ViewSonic intros projector with 5K:1 brightness

Contributing its own share to a slew of announcements from the InfoComm show, ViewSonic today added its brightest-ever projector to its PJ series. The PJ1173 pushes brightness to 5,000 lumens and is clear enough (combined with 1,000:1 contrast) that the image should retain its original sharpness and colors even when in the normally-lit environments that wash out other projectors' images.

The 3LCD projector is also one of the few capable of supporting 1080p in a large environment. Although its native resolution is 1024x768, the new display can accept full-resolution HD input and scale it properly anywhere from a common room up to an auditorium. Seven presets optimize the colors for different backdrops, while lens swaps can put the projector in tighter spaces.

The projector is also fully controllable from a distance and comes with a unique remote that doubles as both a mouse and as a laser pointer; an Ethernet connector plugs the PJ1173 into the local network for changing settings or discovering some problems without needing to be at the projector itself.

ViewSonic's projector includes both an M1-D digital input for Macs and PCs as well as VGA, component, RCA, and S-video to cover most other needs. The PJ1173 is shipping today for $3,799.