Viewsonic Pro8100 1080p Projector

I cant find it on the web.

Viewsonic doesn't manufacture it's own projector. So it's has to be a rebadge unit. My guess it that it's a Benq. The question is what model number does it equal to. Base on it's HQV processing I will guess the W5000 or w20000.

Nice thing with Viewsonic is that the often sell lower then the equivalent at the other compagnie.

Bruno

Oups! Were do you see that it's an LCD projector. The information i've seen on the web never mention if it's DLP or LCD. I based my comment on the look of the projector and the fact that Benq is known for doing OEM products.

If it's an LCD we have to look elsewhere. Find an LCD projector that has a center lens with HQV processing and you will find your answer.

Bruno

The ViewSonic Pro8100 projector is a 3 chip 1080p LCD. It is not a Benq rebadge. It is my understanding that it will be on the market in late January or early February. It will sell for $4995 MSRP and come with a 3 year warranty. I have heard that it has a very interesting color management video processor called "PCS".

Pro8100 is not related to BenQ or anybody else by any means. From product ID design, OSD/Remote Control artworks/layouts, functions and performances definitions, color tuning, color gamut to key components selection are all from ViewSonic own engineering and product marketing resources. VS holds the exclusivity of Pro8100's engineering efforts.

PCS utilizes the latest 10 bits image enhancer chipset j-L006 from Jepico. j-L006 is a backend enhancer that sits between HQV's LVDS output and Epson's panels' input. Each color temperatures' RGB gamma is individually tuned for precise color calibration. This enables a unify color temperature across the entire grayscales. Other PCS features are posted on VS's website.

Pro8100 also utilizes the latest 10 bits ADC 9388a from ADI. Due to initial low yield rate from ADI, only small qty of Pro8100 are produced in Nov to Dec timeframe. ADI is expecting 9388a's yield rate to pickup in December timeframe. Pro8100 is available in US market now but in limited qty.

Both ViewSonic and Silicon Optix will be demoing Pro8100 in the upcoming CES.

Any word on this projector?

This projector's owner's manual is available on Viewsonic's web site.

http://www.viewsonic.com/products/precision/Pro8100/

I must say it has about the most impressive combination of image adjustment tools I've seen on a commercial projector.

To name a few:

- multipoint gamma adjustment
- full RGB Gains and Biases
- RGBCYM Color Management
- Selectable color spaces
- HQV processing with noise reduction and other image enhancement tools

The MSRP is $5K but the street price is much lower. My only beef is that the "3D" color management is really 2D, which may or may not be problem depending upon its native gamut.

If the tools work as advertised and its black level and white field uniformity are better than most LCD designs, this could be a giant killer

Very quiet too in a relatively small case - 18db.

Here's the part I like:

3-year limited warranty on parts and labor, 1-year or 1,000 hours on lamp, whichever comes first, and first-year free Express Exchange service.

Coming from the under 3K forum this seems very generous, how does this warranty compare to other comparable units?

My understanding is that the PRO 8100 won't be sold via internet or retail chains... it's marketed to custom home theater installers. I have also heard that the PRO 8100 is a VERY impressive projector...

I have one of these at home for testing. I have been trying to find out whether it uses D6 or D7 panels. its rated contrast looks closer to the D6s though I wouldn't bet on it. Does anyone know?
I have only watched it for 10min without and haven't touched anything (used King Kong HD DVD) but out of the box it looks quite nice.

It uses D6 panels...

Regards,
Ekkehart

Thanks Ekkehart, how or where did you find the info? There is almost nothing to be found about this projector.
Specs don't mention 24p and with my HTPC I can't get anything but 50 or 60p. Do you know it'll accept it? I don't have any device capable of outoutting forced 24p but if it accepts it and its just undocumented I can try to borrow a friend's Tosh E30.
Cheers.

Hi, Javier. I'd believe that the projector's specs tell us that it's D6:

D6
10-bit driver
Color 1.1 billion colors
Gradation 1,024 gradations

D7
12-bit driver
68.7 billion colors
4,096 gradations

PRO8100 has a 10-bit driver and 1.1 billion colors

I got mine PRO8100 couple of weeks ago, without testing or even seeing it... the price was just incredibly low (brand new, untested and unused projector from a private seller) and I thought to give it a try. And, yes, I'm very pleased with it. However, I'm just wondering one thing: why the Noise Reduction menu is passive (menu 2-2-4 in the manual)? I've used two picture sources for now, DVD-player (1080i signal) via DVI-HDMI adapter and X-Box 360 with HD-DVD station (1080P signal via HDMI). Javier, is that menu active in your projector? And if it is, can it be used only with some input(s), there's no any limits mentioned in the manual.

Another question is that have you tried/is there any change to get some hints (or even values) for/how to setup PCS? There is so many options that I would really, really appreciate if I could get some (alredy done) setup values done by advanced user that I could try with my projector. With default values picture goes very dark and now PCS is just off all the time.

BR

Martti

Just found the first review. I can't post URLs yet, but use google and keywords: ViewSonic PRO8100 setup

You should see link to trustedreviews.com, seems that they really liked this projector.

Hi Martti,

Thanks for the info.

I think I saw the NR menu active when I connected a Sony DVD player using component (480i/576i) but I'm not 100% sure, with HTPC or Oppo is greyed out and inactive.
I haven't played with PCS for the same reasons, don't want to touch without knowing. Besides, I don't have a colour meter so I have no way to know how much off things are (gray scale, primary colours, etc.). Default setting of PCS is unusable, too dark and too saturated, kind of cartoonish.
Cheers,
Javier

Here is the review.

[url]http://www.trustedreviews.com/tvs/review/2008/02/16/ViewSonic-Pro8100-Full-HD-LCD-Projector/p1[/url

Features important to me: Lens shift

But why is the vertical lens shift (75%) much greater than the horizontal one (5%)? Does this mean I can't put in the corner of the room and project the image at the middle of the room? Room is 11ft wide. Thanks.

I just got a review unit... http://www.mavromatic.com/archives/000685

Let me know if there is anything you'd like me to test out...

Danny

Yes, it does. There's no way to put this projector to the corner. On the other hand, projector should always be as opposite the screen as possible.

Hi, Javier and thanks for the info, too. I'll send an e-mail to Viewsonic's techical support and try to get some answers, I already sent one mail some time ago to projectors@viewsoniceurope.com but haven't got any answer...

Every possible setup function for the picture... and pls let us know what you'll find to be the optimum values to get the best out of this projector

When do you plan to test it? I have to return mine next Monday.

Danny, I have seen a few references to 2.35:1 in the spec sheets for this PJ, but couldn't find anything about it in the online manual. Have you got any insight on what it's capabilities are for going CinemaScope and what else would be required? I'm very much intrigued by this unit!!

Thanks!!
Graham

I saw this projector today and was impressed. They have new firmware/software for 2.35-1 processing. They are working with Panamorph and Schneider for lenses and a bracket. The video processing is exceptional. The brief views I got had a very clean image, good color and no iris pumping.

Well, much to my surprise, I have a PRO-8100 on the way to me for evaluation. I'll be putting it through it's paces and will post my thoughts in the coming week or two. I will also be calibrating the PJ using Sencore's new OTC-1000 meter, so we'll see how handy (and accurate) the color options are. Stay Tuned!

At first glance, this seems like its based on the HC6000 (alas, including the D6 chip).