ViewSonic PLED-W800 review

A very portable DLP LED projector

ViewSonic PLED-W800
ViewSonic PLED-W800

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Solid state, LED-based projectors are all the rage with hard-traveling road warriors, and it's easy to see why with under-a-kilo DLP beamers like the PLED-W800 available.

We liked

PC-less presentations are a doddle, with Microsoft and PDF file support from USB and SD card. It even plays MKV video files. This projector is bright enough for excellent projections in a dingy room (draw the curtains if you can – it helps massively), and the resolution is just right for good-looking presentations.

The PLED-W800 also has stereo speakers on its rear, which do help if your presentation has a short video within, though it does lack any kind of low frequency sonics. So the rear's 3.5mm audio output jack is an excellent addition that adds a lot of flexibility – invest £100 or so in a good quality portable Bluetooth speaker that has a 3.5mm audio input (most do, but check), and you can easily add a bit of bass and mid-range for a much more professional feel. Few projectors have an audio output.

The 30,000 hours of lamp life is worth remembering, too (that's about a decade of normal use), as is the highly portable chassis design.

We disliked

Should a flagship portable projector have Wi-Fi built-in? Of course it should; no-one wants to bother with Wi-Fi dongles anymore. Nor is the PLED-W800 the quietest projector we've ever tested, racking up between 60-69 decibels when it's at full brightness, though it didn't prove distracting while the speakers were in use.

In theory those speakers are a nice add-on to any projector, but at a measly 2W each they supply a possibly harmfully bad sound quality that could jar with those watching presentations. A red laser pointer on the remote would be handy, too.

Final verdict

The lamp-free future is here, and this DLP-powered LED beamer is a highly portable, PC-less option for slick presentations. With great file support, easy navigation, a portable design and just enough brightness and resolution to compete, the PLED-W800 is surprisingly versatile.

The provision of USB, SD Card and HDMI slots is handy, but shouldn't a flagship portable projector have Wi-Fi? We think it should, but the media-friendly PLED-W800 is nevertheless a good value, long-lasting and low maintenance portable product for road warriors – and it's just as handy for saving space around the office.

Jamie Carter

Jamie is a freelance tech, travel and space journalist based in the UK. He’s been writing regularly for Techradar since it was launched in 2008 and also writes regularly for Forbes, The Telegraph, the South China Morning Post, Sky & Telescope and the Sky At Night magazine as well as other Future titles T3, Digital Camera World, All About Space and Space.com. He also edits two of his own websites, TravGear.com and WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com that reflect his obsession with travel gear and solar eclipse travel. He is the author of A Stargazing Program For Beginners (Springer, 2015),