LG HU80KA 150” 4K UHD Resolution (3840 x 2160) Laser Smart Home Theater CineBeam Projector, 2500 ANSI Lumen, Smart TV enabled, HDR10 - Black

Apart from a 7 day delay caused by our own country’s Customs, this projector is absolutely stunning.I have owned several TVs, 4k and all. Projectors too but this is my first 4k (faux at that). This LG projector has one unique proposition for owners, it has the best placement option of any projector available in the market today.I projected on a side wall, floorstanding, at a ceiling with light paint (white) and the video quality is gorgeous! Certainly not a short throw, but better than my epsons in terms of distance to wall or screen.Overall quality is 5! Netflix is awesome and can read ultra 4k HdR. Plugged in a 4TB portable drive with mkvs and all types of movie with different codecs both audio and video are playing.Interface is so easy to use. Youtube 4k 30-60fps is supported. Startup time is a mere 5seconds and turning off is a snap. Byebye to cooldowns because this has a laser source.The carrying handle is solid. The speakers are ok for a confined room but i prefer to use my bose 360 degree soundlink revolve+ and i got a portable anywhere theater.The auto keystone (vertical) works and im not missing any horizontal correction. No complains with the zoom.I give it 5 stars. 20,000 hrs life and im solved. This is going to be my projector for many many years and can be passed on to my kids once a new technology comes by. For now, it serves as my main movie and youtube screen anywhere in my house.One thing Im contemplating is whether to bring this on our trips abroad. Might as well give it a try once!Updated Review:2 months using this and my perception has not changed a bit. I still love this projector for what is perfect does.. and that's to be a portable 4K projector. There isn't a 4K projector that is this portable that comes pack with features. This unit has built-in Web OS that I don't even require any streaming device. Lately, I have been enjoying the built-in speakers and finding it to be sufficient for some viewing thought the bose sound revolve 360 and beoplay a1 are my go-to portable speakers for this. I have not gotten out of town yet, but inside my house, I use this to project movies at walls and most importantly direct at the ceiling. Even the kids are always commenting that it's so clear and bright especially when the mirror is not used. I wish LG can tell me how to get Amazon Prime Video in it though.One important thing to put into focus on this updated review is this. You can plug any Hard drive that is NTFS Formatted. It doesn't matter if its' 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 6TB. It just has to be NTFS-formatted. H.264, H.265, MP4, MKV, DTS, DTS HD, 4K HDR, all types of video thrown at it plays without a glitch. There is no way I will trade this for anything else right now.

The media could not be loaded. Not sure what all the bad reviews are about. This is my first venture into projectors coming from a 65" OLED. I bought this after reading reviews here and it looked like some loved it and some hated it.So what this isn't....it's not your daytime television replacement. If you have a ton of light coming into the room the colors will look a bit washed. I added some blackout curtains and it made all the difference. So now you have a darkish room and you're complaining about blacks not being dark enough. Well buddy, you just spent a lot of money on this thing, love it, enjoy it but most importantly configure it! There are extensive picture settings and if you spend a few minutes setting it up the colors look absolutely fantastic.I recommend a ceiling mount as I noticed that projecting from the floor led to some glare on the white ceiling which takes away from the theater feel. It weighs around 14 pounds so mounting to a stud will get you set up quickly. It's important to mount the projector as center as you can to the screen or wall you'll be projecting on. The auto keystone makes configuration pretty easy but getting that last inch of screen to fit perfectly really relies on your centering skills.I purchased a silver ticket screen STR-169150-HC which is 150" and the recommended max size for the projector. I couldn't be happier with this thing. Movies in 4k have been amazing. Think movie theater in your house in 4k! It's such an impressive machine that I'll never go back to regular TV again. If you have any doubts about getting one just do it already!

NOTE: I give it a 4-star review, but it's actually 3.5/5I have wanted to get a projector since 2004. However, circumstances have kept me from biting the bullet. First, 1080p became a new thing, so projectors were WAY spendy for 1080p. Then, 3d came out. As I waited for those prices to drop, 4k got released. I didn't care much about 4k until HDR came around. THEN, I was interested. Since then, I have been waiting for a price-to-performance window with very specific features. I finally decided to bite the bullet and go for the LG HU80-KA.The Good Things:1. Portable, great for on-the-goThis projector is extremely light, and I like how everything is contained into a compact rectangle. The cord can be pulled into the projector, and you just lift up the handle and take it wherever you want to go. I plan to bring this with me to beach trips with friends, where we will barbecue and drink while movies are playing.2. Extremely quietI have this mounted about two feet behind my head. I can't hear it at all, even with low volume audio while watching a movie.I attempted to place it inside a shelf that allowed 4-5 inches of space around the projector. This caused the fans to go into overdrive. It still wasn’t all that loud. It’s comparable to a laptop running at high fan speed (which is essentially what the fans are).3. HD video (blu-ray) looks amazingThis is a real stunner with a good quality blu-ray. I put in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and it was just plain spectacular. A good blu-ray will look really good from this projector.4. HDR color is very nice.I’ll discuss more about my HDR misgivings next, but… I have no issues about the deep, rich color that beautifies UHD video sources. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is a perfect example. It’s like this projector and that movie were MFEO.The Not-so-good Things:1. HDR tone mapping can be good, or very not-goodWhen I first started playing 4k UHD/HDR titles, I was woefully unimpressed. The picture was way too dark, and color was flat and uninspired. But of course, it's important to tweak your stuff. I have an OLED65C7 as well, and I never ever touch the "Dynamic Contrast" setting. It's not needed. However, I have read/heard that the 2016 series LG OLED displays do a better job tone mapping the HDR data when "Dynamic Contrast" is turned on. I tried it with this projector, and BOOM - instant increase in quality!I no longer thought "Eh, Vivid Mode might be the best option - and Vivid Mode is something that I have never, ever, EVER preferred or used in all my years of having a display." Instead, I thought "Wow, Cinema mode looks great. Technicolor mode is also nice, with a slightly yellowish golden hue that works for some movies, maybe not for others." Depending on the movie, I have a "cooler" presentation with Cinema, slightly darker/warmer settings for Cinema (User), and the Technicolor mode looks great for other movies.NOTE: The HDR settings menus is separate from non-HDR video settings.The real stunner UHD presentations included Hacksaw Ridge; Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2; Spider-Man: Homecoming; and Blue Planet II."Mad Max: Fury Road" looked great during daytime shots, but I noticed heavy macroblocking and bloom during the sandstorm sequence. Flames looked terrible as well, but I don't know if it was as bad, or worse looking, than on my OLED. They just plain look weird in HDR.So far (I will keep tweaking settings), I noticed that highlights suffer from noise, especially white backgrounds, and gradation jumps out at me on all fronts. I don't like any of those "noise reduction" or "movie optimizer" or "frame interpolation smoothiemoothie" dongles. I am not fond of artifacting.I watched several older movie remasters by Sony, such as Men in Black; Ghostbusters; Spider-man; and Spider-Man 2. I found the color to be slightly drained, when using the same settings used for the newer movies, but Technicolor was more pleasant with these titles. It really depends on what I'm watching for which mode I think looks best.For older movies especially, I found the HDR made highlights too overblown. An example is during Ghostbusters at around the 1hr 10min mark, when the GB team are being greeted by hundreds of bystanders before they head into the final showdown. The street has sunlight gleaming off the tarmac as they are driving in the Ecto-1, and it's blown out and had notable macroblocking.2. Blacks are kind of milkyI have an OLED display. It would be unfair as heck to compare a mid-range projector on a white 1.1 gain screen to the blacks available on an OLED. Or the color reproduction. I found darker movies could sometimes make me yearn for the OLED, such as when I watched "Logan" (looks good most of the time); "The Equalizer" (it looks stable enough, but on the OLED it looks much, much better); or "Men in Black 3". Look, I'm not saying it's unwatchable. I am just saying that, well... it's not a $6000 Sony projector, nor a similarly-priced JVC or Epson. Also, I am sure costs were cut using the .47 DMD instead of the newer, bigger version. They sacrificed that, I’d wager, for laser projection and a compact design. However, I figure savvy engineering can muster better performance from the same chip that is used by other devices; I compare it to the way DAC chips can be deemed unimpressive, but in the hands of another engineer (think Schiit), it becomes magic.My room is completely dark, with tan/beige walls.I plan to get a grey fabric screen soon, and that might help push the blacks into a slightly darker realm. For now, it's not "terrible". For most people it might not even be bad at all. I just happen to be very spoiled with my displays over the years to notice.3. Placement options are lameThis has a 1.0 to 1.2 zoom capability. I have a 110 inch screen. I want to watch movies from 9-13 feet away. This means that I would have to sit really far behind the projector at the 1.0 distance if it's in front of me. However, if I place the projector BEHIND me, then I need to set it 1-2 feet behind me, and I personally don't have a ceiling mount. I live in an apartment, and I can't drill holes. So, I have to place it on stands behind me to raise the projector. I do not want to use the auto-keystone feature, because 1) it reduces output quality (the more keystone smear, the worse it gets) and 2) it makes the display really, really tricky to tweak.4. No lens shiftWith a 1.0 to 1.2 zoom, it means that the projector will most likely be sitting in the middle of the exact spot that you want to be watching movies from.If you don't mind sitting a couple feet to the right or left, that's probably fine. But for center-brained people like me, it makes placement annoying. I either need to A) place it in front of me, and it obstructs my view, and I'm sitting farther back than I prefer; or B) it is directly BEHIND me, and I'm sitting at the distance I want... but I have to be far to the right or left of center. Unless it's raised to the height of the TOP of the screen, but as previously mentioned, I can't drill holes in my ceiling.I think a lens shift option would have greatly alleviated this complaint.CONCLUSION (October 10 Update):After two months of use, here are my "final thoughts".Since this is my first projector purchase, I now have a better idea on what I want when I choose to upgrade in a couple/few years.Lessons Learned:- Use a grey screen, or silver grey screen. I'm getting one when I buy a home theater projector in a couple/few years. In a completely dark room, it DOES make a difference in blacks and contrast levels!- For "ultimate video quality", it doesn't seem like laser bulbs can compete, unless you're willing to dish out a LOT more dough for the technology. Depending on what's available by 2021, I may opt for better video performance/quality instead of the great portability features of the LG HU80KA. Without a doubt, a $2500 regular bulb projector will stomp this $3000 projector in color reproduction and black levels. But, it doesn't mean this model isn't without its strong points!- I still think LG's HDR tone mapping needs some fixing up. I don't know if any firmware update can fix it, or if LG even has the issue on their radar. If the 4k UHD movie has grain (think older movies), then the HDR algorithm goes poopy. I mentioned this already in my review, but I think adding Dynamic Contrast (to allow the HDR to "pop" the way it should) along with the projector's method of converting the content causes issues. It's still nice to look at, and I think most people will be less likely to notice. I am kind of a video quality freak. HDR with the LG HU80KA on grain-free movies is stellar!LG HU80KA; THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY:Don't be disappointed by the underpar performance compared to bulb projectors at this price range. There are things to like...- It is light, and portable. I will use this for public gatherings, picnics, and to use while doing podcasts as a digital poster and/or to have motion posters when talking with guests (the mirror flipped up will be helpful for me ONLY in this circumstance haha). This means that I plan to be carrying it to many destinations. I can't think of a projector with 4k (real or fake), HDR, decent light output, good wireless connections options, as well as a lightweight design in such a small package. The laser bulb helps lighten the load, and I like the longevity of the bulb life (as well as more consistent color and brightness performance over time).THAT is this projector's greatest strength.- If you want to permanently mount this, and will rely on it solely for dark room "home theater" use... it's not worth it. I recommend scores of other options for $3000.- If you like to watch broadcast television, live sports, and have low ambient light while friends are sitting around drinking and eating chips and dip... this will work out pretty nicely. ESPECIALLY if (once again) you want to move this thing around a lot! Otherwise, save some money and get a cheaper 1080p projector with 3000+ lumens ;)UPDATE (October 1, 2018) - Trying different screen fabric samples:I purchased the Silver Ticket Products sample kit. There are different fabrics (9"x11") allowing the customer to test the differences between each of them. Below are my impressions:Grey - Light Grey: I found that the light grey most definitely increases black levels, while maintaining almost the same amount of brightness. Additionally, I noticed that colors were VERY SLIGHTLY more "poppy" and saturated. However, color difference is negligible. Black levels are not; it is certainly an improvement.Silver - Silver Metallic: This fabric provides even deeper blacks, and colors are about the same as I found with the light grey material. I will do more testing soon, but out of all three fabrics, I found this one to be far and away the best option. This seems to sacrifice lumen output/brightness very slightly. However, in a completely dark room I don't think the difference will be so drastic that most viewers would be upset with the change (I would guess it decreases brightness from 1400, down to ~1100 lumens).High Contrast - Dark Grey: The dark grey is very sensitive to variations in the flatness of the fabric (easily prone to "hotspotting"). I used Scotch tape to tape the back of the fabric. This caused bright spots where the tape was located on the back. With that said, I found the high contrast dark grey to be TOO dark.In my opinion, the most pleasing visual marriage between the projector and fabric type the Silver Ticket Product's "Silver Metallic" finish. However, a "Light Grey" finish is most definitely an improvement over my 1.1 gain white screen.Hope this helps!Thank you for reading my long, LONG review. I hope some of the information contained has been helpful. Take care!