If you’re a gamer looking for an even bigger screen to play on, we’ve got some good news: Viewsonic is launching a new 4K projector designed for the Xbox Series X and it’s coming in July.
Dubbed the Viewsonic X2-4K LED, the projector was made in collaboration with Microsoft as part of the Made for Xbox program. According to both parties, the projector has undergone “63 tests conducted by Team Xbox to ensure ultimate console compatibility” and even comes in a green and black color scheme to match the Xbox Series X.
In terms of specs, Viewsonic claims the X2-4K can produce a 100-inch, 2,900 lumen image from around five feet away from the screen. The projector sports two HDMI ports — however, as The Verge rightly points out, they’re limited to the older HDMI 2.0 standard and can’t handle a 4K/120Hz signal.
The good news is that if you drop the resolution to 1440p, you can still get 120Hz playback on games like Call of Duty: Warzone 2 and Halo Infinite.
So how much will an Xbox-branded projector set you back? You’re looking at $1,599 when the projector drops next month. That’s more than you’d pay for a 55-inch LG C2 OLED, but you’re getting twice the screen real estate with the projector.
Made for Xbox vs made for Xbox
Before you write us an email, obviously any projector with an HDMI port can work with an Xbox Series X. What Viewsonic is doing differently here is that it’s collaborating with Microsoft.
“The X2-4K projector was developed to be considered a true gaming projector,” said Mia Shen, Sr. Business Line Manager at ViewSonic in the projector’s press release. “The projector can output 1080p @ 240Hz with a 4.2ms response time for the fastest possible player reaction times for the PC gaming audience.
“It also features an Auto Low Latency Mode that allows users to choose an Ultra-Fast Input with 1/10th of the delay compared to the average 4K television.”
Personally, I think those numbers might be a bit exaggerated — most TVs that we’ve tested over the last five years have a response time of around 12ms — but the point still stands that Viewsonic has put in the work to make this projector as gamer-friendly as possible.
As far as the price is concerned, the X2-4K is about the going rate for a 4K short-throw projector. There are some cheaper models out there like the Epson Home Cinema 3200 and the BenQ TK700STi that sell for around $1,299, but we’d have to see all three side-by-side before we could provide any judgments on them.
Looking for a cheaper option? The best gaming TV, the 65-inch Hisense U7H, will only set you back around $720 and is worth taking a look at if these projectors are a bit too pricey. That said, if you want to game on the biggest screen in the house and don't want to make any concessions on input delay, the X2-4K is worth keeping on your radar.
