ViewSonic LS620X Short Throw Laser Projector Review

The ViewSonic LS620X is a 3,200 lumen DLP projector with XGA (1024x768) resolution, intended for applications in business and education such as K-12 classrooms, retail settings and conference rooms.  This projector has a short throw, with a throw ratio of 0.61:1, to produce a large image (between 60 and 150 inches) from only a few feet away from the screen; a much cheaper alternative than a comparably sized LCD or LED display.

The laser light engine means this projector will run virtually maintenance free for up to 25,000 hours in Eco mode.  Twin 10 Watt speakers are built-in for respectable sound, filling all but the largest classrooms.  There’s a decent amount of connectors and inputs to handle the vast majority of sources found in business and educational settings.  The LS620X has a list price of $1,216 – not bad for a laser projector!

Now, back to that XGA resolution – some of you are undoubtedly asking why we are still dealing with such low resolution in late 2018.  The answer is relatively simple: the primary use for new XGA projectors is as replacements for the antiquated projectors that were installed in classrooms and offices in years past, who just want to replace their old technology with something newer, but without breaking the bank.

Think of it like this – a school district has 500 classrooms with ceiling mounted XGA projectors.  They want to replace their old, worn out units with something new.  It only makes sense that they would want something similar to avoid the expense of purchasing (and installing!) a new ceiling mount, and new, wide screen.  By using a replacement similar to the original unit, most of the existing hardware can be utilized without too much adjustment.

This review of the ViewSonic LS620X will start with a short overview, followed by some highlights.  We’ll then take a look at its special features, followed by a tour of the LS620X’s hardware.  We’ll discuss picture quality and performance before we summarized it all up on the – you guessed it – summary page.  By the time we’re done with this ViewSonic, you should have a pretty good handle on whether or not it will meet your needs.  Let’s go!

We wish to thank Epson America for sponsoring this year’s Best Classroom Projectors report.  

The ViewSonic LS620X is a 3,200 lumen projector with a resolution of XGA (1024x768).  The list price for the LS620X is $1,216.  The LS620X does not currently have any siblings, but it does have a WXGA cousin, the LS625W, which is also a laser short throw projector and has a list price of $1,327.  The LS620X claims a lamp life of 20,000 hours at full brightness, and 25,000 in Eco mode.

This is a DLP projector with a six segment, RYGCBW color wheel.  ViewSonic advertises this projector has having “SuperColor” technology, so it will be interesting to see just how accurate color is.  Especially given the fact that this isn’t necessarily a strength among business and education DLP projectors.  DLP technology allows for a smaller projector, making it lighter in weight for portability and ease of installation.  DLP projectors have a sealed light path to protect the internal mechanisms of the projector, including the color wheel, which means a brighter image – longer.

When you factor in that this projector runs off a laser phosphor light source, we’re talking even less maintenance than the already low-maintenance DLP.  The last light engine the LS620X has to offer is advertised as having a lifespan of up to 25,000 hours.  Assuming a classroom use schedule of 18 hours a week, 10 months a year – that’s an astounding 32 years of use!  Now, obviously no one is going to keep a projector around for 32 years, but it’s nice to know that this projector should be virtually maintenance free until it is replaced by some super-cool-new-tech some years down the road.  That’s massive savings across large business and school districts.

Back to the DLP thing.  They make the claim of accurate color for the LS620X.  In the business and education category of projectors, I usually find accurate color with 3LCD projectors, and not so much with DLP.  DLP projectors tend to do better in rooms with less control over ambient light, offering better white lumens but considerably less color lumens.  3LCD projectors maintain better brightness across the color spectrum, but the cost per lumen is significantly higher – and the cost per lumen in this case, where we’re talking about a 3,200 lumen laser projector, even more so.  With a laser powered DLP, we should expect some pretty good text readability, but we’ll get to that later.

As I mentioned above, the ViewSonic LS620X is a short throw projector.  The projected image can be anywhere from 60 inches all the way up to 150 inches.  With a throw ratio of 0.61:1, throw distances are just 2.4ft to 6.1ft.  This means large images even in tight spaces.  This projector supports table top front projection, ceiling mounted front projection, and rear projection both table top and ceiling mounted, though front ceiling mounted projection will likely be the most common installation choice for the ViewSonic LS620X.  It’s also worth mentioning that ViewSonic offers a compatible wall mount for this projector with an adjustable arm for $320; the arm is adjustable between 26 inches and 50 inches.

There are a decent amount of connectors and inputs for business and classroom applications, offering LAN, twin HDMI, twin VGA, composite AV, S-Video and USB types A and B.  Crestron e-Control and RoomView Express are supported, for remote control and monitoring.