A brand well-known in the consumer electronics space, Viewsonic, has been offering a lot more compact, portable projectors in recent years.

The latest, Viewsonic M1 Pro, is designed for use at both home and office settings and here’s how it performs.

Design

The Viewsonic M1 Pro is as portable as a projector can get. The body is primarily made of plastic but features metal on the tripod mount point and the stand.

The metal stand doubles as the lens cover as well as the on/off mechanism and also lets you project onto walls and ceilings at any angle. This is a good testament to Viewsonic’s design choice to make the device minimalist yet functional at the same time.

The M1 Pro is light, weighing in under 1 Kg and I could easily carry it around in one hand.

Touch controls on the surface and and focus ring on the side of the M1 Pro

Touch controls on the surface and and focus ring on the side of the M1 Pro | Photo Credit: Bijoy Ghosh

The body features touch controls on the top surface for pausing, playing, and controlling the volume on the projector.

The projector features a plastic focus ring on the left-hand side which can be used to tweak the focus.

I/O Ports

I/O Ports | Photo Credit: Bijoy Ghosh

The ports are neatly tucked away behind the curved magnetic I/O cover on the left-hand side of the projector.

The M1 Pro features a whole host of ports for connectivity which includes 2 Type-C ports,1 HDMI port, and 1 USB Type-A port along with a 19V DC in-pin port for power and one audio-out port.

I navigated the menu on the projector with a Bluetooth remote, which felt too big in my hand. The remote buttons were stiff but registered clicks with ease.

Performance

The Viewsonic M1 Pro is capable of projecting a 100 inches image from 2.5 meters away on walls and ceilings and delivers on that front.

It also delivers great 720P content and renders colours in true-to-life tones on anything from walled surfaces to white-boards using its 600 LED Lumens LED lamp.

 Harman Kardon speakers

 Harman Kardon speakers | Photo Credit: Bijoy Ghosh

The M1 Pro features two built-in 3-Watt Harman Kardon speakers. The sound throw is excellent while enjoying Ludovico Einaudi’s Divenire and the phaser fire and DTS sound effects on Star-Trek Picard. 

It’s a great home-theatre experience for the premium that you would be paying for the projector.    

One thing that I liked about the M1 Pro is that its interface was quite quick to boot and was fluid to navigate unlike the Viewsonic M2e which I had reviewed a while back.

The M1 Pro brings versatility to the game with a 12,000 mAh in-built battery making this an ideal portable projector to carry on the go for holidays or even work presentations. 

The in-built battery is rated at 1.4 hours in standard and two hours in eco-mode and in my testing with movies and content came close to the 1 hour 20 mark in standard and close to 1 hour 40 minutes in eco-mode.

Carry case for the Viewsonic M1 Pro

Carry case for the Viewsonic M1 Pro | Photo Credit: Bijoy Ghosh

Verdict

Look no further than the M1 Pro if you are looking for a projector that is sleek, portable, offers good features for the premium price you are paying, and is okay with the 720P resolution.

If you are a little more budget-conscious you could consider options from BenQ and the XGIMI that offer 1080P picture clarity at lower price points. 

  • Price: ₹99,000.
  • Pro: Sleek form factor, In-built battery, great sound, multiple input options, responsive OS, good picture rendition and colours.
  • Cons: Runs a bit warm.