The 3 Top Short Throw Projectors For Next Gen Gaming – Under $1000

The next gen consoles is upon us, but your still using your crusty old TV to play them. Well we’ve gathered some top gaming projectors to add to you living room or man cave. I would note that these machines are best for casual gamers – if you’ve watched any pro gamer streamers, they pretty much have their faces 2 inches from their monitors and use hyper PCs.

First, for some techy stuff, we need to differentiate between input lag and response time, as they are often blended together. We’ll keep it simple. Input lag is where your controller may seem out of sync with your character on the TV. So if you click jump on the controller and there is a small time difference to your character jumping on screen – this is input lag. Most people won’t notice an input lag of something less that 30-35ms; some Call of Duty streamers may notice something in the vicinity of 20ms or so, however. But, it’s worth repeating, this review is more for the casual gamer, for less intense games, like Red Dead or the next Elder Scrolls and GTA (if they ever come out!). Response time, on the other thumb, is all about how quickly pixels on your screen chance color (greys changing to different shades, blacks changing to whites). Reponses time should ideally be something likes under 15ms. A slow response time may lead to blurry, smudgy looking graphics – like when you have one too many whiskeys on Red Dead redemption 2 and the screen goes all wobbly and weird. So, we’ve chosen these 3 projectors that have low response time and low input lag, for gaming.

We figured you won’t be using a projector just for gaming, you’ll probably use one for watching movies as well; but, no worries, if a projector can game, then it can play movies no problem. Disclaimer, all links go to Amazon in this article where we may receive a profit from a bought item, so feel free to buy a private jet as well as a projector.

#1 ViewSonic PX706HD Gaming Short Throw Projector

This projector is perfect for serious hardcore gamers. The ViewSonic PX706HD projector gives big yet clear imagery – with the help of its short throw lens it can be placed a few feet away from the wall or screen for a total 100” screen. The projector uses Digital Light Processing (DLP) to create its image, meaning the response time is pretty much 0ms – so they will be no blurring of the graphics. This is an ideal projector for gaming in a small room. 3,000 lumens of brightness and with Full HD 1920×1080 resolution provide vivid and sharp images and graphics – but also available with other specifications. The projector has over 1000 reviews and a 4.5 star rating. It’s also cracking for movies. Click through the link to see some of the customer reviews, which include photos of the projector in action. The projector has been optimized to have extremely low input lag – which is echoed in the comments of the review section.

The high contrast ratio gives insane color by displaying crisp contrasts, so your game or movie won’t end up looking like muddy Renoir painting. This projector is ideal for a living room, a home theatre, or man cave, this projector will level up your cool male living space. The projector has a litany of other positive points to it, it’s best to just have a look yourself; however, the reviews speak for themselves.

#2 Optoma HD28HDR

Get into huge screen gaming with the newest model of this short throw projector – with 3,6000 lumens, HDMI connectivity with supports 4K UHD and HDR; whatever that means. This short throw projector has incredible detail and color clarity for up to 301 inch screen for a truly immersive gaming experience, and indeed movie experience. Flip on the enhanced gaming mode with a 120 Hz refresh rate that delivers a visual advantage by boosting shadow and darker scenes for great visibility. Perfect for if you’re firing up some Dark Souls (it won’t help you against Ornstein and Smough though). With a miniscule 8.4ms Response Time, you won’t be experience blurry action. The input lag is just 16ms.

One clever feature, the HDMI-Link enables control of the projector and other connected devices using a single remote – which is backlit (see below).

With over 1000 reviews and a 4.5. star rating, like our former review, you can be reassured that this is a good machine.

#3 BenQ HT2150ST

The BenQ comes with 1080 HD resolution, a throw length of 100” from 4.9ft. The BenQ is renowned for making your home sound like being at the movies. But it is also incredible for gaming. It has a very fast response rate and no perceivable input lag. The projector uses DLP, so there response time is impeccable. The projector is advertised as having 16ms low input lag and microsecond DMD response time – which means ultra-smooth gaming without blur or lag.

By James