The ViewSonic LS740HD is a compact, lightweight, 5,000 ANSI lumen laser installation projector with 1080p (1920x1080) resolution. It's priced attractively at $1,099 list but can be found online for as little as $999. This is a lamp-free DLP projector designed for business and education environments, offering a light engine lifespan of up to 30,000 hours without the need to replace lamps, saving money over the lifetime of the projector. The projector features a sealed light engine with IP6X dust resistance.

The LS740HD delivers a large, vivid image of up to 300 inches diagonal, making it suitable for bright, public commercial spaces like museums, retail environments, boardrooms, lecture halls, and even airports. As an installation projector, this ViewSonic is meant to be set up once and stay put but is compact enough to be easily moved around if needed. It features portrait mode, 360 projection, and geometric correction for flexible projection applications.

There is a WXGA version (also 5,000 lumens), the LS740W, with a $999 list price and street price as low as $799, that may be more suitable for K-12 school districts purchasing multiple projectors. Though 1080p is nice, K-12 typically doesn't need it, and WXGA (1280x800), the business/education equivalent to 720p, will often suffice.

In terms of competition, there isn't a whole lot. The LS740HD's price is pretty hard to compete with for a 1080p, 5,000 lumen laser projector. Epson's Pro EX11000 is a 1080p laser projector that also projects up to 300 inches and offers 4,600 lumens, for $1,299. Epsons, historically, have excellent color, and either meet or exceed (in my experience) their brightness claims. As a 3LCD projector, the Epson will produce as many color lumens as it does white lumens, which gives colors an extra vibrant pop, especially noticeable in the face of ambient light. Though the Epson weighs about 3 pounds more, it still comes in under 10 pounds and both the ViewSonic and Epson are relatively small. Both have 3D capabilities, but only the Epson has built-in Wi-Fi with on-board mirroring and content sharing. On the other hand, the ViewSonic is rated to operate 24/7, which is a major plus in some applications.

Ultimately, with its low price point for its brightness class, the ViewSonic LS740HD offers a great value proposition for businesses and education institutions. This installation projector has just enough features to get the job done, and none of what you don't need. Read on to find out if it's right for your specific applications.

Features

As mentioned, the ViewSonic LS740HD is a full HD 1080p (1920x1080) resolution commercial projector made for bright environments with its 5,000 lumen claim. (It measured slightly shy of its claim at 4,783 ANSI lumens, well within the accepted tolerance.) At just 11.3 x 5.0 x 8.5 inches (WHD) and 6.6 lbs, it is compact and can easily be transported from room to room, as well as installed permanently for a variety of applications where ambient light is a concern. This is a DLP projector with third-generation laser phosphor technology, with a light engine lifespan of up to 30,000 hours in Eco mode.

The LS740HD's lens is a 1.3x manual zoom lens with manual focus, located on the front left of the projector and controlled via its focus and zoom rings. The focus ring is a ribbed ring around the front of the lens, and the zoom ring is accessed in a recessed area on top. The front IR sensor is to the left of the lens. On top of the projector, at the back, is the control panel, and the top IR sensor. The air intake vents are on either side of the LS740HD, with the intake on the left, and the exhaust on the right. The back of the projector houses the inputs and connectors. If you opt for an inverted ceiling mount, there is a recess on the bottom where you can secure the supplied power brick with a cable tie.

This ViewSonic can produce an image of up to 300 inches diagonally, which makes it ideal for large venues like lecture halls, museums, concert venues, and retail spaces, as well as boardrooms. There is some wiggle room in terms of placement flexibility thanks to that zoom lens, but you can use our ViewSonic LS740HD Throw Distance Calculator to check out where you should place the projector for your screen size.

In addition to its zoom lens, the LS740HD has horizontal and vertical keystone correction and 4-corner geometric correction, so you can get the image just right. The projector can also be set up in Portrait Mode, a mode highly useful in installations for museums and retail spaces where the graphics and videos may be utilized at in a 9:16 (vertical) aspect ratio rather than the standard 16:9 (horizontal). The ViewSonic also features 360-degree projection, another feature that allows for creativity in your installations projecting onto ceilings, floors, and walls, at any angle. The projector features a cooling design that allows for 24/7 operation. Thanks to that laser light engine and its long lifespan, the cooling design, and its Eco mode, the LS740HD works for continuous projection.

Whenever there's a firmware update for the projector, it's a simple process you can do yourself. It just takes a USB Type-A cable from the projector to the USB port on your laptop, then following the easy instructions found in this ViewSonic video. The same port can be used to power an accessory device (5V/1.5A), such as a wireless HDMI streamer or other device. There is no on-board Wi-Fi so mirroring or casting from wireless devices or computers requires an HDMI dongle or sharing system. ViewSonic offers its PJ-WPD-700 with a single USB-C transmitter and HDMI receiver for $120 street price; the system supports up to eight transmitters. I did not receive the wireless dongle for this review, so I cannot comment on how well it works.

Other connections include a pair of HDMI inputs (both version 1.4 with HDCP 1.4), an RS232C serial connection for control, and a 3.5 mm audio output. The LS740HD is not advertised as accepting 4K signals in either its specs or manual, though ViewSonic says it will display 3840x2160p at 30 Hz and downscale to its native 1080p, something I was not able to verify. The projector can also do 1080p 3D content.

The LS740HD has SuperColor Technology—ViewSonic's proprietary term for their enhanced color processing. The result? Color that pops.

The LS740HD features a 15-watt mono speaker. As expected with most projectors, the onboard speaker does highs and mids pretty decently, but lacks bass. This is particularly noticeable when watching action scenes in films and TV shows, such as many scenes in Uncharted. It handles bass well enough, with no weird clipping or issues, it just doesn't have that punch we all love with good bass, as is true of most built-in speakers. The volume only goes up to 10 from 0, and at 10, it can fill a medium to medium-large sized room decently. For rooms larger than that, or ones that will have ambient sound (crowds, the usual din of people talking), you'll want to hook up to an external sound system.

The remote control is small, black, and easy to wield. No blacklight, but that's fine. The top section of the remote has the Power button, AV Mute, Auto Sync, Source, the four navigational arrows surrounding the Enter button, Menu/Exit button, and the button for switching the Power Modes. Below that are the Keystone Correction buttons and the Volume +/- buttons. The bottom section of the remote has buttons for the VGA, Video, and HDMI inputs (both VGA and Video buttons are unsupported on this projector), stacked Pg Up/Dn buttons (unsupported), Aspect and Freeze, and Zoom In/Out, and the Mouse (unsupported), Display Mode, and Mute buttons along the bottom.

ViewSonic supplies the LS740HD projector, the power brick and cable, a remote with two batteries, and a quick start guide. You can download a PDF User Manual at ProjectorCentral's ViewSonic LS740HD Find a Projector database page.

The ViewSonic LS740HD comes with limited warranty that varies based on location. For North and South America, the General Warranty is: Three years for all parts excluding the lamp, three years for labor, and one year for the original light source from the date of the first consumer purchase. The Limited One Year Heavy Usage Warranty is: One year warranty or all parts excluding the lamp, one year for labor, and ninety days for the original light source from the date of the first consumer purchase. The same warranty, for Europe, is: One year warranty for all parts excluding the lamp, one year for labor, and ninety days for the original lamp from the date of the first consumer purchase. For all other regions and countries, ViewSonic says to contact your local dealer or ViewSonic office for details.

Performance

Color Modes. The ViewSonic LS740HD has five color modes: Bright, Presentation, Cinema, Gaming, and User. Cinema mode has the most accurate color all around, while Presentation mode is the brightest mode with the best color.

Bright mode is the "break glass in case of emergency mode" on all projectors. It's never the most attractive mode, though, as far as brightest modes go, this ViewSonic's is far from the worst. It does have the characteristic yellowish-green hue over everything, making the whites more of a muddy yellow, and changing the tone of all colors on the color wheel. What would be lovely and vibrant reds and oranges are muddy and dull, many looking more of a brown. Yellows and greens still look like yellows and greens, but you lose the different shades of bright yellows, and greens take on a shift in their shade. They'd have a different name on their crayon altogether. Blues, purples, and magentas are all still recognizable, but there is a definite shift in color, thanks to that muddy overlay.

Presentation mode is the best mode for presentations and is aptly named. This mode has subjectively accurate colors but is quite vibrant. The result is an attractive look, with bright, clear whites, but you will lose some ability to differentiate between shades of bright yellow and possibly bright green. Mostly, I don't think that will be an issue. It's one of the better presentation modes I've seen, especially on a projector of this price point.

Cinema mode is the best mode for film, TV, and video viewing. The white is still pretty nicely white. The colors themselves are true to life, with a slight favoring toward vibrancy where the colors might be more muted or desaturated, but it's something you have to be looking for. Perhaps a branding professional would see the difference as a slight shift in hue from the usual brand colors, but as far as projectors go, this mode looks quite accurate.

Gaming mode gives more of a soft, pastel look to things. It's like a less vibrant form of Cinema mode. Some colors are lighter than they are on the color wheel, like the lightest orange before it turns to yellow. The oranges are where the color differences between the two modes will be most noticeable. This is an attractive mode for gaming, though, as mentioned below, input lag for gaming measured mediocre at best.

User mode starts out looking the same as Presentation mode and can be customized via the CMS in the Menu. Within the Color Management System, accessible in the Image Settings menu at the bottom via Color Settings, you have some options to play with. The controls include a DLP BrilliantColor option, Color Temperature (Cool, Warm, Standard), Color Matching (Hue, Saturation, Gain), and Color Space (Auto, RGB 0~255, RGB 16~255, YUV). Of course, you can also tinker with Sharpness, Contrast, Gamma, and all that jazz.

Presentation Viewing. I had forgotten I was setting up my Mac for streaming on Twitch and left the streaming software and game capture software open, so that is what immediately projected on the screen. It looked incredible at 100 inches. I hadn't thought about it, because when streaming, you typically use a monitor or two, but a projector could be used as a second monitor. Something to ponder and maybe a solution I've been looking for since I no longer have a second monitor. Happy accident.

As you've probably gathered, the ViewSonic LS740HD works with Macs. This is a definite plus, as not every projector is guaranteed to accept a signal from Mac computers. The projector also works with Windows-based PCs. Presentation slides, websites, and infographics all look fantastic when projected by the ViewSonic LS740HD. The text is sharp and readable almost at any size. When you get down to less than 8-point type (which is ridiculous to do to people), the text does get a bit garbled, but I could still make it out. Better to stick to 8-point or above.

The best mode for presenting is Presentation mode. It is bright, does nearly perfect white, and pretty accurate color. If your presentation has a lot of yellow and green, however, you might find that Cinema mode works best. Presentation doesn't differentiate the different tones of those colors too well, and with the vibrancy of the mode—which looks good, in most cases—you may find that the hard work of your graphic designers goes underappreciated. Other than that very minor note, I had no issues with the projector and presentations. Whether projecting at 60 inches, 100 inches, or at a whopping 300 inches, your presentations are sure to shine with the LS740HD.

Video Viewing. As mentioned, Cinema mode is the best mode for watching movies, and that goes for video viewing across the board—movies, TV shows, YouTube videos, gaming. You could get away with Presentation mode for video viewing in an ambient light pinch, but the colors would be a bit too vibrant in some areas. Cinema makes everything look natural, from the skin tones, to foliage, cityscapes, and other environments.

The movie Uncharted, projected in Cinema mode, looked great. The colors were accurate, and bright. I watched a good portion of it with the lights on, and it held up. A lot of the movie is quite bright, but there's a mix of dark, too, and I could see what was going on in both with a lot of ambient light going on. With the lights off, the projector really shines. The blacks get pretty dark, and the dark shadow detail is decent enough so that I can see what's going on in the shadows. It's not home theater quality, as expected, but it is good—good enough for the applications it's intended for.

Blade Runner 2049, a darker film, was also watchable in ambient light. I definitely prefer watching films like that in the dark, but I could see what was going on and enjoy the film with the lights on, as well as with them off.

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As for YouTube videos and internet content like that, this projector is more than equipped to handle that. Watching a variety of quality, from the usual talking head to more produced videos, the projector is sharp, clear, and bright. Again, for most things video, you're going to want Cinema, but you might be okay with Presentation mode for some things. Your call.

I also watched a few UHD Blu-rays with the player downscaling the 4K mastered content to the projector's 1080p resolution, and it looked great, with a clear image, nice and sharp. Watching Top Gun: Maverick, the nostalgia was real. That soundtrack, like a wink from my childhood. I hadn't seen it yet and watching it on this ViewSonic at 100 inches was a treat. The black levels are pretty good for a $1,000 commercial projector, and dark shadow detail is decent. What really struck me is the detail of the actors' faces. I could see their pores. Not necessarily something they want you to see, but, their faces look like you're right in the room with them, right in the scene. There was a moment when Captain Pete Mitchell (Tom Cruise playing Maverick) is texting on his phone, and the text is so sharp. It just looks good. The only thing that's unfortunate is that the projector's onboard speaker lacked the bass to do justice to the rumble of the jets.

Video Game Viewing. I played some video games at 1080p with 60 Hz frame rate, which is the projector's refresh rate. It's decent enough for casual gaming. Most gamers are aiming for 144 Hz monitors or better, but 144 Hz is the standard. And with the measured input lag being what it is—49.5 ms—casual gaming is all you'd want to do with this projector anyway. Unfortunately, putting the projector into its Gaming mode doesn't do anything to lower that number. So, putting it in an interactive space to play virtual golf, or some other type of casual game (even VR), should be just fine, but super-involved, competitive online gaming like Call of Duty? Skip it.

Hogwarts Legacy in Gaming mode was gorgeous. In the part of the game I am in, there is a chamber with marble floors and walls. The reflections are incredible. It looks good on my TV when I play, but I'm impressed with how beautiful the game looks with this projector. Gaming mode gives a more magenta hue, with softer tones than Cinema, and it works well for video games. I stumbled into a battle that gave me a run for my money, with a ton of action and movement, and fortunately had no issues with the projector during gameplay.

Conclusion

The ViewSonic LS740HD is a good value. Even at its MSRP of $1,099 this laser projector is low-cost, and it's even more attractive at its promotional price of $999 if you can find it. It very nearly reached its 5,000 ANSI lumen claim at 4,783 in its brightest mode. It's a plug-and-play, no-nonsense projector that has a simple feature set that makes the projector easy to use, easy to navigate, and easy to install, whether you're using it in a boardroom, a lecture hall, a museum, a retail space, an airport, a house of worship, or other large venue environment where you need a bright projector with pretty accurate color to cut through ambient light.

The LS740HD has 24/7 operation, 360 projection and portrait mode, a 1.3x zoom lens, and wireless capabilities. About the only thing that I found myself wanting to really improve about this projector was the speaker. The obvious workaround is using an external speaker system, which is not a big deal, so it's a minor con in my book. If you're looking for a bright, compact projector with a good picture, and the features cover what you need, the LS740HD might be the one for you.

Measurements

Brightness. ViewSonic claims the LS740HD's brightness is 5,000 ANSI lumens. It barely missed the mark, coming in at 4,783 lumens in Bright mode, just shy of 96% of its full rating and well within the 20% ISO21118 tolerance. Indeed, its brightest sector in Bright mode measured 5,672, but an ANSI or ISO21118 measurement is a nine-point average taken across the whole image.

Even the better-looking color modes, like Presentation and Cinema, have plenty of brightness to cut through the kind of ambient light seen in the large venue business, education, entertainment, and house of worship spaces the projector is meant for.

ViewSonic LS740HD ANSI Lumens

Color Mode	Standard	Eco
Bright	4,783	4,506
Presentation	3,861	3,385
Cinema	3,476	3,272
Gaming	3,328	3,159
User	3,985	3,453

Brightness Uniformity. The brightness uniformity of the LS740HD is 67%. It's not great, but that's common among inexpensive projectors. Most important, I didn't detect anything visually in terms of dimming or hot spots when viewing presentations, watching TV and movies, or playing video games.

Fan Noise. ViewSonic rates the fan noise at 32 dBa at full power, 26 dBa in eco, using the industry-standard six-point measurement in a soundproof booth. Measuring in a quiet room using our casual single-point measurement for the projector's fan noise, full power measured at 33 dBa, while Dynamic Black came in at 32.7 dBa and Eco mode measured at 31.1 dBa. That's quiet, especially for the types of environments this projector is meant for. In the various laser power modes, the LS740HD measured as follows: Full Power, 33.0 dBa; Dynamic Black, 32.7 dBa; Eco, 31.1 dBa; High Altitude, 51.2 dBa.

Input Lag. Measured at 1080p, 60 fps, the input lag came in at 49.5 ms. This was true for any mode, including Gaming mode. Up to 50 ms is considered appropriate for casual gaming. For your reference, 30 ms is good, 16 ms is excellent. For the kind of applications this projector might be used for in terms of gaming, perhaps virtual golf or gaming in a retail, museum, or airport space, the input lag is acceptable. This wouldn't be considered a serious gaming projector, but then, it's not marketed as such.

Connections

• HDMI 1.4 (x2, HDCP 1.4)
• 3.5mm Audio-Out
• USB Type-A (5V/1.5A Out) for Power/Service
• RS-232 Control Port (9 pin)
• DC Power In

For more detailed specifications and connections, check out our ViewSonic LS740HD projector page.

To buy this projector, use Where to Buy online, or get a price quote by email direct from Projector Central authorized dealers using our E-Z Quote tool.

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