Moreover, if LED technology is truly the key to great display quality, then why shouldn’t this segment reap the benefits as well? This was the thought perhaps that gave birth to the Viewsonic x1000 4K LED Ultra Short Throw Smart Projector. The name is quite a mouthful, but it encompasses everything that discerning customers may want in a home theatre projection system.
All these things in themselves are good enough, but what makes this model truly great is that it isn’t just a 4K smart projector but also a full-fledged entertainment system with a built-in Harmon Kardon soundbar. This means that this single machine alone can replace most of your existing home theatre system, including the TV.
Design & Build Quality
Being able to deliver amazing visuals and sound with just one piece of machinery is a testament to the design and build of this product. A design, which features a stealthy, if chunky look, which easily blends in with the environment. At first glance, it looks like a traditional soundbar, if a bit taller than usual.
The body is made up of a blend of metal and soft plastics, with smooth curves on all sides. The low section makes up the speaker part, while the upper hood hides the LED bulb and other projection parts. The hood has a smooth metallic finish, which proudly bears the company logo. The front that faces the room features the cloth mesh for the speaker grills. While the rear hides the lens, along with the safety sensors, from view.
Even the sides feature an aesthetically pleasing design, with large vents that have slanted slots and a custom-cut plastic piece that follows the line of the hood. Everything is neatly tucked into the body, with the only things protruding are the adjustable feet that also feature a tasteful metallic finish.
On the whole, it looks like a very minimalist piece of technology, which is also robust and built to last. The best thing is that due to its compact-ish size, it frees up a massive amount of space in your living room, which can be utilized for other purposes.
Display Technology
Just like the premium finish to the exterior, Viewsonic has also given a premium treatment to the internals. You get a 4K projection system that supports HDR and 3D Blu-Ray. It has a 3,000,000:1 contrast ratio that is supported by the company’s Dynamic Black technology, which is meant to adjust the contrast levels on the fly, depending on the content being projected.
This translates to amazing black levels, which are only matched by the great colour reproduction, which is enabled through the company’s Cinema SuperColor+ Technology that covers 125% Rec 709 gamut. The combination of these two makes for a great viewing experience, which looks good on all types of projected surfaces.
The projector even smoothens motion blur through Frame Interpolation technology, which ensures you don’t get dizzy watching blurry images on such a large display. Speaking of the display, you can get up to a 100” screen from as close as 38cm away, thanks to a truly ultra-short throw ratio of just 0.25.
The only sad part is that there is no digital zoom or lens shift available, so you will have to make all adjustments to screen size manually by physically shifting the projector. You do get a nice spur gear for height adjustment, although you can only make vertical adjustments since there is no horizontal keystone. This is still more than enough for most use cases.
The projection itself is powered by 2nd Gen LEDs that can deliver up to 2,400 LED Lumens of usable light. Thanks to the long life of LEDs, you don’t need to replace the bulb for as long as 30,000 hours. Due to the ultra-bright light, the system comes with built-in ultrasonic sensors, which automatically cut power to the projection beam when objects are too close to the lens. This helps save your eyes from accidental blinding.
Sound System
We felt the need to speak about this part separately, as this is one of the few systems on that market that feature its own built-in soundbar. It is a 40W integrated system from Harman Kardon, which is made up of dual sets of 5W 1” tweeter drivers, and a 15W full-range 2.5 “driver.
This setup produces a pretty loud and clear sound that would be more than enough for most living rooms. But for people who still need more, it can even be connected to a subwoofer to create a true 2.1 audio system. The system is tuned to deliver the best quality audio in either configuration right out of the box. You can further adjust the EQ for a more specific sound. The system is so impressive that the company included a special listening mode in the projector, where you can turn off the projector itself and just use it as a soundbar.
IO & Connectivity
Easy connectivity is an important part of any decent home theatre experience, and this projector takes that responsibility pretty seriously. You get a pretty fleshed-out IO setup, with a USB Type-C port, three HDMI 2.0 / HDCP 2.2 ports, three USB Type-A ports, Audio In, Audio Out, a LAN port, Ethernet, AC-In, etc.
If everything is occupied, you can connect even more stuff thanks to 5 GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. You also get screen mirroring support through both Wi-Fi, as well as the USB Type-C port. We would recommend going the wired route since streaming from the phone does come with some input lag.
The smart projector tag goes even further, with built-in smart streaming thanks to Android support, as well as other built-in apps, like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Twitch, Spotify, BBC News, BBC Sport, NBA, and more.
You can control all of these connections and all the other features with a backlit IR remote, which features a special silver ion coating that provides antibacterial capability, as certified by TÜV. The same can also be done via the ViewSonic vCastSender app available for both Android and iOS.
Conclusion
Although, in all honesty, we would recommend bypassing all this and going with a connected device like a smartphone or laptop, as the system software is still not flawless. Even with that minor fault, the x1000 still makes for a pretty comprehensive system that can easily take over all your entertainment needs for a starting price of around $2000. That is a deal that not many will be able to refuse.
