ViewSonic PA503X 4000 Lumens XGA High Brightness Projector for Home and Office with HDMI Vertical Keystone

If you’ve ever bought one of those cheap temp-brand projectors here, you’ll know that they do not last and they’re not very bright. This projector, on the other hand, is high quality. It’s a known brand, and it shows with this projector. The brightness is top-tier. The image quality is great. I spent too much time researching, and if you’re reading this and wondering why you might spend more money, it’s for the quality, quiet fan (especially on Eco mode), and a nice remote that works well. Get this one if you want a projector that is bright and will last.

Used at a hotel for a PowerPoint presentation. The price of this was less than the cost of the rental. Worked well and highly recommend. Set up was easy and it was easy to get a clear level image on the screen.

I use the projector for exclusively outdoor movie nights. My previous set up (an ageing NEC projector) has been the source of many happy family memories. With COVID limiting social gatherings, I wanted to create a better experience ... and hopefully one that was easier to set up. Achieving this turned out to be an interesting journey so thought I would share in case it helps anyone. The short version – the View Sonic PA 503S was the winner, but whether this makes sense for you does depend on what you need from a projector. Read on for the details... Initially I went back and forth on whether it was worth upgrading at all. My existing set up was a 10 yr old NEC projector, a bed sheet, and UE Boom speaker. It had the huge advantage of being available & free! However, there were some things I was looking for in an upgrade. Highest on my list was the ability to use a cell phone as an input source (the NEC projector could only use an input from a portable DVD player), plus it needed to be almost fully dark before I started the movie. In addition, it was fiddly to set up and the sound was not great. The screen was the first issue to solve. After significant research, I went with a Yard Master 135” screen. It was expensive, but it works great and I am very happy with it. I can relocate movie watching from where I used to hang the bedsheet to the more convenient location of my back patio – much more comfortable. I addressed the audio by using a Vizio sound bar I had lying around, which gave a huge leap in performance. Now for the projector... and here is where it gets interesting. I attempted to research projectors, but there were only a few sites I could find that did a decent comparison test. In fact, many sites comparing projectors seemed to simply re-cycle the marketing blurb from each product. One can spend $100 or $1000 on a projector, and its not easy to figure out whether spending more gets you a better experience. So I bought 3 projectors and ran a back to back test. The units I tested were the ViewSonic PA503S ($300), the Vankyo Leisure 3 ($127) and the QKK Mini Projector (2020 version, claiming 4200 Lux, cost $100). I also found a cable which promised to turn HDMI signal into an S-Video input, which I could then plug into the NEC projector. Findings below. 4th place. NEC projector plus cable. Failed to get out of the starting blocks. The cable did not do as promised, and ended up mangling the Netflix formatting. 3rd place. Vankyo Leisure 3. Did a great job with video display. It was a little brighter (but not by much) vs the NEC. The focus ring and keystone adjustment feel like the weak spot for this unit.. and likely all similarly priced mini projectors. On this particular unit, the keystone adjustment was so loose it shifted when you adjusted the focus. And the focus had to be cranked right to end extreme in order to get a sharp image ... to be honest it wasn’t really in focus even then. My guess is that this was just the unit I had... but it did not inspire confidence As with many reviewers, I could not get Netflix to produce sound thru the projector, but that was not a show stopper as I am using a sound bar with ARC-HDMI input as my audio. 2nd place. QKK. Like the Vankyo, it did a great job of video, and had the same audio issues. Video was sharp, and a little brighter vs the NEC. It was relatively short throw... I filled the 135” screen at a projection distance of around 12 feet, which worked well for my set up. A word on quality control. Like the Vankyo, focus / keystone adjustment is a weak spot. It’s a very plasticky and crude mechanism. Incredibly I had to buy 3 of these units before I got one that worked. The first one was a lemon – it never focused properly. You could get focus in the center of the screen but not the edges, which really killed us when we had a movie with sub titles. The 2nd unit was lost in delivery. Amazon refunded it. The 3rd one I reviewed here. Its focus ring / keystone adjustment mechanism worked well, and it was easy to get good focus. 1st place. View Sonic PA503S. The View Sonic is at a completely different level of quality, plus it offers one huge advantage – it is literally twice as bright as the QKK & Vankyo. Firstly the image – its clear, and the focus is easy to adjust to perfection. No softness at the edge of the screen, it was ‘movie theater’ quality. One slight difference vs the QKK... the throw is a little longer. I needed 19 feet projection distance to fill the screen, thankfully not a problem for my set up. Secondly audio – Netflix works on this unit. Again, I had a work around so this wasn’t essential, but in case that matters for your set up. Most importantly of all, the brightness. The View Sonic claims 3600 lumens. It was (by eyeball estimation) twice as bright as the others. This means I can start watching a movie just as the sun goes down, fully 1 hour before the QKK / Vankyo were viable options. This turns out to be a huge deal. The QKK and Vankyo both needed it to be fully dark to watch the movie. Around here that means starting to watch a movie at 9:20pm in the summer... and therefore finishing well after 11pm. With the View Sonic I can start watching at 8:15pm. For comparison the QKK claims 4200 lux, and after some digging I found a claim of 2200 lumens. So for me, a combination of brightness plus a generally much improved build quality convinced me to keep the $300 View Sonic and return the others.

My dad needed something in his office to be able to project from a laptop with clients. I almost went with a cheap projector but then after a little research I realized I would need a more expensive one so he could project with the lights on. I found this, and from photos and reviews it looked perfect. Especially the part that says, "Packed with 3,600 lumens and a high contrast ratio, this projector produces bright images in nearly any environment." However .... it just doesn't really work how we need it to. When the lights are on you can see the picture, but it is too faint. With the lights off this projector is beautiful. Sadly, that's not what it is needed for. Even worse, I went through the trouble of ordering a tripod projector screen, projector stand, laser pointer, etc. And now they all have to be returned. I think he will be better off just connecting his laptop to a TV through HDMI so that it will be clear, bright, and not faint with the lights on. If my apartment wasn't so small I would love to have this to project movies on the wall! Also super cool is from other reviewer's photos where they project movies outside. So all in all, this is an amazing projector. Except that it cannot show clearly with the lights on. From the description I thought that would be possible. Since it can't do what I need it to do for my dad I have to return :(

I will be projecting in a couple of weeks in a dining hall where the entire west end is a glass wall (with no shades or curtains), so there is a lot of ambient light - especially after our noon lunch! I received the projector, unboxed it (it was well packed, including two batteries for the remote), powered it up and was rewarded with a nice bright display. (After powering up, wait about 20 seconds for the full brightness. Also - you can make it even more bright and increase contrast and sharpness through the on-screen menus.) Very basic adjustable feet allow fairly limited vertical/tilt movement of the projector. You may need to use books or other objects if you need it aimed more upwards or downwards. Keystone corrections worked well. At different vertical angles of the projector, I was able to use the digital keystoning to get the image squared up with no problems. (I use a portable projector stand which allows me to pan and tilt the stand and projector easily.) Optical zoom and focus worked well - I tested and got about a nice 9-foot-wide display on a screen with the projector located about 15 feet back from the screen. Based on my very quick and rough testing, for about every 3 feet of horizontal displayed data on the screen, you need the projector to be about 5 feet from the screen. I used an HDMI connection to my laptop as the source, and got very good, clean and sharp displays. Back to the brightness - I tested this in our dining room at 1 PM where the entire wall behind the projector was glass with no drapes or other shading, and the weather was clear and very sunny. The picture was quite clear and definitely bright enough for my audience in a couple of weeks. I am keeping the box, as it is a good size for carrying the projector - otherwise I would need to get a padded bag to carry it. The projector itself is quite light and easy to pull out of the box one-handed and set on the projector stand or table.

Even with lights on you can see this really good. High quality

This is a great upgrade from our previous projector! (Optoma HD25lv). We opted for the PA503W model so we had the wide screen option (aspect ratio 16:10). It does only have one HDMI port, so be aware of that. It’s not an issue for us because it’s hooked up to a receiver (which runs our surround sound, DVD player, and chromecast). The picture is clear, bright & colors seem spot on. I left all the settings on auto and it looks great! I wasn’t sure about this projector initially because the description talks a lot about business and education use, but it’s working great as our home theater projector! We needed a projector with a video input option so we could hook up our Wii and this one has it👍🏼 It’s very quiet (can’t hear it while movies are playing), was really easy to set up, and easy to mount on the ceiling using a universal ceiling mount (mounting holes require 3 screws size M4 x 8mm). The keystone adjustment was super easy to use to adjust the picture so it wasn’t tilted. I can’t speak to the internal speaker because we have it hooked up to a receiver and surround sound speakers. It took maybe 10 mins to unbox, attach the ceiling bracket, and get hooked up. We have it mounted 11’ 6” from our 90” screen and it was easy to get in focus and adjusted. Zero complaints! It came with a power cord, monitor cord, remote, and 2 AAA batteries for the remote, which was nice. If you’re looking for a good projector that won’t break the bank, I’d highly recommend this one.

Originally the main issue I had with the projector was that the remote being annoying, and that unlike projectors I have previously had, you can only adjust the size of the screen by physically moving the projector. Now I am immensely disappointed because I thought this projector would be a great investment for at least the next 5 years seeing as I should only really have to replace the lamp/bulb from time to time. Recently it wouldn't turn on and none of the lights would flash, so I contacted customer support and while they were kind they were entirely unhelpful. The unit I purchased about 2 years ago was refurbished, they stated they only covered issues with it up to 30 days. Fair enough, they did state that the issue was most likely the lamp. Honestly though, there are so many companies that do have warranties, but if you really have an issue with their product they fix it. Example: I bought a backpack from Teton and had an issue with the straps, I emailed their customer support team about my problem and while they technically didn't have to help me because I purchase it off amazon, they did anyway and sent new straps. One of the reasons I chose this projector in the first place was because I looked into this company and I had a monitor from them a few years ago. I could have chosen a cheaper unit with a random name from China, but I thought Viewsonic was the way to go. I am sure that they can't just afford to, as a company, repair every issue without cost like you could with a backpack, but I really thought if something ever did happen they would be more helpful or something. (side note: they were kind, not helpful) So I hoped on the internet and taught myself how to replace the lamp, I replaced the lamp and my unit worked for about 4 hrs and then once I turned it off to move it to my room I heard a sinister popping/crackling noise which can't be good and now it won't turn on again. Frankly, just don't buy this unit, because there are better projectors, with better speakers, better customer service, and better remotes. I bought a Wimius about 4 years ago that is going strong in the care of my older sister and that projector is incredible. Pros: great color, keystone correction, quiet unit, and light weight/portable Cons: terrible audio quality, bad remote, lack luster customer help, and you can't go into the settings and set the size you want the screen to be. All that to say that I am just disappointed and frustrated, I can't afford to have it repaired or buy a new unit, so I am just projector-less. As dramatic as this sounds, I will never buy another product from Viewsonic again.