Podcast #935: LG CineBeam HU85LA 4K UST Laser Projector

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LG CineBeam HU85LA 4K UST Laser Projector Review

What does the future of projection look like? The LG CineBeam HU85LA Ultra Short Throw 4K Laser Smart Projector ($5500 at Amazon) offers an answer to that question today. It's a projector that fits right into your living room, sitting mere inches away from the screen. It's a projector that gives you a picture up to 120" in size, turns on and off right away and maintains its brightness even with years of daily use. More…

Features:

• 4K UHD (3840x2160) Display
• Up to 2700 ANSI Lumens brightness - laser projector (Class 1 laser)
• Display a 120" Screen from just 7. 2 inch away from projector surface
• LG SMART TV - includes magic remote
• Includes LG ThinQ AI and the Google Assistant
• Bluetooth connectivity
• HDR10 compatible

LG eliminates the color wheel on this DLP eliminating the rainbow effect:

DLP projection offers smooth motion rendering and a sharp, consistent, color accurate image. However home DLP projection has traditionally suffered from "rainbow" artifacts associated with the use of a color wheel to create the RGB primaries. However LG makes the color wheel obsolete with its 3-laser design, it features one red and two blue lasers with one of the blue lasers exciting a phosphor to create pure green light. Since the light source already comprises the three primary colors, there's no need for the color wheel.

LG uses a .66″ DLP chip in the HU85LA. It relies on pixel-shift technology to achieve full 4K resolution on screen. Test patterns show the HU85LA manages to display 4K resolution, but it's not quite as "crisp" as a 4K TV of the same size. However—and this is the crucial point—native 4K projectors are often limited by the quality of their lens. The lens LG created for this projector is surprisingly sharp from edge-to-edge, despite the CineBeam UST's short throw ratio of 0.19:1. I've seen native 4K projectors that don't look as sharp as this LG.

Conclusion

While hardly cheap, this LG's design features and performance make a compelling argument for choosing it over an 85" or larger TV. Regardless of whether you install it in a living room, AV room, basement or even a bedroom, as long as you calibrate it, provide an appropriate screen and are mindful of the lighting, the HU85LA will absolutely impress you with the picture it puts up on screen.

The LG CineBeam HU85LA is a Top Choice selection for 2020.

What owners are saying:

4 ½ out of 5 stars at Amazon

Good Can Be Better:

Great picture, easy setup.

• Issue 1 - Hard to align picture with 120 in screen, sorely needs lense shift like other high end projectors.
• Issue 2 - Missing YouTube TV which is available on LG TVs
• Issue 3 - Pricey

The best 4K dual laser UST in market

I had no real reference available as there are no LG authorized retailers around my area. So I followed this model from CES 2018 till launch and gone through all the information available on web before making decision to buy this product.

I do not have a UST screen or specially prepared wall. I'm speechless with the picture quality, brightness and colors.

This is definitely one of the costliest product however I'm fully convinced with the value it delivers.