Projector Reviews

Full-On/Full-Off Contrast Ratio: 5,800:1

The measurements here were made using Portrait Displays' Calman color calibration software, together with a Photo Research PR-650 color meter, Minolta LS-100 luminance meter, and a Murideo/AVPro (Fresco Six-G) test pattern generator.

Pre-calibration measurements were made with the LG HU710PW's Filmmaker picture mode active. Post-calibration measurements were made in Expert (Dark Room) mode. All measurements were made with the projector positioned at a 14-foot distance from a 92-inch diagonal, 1.1 gain Stewart Filmscreen Cima screen.

The projector's maximum full-on/full-off SDR contrast ratio was achieved with the Expert (Dark Room) Picture, Minumum Energy Saving, Dark Room Iris, Auto Black Level, Medium Dynamic Contrast, and High Adaptive Contrast settings active, with Contrast at 80 and Brightness at 50. With this combination, black measured 0.0064 ft-L and peak white 23.20 ft-L for a contrast ratio of 5,800:1, which is notably good performance for a DLP model. With the Iris set to Medium, contrast ratio with the other settings listed above was 2,415:1.

Before calibration, the default color temperature preset in the Filmmaker picture mode displayed a degree of green push throughout the grayscale range. The Delta E averaged 3.6, with a low of 1.0 at 10 IRE and a high of 4.8 at 100 IRE. After calibration, the average Delta E improved dramatically to an average 0.9. (Delta E is a figure of merit indicating how close the color comes to the standards, either D65 for the white point or the color coordinates for each of the primary and secondary colors that define the color gamut under test. Values below 3 are generally unnoticeable.)

With the default settings active in Expert (Dark Room) Picture mode, the Delta E of the HU710PW's measured color points averaged out to 3.9. Using the projector's color management system controls, I was able to improve color point accuracy to an average Delta E of 2.9, with a high of 3.4 for blue. Coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut in Cinema Home (HDR) mode topped out at 93.7 percent.

Post-calibration, gamma closely tracked a 2.4 target for most of the range with the 2.4 Gamma preset selected, with the highest error at 10% brightness. With the HDR Cinema Home preset mode active, peak white output measured 86 nits +/- 5 nits regardless of the size of the measured white window. Picture uniformity was excellent: white full-field test patterns showed minimal brightness drops between the center and edges of the screen, and no color shifts. The projector failed our suite of video processing tests, but these apply mainly to interlaced signal formats.

Fan noise is very low. LG specs it at 28dB for Minimum Energy Saving (High Brightness), and I only measured a 2dB difference between the Minimum and Maximum modes.

Input lag with a 1080p source measured 59ms in Game mode, making the HU710PW an average option for high-def gaming.—AG

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