Test Center Review: ViewSonic's PJD7383i Projector

ViewSonic has done a yeoman's job in the past two years in expanding its product line beyond its traditional LCD and projector displays, and last year even went so far as to win our desktop category of CRN's Products of the Year awards.

But that doesn't mean the company is leaving its display heritage -- far from it. During a time when new technologies are making presentation solutions ever-more valuable, not to mention exciting, ViewSonic has begun to elevate its game in the projector space.

The CRN Test Center recently examined Walnut, Calif.-based ViewSonic's PJD7383i projector in our lab, and found a product that makes a nice leap into better support of new technologies including video and collaboration, including white boarding or client-based video conferencing. The PJD7383i can be found at street pricing of less than $1,000, and delivers the sound features and performance that we've come to expect from ViewSonic.

A short-throw, DLP projector, the PJD7383i is described by ViewSonic as “interactive,” for several reasons, including a self-contained interactive white board and pen.

The unit that came to our lab for evaluation weighed in on our scales very near the 7.7 pounds listed in its product specifications. Once set up, the PJD7383i consumed 278 watts of power during use (14 watts when plugged in but turned off.) The projector threw, at its hottest point, 134 degrees (F) of heat -- which is hot but not dangerous, particularly in, say, a classroom setting where curious kids may want to get a touch.

Setup is mostly automated, and took a few minutes out of the box to get up and running in our test conference room. Using a series of calibration tests, including free tools QuickGamma and UDPixel, the PJD7383i provided more than adequate results in both color calibration and pixel testing.

The projector is built with XGA 1024-by-768 native resolution, provides 3,000 Lumens of brightness and says its lamp provides 4,000 hours of life, or 6,000 hours in eco mode. It provides between 30 inches and 300 inches of display, with a throw distance of between 1.2 feet and 12.21 feet.

The projector provides aspect ratio of 4:3 native and 16:9. The projector supports 3D as well as a number of input devices including Type A and Type B USB, Ethernet, audio and video input and is built with two VGA ports. The remote control is just fantastic, with simple, intuitive and powerful functions, including Keystone adjustment, zoom, magnification, page up, page down, page freeze, VGA (input) controls, audio, video and comes with a laser pointer.

For education, work group and collaboration, this projector is a solid choice. The inclusion of the white board support, pen, laser and network features make you want to use this for collaboration.

The bottom line: This is an impressive projector with top-notch performance, support of a strong number of input and other devices and, via Ethernet, support of enterprise management tools. We like it and recommend it.