At its core, the Viewsonic Pro9000 is a promising concept - a home theater projector built around a hybrid light source. Its LED/laser engine boasts a lifespan of 20,000 hours, making lamp replacements a thing of the past. As one of the first LED/laser projectors to be specifically built for home theater, many people will find themselves salivating at the prospect of a maintenance-free projector. Gamers in particular will appreciate the projector's one-frame input lag and low-heat exhaust.

However, there are some disadvantages to the Pro9000 as well. It lacks 3D capability, frame interpolation, good placement flexibility, high contrast, and comprehensive color adjustments. It is not as bright as most other home theater projectors. Other than the 20,000-hour light source and rapid one-frame input lag, the Pro9000 is more similar to 1080p projectors priced under $1500, but even against these lower-cost projectors its features and ease of use are somewhat limited.

For LED/laser projectors to be attractive, they need to be price-competitive. The Viewsonic Pro9000 is a groundbreaking product, but it is also an early generation of a new technology. In the future, you can bet on most projectors using solid-state light engines, whether they be LED or hybrid or some other technology. Those future projectors will become more reasonably priced and more competitive as the technologies mature