The HU715Q is a good-looking projector with its white chassis and premium fabric from Kvadrat.
LG designed the HU715Q to be elegant and modern with premium materials from Kvadrat. Kvadrat is a Danish textile company. The HU715Q’s luxurious look and feel shows LG is unwilling to compromise on aesthetics at any price point. The HU715Q measures 20.98-inches wide x 12.40-inches deep x 6.02-inches high. The HU715Q weighs in at 24.47 pounds. The sleek white chassis with the Heather Gray fabric from Kvadrat should allow the projector to fit into almost any home’s décor.
CONNECTIONS
The HU715Q has the ports and connections most end-users need and nothing extra. The inputs and connections are located on the front of the projector, which faces the projection area. Having the connectors on the front of a UST keeps them out of sight. With Ultra-Short-Throw projectors, you actually sit well behind the projector and never see the front due to its close proximity to the projection screen or wall. The ports and connections include one HDMI 2.1, two HDMI 2.0, two USB Type-A 2.0 ports, a LAN port, and an optical port. The HU715Q also has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, ensuring it is ready for nearly everything you would want to connect to the projector. The DC input is located on the front of the chassis.
LENS
The LG’s lens is located in a small window recessed on the projector’s top.
The LG’s lens is located in a small window recessed on the projector’s top. The optical systems of a UST projector like the HU715Q are different from a traditional projector. Typically, a UST optical system uses a complex series of mirrors to project images at steep, extreme angles.
Ultra-Short-Throw projectors spread out the light from the lens when sitting on a tabletop. The light travels only a few degrees above horizontal at the far lower right and left. However, light also exits the projector lens from just above horizontal to fully vertical at almost every angle. Therefore, light is being projected over an arc of nearly 180-degrees. Even when placing the projector inches away, the HU715Q does an outstanding job of spreading light evenly across the screen.
LG lists the HU715Q lens as having a clear focus range of 80-inches to 120-inches. The projector lens does not have lens shift capability or optical zoom. By LG design, I did not have a need for lens shift or optical zoom. The HU715Q was easy to set up in minutes. I placed the HU715Q on a flat surface and moved the projector until the image matched up to my screen for a perfect image on my 110-inch Screen Innovations (SI) Solo Pro 2 Unity AT Pure White 1.3 gain screen. When I switched to my Elite Screens Aeon CLR® 3 Series, 103-inch ALR screen, I repeated the process.
Under Edge Adjustment, you have the option to adjust 4-points, 9-points, or 15-points of images.
You have some flexibility if you use the LG’s Edge Adjustment menu. Under Edge Adjustment, you have the option to adjust 4-points, 9-points, or 15-points of images. LG also calls the Edge Adjustment feature “Warping.” Warping allows the end-user to fully fill the screen even if the projector is placed in an uneven location. As usual, I took my time and did not have to use any of the HU715Q’s image warping adjustments. I recommend spending a few extra minutes getting the alignment perfect by adjusting the projector’s position whenever possible. Using digital correction slightly degrades any projector’s image quality.
Projected onto a wall in high ambient light.
Projected onto a wall in low ambient light.
Projected onto a wall in high ambient light.
Projected onto a 110-inch Screen Innovations (SI) Solo Pro 2 Unity AT Pure White 1.3 gain screen in medium ambient lighting.
The HU715Q was put through various tests, from highly detailed scenes to solid colors, text slides, and test patterns. The edge-to-edge focus was good on my two screens, and the images showed minimal distortion. I even used the HU715Q to project directly onto my light grey walls, and it worked amazingly well on such a textured surface.
UST projectors are designed to replace traditional flat-panel TVs. However, as we all know, most TVs are in rooms with uncontrolled or partially controlled ambient light. Thus, I highly recommend utilizing an Ambient Light Rejecting screen to get the best out of the HU715Q and any other UST projector in a room with uncontrolled or partially controlled ambient light.
MAGIC LIGHTING REMOTE CONTROL
The LG Magic Lighting Remote has every button most end-users want on a projector remote.
I will not cover every button on the Magic Lighting Remote in detail in this review; however, I want to point out some notable buttons. First, in the middle of the Magic Lighting Remote is a microphone button for voice control of the projector or compatible 3rd party Internet of Things (IoT) device via LG ThinQ and/or Google Assistant.
Flanked by the four navigation buttons is a scrolling wheel, allowing faster up/down navigation of the menu. It also serves as the Enter button when pressed to make a selection. Additional convenient buttons are the Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video buttons which take you directly to those streaming services.
LG has been utilizing versions of their Magic Lighting Remote on their TVs for years. The LG Magic Lighting Remote is a gyro-type device. While the HU715Q remote is packed with buttons, most adjustments are made with just the flick of your wrist using the gyro mouse technology. In addition, the internal gyro creates a quicker and more precise remote-control system than traditional remotes that rely on only arrow keys or a joystick for navigation. The Magic Lighting Remote has all the buttons required for day-to-day operation, including power, channel, and playback control.
CONTROL PANEL
No chassis-mounted control panel; the included Magic Lighting Remote or LG app must be used to control the projector.
The HU715Q chassis does not have a control panel on it. Therefore, if you misplace the LG Magic Lighting Remote, you will not have any control of the HU715Q unless you have the LG projector app. I highly recommend downloading the projector app.
MENUS
The HU715Q is a Smart projector, so it has a complex menu system. The menu system, however, is well organized and easy to navigate. Essentially, there are two menus – one is for making picture adjustments, and the other is for accessing apps, services, and content. The button that looks similar to a gear is the Quick Setting button. The Quick Setting button takes you directly to the HU715Q basic settings menu. Pressing and holding the Quick Setting button will take you straight to the HU715Q’s advanced picture and sound settings.
The end-user needs to press the Home button to access apps and other entertaining services, which literally looks like a house. Once in the projector app menu, the end-user can select a streaming app, a specific input, media player, the web browser, or explore the LG Content Store.
Since the HU715Q is a smart projector, many entertainment and menu options are available. The menu images shown in this segment represent only a fraction of all the sub-menus available. I tried to display more notable sections found in the most used sub-menus, i.e., app store, networking, and picture modes.
