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If you hear “throw” and the first thing you think of is a ball, you probably don’t spend a lot of time with projectors. A projector’s throw—the distance between it and the screen—is one of its key features and an important way to categorize it. Throws, and the lenses that determine the throw, are classified as long, standard, short, or ultra short.Differences in throw can give otherwise identical projectors very different capabilities. You want a big image in small room, but can’t position the projector you have far enough back to get one? Well, you need a projector with a shorter throw. You want to replace your TV with a projector, but don’t want to run cables through walls and ceilings to hide them? No problem. Get one with an ultra short throw, put it on top of the entertainment center where your TV’s sitting now, and mount the screen on the wall just above it.In this guide, we’ll suggest our favorite short throw and ultra short throw (UST) picks for specific applications, choosing among models we’ve tested. Then, we’ll cover the key differences between these two categories, along with the factors you need to consider when choosing a short throw or UST projector.
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Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS800 3-Chip 3LCD Smart Streaming Laser Projector
Best Ultra Short Throw Projector Overall
Why We Picked ItThe Epson LS800 takes the key advantage of UST projectors to the extreme by offering the shortest throw we’ve yet seen. So while most UST models will force you to pull your furniture a few inches from the wall to fill a 120-inch wall-mounted screen, the LS800 can let you fill the screen and leave the furniture where you really want it. It also offers a laser light source with a brightness rating of 4,000 ANSI lumens, a three-LCD design that guarantees it can’t show rainbow artifacts, a high-quality image with good color accuracy and contrast, plus—as a bonus for gamers—the shortest input lag we’ve seen for a 4K-class UST projector. It even offers a robust stereo audio system, with two 5-watt speakers and a 10-watt subwoofer.Who It’s ForThe LS800 lacks 3D support as well as options that allow a full calibration, so you’ll have to look elsewhere if you consider either feature essential. On the other hand, for those who can’t abide rainbow artifacts, the fact that it can’t show them will be enough by itself to make it a strong contender. More generally, it’s a sterling choice as well for anyone looking for a TV replacement, thanks to its excellent image quality straight out of the box, a level of detail that’s virtually indistinguishable from a 4K image (using fewer pixels, but enough so the eye can’t see the difference), a notably short input lag for gaming, and an equally notable short throw even for a UST projector.
PROS
Bright laser-phosphor light source
Three-chip LCD design means no rainbow artifacts
Fully integrated Android TV
Short input lag for gaming
Good sound quality
CONS
No Ethernet port; streaming requires Wi-Fi
No 3D support
SPECS
Name
Value
Engine Type
LCD
Rated Brightness
4000 ISO Lumens (Equivalent to ANSI)
Native Resolution
Equivalent to 3840 by 2160 using Epson’s 4K PRO-UHD technology
Maximum Resolution
3840 by 2160 60Hz, HDR
Inputs and Interfaces
HDMI 2.0, USB
Dimensions (HWD)
6.2 by 27.4 by 13.4 inches
Weight
27.6 lbs
Warranty
2 years
Learn More
Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS800 3-Chip 3LCD Smart Streaming Laser Projector Review
Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS650 Smart Streaming Laser Projector
A Solid Alternative to the Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS800
Why We Picked ItThe Epson LS650 is a step down from the LS800 in features, with slightly lower brightness and a slightly longer throw, but its step down in price is enough to give it more bang for your buck. It’s also the least-expensive UST projector we’ve seen that uses a three-LCD chip design, which guarantees you won’t see any rainbow artifacts. Epson rates the brightness at 3,600 lumens—enough to light up the 120-inch maximum size screen the projector’s rated for and still stand up to the ambient light typical of a family room. Beyond that, its level of detail is virtually indistinguishable from 4K (3,840-by-2,160-pixel) images, though it’s actually putting fewer pixels on screen. It also offers fully integrated Android TV; HDR and HLG support; good onboard audio quality built around two 5-watt full-range speakers and a 10-watt subwoofer; and a short enough input lag for casual gaming.Who It’s ForThe lack of 3D support will rule the LS650 out for some, and its lack of settings to allow a full calibration may rule it out for, or at least disappoint, others. But it can be a great fit for those who want a smart TV replacement that’s as easy to set up and use as a flat screen TV. In our tests, it delivered a highly watchable image even in the brightest picture mode with default settings, and even better quality in modes that are tuned for quality instead of brightness. It’s also the obvious choice for anyone who finds rainbow artifacts annoying enough to rule out projectors that can show them, but also wants to spend as little as possible for a UST model.
PROS
Bright enough against ambient light
4K PRO-UHD image essentially matches 4K resolution
HDR10 and HLG HDR
Three-chip LCD design avoids rainbow artifacts
Fully integrated Android TV
Suitably short input lag for casual gaming
CONS
No Ethernet connector
No 3D support
SPECS
Name
Value
Engine Type
LCD
Rated Brightness
3600 ISO Lumens (Equivalent to ANSI)
Native Resolution
Equivalent to 3840 by 2160 using Epson’s 4K PRO-UHD technology
Maximum Resolution
3840 by 2160 60Hz
Inputs and Interfaces
HDMI 2.0, USB, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct
Dimensions (HWD)
6.2 by 18.3 by 15.7 inches
Weight
16.3 lbs
Warranty
2 years
Learn More
Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS650 Smart Streaming Laser Projector Review
AAXA P400 Short Throw Mini Projector
Best Short Throw Mini Projector
Why We Picked ItAs with any projector in its size and weight class, the AAXA P400 is easy to take with you on the go, but compared with much of the competition, it offers a higher native resolution, at 1080p (1,920 by 1,080 pixels). Its short throw lens will also give you a bigger picture at any given distance from whatever you’re using for a screen, which can be particularly helpful in a tight space where you need to position it in front of you to avoid casting shadows. Brightness in our tests when using AC power was roughly equivalent to 200 ANSI lumens, making it suitable for a 40-inch image in low or moderate ambient light. And the onboard audio is better than you might expect from the 2-watt speaker, with high enough quality and volume to be useful. Who It’s ForThe P400 can serve both business and home entertainment needs. However, in our tests it had a bluish-green bias that was more obvious for photo-realistic images than for graphics, leaving it best suited for presentations and the like. That makes it most attractive to road warriors who want the ability to quickly set up in a small conference room to project images at larger sizes than they can get from a laptop. That said, the P400 delivers watchable images for video and film, and its input lag is easily short enough for casual gaming, offering the chance for a little rest and recreation on the road between meetings.
PROS
1080p (1,920-by-1,080-pixel) native resolution
Short-throw design projects a big image from close to the screen
Built-in battery rated at two hours per charge in Eco mode
Highly portable and lightweight
Holds shadow detail well in dark scenes
CONS
Low brightness
Slight green bias, most noticeable in photorealistic images
Limited settings to adjust
No 3D support
Prone to rainbow artifacts in film and video
SPECS
Name
Value
Engine Type
DLP
Rated Brightness
400 LED Lumens
Native Resolution
1920 by 1080
Maximum Resolution
1920 by 1080 60Hz
Inputs and Interfaces
HDMI 1.4, USB 2.0
Dimensions (HWD)
4.5 by 4 by 2.3 inches
Weight
1.2 lb
Warranty
1 year
Learn More
AAXA P400 Short Throw Mini Projector Review
Optoma UHZ35ST
Most Versatile Short Throw Projector
Why We Picked ItThere’s actually no single use the proficient, versatile Optoma UHZ35ST is best for. So while you can limit this native 4K model to a single purpose, it earns our recommendation for being a crossover model you can move from one type of use to another. Optoma markets it primarily as a home entertainment and gaming projector, but also lists it on its web site in both business and education categories, with good reason. The 3,500-lumen laser-phosphor light source that makes it bright enough for gaming or viewing movies in a family room with ambient light also makes it bright enough for presentations in an office or classroom. And the combination of compact size and 6.6-pound weight makes it easy to carry back and forth between home and office. Who It’s ForThe UHZ35ST will be of particular interest to anyone who needs a projector primarily for one of the uses it handles well, but also wants to use it occasionally for another. One scenario would be needing a projector to use mostly at home, but also to take occasionally to your office or school for a presentation. Another would be needing one primarily for presentations at your office, but also planning to bring it home for special occasions like a watching a big game or hosting a movie night. That said, note that some features—including support for 3D and state-of-the-art short input lag for gaming—are aimed squarely at home use, which makes the UHZ35ST most appropriate for scenarios that peg its primary location at home.
PROS
4K native resolution
Short input lag for gaming
Laser light source rated at 3,500 ANSI lumens
CONS
No built-in streaming apps or bundled dongle
Shows frequent rainbow artifacts
Image quality for HDR isn’t as good as for SDR
Pricey for what it delivers
SPECS
Name
Value
Engine Type
DLP
Rated Brightness
3500 ANSI lumens
Native Resolution
Equivalent to 3840 by 2160 using Epson’s 4K PRO-UHD technology
Maximum Resolution
3840 by 2160 60Hz, HDR; Full HD 3D
Inputs and Interfaces
HDMI 2.0b, USB-A (power only), Ethernet (control only)
Dimensions (HWD)
4.5 by 10.8 by 8.5 inches
Weight
6.6 lbs
Warranty
1 year
Learn More
Optoma UHZ35ST Review
BenQ X500i
Best Short Throw Gaming Projector
Why We Picked ItAt this writing, the BenQ X500i offers the most bang for the buck of any 4K (3,840-by-2,160-pixel) gaming projector, regardless of throw. The list of key features starts with (of course) a state-of-the-art short input lag. For 1080p we measured it at 16.9ms at 60Hz, 8.5ms at 120Hz, and 4.2ms at 240Hz. For 4K/60Hz, it came in at 16.7 milliseconds (ms). You’ll also enjoy support for 1440p (2,560-by-1,440-pixel) resolution (increasingly popular for gaming) at up to 120Hz. Beyond that, the menus offer separate modes for each of three types of game—role playing game (RPG), first-person shooter (FPS), and sports player game (SPG)—or six modes if you count the HDR and SDR versions of each separately. Each of the modes automatically adjusts both picture and audio settings to enhance both the visual aspects and sound quality for the type of game it’s named for. Other key features include the LED light source, the 2,200 ANSI lumens of maximum brightness, support for full HD 3D, and the included Android TV 11 dongle that lets you also use the projector as a smart TV.Who It’s ForSome gaming projectors are just as much for home entertainment—watching movies and video—and worth considering even if you don’t expect to ever use them for gaming. The X500i isn’t one of them. If you’re not reasonably serious about gaming, choosing it would mean paying extra for lots of gaming features you don’t need. If you take your gaming seriously, however, and you want a short throw gaming projector, the X500i is the one to measure competition against.
PROS
4K native resolution
Short input lag (supports up to 120Hz refresh rate)
Separate video modes for three categories of gaming
Android TV 11 dongle included for streaming
LED light source rated at 2,200 ANSI lumens
CONS
Wi-Fi is the only network connection option
Shows rainbow artifacts
Initial setup requires a screwdriver
Out-of-box HDR settings need tweaking
SPECS
Name
Value
Engine Type
DLP
Rated Brightness
2200 ANSI lumens
Native Resolution
3840 by 2160 using 1920 by 1080 DLP chip with XPR fast-switch pixel shifting
Maximum Resolution
3840 by 2160 60Hz, HDR; Full HD 3D
Inputs and Interfaces
HDMI 2.0b, USB 2.0, USB-C
Dimensions (HWD)
4.6 by 14.4 by 9.6 inches
Weight
7.9 lbs
Warranty
3 years
Learn More
BenQ X500i Review
Nomvdic P1000 4K UHD Home Projector
Best Room-to-Room Portable Short Throw Projector
Why We Picked ItInstantly recognizable as a room-to-room portable home projector from its size and not-quite-cubical shape, the Nomvdic P1000 is typical for the breed in most ways but adds some touches, including its short throw, that make it stand out from the pack. Fairly typical features include the brightness rating of 2,300 ANSI lumens, an LED light source, support for 3D, a native 4K resolution, and both good enough sound quality and high enough volume to serve nicely in a large family room or for a backyard movie night. Unusual touches include the short throw lens, made even more unusual by a powered optical zoom. Rounding out the feature list is an input lag that matches today’s best gaming projectors.Who It’s ForThe P1000 is a solid choice for almost anyone who wants a room-to-room portable projector they can carry easily from one room to another to set up as needed, and also wants a short throw to give a bigger image at any given distance from the screen. There is one possible wrinkle: In our tests, 4K HDR movies played from disc were watchable, but well below the quality we saw with SDR material and with HDR streaming material. As long as you don’t plan to watch 4K HDR movies from disc, that won’t be an issue, however, making it easy to recommend the P1000 for streaming material or even SDR material on disc. And given its short input lag, it’s a particularly good choice for gaming.
PROS
4K resolution on screen
Short-throw design, for a big image from close to the screen
Short input lag for gaming
1.2x motorized optical zoom
3D support
CONS
No built-in streaming features
Desaturated color from HDR input in our tests
SPECS
Name
Value
Engine Type
DLP
Rated Brightness
2300 ANSI lumens
Native Resolution
3840 by 2160 using 1920 by 1080 DLP chip with XPR fast-switch pixel shifting
Maximum Resolution
3840×2160/60Hz; 1080p/240Hz; Full HD 3D
Inputs and Interfaces
USB-C, USB-A, Bluetooth, HDMI 2.0
Dimensions (HWD)
8.3 by 8.3 by 6.7 inches
Weight
6.8 lbs
Warranty
1 year
Learn More
Nomvdic P1000 4K UHD Home Projector Review
Buying Guide: The Best Short Throw and Ultra Short Throw Projectors for 2024
If you’re considering buying a projector with a shorter-than-standard throw distance, it helps to understand the categories of short throw and UST in the context of all four throw ranges on the market.What’s deemed a standard throw is what you’ll find on most projectors. Long throw lenses and short throw lenses are harder to manufacture well enough to project a high-quality image, which makes them, and the projectors that use them, more expensive. But if you have to put the projector far away from the screen—as in, say, a movie theater—you need a long throw lens to get a small enough image to fit the screen. Short throw lenses do the opposite, giving you a big image from close to the screen, while UST lensing systems (which usually add a mirror to the mix of optical elements) will fill any given screen size from even closer. That brings us to the question of why you might want a short throw or UST projector in the first place.What Are Short Throw Projectors Good For? Any number of situations make being able to get a big image from close to the screen useful or even necessary. If you’re setting up the projector in a small room, for example, or for a retail store window display, you may not have enough room with a longer throw to get the size of projected image you want. And even when the space is large enough for a standard or long throw to give you the right image size, you may not have the option of mounting the projector on the ceiling. In those cases, keeping the projector close to the screen may be the only way to avoid the possibility of people casting a shadow if they stand up during a presentation, for example.UST projectors can sit even closer to the screen than short throw models, delivering images up to 120 inches (measured diagonally) from just inches away. So if you want to use a projector to replace a large TV at home, and you don’t want to deal with mounting it on the ceiling or running cables through walls, UST is what you want.
(Credit: Hisense)
UST models can also be useful in business and education settings. Mount one just above a screen, and you can get close enough to the image to point to text or graphics you want to draw attention to without casting a shadow, much as you would with a whiteboard. You can even buy an interactive UST projector with sensors that let you draw on the image and give commands as if you’re reporting the weather on TV. How Do I Choose Between a Short Throw and an Ultra Short Throw?Both short throws and USTs are good choices for a room that’s too small to let you put a standard throw projector far enough away from the screen to give you the image size you want. Either can help avoid the problem of people standing up and casting shadows on the screen in situations where a standard throw projector can’t be positioned to avoid that—a common issue not just for rooms with low ceilings but also for ad hoc setups for gaming, home entertainment, or presentations. To choose between them, however, it helps to know a little about their different designs.It’s hard to tell a short throw model from a standard throw model without seeing the lens (or even with seeing the lens, if you don’t know what a short throw lens looks like). In fact, some standard throw and short throw models from the same manufacturer are literally the same projector with different lenses. You can usually spot these near-twins, because they typically have almost the same model name—except that one includes “ST” in the name and the other doesn’t. The only other difference is that the short throw version will cost more, because of the more expensive lens.In contrast, most UST models are easy to spot. The vast majority are designed with the lensing system at what you would probably think of as the back of the projector, meaning the side facing away from the screen, but which manufacturers insist on calling the front. (That’s because projector makers define the front by where the lens is.) In most designs, the optics are fully contained inside the box, with a depressed area on the top surface near that side containing a glass window that the image shines through to go directly to the screen. Other designs have a raised lens on that side pointing to the screen, or a mirror, so the image will bounce off the mirror before going to the screen.Some projectors with lenses on the side facing the screen are listed by their manufacturers as UST models, but are—at best—on the borderline between short throw and UST. (We’ll come back to this issue in the next section.) However, those projectors give up one of the big advantages of putting the lens on the other side, namely: If the image emerges from the side farthest from the screen, the projector itself is closer to the screen, with nearly the entire depth of the projector sitting between the lens and the screen. So while a UST lens lets the projector sit closer to the screen than a short throw lens, the most common UST designs put it closer still. And the less distance you want between the projector and the screen—whether simply to save space or to avoid the need for running cables over or through walls, ceilings, and floors—the more likely you want a UST model with the more typical UST lens placement.What Is the Shortest Throw Projector? The projector industry posits no firm definitions for each level of throw—or at least no universally accepted ones—which means manufacturers’ marketing departments are free to draw the line between categories wherever they like. But one related standard spec, called throw ratio, can help, and you can get an idea of which throw ratios fall in which category.Throw ratio is the ratio between the distance to the screen and the width of the image. So, for example, if the lens needs to be 100 inches from the screen for a 100-inch-wide image (the approximate width of a 115-inch-diagonal 16:9 screen), the throw ratio would be 1.0. (That will show as “1.0:1” in some spec sheets, and just “1.0” in others.) Similarly, if the distance were 200 inches, the throw ratio would be 2.0 (200/100), and for a 50-inch distance, it would be 0.50 (50/100).The range from 1.0 to (but not including) 2.0 is a standard throw by anyone’s definition. But while some peg a long throw at 2.0 and above, others draw the line at a higher number. Similarly, many manufacturers call anything below 1.0 a short throw, and anything below roughly 0.4 a UST, while others call anything below 0.5 a UST. Most of the current UST models we’ve tested—and all of the UST models mentioned here—offer throw ratios of 0.28 or lower. Specs for the short throw models included here range from 0.49 to 0.7, but again, some manufacturers would call a projector with a 0.49 throw ratio a UST model.
(Credit: Epson)
Zoom lenses add a twist to all this. Because an optical zoom changes image size, projectors equipped with zoom lenses have a range of throw ratios. One projector we’ve tested (but not included here) has a range of 0.9 to 1.08, for example, barely qualifying as short throw at the low end of its range. However, the manufacturer calls it a short throw projector. Some manufacturers also list a range of throw ratios for digital zooms, but keep in mind that digital zooms that affect image size should be ignored, if at all possible. They can only shrink the image from the full size the lens allows, and they do so by using less of the imaging chip, which also lowers brightness and can add artifacts.The moral here? You can use manufacturer claims for the throw category as a starting point, but you should also look at some numbers. At the very least, comparing the throw-ratio specs for two projectors will tell you which one has the shorter throw, which will let you put it closer to the screen for any given size image. Often, the manufacturer will have a chart in its marketing material showing the distance for common screen sizes, particularly for UST models. And in virtually all cases, the information should be in a user setup guide available for downloading from the company’s website.If you can’t find the information, you can easily calculate how far the projector will be from the screen for a given image width if you know the throw ratio for the projector (Distance = Throw Ratio times Width). For UST projectors, keep in mind that you are calculating the distance to the lens, not to the projector body itself. To find the distance to the projector, you’ll also need to know the distance from the lens to the side of the projector closest to the screen.What Are the Advantages of Short Throw Projectors Over Ultra Short Throw Projectors?Short throw projectors are less expensive than equivalent UST projectors, which means that unless you have a compelling reason to pick a UST model instead, a short throw is usually the obvious choice. You can also find types of short throw projectors that are either not available in UST models yet (as with gaming projectors), or may never be, as with compact short throw projectors for road warriors. (See our separate guide to portable projectors.)Still other types of projectors are available in UST form but are rare—for example, portable projectors that are larger than mini projectors but small and light enough to bring with you if you need to, or at least carry easily from room to room or to the backyard for a movie night. Because short throw projectors sit farther from the screen than UST models, they’re also easier to position and focus, an important consideration for any application that requires repeated setup, even if you’re just moving the projector from a shelf to a conference room table.What Are the Advantages of Ultra Short Throw Projectors Over Short Throw Projectors?The two key advantages for UST models are both already mentioned above. They let you position the projector much closer to the screen than short throw models can without risking casting shadows, and when used as TV replacements, they don’t demand any more effort to hide power and data cables than any other TV does.
(Credit: Epson)
Both of these characteristics are essential to the relatively new category of UST projectors that are specifically designed to replace TVs. Most of these models use lasers as their light source and include fully integrated smart TV features. Some include TV tuners, as well, and some manufacturers even tout them as “laser TVs” rather than projectors. All of the UST models included here are TV replacements.Other Projector Specs: What Else to Pay Attention to With Short Throw and UST?One spec, in addition to throw ratio, that you should check for short throw and UST models is the supported image size for the lens. All lenses have a maximum size image they can throw without distortion or other image-quality issues, and both the maximum and minimum are usually listed on the projector’s spec sheet.With standard throw lenses, the maximum image size is typically larger than you’d consider using with most of the projectors that we cover, given their brightness. But the shorter the throw, the less likely that is to be true. Projectors at the lower end of the short throw range or in the UST range can easily be bright enough to throw a bigger usable image than the lens can handle well, especially in a dark room. Manufacturers tend to be conservative on this front, so you can often get away with slightly larger images than the spec says, or see only a hint of a problem if you opt for a somewhat larger size. But don’t count on it.What Is the Lifespan of a Short Throw Projector?Almost all other issues about the projectors themselves—from contrast and brightness, to imaging technology, to connection options, and more—are the same for short throw and UST models as for standard throw projectors. However, one issue worth particular mention is lifespan. As with most projectors, short throw and UST models will typically last long enough that you’re more likely to replace them because you want new technology, like higher resolution when it becomes available, than because something goes wrong with the projector. That’s not to say that a fan motor can’t burn out or a chip can’t fail, but its no more likely than for a computer or a flat screen TV.More and more projectors today use solid-state light sources—like LEDs or lasers—which typically aren’t meant to be replaced. Typical lifetime for either type of light source is 20,000 to 30,000 hours, which translates to approximately seven to 10 years, if you keep them running eight hours a day, seven days a week. If you pick a projector that uses a lamp instead, the lifetime for the lamp can vary from just a few thousand hours to as much as 10,000 hours. Unlike LEDs and lasers, however, lamps are meant to be replaced. (For lots more detail on other specs that apply to all projectors, check out our roundup of top overall projector picks.)The one other issue you’ll want to consider is the screen to pair the projector with. In particular, for UST projectors that you plan to use in rooms with ambient light, you’ll want an ambient light rejection (ALR) screen, and you’ll need one that’s designed for UST models, as discussed in our guide to How to Choose the Right Screen for Your Projector.So, What Is the Best Short Throw or Ultra Short Throw Projector to Buy?The list of projectors we started with, and the spec breakout for them below, covers our picks for some of the best short throw and UST projectors available for some of the most common usage cases. For more tips about features to consider before buying, and also some additional top-pick projectors we’ve tested, see our screen and general-projector guides mentioned above, as well as our roundup of best home projectors.
