We all know that TVs carry some of the biggest discounts when Black Friday rolls around, but you can still find yourself shelling out thousands of dollars for a big-screen beauty - especially if you pick up a new release. Originally the reserve of the wealthy, then a soothing new toy for lockdown households across the world, and now a real viable alternative to the static screen, projectors could be where it's at this year. Prices of the best projectors on the market have shrunk considerably in just the last few years, to the point where 2023 might be the first year we're looking away from Black Friday TV deals for our home cinema discounts.
Projectors allow you to forget about size for a moment - yes, of course it matters but we'll come back to that. While you're not working out whether you can fit a 75-inch TV in your cramped apartment, or if that super cheap 48-inch OLED is even going to be visible in the den, you can concentrate on what really matters. Color and resolution quality, port connections, available streaming apps, and refresh rates are often specs we consider secondary to size - when you're on the hunt for Black Friday projector deals, they come to the fore. That means you can find a piece of tech that really suits your streaming or gaming style, rather than spending more on the one that takes up the most space on the wall.
After all, the best 4K projectors are starting to compete with TV quality for much less than the best OLED TVs or the best QLED TVs. Crucially, the size of your display depends not on how much money you spend today, but on the projector screen you choose. That means you can have a wall-filling 300-inch beast or a cozier 50-incher - it's not just up to you now, it's up to you whenever you want to settle in for a movie should you opt for multiple, stowable options.
It's going to cost you a lot more to fill a wall with a TV screen.
We've had our eyes set on some of the biggest projector brands out there, but there are two in particular that we expect will overtake similarly priced 4K TVs in value over this year's Black Friday gaming deals.
BenQ TK700
The BenQ TK700 thoroughly delighted when we put it to the test last year. With excellent gaming performance, an incredibly detailed picture, and robust sound it's perfect for 4K streaming and gameplay. You're getting the standard 4K 60Hz picture we see in all but the absolute best gaming TVs as well as a built-in speaker, super high brightness, and HDR support to boot. The BenQ TK700 also offers a maximum image size of 300 inches depending on the space you have. It's going to be tricky finding a TV at that scale for $1,499 / £1,099. It's going to be even trickier finding one for this device's historic record low price of $1,199 / £949.99 - the maximum price we're expecting to see in this year's Black Friday sale.
Why do we think 2023 is the year of the TK700? This has been on the shelves for nearly two years now and has never broken below that $1,199 / £949 barrier. This, however, is becoming an increasingly crowded position - Optoma has a range of budget-oriented devices that are starting to step on the TK700's toes at this low end of four figures, and there's pressure coming from XGIMI's Horizon line as well. To stay competitive, we wouldn't be surprised if this middle-aged device skips down to three figures in the US come November - and that would be headline news for a 4K projector of this quality.
BenQ X3000i
Of course, the TK700 has to have a big brother and that's the BenQ X3000i, another 4K giant in the world of mid-range projectors. We were astounded by the color on offer here, as well as the super crisp details to go with it. Between 4K gaming and HDR streaming, the X3000i delights in its premium picture. It's a little pricier at $1,999.99 / £2,299.99 but it can handle those larger screens much better and do so while running off 4 LEDs rather than a single bulb. Crucially, though, that picture quality is so, so improved on the X3000i, with the super smooth movement and minimal input lag required to be one of the best projectors for PS5 and Xbox Series X.
What's more, we're still expecting big savings on this projector come Black Friday. That $1,999 MSRP has been holding its position over the last two years, but then July 2023 happened, and we started seeing the magical $200 discount we still see on the shelves today. That's right, the BenQ X3000i has been available on sale (at one retailer or another) since July - and that's a recipe for further discounts in November. Considering the growing age of this device (projector tech moves quickly and the prices on new releases are dropping with every year), we wouldn't be surprised to see an extra $100 or even $200 saving in November.
Of course, we're also getting you prepped with everything you need to know about this year's Black Friday OLED TV deals and Black Friday QLED TV deals. Or, if you're after the big-screen treatment after all, check out the sales we expect to see in this year's Black Friday 75-inch TV deals.
