LG Electronics PH300 LED Minibeam Projector
Ever since I’d lived on my own, I dreamed of having an HD projector. Something I could use to beam 10-foot wide images on my wall and view everything life-sized. That is, of course, until I began using them in some corporate settings and came to the conclusion I did not want a 300 degree white noise generator in my house. Nor did I want to replace $300+ bulbs every few years or buy literally TONS of adapters to try to make my new-age sources (HMDI, Component, etc) plug into old legacy ports (VGA, Composite, coax). Home theater projectors have resolved some of these issues in recent years, but the biggest issues to get around, the heat and the noise, still remain. To fix the noise, you have to close the projector in a soundproof box, but then it overheats. To cool it off you mount it in open air, but then it’s noisy. It’s a lose/lose situation.
Enter stage left – the hero – our white (and in my case, brown) knight, the LG PH300. A portable micro powerhouse LED projector.
Source: Amazon.com
This little guy packs some considerable punch in a package that weighs less than a pound and is smaller than a stack of old CDs. It includes a standard full-size HDMI input for almost all electronics (adapter may be required, but HDMI adapters are generally inexpensive). The 3.5mm audio out can be plugged into any set of speakers, headphones, surround receivers, etc. The coax input and built-in digital tuner can be used with HD antennas or some legacy cable providers that don’t require a set-top box. A USB input can be used to view photos and movies direct from a flash drive. It even has a built-in battery for use without being plugged in if you wanted to carry it with your laptop.
Don’t let the size fool you, though. While the rating of 300 lumens is relatively low, and I expected to use it in a completely dark room, it was not an issue. However, I have found that this works equally well in decently lit rooms, even without the use of a screen. (I have very light neutral color walls). Table lamps and ambient light from other rooms has little effect on the picture quality. Direct sunlight, or bright overhead lights do drown out the picture, but it’s still viewable. Some good dark curtains and you’ll be good to go. For anything brighter than that, you may want to look at the brighter PW600G and PW800 projectors.
The picture quality is great, considering I’m mostly using it for streaming PrimeVideo/Netflix/Hulu. It is only technically 720p (1280×720), and at the larger screen size (up to 100” easily, by the way) it’s usually noticeable, but from a proper viewing distance it’s a minor factor. The PW600G and PW800 do have a higher resolution, but since they are 1280×800, it’s not a native TV resolution (720p/1080p) so most sources will not look that much better, if any at all.
Source: projectorreviews.com
There are a few drawbacks to this little guy that are worth noting. Due to its small size, it has a small fan. To get enough air through it to keep it cool, it can be a little noisy. Not so much a fan hum, but just the sound of blowing air. The LED stays cooler and lasts longer than a standard bulb, but still gets warm. I have it mounted above my headboard in my bedroom and with a little extra volume; I can easily drown out the sound even though it’s only a few feet away from me. Also, since it is so small, it only has a few inputs, so it’s best to use for only one or two devices. Currently, I have an Apple TV and an HD antenna connected to it, and there are no issues. Though, there’s no reason you couldn’t use an HDMI switch to get a few extra ports. There is an internal speaker, and it would be great for basic computer sounds, but if you want to use it for video streaming or anything, you would certainly want to connect it to a separate set of speakers via the headphone jack.
Out of all the features of this device, my absolute favorite is the fact that it uses a standard mounting screw that can be found on almost ANY camera/camcorder mount or tripod. This really makes this device completely portable and easy to mount almost anywhere. The auto-keystone feature means you can point it almost anywhere and the picture will attempt to adjust to get you a normal screen ratio without too much skewing. Currently, I have it mounted to a curtain rod above my headboard, and I can easily switch between projecting on the wall, or directly on the ceiling, just by adjusting the mounting angle. This feature is what sealed the deal for me, strictly based on the flexibility.
Source: Amazon.com
PROS
- Perfectly portable size
- LED Longevity
- Mounting flexibility
CONS
- Decent, but not great light output
- Limited input options
- Needs external sound
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