ViewSonic X2-4K Xbox Gaming Projector Review: For top-notch, big-screen console gaming
Pros
– Excellent picture quality
– Great colours out of the box
– Super bright lamp with a long life
– Very easy to set up
– Great colours, deep blacks and excellent contrast
– Good gaming performance at 240Hz, 4.2ms response at 1080P
Cons
– Limited connectivity ports (No USB-C, Ethernet)
– Does not support ARC or eARC. Limited audio options
Rating: 4.5/5
Price: Rs 3,25,000
Gaming on 55-inch or even 65-inch is awesome. But you know what’s even more awesome? Gaming on a 120-inch screen. With the new ViewSonic X2-4K Xbox Gaming Projector, that’s exactly what you’ll be doing.
Gaming projectors have been around for some time, but the ViewSonic X2-4K LED Projector truly stands out by targeting gaming consoles rather than PCs. As the world’s first Made For Xbox gaming projectors, including the X1-4K, ViewSonic’s new gaming projectors boasts a tonne of gaming-centric features tailored for console gaming.
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Having said that don’t let the unmistakable black and green design that screams Microsoft’s Xbox fool you — the X2-4K offers its core gaming features to the PS5 and PC ecosystem as well. You get 4K resolution, great and dynamic colours, solid HDR performance and blazing-fast 240Hz support, albeit with some major caveats.
Both models the X2-4K and the X1-4K, share similar features, with the main difference lying in their lens assemblies. Specifically, the X2-4K comes equipped with a short throw lens, whereas the X1-4K is designed as a long throw projector.
But what exactly does a ‘Designed for Xbox’ gaming projector entail, and more importantly, is it worth the price tag of Rs 3,25,000 that ViewSonic is asking for? Are the features that ViewSonic is pushing for the X2-4K, just fancy bells and whistles that are more creature comforts or are they meaningful in any way? We find out.
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ViewSonic X2-4K Xbox Review: Design and built
The Viewsonic X2-4K comes in black with green accents at the front, reminiscent of the Xbox Series X. It is one of the most compact 4K projectors I have tested, taking up minimal space.
The projector is mainly built using plastic. On the front panel of the ViewSonic X2-4K, we get the lens positioned on the right side, along with an IR sensor for the remote to the left. However, you don’t get a lens cover, which makes it a tedious task to keep the lens clean and scratch-free.
The remaining area of the front panel is for ventilation. You also get some pretty large vents on both, the left and right sides of the projector. This helps in ventilation, which has been done in a very clever manner. Even after hours of gaming and watching content, the fans stay pretty silent. It is only when you max out the brightness, that the fan gets a little loud.
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At the bottom, you get some nonadjustable feet, along with a folding kickstand which allows the projector to be tilted upward. We would have loved to see more conventional adjustable feet, rather than the stand. Additionally, you also get the option to mount this projector to the ceiling.
At the back of the X2-4K, you’ll find a recessed area housing various connectors and ports. In case you don’t want to use the included remote basic operation without the remote, essential control buttons are conveniently located on the top, inside a compartment of sorts with a sliding cover. You also have your dials inside this recessed compartment to manually set the zoom level, as well as focus.
Because this is a short throw projector, from a distance between 1.5 to 3 metres, you can easily get a screen that spans 60-120 inches, without any issues at all.
Coming back to the physical build of the projector, it is pretty compact and light for a 4K projector. It weighs just a hair over 3.5 kilos and is pretty compact to carry around when you’re trying to install it and set it up.
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The end result is that even after hours of usage, the projector stays pretty silent in most use cases. When you max out the brightness, the fan does get a little loud, but not enough that it should be of concern.
ViewSonic X2-4K Xbox Review: Inputs and ports
The Viewsonic X2-4K has a pretty versatile array of connections for a projector. It comes with two HDMI, one 2.0 and the other 1.4. You also get a USB-A 2.0 port, a USB-C port, a headphone jack, and for some bizarre reason, an RS-232 connector. Unfortunately, none of the HDMI ports supports ARC or eARC, which is a bummer.
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What’s interesting here is that because the X2-4K is designed for Xbox, you can actually control the projector using your Xbox Controller. That’s because the HDMI inputs support CEC or Consumer Electronics Control. Another cool aspect of the way ViewSonic has implemented HDMI here is that the projector switches on ALLM or Auto Low Latency Mode. This switches the X2-4K into its Ultra-Fast Input setting whenever you start up a game.
You also get a pretty solid and chunky-feeling remote control for the ViewSonic X2-4K which comes with a pretty standard layout for a projector. You get all your standard buttons like Power On/Off, Bluetooth control, Source selection, Settings, Mute, Volume adjustment, Play/Pause, and Forward/Backward navigation. You also get this D-pad and an “OK” button at the centre. for navigation.
ViewSonic X2-4K Xbox Review: Features and performance
Setting up the ViewSonic X2-4K projector is a breeze, thanks to X2-4K’s rather solid keystone correction technology. This allows you to place the projector at any angle from the wall, and still manage to get a pretty solid image, and almost perfect display. You can also automatically format the image into a perfectly shaped rectangular image, even if you set the projector slightly off-axis from the wall
You also get a lot of flexibility when it comes to screen sizes, as you can go up to a massive 120-inch screen, and possibly even larger, thanks to the projector’s 1.2X optical zoom. However, while researching the product for this review, we came across several users, serious projection enthusiasts who were able to get creative and stretch the image to up 205 inches.
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Coming to the colours, the ViewSonic X2-4K gives you various colour modes or presets to choose from, six to be exact. However, I found that I would always circle back to the Movie preset when watching any piece of content. And of course, during gaming sessions, I would go back to the Gaming preset. All the presets can be adjusted, but for my use case, I did not need to make any changes whatsoever, even against a wall that is painted with a light yellow colour, as opposed to a clean, white projection screen.
The projector’s LED light source can produce up to 2,000 ANSI Lumens of brightness for about 60,000 hours, making it suitable for use in various lighting conditions and notably brighter than most smart TVs, especially in HDR mode. The long lamp life is also a major plus.
In terms of image quality, the ViewSonic X2-4K delivers a sharp projection in 4K with great colour accuracy and a pretty commendable Dynamic Contrast Ratio of 3,000,000:1. In Games like F1 2023, PUBG, and CoD Warzone we got some really great details from the graphics. Plus, we also got solid and very realistic-looking reflections, and shadows.
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The X2-4K delivers very detailed visuals and has pretty accurate colours, especially when dealing with skin tones. Plus, you also get very impressive details in the shadows, even in dark areas.
After my initial testing for SDR content, I found the Movie mode offers the best colour accuracy, although most users should find the TV and Gaming modes more than satisfactory. While this change had no effect on brighter scenes, it notably improved shadow detail in darker scenes. Overall, the image quality was impressive for its price range, delivering solid color accuracy, and contrast, and handling shadow detail well in dark scenes.
When connecting to an Xbox, the projector recommends that we set it up in 4K setting, but I think going for 1440p at 120Hz offers a better and much smoother gaming experience, thanks to a better refresh rate and input lag. This is a key feature, as both the X2-4K and Xbox support 1440p resolution at 120Hz, which makes for a great gaming experience. In fact, at 240Hz, it can be as low as 4.2ms, which is very uncommon on projectors.
However, it’s worth noting that not all Xbox games run at 120Hz, and some may require enabling the FPS Boost feature. Additionally, some games may not support 120Hz with HDR turned on, so you’ll have to choose when you want to enable each of these.
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For serious gamers the standout feature of the ViewSonic X2-4K is its ability to run Xbox games at a smooth 120 frames per second, providing an incredibly immersive gaming experience. The increased refresh rate of 120Hz makes fast-paced action games feel more realistic, potentially improving reaction times for players. Basically, you get support for 4K up to 60Hz, 1440P or 2K at 120Hz, and 1080P at a mind-boggling 240Hz.
Moreover, the X2-4K isn’t limited to Xbox gaming; it seamlessly displays 1440p at 120Hz from other gaming devices, such as laptops equipped with powerful GPUs like the RTX 4070. Additionally, it offers support for a full 240Hz refresh rate at 1080p, catering to PC gamers with high-end GPUs, although this feature may seem redundant for Xbox users.
Coming to audio, the ViewSonic X2-4K projector houses two Harman/Kardon six-watt speakers within its unit, which is pretty loud enough to mask any noise from the fan. The bi-directional audio technology offers a more immersive audio experience. However, this effect may be diminished if the projector is positioned off-centre
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from the seating area.
As for external audio connectivity, the X2-4K features a single 3.5mm analogue jack. While this is suitable for connecting stereo speakers and headphones, users requiring more than two audio channels will find a digital audio output for a comprehensive audio setup.
ViewSonic X2-4K Xbox Review: Verdict
While the price tag of Rs 3.25 Lakhs seems high, the ViewSonic X2-4K falls into a mid-range category as a projector and has a solidly balanced combination of features without being overly expensive.
Its support for resolutions up to 4K and refresh rates of up to 240Hz, albeit with some compromises, makes it a compelling option for those seeking versatility. It is particularly ideal for gaming, thanks to its fast refresh modes and an input lag of 4.2ms in some cases. Not only does it do well against other projectors, but it even goes toe-to-toe with some of the best gaming monitors we have tested.
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Furthermore, the projector delivers really good image quality and it particularly is in a league of its own when you’re gaming on this at 1440P at 120Hz, striking a balance between higher resolution and reduced input lag. As for colours, it maintains decent contrast levels in both SDR and HDR modes, with dynamic LED options enhancing the viewing experience.
While we would have loved to see an Ethernet port and USB-C connectivity for external SSDs, these are minor drawbacks compared to its overall performance.
All in all, the ViewSonic X2-4K gets our stamp of approval for anyone who is looking for a short throw projector 4K projector, who will primarily use this for gaming. If, however, short throw distance is not a priority, there are other projectors that are just as good as the X2-4K but cost slightly less.