LG HW300G Review

PRICE IN INDIA

60,000

LED projectors have been around for quite some time and over the last couple of years, these projectors have gotten even more popular. Price was a big reason why LED projectors never took off, when they were first announced and now in 2012, prices have reduced drastically. LG, the brand that is famous for their mobile phones, televisions and household appliances also have a portfolio of projectors. The brand is no stranger to this segment of gadgetry and have recently announced the HW300G LED DLP projector. Here is what we felt about this portable projector.

Vents help in the cooling of the projector

Design and Build Quality
LG claims that this is an ultra portable projector and it is true to the actual sense of the word as it can be carried around easily it weighs a mere 780g. This is quite light as far as projectors are concerned. However, it cannot be classified as a pocket projector as it is a lot larger than the really small ones. When we say it can be carried around, it's roughly the length of a hardcover novel and its width is approximately the size of a chalkboard duster, thus making it impossible to be put in a pocket. LG provides a carry pouch so carrying it with you is easy. This bag comes with ample room for the power cable and the remote control.

Finished in glossy black

The projector is finished in two colours and the front panel has a gunmetal finish, while the rest of it is coated in a glossy black finish. At the front, the only feature of the projector is the lamp which is located at the front left side. The sides of it have vents which aid in keeping the projector cool. The connectors for the LG HW300G are located at the back and these connectivity options include connectors for USB, HDMI, VGA, component, AV as well as a headphone jack. Like with most projectors, the brand has added the connectivity options on the top, allowing one to easily navigate through the different options without needing to search for them in the dark. The overall body of the projector feels sturdy and so does the remote.

Features
The main feature of this DLP projector is that it uses LED technology as opposed to cathode lamps that are generally found on projectors. There are various advantages one can find by the projector using LED bulbs as opposed to cathode lamps such as the ability to last much longer in comparison as well as being able to consume a lot less electricity. The life of these bulbs is a lot more as well with LG rating the lamp’s life at 30,000 hours.

The native resolution of this projector is 1280 x 800 while the maximum input resolution is 1680x1050. The brightness is 300 ANSI lumens while the contrast ratio is rated as 1000:1. As is the case with most projectors, the aspect ratio found here is 16:10 however, one can view content in a 16:9 aspect ratio as well. The projector features a throw distance of 1.5 - 9.1 metres with the image size ranging from 121 - 729 cms.

The remote is very responsive

A neat feature of this projector is that you can attach a USB drive and play media formats such as DIVX, MP3, JPEG and MPEG4 on it. The interface for the USB menu is well designed and is almost similar to the interface the brand uses with their television and home theatre systems. The sense of uniformity here is great and if one is accustomed to the recent LG interface then navigating through it will be a breeze. For those who have not used any of LG’s recent products, even then using this interface is a walk in the park. The only difference here is that it does not feature as many widgets as found on the range of televisions and home theatres systems.

The onscreen interface of the projector is pretty intuitive considering the size it comes in. It features a quick menu as well as a main menu. One can easily adjust the various settings such as picture mode, LED mode, sleep timer, colour temperature mode and other miscellaneous features. This comes very handy when one wants to adjust the different presets. However, if one wants some more, then the main menu features the ability to tweak settings further. In the picture mode, one can adjust settings such as contrast, brightness, sharpness, as well as advanced picture settings like noise reduction, dynamic colour, levels of gamma and black levels. In the main menu, the ability to adjust various settings like aspect ratio, PJT mode and keystone is also present. LG have thrown in a number of games in the projector such as Sudoku and Invader amongst a couple others. The ability to put games in a projector shows that LG is keeping in mind the entire family when they introduced the projector. There are two speakers in the projector, both firing at 1W.

USB connector located at the back

Overall, the features for the LG HW300G are good and one will have a fair amount of fun using this projector based on the features only.