ViewSonic has an enticing new 4K projector at a price that will make any home cinema enthusiast happy…
It seems like only yesterday that 4K projectors were only affordable to those with deep pockets, with any 4K projector being prohibitively more expensive than a large TV. But as time and technology have marched on, prices have dropped steadily, putting 4K into a price range that more people can readily afford. Now, we turn to ViewSonic to see if an even more affordable projector can tick the boxes for home cinema enthusiasts.
ViewSonic’s PX727-4K is a reasonably well spec’d unit which offers 2200 lumens of brightness and a quoted contrast level of 12,000:1. It offers two HDMI inputs (one enabled for 4K HDCP 2.2 sources), VGA for older equipment and a 3.5mm audio output. Also available are a USB for charging devices such as streaming dongles and a 12v trigger for projector screens, and Viewsonic have used an exclusive SuperColor RGBRGB colour wheel in the PX727-4K.
You have the option of either sitting the projector on its adjustable feet or mounting it upside down to ceiling. The throw ratio is 1.5 – 1.8 and keystone adjustment is available if you can’t line the projector up with the screen without skewing the image. A backlit remote control is included which, although small, sits nicely in the hand due to the curved back panel. There is a built in speaker but it’s really nothing more than an afterthought and you’ll most definitely want to invest in a proper audio solution, ideally an AV receiver to give you more 4K inputs.
Setting up the PX727-4K is a doddle with little adjustment needed to the picture. Three image presets, Bright, Standard and Movie are available as well as two customisable user modes, though we found that we stuck with Movie for the optimal balance of colours. Spinning a 4K Blu-ray of our go-to test disc The Martian shows that motion is relatively stable as the opening scene pans over the red landscape. Still, as we watch a wounded Matt Damon perform emergency surgery on himself we still get plenty of detail with every bead of sweat and wrinkle on his face clear to see. It’s just the colours that we’d like to see a bit more intensity from such as the orange sand from the Red Planet and murky, dusky skyline.
Stepping down to 1080p content with Netflix stream of Captain America: Civil War and the ViewSonic takes everything in its stride with a noticeable drop in resolution whilst still managing to maintain a natural image balance and good motion. The hectic action in the airport battle scene showing that with a lot going on there is some picture noise but not a great deal of it.
So, here we have a very affordable and easy to use piece of 4K equipment, and any consumer would be very happy with the value for money that the PX727-4K manages to pack. The ViewSonic represents a huge bang for your buck for a relatively small cost. If it sounds like something you’d like to see for yourself, why not contact your local Richer Sounds store who’d be more than happy to set up a demo for you?
Click to find out more about the Viewsonic PX727-4K Projector.
Author: Steve, Bristol store
