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Viewsonic Pro8200 -- it exists.

165K views 1K replies 172 participants last post by  plplplpl 
#1 ·
I had a thread about a month ago asking about whether the Viewsonic Pro8200 was real or not. Well, in the interim I bought a BenQ W1000+ from PP and had problems with the first unit (and the replacement) displaying an HDMI image. Those problems are documented in the W1000 thread, so you can look that up if you wish. Ultimately, both BenQ projectors went back to PP and I found that the Viewsonic Pro8200 was shipping, so I got one.


I have about 30 minutes of viewing and here's a quick rundown:

Good

MUCH better colors / picture than the BenQ. I don't have all the technical terms to describe the difference, but it's a much more dynamic picture, brighter colors and it seems "faster" in its handling of action scenes.


Also much better fleshtones, the BenQ always looked posterized.

Bad

It's a bit louder than the BenQ. Actually, louder may be wrong, it's got a two-note noise to it. The fan is a little bit lower in frequency, but you can also hear the color wheel spin. The BenQ had a higher frequency fan-only noise. Neither one is noticeable at any time other than paused / no sound situations, though.


It doesn't seem to have a perfect 16:9 image. The BenQ and my previous InFocus IN72 both filled my DIY 120" 16:9 screen to within 1/4" of the edges, they were that close to perfect. The Pro8200 has a total of about 3" on the top/bottom parts of the screen that are not hit when the image is touching the left/right borders.


The lighted remote is a joke. Yes, the perimeter of the buttons light up, great... however, the button labels are not lit at all, so you have to operate by feel, anyway. Not a big issue, I'll program my URC to handle the projector anyway, I was just surprised at how bad a design that was.


Also on the design note -- the lens cover is nice, but both the front ViewSonic label and the name on the lens cover are upside down when the unit is ceiling mounted. It just looks bad.


So I'm off to get this thing more dialed in, overall I'm absolutely happy that the BenQs didn't work out, this looks like a much better projector with a better picture, can't ask for more than that!
 
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#77 ·
I contacted them last week... They told me they had no idea if an updated firmware will be out soon.


They did suggest a temporary solution-

"Press USER 1 on the remote before powering off the projector and settings should be stored"


I just finished mounting the projector on the ceiling. I really hope the above tip works, otherwise I'll end up having an upside down image everytime I use the projector (ridiculous).

Let me know if the "USER 1" trick works on your unit.


I will post any news I receive from Viewsonic (if they bother to respond).


Good luck everyone, lets hope for the best.
 
#78 ·
Wow, I'm glad I didn't title this thread "Viewsonic Pro8200 -- it exists. And it's great." !!!


I have not had any issue with mine saving its settings, but I've made sure that I haven't changed them. I use primarily the "Dark Room" setting or "Theater" and haven't had any resets.


It's disappointing to see that we have a repeatable issue that is being ignored.
 
#79 ·
Guys,

Check out Art's blog at projector reviews.

He's been told by Viewsonic that they plan to exchange/upgrade projectors that have certain issues. So far it appears just HDMI and audio issues.

I suggest that all of us with these and other PRO8200 problems start contacting Viewsonic again and often. This looks like the first crack in the dam and they are starting to admit and at least now attempt to correct some of this projectors issues.
 
#80 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by GodzillaTheHunn /forum/post/19906397


Guys,

Check out Art's blog at projector reviews.

He's been told by Viewsonic that they plan to exchange/upgrade projectors that have certain issues. So far it appears just HDMI and audio issues.

I suggest that all of us with these and other PRO8200 problems start contacting Viewsonic again and often. This looks like the first crack in the dam and they are starting to admit and at least now attempt to correct some of this projectors issues.

Wow. From his blog:

3. Static or sound from an hdmi input coming through the projector's speaker, when the projector is turned off!


Mine did the same thing. Previously I said a family member had a system reset when he turned the power off, he said that he couldn't get the sound to stop coming out of the projector, even with the unit off. I thought something was really strange, now I know it's a known bug.


Good to know, I'll be calling Viewsonic too, and getting on the list for whatever fix comes... hopefully I get a unit that is as good as this first one, I've got nothing but good to say about the picture I see from this unit.
 
#81 ·
No official response from the support team yet.

Pressing the "User 1" button before powering off the projector doesn't seem to prevent the memory loss.


I have also noticed that my unit tends to shut down out of nowhere after the famous "reset" takes place (next time I turn it on it displays an image for a few minutes and then abruptly turns off).


I will contact them again next week.
 
#82 ·
#83 ·
I think they are referring to 3D as being possible if this add on is purchased:


VP3D1 - a processor that can take 3D TV, film and gaming content into a format that can be displayed natively on its 3D projector range.


Techradar have the press release...


Can't post the link as apparently i'm a possible spammer until I have made 3 posts!!


3D but if my knowledge of HDMI is correct only @ 1080i as 1.3 compliant connectors on the Pro8200?


I might be interested as 3d would look much better at 100in than 47in



Anyone else tempted?
 
#85 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by ro2207
No official response from the support team yet.

Pressing the "User 1" button before powering off the projector doesn't seem to prevent the memory loss.


I have also noticed that my unit tends to shut down out of nowhere after the famous "reset" takes place (next time I turn it on it displays an image for a few minutes and then abruptly turns off).


I will contact them again next week.
I've given the User 1 trick a few attempts as well, but it's not helping mine either.

I've had the shutdown happen to me maybe 6-10 times, and the factory reset at least 20-25 times.

Viewsonic tech support are still saying that this problem has been "escalated", whatever that means, as there is still no fix yet. All of my communication so far has been via email, I've finally got a day off so I am going to attempt calling them today and see if any change to their stance, I'll report back soon.

Art's review is interesting, the suggested tweaks sure made the image even better(and it was pretty good to begin with!). Too bad he didn't touch a bit more on the documented problems with this product.

I just wish that this projector was functioning properly as I am very happy with it when it is running as intended.

Has anyone else contacted Viewsonic on Art's reported upgrade/exchange that Viewsonic was offering on projector's with problems?
 
#86 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by GodzillaTheHunn /forum/post/19936998


Art's review is interesting, the suggested tweaks sure made the image even better(and it was pretty good to begin with!). Too bad he didn't touch a bit more on the documented problems with this product.

Agreed.

Quote:
I just wish that this projector was functioning properly as I am very happy with it when it is running as intended.

Has anyone else contacted Viewsonic on Art's reported upgrade/exchange that Viewsonic was offering on projector's with problems?

I'm at the email phase, with VS saying "send it in for an RMA." They need to just open up, admit the issues (that enough of us have documented) and tell us how they're going to address it.
 
#87 ·
Viewsonic hasnt given me a timely answer either and I was facing a cutoff date of being eligible to return the unit to the retailer. I sent my defective unit back to the retailer for replacement. I figure I will just keep doing that until I get a working unit and/or Viewsonic addresses the problem directly. Now I am without a project while the replacement unit is being shipped.
 
#90 ·
Anyone had the "Jump/skip" problem referred to in the recent review on techradar - dot - com?



(Being a newbie I cannot post direct URLs yet)


FYI: I am looking at this for part business (small group presentations) and Home (I get to 'store' projector at home)


Budget has to stay under $ 1000.00


Any thoughts (this unit or any other)
 
#91 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by MrBluesman /forum/post/19970136


Anyone had the "Jump/skip" problem referred to in the recent review on techradar - dot - com?

Not completely sure what they mean by "panning skip", but the first time I used the Pro8200 I did notice the image motion was -sometimes- not as smooth as the image projected by my AX200.

Of course, one is DLP while the other uses LCD technology.


The first time I auditioned a DLP projector, I visited a local store that had the Optoma HD20 set up and displaying the "Avatar" bluray.

My initial impression was that the image lacked a bit of smoothness.

Some scenes looked as if the BD player was in a sort of "slow motion mode".


I'm not sure if this is a recurrent matter with sub $1000 DLP projectors, but I have noticed it *occasionally* and it doesn't bother me frequently enough. As a side note, I watched the Superbowl in HD this weekend with some friends and everyone had nothing but good compliments to say about my Pro8200.


This weekend my unit also went through 2 factory resets. For the first time I heard voices coming from the PJ's speakers even though it was OFF.

This seems to be caused by the audio carried via the HDMI port and can be "prevented" by turning on "Green Mode" on the settings menu (according to Art). Of course, that's a temporary fix until the projector resets again.


Finally, I'm sad to report yet one more issue... The projector seems to briefly loose connection while playing a bluray every once in a while.

The logo white screen appears for around a sec and then it automatically reconnects.

It happened around 7 times during the 2 hour movie.

This might have something to do with my particular setup, but I will appreciate if other users are having similar HDMI issues to report back (before I upgrade my BD player's firmware or mess with anything else).


I think the problem has something to do with the HDMI Deep Color feature - I had it turned off before the problems started.


Lets hope we hear good news from VS soon.
 
#94 ·
I RMA'd mine back to the retailer. They replaced it with another defective unit. This one not only has the reset and HDMI audio problems, but also the 12v trigger doesn't work. 6 days ago, I emailed Viewsonic again reminding them that it had been 21 days since last contact. They replied and said they would followup. So far, no new news.


-Jason
 
#95 ·
I've been experiencing repeated factory resets since day 1. VS wants me to send mine in for repair/exchange, but I was hesitant thinking that they would send me a refurbished proj that was originally experiencing the same issues. It appears that may be what they are doing. I was in a back and forth with their technical support desk for a while, last I heard the issue was being "escalated" and they would contact me with an update.....that was almost a month ago. In my opinion VS has had more than enough time to address this problem but appear not interested in supporting their product at all.


I was hoping Costco would start carrying this projector again so I could exchange it directly through them for another PRO8200 that works as intended, but nothing so far. 1 month to go in my return policy with Costco...looks like it's going back to Costco in exchange for the Optoma. Too bad really, when the projector is working properly, I'm quite happy with it. But the repeated reset problem and VS's non-support of their brand new product is not acceptable.
 
#99 ·
ProjectorCentral.com released their review a few weeks ago... Under "Advantages and Limitations" they mention the following:

Default to Full Lamp Power. Once you put the unit into eco-mode, it won't stay there once you power off the projector. Each time you turn it on, you need to reset the lamp to eco-mode if that is your desired operating mode.


I doubt VS would send a defective unit for review if they already had a solution.


They need to A: formally acknowledge the problem B: offer their customers a proven solution.


If this is not a hardware related problem, they should save us from all the hassle of returning the unit by releasing a firmware upgrade that we can perform at home.


Full review: http://www.projectorcentral.com/view...nd-Limitations
 
#101 ·
Well I emailed Viewsonic Support again. It has been 75 days since I opened my ticket, 57 since it was "escalated" and 45 since they bothered to update me on its' status.


Josef (my support rep) said that no update has been released. She said the if an update is ever released that it would be published on their website.


That led me to ask about the PRO8200's ability to take an end-user upgrade. She responded saying the the PRO8200's USB port can be used by the end-user to perform a firmwware update. Her exact words were:

Quote:
Yes. Some of our projectors could be updated by end-users. These projectors would normally have a USB service port at the back that could be used to upgrade firmwares.

Just thought you all might be interested in this status update...


Regards,

Jason
 
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