CES 2016: ViewSonic Projectors

Our last stop at the 2016 CES was with ViewSonic. John already posted his impressions from their lineup of gaming PC monitors, but they also had a couple of their Entertainment projectors on display.

First up was the Pro7827HD Lightstream DLP Projector which is the first ViewSonic projector to offer up a 6-segment color wheel and SuperColor technology. The unit also has 2200 Lumens and 22000:1 Contrast ratio and three HDMI inputs. One of the unique features is that it has an HDMI on the chassis near the lens designed to add in a Chromecast, Firestick or other wireless HDMI device. It also comes with a cable management hood that extends the back of the projector chassis, but allows for all the connections to be hidden from view and only the cables themselves running out. The Pro7827HD will have an MSRP of $1,299.99 and start shipping in February 2016..

The second projector in display was the PJD7828HDL Lightstream, which shares many of the same attributes with the Pro7827HD. It also utilizes the 6-color wheel and SuperColor technology and has the same 22000:1 contrast ratio, cable management housing and HDMI input near the lens. While the PJD7828HDL steps up to 3200 lumens, it does only have 2 HDMI ports and loses some of the extra functionality of the Pro7827HD including the zoom. The PJD7828HDL has an MSRP of $999 and will start shipping by the end of January.

Both of the ViewSonics Entertainment projectors were well designed and had great pictures and are positioned to fit the needs of the casual user or the heavy home theater enthusiast. I liked the idea of the dedicated HDMI port for the wireless devices, as that is becoming more and more integrated with hoe entertainment. Also, the cable management system, while adding to the overall length of the units, definitely helps clean up the look of the ViewSonic projectors if they are mounted out in the open.