Acer H7550ST Projector Review - Hardware Tour 1

Posted on April 13, 2017 by Nikki Zelinger

Acer H7550ST Hardware Overview

The Acer H7550ST is a fairly small home entertainment projector. As I am writing this, I have received an ultra-short throw projector from Casio that is visibly larger than this Acer. The projector is smaller even than most of the competition at this price point.

The H7550St features a recessed 1.1:1 zoom lens, located on the right side if you are facing the projector. Focus and zoom are both manual, and can be controlled via the recessed lens control area on the top of the projector. Also on the front of the projector is the IR sensor for the remote control, as well as that adjustable foot for your primitive lens shift.

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The fan exhausts leak some light, which is commonly found in lower cost DLP projectors. This can be a bit annoying if you’re lying down on the couch and you happen to catch the right angle for the light leak to go directly into your eye. I fixed this issue by moving the projector forward slightly, thanks to the modest amount of placement flexibility the zoom lens provides. The fans are on the sides of the projector, and slightly on the back on the left side, as well as a fan on the front.

On the top of the projector, towards the back lives the control panel. It’s a typical control panel and is discussed below. At the back of the projector we have all of the inputs and connectors, including some extras that make this a “crossover projector” that would be acceptable to use in classrooms or small to mid-sized conference rooms.

The two 10 watt speakers are located on the sides - in the back on the right side, mid-front on the left. These actually produce impressive sound, and we used them often. Though there is a definite difference in using external speakers versus the onboard, I would say these speakers produce some great sound for being built-in.

Underneath, there are two feet - but only one is adjustable. Again, this might be useful if you need to raise the right side of the projector (if you’re facing the lens), but not if you need to raise the left. I still wonder why Acer wouldn’t have spent the extra few cents it would have taken to make the left foot adjustable but hey, I’m not a projector manufacturer. Also on the H7550St’s underbelly are screw thread holes to attach a ceiling mount, which, naturally, is not included as many purchasers of a projector in this price range do not plan to mount the projector – so why “pay” for a ceiling mount.

Distance to a 100” Diagonal 16:9 Screen Measured From Front of Lens
Closest Placement	55.4” (1407.16mm)
Furthest Placement	64.1” (1628.14mm)

Most will have a 100” screen or larger. Due to the shape of my living room, we opted for a 92” screen so I could be sure to review not only short throw projectors, but those with typical throw distances as well.

So, to fill a 92” screen, the closest I could place the projector was 51” (4 feet, 3 inches) with the lens at wide angle. The furthest away was nearly five feet - 59” (4 feet, 11 inches), with the lens at full zoom.

I liked the placement of this projector because I was able to easily position it on a small table in front of my couch. It is likely that you, too, will be able to place it on your coffee table - that’s convenient. This throw distance also makes it ideal for gaming.

H7550ST Control Panel

There are three LED indicator lights on the top of the control panel. Starting from the left, there’s Power, Lamp, and Temp. Three rows of buttons make up the control panel itself. In the bottom left lives the Power button, which you press once to turn on, twice to turn off. On the far bottom right is the Mode button, the Source at the top right, and Resync in the top left corner of the control panel.

In the center, there is the Menu button that also acts as the catalyst for leaving the menus. To the right of that is the Right Arrow button, which also acts as “select” in the menus. The Left Arrow button is to the right of the Menu button. Buttons for manual Keystone Correction are located above and below “Menu.” In the source menu, these can act as your up and down buttons.

H7550ST Inputs and Connectors

Time for a quick run-through of the input panel, starting at the top left side.

The Acer H7550ST includes VGA In and VGA Out ports, making it a crossover projector that can be used not only for home entertainment, but in business and education settings as well.

First, you’ll find an RS232 serial port for “old school” command and control - useful if you’ve got Crestron system or something similar. To its right is a pair of HDMI ports - HDMI 2 with MHL support (streaming sticks, interfacing to mobile devices, etc.), and HDMI 1. Directly under those ports is the DC SV. Next is a mini-USB port. Over to its right is the rear RF Emitter for the included remote control, then the S-Video and Composite Video ports.

Then comes the VGA In and VGA Out ports, having a VGA out is one feature that defines this projector as a crossover between business/education and home entertainment and possibly useful in a classroom or conference room. A VGA out is rarely used in a home environment! Next to those are three color-coded Component Video inputs (red, blue, and green), and a standard audio in/audio out for external speakers.

That’s it for the back of the Acer H7550ST, except for the power receptacle and a list of the projector’s best features printed along the bottom. Those graphics are HDMI 3D, 2D convert to 3D, MHL, dts sound, DLP 3D ready, full HD at 1080p, that it has DLP technology by Texas Instruments and is nVIDIA 3DTV PLAY ready.