If you are looking for a big-screen entertainment experience you’re bound to put your money on a high-definition television set (HDTV) that also fits your budget. That would be the sensible thing to do.
But what if you were looking for a portable entertainment solution that you can not only carry around in your backpack but can also use to watch movies, sports or anything, without compromising on the big-screen experience.
This is where we thought of trying out the ViewSonic M1 projector to see whether it can really substitute an HDTV for your professional and entertainment purposes.
Let’s check it out.
Pros
- Portable
- Good battery life
- Smooth UI
Cons
- Average sound quality
- Clunky manual controls
What’s Good?
Hands down, portability will never be an issue with the M1 projector weighing in at 689 grams. The overall package might be a tad heavier when you add the power adapter and other accessories but still not a deal-breaker.
I was really impressed with the battery life on offer. From a full charge, I easily got more than 3 hours of run time with full brightness and the cooling fan running like a jet turbine. You can squeeze more usage from the projector if you turn the brightness down but then you’d be compromising on the image quality.
You get a handy remote that helps you navigate through the entire UI which is clutter-free and icons and instructions and laid out quite nicely.
You will struggle a bit if you are trying to navigate manually using the physical buttons so I recommend you keep fresh triple-A batteries around the house.
There are lots of ports and inputs that you can use to cast media. More often I used my Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus and my Mi Box 4K to stream content which went smoothly. I even connected my PlayStation 4 to the M1 via HDMI although I recommend you stick to TVs for gaming.
I was mightily impressed with the M1’s versatility which is exactly what you would want in your projector.
It also comes with automatic keystone which helps you set the frame so that you don’t have to struggle with balancing the device.
You also get regular USB input for pen drives, USB type-C and a memory card so there’s really no dearth of options. It supports most of the popular video formats including AVI and MP4. Oh, and there is also Wi-Fi connectivity available.
What’s Bad
Right off the bat, you won’t be satisfied with the picture quality on offer but in time it'll grow on you. It’s a bit of a grey area.
The M1 is a DLP LED projector with a resolution of 854x480 pixels, which to be frank is low for a device priced at almost 34,000 but a lot of the picture quality depends on the surface you are projecting the content on.
Make sure it’s a flat, light-coloured surface and the environment is dark. This way you will be able to get the best picture quality it can offer.
I was able to get a 60-inch display projection with a lot of pixelation from standard definition content but when I switched my streaming device to high definition the quality improved. I won’t give it an A+ but it managed to hold its own.
Sound quality (surprisingly) was an issue. Despite the fact that the M1 comes with Harman Kardon audio, the sound was not up to the mark which was disappointing. Yes, it was loud but there was no amount of bass which is why it would work best if you’re using it for professional presentations and not a movie night.
I was struggling with the focus dial as there were moments when the picture would by itself defocus and I had to manually correct it intermittently. Hope that was just an isolated hardware problem.
Verdict
The ViewSonic M1 checks a lot of the boxes in terms of portability and a diverse connectivity portfolio. It offers excellent battery life and the design is also ergonomically compatible with any environment, be it a professional setup or at home.
The sound quality could have been better and I feel that the ViewSonic M1 will struggle a bit in places where there would be a little light leaking into the room.
If you can compromise on that bit then at a retail price of Rs 33,900 online, the ViewSonic M1 is a good option for a portable media and entertainment device.