ViewSonic M2 Review: Should You Buy It?

In the times when Cinema halls are closed and new movies are releasing on the OTT platforms, home entertainment has become a savior by allowing us to forget that we are in the middle of a pandemic for a few moments. To enhance the watching experience, the demand for portable projectors is increasing. We at BW Businessworld reviewed ViewSonic M2 projector for a few weeks and here is our report.  

Viewsonic M2 looks elegant and premium with its curve-edges and sleek squarish design.  At the front, there is a projection lens, which unfortunately isn’t protected by any lens cover. It means you will have to be extra careful when setting it up. The company provides a protective case inside the box that can protect the projector when not in use.

Coming to the rear side, it gets plenty of ports - HDMI v2.0, 3.5mm audio output, microSD card, USB reader, Bluetooth pairing button and USB Type-C port. Moreover, it also supports Wi-fi through a USB dongle which thankfully comes packaged inside the box.  

To adjust the angle of projection, there is an adjustable foot at the bottom of the projector. However, you need to hold the projector if plugging any drive or cable as the foot is not made to handle that much force.  

ViewSonic M2 is a 1080p DLP LED Projector that is HDR-compatible, it can also decode and play 4K content downscaled to 1080p. Brightness levels are rated at 1200 LED lumens, which is slightly less if compared to other projectors in this range. However, you won’t be able to recognize much difference, if you are watching the content in low light or dark conditions.  

Being a LED projector, ViewSonic M2 offers huge 30,000 hours usage time. If you are watching two movies a day, it will remain your companion for at least 20 years. Moreover, the an LED projector is less likely to demand any kind of maintenance from its user.  

As expected, the projector starts up pretty quickly and is extremely quiet to the point that you can hold it in front of you without realizing it is switched on and working. Focus is done automatically with a sensor that reads the screen. If you move the projector in between, it will automatically adjust the focus first then it will start projection again. If the automatic focus is not satisfactory, the user can still change it from the settings.

The projector offers rich and bright colors and after watching it, you might forget that visuals are coming from a small portable projector. The image quality is good and it really offers accurate colors. One thing that we really liked is its Frame Interpolation which is something not usually seen in this price bracket. Moreover, it also supports Auto-Keystone which corrects distorted images (up and down) to display the projection screen in a square shape.

ViewSonic M2 supports both Airplay and Chromecast. Moreover, once connected to Wi-Fi, you can stream directly from your Mac, Windows, Android and iOS devices.  

While connected to  Wi-Fi, users can stream their favorite shows and movies directly through the projector. The company has provided Aptoide as its own app store. It can help you installing various related applications such as Youtube, Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc.  

The projector comes with great connectivity options. However, it misses physical buttons on the projector. It means you have to depend entirely on the remote. If you are operating in a dark environment, you may need an extra light source such as a phone flash to recognize the buttons of the remote, as it isn't backlit.  

One more thing that we want to highlight is the usage of Mouse. If you connect the mouse with the projector (which is a must for using some apps like chrome) it doesn’t work perfectly. Most of the time it not recognize the clicks and redirect you to the previous page.  

To make the projector slim, the unit doesn’t come with a built-in battery, however, it can be used with a power bank. This means one can project a big screen at any place, be it a camping site or just under the stars.

The thing which we liked most is its audio experience. The ViewSonic M2 gets the two 3W speakers which are co-developed by Harman Kardon. They can easily fill a room and actually sound good for small speakers. For bigger rooms, you can alternatively connect a speaker through Bluetooth.  

Conclusion  

The ViewSonic M2 is a Full HD portable LED projector and you can carry it wherever you want. If you are a traveling soul and want an entertainment companion with you, the M2 would not disappoint you. Its built-in speakers, app store, and decent picture quality will be the treat for the eyes. Currently priced at Rs 86,000, the projector is slightly expensive. However, if you are looking for a stable projector for the home, there are more choices available in the market.