Are you passionate gamers and are you lucky enough to be able to dedicate an entire room in your home to a gaming station with all the trappings, to be assembled with care? In this case, you might consider buying a gaming projector. Contrary to popular belief, and although it may sound a bit strange to some, projectors are devices that may be more than adequate for video games. Some, specifically, have characteristics specifically recommended for video games, which allow them to perform rather well the function of gaming devices, so much so that the same parent companies, over time, have often differentiated their offer, with product lines intended for specific way to entertainment. It is important to remember, however, that projectors are devices that behave quite differently from TV screens or gaming monitors: for this very reason, it is advisable to know all their features well before making a purchase. The element that distinguishes them most is the refresh rate, generally quite high, precisely because of their operating mechanism; in the same way, however, input lag can be a disadvantage of some models, especially among the cheaper ones, even if in recent years several projectors have been produced that manage it much better than before.
The most suitable place to host a projector is a basement, perhaps with little light, to be used as a real entertainment room. In our list you will find several gaming projectors divided by price range and features and inserted taking into account their technical data and above all their adaptability to video games. Before starting, we remind you that on our pages you can also find a guide to the best gaming steering wheels, one to the best driving stations and one to the best m etroidvania.
Gaming projectors
VAMVO L6200: cheap but good
Average price: 200-250 euros Resolution: Full HD The VAMVO L6200 is one of the best gaming projectors , if not the best, which is currently possible to find in the price range of 200-250 euros, and represents the best compromise between the cost of the device and its quality: to have at least sufficient experience, in fact, we do not recommend avoiding any projector sold for less than 170-180 euros in the price list, since in that case the risk of running into devices that are rather badly suited to gaming is very high. The VAMVO L6200, on the other hand, manages to do it in a more than worthy way, despite the rather low cost, and can count on a declared brightness value (well 6000 lumens) which, on paper, is truly remarkable for the reference range. The native resolution is 1080p, with support for 2K upscaling. There are also two HDMI ports, so you can connect both a device for the video source and a possible audio source (an ARC system or similar, even if the device is still equipped with an internal speaker).
YABER V6: WiFi support
Average price: 350 euros Resolution: Full HD We start to go up a bit with the price, but also with the functions and quality, with the YABER V6: in this case, it is a projector with several more arrows in its bow, such as the ability to connect via WiFi to any device connected to the home network, by performing the screen mirroring: of course, you will never want to use this feature with your consoles or your PC, but it is still a plug-and-play feature not just, which can be useful if your notebook or smartphone does not have the necessary connections. The maximum brightness of the YABER V6 is 7500 lux, while the native resolution is 1080p, with the possibility of upscaling to 4K. There is also support for bluetooth and digital zoom (up to 50%), while the purchase of the projector during the promotional periods indicated by the company will allow you to also receive a free transport bag.
Acer Nitro G550: perfect for gaming
Average price: 750 euros Resolution: Full HD Acer was one of the first companies to decide to include a projector in a product line specifically dedicated to gaming: thanks to this choice, the Acer Nitro G550 was born, a Full HD projector with features that, although not exactly among the top of the range, make it an excellent choice for video games. The input lag is rather low for the average of the reference category (without sacrificing too much brightness, which remains at a value of 2,200 ANSI units, according to the scale studied by the American National Standards Institute), while the integrated lamp guarantees a lifespan of 3500 hours before needing to be replaced. There is also support for different video codecs and Nvidia 3D, which makes this projector quite suitable for use with a computer equipped with the latest generation Nvidia graphics cards. Also at the level of connections the offer is excellent: it is possible to connect two incoming audio lines and there are two HDMI (the first HDCP 2.2, the second with support for MHL devices), but the VGA outputs and the old video output also remain. for almost total compatibility.
Epson EH-TW750: 360 degree entertainment
Average price: 750 euro Resolution: Full HD Epson is one of the most reliable brands in the field of video projectors, and also the new EH series, designed for entertainment (as opposed to the EB series, for work / office use) and available on the market for less than a year , is no exception. The EH-TW750 is an excellent solution for home entertainment, and can also adapt very well to video games: although it does not exceed 1080p as a native resolution, the image quality is already starting to make big steps forward compared to the proposals cheaper, which, while offering high brightness, are forced to make some sacrifices from that point of view. Do not be fooled by the brightness of "only" 3400 lux (which however allows you to extend the life of the internal lamp), since the technologies in the field are very different. Furthermore, this model can count on a refresh rate of 240 Hz and a contrast ratio of 16,000: 1. In terms of connectivity, it should be noted the presence of an optical audio output, to connect many types of home theater.
Epson EH-TW5700: versatile and complete
Average price: 950 euros Resolution: Full HD With the Epson EH-TW5700 we begin to enter the high end of the market, where almost all projectors are able to adapt without too many problems or sacrifices to be used with video games. The EH-TW5700, given the cost of less than 1000 euros, can easily be called one of the best gaming projectors in terms of the ratio between cost (not exaggerated) and performance. The 3LCD technology, which maximizes the rendering of the entire color spectrum with a brightness similar to that of white, makes it a perfect device for both watching movies and playing games, also thanks to the remarkable contrast of 35,000: 1. The internal lamp is designed to last: according to Epson, even watching a film a day - so using it for an average of two hours - you can reach 11 years of life without having to replace any parts.
Epson EH-TW5820: the “smart” projector
Average price: 1100 euro Resolution: Full HD The Epson EH-TW5820 is the big brother of the TW-5700, of which it represents, in fact, an enhanced version. Here too we are talking about a high image quality FHD projector, with a refresh rate of 240 Hz and 3LCD technology. The main feature that distinguishes the EH-TW5820 is the contrast ratio, which doubles the previous one bringing it to 70,000: 1, a value more than adequate for most users, which allows to obtain a visual quality without compromise, without for this having to make the room almost completely dark. Unlike the EH-TW5700, moreover, the EH-TW5820 includes support for Android TV, which acts as a real operating system and allows you to navigate the projector features and take advantage of the wide possibilities of connection to all devices. home (smartphone, notebook, console, PC) in a much easier way.
Epson EH-TW7400: the top of the top
Average price: 2300 euros Resolution: 4K Finally, we arrive at the best of the best: the EH-TW7400 is the projector to choose for those who want a truly enthusiast end device, able to offer only the advantages derived from a similar experience, without any element being sacrificed in order to have them. Of course, the price to pay for such a device is almost prohibitive, but it is still lower than many high-end or very high-end TVs: if you are thinking of buying a projector that really has it all and you can afford it, don't think twice: we are talking about one of the best gaming projectors around, able to adapt in an incredible way to the task. The resolution here rises to 4K (achieved thanks to lens interpolation) and the image quality is truly stunning for a home projector, with a contrast ratio of 200,000: 1 and support for HDR and 3D. . Epson also offers a very complete ecosystem that allows control via the official app for iOS and Android, which acts as a remote control.
How to choose the best gaming projector
Choosing a projector with features that make it suitable for gaming can be a difficult task if you don't know enough and don't know for sure what data to watch. To help you in your choice, we have therefore thought of a series of tips capable of guiding you and giving you the best advice on a gaming projector suited to your needs and pockets.
Brightness
A projector of quality must mainly be evaluated for its ability to reproduce images in a sharp way: for this reason, it is important that the brightness is as uniform as possible, without more or less shaded areas, and that it remains constantly on good values. Some projectors are certified according to the ANSI scale (the one studied by the American National Standards Institute): this is, in that case, an important, but not fundamental, parameter. In any case, do not be fooled by the "declared" brightness, but learn to evaluate it according to certain criteria, including the type of lamp mounted on the projector itself.
Input lag
Se brightness is a fundamental feature in an absolute sense, input lag is for gamers, who need to use a device that does not suffer excessively from excessive latency between the execution of commands and their actual application on the screen . For some time, in the past, projectors have suffered from problems related to input lag, but in recent years several models specifically intended for entertainment and gaming have made their way into the market: in this guide, we have tried to be the as specific as possible, recommending some of the latter.
Features and connections
A good projector can also be recognized thanks to its versatility, which allows it to be connected to as many devices as possible to be exploited to the fullest. Therefore, it must have a sufficient number of audio / video connections: HDMI is an obvious option, but not all projectors have support for ARC and / or MHL standards (in the first case for better audio management , in the second to connect a smartphone more easily), then check their presence or absence and compare them with your needs (the projector could also be used for work).
Video formats
A Another non-trivial feature are the video formats and codecs supported by the projector, which extend its versatility in terms of software compatibility. The presence of the most common and universal formats (Nvidia 3D, Dolby Vision, etc.) can be an important evaluation parameter for the purchase of a projector, especially if it is high-end (in that case it is important that it does not lack anything) . In some cases, however, you may have to deal with some limitations, related for example to the support of proprietary technologies connected to some families of video cards, (eg. Nvidia G-Sync or AMD FreeSync), which could limit a bit the functions of your projector on a PC.
