The right 4K projector depends entirely on three variables: your room architecture (long-throw distance available vs UST wall placement), your primary viewing content (movies/streaming vs gaming vs sports), and your ambient-light control (dedicated dark room vs typical living room). Here's the decision framework.
If this is your first home theater projector
Get the XGIMI Horizon Ultra. It's the right baseline pick for 90% of first-time buyers: Dolby Vision support, 2300 ISO lumens (works in moderately lit rooms, not just blackout caves), 5-minute setup with ISA 2.0 auto-focus/keystone, built-in Harman Kardon speakers that are actually usable, native Android TV with licensed Netflix. You can spend more on dedicated features (gaming responsiveness, UST architecture, triple-laser color) once you know what you actually want — but as the entry point, this is hard to beat.
If you want to replace your TV with a projector
Get the Hisense PL2 — or upgrade to the PX3-PRO if you have the budget for the triple-laser premium UST experience. The PL2 sits 4 inches from the wall, projects 80-120" image, integrates Google TV, and eliminates the architectural friction (ceiling mount, cable run, ambient light dimming) that kills most “projector instead of TV” plans. The PX3-PRO adds Dolby Vision and 110% BT.2020 color coverage — the widest color gamut in any consumer projector.
If gaming is your primary use case
Get the BenQ X3100i. It's the only sub-$2000 4K projector with 4ms input lag at 1080p/240Hz and ~17ms at 4K/60Hz — basically TV-tier gaming responsiveness on a 120" screen. The 3300 ANSI lumens means daytime sports viewing works too. 100% DCI-P3 color matters for HDR gaming. Best pick if you have a PS5, Xbox Series X, or gaming PC and want the 100"+ screen experience without losing competitive responsiveness.
If your viewing room has ambient light you can't fully control
Get the Epson Home Cinema 2350. 2800 lumens is the highest brightness in the under-$1500 tier — actually usable in daylight or family rooms with windows. The 3LCD architecture means equal RGB brightness (DLP single-chip projectors lose 30-50% brightness in color content) which matters more in bright rooms. Plus 3LCD has the longest track record for color stability over 5-10 year ownership.
If you want portability over commitment
Get the XGIMI MoGo 3 Pro for the best-engineered budget portable, or the Samsung Freestyle 2nd Gen if you want the Samsung Gaming Hub cloud-streaming integration (Xbox Game Pass on a 100" wall without a console). Both are 1080p (not 4K) — true 4K portables are 3x the price for marginal returns at portable screen sizes.