Hollywood blockbuster movies are getting more and more
grand. And so is the way we enjoy them. While we think 1080P HD looked great,
the new 4k Ultra HD looks even better. And not only are the prices of 4k TV’s
coming down, there are more ways to enjoy it affordable, thanks to pixel
shifting. Now we can also find not only 4k projectors, but models designed to
be portable as well. Up for review today is the Viewsonic X10-4KE.
Features and specs:
DISPLAY TYPE: DLP LED
RESOLUTION TYPE: 4K (3840x2160)
RESOLUTION: 3840 x 2160
BRIGHTNESS (LUMENS): 2,400 LED
DISPLAY SIZE (IN.): 30 - 200 in. / 0.7 – 5.1 m
THROW DISTANCE: 1.6 - 11.5 ft / 0.5 - 3.5 m
THROW RATIO: 0.8
KEYSTONE: Vertical (+/- 40°)
LENS: Fixed Zoom
LIGHT SOURCE (WATT): RGBB LED
LIGHT SOURCE LIFE, NORMAL (HOURS): 30000
COLOR DEPTH: 1.07B Color (R/G/B 10bit)
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
VIDEO SIGNAL FREQUENCY HORIZONTAL: 30K~97KHz
FREQUENCY VERTICAL: 24~85Hz
COMPATIBILITY PC RESOLUTION (MAX): 3840 x 2160
MAC® RESOLUTION (MAX): 3840 x 2160
CONNECTOR:
USB 2.0 TYPE A: 1
USB 3.0 TYPE A: 1
USB 3.1 TYPE C: 1
CARD READER: Micro SD
ETHERNET LAN (RJ45): 1
SPDIF AUDIO OUT: 1
3.5MM AUDIO OUT: 1
3.5MM AUDIO IN: 1
HDMI 2.0 IN: 2
BLUETOOTH: Bluetooth 4.0
AUDIO
INTERNAL SPEAKERS: 8W (x2)
POWER
VOLTAGE: AC 100-240V (universal), 50-60Hz
CONSUMPTION (TYPICAL): 140W
STAND-BY: <0.5W
OPERATING CONDITIONS
TEMPERATURE: 32-104º F (0 - 40º C)
HUMIDITY (NON-CONDENSING): 0-90%
ADDITIONAL HARDWARE
KENSINGTON LOCK SLOT: 1
WEIGHT (IMPERIAL): NET (LBS): 9.0
GROSS (LBS): 14.3
WEIGHT (METRIC): NET (KG): 4.1
GROSS (KG): 6.5
DIMENSIONS (IMPERIAL) (WXHXD)
PACKAGING (IN.): 13.1 x 13.5 x 11.0
PHYSICAL (IN.): 10.3 x 10.7 x 6.5
DIMENSIONS (METRIC) (WXHXD)
PACKAGING (MM): 333.0 x 343.0 x 280.0
PHYSICAL (MM): 261.0 x 271.0 x 166.0
GENERAL
REGULATIONS: FCC, cTUVus, ROHS
PACKAGE CONTENTS
X10-4KE Projector, Power Cable, USB-C Cable, Remote Control,
WiFi Dongle, Quick Start Guide
The Viewsonic X10-4KE came in a nice color printed box with
photos and specs of the projector. Opening the box revealed a well protected
projector held in place by custom molded foam. Materials used in the
construction was mostly plastic with some metal. Quality of materials used, as
was the fit and finish, was very good. And holding the projector in hand, it
felt like a very well made projector. Also included was the manual, remote,
batteries, wi-fi doggle, power cord, HDMI cable and USB-C cable.
I loved the design of the Viewsonic X10-4KE. The built in
handle makes it really easy to move from room to room, or the back yard. But
you still have to be able to get content to the projector. And the Viewsonic
has you covered there as well, with its smart streaming functionality, and the
included wi-fi doggle, getting content is simple. No HDMI cable is needed. Just
take the projector to whichever room you want and plug it in. Then it’s just a
matter of connecting the projector to your home wi-fi network. Then you can
have access to a multitude of content, such as any of the streaming services.
And with the built-in Harmon Kardon speakers, you’ll have great quality sound
for your content.
The Viewsonic X10-4KE is also comfortable in a dedicated
home theater environment. For ease of installation, the X10-4KE has all of the
connection at the rear. The fans and speakers are built-in on the sides. The
bottom has holes for a ceiling mount. The front houses just the lens, which
uses a short throw auto focus and auto keystone system for ease of installation
and allows for an image size of up to 200 inches from only 11.5 feet away. And
thanks to the employment of the 2nd generation DLP 4K UHD chip, you
can enjoy 4K resolution, as well as HDR support.
Now for full disclosure, I wanted to provide some
clarification. The Viewsonic X10-4KE claims to be a 4K projector. While it is a
4K projector, it is not a true native 4k. The DLP chip uses 4-way pixel
shifting on a 1080P chip to display the 4K image. So while the image you see is
not from a true 4K chip, the chip is able to display a 4K image. And the
difference in image quality is supposed to be unnoticeable. I’ll admit, that the image did look great
with an increased resolution. But since
it does use pixel shifting, the photos we took with our digital camera do not
do the image justice. So just keep that in mind when you see the attached
photos.
The Viewsonic also has some other excellent features. It’s
designed to work with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, making some of the
controls super easy, such as power, volume and source switching, and more.
Viewsonic has their VcastSender app, which turns your smartphone into a remote
control, which is really cool! And of course, being Smart TV enabled to watch
your Netflix, YouTube, and other streaming services, is also really cool!
The Viewsonic proved to be a great performer. You mount the
projector, plug in the cords, and the projector does the rest. With its auto
keystone, and auto focus, it makes sure you have the best picture possible. I
was also impressed with the image. Colors were very dynamic and well saturated.
Skin tones looked very natural. The overall image was also very bright. With a
4K image, resolution was also very good with great detail. Shadow detail and
black levels were also good. Given its price point, most consumers would be
very happy with the image provided. And for those more disconcerting consumers,
there are internal settings to make adjustments to the picture for your liking.
The design also proved to be a bit of a double edge sword.
The optical system has no zoom. What this means is you are stuck with its
location if you have a set screen size that you want to fill. To fill the 100
inch screen in my theater room, there was only one spot for the projector, as
far as distance from the screen. The Autofocus system made for a super easy
installation, but it wasn’t perfect. It usually got the focus right, but there
were times when the focus was a little soft. There were times when the focus
was good at the bottom of the image, but a little soft at the top of the image.
There was a manual focus in the internal settings, but it didn’t help much.
Having said all that, it was still a minor effect, and the image was still
pleasant to watch.
Having sufficiently passed the theater room test, it was
time to test it in the family room, this is where the family really enjoyed it.
We are streamers, and the family especially likes Netflix. Thanks to the smart
home features, we were able to connect it to our home network through the
included wi-fi doggle, throw the image on the white wall and listen through the
built-in Bluetooth speakers. The
projector will display content thru the inputs on the back, mirroring from your
phone thru Bluetooth, or thru wifi with the apps that you can install thru the
Aptoide Store in the menus. The wifi
only seemed to work with the apps, but it does have the mirroring feature thru Bluetooth.
The Viewsonic X10-4KE impressed me more than I expected. It
wasn’t perfect, but did what it was designed to do very well. And I especially
enjoyed its portability with built-in handle, speaker, and wi-fi doggle!
Backyard parties are now in 4K! Based on its design, features quality and
performance, the Viewsonic X10-4KE has earned our Highly Recommended Award. For
more info and complete specs, check out their website at www.viewsonic.com. Reference system included RBH SI-663R, SI-760R,
SI-615, SI-1212, Onkyo TX-RZ920, Outlaw Audio 7000X, Emotiva BaseX-500, RBH
SA-500DSP, Helios AS-P-603W, modified SVS 16-46 PC Plus, Sony UBP-X700.
