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The laser projectors are getting popular on the dose of steroids. A lot of newbies want to have a laser projector in their home theater, and a lot of intermediates want to switch to it.
Almost every blogger is praising this new advancement in technology. That’s why I have crafted this guide to discuss its pros and cons and analyze it at the end whether it is worth it or not.
Let’s start this guide with the pros and cons, followed by the final verdict.
7 Pros of the laser projector
They have an incredibly long lamp life
The first positive thing about the laser projectors that feels awesome is their longer lamp life. The lowest lamp life in the laser projector is 20000 hours. Yes, you read it right. This is the lowest among them.
Also, they can range from 30000 to 50000 hours in lamp life longevity. If you want a longer lamp life, then the laser projector is the only option for you. But the story doesn’t end here. Keep reading to know more.
Brightness is the highest in the different projector technologies
Almost every laser projector has one separate laser for each color in the three RGB colors.
That’s why there is no filtration mechanism needed for the light to filter out three colors from it. Due to no filtration, the brightness is greater than other projectors.
That’s why the projector laser source is brighter. There is another positive thing that backs the brightness of the laser projector.
The laser source has the most power of all of them. That’s why it gives a brighter image than all other projectors’ technologies.
You can get to know about the power of the laser from this point. Many lasers can cut through iron or many other things. I am not saying the same laser is implanted in the projector, but it is a glance at the laser’s power.
Doesn’t lose color and brightness throughout the lamp’s life
The case with other projectors’ technologies is that they fade in color or brightness. The laser projector doesn’t lose brightness before the end of the lamp life like in other projectors technologies.
This is because the laser is powerful and in a laser projector, there is a DMD chip to create the final image on the screen, and not LCDs are used for that. The LCDs fade in colors with time, but not the small mirrors in the DMD chip.
You can read in detail about this with a few more points in this guide. Do laser projectors lose brightness over time? I have discussed the filtration process too in this guide with illustrations.
They have better colors in both Ultra short throw & long-throw applications
When the laser-based projector is made for ultra-short throw projection, they have better colors and brightness than the other technologies in the UST application.
The UST projectors can project the full image from a distance of 7-20 inches from the screen. They are sometimes referred to as laser TVs. When thinking about the UST projectors, then make sure they are laser-based.
They have better colors in the long throw too. They have a bigger volume of color and the colors look vivid on the screen.
Read my this review guide about the best ultra short throw projectors. I have reviewed the top 7.
They turn on almost instantly
The laser doesn’t need to get warm to project an image. That’s why it turns on and off instantly.
The lamp in other projectors needs to warm up before image projection, but lasers can be turned on immediately without any need for a warm-up.
Laser projectors can be used for longer without overheating
Like in lamps or LED-based projectors. They have a bulb. First, the bulb itself generates a lot of heat, and second, it uses a lot of power that puts stress on other equipment in the circuitry. This gives a boost to the overall heat of the product.
But the laser doesn’t produce any heat during its usage, that’s why the laser projector doesn’t overheat.
It has lower fan noise
As the laser doesn’t produce any heat, that’s why the fan doesn’t need to work a lot to pull out the heat from the projector body.
That’s why the fan makes no annoying noise as it does in other technologies of the projectors. In many lamp projectors, the fan noise irritates at full brightness. But you can avoid this with the help of a laser projector.
5 Cons of the laser projector
Has shallower black levels than other technologies with full brightness
The laser projector at full brightness has slightly fewer depths to the black levels as compared to the lamp-based projectors at the same brightness.
But this is true in the same cases, not in all cases. If you get a well-built laser projector from a reputable brand, then you won’t have this issue to counter.
They are more expensive than other technologies projectors
Laser projectors are more expensive than lamp-based and LED-based projectors. But if laser projection becomes a mainstream thing, then this scenario can be reversed.
Not a lot of laser projectors are available on the market
Laser projectors are getting popular recently, that’s why they are very limited in options.
Almost all the brands have a plethora of options available in the lamp and LED-based projectors, but they will have fewer models available in the Laser-based projectors.
They are heavier than others
The laser projectors are heavier than the other technologies based projectors. That’s why it is a little difficult to carry it from one room to another.
No lamp replacement means you have to replace the projector
As the laser projector doesn’t lose brightness before its lamp life but after the lamp life, the laser-based ones lose their brightness from %20-30.
But to restore its brightness, you can replace its lamp because it doesn’t have it. You will have to buy another projector to obtain the previous brightness you love.
But, 30000 hours of lamp life is a very huge thing. You can check this from this guide. How much a projector can last? I have shown it in a helpful little table at the start of the guide.
Final Verdict: Are laser projectors worth it?
In-Short: It is worth it if you want longer lamp life, vivid colors, constant brightness throughout the lamp life, no fan noise, and hate overheating, but if you want to have the freedom of bulb replacement and 4K images cheaper then it is not worth it.
I skipped the black levels issue of the laser projectors because you can boost black levels with a black projector screen or an ALR screen.
I have compared each one here. White Vs Gray Vs Black projector screen: which is better? You can know which screen is best for what.
Did you get something out of this TV-size guide? Hold On We Have Something Exciting To Share.
[the_ad id=”4771″]FAQs
Are laser projectors better than TVs?
They are better when it comes to having a bigger screen on a budget, but no projector can beat the same level of TV in the contrast ratio game.
The TVs are cheaper to 85 inches of screen, but beyond that, they can be seriously expensive. That’s why the laser projectors are better because they can give you 150 inches of screen size a lot cheaper.
Is a laser projector better than a regular projector?
They are better because they have higher brightness, better colors, and longer lamp life, but they can’t match the black levels of lamp-based projectors, which can be overcome by using an ALR screen.
Laser projectors are better because they have significantly more pros than cons when compared with regular projectors. I can ignore the cons for the significant pros.
Helpful Resources To Read More
- You can know more about this battle. Projector Vs TV: which is better for home theater? I have compared them with a simple comparison table. (resource for the first question)
- You can research more about laser projectors in this Wikipedia article or this Reddit thread. (resource for the second question)
