Smart Projectors Simplify How We Access Streaming Content At Home

This month’s sponsored article is brought to us by BenQ, which offers an excellent selection of smart projectors designed to make the latest content easier to access than ever before, reducing the headache of navigating multiple remote controls and upgrading your entertainment value dramatically.

It goes without saying, but 2020 was arguably one of the most challenging years we may all ever live through [furiously knocks on wood]. In early March 2020, sweeping statewide lockdown orders were instituted to combat the spread of a novel Coronavirus, later dubbed COVID-19. 

Now I know you know this already. Heck, you lived it alongside the rest of us.  And with this you know these lockdowns put a major damper on all of our collective lives, eliminating our ability to go out and see friends, eat dinner at our favorite restaurants, attend concerts, go to movie theaters, and a bevy of other activities we all safely took for granted in the “before-times”. Predictably, we fled to our home entertainment systems to fill the void instituted against us. And the numbers prove it.

In fact, the consumption of at-home streaming services like Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Hulu, and everything in between skyrocketed. According to a survey from TransUnion:

“As consumers’ use of paid streaming services (including platforms such as Amazon Prime, Hulu, Netflix and Apple TV) has increased, so too has the amount of time they are using them. Consumers said their usage increased from 1–2 hours per day prior to the pandemic to an average of 3–4 as of the week of May 18^th. More than one-third of consumers surveyed spent at least five hours daily with streamed media.”

While this is just one such survey in a variety of dozens produced in 2020, it does point to a dramatic increase in the amount of time we spend at home watching movies on our favorite streaming services. The survey also discovered that people began subscribing to more services as a result of being stuck at home for the majority of their time. The hunger for fresh content was – and remains – real.

This giant increase in streaming demand, and the flock to find the best content to consume, is also pushing production studios and other content producers in new, exciting directions for consumers: quality and diversity of content. There are several points of proof to this assertion, beginning with potentially the most exciting announcement out of them all: HBO and Warner Bros.’ announcement that all 2021 theatrical releases stream on HBO Max at the same time as theaters (!). This is an exciting development for home theater enthusiasts and a new business model for studios who are trying to navigate the new landscape with many movie theaters still closed due to the pandemic. Direct release streaming content still provides a revenue stream for those studios, while allowing everyone stuck at home an opportunity to still enjoy their latest movies. 

But not only will the top-quality A-list Hollywood content now suddenly be available to stream at home, companies like Starz are betting that content more precisely aimed at specific consumer segments, say women for example, will be a way for them to appeal to a broader audience and spur evermore subscriptions to their services. This greater diversity in content will continue to build the trend of at-home consumption and ensure that hungry customers will always have top-notch quality, and relevant content available to us all. At least, that’s what these companies hope will happen. 

In addition to the giant HBO and Warner Bros. announcement, there were also announcements from Netflix regarding its goal to release at least one new movie every week in 2021, which is an incredibly exciting grouping of entertainment that is sure to continue the trend of keeping people enraptured by at-home content for a while longer. 

So one thing is for sure, we have no shortage of amazing content coming our way to enjoy in 2021 and beyond. 

But this trend in content production and increase in streaming demand also had a dramatic effect on the consumer electronics industry as well, with companies like BenQ seeing notable growth in sales in 2020 in relation to people aiming to improve their at-home viewing experience. We also saw announcements from companies like Klipsch – manufacturer of home theater speakers – having some of their best years yet. Which all points to one thing in particular: people want to experience all this new amazing content with higher-quality home entertainment equipment. Naturally, we agree with them.

After all, what’s the use of watching the new Wonder Woman 1984 on a small TV and $100 soundbar? I’ll tell you, it’s no use at all. And frankly, if I may editorialize further, you’re wasting your hard-earned dollars paying for premium services and using subpar equipment to enjoy it all. 

Now we know you know this, after all you’re on ProjectorReviews.com likely because you’re in the market for the latest and greatest projector, or perhaps you want some direction on what would be best for your burgeoning home theater room? Suffice it to say you came to the right place, as projectors are a great way to take advantage of all this amazing new content streaming direct to your house. With platforms like Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, and others all offering packages that deliver 4K content, it’s absolutely time to upgrade from your old TV or projector to something that can get you closer to that real theater experience. 

Projectors are easy to get behind in terms of how quickly and dramatically they upgrade your watching experience at home, especially if your main goal is to create a home theater that can rival what you’re typically used to at a movie theater. If you’re new to buying projectors, we believe you should review BenQ’s fantastic guide to buying projectors.

Once you master the basics of how to get started with a projector, it’s important to understand how the projector market is changing, with the advent of “smart” projectors now really taking hold and offering watchers an easier way to access higher-end content. For a quick primer on smart projectors and why you should consider buying them, we suggest you review our article, “THE COMPELLING CASE FOR PROJECTORS WITH INTEGRATED SMART CAPABILITIES,” wherein we highlight the many attractive ways smart projectors can make your life easier. 

Perhaps the most important part of that article is the discussion regarding how projectors with built-in smart technologies add native support for smart TV operating systems, including Roku, Netflix, etc. Smart projectors eliminate the need for multiple remote controls that can confuse your family, but they also deliver smarter operating systems that offer consumers more streamlined access to content than ever before. And when you have more streaming services and content being consumed and accessed than ever before, this is a huge benefit. 

To get you started on your journey with smart projectors, we’ve highlighted a few options from our content partner, BenQ. BenQ has a great portfolio of smart projectors with industry-leading projector technology, Android TV integration and features.