Traditionally for industry leaders, ViewSonic annually expands its range of projectors. As known, last year the company introduced ViewSonic X2/X1 with 4LED light engine 3rd gen, which provides brightness up to 3,100 LED lumens and color gamut up to 125% for Rec.709 color space. Both projectors support Full HD 3D, Full HD (1,920 × 1,080) resolution, have Dual Harman Kardon speakers and 3,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. But the X1 costs ~ $ 820 and is a mid-focal model. It produces a 60″ – 150″ image from distance of (2.0m – 3.8m) at (1.15:1 – 1.50:1) throw ratio. The short throw X2 provides 30″ – 300″ picture from (0.6m – 4.6m) at (0.69:1 – 0.83:1) throw ratio, but its price reaches ~$ 1,100.
Additionally, the company introduced ViewSonic X2000B 4K UST projector. Its ADLP 3.0-based (Advanced Laser Phosphor Display) laser-phosphor light engine provides up to 2,000 ANSI Lumens and covers 100% in Rec.709. This ultra short throw model starts at $ 2,400.
New ViewSonic projectors
This year the company has introduced ViewSonic X2 4K UST with LED light source. It provides 2,150 ANSI Lumens and covers 125% in Rec.709. At just $ 1,600, today it’s one of the cheapest UST projectors.
However, the company did not stop there and introduced the compact M10 projector with triple-laser RGB light source.
The company specifies its brightness up to 2,200 ‘RGB Laser Lumens’. Unfortunately, these brightness units are unknown. Today, companies use the traditional ANSI Lumens (illuminance at 9 points), LED Lumens (takes into account the Helmholtz-Kohlrausch effect), ISO Lumens (ISO 21118 standard), Color Light Output (Epson), CVIA Lumens (new standard from China Electronics Video Industry Association) and even Lux (illumination of 1 m²). Most likely, ‘RGB Laser Lumens’ correspond to ANSI Lumens (IT7.228 standard).
Main specs:
– 2,200 Lumens brightness;
– 100% coverage of the BT.2020 color gamut with triple-laser RGB light engine;
– Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) native resolution;
– 40″-180″ image size from 1.06m-4.78m throw distance at 1:1.2 throw ratio (100″@2.66m / 8.7ft);
– 3,000,000:1 dinamic contrast ratio;
– 16GB total storage;
– smart remote control and smartphone control using the vCastSender app;
– 176ms input lag.
Of course, playing on a huge screen is a significant bonus of any projector for gamers.
Unfortunately, 176ms is only acceptable for casual games. However, it is quite adequate for a compact model;
– smart backlit remote control with a built-in G sensor automatically lights up the back of the remote when lifted;
– TÜV SÜD certificate.
Certificate from German TUV companies confirms the model’s compliance with vision safety standards due to its low blue level.
ViewSonic M10
The popularity of ViewSonic projectors is largely due to their superb price-quality ratio. It’s achieved due to fairly high image/audio quality and wide functionality at an affordable price. The announced M10 fully corresponds to this concept. The developers have created a very compact (7.9 x 6.5 x 3.6 in and 3 lbs), but bright (~ 2,200 Lumens) model with an ultra-wide color gamut (100% for BT.2020) due to the triple-laser RGB light engine.
In addition, the projector provides quite premium functionality, including:
– instant auto-focus and keystone correction (H/V ±40°) with Time-of-Flight (ToF) technology and keystone-correction sensors;
– 7W Harman Kardon Cube speaker and Bluetooth 4.2 (M 10 can double as a Bluetooth speaker);
– projection offset (100% ± 5%) and digital zoom (0.8x – 1.0x);
– HDMI 2.0 + USB Type-C + 5G Wi-Fi for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, laptop or smartphone. Moreover, the model is compatible with iPhone 15 with an Apple-authorized Lightning to HDMI adapter;
– MEMC (Motion Estimation and Motion Compensation) – smooth playback due to interpolation;
– ceiling-facing projection.
Unfortunately, its launch price is still unknown, but perhaps the company will announce it at the CES 2024.
Of course, compact design and an affordable price always require compromises from developers, and the M10 was no exception. In particular, the model:
– does not have a built-in battery;
– comes without a built-in smart TV platform (directly installing the popular streaming apps, including Netflix, Hulu, etc is not available). However, Wi-Fi 5GHz screen mirroring, USB-C streaming and compatible with popular streaming devices including Chromecast, Apple TV, Fire TV and Roku effectively solve this problem.
– only 1080p resolution with 0.23″ 1080p DMD chipset without support for XPR technology from Texas Instruments.
Full HD resolutions
Maybe, 1080p resolution seems to be the most controversial. As known, TI’s Xpanded Pixel Resolution (XPR) technology has radically reduced the price of 4K DLP projectors. In fact, it provides playback of 4K content using only 2 million micromirrors in relatively inexpensive 1080p chipsets.
XPR uses 2- or 4-phase pixel shifting and works as follows. The projector divides 8 million pixels of 4K content into 4 parts and displays them sequentially, shifting them by half a pixel relative to each other.
Of course, at any given time, 2 million micromirrors display only a 1080p picture. But due to the high frequency, the eye and brain perceive them as one higher-resolution image. Pixel shift is carried out by tilting the lens using 4 electromagnets of the XPR module.
To be fair, the impact of resolution on image quality directly depends on the screen size. Even XGA (1,024 x 768) will be enough for a 30″ picture, but good clarity of 200″ picture will require increasing the resolution. M 10 image varies from 40″ to 180″, but the company recommends 120″ for high image quality. Given this quite reasonable limitation, 1080p will be sufficient for a 100″ image, especially at a viewing distance of a few meters.
As known, the popularity of ultra short throw projectors as an alternative to TVs is largely due to their placement near the screen, which eliminates the problem of wires on the floor.
The mid-focal M 10 does not have a built-in battery and generates an image from several meters away, creating this problem. But, the compact design and superb auto setup allow the owner to easily move the projector. Therefore, it may well replace a traditional TV in the living room.
Conclusion
The company once again confirmed its place among the industry leaders. In addition to the presented X2 4K UST, the ViewSonic announced superb portable RGB laser projector. In fact, new M10 becomes the first compact model weighing only 3 Lbs / 1.3 kg with premium specs and features. Of course, its marketing prospects will directly depend on the price. But the 2,200 Lumens brightness and color gamut of 100% for BT.2020 color space with triple-laser RGB light engine in a compact body is impressive. A full range of smart options, including ToF auto-focus, keystone correction, 5G Wi-Fi, Harman Kardon Cube speaker, etc are also unprecedented for such a compact design.
The model can easily replace a TV in the living room, and is ideal for a barbecue in the backyard or on a camping trip. Probably, the lack of a battery can create inconvenience in some situations, but modern powerbanks effectively solve this problem.
At an affordable price, the model may well become next year’s best seller in the segment of compact mid-focal smart projectors.
This video demonstrates the latest ViewSonic M10 portable RGB laser projector.