Projector or TV? Epson, XGIMI, Hisense and BenQ compared for UK home cinemas, November 2026

With a 65-inch TV costing a few hundred pounds, why buy a projector? Because a projector is the cheapest way to a 100-inch picture, and in a dark room it is still the closest thing to a cinema at home. The catch is that the right model depends on your room, your lighting and where you can put it. If you are weighing it against a screen, start with our TV technology guide, then come back here.

This comparison covers four brands: Epson, XGIMI, Hisense and BenQ. Prices were read from the Epson UK and XGIMI UK stores and, for Hisense and BenQ, from PriceRunner and UK retailers such as Richer Sounds, all on 1 November 2026. Hisense's and BenQ's own UK stores did not show usable prices. Prices change often, especially before Black Friday on 27 November.

First decide which type you need

• Long-throw projectors sit on a shelf or ceiling mount a few metres from the screen. They are usually the best value for pure picture quality.
• Ultra-short-throw (UST) projectors sit on a unit just below the screen, about 30 cm from the wall, and are sold as TV replacements. They need a good ambient-light-rejecting screen.
• Compact smart projectors are portable and easy to move, but are less bright.

Brightness matters more than the headline resolution. In a room with curtains drawn, 2,000 to 2,500 lumens is plenty; for a living room with some daylight, look for 3,000 or more. Note that makers measure brightness in different ways (ISO 21118, ANSI or unspecified), so the figures below are indicative rather than strictly comparable.

Epson: 3LCD lasers with a long warranty

Epson's 3LCD design shows full colour on every frame, so it avoids the rainbow effect some people notice on single-chip DLP models. It also quotes a laser light source rated for up to 20,000 hours and a five-year carry-in warranty on its home cinema range.

• EH-LS7000 (long throw, 4K): £2,500. Epson lists 3,600 lumens, a throw ratio of 1.32 to 2.15:1, lens shift and Wi-Fi 6E. It was out of stock when we checked.
• Lifestudio Grand EH-LS670B and EH-LS670W (ultra-short throw, 4K PRO-UHD): £1,649.99, down from £2,199.99. They have 3,600 lumens, Google TV and Bose-designed speakers, and project up to 120 inches. Epson says the Halloween offer runs to midnight on 1 November, limited to one per order.
• Lifestudio Grand Plus EH-LS970B and EH-LS970W (ultra-short throw, 4K): £3,299, with 4,000 lumens and a 150-inch image.
• Lifestudio Flex Plus EF-73 (portable, 4K PRO-UHD): £1,149.99, down from £1,300, with 1,000 lumens. This is a dark-room or small-room option.

"4K PRO-UHD" is Epson's term for a pixel-shifting method that builds a 4K image from a lower-resolution panel. It is not the same as native 4K, though many viewers find the result good.

XGIMI: bright RGB laser DLP projectors

XGIMI's HORIZON 20 series uses an RGB triple laser with a DLP chip and Google TV. It supports Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and IMAX Enhanced, and offers a low-latency game mode. Prices below are from the XGIMI UK store.

• HORIZON 20: £1,499. It is quoted at 3,200 ISO lumens, 4K resolution, optical zoom and lens shift, and a 1.2 to 1.5:1 throw ratio.
• HORIZON 20 Pro: £1,799. It is quoted at 4,100 ISO lumens with the same core feature set and gaming modes.
• TITAN Noir: £2,999. It is aimed at darker rooms and film fans, with 4,800 ISO lumens, up to 7,000:1 native contrast and an adjustable iris. The page we checked did not state the resolution, so confirm it before buying.

XGIMI says security updates for the HORIZON 20 are promised until 15 October 2027, which is a useful detail for a smart device that sits on your network. Our guide to streaming boxes explains why it can still make sense to plug in a separate player.

Hisense: triple-laser projectors, mostly ultra-short throw

Hisense's UK range is wide. Specifications below come from Hisense UK's product pages for the PT1, PX3 Pro and PX4 Pro; prices come from PriceRunner and the retailers behind it (Richer Sounds, Argos, B&Q and specialist dealers).

• PX3 Pro (ultra-short throw, tri-laser, 4K): £1,599 at Richer Sounds, Argos and B&Q, with one dealer at £1,799. Hisense UK lists an 80 to 150-inch image, Dolby Vision and Atmos, two HDMI 2.1 ports, 3,000:1 contrast and Xbox-certified low latency, with input lag of 30 ms or less. It does not state brightness; retailers quote 3,000 ANSI lumens.
• PT1 (ultra-short throw, laser DLP, 4K): from £1,499 at specialist dealers, £1,559 at another and over £2,200 at a marketplace seller. Hisense UK states 2,500 ANSI lumens, an 80 to 150-inch image, 3,000:1 contrast, IMAX Enhanced, Dolby Vision and Atmos, two HDMI 2.1 ports and input lag of 30 ms or less.
• PX4 Pro (laser DLP, 4K): £2,299 at Richer Sounds and another dealer. Hisense UK quotes 3,500 ANSI lumens, an RGB triple-laser engine with a 0.47-inch DLP chip, a seven-level iris and up to 6,500:1 contrast and supports Dolby Atmos and DTS Virtual:X.
• C3 Ultra (laser DLP, 4K): £2,299 on PriceRunner, and the L9Q laser TV (4K) from £3,499, reduced from £3,699.
• M2 Pro (compact, 4K DLP): about £809.

Shop around: the same Hisense model can differ by several hundred pounds between sellers, as the PT1 shows.

BenQ: lamp and LED models with strong picture modes

BenQ organises its home range by room type. Both models below use lamps rather than lasers, with a stated 1.13 to 1.47 throw ratio, 1.3x zoom and 10 per cent vertical lens shift.

• TK860 and TK860i (bright room, 4K): 3,300 ANSI lumens, 50,000:1 contrast, HDR10 and HLG. BenQ rates the lamp at 4,000 hours in normal mode, 10,000 in eco mode and 15,000 in SmartEco mode. The "i" version adds Android TV. Richer Sounds lists the non-"i" TK860 at £1,149 in stock, with a six-year projector guarantee. Amazon UK lists the TK860i at £2,228.99, according to a listing we were shown on 1 November, a large premium over the non-"i" model, so compare both before buying.
• W2710i (dark room, 4K): 2,200 ANSI lumens, 50,000:1 contrast, HDR10+ and ISFccc calibration with a 24p film mode. Amazon UK lists it at £1,836, according to a listing we were shown on 1 November, while Richer Sounds shows it as clearance and no longer available.
• TK705i (room to room, LED, 4K): the lowest price on PriceRunner was £1,195.68 from eight stores.

BenQ's own UK store showed no prices, so these come from retailers; Amazon prices are as reported on 1 November and move often.

At a glance

Our advice

• Bright living room, no blackout: a bright long-throw model such as the XGIMI HORIZON 20 Pro or the BenQ TK860 (£1,149 at Richer Sounds), or an ultra-short-throw laser with an ambient-light-rejecting screen.
• Dedicated dark room: prioritise contrast and lens shift, such as the Epson EH-LS7000 or XGIMI TITAN Noir.
• Replacing a TV: an ultra-short-throw model like the Epson EH-LS670, Hisense PT1 or Hisense PX3 Pro, but budget for a proper screen.
• Do not forget sound: built-in speakers are modest. Our soundbar or AV receiver guide covers the next step.

Whichever you choose, check the screen size you can fit, the throw distance and whether you need an HDMI 2.1 input for gaming. Our HDMI 2.2 guide explains what cables to buy. Prices come from the manufacturers' UK stores and PriceRunner and were not independently tested; we will refresh this article around Black Friday.