ViewSonic PRO8200 HD 1080p 1920x1080 2000 Lumens Home Theater DLP Projector

Pros: This is my first projector I've actually owned and it rocks. With a little tweaking, you can achieve great quality out of it.

Cons: At this price points, you're bound to have some cons. For instance, this projector is very sensitive to the circuit that it's on. I have a mini-fridge and whenever it's on, I get horizontal lines across the screen more than usual. Yes, this does mean I get occasional lines across the screen on a daily basis, but it's not something that will interrupt your viewing experience (that much).

Picture wise, the projector sucks at producing blacks. Then again, I'm spoiled by the premium LED panels around the house.

Other Thoughts: All in all, it's a great projector that I use very rarely (around 1-hour per/week) to watch a show or two.

Pros: This projector has decent reviews and specs for its price point. I did a lot of research before selecting it, and I was initially happy with it. Great out-of-box calibration, colors were very accurate. The thing is a light cannon, easily watchable in daylight. 1080P content looks great at 104".

Cons: It's noisy. This is my first HT projector, so maybe i'm expecting too much, but the cooling fan is easily audible at reasonable listening volumes. The issue is exacerbated due to the unit being mounted directly overhead in my installation. All the other 'cons' I was expecting after reading reviews and spec sheets. No show-stoppers. Then...

One evening last month (PJ was ~4 months old at this point, 50 lamp hours), I powered on the projector, and nothing happened. The fans kicked on, but no image, not even menu. I pulled cables, tried different inputs, outlets, etc... I ended up calling Viewsonic support who ran me through the predictable help desk routine (power off/on, blow out dust). He was eventually satisfied that the PJ was indeed dead, and sent me an RMA. I shipped the projector back to ViewSonic at my expense ($35). After a week "In Repair" the unit was sent back to me. There was no paperwork or explanation in the ticket as to what repairs had been done. There was a Post-It taped to the projector that said "Lamp NG". That was it. I plugged the PJ back in and... same thing. No image! Furious, I called up ViewSonic support and asked for an explanation. The "tech" pulled up my ticket, and after reading through it informed me that they had found no problem with the unit. I replied that there was indeed a problem, as I had just tested it and it was still inoperative. I asked him what the "Lamp NG" sticker meant and he said "Oh! That means the lamp unit is bad and needs to be replaced!" I asked him WHY DIDN'T YOU PUT A NEW LAMP IN IT WHEN IT WAS THERE!? He told me that I had to submit proof of purchase to show the unit was within the 1-year lamp warranty. Now why they couldn't have determined this while the unit was in for repair is beyond my understanding...

So I email them my Newegg invoice, and they submit the replacement lamp order on March 14th, with an expected delivery of "5-7 business days, depending on stock availability". It is now March 27th, I have still not received the lamp, and my PJ has been out of commission since February 25th.

Other Thoughts: I researched projectors for months before settling on this unit. I saw no indications from reviews here and at avsforum that this model had any issues like I've experienced. I really hope that this is a freak occurrence, as I don't have the patience to deal with ViewSonic support again.

Pros: Everything else works.

Cons: The HDMI audio has blown out, extensive testing proves it's just that port. There's an hdmi 2 but this is really annoying.

Other Thoughts: I liked having 2 HDMI ports, it's not nice to only have one that fully works.

Pros: Everything I could have asked for. Easy interfaces, easy to switch between things, nice to have an audio out, the wii looks amazing and the 1080p? I absolutely love this thing.

Cons: It can get a little warm, no indicates on the temp monitor which is perfect. The manual said 4 hours of daily use is high, the actual is 14 hours of daily use so that's reasonable but a misprint in the manual.

Other Thoughts: You want a 1080p projector with audio out? Don't hesitate, get this and you won't regret it

Pros: I researched long and hard before deciding on this projector. I decided on a DLP in spite of the possible rainbow effect.
I am in fact sensitive the rainbow effect but my husband is not. I barely notice it on this projector but it does flare up occansionally. My husband never sees it. We have the projector mounted on the ceiling approx. 12 1/2 ft away from a 100" screen.
The picture is fantastic and the blacks are VERY crisp..not sure why some are having issues with that. I have a panasonic blu-ray home theater and the sound goes through that. I would not recommend the speakers on the projector as they are a bit tinny but will do if you have no other choice.
My family has often remarked that what we see in our own home on the projector is better than some theaters. I agree.
The picture is sharp and clear and the colors vivid. I had no problems with sound syncing to the picture and it was easy to make the few adjustments needed to make viewing optimal.
I highly recommend this projector but just be aware of the rainbow effect which is not noticable at all for me now.

Cons: None so far

Pros: I have owned the pro8200 over a year and like fine wine, it gets better with age.
It takes about 500 hours for the bulb to get tamed. Some people in dark rooms buy a ND filter so it's not so bright for those first 500 hours. I didn't, because I mostly use it in rooms that are not totally dark.

3 year warranty is something that this PJ comes with right from the get go. Look at the other PJ's, you have spend 200 for 3 year extended warranty.

Every PJ has some lemons, every single one, so, it makes sense to get one with 3 year warranty, compared to 1 year others have.

It has 20 watts of internal sound, the others have none or mono low watt speaker.

It is low rainbow effect compared to other DLP PJ's.

It is low gaming lag , around 15ms, good for multiplayer gaming.

It is 2,000 lumens so it can be used in many lighting conditions.

Some people complain about shadow detail but many times you have to look at whole picture, the blu ray player settings, the a/v settings, and the hdmi cable, in addition to the settings on the pro8200. I have excellent shadow detail because I went to avs forum and asked for help. And the guys there helped me. It's more than just RGB levels, because the base standard for different devices could be different.

I guess what I'm saying it post your problems in avs forum room and do not stop asking until you do get good shadow detail or any other problem. Because you should get excellent picture with the PJ.

Now the price is cheaper than many other 1080p, so the black level will not be as good as 3,000 dollar PJ.

Combined with long life on bulb of 6,000 hours in eco mode, and 200 dollar bulb replacement, what is not to like.

This is the Corolla Toyota of PJ's. Dependable, and low maintenance.

For comparison, look at the problems other PJ's have and then put it into perspective.

Cons: none for me after 1 year

Other Thoughts: I consider this a workhorse PJ and when on sale, great bargain.

Pros: Plays it all its the attraction of the house

Cons: If your having issues with it must be a operater error because this thing is awsome

Pros: Crisp image
Shows up well, even in a lit room
Lots of options in menus
Easily "tweaked"

Cons: Speakers are lacking
On-screen blacks aren't super "rich"

Other Thoughts: The cons, while noteworthy, aren't really even big cons. Yes, the speakers sound stressed at high levels...but do you really buy a projector for its speaker(s)? No.

The black isn't just incredibly dark, but did you spend thousands of dollars to get a cinema quality one? No.

This is just a great machine. Easy enough to work with. Personally, I like enabling the ECO mode so I hopefully get 6000 hours out of it. I also have "Quick Shutdown" DISABLED. This runs the fan after the rest of the projector shuts down. This draws a lot of harmful heat out of that hot little case & I suspect this will greatly increase its lifespan.

Pros: projector has an amazing picture. The unit is easy to use. It turns on and off quickly.

Cons: Projector does not display night/dark bright enough to see the detail. It could be a setting, I have not read the instructions yet to see if there is something I did wrong.

Pros: Projects to a 156 inch screen and is clear, with great color levels and no window/screen effects. Makes blu-ray pop out

Cons: Becomes pink when I shift inputs on my HDMI micro switch, trying to check with the support if its a system or user issue. Is a little loud

Other Thoughts: Absolutely the star attractoin of the house