It was time to replace my trust BenQ W1070 so I began my search not too long ago. I could have gone with a newer equivalent BenQ or one of the newer Epson LCD units, but thought I would give an LED projector a try so decided to try the LG PF1500W. I believe this is the 2nd version of this particular model that LG released.
Unpacking
Nothing special here as it was packed as a typical projector would be.
First Impressions
The first thing I noticed was how much smaller this unit was compared to the usual projector; it’s like a rectangle white brick. It has some heft and generally feels like a well-made unit.
Setup
The LG comes with an entire suite for video calibration and it does take some tweaking to get the picture where you’d want it, but thankfully you only have to do this once. The PF1500W also comes with an OTA tuner which was nice as I find those channels look far better than anything you get with cable and satellite so just hook up an antenna and away you go. The menu system is modern although a bit cartoonish but does the job and I didn’t find anything I needed missing.
Remote
The remote on this unit is a bit weird and takes getting used to as it moves as you move your hand. I use Simple Control for my theater control and thankfully the IP codes for LG WebOS devices works with this projector so I could choose to use regular arrows to navigate the menus. The other odd thing is the PF1500W does have an IR sensor, but it’s on the back of the unit.
Picture
Ok, so how does it look? I really like the image this projector throws. Given its lower lumen rating, I thought I would notice a significant drop in brightness. This did not happen, and I run the unit at the medium brightness setting. From what I understand, the LEDs do not lose brightness like a regular projector lamp does in the first few hundred hours of its use. The next major thing I noticed was it seemed a little sharper than my BenQ W1070; this could relate to settings, but I calibrated both projectors using the usual methods. And finally, the rainbow effect; this was about the same as the W1070 so similar to a 6x RGBRGB wheel except this projector does not have a spinning wheel and has LEDs for red, green, and blue that flash on and off quickly.
Lamp Life
This is the biggest advantage as the LEDs are spec’d for 30,000 hours; more than enough for probably a decade or more of my typical viewing if the unit were to last that long. The downside with this is that if the engine fails, the whole unit is worthless, although that could happen with any piece of electronics.
Summary
Not a bad little projector for the price and definitely a keeper for me.
