ViewSonic announced in June of 2023 this first "Designed for Xbox" gaming projector, which was released in July. Having endured 63 various tests by Team Xbox, and meeting the criteria Xbox has set for branding and technical specifications, the X2-4K is intended to provide Xbox gamers with the assurance that it is fully compatible with the Xbox consoles and provides some key benefits, including compatibility with 1440p/120 Hz playback from Xbox Series X consoles. So, the X2-4K has met Xbox's requirements, but the question remains: will it meet the requirements of prospective buyers and the demanding gamers out there? With its impressive gaming ability and attractive street price of $1,599, it definitely has a chance to win over many gamers who want to play on the big screen.

Features

The ViewSonic X2-4K is the short-throw version of two similar Designed for Xbox gaming projectors announced by ViewSonic, with the X1-4K offering a standard throw lens. The X2-4K reviewed here is listed as a full 4K-resolution, HDR LED projector capable of delivering 60,000 hours of lamp life in full power mode, with fast boot-up time, and a max of 2,000 ANSI lumens of brightness. Utilizing a single 0.65-inch DLP chip from Texas Instruments assisted by TI's rapid, four-phase pixel-shifting, the X2-4K is capable of resolving the 8.3 million pixels on screen to meet the 3840x2160 resolution of a UHD projector. This results in a sharp and detailed image for gaming and movies alike in both SDR and HDR. During my time viewing content with the X2-4K, I luckily did not experience any rainbow effects—a common artifact that can be seen in many single-chip DLP based projectors.

The X2-4K is stated to cover 125% of the Rec.709 color gamut, which it achieves in specific picture modes (such as TV) where it firmly places the red, magenta, and blue color points well outside of the specified points of that color space. Most HDR sources today are mastered with DCI-P3 wide color gamut, though ViewSonic makes no claims here to coverage of the DCI-P3 or BT.2020 color space and does not list these in a published specification. I measured P3 coming in at 78.81% in 1931 xy, and 83.71% in 1976 uv. The BT.2020 gamut measured at 57.58% xy and 65.23% uv. These values are not awful, but I would have liked to see a higher percentage of P3 coverage nowadays with all of the HDR content available.

ViewSonic lists the ANSI lumen brightness at 2,000 ANSI lumens. It fell short of this in our measurements by approximately 17%, coming in at 1,656 ANSI Lumens in its Brightest picture mode. This is just under the 20% tolerance specified for the current ISO21118 lumens standard, which uses the same 9-point measurement technique as ANSI and is considered equivalent. As is typical, the projector came in quite a bit lower in a more accurate picture mode more suitable for viewing content. However, the X2-4K is still capable of providing an immersive experience, especially considering its small stature, with dimensions of 13.98 x 4.76 x 9.88 inches (WHD) and weighing in at 7.93 pounds, making it fairly portable while still delivering good performance.

Despite this portability it offers some flexibility in its installation with options for front or rear, ceiling or table top installation. Additionally, an adjuster foot is located on the bottom of the unit to provide angle adjustment when placed on a table. The X2-4K is a short throw projector with a throw ratio of 0.69-0.83 that allows a projected image size from 60 inches diagonal to 120 inches diagonal. I found ViewSonic's distance chart in the manual to be accurate, as the projector required an approximately 5-feet distance from the screen to display my 100-inch diagonal image.

The X2-4K is outfitted with manual focus lens, and the 1.2x zoom makes it rather easy to dial in the image for alignment with a projection screen. The zoom and focus were tight and accurate, so it's easy to get a nice sharp picture when setting the unit up. Furthermore, if additional adjustment is needed horizontal and vertical keystone, 4 corner adjust, and auto keystone are present as well. As always, we recommend not using the keystone features to maintain image integrity, though this is probably more important for a permanent mounting. Without the use of keystone, proper placement becomes even more critical. The ProjectorCentral Viewsonic X2-4K Projection Throw Calculator can help with planning.

The X2-4K uses ViewSonic's own interface for its smart features, with basic items such as file management to view the contents of the internal storage, USB or external drive. Settings for items such as network, system info, firmware update, Apps Center, Bluetooth, and screen mirroring are also available. The Apps Center provides access to web-based versions of the applications which require a mouse to navigate. Additionally, ViewSonic's vCastSender app is supported which allows for control of the projector by a tablet or smart phone. Ultimately the smart interface is pretty basic but does the job if one wanted to use it while keeping a wireless mouse connected for navigation of the apps.

The main focus of the X2-4K is its gaming performance and it's Designed for Xbox certification. The Designed for Xbox certification was created by Microsoft for partner brands to provide a level of confidence and assurance that the product was developed alongside Xbox and will provide the best experience possible while gaming. As mentioned, the X2-4K went through 63 different tests to make sure it meets their standards as a partner product. Additionally, the X2-4K's industry-standard CEC control provides an HDMI pathway that allows the projector to be controlled with the Xbox controller while using the Series X consoles, and provides unique resolutions such as 1440p/120Hz, in addition to 4k/60Hz, and 1080p/240Hz for PC. The X2-4K utilizes the ALLM feature to flag the Ultra-Fast Input to reduce the latency as low as 4.2ms as per ViewSonic. I found this to be very much the case during my time with the X2-4K and gaming on it was quite enjoyable.

The X2-4K's onboard audio is Sound by Harmon Kardon with 2x 6W cube speakers, and has a surprising amount of output—though at higher volumes I did find the sound fatiguing due to it being a little too bright on the higher end of the frequency response. A nice, dedicated audio system would be something a user would probably want to look into, but in a temporary setup it was more than sufficient. However, I was surprised to find that the X2-4K does not support eARC or ARC via its HDMI connections to permit lossless audio connection to an outboard system, nor even a SPDIF digital connection. The only options for taking audio straight from the projector (rather than the source component) are a 3.5 mm analog audio output and audio out via Bluetooth 4.2. It's unusual, and disappointing, for any new gaming projector not to have a digital audio output. ViewSonic says they did incorporate HDMI ARC into their next Designed for Xbox projector, the LX700-4K due out in the first quarter of next year.

The I/O of the X2-4K includes two HDMI 2.0 inputs, one USB Type-C, one USB Type-A that will provide 5V/1A of power delivery and will work as a media reader, another USB Type-A for service, RS-232 for control, and the aforementioned 3.5mm audio out. Additionally, Bluetooth 4.2 is available for both in and out transmission of audio, and there's built in Wi-Fi with support for wireless screen casting. The lack of a wide-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 port that supports 4K/120Hz gaming on screen is common to all single-chip 4K DLP projectors today while manufacturers await a long-promised chipset from Texas Instruments to allow this capability. The included Bluetooth remote is responsive and provides all the buttons one would need to quickly navigate throughout the menus, and as bonus, it's backlit. Lastly, 3D support is also provided with the X2-4K, always nice to see these days as several manufacturers have dropped this feature.

Performance

Color Modes. The ViewSonic X2-4K offers a total of six picture modes: Brightest, TV, Gaming, Movie, User, and Low Blue Light. These exist in both SDR and HDR, though with separate memories so that unique settings can be stored in Movie mode for SDR while having a different group of settings for HDR. The available picture modes all use a predefined color temperature which makes them either warm or cool with the exception being the Brightest mode, which has an obvious green bias to the image. The color temperatures available are 6,500K, 7,500K, or 9,300K, each allowing adjustment of Gain only if the input signal is YUV type, or both Gain and Offset if the signal is RGB. Additionally, if the input signal is RGB the Color and Sharpness controls are grayed out and not adjustable. One benefit with how RGB and YUV work in terms of settings is that a user can store different Gamma, Contrast, Brightness, Color Temperature, and CMS between the same picture mode. This means, as an example, that Movie mode for SDR can have one set of settings if the signal type is RGB and an entirely different set for YUV.

The Light Source brightness settings available are Custom, Normal, Eco, Dynamic Black 1, and Dynamic Black 2. Custom provides the most flexibility if a specific luminance preference is desired and controls the light output in increments of 20% approximately, where 100% power is equivalent to Normal. The various light source modes result in a decrease of 19% compared to Normal for the Eco mode, or a measured 1.57% (on a full frame white test pattern) if using the Dynamic Black 1 or Dynamic Black 2 modes that react to content.

As mentioned, Brightest mode offered the most light output from the unit and came in at 1,657 ANSI lumens, while other picture modes ranged from 1,026 to 1,069 ANSI lumens between SDR and HDR. The one exception was Low Blue Light mode, which came in at 964 ANSI lumens.

Initial out of the box performance was good overall in the more accurate Movie mode as it reduced some oversaturation seen in other picture modes such as TV and used the more accurate 6,500K color temperature as its default. Since the other picture modes mainly used the cooler color temperatures it was immediately noticeable by eye that the image was not correct. Additionally, as stated earlier, some modes had a wider gamut coverage than Rec.709, specifically with Red, Magenta, and Blue, which was also evident by eye. In my dark theater room, I found that setting the Light Source mode to Custom 60 (approximately 60% of full brightness) worked best for the amount of light output I desired, though this will vary per individual and room. For those who would opt not to calibrate the X2-4K though still value accuracy, the most accurate out-of-the-box picture settings were Movie picture mode with the Light Output Source set to Custom 60 and gamma 2.35.

I began calibration of the ViewSonic X2-4K using Calman Ultimate calibration software from Portrait Displays, a Colorimetry Research CR-250 Spectroradiometer, a Colorimetry Research CR-100 Colorimeter, and a Murideo 8K Seven Generator. The ViewSonic X2-4K was calibrated to 100-inch diagonal on a Stewart Filmscreen StudioTek 130 G4 screen. As I normally do, prior to beginning calibration, I ran various measurements to confirm what I saw in OOTB (out of the box) viewing. I also confirmed the gamma tracking of the X2-4K, which slightly under tracks its menu selection value. So, for example, 2.35 tracks 2.3, and 2.5 tracks closer to 2.4 and a native contrast ratio of 1,500:1.

For SDR content, pre-calibration measurements showed fairly high dE (DeltaE) errors. (DeltaE is a metric indicating visible error; values over 3 are noticeable, over 2.3 is just noticeable for trained eyes, and below 2.3 is ideally imperceptible.) Grayscale pre-calibration measurements were actually pretty good, with errors ranging from 1.7dE average to 3.8dE max. Color gamut is where the majority of the higher errors were measured, with an average of 5.3dE and a max of 11.1dE, which primarily were due to hue errors and oversaturation. A large pre-calibration color checker yielded an average of 3.4dE with a max of 11.4dE.

Utilizing the base 6,500K Color Temperature setting with a YUV signal, which provided access to the 1-point gain control (as opposed to 2-point gain and offset controls with RGB signals), I targeted the industry-standard D65 neutral gray white point. Post-calibration for SDR, the Movie picture mode reached peak luminance of 16.42 ft-L/56.29 nits. In HDR, post-calibration brightness reached 37.54 ft-L/128.63 nits.

Post-calibration, the errors did improve across all aspects of the X2-4K. Running the large color checker with more than 150 swatches resulted in an average dE of 1.5, with a maximum of 6.9dE. The remaining issues were mainly present in Red with some oversaturation and some hue errors. Additionally, some higher luminance levels of 100% saturated Red presented errors as well. Minor errors for Hue were also present in Green and Cyan but nothing too severe. HDR calibration was able to tighten up the grayscale very nicely, though within the color gamut Green and Cyan were unable to reach the desired target in Saturation due to the minimal coverage of P3 and BT.2020.

1080p/SDR Viewing. To evaluate SDR content I decided to watch the movie Hot Fuzz via Apple TV 4K. The X2-4K did very well with the skin tones of all the village residents. I didn't experience any heavy posterization as I saw while viewing Cocaine Bear in 4K/HDR (see below). The weakest area exhibited by the X2-4K's picture was its contrast, specific to the scene where Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) uncovered the plot and arrived at the midnight meeting. The contrast was relatively low, but it was also apparent that the X2-4K is better in this regard than many projectors seen at this price point.

Similarly, when Nicholas was attempting to escape and running through the tunnels, the background was slightly lifted compared to when I've previously watched this on other displays. Though, again, it was much better than other projectors I have seen in this category. As usual with projectors of limited contrast, the tradeoff was either slightly lifted black or crushed blacks depending on where the Brightness control was set. But ultimately the movie looked very good overall.

4K/HDR Viewing. For 4K UHD HDR I began by watching the comedy/horror movie Cocaine Bear via Apple TV 4K. Overall the general presentation was good. Skin tones were accurate and the image showed good color in the environments and outfits. The major issue that stuck out was in the very beginning of the movie where a Wikipedia quote is shown on the screen. During this section the camera pans throughout the clouds and very heavy posterization was observed.

To see if the calibration may have contributed to this, I reset the picture modes and checked other uncalibrated picture modes. The issue remained. This scene was really the only area that this kind of heavy posterization and banding was observed, though once I was on the lookout, I could see these artifacts in other areas where gradation should be more subtle. Outside of this issue, though, everything else looked great. The image was sharp and detailed, with good motion and color reproduction.

3D Viewing. For 3D viewing I opted to watch Despicable Me on Blu-ray via Oppo 203. The image produced was bright and provided a decent amount of depth. Once the movie started up, simply turning on the 3D DLP-Link glasses allowed them to sync up and work right away. The X2-4K defaulted to frame-packed 3D when it went into 3D mode, with essentially all picture modes and enhancements locked while defaulting the brightness to Normal. No cross talk was exhibited during my viewing and the overall viewing experience was great.

Gaming 1440p/120 Hz. The first game I played was Psychonauts 2. Initially the game would always go into 3840x2160 even though my Xbox Series X was set to 1440p at 120 Hz. This was due to the "Allow 4K" option being set in the Advanced Options of the TV & Display settings. Once this was disabled the game would output in the selected resolution of the console. Once this was ironed out and I went through some of the levels, the gameplay felt good. The projector was very responsive, which is great since responsive controls in platforming games is exactly what a player would want. Color was rendered well and I didn't feel like I was missing out on any detail. It provided a rather immersive gaming experience offering plenty of light output and responsive controls.

Gaming 4K/60 Hz. I next decided to play two different games at 4K/60 Hz. First was Halo Infinite. This played very well, the gameplay was fluid, the HDR looked good and the latency was low enough that a player could be fairly competitive in multiplayer matches. The color of explosions from the various types of grenades was rendered well. The plasma shots lacked some of the deeper saturation that is normally present but that was to be expected due to the inability to fully reach green within P3 and BT.2020. Overall, it was a pleasant experience.

Next, I played Street Fighter 6. I always like to test a fighting game if possible as it's the easiest way to get a feel for the latency of a display. I selected Cammy and began going through her combo trials, all of which I have previously completed before. It took a little bit of time to get used to the latency as compared to my direct view OLED display, but I adjusted quickly and was able to complete her combo trials again without much issue. So, the X2-4K proved very capable for competitive gaming with some time given to adjust to any difference in latency from the display device you might normally use.

1080p/240hz. The last game that I played for evaluation was Ori and the Will of the Wisps on my gaming PC, which I set to the resolution of 1080p at 240 Hz. The game as always looked great, with nicely saturated color. It was evident some green was missing in various areas but it wasn't distracting, nor did it take me out of the experience. Playing at 240 Hz provided an immediately noticeable difference in responsiveness. This was expected, as the higher the frequency, the lower the latency. Combat and exploration felt great and I would highly suggest if a user is playing on PC, particularly in competitive games, running at 1080p/240 Hz should be the go-to setup for the X2-4K. For users who want a more casual experience and favor higher resolution, the 4K/60 Hz mode is sufficient, while the 1440p/120 Hz mode is a nice balance between the two.

Conclusion

The ViewSonic X2-4K is a very capable projector in all aspects of its performance and excels in the main purpose it was designed for, which is gaming, where it offers gamers extremely low input latency in varying resolutions and framerates. But the X2-4K is capable of being accurate without sacrificing much in the process, so it will perform well for more than just gaming, and will handle home theater content as well as many other projectors out there that may struggle on the gaming side of things.

In my opinion, the X2-4K's weakest area is its proprietary smart streaming platform. But when you factor in that it's really meant to be paired with a gaming console, which will have numerous apps for streaming services, it's not really an issue. Once a user connects their Xbox to the unit and utilizes CEC to adjust power on and off as well as volume from your game controller, I do believe most gamers would be very happy with the X2-4K.

Some gamers may be disappointed in the lack of full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 since the newer generation of consoles supports HDMI 2.1. But current generation DLP chip limitations have kept this feature out of all single-chip 4K DLP projectors, and outside of VRR and 4K/120 gaming the X2-4K user wouldn't really be missing much. I think it is somewhat a fair trade to be able to game comfortably with very good performance on a screen at 100+ inches. So, I wouldn't say that not having HDMI 2.1 is a deal breaker considering the resolutions and framerates supported by the X2-4K.

The only other big feature that I feel it's missing is ARC or eARC for attachment of an audio system. Granted the X2-4K has a very capable built-in speaker system, but a user would fare much better with an external sound system. On the other hand, with many gamers using headphones that are directly connected to their console or PC for party chat, which also may support Dolby Atmos, the exclusion of ARC or eARC may not be an issue for everyone.

Beyond these caveats, there really isn't much to dislike about the X2-4K, which should definitely meet the needs of its target audience and does so at a reasonable price point. It provides a theater-like experience with good accuracy, extremely capable gaming performance, and a fairly compact form that allows you to take it on the go. Gamers in general should be pleased regardless if they're players on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, or PC. Those in the market for a projector with gaming being front and center should give the ViewSonic X2-4K serious consideration.

For more detailed specifications and connections, check out our ViewSonic X2-4K projector page.

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