ViewSonic PJ551D 2300 Lumen DLP XGA Projector

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.

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.