LG Electronics PH150G LED Projector with Bluetooth Sound, Screen Share and Built-in Battery (2016 Model)

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Actual star rating: 4.5 Ownership Time: Few hours Purchase Background: It took me about a full day of searching before I decided to commit to this product with zero verified reviews at the time. It had four and a half stars from "free product" reviewers on Amazon and few reviews elsewhere. I spent a long time looking at pocket-sized projectors, square shaped projectors, and full sized projects that were way out of a reasonable budget range. Why Did I Purchase: I have a <27 inch screen TV in my apartment, because its all that would fit into the wall unit in my apartment and its the only place thats wired. Thus, I rarely if ever use my TV for anything, mostly due to its size, lack of functionality, and the hassle of connecting media to it. I generally watch movies on my 17" Laptop Screen because its just way easier. Now I can stream movies and TV from Hulu, Amazon, Google Play, etc on an 80 screen w/ support for my Bluetooth speaker system. Overview: Its a beautifully machined product with wonderful aesthetics and packing good functionality. The LG Projector (entitled LG Minibeam Nano) is portable via bag due to its small size but not Nano-sized as titled. It wont fit in your pocket or even a large jacket pocket, but its certainly compact enough to fit into a suitcase, backpack, or other small bag. I was very concerned about the throw size as I had about 11 feet to the wall and didnt want it to be too big or too small (since there is no zoom) - but it seems to have a very good throw ratio and I lucked out. Very pleased with the purchase so far as I have received a brand name backed-item by LG (not some random pocket sized projector with no warranty or proper specs) and it is perfect for what I need it for. Furthermore, it seemed to be the most affordable of this approximate size that had an advertised 720p native resolution (as opposed to 480p) - which accounts for the crisp image. Below are my initial thoughts as Ive only had it for a few hours and havent really given it a lot of use. Pros: - Beautiful looking projector that looks so good you dont need to hide between uses - Crisp images, good enough to watch a movie on @ 80" projected screen (tested) - Portable-size and lightweight - Non-tested, but it has auto adjusting for proper viewing when product is at an angle - Comes with remote with lots of functionality - Streams to Bluetooth receivers for speakers with no lag and crisp sound - Ports on back are good for plugging in Fire TV Stick or Chromecast or any HDMI/USB etc. Neutral: - Low lumens means the room really needs to be dark enough, but this was expected and doesnt ruin night time or dark viewing - Manual seems quickly put together and could be more user friendly and in color / detailed - Free batteries are the cheapest of the cheap, but thats expected Cons: - Large two-piece power cable is inconvenient for transporting, but semi-expected - Streaming via Miracast is very choppy on initial test for a movie, but acceptable for other purposes (picture slideshows, lower fps) - As its sized for portability, try to include some sort of mesh case or lens cover in the price Ill upload some pictures soon when I get to take a viewing in the dark, but trust me its real worth every penny. EDIT 12/24: Had my first movie night with it and I can say I am extremely happy with the quality of the picture and the brightness and colors are amazing after some initial adjustments (I recommend Vivid & Natural Color settings). The moment a strong light comes in the room it will get washed out a bit, but honestly this is very much expected and this is perfect for my studio @ night. EDIT 12/25: Pictured is an 80" screen (below the screen is a 3-seat couch) and as you can see the text is very clear as is the image (despite the graphics of the movie being heavily rendered).

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Some things that will help right off the bat: The bluetooth function is for sound output only, there is no file or document transfer capability, presumably because the device does not have on board storage. Pertaining to the wireless screen share option, according to the LG website (in the small fine print at the bottom): ¹Wireless connectivity only supports devices running Android and Windows operating systems, I believe on the Amazon listing only mentions Android. If you have an iPhone or iPad or anything iOS and you are attempting to screen share on this Projector it does not work. You CAN however, use it for a display for your Apple TV (HDMI) or computer (mac with the HDMI to thunderbolt dongle $8 Amazon Basics), and as mentioned in one of the other reviews, if you purchase a lightning to HDMI dongle from apple you can work your iPad or iPhone through the display that way for around $39.99 (Amazon price). You could probably find a cheaper route but be aware that knock off cables can fry your equipment. With the USB function you can watch .m4v or .mp4 movie files (which you would usually find with iTunes) this is a plus if you have to travel because its very portable you can throw a few movies on your keychain USB, plug it in and the kids can watch wherever need be. On the other hand I attempted to read files off my external hard drive, plugged by way of the USB port, and found that it would not read. This could be due to the fact that it is formatted for an iMac or possibly because the files are buried within too many subfolders. Either way a main folder shows up with nothing accessible. I am sure as more people purchase the unit they can provide their experiences as to whether or not they were able to read files directly from an external hard drive. Finally, I gave the device 4/5 stars despite its various limitations because overall, it an excellent addition to either your home entertainment or business ventures. LG devices are well engineered, this one is no different. It is highly portable, has a very friendly user interface, excellent remote, and though its likely not many people have white and gold home entertainment equipment, it really wasnt an issue for my purpose. I purchased the device for my sons room to play video games and watch movies, I was concerned with the low lumen rating (150) but its not an issue, my 2000 lumen Hitachi is not much brighter and the difference in image between the 1080/720 and 1080/800 is not noticeable. It is far quieter than my older and much more expensive projector, and uses LED technology which has a MUCH longer bulb life. I added a cheap 2.1 set of Logitech speakers and his old PS3 and it works great for him. He will never know the days of a 12" RCA and squinting to see anything at all.

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Well built. Bluetooth works well without any lag. With wireless screen share, there is a very noticeable lag as well as audiovisual mismatch. Ive defaulted to using it with a chromecast. Fan noise can be a bit distracting on full brightness with built-in speakers in use. Bright enough for use with some ambient light. Attached photo is projection on 100" screen. And for the record 5 stars is extremely hard to attain in my book otherwise its a solid 4.5 stars. This is the mobile projector to get.

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I love this projector! Its small. Picture looks great. You can still see the picture even in fairly bright ambient light. However, there were some drawbacks. Direct sound from the projector isnt anything to write home about. Wish the remote signal was stronger. I use my firestick remote from anywhere in the vicinity, no problem. But when I use the projector remote, I almost always have to move closer and/or angle the remote to get it to work. Overall, happy with the purchase though.

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I bought three of the cheap projectors on amazon and the reviews were all so good. Honestly they were all garbage. LG is a little more money but it’s money well spent. Just spend the 300.00 and get this projector and don’t waste time with the trash. You won’t regret it, you will if you buy one of those 100 dollar ones!

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Great little projector with available keystone correction. Will be using mostly via USB. If you want to use this for power point however, I advise you use a laptop instead of USB. USB works but slow and unreliably. avi, mp4, mkv movie file formats all worked, but it seemed to stutter a little with mkv.

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Worth everything

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Excellent for family movie night!

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I love this projector. Much better, sharper and user friendlier than other pico projectors. Wirecutter doesnt recommend it yet as this is just a few months young. But Im sure they will in the near future (their current pick is quite old). They do have it in the "what to look forward to" section. Im not sure why it only supports Android and Windows wireless play, though I didnt have a problem using a HDMI to my iPhone, it is weird nonetheless. Nice product!!!

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This projector is very well made. Just as LG produces quality TVs and mobile devices, this item is beautiful and solid. The device has a good weight to it. The focus knob turns effortlessly but with a bit of crisp feedback like the volume knob on a high end stereo reciever. The on/off button has a nice clean and crisp weight to it and makes focusing the picture very easy. The controls are very intuitive and the menu is very easy to navigate. The LED bulb produces a very bright and very crisp image. I tried the device in high light, medium light, low light and no light. Of course in bright light you cannot see the picture unless very close to the projection surface. Medium light allows viewing but again fairly close. The device performs well in low light at all recommended distances. Of course the best viewing is in complete darkness. Just like the LED tvs produced by LG, the colors are excellent. There is zero blurring with fast movement. This is an outstanding projector for the size and price point. You can absolutely use it for anything such as meetings or ad a home theater projector. The picture I took is in low light and the paint on the wall is grey. The size is about 100 inches.

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