Tired of casting a shadow on the projected image when you walk in front of your projector? Want to avoid placing your projector in the midst of your audience? Take heart... Vivitek's new D795WT may be the answer to your problems.

This is no lightweight at almost 20 pounds, but it does have one characteristic that no other short-throw projector can match: a throw distance of only 1.5 feet. Hard as it may be to believe, the D795WT puts up an 87" diagonal image from just 18" away. That distance is from the screen to the aspheric reflector at the back of the projector . . . the front of the D795WT is actually only an inch from the screen. This gives new meaning to "up close and personal."

There is a constraint on the image from such a specialized projector . . . it cannot be made smaller that 87" nor larger than 95", but that size range is right in the wheelhouse for many presentations. The D795WT may not be right for a large room or an intimate gathering, but it fits a lot of presentation environments and performs where some competitors may not. List price is $1,899 which may sound a little steep for a WXGA 1280 x 800 projector, but if you need the D795WT's extremely short-throw capabilities, it is worth it.

Despite its specialized design, the D795WT does well in the image quality department. Data images are vivid and crisp with even small fonts easily readable. Photos looked saturated and well defined, especially in Normal mode. Video images needed a few adjustments depending on the interface (e.g., HDMI vs. component video), but User mode allowed some precise tweaking, and the result was excellent. Movie viewing was a distinct pleasure with flesh tones right on the money. Black levels and highlights were well defined, and the entire color spectrum was balanced. There were occasional rainbow artifacts which are typical of DLP projectors, but they were mostly confined to high contrast content.

Advantages

Lamp Life: In Normal mode, the lamp is rated for 4,000 hours, but you can boost that to 6,000 hours in Eco mode which ranks right up there with the longest in the industry. Couple that with the barely noticeable 16% brightness decrease in Eco mode, and you will probably find that Eco mode is your default choice.

Presentation Control: If you like to wander around while making PowerPoint presentations, you can do so by connecting a USB cable between the D795WT and your computer. Using the remote control, you can page up and down, advance and reverse your slides, and generally run the presentation without being tied to your computer.

Laser Pointer: Many projectors offer a cumbersome arrow icon that can be move in X-Y fashion around the image to point out an important item, but the D795WT does it up in style with a built-in laser pointer.

Connections: The D795WT has every input and output connection you are likely to need. There are two VGA computer inputs, either of which doubles as a component video input. There are separate inputs for composite video and S-video, and there is an HDMI digital input as well. Dual audio inputs and a separate monitor loop are provided. An RJ-45 for networks and a USB type B for computers complete the connector array.

Audio Quality: The D795WT's 10-watt speaker puts out plenty of volume for a small or medium size room, and it is buzz- and hiss-free over its entire range.

Limitations

Placement Flexibility: Like its short-throw competitors, the D795WT has a focus ring but no zoom lens. This means that there is a direct and unchangeable relationship between image size and projection distance. If you want a 95" diagonal image, there is only one projection distance that will provide it. Furthermore, the D795WT's projection distance range is only from 19-20.5" from the screen, so placement options are definitely limited.

Color Wheel Rainbows: You may know that DLP projectors can produce RGB stripes intermittently when viewing fast moving video scenes or content with high contrast. The D795WT exhibited the rainbow effect in our tests, and if you are planning to show a lot of video, you should try before you buy to see if it is going to be a problem.

Remote Control: In general, the D795WT's remote control is easy to operate with its color-coded buttons that separate menu and computer functions. However, some important functions are located at the very bottom of the remote (the Source key, in particular), and it is easy to lose control of the remote when selecting these functions one-handed. In contrast, the laser pointer button is at the top right and is easy to select and control.

Warranty Provisions: Vivitek offers a 1-year warranty on the D795WT which is a year less than most projectors in its class. The lamp is warranted for 90 days from date of purchase.

Other Considerations

Brightness: Our test unit was a bit shy of its 3,000-lumen rating with Bright mode delivering 2,655 ANSI lumens. Presentation and TV modes came in at 2,185 lumens, and Game and sRGB modes put up 1,725 lumens. Movie mode rounded out the field at 1,210 lumens. A pleasant surprise was that Eco mode extended lamp life by 2,000 hours while reducing brightness in all modes by only 16%.

Image Size and Position: For a 95" image, the lens centerline is about 17" below the bottom of the image, and the image is about 48" high. These are good proportions for tabletop mounting, but if you place the D795WT closer to the floor, you may have to tilt the projector upward to get the image high enough for easy viewing at the rear of the room. Since the front foot on the D795WT is not adjustable, you will have to place a spacer under the front foot to raise the image. There is ±15° of electronic vertical keystone correction available, and adjustable screw-in rear feet solve any horizontal leveling issues.

Digital Input: Unlike some competitors it its class, the D795WT sports a digital input so you can connect HDMI signals you may have from your computers or DVD players. Just be aware that, like most projectors, the D795WT disables saturation, tint, and sharpness adjustments for HDMI signals.

Network Connections and Management: Crestron's control and monitoring system is compatible with the D795WT and is implemented via a built-in D-sub 9 connector. It can remotely monitor projector status such as lamp condition and internal temperature and alert maintenance personnel to possible problems. An RJ-45 network connection is also provided to make Web connection easy.

Brightness Uniformity: Most short-throw projectors have low brightness uniformity, but the D795WT did better than most with a 75% reading. In the case of our test unit, the bottom of the image was brighter than the top. While you will not notice this variation in video presentations, you may see a brightness gradient in static presentations (e.g., photos, PowerPoint) when there is a lot of white or dark area in the image.

User Settings: In User mode, you can fine-tune the displayed image by adjusting Brilliant Color, contrast, brightness, sharpness, gamma, and color temperature (four settings). If you are looking for the best possible screen image, you may want to try the D795WT's Color Manager menu where you can make fine adjustments to all seven colors produced by the light engine (red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, yellow, and white). Casual users may shy away from such detailed adjustments, but they can enhance the viewing experience if carefully applied. If you want to take the time to get the best image possible, the User mode provides you the tools to do it.

3-D Compatibility: Like many DLP projectors, the D795WT is 3D ready via TI's DLP Link™ technology using active shutter glasses and a computer source outputting a 120 Hz frame-sequential 3D signal. That the D975WT is 3D ready does not mean it is compatible with all 3D sources on the market, so if you plan to use the 3D option, ask your dealer about compatibility issues before you make a purchase. Glasses typically run around $70 per pair, so using 3D with a large audience could get expensive.

Preset modes: The D795WT offers six display modes for different conditions e.g., games, movies, presentations, etc.). There are also five settings to compensate for projection surface colors other than white (light yellow, pink, light green, blue, and blackboard).

Fan noise: In Normal mode, fan noise is in the mid-frequency range and at 29 dB will not provide any significant distraction. Even the usual whine of the color wheel motor is suppressed.

On-Screen Menus: The D795WT's on-screen menus are well designed, and only modest layering makes navigation easy. Menus can be positioned in five locations around the image, their translucency can be adjusted, and they are small enough not to obscure the image while you make adjustments.

Maintenance: Keeping the D795WT in peak condition takes little more than an occasional vacuuming of the air intake grills and a dusting of the mirror. Its DLP design requires no air filters, so that expense and inconvenience is eliminated. Also, the lamp is accessed from the top of the projector, so lamp replacement is easy regardless of mounting orientation.

Conclusion

There are several short-throw projectors available for less than the D795WT's price of $1,899. They put up good images and connect to various inputs. But one thing they do not offer is the extremely short throw distance of the D795WT . . . and if you need it, this is the only game in town. At 3,000 lumens, it is bright enough to handle high ambient light, and its internal speaker is plenty loud enough for many venues. The D795WT does have the inherent placement and image size restrictions typical of short-throw projectors. But as a specialty projector, it fits its niche well and delivers solid video and audio performance.

For more detailed specifications and connections, check out our Vivitek D795WT projector page.

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