Vivitek Qumi 3D Ready HD LED Projector (1st Hand Review)
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Main features
• WXGA (1280 X 800) native resolution, 720p for video playback
• 300 ANSI lumens brightness
• Compact Pico projector
• 3D-Ready via DLP link
• 30,000 hours lamp life
• Built in media player for video playback via USB and microSD card
• Supports HDMI,RCA,VGA inputs
Overview
With advertised 30000 hours of lamp life , I guess it’s a great alternative for a LCD TV, as for this screen size, it comes at half the cost. Say you watch for 4 hours daily, then also lamp will last for about 20 years. So there is no question of frequent bulb replacing like the conventional LCD projectors (average lamp life of LCD is 3000 hours). It supports various video inputs like HDMI, USB, micro SD, VGA, RCA (for connecting basic set top boxes like Tata Sky). However, if you are thinking of connecting an IPAD or Iphone, you will need to purchase separate cable for that. As with all pico projectors, this projector does not have a zoom, but that’s not a bothering issue once you get a permanent setup. You can also give presentations from your USB drive/microSD card via the USB/microSD port as it supports powerpoint and even read documents like word, images or pdf through its document reader.
Build and design
The QUMI falls under the pico projector category. For an exact idea about the size, I have used iphone 3g to make a comparison in the pictures. I can easily fit in the palm of an average sized individual. The projector has a power adapter, which is a bit smaller than you average laptop adapters. The back panel of the projector has various interfaces for input and output. The remote of QUMI is small sized (like a laptop one) with which you can access the projector’s onscreen menus. The sensitivity of the remote is not top of the line. However, you will hardly need it once you have tweaked the menus. For adjusting the focus of the image there is a focus wheel. The lamps are LED so there is no cooling down period. Besides, it does not get hot after even hours of watching like the LCD projectors.
Image Quality
The quality produced by this projector is far beyond compare to the old LCD projector we had been using for presentations. Apart from the custom user settings (allowing you to fine tune for Video, PC, Mac, Chart, and B&W gamma) there are three preset modes: Movie, Presentation and Game. For adjusting color you have color space and temperature settings. The best picture quality was observed with brightness and contrast set to 50 and sharpness to 17-25. The brightness is the first thing you will be questioning, however don’t just go for the 300 ANSI lumens figure. For eg. In a reasonably dark room I was able to produce a decent 120” size image without significant loss in the quality. For a fairly lit room, however you can decrease the image size to get a balanced picture. However, I am sure it can produce an image size of 150” tops without any problem. The size constraint of my room led me to only expand till 120”. I have attached the pictures for you to get an idea. However, mind you that the camera is not a DSLR and the image quality is much better actually in person. The color and contrast of the projector are superb, with the best results in 720p or 1080p resolutions. The projector has a native resolution of 720p which gives it the edge over the conventional projectors. It has a contrast ratio of 2500:1 and produces excellent (and True) blacks unlike ordinary projectors which produces shades of gray. The images given below are at shot at my home, projecting on a cream colored wall at a size of 120”. (The images shot do not exactly represent the quality, as they have been shot by a basic camera, which did not give good results in the dark. The actual image quality is way better)
3D Projection
This projector supports 3D but through DLP link, means you have to connect a NVIDIA 3D vision enabled laptop via VGA cable and have 3D DLP link glasses for viewing 3D movies or games on this projector. For playing the 3D PS3 games you will need a converter box, but I assume that is very expensive option. I have yet to experience 3D on my QUMI. So cannot write much about that now.
Cons
• A lot of users have complained about the focus issue with this projector, but mind you don’t let this be a deal killer, the issue is temporary as it takes 10-12 mins tops to warm up the optics after which the display is stable till its kept on.
• The second issue is the lack of power switch on the remote. However, the LED lamps do not require cooling so it is fine to simply turn off the power switch to turn it off .
• The inbuilt speakers in the projector are only 2W so it is preferable to use a home theater system or some good quality preamp speakers.
• Lack of zoom (as with all pico projectors), you have to manually move the projector to adjust the image size.
• The supplied cables have very short length and you will need a lengthy cable for proper setup.
My personal Setup and Preferred upgrades/options
I had purchased this projector for 500$ from amazon when I visited USA, however it is also available with Vivitek India albeit at a higher price. You can email them to get the latest price quotes for your city.
I would suggest that for best results it is preferable if you can dedicate a dark room in your home for movie viewing. I am currently using a camera tripod for mounting my QUMI. Also, it is good to have a home theater for getting the best sound experience (the inbuilts speakers are only 2W). For a stereo sound you can connect the basic 2.1 computer speakers or headphones to the audio out on QUMI. I have a Logitech Z5500 connected to my my laptop and HDMI connection from laptop to QUMI for video input. The results can only be appreciated in person 
. The QUMI also has a video player via USB (supports MP4, Avi, MKV and other basic video codecs upto 30fps excluding wmv) . However, you don’t get a coaxial or optical out in this projector so I prefer using my laptop which supports 5.1 surround. Recommended for best performance will be a media player like WD Live TV, to make a compact home theater system. For 3D playback you will need to buy a NVDIA 3D vision enabled laptop preferably with Bluray and DLP link 3D glasses to make the most out of this projector.
Overall , I felt that this projector was a steal at Rs. 25000/- (Indian price is I guess 35,000/-), as I enjoy hours of movies and TV seasons without worrying about the lamp. I would rate it 4.5 stars on a scale of 5 and definitely value for money projector. If you have any relative/friend in USA you can get this one at a way cheaper price than they have put up in India.
This is my First product review for DesiDime, hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. If you have any questions feel free to ask…Peace …
Thanks Satyam, Always welcome… 
Nearly 100 views, No comments still 
buddy nice review,well written ,voted up cheers
nice review !! from where did u purchase and price ?
Voted up for the good review and effort!
I also liked the tripod. Did you buy it separately?
Thank you guys for your comments…BML, I bought it from USA in july for 499$ at Amazon...kage01, Its the basic simpex 333, bought it from ebay…
Vivitek India link
Now available on amazon international for shipping to India for 667$ (roughly 33,500/-)
amazing, would love to have one! One concern was the life of the lamp…..20 yrs is more than enough
ha ha, yeah….people don’t use the same TV, even that long…:-D
Vikrant, Awesome review . Wanted to check this apart form what thumsup has asked in the post above. Is there any problem at the customs, suppose a relative gets it here. And do you know of sites in the US I can buy it at a decent discount.
One of my cousin bro just came back and dint inform me prior. Wanted to give me a surprise it seems 
. I would have preferred had he called me and told me so that atleast could have asked him to get this and our kaala label duty free
thumsup wrote:
Do we need a separate screen to project on? Or are you using your wall? If its a screen is it foldable?
also whats the sise in inches of the projected image, can it be equivalent to a 60 inch widescreen TV with a fair amount of sharpness for the image size?
thx
Nope a separate screen is not required, though if you use a high gain screen, the quality will definitely improve. Like I said, this image has been projected on a cream colored wall, and its very big (120 inches), without loss of sharpness…Its much brighter and sharper at 60 inches …hope this was helpful
Jackal wrote:
Vikrant, Awesome review
One of my cousin bro just came back and dint inform me prior. Wanted to give me a surprise it seems
Thanks Jackal, Actually I was not bothered about the customs as the dollar rate was very low that time (almost fell in the limits)…Besides this is so small that it can easily fit in the laptop bag without attracting any attention (unless you are a celebrity 
)….You can buy it from amazon, I guess the rates have fallen by 50$ or so…and about the kala label, try getting a bigger size, because they consider only the units not the volume, 
…I guess I was too paranoid the first time…
vikrantgohil wrote:Jackal wrote:
Vikrant, Awesome review
One of my cousin bro just came back and dint inform me prior. Wanted to give me a surprise it seems
Thanks Jackal, Actually I was not bothered about the customs as the dollar rate was very low that time (almost fell in the limits)…Besides this is so small that it can easily fit in the laptop bag without attracting any attention (unless you are a celebrity
Hey whats this Kaala label you guys are talking about?
Really Really,
a great great great review..
Keep it up Bro..
vikrantgohil wrote:thumsup wrote:
Do we need a separate screen to project on? Or are you using your wall? If its a screen is it foldable?
also whats the sise in inches of the projected image, can it be equivalent to a 60 inch widescreen TV with a fair amount of sharpness for the image size?
thx
Nope a separate screen is not required, though if you use a high gain screen, the quality will definitely improve. Like I said, this image has been projected on a cream colored wall, and its very big (120 inches), without loss of sharpness…Its much brighter and sharper at 60 inches …hope this was helpful
yes it was helpful … thx …. one more question please ….. you said its much sharper and brighter when projected at 60 inches on your wall so can it replace a regular television for regular TV ie DTH viewing in a living room which is fairly well lit. I’m on the lookout for a 50 inch or 55 inch TV but now after reading your review I’m wondering if i can get this to replace my TV all together?
TYCOON BHAI KI SPECIAL DEMAND PAR
tycoon wrote:
Hey whats this Kaala label you guys are talking about?
CHEERS
Jackal wrote:
Vikrant, Awesome review
One of my cousin bro just came back and dint inform me prior. Wanted to give me a surprise it seems
JACKAL BHAI as per customs rules, one international traveller can legally bring 25,000/- worth of stuff without paying any customs.
Here is the proper way of how to evaluate an item. Suppose you get an item from USA for ‘X’ dollars. (X being the total price shown on the invoice). Multiply ‘X’ by currency conversion rate which is shown on the website of central excise and customs. The exchange rate is updated every month on the website.
Now, if the total value you got after conversion into Rupees, if the value is less than 25,000/-, you can pass through the green channel, no need to pay any customs.
If the value exceeds 25,000/-, then you need to pay customs duty of 36.05% on the amount in excess of 25,000/-
That is, if the value is 29000 for example, then you need to pay 36.05% of Rs. 4000 as customs duty.
@Vikrant Bhai:
Thanks for updating about liquor. I always thought they allow 2 Liters per person (as mentioned on their website). Never knew that we could bring two big bottles! 
thumsup wrote:vikrantgohil wrote:thumsup wrote:
Do we need a separate screen to project on? Or are you using your wall? If its a screen is it foldable?
also whats the sise in inches of the projected image, can it be equivalent to a 60 inch widescreen TV with a fair amount of sharpness for the image size?
thx
Nope a separate screen is not required, though if you use a high gain screen, the quality will definitely improve. Like I said, this image has been projected on a cream colored wall, and its very big (120 inches), without loss of sharpness…Its much brighter and sharper at 60 inches …hope this was helpful
yes it was helpful … thx …. one more question please ….. you said its much sharper and brighter when projected at 60 inches on your wall so can it replace a regular television for regular TV ie DTH viewing in a living room which is fairly well lit. I’m on the lookout for a 50 inch or 55 inch TV but now after reading your review I’m wondering if i can get this to replace my TV all together?
I was also thinking the same thumsup and hence clarified with Vikrant
cm4444 wrote:Jackal wrote:
Vikrant, Awesome review
One of my cousin bro just came back and dint inform me prior. Wanted to give me a surprise it seems
JACKAL BHAI as per customs rules, one international traveller can legally bring 25,000/- worth of stuff without paying any customs.
Here is the proper way of how to evaluate an item. Suppose you get an item from USA for ‘X’ dollars. (X being the total price shown on the invoice). Multiply ‘X’ by currency conversion rate which is shown on the website of central excise and customs. The exchange rate is updated every month on the website.
Now, if the total value you got after conversion into Rupees, if the value is less than 25,000/-, you can pass through the green channel, no need to pay any customs.
If the value exceeds 25,000/-, then you need to pay customs duty of 36.05% on the amount in excess of 25,000/-
That is, if the value is 29000 for example, then you need to pay 36.05% of Rs. 4000 as customs duty.
Thanks mate. Dint know this. Really useful
thumsup wrote:vikrantgohil wrote:thumsup wrote:
Do we need a separate screen to project on? Or are you using your wall? If its a screen is it foldable?
also whats the sise in inches of the projected image, can it be equivalent to a 60 inch widescreen TV with a fair amount of sharpness for the image size?
thx
Nope a separate screen is not required, though if you use a high gain screen, the quality will definitely improve. Like I said, this image has been projected on a cream colored wall, and its very big (120 inches), without loss of sharpness…Its much brighter and sharper at 60 inches …hope this was helpful
yes it was helpful … thx …. one more question please ….. you said its much sharper and brighter when projected at 60 inches on your wall so can it replace a regular television for regular TV ie DTH viewing in a living room which is fairly well lit. I’m on the lookout for a 50 inch or 55 inch TV but now after reading your review I’m wondering if i can get this to replace my TV all together?
Yes you can use for regular TV watching…of-course the light should not directly fall on the wall where you are projecting the image…A curtained room with a little ambient light is enough…Thing is darker the room better is the sharpness and contrast…For TV viewing, I would recommend using HD box like Tata Sky HD, for the best results…Then again I would like you to get a demo, before taking in the plunge if you are skeptical…What I can say is I am pretty satisfied with this thing, saves big time on pubs when cricket/IPL is on…
cm4444 wrote:
@Vikrant Bhai:
Thanks for updating about liquor. I always thought they allow 2 Liters per person (as mentioned on their website). Never knew that we could bring two big bottles!
Yeah even I thought so, I had around 350 ml or so extra, so I went to the red channel guy and asked him how much customs do I have to pay…n what he said was “Do units hai na green channel se chale jaao” Like he was not even bothered..
tycoon wrote:
Really Really,
a great great great review..
Keep it up Bro..
Thanks tycoon….
Here is your officila entry
http://www.desidime.com/blog/index.php/2012/04/…
We have also added 200 dimes in your account
Vivitek has launched a new variant of Qumi Q2, Qumi lite which is about $100 cheaper, however it does not include extra cables and carry case…Bought one for my friend, inludes projector, vga cable, power adapter and remote. The good thing is they have included a power off switch on the remote.
 for Rs. at ){kind=link}
Hi buddy
I think it is the best review I have ever read about any thing bought online. It seems that you have extracted all your emotions into it. I really want to buy this since long and hope so buy one when I go US….also the rupee appreciates to normal level….
When I personally saw the projector at your place, it was really an exciting experience…..AWESOME…
Its simply value for money. Frankly speaking….after watching TV in it for few hours…I really cant connect with my 32 inch LCD for few days….
Well in nut-shell….great product and a great review.
All the best…