Projectors and screens

All three outdoor projectors here now sell between $149.97 and $199.99, so brightness is a $50 decision instead of a $180 one. We ranked them by when your movie starts and what the yard does to the picture.

Two gaming projectors that keep the picture responsive on a 100 inch screen, ranked by who they are for: a 120Hz 1080p value pick and a true 4K short throw with monitor-level lag.

Three short throw projectors that put a big picture up from a few feet away, ranked by who they are for: a bright 1080p value pick, a long-life laser, and a 4K ultra short throw that replaces the TV.

A projector screen is the surface every projector is judged against, and the type you buy matters more than the brand. Two picks cover the ends that matter most: a 120-inch fixed frame for a dark room and a foldable sheet that costs less than a streaming stick.

Four mini projectors that make sense in a small room: a 1080p Roku-first pick with a gimbal stand, a mid-price Roku mini, an under-$50 ceiling projector, and an under-one-pound travel unit.

The wrong projector mount wobbles, sags, or will not line up with the screw holes. These are the models that hold their aim, including a tray mount that skips the hole puzzle, the heavy-projector pick, and the mini-projector pick.