts. The projector's display is very responsive, and it offers low latency. The projector has a 20,000-hour lamp life, and it has a 1-year warranty. The projector's image quality is average, and it's a decent value.

The Hisense 120L5F 4K UHD HDR Ultra-Short Throw Laser TV Projector is an outstanding choice for a 120-inch 4K/HDR home theater projector. The 120L5F's 4K resolution (3,840 x 2,160) is more than enough for 4K HDR content, and it's backed by an AccuColor display with HDR support. The projector's 3,700-ANSI lumen brightness is bright enough for a 120-inch screen, and the light output of its laser light source is bright and strong. The 120L5F's video processing technology, called X-Fusion, delivers a clearer image with richer, more vibrant colors. The projector's 120- and 100-inch ALR screens provide crisp, clear images, and both screens support HDR 10. The 120L5F's remote is nicely designed and easy to use, and the screens are easy to set up and project from. The 120-inch ALR screen is best for smaller rooms, and 100-inch ALR screen is best for larger rooms. The 120L5F's two-year extended protection plan adds peace of mind, and Hisense's customer service is top-notch.

The Optoma CinemaX P2 is an outstanding 4K UHD home theater projector that's perfect for displaying large images in small spaces. The CinemaX P2's short throw distance gives you a huge 120-inch image from just 7.5 feet, and it's easy to install and use. The CinemaX P2 also has several features you won't find on competing models, including a unique 6-Segment Color Wheel, a Gaming Mode that bypasses the image processing engine for more responsive gameplay, and an IFTTT-compatible smart soundbar. The CinemaX P2's theatrical 4K resolution and 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio provide stunning image quality, and it's bright enough to use with any ambient light. Optoma's CinemaX P2's 3,000 lumens of brightness make it bright enough for lights-on viewing in rooms both large and small, and it offers an impressive 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio for sharp, vivid images. The CinemaX P2's laser-based technology also delivers up to 30,000 hours of light source life, and Optoma's 6-Segment Color Wheel provides accurate, cinematic color reproduction. The CinemaX P2's built-in 40W soundbar produces rich, clear sound without unwanted noise, and it provides enough bass to make film and game soundtracks come alive. The CinemaX P2 is also compatible with Alexa and Google Home, so you can control it using voice commands. The CinemaX P2's MagicBright feature automatically adjusts the brightness and hue of the projector to suit the ambient light in your home, and it's easy to adjust brightness, contrast, and lighting modes using on-screen controls. The CinemaX P2's 700 lumens of brightness make it bright enough for rooms without a projector screen, and it's also bright enough for rooms with ambient light. The CinemaX P2 has 3 HDMI ports, 1 USB port, Ethernet port, and 1 12V power port, and 1 audio out port, and 1 audio in port, and 1 AV in port, and 1 AV out port, and 1 LAN port, and 1 3.5mm audio out port, and AUX in port, 1 RF in port, 1 RF out port, and 1 IR receiver port, and (

Optoma's GT5600 Ultra Short Throw Projector is bright, colorful, and sharp, and it fills a relatively large room with sharp, colorful images. The GT5600 has some of the best image quality we've seen from a short throw projector, and it supports 1080p resolution picture at 3, 600 lumens, which is bright enough to use for movies and gaming. The GT5600 has an auto keystone feature that automatically adjusts the image when the projector is moved to different positions, and it offers four-corner correction, which automatically adjusts the image when the projector is tilted. The built-in speakers sound good, too. The GT5600's image quality and projection distance are impressive for an inexpensive projector. It has some limitations, though. The GT5600's short throw distance limits how far you can project the image, and it's best for rooms with ceilings 7 to 9 feet tall, and for rooms with light-colored walls. The GT5600's short throw distance also makes it a little difficult to set up, and the image doesn't hug the wall as closely as the images produced by our top picks. The GT5600 also has some trouble with color saturation. It produces bright, vibrant colors, but the picture isn't as vibrant as that of our top picks. The GT5600's image quality is also not as good as that of our top picks at close range; the image becomes somewhat grainy and the image loses contrast at very close ranges. Also, the GT5600's auto keystone feature doesn't work perfectly. The GT5600's image tends to shift slightly from side to side when the projector is moved to different positions, and the image doesn't hug the wall as closely as it does with our top picks.

The Optoma EH412ST is a solid budget projector, with a bright enough image for medium-sized meeting rooms and classrooms, and enough color accuracy for presentations with computers or other serge compatible video sources. The HDMI ports support 4K HDR, and the projector is compatible with 4K Blu-ray movies and games. The EH412ST is portable, weighing just over 8 pounds, and small enough to easily fit in a briefcase. The EH412ST has a short throw distance, so you can get a large image from only a few feet (although the throw distance is shorter than on most projectors). The projector is also easy to set up, thanks to an HDMI input, VGA input, and both an audio and video output. The throw distance is a little short for typical movie projection, but the short throw distance makes the EH412ST suitable for most business presentations, training rooms, classrooms, and board meetings. The EH412ST is also compatible with a wide selection of video sources, including serge compatible devices, computers, and gaming consoles. The projector has built-in speakers, which deliver enough volume for most meetings, classrooms, and boardrooms. The EH412ST's long lamp life and low price of ownership mean it can last for years, which is a big plus for anyone who wants a projector they can rely on for years.

The BenQ MW632ST is an upgrade from our top pick, the Optoma ProScene 1080i, and it's one of the best WXGA projectors we've tested. It's brighter, has a longer lamp life, and is less expensive, too. Like our previous pick, the BenQ has a 0.9 short throw lens, which makes it ideal for presentations and movies. And just as with the Optoma ProScene, the BenQ's native contrast ratio is very high, at 900, 000:1. That, combined with its 3200 lumens, means that the picture is always clear, even in large rooms. And the MW632ST's 10W speaker is better than most, with rich, clear, and well-rounded sound. The MW632ST's 1.2X zoom and solid picture quality make it a great choice for office presentations, movie nights, or sports.