Top 5 Best Ultra Short Throw Projectors in 2025

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The best ultra short throw projectors for your home theater

An ultra-large image can be projected from an ultra-short distance using the best ultra short throw projectors, or USTs for short. They are intended to serve as a substitute for conventional “long throw” projectors, which are required to be placed toward the rear of a space in order to produce a huge image, typically on a different projection screen that is fixed to the wall across from it.

A separate screen is also used by UST projectors, and certain models come with an ambient light rejecting (ALR) screen made of a unique substance designed specifically for UST models. The projector is placed directly beneath the screen in a UST configuration. The screen material reflects light directly from the projector while blocking off light from above. Because of this configuration, UST projectors can produce vivid images even in bright environments with overhead lighting.

The top UST projectors that we evaluated are listed below. All of the models on the list feature a laser-based light engine and a specified 4K on-screen resolution, albeit they display images using various technologies like DLP and 3LCD. Whether you’re interested in gaming, viewing movies, or sports, we’re confident there’s a model here that meets your demands. Also see our guide to the best 4K projectors if you’re considering a portable or even a standard long-throw model as a better fit for your area.

Table of Contents

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1. Hisense PX3-Pro

The finest low-cost option in our guide, the Hisense PX2-Pro, was replaced by the PX3-Pro, which is still available at select stores in limited supply. Although the PX3-Pro is a more expensive model, its substantial brightness gain and addition of gaming-related features like support for 1080p 240Hz and 4K 120Hz make it worth the extra money. The PX3-Pro also boasts a new retro-futuristic style and the Google TV platform, which allows you to stream content from Netflix and other well-known apps.

In contrast to the PX2-Pro’s 2,000 lumens of brightness, the PX3-Pro’s 3-laser DLP light engine produces 3,000 lumens. This makes it an excellent option for watching TV series and sports in brighter living areas, as well as for movies in dim settings. The PX3-Pro actually boasts “a bright enough picture that it can call for some dimming of the laser in a dark room,” according to our review.

The PX3-Pro supports Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and HLG formats, although the majority of projectors only provide plain-vanilla HDR10 high dynamic range. Although Dolby Atmos effects are restricted, the 50W Harman Kardon-designed speaker system can play music loud enough to fill most rooms—”loud enough to match the size of the pictures,” as we stated in our review. The PX3-Pro isn’t exactly inexpensive at $3,499, but it provides a rich, colorful, and brilliant image, good sound, and a great array of capabilities. Featuring several HDMI 2.1 connections and capabilities for 1080p 240Hz and 4K 120Hz, it’s also an excellent gaming projector. All of that is sufficient to determine that the PX3-Pro is the best extreme short throw projector for the majority of users.

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2. Formovie Cinema Edge

If you’re looking for a UST projector on a tight budget, the Formovie Cinema Edge offers a more reasonably priced variant. To keep its price low, it must give up some features and overall picture quality, but it still offers excellent picture and sound quality for the money.

We were thrilled by the Cinema Edge’s clear details and high contrast, which made darker films like Alien “a joy to watch,” even though its picture quality isn’t as good as that of more expensive projectors like the Hisense PX3-Pro. The Cinema Edge has a very good picture for its price, despite its poor color and lack of the gleam of its RGB Laser rivals. However, the Cinema Edge only supports HDR10 and HLG; it does not support Dolby Vision or HDR10+. If you want full HDR compatibility, you will need to search elsewhere.

The built-in speakers on the Formovie Cinema Edge don’t produce sound as good as the Samsung Premier 9, but in our testing, we found it to be appropriate for casual viewing and to project sufficiently in a smaller living room.

The Formovie’s value is where it excels. The Formovie Cinema Edge is among the most reasonably priced UST projectors available, retailing for $1,799 or £1,799. For those who cannot afford one, the Cinema Edge offers an essential first step into the world of UST projectors, even though other projectors are superior in terms of overall picture quality, sound, and functionality.

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3. LG Cinebeam HU915QE

A relatively recent addition to the UST projector market, the LG Cinebeam HU915QE is an amazing device. At $5,999 / AU$9,999 (about £5,600), however, this is not a cheap home theater buy.

However, you get a lot for your money here. The enormous 90- to 120-inch display of the HU915QE is incredibly brilliant and vibrant. This projector is more than bright enough to produce a pleasing image even during the day, and it can display superb images with a small amount of ambient light adjustment.

You would be getting a lot for your money with the LG Cinebeam HU915QE thanks to its powerful speakers, LG’s convenient webOS smart TV system, the ease of a manual focus wheel, and an image that’s difficult to find many issues with. Ultra short-throw (UST) models are becoming the new standard for many of the top projectors. These can integrate strong light engines, useful smart TV features, and powerful speakers into a system that can be placed in the front of the living room. The LG Cinebeam HU915QE is a brand-new, amazing addition to the UST projector lineup. However, this is not the most casual home theater purchase at $5,999 / AU$9,999 (about £5,600).

With the exception of the extremely costly JVC DLA-NZ8 and Samsung The Premiere, the LG Cinebeam HU915QE is more expensive than about every other projector we suggest.

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4. Samsung The Premiere 9

Following in the footsteps of its previous model, the Premiere LSP9T, Samsung’s Premiere 9 makes up for a shortcoming of many ultra short throw projectors: sound quality. We described The Premiere 9’s integrated 2.2.2-channel speaker array’s sound as “genuinely immersive” in our assessment. Additionally, its Active Voice Amplifier Pro feature improved the clarity of dialogue, and its AI-enhanced Object Tracking Sound processing provided non-Atmos soundtracks a convincing feeling of spaciousness.

The Premiere 9’s sonic quality is matched by its superb visual performance. We discovered that the 100% UHDA-P3 and 92% BT of its triple-laser light engine produced enough brightness to illuminate even a large 130-inch screen. According to the 2020 color gamut coverage we observed during testing, 4K HDR sources display with vibrant, unaltered color. Samsung’s super short throw projector is capable of handling both motion and upscaling lower-resolution sources to 4K, so movies, sports, and regular TV shows will all appear good when projected onto a large screen.

The Premiere 9 uses Samsung’s Tizen smart TV interface, which is quick and has a large selection of streaming apps. Similar to Samsung TVs, its projectors have an integrated Gaming Hub for cloud gaming from services like Xbox, Nvidia Ge-Force Now, and others. Additionally, there is an onscreen game bar interface for making quick adjustments relating to gaming.

Samsung’s Premiere 9 is one of the priciest models in this roundup, costing $5,999/£5,999, but it’s a terrific option if you want an ultra short throw projector that looks amazing, has a bright image, powerful sound, and a great built-in smart TV platform.

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5. Epson EpiQVision Ultra LS800

Numerous UST projectors are vying for the title of being among the top projectors available on the market at the moment. Epson’s laser-lit 3LCD technology has demonstrated strong performance across a range of formats, and the Epson LS800 integrates it into a potent UST chassis.

It’s incredible that this Epson, which costs $3,499 or £3,199 (about AU$5,240), can produce 4000 lumens of brightness, which is more than plenty for watching during the day without having blackout curtains drawn over every window. Although Epson might have done more with eARC support and a broader color gamut, it makes up for those shortcomings by being functional without any hassle around-the-clock.

The LS800’s integrated speaker system, which was created by Yamaha, nicely enhances its appearance. It is sufficient for spaces that are 200 or 300 square feet and has a lot of power. Surprisingly captivating is the virtual sound mode, which creates the illusion of surround sound while balancing speech, sound effects, and music.

The LS800 has established a niche for anyone looking for a straightforward, potent projector that enables them to project a large image that they may view whenever they choose.

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Like you would when using the projector at home, we test UST projectors in both bright and dark room settings. Additionally, we combine the projector with a projection screen, usually one that rejects ambient light and is made especially for UST models.

We evaluate the projector’s capacity to produce bright, consistent images with fully saturated colors using both test patterns and reference video clips. Additionally, we test for motion handling, noise, and image sharpness. The projector’s ability to clearly and dynamically portray both simple TV show dialogue and intricate movie soundtracks is also tested.

Our testing method also includes gaming and streaming. In the first scenario, we examine the smart TV interface of the projector to determine the selection of available streaming apps and how user-friendly they are. In the second, we test input lag and motion handling by connecting a next-generation gaming system.

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