Projectors vs TVs and HDMI Cables: What's Worth Paying For?

Engadget says that if you want the largest image for the least amount of money, a projector is the only choice. Projectors can easily display images 120 inches or larger, a size that puts TVs into a wholly different price category. For example, TCL's 115-inch QM7K QLED Mini LED 4K TV costs $13,998, while Hisense's 100-inch Mini LED model runs a much more reasonable $1,750. Even mid-priced projectors that cost about the same as a good 75-inch TV can beam an image up to 200 inches, or nearly 17 feet diagonally. Models like the Anker Nebula X1 triple-laser projector can reach up to 300 inches, and budget-friendly options such as the Valerion VisionMaster Pro 4K laser projector also manage that size.

Televisions have a brightness advantage, since they have their own illumination. Modern LED TVs can hit up to 4,000 nits on a 10 percent window, and OLEDs deliver nearly infinite contrast. But that high brightness may be overkill in a darkened room, and Viewsonic notes that many LED TVs emit direct blue light that can cause eyestrain over time. Projector-maker Valerion adds that TVs rated at 4,000 nits are nearing brightness levels reserved for outdoor displays like digital billboards. Projectors, which bounce light off a screen, produce much lower on-screen brightness; a bright triple-laser projector outputs about 280 nits on a 120-inch screen. In a dark room, that is still more than the roughly 75 nits delivered by an IMAX 70mm film theater.

Projectors also offer better color fidelity and a more discreet presence, and they can be taken outside for movie nights, projecting onto a wall or bed sheet. That is much easier than moving a huge TV.

Turning to HDMI cables, a $100 cable will not be better than a $10 cable for picture or sound, as long as both can reliably carry the signal. The cable's job is to transport digital data, not process it. Spending more is justified only for higher bandwidth or longer runs. Sony, for instance, lists the HDMI cable among points to check when a PS5 fails to output 4K at 120Hz, recommending an Ultra High Speed cable rated for that mode. In most streaming scenarios, a Premium High Speed cable with 18Gbps is sufficient; 4K/120Hz gaming requires an Ultra High Speed cable with up to 48Gbps. The newest Ultra96 category supports up to 96Gbps, but that is only for very demanding formats like uncompressed 4K at 240Hz or 8K at 60Hz.

Cable categories, not version numbers, are the cleanest way to shop. Official certification labels with QR codes let buyers verify a cable's brand, model and length. Longer runs may require active or optical cables, which use electronics to push the signal farther and cost more for legitimate reasons. These cables can be directional, so the end marked for the source must connect to the sending device. For a short connection behind a TV, a certified cable with enough bandwidth is usually all you need.