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Viewsonic PLED-W800 Portable LED Projector – Summary 2

Posted on December 12, 2014 By Art Feierman

PLED-W800 PROJECTOR REVIEW – SUMMARY2:  The Bottom Line, Features / Pros, Cons

The Bottom Line

The PLED-W800 is definitely one of the better large pocket LED projectors we’ve reviewed to date. It is also well priced with the street pricing in the $650-$700 range.

Special_InterestI’m pleased to award the Viewsonic PLED-W800 a Special Interest award.  It was a tough call.  I considered this award, or our slightly “higher” Hot Product award.  The key difference though between the two awards is not really one of better or worse, but of potential audience.  That is, if the W800 had a couple/few more features to reach an even wider potential market, such as some respectable color controls (never mind that it does have some very good color), 3D, perhaps 1080p native resolution, and so on.

On the other hand it may have the most capable collection media players of any of these projectors we’ve reviewed. Between the USB and SD card presenting, the 2 Gig of onboard storage for files, the optional Wifi dongle, the smarts to stream videos etc., that’s a lot of features.   The MHL on the HDMI port let’s you work with smart devices such as Roku and Goggle Chromecast sticks, and some Android devices, to even further expand capabilities.  And the W800 supports USB display as well as HDMI and Computer inputs.

In other words, if you need really small and light, and do presentations or have other “non-home” uses, and want to leave your computer behind, this projector has to be on your very short list. Between built in and downloadable software, I can’t think of another projector that supports more video, photo, and general file types including Microsoft office files, pdfs, and a whole lot more.

The value proposition in terms of picture quality, brightness, warranty and more is better than most of the competition.  In other words, if your requirements are met by the Viewsonic, it’s likely one of the best values out there.  While we’re talking value proposition, this Viewsonic, I believe has the best warranty of any of these small LED projectors.  Not only do you get a three year warranty when most of the competition is serving up one year, or two, but it comes with a first year rapid replacement program.  Score a big one for “peace of mind”.

Certainly the PLED-W800 is extremely portable.  Yet it’s got enough brightness to be a serious presenting projector for those sticking to small to medium sized audiences. Not enough “horsepower” to tackle a room with 200, but with decent lighting control, 50 people should work well.

At home it should prove to be a very capable gaming projector, even for very serious gamers.  And it will work very nicely though no match for a home “theater” projector, for your home entertainment, be it sports, general HDTV or movie viewing. On that note, find some bigger sound if you are watching most movies.

Bring it home and it should be very good gaming projector – even for serious gamers. And it will work nicely as a home entertainment projector.  No, its picture quality isn’t up to a good $1500+ home theater projector, but for “home entertainment” translating to less critical viewing, in a less ideal room, it will perform.

All considered, the PLED-W800 is impressive in its performance for such a small, lightweight and mobile projector. It’s flexible – home, business, education, gaming, and even digital signage, thanks to its 30,000 hour light source!  If you don’t need something it lacks (such as 3D or higher native resolution), it’s definitely one of the best of these LED projectors in the class.

Pros and Features

  • Extremely portable and light weight
  • 30,000 LED light engine
  • Very respectable 481 lumens in best mode
  • Good color right out of the box
  • USB and SD Card Slot
  • HDMI port supports MHL for “smart” capabilities
  • Built in media player supports wide range of formats
  • 2 Gig of internal memory for media player
  • Two 2 watt speakers – very good for this size projector
  • Media streaming
  • Screen mirroring
  • Optional Wifi dongle
  • Supports USB display
  • Auto or manual keystone correction
  • Good menus (main)
  • Great media player menus
  • Good choice for small digital signage applications
  • Great for gaming thanks to minimal input lag
  • Tripod screw thread on bottom
  • Excellent warranty
  • Carry case
  • Very good value proposition
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Cons

  • No Color controls
  • No zoom lens (typical for this class of projector)
  • Separate power brick instead of built in
  • Audio out turns off internal speaker instead of giving the user the option
  • No savable settings
  • Remote not backlit
  • Wifi optional, not built in
Viewsonic PLED-W800 Portable LED Projector Review: Summary
ViewSonic PLED-W800 Portable LED Projector Review – Specifications