The ViewSonic X10-4KE (listed for $2,399 but often available for as little as half that) is an impressively small 4K UHD (3,840-by-2,160) short-throw projector. Like its predecessor, the ViewSonic X10-4K, and the LG Cinebeam HU70LA, this convenient device offers HDR10 support, a solid-state light source, and a fairly light weight—though at 9 pounds, it’s more luggable than portable. Niceties such as a reliable auto-focus make it as easy to set up as a TV. Most importantly, it delivers decent color accuracy, contrast, and shadow detail straight out of the box.
Setup Is a Snap
Like most DLP 4K projectors, the X10-4KE uses TI’s XPR fast-switch pixel shifting to get 3,840 by 2160 pixels on screen from a 1080p chip. It pairs the chip with a red-green-blue-blue (RGBB) LED light source, adding the second blue diode for higher brightness and to help improve color accuracy.
Setup is simple. Point the projector at your screen, plug in the power cord, and connect to a video source. The short-throw lens has no optical zoom, so you have to move the projector to adjust image size, but the auto-focus works well enough that you don’t have to fiddle with it.
The X10-4K measures 6.5 by 10.3 by 10.7 inches (HWD), which gives it room on the back for all the connectors you’re ever likely to need, including two HDMI 2.0 ports for video sources and PCs and one USB-C port for PCs and mobile devices. There’s also an Ethernet port for wired network connection and a bundled Wi-Fi dongle to connect wirelessly to your network for streaming or connect directly to PCs and mobile devices for screen mirroring.
Smart features come courtesy of the Android OS. Through the settings, you can access a link to the Aptoide store for downloading streaming apps, links for installing Alexa and Google Assistant voice control, and an app that will turn your mobile devices into additional remotes for the projector.
By default, frame interpolation (FI) is enabled. It smooths motion and many consider it an enhancement for live and recorded video. However, it also adds a digital video or “soap opera” effect to filmed material. If you don’t like FI, it’s easy to turn off.
The onboard stereo audio earns lots of points. The two 8-watt speakers deliver enough volume for a large family room along with higher quality than most big-screen TVs. You can even use the projector as a Bluetooth speaker for other devices. If you want still better sound quality from an external audio system, there are analog and digital audio out ports as well as support for Bluetooth output.
Gamers should note that my Bodnar meter measured a 76ms input lag at 1080p 60Hz with FI off, which is a little slow even for casual gaming. That’s too bad, as the portability features—including a panel that flips up to cover the ports while you’re moving the projector—are otherwise gaming-friendly.
For Best Color, Some Fiddling Is Needed
The X10-4KE’s four predefined picture modes—Brightest, Gaming, Movie, and TV—all delivered highly watchable images in my tests, thanks largely to color accuracy that varied from at least passable to easily more than acceptable by most people’s standards. Even the aptly named Brightest mode showed hardly any of the green bias that’s typical of the brightest modes in most projectors.
TV mode had the best contrast—verging on overdone with some images—but the least accurate color. Movie and Gaming modes had the best color accuracy. None of the modes delivered top-tier shadow detail, and none delivered a good sense of three-dimensionality; Gaming mode did the best job on this score, retaining most of the shadow detail even in the most challenging dark scenes. It also had the best overall balance of color accuracy, contrast, and shadow detail, and was almost as bright as Brightest mode, a combination that makes Gaming my preferred choice.
For 4K HDR input, the X10-4KE has HDR equivalents of the four SDR modes. As with most HDR projectors, you need to adjust an HDR setting—correctly identified in the menus as Electro-Optical Transfer Function (EOTF) instead of the more common HDR Brightness—to accommodate variations from one movie to another. In Movie mode, with the right adjustment, brightly lit scenes had nicely saturated color and good contrast, while dark scenes had perhaps a touch better shadow detail than the SDR versions of the same movies. However, I did not see a significant difference between SDR and HDR in most aspects of image quality. The most obvious is the extra detail that comes from viewing 4K UHD content at 4K UHD, rather than 1080p content upscaled to 4K UHD.
The X10-4KE also handles Full HD 3D nicely, using DLP-Link glasses. There are 3D versions of all four picture modes. I didn’t see any crosstalk in my tests, and 3D-related motion artifacts were typical for recent projectors. Image brightness in 3D is higher relative to the 2D modes than with most projectors.
ViewSonic touts a 2,400–LED lumen rating for the X10-4KE’s brightness. That’s higher than the 1,000–ANSI lumen rating because LEDs produce more saturated color than lamp-based projectors, and with equal measured brightness, more saturated color is sometimes perceived as being brighter. However, I think that rating oversells the X10-4KE. My subjective judgment is that the perceived brightness is a touch lower than what I expect from 1,000 ANSI lumens.
In a dark room, using the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) recommendations, 1,000 lumens should be enough for a 150-inch diagonal, 1.0-gain, 16:9 screen. In moderately bright ambient light, it should be enough for an 85-inch screen. Using Gaming mode, I found the X10-4KE bright enough for a 90-inch, 1.0 gain screen in the dark and an 80-inch screen in low to moderate ambient light at night in a family room. For daytime use in a family room, however, even Brightest mode was washed out on an 80-inch screen. You’ll need to move the projector closer to the screen for a smaller, brighter image that can survive a well-lit room.
As with any single chip projector, rainbow artifacts (red-green-blue flashes) are a potential issue. I saw more with the X10-4KE than with most LED models, but they were fleeting enough that if you aren’t sensitive to them, you may not see any. If you’re concerned about the issue, buy from a dealer you can return the projector to without a fee, so you can test it out for yourself.
4K to Go
If you want a moderately portable 4K projector, the X10-4KE is one of the few choices. Laser 4K projectors are heavier and more expensive. Plenty of lamp-based models, such as the BenQ TK850, both cost and weigh about the same or less, but they’re not designed for portability, and most don’t include streaming, smart features, or palatable speakers.
One competitor worth looking at is the LG CineBeam LU70LA, which is LED-based, includes LG’s smart TV interface and voice commands, and adds a TV tuner. It even weighs a little less than the X10-4KE. However, its onboard audio isn’t in the same league. Another possibility—if you’re willing to drop to 1080p native resolution rather than 4K—is the Editors’ Choice–winning Epson EpiqVision Mini EF12 Smart Streaming Laser Projector, which can accept 4K UHD input, supports HDR, is portable, and costs less thanks to the lower resolution.
The X10-4KE’s closest competitor is the slightly less expensive X10-4K, which it’s in the process of replacing. Compare the spec sheets and you might conclude that they’re identical. However, ViewSonic says that the X10-4KE has a better IR sensor for more responsiveness to the remote control and better auto-focus. That increased ease of use makes the ViewSonic X10-4KE one of the better portable 4K options.
