If you’re a serious home theater enthusiast, you’ve no doubt asked yourself the following question at some point:

“I’m in the market for a new TV… but should now be the time that I finally invest in that projector that will make all of my friends jealous?!”

But what you might not realize is that this is a decision that comes down to far more than just personal preference. There are several things you need to consider from a practicality standpoint in particular, all in the name of making sure that you’re spending your hard-earned money the right way.

Choosing Between a Projector and a Flat Screen TV: Breaking Things Down

Maybe the most important factor that you have to think about before choosing between a projector or a flat-screen TV ultimately comes down to the space that your brand-new home entertainment equipment will be going in. Try to consider how you might like to use the room for the foreseeable future. If it’s a dedicated home theater room, there’s nothing stopping you from going with a projector to create the most immersive experience possible. If it’s more of an “all-purpose” room, however, you may want to consider flat-screen televisions so that they don’t necessarily become the “focal point” of the space when they’re not in use.

Likewise, ceiling height is also a factor because that projector has to go somewhere. Usually, it will be mounted either at the back of the room (depending on depth) or in the center of the ceiling. Depending on the model you buy, it could easily hang down about a foot – so if you only have seven-foot ceilings, this may not be the way to go from a practicality standpoint alone.

One reason you may want to invest in a projector, however, has to do with their versatility over traditional TV screens. You can’t necessarily take that 77″ OLED TV outside if you want to watch a movie on a nice summer night. You CAN take a projector outside (assuming you have power, of course), creating something that can be used for indoor/outdoor purposes depending on your needs. Indeed, depending on your intentions, this alone may have made the decision for you.

Finally, you need to think about your budget as it relates to factors like image quality. Typically, people go with projectors because they want the biggest screen possible – think 120 inches or more. The equivalent-sized HDTV or 4K TV would be cost-prohibitive, to say the least, so if a massive screen is your top priority, then a projector is the way to go. If you’re really only interested in something between 60″ and 85″ or so, however, you can get great deals on some excellent-looking flat-screen TVs that likely fall within your budget.

CAVE: Your Partners in Home Entertainment

Clearly, there are a wide range of different factors you need to consider before deciding to go with a flat-screen TV or a projector, and at CAVE, we’re proud to help walk you through every last one of them. Thanks to the fact that we’re based right here in Tucson, our team of professionals will gladly come to your home and help you weigh all available options. Whether you’re looking for a dedicated home theater environment that puts the local multiplex to shame or are eager for a room that’s a little more “multi-purpose friendly,” we’ll make sure that you and your family get to enjoy the image quality and immersive cinematic experience that you’ve always wanted.

If you’d like to find out more information about deciding between a flat-screen TV or a projector, or if you’re just interested in learning more about some of our other home theater in Tucson services, please don’t hesitate to contact Cathey’s Audio Visual Entertainment today.