Stop wasting money on expensive projectors—these 5 tweaks fix the cheap ones

Stop wasting money on expensive projectors—these 5 tweaks fix the cheap ones Credit: Adam Davidson / How-To Geek By  Adam Davidson Published May 31, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT Adam has a degree in Engineering and has a life-long interest in technology. He has been writing for over a decade for various print and online publications, with a focus on consumer tech. He joined How-To Geek in 2024 while working at Pocket-lint . As well as being a long-term fan of Apple products, he also has a strong interest in smart home tech, running a Home Assistant server at home to automate all his smart home devices. He believes that the ideal smart home should work with minimal interaction from the user, with automations running as if by magic rather than requiring you to push buttons on a control panel. You can find more of his work on Muck Rack . Sign in to your How-To Geek account Add Us On follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap There's nothing quite like going to the movies, but a good projector can bridge the gap, giving you a small taste of the theater experience at home. A budget projector may be a more affordable option than a giant TV, but the results can sometimes be disappointing. A few simple and affordable upgrades can make your projector experience far better. A projection screen makes a huge difference You don't need an enormous bare wall Credit: Lucas Gouveia/How-To Geek | Pixel-Shot/Shutterstock If you have a projector, it can often feel like you need to keep one wall of the room completely bare so that you can use it to project onto. You end up with a room that looks weird, with the usual decorations on three walls and one giant empty space on the other. Using a wall can work, but you can get far better results by using a dedicated projector screen . Motorized screens that roll down at the touc