Best projectors under 50k

Projectors have always been the domain of enthusiasts mostly because they used to cost a bomb However there are now lots of entrants in the market that have several lowcost options Cheaper than their professionalgrade cousins these offer enough value despite having a lower resolution and often lower brightness to take the plungePay attentionThere are a few things to look at while buying a projector The first is resolution You want to get the highest resolution you can afford In this price range the best you can get is 1080pNext is lumens which indicated brightness the higher the lumens better the brightness Brightness also affects what amount of darkness you can watch on your screenNext the size of the screen it is rated for Some projectors can handle 300inch screens while others can do just 100 For most households 100 is more than enoughThe third is the Android version while most projectors donrsquot come with an OS In case yours does make sure you get the latest version rather than the older ones As for now Android 8 and 9 are acceptablePortability this depends on your use If it is something you want to take on a holiday then you can consider a smaller portable one that runs on battery However the best images and brightness come on the larger machinesBenQ GV1BenQ GV1 is a palmsized projector that comes with a builtin battery and speaker system It has threehours battery life and can be used as a Bluetooth speaker The device doesnrsquot have Android builtin but can connect via Apple Airplay and Google Cast to your mobile devices The brightness is not the best but the LEDs have a life of 30000 hours The picture offered is lowres at around 480pPrice Rs 29990Portable YesResolution 854x480Brightness 200 LumensAndroid NoMaximum screen size 100inchesViewSonic PA503SEThis is a lampbased projector with a resolution of 1024X768 which is lower than the ideal 1080p The internal lamp has a life of 15000 hours much lower than an LED The brightness is rated for a 120inch screen you can technically push the screen size to 300inches at lower brightness There is no Android OS so you will have to connect to this projector via HDMI or VGA cablePrice Rs 35316Portable SemiResolution 1024x768Brightness 3800 LumensAndroid NoMaximum screen size 120inchesWZATCO S4If you are looking for a projector that comes with builtin Android TV Wzatco S4 offers a compelling package at a relatively cheap price Having Android means this projector can natively install Netflix Hotstar and other OTT platforms it also lets you play android games directly off the projector and install Kodi The projector is rated at 5500 Lumens and this should offer decent viewing in semilit conditions The LED lamp has a life of 20000 hours which is decent for this price range You can input video via USB VGA and HDMI andPrice Rs 24900Portable SemiResolution 1920x1080Brightness 5500 LumensAndroid Yes Android90Maximum screen size 300inchesAUN AKEY7AUN is new in the Indian market but it offers excellent value for money The Full HD projector has high brightness and offers 55000 hours of LED life It has builtin speakers and optical audio output The size makes it portable but it doesnrsquot have builtin batteries and requires to be plugged inPrice Rs 16630Portable SemiResolution 1920x1080Brightness 6500 LumensAndroid NoMaximum screen size 300inchesGobran Mini Projector FH3If you are looking for something that can handle projection outdoors Gobran is what you need The projector has a very high level of brightness and can project even in semilit conditions It offers 50000 hours of LED life The projector has no builtin Android OS and uses HDMI VGA and USB as video inputs The speakers on the projector offer decent sound outputPrice Rs 32183Portable SemiResolution 1920x1080Brightness 8000 LumensAndroid NoMaximum screen size 300inchesEnhance your theatre experienceA good soundbarGreat sound is one of the key components of a great movie experience You can of course splurge and buy something fancy but even something like the Creative Soundstage soundbar offers great sound on a budget The Creativersquos Stage V2 soundbar costs just R7999 and it comes with an additional woofer to enhance bass sounds The speaker also emulates surround sound and has a dedicated button to enhance dialogues in a movieRollout screenA rollout screen is a great way to watch your projector especially if you do not have a blank large wall The small factor and permanent location make it a great choice if you are looking to not increase clutter as well A 100inch rollout screen will set you back by R2000 you also get a nice 120inch foldable variety for around the same price online A motorised 100inch will cost around R7500PopcornNo theatre experience is complete without popcorn Fortunately there are plenty of microwavable popcorn options available with flavours that range from salted to peri peri cheese You can even skip microwaving and go straight for the prepopped packaged popcornReclinersTo complete the experience you need the gold standard of theatre seating the recliners These magical moving seats can cost upwards of Rs 12000 However if you are on a budget look at zero gravity chairs they are ultracomfortable and during sales you can pick one up for less than R3000 The cushioned ones cost around Rs 5000