(Pocket-lint) - ViewSonic has unveiled its latest home cinema projector, and it's the first from the company that has ditched the lamp in favour of laser and LED hybrid illumination technologies.

The ViewSonic Pro9000 is a Full HD projector, capable of outputting 1080p, and uses the Texas Instruments DarkChip3 DLP technology, which promises deep, hearty black levels. The company says it comes with a 100,000:1 ultra high contrast ratio, and packs 1,600 ANSI Lumens, even though the light is driven by the laser/LED hybrid source.

As well as it having a full-colour spectrum without the need for a colour wheel - thanks to the RGB LED technology - the lack of a conventional lamp means the projector should technically have a longer shelf-life. ViewSonic says that it should last for more than 20,000 hours of operation (833 days of continual use, or, if you use it, say, two hours a day, around 274 years).

There are two HDMI inputs, one component, one PC, s-video and composite connections, and separate audio mini-jack in (not sure why). There's also a mini-jack audio output that we doubt will get much use if the projector is mounted on a ceiling. And the projector houses stereo 2W speakers

Keystone correction on the ViewSonic Pro9000 is +/- 15-degrees vertical, but there doesn't seem to be a horizontal shift mode. It can vary in projection distance, however, from 1.5-metres to 4-metres (4.9-ft to 16.4-ft).

The screen size can also be finely tuned between 38-inches and 150-inches. And the aspect ratio can be set at 16:9, 4:3 or left on automatic for the projector itself to choose the best one.

ViewSonic says the Pro9000 operates at 28dB in normal mode, 22dB in eco mode, and we must admit that we didn't hear much in the general hubbub of a press launch.

We'd have to test it in proper reviewing conditions to have a better understanding of its picture performance talents, but from the brief viewing we had (in a room filled with ambient light) it was bright enough to punch through the obstacles.

The ViewSonic Pro9000 will be out in the UK in October, priced at £1,599.

Writing by Rik Henderson.