Laser vs LED for home projector in 2026?

[Tj Hopland]

There looks to be several LED machines out there that seem to get good reviews but for a a bit more money there are laser options. In the BenQ models I looked at they rate the life pretty similar, around 20,000 hours and the rest of the projector seems similar too so its really just the higher initial cost of the laser unit. Other brands it seemed a little harder to compare their LED and Laser models if they even had lasers.
Most reviews of projectors these days seem to be related to golf simulators then some around gaming and then they go on to say you can watch movies too. All these people seem to be running on a wall or some wacky color and gain screen so not really helpful to me.

I'm not tied to any brand or vendor. Was mostly looking at what B&H stocks. Current machine is 2000 lumens and that is plenty. Don't really need any unique features other than I need a 1.12 throw ratio which seems to really narrow down the selection. There are 0.5-0.8 machines then they kinda jump to maybe 1.3-1.7 on the low side which isn't quite short enough.

Anyone been shopping or buy or see anything in the last year or two? Looks like the low cost lasers hit the streets late 24 so are fairly new. LED's I think have been around for several years now but maybe have got a little brighter more recently?

[Marcel Birgelen]

I'm not really into home projectors anymore, but I suppose that an RGB-based home projector will outperform your average LED projector both on brightness, contrast and color gamut. What I'd try to avoid is a phosphor-laser projector.

Back in the "lamp days", my favorite projectors for home and office usage were 3LCD projectors, as I really couldn't stand the rainbow effect from those color-wheel based projectors. That's also why I don't really trust all those modern singlle-DLP designs, even those without color wheels.

[Ed Gordon]

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Back in the "lamp days", my favorite projectors for home and office usage were 3LCD projectors, as I really couldn't stand the rainbow effect from those color-wheel based projectors. That's also why I don't really trust all those modern singlle-DLP designs, even those without color wheels.

I have an Epson 4000 3LCD projector I bought about 4 years ago which has been replaced by the Epson 4010. It does 4k via pixel shifting, and supports 3D.

From Epson — Bring the ultimate 4K experience to your DIY home theater with the Epson Home Cinema 4010 4K PRO-UHD projector. Epson 4K PRO-UHD projectors use our proprietary, advanced pixel-shifting resolution-enhancement technology to display native 4K content. Wide color gamut, HDR High Dynamic Range, and 100% balanced color brightness deliver an exceptional 4K experience. Show movies, sports, and games how they were meant to be seen - on the big screen, with bright, full color, stunning resolution, and no rainbow effect.

• HDR - High Dynamic Range and rich black contrast
• 3-axis precision motor
• Smooth, crisp images and transitions
• Epson's advanced projection lens
• No color wheel
• Delta level color accuracy

Source: https://www.projectorcentral.com/Eps...inema_4010.htm
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Projector Central is a good place to shop for projectors. You can give it the specs you want and it will show models that fit your requirements.

[Tj Hopland]

I luckily don't seem to have issues with color wheels and that sort of thing. I was going to say I thought someone was still making 3LCD and as Ed mentioned I think it was Epson that I saw.

I guess I will have to see if I can drill deeper into the specs to see if they say what sort of laser sources they are using. I'm tempted by the LED due to cost but even the LED's cost more than I was hoping to spend so that's where I'm wondering if I'm in that deep should I just go further and spend twice what I wanted to?

My current machine is working reasonably well still but quality lamps had become a problem. It seems like Osram and Ushio quit making any of them a few years ago now which makes sense when you look at new machines and that the lasers seemed to have a price breakthrough in late 24 so any lamp projectors you can buy today are likely old stock. The off brand lamps have funky color and often flicker pretty early in their lives. Finding a NOS Osram or Ushio is tricky because you never know if vendors are showing you a real photo or if they are fakes or just liars so I have paid $100+ for a $20 lamp that was junk. I did get a NOS lamp but got lazy and didn't clean the fans and such when I changed it so it got kinda baked and failed early which didn't do the rest of the projector any good.

[Walt Shires]

I bought the Valerian when it was on kickstarter - it is PHENOMENAL. Yes.... I don't need the Google TV stuff and I wish it was "just a projector" but the color, brightness, and clarity is just incredible. Everyone that see's it thinks pretty much the same. It does have the color/wheel thing... but, I'm used to it now and don't see it anymore. I did see it when I would dart my eyes around the screen in the beginning. My only complaint is the 3D is terrible. The old Sony VPH-40ES I have the 3D is WAY better. So much so, I've decided that when I do 3D events I'm just doing to take down the valerian and put up the Sony. My only problem is the Sony IR emitter for the glasses won't cover our new home theater... the back row doesn't work! First world problem I guess! I've been looking for the specific external IR emitter and haven't got one yet. (I was a few hours late on one that showed up on eBay - darn!)

[Victor Liorentas]

I bought a BenQ 3550 4k around 2020 and it was good at first. When I got to 1000 hours the lamp brightness started dropping until 1500 hours was unwatchable due to darkness. I asked BenQ if I could swap it out for the TK850. They agreed but it was a refurbished unit and while super bright with an (extra white slice in the color wheel) had very uneven light and focus.
At about 1000 hours it got the stuck white pixels. First one and then many more. BenQ replaced it under warranty. Same thing happened again at about 1000 hours. To my surprise BenQ sent me the upgraded TK850i. This was a much better Brand New unit with great light output and focus.

I was happy with this model until BAM! Stuck white pixels and a lamp which prematurely started flickering. Warranty is done so buying a new lamp would be a waste unless I bought a new DMD.
I dug out my old 2012 BenQ W1070 1080p unit and was reminded how great the image is compared to the 4k BenQ projectors!

The W1070 has much better native contrast and pop which the 4k units lacked. Bright scenes are impressive but they can't do blacks very well. What I take from this is the .47 DMD chip can't perform like the larger .65 chips. They also fail prematurely with the stuck pixels. My 2012 unit still looks great and no stuck pixels! I've had to change the color wheel recently but it's otherwise great to this day.

I am thinking about the new 4 led driven BenQ 4100i because the reviews are great and it actually uses the .65 DMD chip!