Review: LG CineBeam 4K UHD Laser UST Projector – 9News

LG’s new short-throw projectors are as impressive as they are convenient.

I’ve spent the past two weeks watching and playing everything I can do on the company’s new CineBeam projector, and if it wasn’t for a missing connection and its performance in broad daylight, I’d be tempted to replace my living room TV with another one.

However, the technology is not cheap.

Setting up your LG short range projector is very easy.

Plug in the power cord and connect to WiFi and you are done.

Depending on the distance between it and your wall, CineBeam will throw an image between 80 and 120 inches in size.

There is no automatic “key throw” to flatten that image but you can set things up manually in the settings or – as I did – take the easiest option and make sure the projector is straight…

Even against the wall, CineBeam’s 4K picture is undeniably impressive.

We are so happy to see you again Doctor Strange in a multiverse of madness And the guess who At night on the peninsula.

Most people wouldn’t dream of moving a 120-inch screen, but this proved absolutely no problem with a short-range monitor like LG’s CineBeam.

LG has built-in sensors that automatically adjust the projector’s brightness and colors based on the content you’re watching and the darkness of the room it’s being used in, but, like all projectors, CineBeam’s picture suffers greatly in daylight.

Watching Collingwood play Port Adelaide with the sun streaming through our living room windows was far from ideal, especially compared to the color, contrast, and clarity of my Samsung QLED I’ve been running alongside.

Obviously closing the curtains helps but this is not an ideal solution in spaces shared by several people or families.

The best news is that LG’s CineBeam 4K UHD Laser UST Projector handles downlights very well.

I had no issues turning on and playing with my PlayStation 5 strayAnd the back and games Rocket League While my wife kept the lights on so she could read.

There are three HDMI ports on the back of the LG short-range projector as well as two standard USB ports, an optical digital audio output port, and a LAN port for wired Internet access.

You probably noticed that I did not say that there was a place to connect the TV antenna.

Its absence is immediately reinforced when you first launch CineBeam, with a popup telling you that it needs a decoder to tune into the free channels.

Being able to download apps like 9Now helps mitigate that somewhat, but I was shocked to discover there was no option to install Kayo locally on LG’s CineBeam.

Fortunately, I was able to rewatch the Jamie Elliott match winner over and over again via the app on my PS5, but it’s disappointing that the projector isn’t a one-stop shop for football fans.

Speaking of software, the projector was not able to read or display our wedding photos inside a folder on USB.

They’re JPGs that opened on my LG’s C2 and Samsung QLED – and on CineBeam when it wasn’t in a folder – so I’m not sure why the folder crashed into the system.

CineBeam had no problems playing our wedding video from the same USB and in the end, on a large screen like this, this is the most important.

Short-throw projectors are the future for anyone who wants a big screen experience with minimal fuss.

I can’t say enough about the look and convenience of placing projectors like the LG on a TV unit (or a dining room table like myself).

There is no need to install anything to the ceiling or wall and as a result, it is completely portable.

My mind was racing with thoughts of using a projector like that for the background of future videos or for presentations; Without the risk of blocking the image.

That extreme angle has its drawbacks.

Light streams down the sharp edges of the bright white PS5 logo and into the black background when the console is launched.

It’s also worth noting that LG’s CineBeam 4K UHD Laser UST Projector sounds great.

You can hear it from a few meters away in a quiet room but like most projector drawbacks, it is quickly forgotten as soon as you turn something on the screen.

Whether or not it’s the right monitor for you depends on where you want to set it up, what you want to watch, and what accessories you have to play with.

But the convenience it offers along with the LG interface and picture quality makes the CineBeam 4K UHD Laser UST projector hard to ignore.

LG has loaned 9News.com.au to the CineBeam 4K UHD Laser UST Projector for the purpose of this review.