Viewsonic PJD5523w review

Viewsonic’s latest DLP projector has a 1,280×800 resolution, so it’s not quite the 16:9 aspect ratio we’re used to on most TVs, but it can still play 720p HD content without scaling – simply by leaving the top and bottom 40 lines blank. It’s really a business or school projector, though, and with a brightness of 2,700 lumens it’s ideally suited to office environments with strong lighting, but as with many such ‘cross-over’ projectors, its ability to play HD and 120Hz 3D content is given headline prominence.

You get a wide choice of inputs, including two VGA ports, composite and S-Video and an HDMI port. The VGA ports can also accept component inputs, if you have the correct converter cable – it’s not included in the box. Audio can be input either via HDMI or a 3.5mm jack, and there’s also a 3.5mm audio output – the PJD5523w’s single internal speaker is clear but not very loud.

Even in its choice of ports, the PJD5523w has a split personality. There are mounting points underneath to mount it on the ceiling, and a proper RS232 port for remote control functions – ideal for a home cinema setup. Meanwhile, you also get a mini-USB input port that can be used for mouse control in presentations. There’s no USB or memory card slot for reading presentations from flash drives, however, and it’s worth noting that the PJD5523w doesn’t include a carry case.

There are a couple of things to bear in mind when deciding whether you want to buy the PJD5523w. First of all, despite its home cinema capabilities, it’s a noisy projector, so not ideal for watching movies unless it’s mounted out of the way or you have a beefy sound system to drown it out. This is mostly due to the loud fan, which blows hot air from a vent on the front. The case above this vent also gets quite hot.

Secondly, even with a 6-colour, 7,200rpm colour wheel, the rainbow effect will still annoy those who are more susceptible to it, especially in black-and-white or dark scenes with occasional flashes of light. In colour scenes it’s much less visible, and if you’re used to DLP you’ll probably find it hard to spot.

Its 2,700 lumens brightness is ideal for brightly-lit offices, on the other hand, and we were amazed at the PJD5523w’s ability to project under harsh fluorescent lighting. Presentations look great, with crisp text and good contrast in images, although colours were slightly dulled. The PC or Brightest image presets are best here, whereas for home movies you’ll want to choose the ViewMatch mode, as Movie is far too dark even with all the lights out. ViewMatch mode produced the most accurate colours, but was slightly too dark for use in our bright office.

The remote and menu system are fairly crude, both in design and function, but they do the job. Image controls are disabled for the presets, but two User settings allow you to change brightness, contrast, colour temperature, white intensity and gamma. We found the manual settings – especially colour temperature – resulted in drastic changes, and for once we found the presets provided balanced settings that catered for specific situations, such as a dark living room or a bright office.

For those tempted by the promise of 3D, a word of warning. “3D Ready” doesn’t mean you can connect the PJD5523w and start watching movies in 3D. You’ll have to buy a separate 3D processor, the VP3D1, for around £280, along with compatible active-shutter glasses, and you’ll need a 3D-capable Blu-ray player as well.

Having said that, the PJD5523w’s versatility makes it quite attractive. It’s most at home in the office, but it’s also dying for you to take it home to watch movies with the family on the weekends, if you can put up with its noise and heat. Lamp costs of 3p/hour make it reasonably cheap to run, and at under £600 it’s good value.

Epson’s three-LCD EH-TW450 is around the same price and better if you are susceptible to DLP’s rainbow effect, but its short throw means you’ll also have to place it carefully to avoid too large an image, whilst the BenQ W600 is less expensive as a home cinema projector, but lacks office-friendly tools such as mouse support. If you need the best of both worlds, the PJD5523w is good value, so it wins our Business Buy award.