The TV vs projector value debate isn't close — here's why

You can't deny simple physics. Television have their own source of illumination, so they're very bright and provide consistent light intensity. Meanwhile, projectors are bouncing light off of a screen and since light intensity drops proportionally to distance, the image dims when it gets bigger.

As I recently detailed in a Micro RGB explainer, modern TVs use two basic systems. Many employ very bright LEDs, often arranged in so-called dimming zones, that blast light through either an RGB filter layer or a quantum dot color conversion layer. Those TVs can be incredibly bright, with some models hitting up to 4,000 nits on a 10 percent portion of the screen. The other option is OLED TVs, which have light-emitting pixels that can be turned on and off individually, to deliver nearly infinite contrast. They're slightly more limited in light output, with the current brightest models offering about 2,475 nits on the same 10 percent window. 

That's still incredibly bright, however, which raises a concern. As Viewsonic pointed out in an explainer, many LED TVs emit direct blue light that can cause eyestrain and harm your eyesight over time (Viewsonic isn't a neutral party as they sell projectors, not TVs). The high-nit brightness of modern TVs is also a concern. While great during the day, they're arguably too bright for continuous viewing in a darkened room. As projector-maker Valerion explained, TVs rated at 4,000 nits and higher are nearing brightness levels reserved for outdoor displays like digital billboards, which is overkill for movies or other long-format entertainment. 

How do projectors compare? Since they bounce light off of a screen or wall, overall brightness is significantly reduced. A bright triple-laser projector like the Valerion VisionMaster Max or Anker Nebula X1 Pro can output 3,500 to 5,000 ANSI lumens. That equates to only about 280 nits of on-screen brightness on a 120-inch screen. 

In daylight, that's barely adqueate. In a darkened room, though, it's a decent amount of brightness that will immerse you in the content without irradiating your eyeballs. A typical mid-range projector with 2,000 ANSI lumens of brightness will put about 160 nits to a 120-inch screen. For a timely point of comparison, a typical IMAX 70mm film movie theater with a 30,000 watt dual-xenon bulb setup will deliver about 75 nits from the screen.