A World-First Certified Gaming Projector: 100 Inches from 1.5 m, and a Lot More That’s Seriously Impressive
100 inches from 1.5 m, up to 120 inches, with response times and refresh rates up to 4.2 ms and 240 Hz?!
Hi, I’m Hide — tech journalist and part-time house-husband. Projectors have been improving so fast lately, and it’s got me excited. This time I tried ViewSonic’s X2-4K, the world’s first gaming projector with Xbox certification.
Compared with the previous X1-4K, it’s a much shorter throw, and the lens even looks a bit fisheyeThoughtful features like video over USB-CIt vents heat out the side, so placement is easier to planThree mounting points, and it’s fairly light, so ceiling-mount hardware is cheap — nice
With an Xbox, it can’t do 4K, but it plays at 1440p with a fast 120 Hz / 8.33 ms refresh and response — that’s why it got certified. It’s perfect not just for FPS games but for playing RPGs and sports games on a big screen.
HDR10 support and color gamut coverage were satisfying too
On top of that, projecting 100 inches from 1.5 m is super rare — when you look, there aren’t many projectors that can do it. Add 4K UHD resolution, high brightness and contrast, and HDR color reproduction, and I got excited: could this be the easiest projector to use in a Japanese home?
Only the X2-4K can deliver this size at this quality from this distance
I borrowed the X2-4K for this review, but I bought the Xbox Series X with my own money. (Response time doesn’t matter for it, but I’m planning to play Microsoft Flight Simulator eventually. Still, I hadn’t bought a game console in ages, and wow, they’re expensive… lol.)
For my articles, I sometimes receive products on loan or as samples from companies, within the bounds of Yahoo! News’ rules. However, if a product doesn’t meet my standards for writing about it after actually using it, or if its downsides significantly outweigh its good points, I return it and don’t write about it. I don’t receive any payment from companies.
100 inches from 1.5 m is its superpower
If you’re thinking, “If you want a big screen close to the wall, just get an ultra-short-throw projector!” — it’s not that simple. For example, ViewSonic’s own ultra-short-throw X2000L-4K is a laser UST with stunning picture quality, but it needs to sit 23 cm from the wall to show 100 inches.
A fantastic product in the right situation — I’ll review it separately
I’m reviewing the X2000L-4K too, and when conditions are right it’s amazing. But Japanese homes are small. For a house, I’d definitely recommend it, but you still want a big screen in a studio or a small apartment, right?
That’s where the X2-4K comes in. Say you’re setting up in a rectangular room. If there’s no window on a short wall, you can use the room’s length: bed, coffee table, sofa, and a 100-inch screen. The wall next to the bed is often unused anyway, so it’s handy.
The X2-4K gives you a big screen at just the right distanceEnjoying 100 inches in your own room with a layout like this is great. With a rug, you can even run the power cable under the bed without blocking the robot vacuumA coffee table with a raised second tier like this makes setup easy, and you can put your console there tooIf you’re handy, modifying a table like this could be fun
Setting up a UST in the same situation, you’d lose 23 cm from the wall plus 33 cm for the unit’s depth — 56 cm of dead space. Surprisingly few apartments in Japan can spare that.
A typical TV stand is 35–45 cm deep, so 56 cm sticks out a lot and feels cramped
The opposite case — where there’s a window and you can only use a long wall — is also where the X2-4K shines. Its keystone correction works even from far to the side, and combined with the short throw, you can project from beside the sofa. That really widens your options for a big screen. (Considering power cable routing, this layout is the more realistic one.)
This layout is common in typical studio apartments. A 100-inch-plus screen in a space this size is a dreamWith a side table like this, you can put the console underneathKeystone correction works properly even from the side, saving distance compared to projecting head-on
The X2-4K also has 1.2x optical zoom. Most UST models require physically moving the unit, so even a small tweak like “a little bigger” means moving furniture after setup.
Optical size adjustment is an advantage UST models don’t have
With the X2-4K, just turn the lens dial to resize between 1x and 1.2x, making it easy to fit the size even in tight layouts.
Even with Japan’s housing situation, the X2-4K lets you fully enjoy a big screen. That’s why 100 inches from 1.5 m is such a big deal.
Gaming-focused specs are a big draw
First, to avoid any misunderstanding: to get the max spec of 4.3 ms / 240 Hz, you need to configure it for PC gaming and display at 1080p.
It’s 1080p, but playing at 240 Hz is intriguing
Lots of other reviews have headlines like “4.3 ms / 240 Hz!”, so I want to be clear here so readers aren’t disappointed after buying.
But it really is gaming-focused, with impressive specs. In supported Xbox games, you get 1440p at 8.33 ms / 120 Hz. In my experience, for FPS, racing, and sports games that demand these specs, 1440p rarely leaves you wanting, so I was really satisfied. (Plus, there’s no other option among projectors right now…)
F1® 22 at 1440p/120Hz — great response and super comfortable to play
It also supports 4K at 16.67 ms / 60 Hz for consoles other than Xbox, like PS5. For some games, higher resolution is more satisfying, and honestly most games are perfectly enjoyable at these specs.
STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor™ at 4K/60Hz — also shockingly sharp and satisfying
Combined with HDR and color reproduction, gaming on a big screen is incredibly satisfying. Greens looked especially beautiful. Playing all kinds of games on a 100-inch-plus screen is hard (and expensive) with OLED or mini-LED TVs, and there’s no room for them in a small space.
The X2-4K at 100 inches in 4K (top) vs. a 65-inch OLED TV in 4K (bottom)
With a projector, 4K looks finely grained, so even at 100 inches it feels more detailed (top). On a TV like an OLED, you can see each individual element, and it starts to look blocky (bottom).
Getting this size from this distance is just so convenient. Our home is a small 50 m², so I really feel the difference
The X2-4K, on the other hand, can sit on a small table beside the sofa, so you can enjoy gaming on a big screen in a small space. I think it might be the only one that can.
Play Nintendo Switch over USB-C — the best
It’s also handy that you can connect an iPhone, iPad, or Mac (any device that supports USB Type-C video) with one cable and project content.
Video over the USB-C port is a godsend feature that covers all the bases
Best of all, you can connect a Nintendo Switch directly without the dock and play. That makes it easy to keep the console and projector together in a compact space. Plenty of people who aren’t hardcore gamers still play Switch. I really appreciated how much it’s built around gaming.
Connecting a Nintendo Switch without the dock — so well thought out
## Aladdin X is an option, but…
If I had to point out a downside, it’s that it puts out a fair amount of heat. On this point, JMGO’s N1 Ultra wins — that laser projector was almost silent, which was (in a good way) crazy. But the N1 Ultra costs about ¥80,000 more, it’s laser but has a longer throw, and no optical zoom, so for the use cases I described, the X2-4K is a cut above.
Excellent quietness and picture, but a long throw makes placement hard. In our 50 m² home, it was quite a challenge
Of course, in small spaces there’s also the option of something like Aladdin X, built into a ceiling light… But you can’t game at this response time or resolution (though you can use apps, like that trendy Suika Game), and for picture quality the X2-4K wins easily.
My parents love their Aladdin X. If, like them, you basically don’t play games and want convenience for news and TV, the Aladdin X is excellent.
There’s a 30 cm difference in throw, and it depends on where your ceiling light is, so the X2-4K gives you more freedomAt the same 1.5 m, the Aladdin X gives you 87 inches. Still pretty big, but…
Depending on your layout, you might even be able to build a 120-inch gaming den in a tiny 4-tatami room. High placement freedom, great picture, gaming-focused — it’s a projector that genuinely got me excited!
