Projector tech has come a long way over the past decade, with projectors evolving from expensive clunky beasts to more affordable and compact units. And the new LG CineBeam HU715Q promises to bring you a big-screen experience without needing you to revamp your home.
This new compact short throw projector uses laser-LED tech to project 100-inch 4K images onto a dedicated screen or just a plain wall from only 8.7 inches (22cm) away. Yet only measuring 21 x 12.4 x 6.02 inches (533 x 315 x 153mm), the projector will take up a lot less space than one of our best TVs. (Here's what it's like to opt for a projector in lieu of a TV.)
Furthermore, the CineBeam HU715Q has a fabric cover made by Danish textile company Kvadrat to give it an unobtrusive look that could see it blend into your other furnishings rather than dominate a room like a large TV can.
Yet despite this compact size, the LG CineBeam HU715Q has four built-in speakers in a 2.2 configuration. For people who want punchier sound, then there's an eARC compatible HDMI port to enable the projector to be connected to some of the best soundbars, as well as the option to connect to other speakers via Bluetooth.
As for the picture, the LG CineBeam HU715Q can not only kick out 4K resolution images but hits a huge 2,000,000:1 claimed contrast ratio and offers a peak brightness of 2,500 ANSI lumens. The bulb is rated for 20,000 hours of viewing, which will give you plenty of time to watch all the best streaming services.
And we should hope so, as at just under £3,000 it’s far from cheap; there’s no U.S. pricing yet, but expect the LG CineBeam HU715Q to be more of an investment in a home cinema setup than an impulse buy.
But for that price you do get a lot of LG TV tech, notably its Dynamic Tone Mapping that constantly tunes color and contrast to suit the HDR content you are viewing. And the Filmmaker Mode, also seen on the likes of the LG C1 OLED, automatically identifies when a movie is being played and can preserve the color tone, frame rate and aspect ratio the movie was filmed in.
If you want to set up the projector in a bright room that’ll be no problem as LG’s Brightness Optimizer will adjust the projected image to match the ambient light of a room. This means the CineBeam HU715Q is not only compact and capable but also suitable for use in different rooms — just make sure you have a clear wall to project an image onto.
With the evolution in projector tech it’s now looking rather viable to potentially move away from getting one of our picks for the best 4K TVs and adopting a 4K projector instead. After all, people are already shaking up their entertainment habits and setups by cutting the cord, so there’s scope to take it even further and shun that big ol’ TV taking up precious home space.
