Godzilla and Kong Star in Your First Smart Projector Home Cinema

When you decide that the limited sizes and rigid formats of TVs just can’t satisfy your home theater cravings, it’s time for a projector. Maybe you feel really large TVs, as in 75” and over, are seriously pricey. Possibly you want a super-big screen that doesn’t weigh a ton and moves around easily, something that certainly can’t be said of big TVs. Projectors have lots of advantages, and in terms of cost per screen inch they easily beat televisions.

This fact goes very well with recent trends. As going to movie theaters has become somewhat of a hassle, many blockbuster movies have turned to streaming services for day and date releases. We recently watched Godzilla vs. Kong from Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. on a smart projector with a 100” screen, and the experience was great. It was very close to being in a movie theater, except with a lot more features at our disposal thanks to the Android TV platform embedded on the projector we used. So with Godzilla and Kong as our co-guides, let’s take a look at what you should consider when choosing a projector for your first home cinema setup. 

One area where TVs held an unwavering advantage over projectors for well over a decade was their smart design. That is, TVs lead the way with regards to integrating online connectivity and app implementation. From browsers to Netflix, Prime Video, and now HBO Max (the app that has Godzilla vs. Kong as a day one stream), it can’t be denied televisions paved the way. While projectors always had bigger screens and more impressive viewing, they’ve only recently caught up with the smart side of things. But now that the catching up is done, we highly recommend you choose a smart projector running Android TV. That gives you access to all your favorite streaming services, which we expect to increasingly feature big movie debuts alongside cinemas, or even instead of cinemas in some cases.

Additionally, smart projectors give you all the benefits you’re familiar with from your phone, smart LED TV, or game console. YouTube’s there, and even some of your cloud accounts become accessible. You’ll soon believe everything looks better on a 100” screen! 

We enjoyed Godzilla vs. Kong on a 4K HDR home cinema projector, but we also recognize that models in that category are larger and costlier. They’re not meant for portability, as considerably large rooms are needed for optimal experiences. Nor are cinema-grade projectors ideal for people who are very budget-conscious. This kind of projector offers a truly cinematic experience, so if you’re looking for the best, then definitely insist on true 4K resolution and full support for HDR10 or even Dolby Vision. Going with this type of projector will provide a viewing experience that will leave you awed with joy as you relish every detail in action packed movies like Godzilla vs. Kong. Speaking of that movie, it’s the most detail-rich release in the MonsterVerse series, and the artists really put a lot of effort into the graphics. Would be a shame to lose that detail on low resolution displays. 

However, if you want an easy and flexible entry into home cinema, it’s OK to start with a new smart portable projector. While generally limited to native 720p and thus not capable of the super-detailed projection of their 4K peers, good models provide the same smart features. And they cost a lot less, plus there’s no setup needed, nor do they require lots of space to get the most usage out of. When we say portable we mean it. These projectors weigh less than a laptop and can go pretty much anywhere. One evening you’re enjoying a movie in the living room, then in the backyard. That’s a lot of flexibility. If you’re not exclusively focused on resolution, then a portable will likely sate your appetite for big screen movie fun. With perfectly adequate brightness, quality portable projectors make up for their lack of pixels with eminent versatility, and they still deliver huge image formats for a fraction of the cost of either big TVs or cinematic projectors.

In the interest of full disclosure, we also tried Godzilla vs. Kong on a 720p HD portable projector, using the same 100” screen. The overall experience was very cinematic due to the sheer size of the screen, but of course the detail level was reduced compared to our 4K HDR projector viewing. Even so, there was no denying the cool factor of having a device so small showcase an image that big, all while not sacrificing a single smart TV function or feature. The interface was snappy, and every app worked great. Godzilla vs. Kong was meant to be seen in 4K HDR, but other apps are very well-suited to a portable projector, for example YouTube. 

With Godzilla vs. Kong as a sort of field experiment, we’d like to emphasize that options exist out there for you to make the best choice when setting off on the home cinema journey. Different projectors for various budgets and spaces offer a range of solutions. But do make sure you get a proper screen. While projecting onto a wall or the side of an RV may work on a road trip, it’s not recommended for fully-fledged cinematic sessions.

The bottom line is simple. Whether home cinema or portable, you need to get a smart projector.