LG CF181D – Review Summary – 2 Posted on February 20, 2010 By Art Feierman 1. LG CF181D Projector Review - CF181D Projector Highlights - LG CF181D Projector Overview2. CF181D Projector – Special Features - Creative Frame Interpolation: TruMotion - Color Management System (CMS) - LG CF181D Projector: Dynamic and Manual Iris - Overscan Feature, and Edge Masking Issues3. LG CF181D Physical Tour - LG CF181D Physical Appearance - Control Panel - Input/Output4. LG CF181D Menus - LG CF181D Menus - LG CF181D Remote Control5. LG CF181D Lens Throw - LG CF181D Lens Throw - DLA-CF181D Lens Shift - CF181D Anamorphic Lens Support6. LG CF181D Projector – Image Quality - LG CF181D Projector: Out of the Box Picture Quality - Flesh Tones7. LG CF181D Black Levels & Shadow Detail - LG CF181D Black Levels & Shadow Detail - The over large image from 5thelement starship in LG_CF181D8. LG CF181D Shadow Detail Performance - Shadow Detail Performance9. LG CF181D Shadow Detail Performance – 2 - Bottom line LG CF181D Blacks and Shadow detail10. LG CF181D Overall Color & Picture Quality - Overall Color & Picture Quality - LG CF181D Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports11. LG CF181D – Performance - LG CF181D Brightness - LG CF181D Projector - Uncalibrated12. LG CF181D: Sharpness - Sharpness13. LG CF181D: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - LG CF181D Image Noise - LG CF181D Audible Noise14. LG CF181D Projector Calibration and Settings - LG CF181D Projector Calibration and Settings - LG CF181D Color Temperature - Color Temp over IRE Range (Best Mode, Pre calibration) - LG CF181D Basic Settings15. LG CF181D Post Calibration Grayscale - LG CF181D Post Calibration Grayscale - Gamma settings - Regarding the CF181D Iris - LG CF181D RGB Settings16. LG CF181D – Projector Screens - LG CF181D Projector Screen Recommendations17. LG CF181D – Competitors - CF181D vs. Epson Home Cinema 8500UB - LG CF181D vs. BenQ W600018. LG CF181D vs. Panasonic PT-AE4000 - LG CF181D vs. Panasonic PT-AE4000 - LG CF181D vs. Sony VPL-HW15 - CF181D vs. JVC DLA-RS1519. LG CF181D Projector – Warranty20. LG CF181D – Review Summary - LG CF181D Projector - The Bottom Line - CF181D Brightness - LG CF181D Color Performance21. LG CF181D – Review Summary – 2 - Sharpness22. LG CF181D – Review Summary – 3 - The very bottom line23. LG CF181D Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities - LG CF181D Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities - LG CF181D Projector: Pros - LG CF181D Projector: Cons - LG CF181D Projector: Typical Capabilities24. LG CF181D Projector Specifications Sharpness The LG is typically sharp for 3 chip projector. Optics seem particularly good, and convergence is also very good, but not exceptional on this unit. You can get a sharper image with a sharp DLP projector, but not by much. My take, as I’ve expressed many times, is that the difference between a good “average” sharpness 1080p projector and one of the “sharper still” DLPs is barely noticeable when watching film-based movies, but you can appreciate the difference on high quality digital content like sports, including the Olympics, or the type of gorgeous content you see on channels like Discovery HD. Bottom line – it could be sharper, but, pretty sharp, nonetheless, and shouldn’t be a deal breaker except for the most fanatical sharpness freaks. It certainly wouldn’t be for me, and I’ve come from DLP’s to, more recently two JVC LCoS projectors both comparable to the LG in sharpness. Black Level Performance and Shadow Detail: The LG CF181D is pretty much middle of the pack in terms of black levels, for a projector in the $2000 to $3500 range. It might be borderline “ultra-high contrast”, but in reality, it doesn’t quite rate that status. It may be comparable to the least of the ultra-high contrast projectors in performance, such as the Sanyo PLV-Z3000, but cannot match the Panasonic PT-AE4000, let alone the Epson UB projectors. It does, however beat out the Mitsubishi HC3800, the entry level projector with the best blacks. It falls about half way between the HC3800 and the Panasonic, overall. The BenQ W6000 should have the slight advantage in blacks. Still, the LG is a step down in blacks when compared to the Epson, and probably the Mitsubishi HC7000. Still the LG produces blacks I believe I could live with. Even on the very dark scenes it does a decent job, even if a projector like the Epson would appear noticeably better on the same very dark scene. I couldn’t say the same, for example, about the the Mitsubishi HC3800 or the Optoma HD8200 (without its iris engaged – but I found it’s dynamic iris action to be annoying). Shadow detail of the LG is very good. Comparable to pretty much everything else in the class. It has the slight edge in this regard, compared to the Epson, which has always been a touch weaker at dark shadow detail than the competition. Still, I don’t consider the variation in shadow detail to be signifciant from one 1080p projector to the next. Bottom line on blacks and shadow detail – the LG walks the line on black level performance, but manages to be “good enough” that other factors become more important to many potential owners. Shadow detail is just fine. 1. LG CF181D Projector Review - CF181D Projector Highlights - LG CF181D Projector Overview2. CF181D Projector – Special Features - Creative Frame Interpolation: TruMotion - Color Management System (CMS) - LG CF181D Projector: Dynamic and Manual Iris - Overscan Feature, and Edge Masking Issues3. LG CF181D Physical Tour - LG CF181D Physical Appearance - Control Panel - Input/Output4. LG CF181D Menus - LG CF181D Menus - LG CF181D Remote Control5. LG CF181D Lens Throw - LG CF181D Lens Throw - DLA-CF181D Lens Shift - CF181D Anamorphic Lens Support6. LG CF181D Projector – Image Quality - LG CF181D Projector: Out of the Box Picture Quality - Flesh Tones7. LG CF181D Black Levels & Shadow Detail - LG CF181D Black Levels & Shadow Detail - The over large image from 5thelement starship in LG_CF181D8. LG CF181D Shadow Detail Performance - Shadow Detail Performance9. LG CF181D Shadow Detail Performance – 2 - Bottom line LG CF181D Blacks and Shadow detail10. LG CF181D Overall Color & Picture Quality - Overall Color & Picture Quality - LG CF181D Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports11. LG CF181D – Performance - LG CF181D Brightness - LG CF181D Projector - Uncalibrated12. LG CF181D: Sharpness - Sharpness13. LG CF181D: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - LG CF181D Image Noise - LG CF181D Audible Noise14. LG CF181D Projector Calibration and Settings - LG CF181D Projector Calibration and Settings - LG CF181D Color Temperature - Color Temp over IRE Range (Best Mode, Pre calibration) - LG CF181D Basic Settings15. LG CF181D Post Calibration Grayscale - LG CF181D Post Calibration Grayscale - Gamma settings - Regarding the CF181D Iris - LG CF181D RGB Settings16. LG CF181D – Projector Screens - LG CF181D Projector Screen Recommendations17. LG CF181D – Competitors - CF181D vs. Epson Home Cinema 8500UB - LG CF181D vs. BenQ W600018. LG CF181D vs. Panasonic PT-AE4000 - LG CF181D vs. Panasonic PT-AE4000 - LG CF181D vs. Sony VPL-HW15 - CF181D vs. JVC DLA-RS1519. LG CF181D Projector – Warranty20. LG CF181D – Review Summary - LG CF181D Projector - The Bottom Line - CF181D Brightness - LG CF181D Color Performance21. LG CF181D – Review Summary – 2 - Sharpness22. LG CF181D – Review Summary – 3 - The very bottom line23. LG CF181D Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities - LG CF181D Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities - LG CF181D Projector: Pros - LG CF181D Projector: Cons - LG CF181D Projector: Typical Capabilities24. LG CF181D Projector Specifications LG CF181D – Review Summary LG CF181D – Review Summary – 3