[Hardware] LG HU85LA CineBeam 4K UST 6-Month Projector Review – Can It Maintain Its Brightness?

[Dr.Drako]

Ever wondered whether expensive ultra-short throw laser projectors (the LG HU85LA 4K UST in this case) are actually worth the price tag? While there are tons of reviews of brand new devices (you can check out our original review of the LG HU85LA here) there are almost no reviews after "burn-in" time for a projector has passed. This is usually where most DLP and non-laser light source projectors will start to show something called lamp fade. Good quality projectors boast color accuracy even after lamp fade but could you have a projector that shows no lamp fade during its life?

This is why we wanted to do a special review after burning in LG's HU85LA 4K Ultra Short Throw (UST) Laser projector for 6 months and seeing just how it compares to the specs on paper. As far as we know, this is the only 6-month review of the LG HU85LA 4K UST and should let you know if it is *really* worth the investment.

Using the LG HU85LA 4K UST projector for 6 months: how does it hold up?
The LG HU85LA 4K UST projector is a living room projector (with full cinema projector capabilities) that boasts the highest lumen count we have ever tested and is ideal for scenarios where setting up a long throw projector would be difficult or not practical. While most DLP projectors (the vast majority of projectors in the mainstream segment) have a light source that lasts at most 5000 hours, LG is using a laser light source that will last for at least 20,000 hours.

Not only that but while other vendors use a single laser source passing through a color wheel, LG instead relies on a triple-channel laser system (which counterintuitively only houses two lasers - a blue and a red one) for this particular projector. The biggest promise of this projector, however, is the fact that it can be used as a living room projector. When coupled with an ambient light rejecting (ALR) screen, and its high lumen count, you would have a TV-like experience at up to 120 inch. Considering the fact that the light source is laser-based you should also see no lamp fade and the device should outlive any use you have for it. Or at least that is what the manufacturer claims and this is what this review aims to find out.

he LG HU85LA 4K UST uses a Texas instruments 4x XPR chip to achieve true 4k resolution (at a maximum of 30 fps). A note here about XPR: unlike 4K enhanced projectors, an XPR projector does actually project a true 4k grid on a screen. It achieves this by projecting all of the pixels in rapid succession (kind of like a CRT TV) and continuity of image in your brain makes it appear as a cohesive image instead of four different parts. It works sort of like how CRTs of old used to work (with progressive lines being scanned on the monitor and your brain making them into a single image).

The company has rated the projector at a peak brightness of 2700 ANSI lumens and a contrast ratio of 2,000,000 to 1. HDR10 with Dynamic Tone Mapping is supported and the min-max screen sizes are 90 inch to 120 inch. It is worth noting here that this is a "smart" projector and contains Google Assistant, LG's native app drawer, and more. It features a DTV tuner, Bluetooth, and a USB connection that should be able to play most video files. Furthermore, it comes equipped with a somewhat lacking 5W + 5W dual speaker system. Although if you are putting this much into a projector, chances are you will have a dedicated audio system anyways.

Edited June 27, 2020 by XZoro™
Topic Closed / Complete 24h