Projector
Products
In The Lab
Forums
Newsletters
Join now
Best
Projectors Outdoor Portable Budget And Cheap Home Theater 4k Short-Throw Gaming Under $500 Under $1,000
Tools
Compare Results Table Tool Review List Review Index Graph Throw Calculator Review Pipeline Vote Custom Ratings
Popular
NexiGo PJ40 Pro Hisense M2 Pro XGIMI HORIZON 20 Hisense C2 Ultra JMGO N3 Ultimate Valerion VisionMaster Max Anker Nebula X1 LG CineBeam Q XGIMI TITAN Hisense PX3-PRO Epson Lifestudio Flex Plus JMGO N1S Ultimate TCL C1 Samsung The Freestyle 2nd Gen XGIMI HORIZON 20 Max LG CineBeam S XGIMI Halo+ XGIMI Vibe One Epson Lifestudio Pop Plus Valerion VisionMaster Pro 2
91 Projectors bought and tested
Supported by you via membership, and when you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
  1. Home
  2. Projector
  3. Test Bench 1.0

Test Bench 1.0  
Changelog

 0
By Pierre-Olivier JourdenaisUpdated Jul 28, 2026 at 01:07 pm

See the previous 0.12 changelog.

Projector Test Bench 1.0 is a major update to how we evaluate, score, and present projector performance. It adds two new usage scores, Outdoors and Bedroom, and replaces Movies with a substantially redesigned Home Theater usage. We've also introduced three Performance Usages, namely Portability, Color, and Gaming Responsiveness, which provide more focused scores and now feed into broader usages like Gaming.

This update also adds Color Volume and Rainbow Effect testing, replaces Native Contrast with Effective Contrast, and changes Judder from a graduated measurement to clearer Yes/No results. Color Volume replaces our previous Color Gamut test.

Since these changes significantly affect how scores are calculated, results from 1.0 aren't directly comparable with scores from earlier test benches, even when the projector itself hasn't changed. As always, each review shows the methodology version used to test the projector.

What's New In 1.0

NEW AND UPDATED USAGES

  • New Home Theater usage
    • Replaces the previous Movies usage.
    • Places much greater emphasis on contrast in a controlled viewing environment.
    • Adds Judder, Rainbow Effect, Fan Noise, and the new Color Performance Usage to the score.
  • New Outdoors usage
    • Evaluates how suitable a projector is for backyard or patio viewing in the evening and at night.
    • Considers picture visibility alongside the practicalities of carrying, powering, positioning, and setting it up outside.
  • New Bedroom usage
    • Focuses on projectors intended for casual viewing in smaller, quieter spaces.
    • Accounts for portability, screen adaptation features, placement constraints, setup flexibility, and fan noise.
  • Updated Gaming usage
    • Now uses the new Gaming Responsiveness and Color scores.
    • Adjusts the weight given to contrast and consolidates several previously separate results.

NEW PERFORMANCE USAGES

  • New Portability Performance Usage
    • Brings together the results that determine how practical a projector is to move and use away from a permanent setup.
  • New Color Performance Usage
    • Accounts for both accuracy and the total range of reproducible colors.
  • New Gaming Responsiveness Performance Usage
    • Evaluates input lag, motion clarity, imaging technology, and supported resolution and refresh-rate combinations.

NEW AND UPDATED TESTS

  • Updated Contrast test
    • Replaces Native Contrast with Effective Contrast.
    • Normalizes contrast-ratio measurements against the projector's Average White Light measurement, preventing very dim projectors from receiving disproportionately high results.
    • Adjusted the scoring splines, providing greater differentiation between projectors, especially at higher APLs.
  • New Color Volume test
    • Replaces Color Gamut.
    • Measures the total range of colors a display can produce at different brightness levels.
  • Updated Judder test
    • Replaces the previous graduated results with Yes/No measurements.
    • Reports whether movies and international shows play smoothly from different types of sources.
    • Identifies whether enabling a specific setting to remove judder reduces the image's resolution.
  • New Rainbow Effect test
    • Measures the visibility of color artifacts produced by some projector imaging systems.
    • Includes high-speed-camera footage and a color strip showing the recorded color sub-frames over time.

Summary Of Changes

New AND updated usages

HOME THEATER

Home Theater replaces our previous Movies usage. The old Movies score placed equal 35% weights on Brightness and Contrast, with the remaining score divided between Pre-Calibration Color Accuracy and Color Gamut. This broadly equated to watching a large projected image in a light-controlled environment, but it allowed brightness to have an outsized influence on a use intended primarily for dark-room viewing.

The new Home Theater score gives Contrast a 50% weight. It also accounts for Judder, Color, Rainbow Effect, and Fan Noise, while Brightness now represents only 5% of the score. This better reflects the qualities that determine whether movies and shows look convincing and remain comfortable to watch in a dedicated or light-controlled home theater.

Screenshot of the old Movies usage weights.
The old Movies usage weights emphasized brighter living rooms.
Screenshot of the new Home Theater usage weights.
The new Home Theater usage weights emphasize darker rooms.

What it means for you: The Home Theater score now gives contrast much more importance than brightness, better reflecting what matters in a dark room. Color remains an important part of the evaluation, while Judder, Rainbow Effect, and Fan Noise provide a more complete picture of the overall home theater experience.

OUTDOORS

Outdoors is a completely new usage focused on backyard and patio viewing in the evening and at night. Brightness remains important since moonlight, patio lights, streetlights, and other nearby light sources can wash out the image. However, light output alone doesn't make a projector convenient for an outdoor movie night.

The usage also considers how easily the projector can be carried outside, whether it requires an outlet, how conveniently it can be positioned and adjusted, and whether its built-in features reduce the amount of additional equipment you need to bring. It isn't intended to evaluate camping or remote use in the woods, where ruggedness and extended off-grid operation would matter more.

The score weights for the new Outdoors usage.
The Outdoors score balances image visibility with the practicalities of setting up a projector in a backyard or on a patio.

What it means for you: A very bright but heavy projector designed for permanent installation may be inconvenient to bring onto the patio, while a tiny battery-powered model can still be too dim for nearby lighting. The score identifies projectors that balance a visible image with a convenient setup for backyard movie nights.

BEDROOM

The new Bedroom usage evaluates projectors intended for casual viewing in smaller, typically quieter rooms. These setups often require a projector to fit on limited furniture, project from an unconventional position, or be taken out and put away between uses.

For that reason, the score considers portability, placement and setup flexibility, and fan noise. It also accounts for placement constraints. It distinguishes projectors that are merely small from ones that are genuinely convenient to use in a bedroom.

Score weights for the new Bedroom usage.
Bedroom performance depends on convenience and quiet operation.

What it means for you: A projector that performs well in a living room or home theater isn't necessarily suitable beside a bed. The new score makes it easier to find models that are quiet, easy to position, and convenient to set up in a smaller space.

GAMING

The overall Gaming usage has been rebuilt around the new performance usages. Previously, Input Lag alone represented 50% of the score, while Imaging Technology, Color Gamut, Pre-Calibration Color Accuracy, and VRR each appeared as smaller individual components.

Gaming Responsiveness still accounts for 50% of the new score, keeping fast and direct gameplay as the main priority. However, it provides a more complete view of responsiveness than Input Lag alone. Color now represents 10%, combining accuracy and color volume, while Contrast increases from 12.5% to 15%. Brightness remains at 15%, and Supported Resolutions remains at 10%.

The score weights for the old Gaming usage.
The old Gaming score used different tests to evaluate its responsiveness and image quality.
The score weights for the new Gaming usage.
The new Gaming score uses broader Performance Usages instead of weighting several closely related tests separately.

What it means for you: Responsiveness remains the most important part of the Gaming score, but projectors are now evaluated more cohesively. The score better reflects whether games feel direct, remain clear in motion, and deliver convincing contrast and color.

New performance usages

PORTABILITY

Portability is now a dedicated performance usage. Test Bench 0.12 separated physical size, carrying features, battery performance, and setup flexibility into clearer individual tests. Version 1.0 combines the most relevant results into an overall score that reflects how practical it is to move and use the projector away from its usual location.

This score looks beyond size alone. A compact projector may still be inconvenient if it needs wall power, leaves its lens exposed, or is difficult to set up again after being moved. Conversely, a somewhat larger model may be easier to transport if it includes a battery, handle, protective case, or other useful carrying features.

The score components for the Portability performance usage.
Portability considers the complete experience of moving and using a projector, not simply its dimensions.

What it means for you: You can more easily distinguish between a projector that happens to be small and one designed for frequent movement, travel, or casual use in different locations.

COLOR

The new Color performance usage brings together two complementary parts of picture quality. Pre-Calibration Color Accuracy tells us whether familiar colors and shades appear as intended without adjustment. The new Color Volume test adds another dimension by showing the total range of colors a display can produce at different brightness levels. A projector can perform well in one area without necessarily performing well in the other.

The score components for the Color performance usage.
The Color score accounts for both accuracy and the range of reproducible colors.

What it means for you: The new score better reflects the overall color experience. A projector needs both a natural-looking image and the ability to keep colorful movies, shows, and games lively to earn a high score.

GAMING RESPONSIVENESS

Gaming Responsiveness is a new performance usage focused on how immediate and clear a projector feels during gameplay. It combines Input Lag, Response Time, Supported Resolutions, and Imaging Technology. Together, these results account for how quickly the projector responds, how clearly it displays motion, and which resolution and refresh rate combinations it supports.

This matters because low input lag alone doesn't guarantee the best gaming experience. A projector can react quickly but still blur fast motion or lack high-refresh-rate formats, while its imaging technology can also affect motion clarity.

The score components for the new Gaming Responsiveness performance usage.
Gaming Responsiveness captures both control delay and motion clarity.

What it means for you: It's now easier to identify projectors that not only react quickly to controller inputs but also keep fast-moving gameplay clear.

New and Reworked Tests

Effective Contrast

Our previous Native Contrast test measured Full On/Full Off contrast and contrast ratios at several average picture levels, showing how a projector's image depth changed between dark, mixed, and bright scenes. However, these ratios didn't account for the projector's overall light output. As a result, some extremely dim projectors could achieve deceptively strong contrast results, partly because their limited output produced a very low black level.

Effective Contrast uses the same range of contrast measurements but normalizes them against the projector's Average White Light measurement. This provides greater context for the measured ratios and better reflects how impactful the projector's contrast appears at its actual brightness. We've also adjusted the scoring splines. This provides more granularity, particularly at higher APLs.

The old score components for Native Contrast.
The old Native Contrast test didn't account for the projector's light output.
The score components for the new Effective Contrast test.
Effective Contrast accounts for both the measured contrast ratio and the projector's light output.

What it means for you: Very dim projectors no longer receive disproportionately high Contrast scores simply because they produce a very low black level. The new result better reflects whether a projector delivers a convincing image depth at a useful level of brightness.

COLOR VOLUME

Color Gamut measured the outer boundary of the colors a projector could reproduce, but it didn't show how that range changed across different lightness levels. Color Volume measures the projector's color range across darker and lighter colors, giving a more complete picture of its performance in real content.

The new test measures color throughout that range. This identifies projectors that can reach a wide gamut but lose substantial saturation in bright colors, as well as models that maintain vibrant color across nearly the entire image.

The old Color Gamut test.
Color Gamut measures the outer chromaticity boundary a projector can reproduce.
The new Color Volume test.
Color Volume measures the total range of colors the projector can produce throughout its luminance range.

What it means for you: A wide gamut alone is no longer enough to earn a high result. Projectors now need to keep colors rich through dark, mid-tone, and bright shades, making the score more representative of how colorful movies, animation, sports, and games actually look.

JUDDER

Test Bench 0.12 introduced dedicated Judder testing for movies and international shows played through frame-matched sources, regular 60Hz devices, and native apps. However, the previous numerical results implied more meaningful gradations between projectors than the test supported.

Version 1.0 now reports whether the projector can properly remove judder from each source and content combination using clearer Yes/No measurements. We also report whether enabling a specific setting to remove judder reduces the image's resolution.

The score components for the old Judder test.
Judder previously used numerical scores for different content and source combinations.
The score components for the new Judder test.
Judder now shows clear Yes/No results and indicates whether a de-juddering setting reduces resolution.

What it means for you: You can quickly see whether movies and international shows play smoothly through newer frame-matching devices, older streaming devices that output at 60Hz, and the projector's native apps. When smooth motion requires a trade-off in image resolution, the review now identifies that trade-off directly.

RAINBOW EFFECT

Rainbow Effect is a new test that measures the color artifacts some projectors produce around bright objects, subtitles, or highlights. These artifacts occur on single-chip DLP projectors and are often most visible when shifting your gaze across a high-contrast image.

We record the projector's color sub-frames at 4,152 fps. The video is initially played to represent footage from a regular frame-rate camera, then slowed down to reveal the color break-up. An accompanying color strip aggregates the recorded sub-frames over time. Since sensitivity to rainbow artifacts varies considerably between viewers, the recording provides context alongside the score.

The new Rainbow Effect test.
The new test makes it easier to compare rainbow artifacts between projectors.

What it means for you: Viewers who are sensitive to rainbow flashes no longer need to rely entirely on subjective impressions or scattered user reports. The test provides a consistent comparison, although individual sensitivity still determines how distracting the effect will be in practice.

Let Us Know What You Think!

We'll continue to improve our projector tests over time, and we'd love to know what you'd like to see. Let us know in the comments, or email us at feedback@rtings.com.

We are retesting popular models first. So far, the test results for the following models have been converted to the new testing methodology. However, the text might be inconsistent with the new results.

    67 Projectors Planned To Be Updated

    We are also planning to retest the following products over the course of the next few weeks:

    We make money directly from you via Membership (which gives you access to extra features), when you buy from the RTINGS.com Shop , and when you buy a product after clicking a link to a retailer. Learn more about how we work.
    We buy our own products, just like you, mostly from the United States. When a product is discontinued or no longer popular, we sell the review units locally. See what products we currently have for sale.
    © 2026 9298-5266 Quebec Inc. All Rights Reserved.