For all the energy around finding the right TV, which involves considering screen type, OS, size, and features, there’s a chance you might be asking the wrong questions. Instead of trying to secure the best smart TV for your entertainment needs, perhaps you don’t need a TV at all.

Technology moves at a rapid clip, and even though there are impressive advances with TVs, I’m not entirely sure if it’s still the right investment. If you’re looking to create the best home entertainment experience possible, maybe you should think about a projector instead. Here’s why I made the switch.

Projectors offer comparable stats

Top models are on par with specs and features

The first thing you should know about projectors is that the best options share a lot of comparable features to the best smart TVs. When you’re looking at high-end devices to serve as your home entertainment hub, there are plenty of similarities. The best options from both categories feature smart systems, such as Google TV, webOS, or Tizen, granting you easy access to a range of apps, services, and connectivity options.

Top projectors also offer 4K resolution and HDR compatibility, as well as options for top audio formats as well. They provide HDMI 2.1 connections as well, so that you can hook up an audio system, gaming console, or media player. They boast Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity as well. In short, high-end projectors do everything a smart TV does, with numerous settings to adjust in order to suit your viewing needs.

Projectors are more convenient

Move around your space with ease

While smart TVs continue to get thinner and lighter, designed for wall-mounting, they are still bigger and bulkier than even the biggest projectors. That convenience can be a huge factor for a lot of consumers. With a smart TV, you need to set it up in the right space, investing in a specific size and style that fits the environment. And then you’re either going to place it on a TV stand or endure tedious wall mounting, subject to the space you have available.

Most projectors, meanwhile, even the bulkier options, have a degree of portability that lets you move it around the home or even take with you. If you’re a renter or a student, a projector may be a better investment because it’ll be easier to take with you when you move. They’re also easier to set up around the home, catering to your needs in the moment. Projectors can be static, but they don’t always have to be. You can cast on a wall, ceiling, or tabletop in some cases, and the best projectors will automatically adjust the image to suit the space.

Projectors offer more immersion

Embrace the theater-like experience

Despite the fact that giant TVs are popular for their big size and low price, they don’t really compare to the immersion and convenience offered by a quality projector. You can adjust the size of a projector screen, and create an image that grows up to 100-inches or even 120-inches in size. That’s a big screen.

The range of sizes and potential to project an image on a variety of surfaces allow for a more versatile, personalized viewing experience. With a projector, you can set up a huge image that makes for an immersive experience for a group of people, or you can create an intimate viewing for one. That adaptability makes sure the experience is special. The projector adjusts for you. With a TV, you have to adjust to its limitations.

Projectors are more discrete and versatile

Lifestyle TVs can’t achieve the same quality

There is also the lifestyle component to consider. Manufacturers continue to promote and offer artistic features in their TVs, from frame-like borders to thin designs to accessible art galleries, because consumers are interested in having a piece of technology that doesn’t look completely out of place in their home. These TVs feature latent modes where they dim brightness and cycle through images, whether they are home pictures, famous works of art, or calming scenes. They are also designed to sit flush against the wall, almost looking like a part of the decor.

Projectors can do all of this without the risk of being taken out of your element. As much as companies try to make their TVs as subtle as possible and seem like they aren’t there, they are! Projectors can be installed and stored more discretely; they take up less space, and with the right set up, you can create an immersive display that looks and feels quite different than a TV screen. There are no borders if you want to project on a flat wall. What’s more, you don’t have to deal with dangling cords and cables hanging from a mounted TV, which can be distracting.

Projectors are suited to the ideal environment

You shouldn’t be viewing in bright spaces

It’s worth remembering that for all the potential that both smart TVs and projectors offer, it’s vital for you to set them up for success. That means making sure you have the perfect environment for both options. And when you start to cater a space for entertainment, you’ll likely be better served by a projector.

Some of the concerns consumers have about projectors involve brightness and contrast. Indeed, lesser models do not compare to the top TVs when it comes to these areas. QLED TVs champion brightness while OLED models offer a perfect contrast ratio. However, the ideal viewing environment is always a dark room with only some bias lighting, and no ambient light. This is the ideal space for any entertainment, and if you have this space available, you’ll want to invest in a projector. With the right sound system and quality screen, you’ll have your very own theater at home.