Please note that this is a meta-review prepared by the Simple Home Cinema team. Our meta-reviews analyse and cross-check data across multiple sources including professional reviews, user reviews and user forums to arrive at our analysis and review scores, and are useful to get an overall – and hopefully balanced – picture for a specific product. We will specifically state if we had the product tested by one of our team. Please do let us know, should you find any errors.
The LG CineBeam HU810P 4K UHD Laser Projector sits at the crossroads of affordability, advanced laser technology, and home theater performance. With a long-lasting dual laser light engine, 4K resolution via pixel-shifting technology, and HDR compatibility, LG aims to provide a cinematic, high-quality experience for under $3,000.
However, while the HU810P shines in several areas—such as brightness, sharp color reproduction, and its polished smart platform—its shortcomings like limited black levels and middling gaming performance prevent it from dominating the market outright. This detailed review explores whether the HU810P is a future-ready projector or an opportunity missed.
Key Features of the LG CineBeam HU810P
Before diving into performance, let’s first establish what this projector brings to the table, focusing on its core specifications:
- Laser Light Source: The dual laser (red and blue) design with a green phosphor wheel ensures an extended lifespan of up to 20,000 hours, minimizing maintenance costs when compared to lamp-based projectors.
- 4K UHD Resolution: While technically not native 4K, the HU810P uses TI’s DLP XPR chip with pixel-shifting to render a perceived resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels. This delivers excellent sharpness for most content.
- Brightness and Contrast: Rated at 2700 ANSI lumens, this projector maintains image clarity even in moderately lit spaces. However, its 2,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio is dependent on adaptive contrast and struggles with dark scenes due to DLP’s inherent black-level limitations.
- HDR and Gaming Support: It supports HDR10, HLG, and HGiG for gaming. While great for casual gaming, the 47.9ms input lag for 4K/60Hz falls short of competitive gaming standards. It also lacks Dolby Vision HDR support.
- Installation Flexibility: The 1.6x manual zoom, +/- 60% vertical shift, and +/- 24% horizontal shift make setup flexible, though competing models offer motorized controls, which simplify certain installations.
- Smart Platform Integration: Featuring webOS 5.0, the projector allows direct access to major streaming services like Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video but disappoints by excluding Netflix and other pivotal platforms.
If you are into high-end home theater, check out our Display and Audio Calibration Guides to maximize your experience.
Performance Overview
1. Picture Quality: Bright, Crisp, but Room for Improvement
The LG HU810P excels in color reproduction, vividly bringing HDR content and animations like Disney or Pixar movies to life, thanks to 97% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage. Its ability to display sharp 4K images with fine detail and texture makes it ideal for larger screens (up to 300”), especially when paired with an Ambient Light Rejecting (ALR) screen.
However, the projector falls short in dark-room environments. The black levels are mediocre, and shadow details lack depth, leaving darker scenes flatter compared to competitors like the Epson Pro Cinema 5050UB or the JVC NX5. This limitation is amplified when watching visibly dark content, such as titles like Blade Runner 2049 or The Batman, where depth and contrast are critical.
However, it remains impressive for bright-room use, especially during sports broadcasts or family entertainment, where contrast is less noticeable.
2. HDR Performance: Good, But Not Great
The HU810P supports HDR10 and HLG, alongside frame-by-frame dynamic tone mapping. This ensures highlights and shadows are adjusted across different HDR scenes, maintaining a sense of depth and brightness. This is particularly effective in moderately lit environments. However, the projector lacks Dolby Vision support, which is quickly becoming a standard for premium HDR displays.
While casual viewers may not miss Dolby Vision, enthusiasts might feel underserved when comparing HDR performance with Dolby Vision-capable TVs or projectors.
3. Brightness and Usage Flexibility: Excellent for Most Rooms
Rated at 2700 ANSI lumens, this projector shines in mixed-use environments, where ambient light might otherwise degrade image quality. Viewers can comfortably watch a movie, sports event, or presentation during daylight hours. The adaptability to ALR and high-gain screens further broadens its scope, making it a versatile solution for shared family spaces.
In a dedicated home theater setting, however, the projector does require a properly treated room to obscure some flaws in darker scenes. The addition of an automatic dynamic iris, which physically manages brightness by adapting to content, would drastically improve its value for dimly lit rooms.
4. Gaming Performance: Compromises Abound
With 47.9ms input lag at 4K and 52.8ms at 1080p, the HU810P is decent for casual gaming but struggles to keep up with latency demands for fast-paced competitive titles like Call of Duty, Fortnite, or Rocket League. While it features an eARC-enabled HDMI 2.1 port, its 24Gbps bandwidth limitation prevents 4K/120Hz gaming—a standard in next-gen consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X.
For gamers, the trade-off between resolution and latency might make this projector less attractive, though family or single-player gamers may find it serviceable.
5. Smart Features and Usability: A Mixed Bag
LG’s webOS 5.0 smart platform designed for TVs translates well to this projector. The Magic Remote with its pointer-based controls makes navigating apps like Disney+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube intuitive. However, the omission of Netflix and HBO Max—two essential streaming platforms for most users—undermines its standing as a comprehensive all-in-one solution.
Fortunately, the inclusion of Apple AirPlay 2, Google Cast, and Bluetooth Sharing allows users to work around these omissions by streaming content from external devices effortlessly.
PRICE CHECK
Use the below links to check the most up-to-date product price.
| Retailers |
|---|
| Amazon.com |
| ProjectorScreen.com |
Technical Improvements to Consider
To make the LG HU810P truly exceptional, the following changes could elevate its capabilities for future iterations:
- Add Dolby Vision support for richer HDR performance.
- Incorporate an active dynamic iris for improved black levels in dark scenes.
- Use motorized lens adjustments for zoom and shift, improving setup convenience.
- Reduce the input lag for gaming to sub-20ms levels, making it competitive for hardcore gamers.
- Expand HDMI 2.1 bandwidth from 24Gbps to the full 48Gbps to future-proof next-gen console compatibility.
- Address audio-video sync issues (lip sync) reported by some users with eARC configurations.
While maintaining its core strengths, these features would add polish to an already capable platform.
Who Should Buy the LG CineBeam HU810P?
The LG HU810P is ideal for:
- Casual movie enthusiasts, thanks to its color accuracy and vibrant output.
- Living rooms or moderately lit spaces, where ambient light rejection is paramount.
- Users seeking low-maintenance, long-lasting laser technology.
- Hybrid entertainment setups, capable of TV replacement and screen-sharing.
However, home theater enthusiasts who prioritize deep black levels or competitive gamers might find more value in competing models with specific optimizations.
PRICE CHECK
Use the below links to check the most up-to-date product price.
| Retailers |
|---|
| Amazon.com |
| ProjectorScreen.com |
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Long-lasting dual-laser light engine with minimal maintenance.
- Bright and punchy output, suitable for various environments.
- Spectacular 4K sharpness and wide DCI-P3 color coverage.
- Supports AirPlay 2, Google Cast, and Bluetooth audio.
- Simplified setup with manual lens shift and zoom options.
Cons
- Mediocre black levels for dark-room viewing.
- Lacks Dolby Vision and Netflix support.
- Input lag unsuitable for competitive gaming.
- Minimal horizontal keystone correction reduces placement flexibility.
- Noticeable laser speckling on specific color reproductions.
Final Thoughts
The LG CineBeam HU810P 4K UHD Laser Projector delivers a lot of value and innovation for its price. Its vivid brightness, impressive 4K sharpness, and low-maintenance light source provide strong reasons to consider it as a family room centerpiece or casual-use projector. Yet, it trips in areas that are increasingly critical to enthusiast users, such as contrast performance, gaming features, and HDR capabilities.
While future refinements could address these limitations, the HU810P remains an accessible and exciting introduction to laser-based projection. Those who need better black levels or serious gaming chops might look elsewhere, but for versatile, everyday big-screen enjoyment, this projector hits plenty of marks.
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