A big image from twenty centimeters, and a screen that must match · review
Acer H6518STi short throw Full HD projector review
A short-throw 1080p projector at the accessible end of a family that is usually expensive — it sits close to the screen without needing the rigid, matched surface an ultra short throw machine demands.
The practical short throw: close enough to solve the cable run and the shadows, far enough not to demand a specialist screen. Key figures: Short throw · Full HD 1,920 × 1,080 · 3,500 ANSI lumens · 10,000:1 stated contrast · 3D Ready · keystone. It is a European model with no Amazon.com offer on October 25, 2026. Our score: 6.8/10, specification-checked.
What short throw solves
Distance. A projector at 1.5 times the image width has to sit at the back of the room, which means a long cable run and a beam that people walk through. A short throw machine sits much closer, and in a small room that is often the difference between a projector being possible and not.
What it asks in return
Flatness, though far less insistently than an ultra short throw projector does. Light arriving at an angle exaggerates any imperfection in the surface, so a fixed frame or a tab-tensioned roller screen is a better partner than a plain pull-down.
The brightness, in context
3,500 ANSI lumens, stated. Short throw is usually bought for smaller rooms and smaller images, where that figure goes a long way. It is a measured unit, so it can be compared directly with any other machine on this shelf that publishes one.
The resolution trade
1080p, at a price where long-throw 4K machines exist. What you are buying with the money is the geometry, and if the room requires it, no amount of resolution on a machine that cannot sit anywhere is worth more.
Before ordering
Confirm the throw ratio in the full specification and multiply it by the image width you want. Short throw narrows the distance a great deal; it does not remove the arithmetic.
Buying it in the United States
Not sold on Amazon.com when we checked on October 25, 2026. This is a model of the European catalog: we hold Amazon references for it in Europe only, so the button can only run a search on Amazon.com. Read it as a description of the design, and buy from the list below.
On this shelf, with an Amazon.com offer on October 25, 2026:
Short throw geometry without the price or the screen requirement of an ultra short throw machine
3,500 ANSI lumens stated, which suits the smaller rooms short throw is bought for
Fewer shadows and a shorter cable run than a projector at the back of the room
Compromises
Short throw exaggerates any ripple in a hanging screen, though far less than ultra short throw does
1080p rather than 4K at a price where 4K exists in long-throw form
The contrast figure is unqualified, as across this whole shelf
Specifications
Throw
Short throw — stated
Resolution
Full HD, 1,920 × 1,080 — stated
Brightness
3,500 ANSI lumens — stated in a measured unit
Contrast
10,000:1 — stated; not qualified as native or dynamic
3D
3D Ready — stated
Connections
HDMI with HDCP, audio, keystone — stated
Amazon reference
B08C9RWPBF
EAN
4710180941937
What gets asked most
How is short throw different from ultra short throw?
By ratio. A short throw projector sits at roughly half to one times the image width; an ultra short throw sits below 0.4, close enough to be on the furniture beneath the screen. The second imposes a rigid, light-rejecting screen; the first does not.
Will it work on a pull-down screen?
Better than an ultra short throw machine would, and it still benefits from flatness. Light arriving at an angle exaggerates ripples, so leave a new roller screen down for a week before judging it, and prefer a tab-tensioned model if the room means a roller.
Our score
6.8/ 10
The practical short throw: close enough to solve the cable run and the shadows, far enough not to demand a specialist screen.
Who should pick this one, among short and ultra short throw projectors
A small room where a projector at the back is impossible, and where a rigid ALR screen is not in the budget.
Sources
Specifications: the manufacturer sheet and the matching Amazon product page. Prices and availability: Keepa. Every figure on this page names its source.
Ultra short throw · 4K · 2,600 ISO lumens · 6,000:1 NATIVE contrast · Dolby Vision · 1 ms input lag · up to 200 inches
The only machine in this catalog that publishes a native contrast ratio — 6,000:1 — alongside a measured brightness figure, which is what makes it comparable rather than merely impressive.
Best for: Someone who reads specifications and wants an ultra short throw machine whose figures can be checked against another that publishes the same ones.
Short throw · 4K HDR · 3,000 ANSI lumens · Google TV built in
The 4K version of the short-throw idea, with Google TV on board — a self-contained machine that sits close to the wall and needs nothing else plugged into it.
Best for: A room too small for a long throw projector where the picture still has to be 4K, and where one object is preferable to three.
Ultra short throw laser · 4K · 4,000 lumens stated · 3LCD · Bose 2.1 audio · Google TV · 150-inch image · three HDMI with ALLM
The most expensive projector in this catalog, and the most complete: a 3LCD laser ultra short throw with Bose audio, Google TV and 4,000 lumens rated to ISO and IDMS standards.
Best for: A living room where this is the television — with the Hisense PT1, one of the two machines here sold and specified as a replacement for one.
