ViewSonic PJD7383i review

ViewSonic supplies the PJD7383i in a strong carry bag, with a large pocket for cables and peripherals. These include USB and VGA cables, but the most interesting inclusion is an interactive “PointBlank” pen, which looks like a prop from Star Trek.

You can use D-SUB or USB ports to connect to a PC, but to use the pen you need to use USB. It acts like a wireless mouse, with left and right buttons, plus a central button that can be assigned functions such as double-clicking.

We used the PointBlank pen to drag and drop images, scroll through documents, open and close emails and change PowerPoint presentations. The pen takes a little getting used to, but once mastered, is a delight to use. We found it had an operating range of around 8m, so you don’t have to be close to the screen to make it work.

At 3.5kg the projector is a fair weight, but a footprint of 290 x 254mm isn’t too large. It’s a DLP model with a 0.61:1 throw ratio, capable of projecting a 70in image just 63cm from the screen. There’s also support for 3D content. Users can make PC-less presentations stored on a USB flash drive; the built-in USB viewer is compatible with most common file formats, including JPEG, TIFF and BMP.

Its resolution of 1,024 x 768 is nothing special, but a 3,000 lumens brightness means it can be used comfortably under normal lighting conditions. Fan noise isn’t intrusive and the built-in 10W speaker provides plenty of volume. Running costs are even more pleasing: the lamp, which has a 4,000-hour lifetime in normal mode, costs just £94 exc VAT to replace.

Setup was quick and easy, although keystone correction is manual, and it’s helped further by a simple-to-navigate menu system. The remote control handset is a dinky black unit, and although the buttons are small, they’re intelligently grouped.

If the PJD7383i has a weakness, it’s image quality. It was slightly softer than the best projectors on test, but teachers should still be happy with the results. The high price may be offputting, but low running costs and the interactive pen make it good value.