Let's establish this right away: The ViewSonic LX60HD is a consumer projector. It is not the permanent projector for your boardroom or auditorium. That said, it is a "smart" projector with some features (and a very reasonable $339.99 list price) that make it an attractive option for small multi-use areas, and it's portable enough to recruit for company events or backyard movies.
The LX60HD weighs less than 10 pounds and is smaller than the box from my most recent pair of sneakers. It ships with a power cable, remote control (with batteries), and a quick start guide. There is no lens cap or carrying case, though the recessed lens offers some protection against the errant bump during transport. You'll have to supply any source connecting cables.
This is a fixed lens unit, so there's no built-in zoom and you won't be swapping out a short-throw lens. The LX60HD also has a sealed optical engine, so as long as you don't abuse the thing, you can expect about 20,000 hours of projected content. That equates to 40 hours a week for almost a decade.
The LX60HD has an RGB LED light source, not laser like many of today's projectors, and a single-chip LCD projection system. As far as projected images go, it offers 630 ANSI lumens and can project a screen size of up to 140 inches. With a 1.2 throw ratio, you can fill a 70-inch screen from about 6 feet away or a 100-inch screen from a little less than 9 feet away. That'll work for a presentation or a watch party.
An adjustable foot allows for a slightly higher projection angle, while a tripod hole lets you mount the projector temporarily or permanently. There's also a Kensington lock slot, which can discourage theft for more permanent installs.
Built-In Entertainment
When you first turn on the projector, you'll have to do some basic startup tasks, such as choosing your language and country. After that, you can set up Google TV to provide access to a variety of streaming services. Setup time will be determined by how many streaming services you add and, of course, the speed of your internet connection.
You're not limited to streaming—the LX60HD has an HDMI input, so you can connect your laptop or game system, and a 3.5mm AV port for connecting video cameras or other components. Two USB ports allow you to connect external storage or peripherals like a keyboard and/or mouse.
The LX60HD features impressive auto focus and auto keystone. You can adjust it manually, but I was very satisfied with the results from the projector. There are a handful of color modes and a manual mode to adjust the image to your preferences. The remote's D-pad makes menu navigation fairly intuitive. File management is a bit more ponderous, but you can fill about 4 GB of local storage with pictures, movies, and other media.
Integrated speakers mean you won't have to use external speakers. The two 5W speakers are just OK, but there are two settings, movie or music, to provide some minor audio adjustment. Movie mode provided better spoken word intelligibility in my tests. There's also a 3.5mm jack and Bluetooth, so I was able to connect my JBL Flip 4 portable speaker both ways and get much better audio results.
The Brightness Battle
As regular readers know, I often expose products I'm evaluating to challenging (read: ridiculous) environments to see how they perform. For the LX60HD, I decided to see how well it could project content on a big white wall. In my garage. Right next to a 4-foot window in the middle of the afternoon.
Surprisingly, the projector delivered reasonably well with reasonably bright content. Projecting from about 9 feet away, PowerPoint slides were washed out but readable. Video results varied wildly: Bright scenes from the first episode of Reacher were OK, but dark scenes from Back to the Future Part III were basically unwatchable.
In a more realistic dim room (light enough to see, too dark to read), I streamed Pulp Fiction and it looked good when projected from 6 feet away. The LX60HD also performed well with some of the darker scenes from Timecop at the same distance. (Have I mentioned how much I like the built-in Google TV?) As you'd expect from a low-brightness projector, the LX60HD output looks significantly better as the room gets darker. When I shut off the lights, the images looked really good.
What you think about the LX60HD is directly tied to your expectations. The speakers will not blow you away and the brightness is not very bright. Also, ViewSonic confirmed the fan noise is 40dB, which is certainly not loud, but it is noticeable.
Those are some pretty potent cons—so, what's the professional appeal? If brightness isn't your top concern, the LX60HD might just carve out a niche in your office. If you're using it in a room with limited light, such as a break room or a small multi-purpose space, you should be pleasantly surprised with the results, particularly the Full HD resolution (many inexpensive professional models offer more brightness but less resolution). Also, the integrated Google TV and built-in storage make it easy to access plenty of content without relying on external devices and cables. The LX60HD delivers versatility and pretty pictures at a reasonable price.
