LG Probeam BU53PST 4K Laser Projector Review - Summary

Posted on September 12, 2022 by Philip Boyle

HIGHLIGHTS

Even though LG is one of the newer brands in the business projector market, users will benefit from LG's experience in consumer projectors and flat-panel displays. Owners of the BU53PST can expect the same level of quality and attention to detail that LG offers in their consumer display products while also receiving the reliability, warranties, and service support expected from a business-focused projector.

The LG ProBeam BU53PST laser projector is a 5,000-lumen 4K (3,840 x 2,160) DLP projector with laser phosphor illumination. For its size, price, and overall feature set, the LG BU53PST is one of the best values available in its class.

Dynamic colors that are just a bit over saturated

The LG ProBeam BU53PST is designed primarily for business and education applications. Like most LG projectors we have reviewed, the BU53PST displayed excellent but slightly over-saturated colors. This projector's images are warm, with the slight red hue typically found on this type of laser phosphor DLP projector.

To my eye slightly reducing the color setting and a small adjustment to the hue provided a more pleasing image

The color of the image can be toned down. However, I could not altogether remove the blue hues in the darker parts of the image.

LG's solid-state laser diode can deliver 6,232 lumens of brightness and still not wash out color in the projector's brightest modes.The projector is rated for 20,000 hours of low-maintenance operation and can produce enough brightness to overcome the ambient light in most large conference rooms and classrooms.

While the ProBeam BU60PST cannot match the black level and native contrast of a model designed for home theater use, it is an excellent option for a room with ambient light. Blacks on this projector are more gray than black.

The advantage of higher brightness quickly impedes the ability of this projector to produce deeper blacks, but this is not likely to be a problem in classrooms and business environments where uncontrolled ambient light sources are the reality.

100" diag. ‐ 6.6 ft to 8.1 ft lens to wall

The BU53PST comes with a 1.2x short throw lens. LG provides manual ZOOM and FOCUS controls and a generous amount of horizontal and vertical lens shift for excellent installation flexibility. The projector's short-throw lens allows users to place the projector near the screen. For example, I set the projector's lens 6.6 - 8.1 feet from the screen.

The BU53PST offers built-in wired and wireless networking functionality. Wireless networking is a feature many professional projectors don't ordinarily include. BU53PST users can connect the projector directly to their network via a wired or wireless network to access photos, videos, and a wide assortment of other compatible file formats.

The BU53PST features a powerful built-in media player compatible with many video formats, up to 4K UHD, and audio. The BU53PST will display XLS, XLSX, and Microsoft Office 97/2000/2003/2007/2010/2013/2016 versions of DOC, DOCX, and TXT files.

Screen sharing and mirroring make it especially easy to project content from devices running Windows or Android operating systems, giving users more options for displaying their presentations. A Bluetooth output lets users wirelessly output the sound to a Bluetooth speaker or Bluetooth-enabled Hi-Fi or AV system. Unfortunately, the LG BU53PST does not support Apple AirPlay.

The LG ProBeam BU53PST is a member of a tiny group of compact, ultra-bright (5,000-lumen), 4K laser DLP projectors. This LG ProBeam is undoubtedly more the exception than the norm. Many WUXGA ultra-bright business projectors are much larger and retail for thousands of dollars more.

COMPETITION

There are only a few projectors with the features, performance, and pricing of the BU53PST. But I did find a couple of options.

LG's BU60PST is one of the BU53PST's most significant competitors, costing only $700 more at MSRP. The two projectors are identical in size and features, except for brightness and lens. The BU60PST provides 6,000 ANSI lumens of brightness and a 1.6x optical zoom lens. Seven hundred dollars is a relatively small premium to pay. Such a relatively small difference in price might be an easy step-up unless you need a short-throw lens which the BU53PST offers while its big brother does not.

The NEC P506QL is a 5,000-lumen projector selling for $4,999 MSRP that is more than bright enough for classrooms, conference rooms, museums, and signage. This addition to NEC's P Series utilizes DLP technology and a maintenance-free laser light source. High resolution, minimal maintenance, and a cost-saving design make this projector perfect for demanding applications in higher education, corporate, retail, museums, and more.

CONCLUSION

The LG ProBeam BU53PST is a powerful combination of high brightness (6,232 ANSI lumens), high resolution (4K 3,840 x 2,160), and network command and control capabilities. The BU53PST is an incredible value, especially for the education/business segments of the professional industry. Its compact size, horizontal and vertical Lens Shift, and advanced features such as 12-point Geometry Correction provide exceptional installation flexibility for a projector in this class. If you are looking for an ultra-bright business projector for a classroom, boardroom, or house of worship, you would be hard-pressed to find another choice as good as this LG ProBeam. At $4,299 MSRP, the BU53PST is a slam-dunk professional projector to add to your inventory.