Customer Reviews

ViewSonic PJ551D 2300 Lumen DLP XGA Projector

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I scoured the internet looking for reviews for this projector. didn't find much. I took a chance and bought it, and I do not regret it at all. Even on my living room wall, this thing looked fantastic. Then I added a screen and it looks beautiful. I hooked up my xbox 360 and played Bioshock on an 85" screen. I can't see pixels until I walk right up to the screen <36". No rainbowing effect unless I move my eyes quickly across the screen and I'm tired; but this is true for any dlp projector I think.

Pros: Inexpensive. Plenty bright, even with moderate light on eco mode. Colors look great, deep and rich. nice contrast. Keystone correction very nice to have.. didn't think I'd use it, but I did. . Manual zoom and focus are clutch.

Cons: single VGA input. not native HD (1280x720), but who cares? it still looks awesome.

Overall, I haven't seen anything touch the value of this projector: 3 year warranty (1 yr bulb), I got it with a free MIR replacement lamp... Are you kidding me? For an LCD or plasma tv I would've payed twice as much for a screen half the size.

***Edit Update*** I've had this projector for nearly a year now and nearly 500 lamp hours on it and it's still going strong, haven't had a single problem with it. I now have a PS3 hooked up to it and it looks great playing blu-rays. I've constantly wondered if I should have gotten a 1080p LCD tv instead, but honestly, I have friends with 1080p 120hz Sony Bravias playing HD cable and a PS3, and for 1/3 the price they paid, I have a bigger screen that looks very similar. No kidding, for gaming and video, this thing looks great and I'd put it up next to any HD TV. The only downside is you have to get the setup right, which can be tough getting the projector in the right place since that is where you want to sit basically. Also, it has to be dark to really appreciate the picture. At night there's no problem, just turn off the lights, but during the day, you're going to want to have some hefty blinds, especially if you're gaming, because dark scenes become very hard to discern if there is ambient light. I ended up putting up a second set of shades with tin foil between them on the two windows in my projector room. Cheap and effective, but unfortunately necessary.

The setup: 1) If you want to feed this projector HD content, you have to use the VGA input. Period. For this I acquired a component to VGA adapter like this 12ftVGA to 3 RCA component video cable (HD15 - 3-RCA) and then you'd have to get something like this Component Video 3 RCA Female to Female Coupler
If you want to feed multiple HD sources like I do, get a good receiver with component switching. I bought this Onkyo for example: Onkyo TX-SR575 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Black)
I use the receiver to manage all of my input components. If you want to feed HDMI, make sure you get a receiver that can channel HDMI to component output, I don't know of any models that do this off the top of my head. But if you're like me on a budget, then you know that component looks just a good and you will use that instead because it's easier in this setup.
Lastly, if you want to hook a PC up to this thing as well as the rest, get a KVM switch, this being one example TRENDnet TK-209K 2-Port USB KVM Switch Kit with Audio (Includes 2x KVM Cables)

I hope that all helps. Enjoy the big picture.

I look at the internet for the review of this projector (ViewSonic PJ551D), but I could not find any detailed review. So I look at similar products reviews, since specifications are nearly same for ~2300 lumens XGA DLP projectors. My motivations to by this projector are its cheap price, mail in rebate free replacement lamp (look for detailed information on http://www.viewsonic.com) (cost about 220$), 3 year device warranty, and 1 year original lamp warranty.

Up to now, I use the projector to watch film by connecting to my laptop. I use the projector in living room's white wall. The size of the image on the wall is about 100". With that size, light intensity of the image is enough to watch film with one 40 Watt bulb is ON at other corner of the room even if the projector is in "eco" mode. Also the contrast is good, so that in the above condition (100", single lamp ON) black strips are not visible. Also the pixels are not noticeable from a distance above 50". Light uniformity seems good. I test it using uniform white image and there is no noticeable dark or light areas in the projected image. I can not see any rainbowing effect while watching film (But if I try to see them by moving my eyes rapidly, yes I can see it.). Also I watch film about 10 hours in a single day and I don't have any eye fatigue or headache.

Pros:
- Inexpensive, it worth for the money.
- Free lamp (for now mail in rebate till 30 September 2008)
- 4000 Hour lamp life in "eco" mode (become standard in new generation projectors)
- 3 year warranty
- 1- 1.1 zoom and focus
- 2000:1 contrast ratio (same for DLP projectors but good compared to LCD projectors)

Cons:
- Limited input (D-Sub 15pin, S-Video, Composite-Video) but it is enough for me.
- No speaker (Even if there is a build in speaker, I prefer to use my laptop speaker instead of it)
- More noisy than LCD type projectors with similar lumen value (about ~3dB). But it is not effect the experience when I am away from the projector about 2 meters in "eco" mode.
- In "standby" mode its fan works about 2 seconds for every 1 hour.
- It is not a native wide display. (Black strips are not disturbing for me and I use this area for subtitles)

nice compact size projector with a rich colorful very bright contrast filled picture great warranty and received rebate for free replacement lamp. stayed up all last night playing call of duty 4 on the xbox 360 projected on living room wall and was blown away cant imagine how it would be with a screen. for the price you really cant find anything better, and did i mention 3500hrs lamp life on bright and 4000hrs on eco mode. some setup limitations due to limited zoom but is not a problem am totally satisfide with this purchase.

The projector arrived quickly, and in one piece. It was very easy to set up (I didn't bother reading the instructions), and worked right away with my Mac (you do need a DVI-to-analog converter cable for Mac). The projected image is bright, with good colors and contrast. The set-up menu is easy enough to use, but does use some cryptic names for items. The only time I've needed the menu is to adjust keystone; all other settings default to what you want.

I've found that the bulb isn't quite strong enough to project a 5' x 5' image in full daylight in a room that has a lot of windows; we had to scoot the screen a little closer to the projector.

Be aware this projector (like most) doesn't have any sound. If you want to play DVDs, use a laptop computer and computer speakers (USB-powered is best -- no battery issues).

Finally, the projector comes with a very small remote control for accessing the menus & controlling the projector (you can do all that from the top panel of the project). The IR receiver for the remote is in the front of the projector, and seems to only work if you are almost directly in front of the projector. It doesn't work from the sides, and definitely not from the back. That's the only real flaw I've noticed after over a month's use.

Bought this for great price and free replacement bulb, but had several frustrating days trying to get it up and running on a Vista Computer (it worked fine right out of the box with the XPs in the house).

I had to do a restore on the Vista computer because the projector has an installation disk that installs "drivers" even though you don't really need them and that was the issue in the whole process -those "drivers" did all sorts of mucking about the Vista computer's system. Don't bother to use the installation CD on Vista except to read the manual (which isn't included in a paper format).

Once it was working it has a nice clear picture and seems as if it will do the job. But, getting to this point was a tad frustrating...not for the easily frightened or easily frustrated computer user. (My own computer user ranking is "almost nerd" which means I know exactly enough to be dangerous.)

This is my first projector, although I'd tried 2 others that I borrowed from church and work. This is also my first experience with HiDef. At first, I connected it with the yellow composite conection, and the picture needed to be toned down, reducing the brightness of the white that was blown out with the factory setting and increasing the sharpness. The picture was just "ok", but of course huge. S Video gave similar results. Hooking it up to a laptop to watch a DVD though, was INCREDIBLE! Using the vga connection @ 1024x768 looked absolutely amazing. Then to top it all off, using a home made breakout cable following instructions online (http://myhometheater.homestead.com/vgacable.html)
with rca jacks, cat 5 cable and a 3$ radio shack part, I connected the FIOS set top box using component to vga, and was impressed even more with 1080i. I can't go back to standard def now. Hi Def on the wall, 8' across has incredible WOW effect. Painted wall is excellent, or a screen if you don't have 8' of clear wall space. The amount of detail revealed was unexpected. Absolutely amazing. Grass, clothing texture, jewelry details, dust and smudges on prop surfaces, were suddenly revealed. A lit room seems good, until all the lights are turned out, and then serious enjoyment ensues. Totally amazed. Others have been impressed with it's contrast and brightness compared to older, more expensive projectors they'd seen before. I got it for just $499 on Amazon, and it had a rebate from viewsonic for a free bulb. Awesome deal. The only con I know of after a month, is it requires a relatively long "throw." It's practically a 2:3 ratio. If you want an 8' screen, you have to be 12' away. The zoom funtion merely allows for fine tuning of the size, to perfectly match the edge of your target once you get close to its dimensions. This has been the biggest consideration as I choose where to mount it based on my room's size. Other projectors have had shorter throw distances. I accept this con in consideration of the price to performance ratio. I've never noticed the fan noise while viewing. Shut down time is fast. My remote works very responsively. My intended use was for family movie nights, so I don't miss a built in speaker, as it would be inferior anyway. As for presentation quality, I can easily read web pages, emails, and documents. Pdf's are illegible if the screen's set to "read one page at a time." I'm not sure yet how much bigger I can go beyond 8' and still get a good picture, since I don't have a big enough surface to project against yet.

Update: Dec. 26th still going strong. I notice some delay in detecting my laptop's VGA input (actually XGA I think, but using "VGA" cable). Could just as well be my laptop's fault. Actively clicking on items (like desktop items, web pages) seems to hasten detection vs. just waiting "patiently." I think it's always been this way, I've just become more familiar with what I'm supposed to do and what it's supposed to do. Delay can be up to 90 secs. worst case. Faster detection with video source. I've used it every day for the past 2 weeks, and it's still wonderful.
Anything with dark scenes, like some PC gaming or most movies requires at least dimmed lights. Page / bright presentation viewing (like business use or web surfing) can easily be done with full ambient light, no problem.

This is an excellent projector for the office environment. It is very bright, quiet fan operation, excellent display color. However, you need to also order a case or put it in an old laptop case.

It works as advertised. Be aware of the following, though:

1. The only leveling adjustment is on the front single leg. If you have level it in the back to make it align with a screen, you will need paper shims.

2. The only leveling adjustment is on the front single leg, and the front leg is only adjustable in increments. I had to use a paper shim on the front leg to get fine adjustments.

3. It is bright, but the colors at default settings are not particularly well balanced - white is very white, but yellow is kind of dark, not clean and bright.

Having said all this, I recommend this projector as a good economy projector. I purchased this for use at church, and it works for that purpose. Not sure how it would do on video feeds. I would purchase it again, knowing what I know. As long as someone does not bump the projector or the platform it is on, you don't need to set the level every day.

This projector is an excellent value. I spent a month trying to decide whether to buy a 32" LCD or a projector. I made my decision and am very happy. For the same price of a 32" LCD i have a 90" screen in my living room that's clear and bright.
With all the lights on in my apartment the image is still bright and very visible.
The only problem is direct sunlight makes is hard to see.
Other than that this is one of my favorite purchases...

We are using the projector in our theater room and it works great. We have a screen about 4' X 8' and the picture is clear and very enjoyable. It is not HD, but the quality is plenty good for us.