LG’s new short-throw projectors are as impressive as they are convenient.
I’ve spent the past fortnight watching and playing everything I could on the company’s new CineBeam projector and if it wasn’t for a critical missing connection and its performance in daylight, I’d be tempted to replace my living room TV with one.
That being said, the technology doesn’t come cheap.
Setting up LG’s short throw projector is insanely easy.
Plug in the power cord, connect to WiFi and you’re done.
Depending on the distance between it and your wall, the CineBeam will throw up a picture between 80 and 120 inches in size.
There’s no automatic ‘key-stoning’ to straighten that image but you can manually adjust things in the settings or – as I did – take the easiest option and make sure the projector is straight…
Even against a wall, the CineBeam’s 4K image is undeniably impressive.
We gleefully rewatched Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and guess who on a night away at the Peninsula.
Most people wouldn’t dream of transporting a 120 inch screen but that proved no problem at all with a short throw projector like LG’s CineBeam.
LG has built in sensors that automatically adjust the projector’s brightness and colors depending on the content you’re watching and the darkness of the room it’s being used in but, like all projectors, the CineBeam’s picture suffers significantly in daylight.
Watching Collingwood play Port Adelaide with sun streaming through our living room windows was far from ideal, especially compared to the colour, contrast and clarity of my Samsung QLED which I had running side-by-side.
Closing the blinds obviously helps but that’s not an ideal solution in spaces being shared by multiple people or families.
The better news is that LG’s CineBeam 4K UHD Laser UST Projector handles down-lights incredibly well.
I had no issues booting up my PlayStation 5 and playing through stray, returnal and games of Rocket League while my wife kept the lights on so she could read.
There are three HDMI ports on the back of LG’s short-throw projector plus two standard USB ports, an optical digital audio out port and a LAN port for a wired internet connection.
You may have noticed that I didn’t say there was a place to plug in a TV aerial.
It’s absence is immediately reinforced when you first turn on the CineBeam, as a pop-up informs you it needs a set top box to tune into Free-to-Air channels.
Being able to download apps like 9Now helps alleviate that to some degree but I was shocked to discover there was no option to install Kayo natively on LG’s CineBeam.
Thankfully I was able to rewatch Jamie Elliott’s 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 footy fans.
Speaking of software, the projector wasn’t able to read or display our wedding pictures inside a folder on a USB.
They’re JPG files that opened on LG’s C2 and my Samsung QLED just fine – and on the CineBeam when they weren’t contained in a folder – so I’m not sure why a folder is tripping the system up.
The CineBeam had no issues playing our wedding video off the same USB and ultimately, on a big screen like this, that’s what matters most.
Short throw projectors are the future for anyone wanting a big screen experience with minimal fuss.
I can’t say enough for the look and the convenience of placing projectors like LG’s on a TV unit (or dining room table like I have).
There’s no need to screw anything into a ceiling or wall and as a result, it’s perfectly portable.
My mind has been racing with ideas of using a projector like it in the background of future videos or for presentations; without the risk of blocking the picture.
That extreme angle does have its flaws.
Light bleeds over the sharp edges of the bright white PS5 logo and into the black background when starting up the console.
It’s also worth noting that LG’s CineBeam 4K UHD Laser UST Projector hums away at a decent volume.
You can hear it from a few meters away in a quiet room but like most of the projector’s flaws, it’s quickly forgotten once something is playing on screen.
Whether or not it’s the right projector 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 coupled with LG’s slick interface and image quality makes the CineBeam 4K UHD Laser UST Projector hard to ignore.
LG loaned 9News.com.au a CineBeam 4K UHD Laser UST Projector for the purpose of this review.