How I Set Up My XGIMI Horizon 20 Max Without Losing Picture Quality

I've been using the Horizon 20 Max as my main home projector and get asked a lot by first-time owners (or people considering buying one) how to get the best picture without a screen. So here's my exact setup process, step by step.

Quick context: I'm projecting onto a plain white wall (slight beige tone), and there's some ambient light in my reference video/photos, so the image looks a bit more washed out there than it does in person.

My general rule: fix as much as possible physically first, and only lean on projector adjustments for what's left.

1. Physically position first. Move and tilt the projector so it's as centered and level with the wall as possible before touching any settings.
2. Auto keystone — only when needed. I run this after repositioning, mainly to re-maximize screen size. Otherwise I avoid keystone entirely — the less you rely on it, the better your picture quality holds up.
3. Optical zoom — only if needed. My projector sits about 3.7m from the wall, so I do need some zoom to get the size right.
4. Lens shift — only if necessary. This is for when the projector can't sit dead-center and ends up at a slight angle. It lets you shift the image without losing quality — the one trade-off is you lose "eye protection" mode while using it. I don't need it in my setup, so I skip it.
5. Final physical adjustment. One last small tilt or reposition to get everything perfectly aligned with the wall.

That's the whole process — genuinely more straightforward than people expect from a "screenless" setup.