ViewSonic PX706HD Gaming Projector Review – Summary

ViewSonic PX706HD Gaming Projector Review – Summary: Summary, Pros, Cons

The ViewSonic PX706HD is a 1080p (1920 x 1080) gaming projector claiming 3,000 lumens – it nearly hit claim, measuring in at 2,972 lumens in Brightest Mode. All other modes came in at around 2,000 lumens, with its least bright best mode, Movie, measuring a respectable 1,833 lumens. All modes are bright enough to handle some ambient light, such as what is found in a typical living room. As always, though, it’s best to at least try to fully darken your room, unless you plan on using the ugly, “break glass in case of emergency mode,” Brightest. This is a $785.99 DLP projector designed specifically for gaming.

ViewSonic claims the PX706HD has an input lag of 16ms, and it measured close to claim – 16.4ms. This is about as good as it gets with projectors! Acceptable lag times range from 16ms to 50ms, with 50ms or a little bit higher being acceptable to all but the most hardcore, high-speed gamers. 33ms to 40ms is pretty good. The ViewSonic measured at 33ms without 3X Fast Input on, which translates to just over one frame behind on a 30fps game, and 2 frames on a 60fps game. That’d be fine for most people, but if you’re a serious gamer, you’ll want to turn on 3X Fast Input before starting up your gaming session to get that 16.4ms lag.

In addition to being ideal for gaming, the PX706HD has some other notable special features. It is extremely portable, and would easily fit in a backpack. This is useful for if you want to pack up your projector and bring it over to a friend’s place for a gaming or Netflix binge-sesh so that they can enjoy the big screen experience. It’s also 3D ready, so if you want to pop in a 3D movie, you can do that, too. You’ll just want to pick up a couple pairs of DLP Link Active Shutter 3D Glasses, which can be found online for under $30 a pair. The projector has PC-free presenting via PCs, Macs, and smartphones, so projecting your vacation photos and videos, or even a presentation at school or work, will be super easy on this ViewSonic.

The ViewSonic PX706HD offers a simple panel of inputs and connections on the rear of the unit, but everything you need for your home entertainment/gaming purposes. There are Audio In and Audio-Out inputs, dual HDMI ports, a USB-C port, a VGA connector, an RS-232 port for “old school” command and control, a Mini-USB input, and a yellow Component Video (RCA) port for legacy video game systems and other old-school video devices. That’s not a huge amount of connections, but it’s still plenty for the primary use and its price point. All in all, the ViewSonic PX706HD is a fine home entertainment projector for gaming, movies, TV shows, and sports, and at a great price point!

• Wish Gaming Mode’s color was a little better – it’s not bad, but Standard looks better and more true to color
• Remote is not backlit (typical of this price point, but we can hope, can’t we?)