Big screens used to mean big headaches. You'd buy a massive television and pray the delivery guys didn't crack the glass, or you’d bolt a projector to your ceiling and spend three hours fishing HDMI cables through the drywall. It was a mess. Honestly, the short throw LG projector lineup changed that entire dynamic by realizing most of us just want a theater experience without the construction project.
LG basically cornered a specific niche here. While brands like Epson and BenQ were focusing on the traditional "long throw" setups for dark basements, LG leaned into the CineBeam series. These things are designed for living rooms. Real living rooms. The ones with white walls, messy coffee tables, and windows that actually let light in.
The Distance Myth and How Ultra Short Throw Works
People get confused about the terminology. You’ve got "short throw" and "ultra short throw" (UST). A standard short throw might sit four or five feet away from the wall. But the short throw LG projector models most people are actually hunting for—like the HU915QB or the HU715Q—are UST units.
They sit inches away.
Literally. You can place the projector on a sideboard or a media console just 5.9 inches from the wall and get a 100-inch image. Push it back to 11 inches, and you’re looking at 120 inches of 4K resolution. It’s wild because the light is bouncing off a specialized wide-angle lens at a steep upward angle. This creates a massive image without anyone ever walking in front of the beam and casting a shadow of their head onto the movie.
Why Brightness Matters More Than You Think
Lumens are the currency of the projector world. If you don't have enough, your image looks like a faded Polaroid left in the sun. LG’s higher-end models, like the HU915QE, pump out 3,700 ANSI Lumens.
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That’s a lot.
For context, many budget projectors struggle to hit 1,000. Why does this matter? Because ambient light is the enemy of projection. If you’re trying to watch House of the Dragon at 2 PM on a Sunday, a low-lumen projector will show you... well, nothing. Just a grey smudge. LG uses a three-channel laser system. Instead of a single blue laser with a color wheel—which can cause that annoying "rainbow effect" some people see—they use dedicated red, green, and blue light sources. It makes the colors pop in a way that feels much closer to an OLED TV than an old-school classroom projector.
The Software Secret Sauce
Most projectors have terrible menus. They look like they were designed in 1998 by someone who hated joy. LG just took their webOS platform from their C-series TVs and slapped it onto the CineBeam.
It’s smart.
You get Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and YouTube natively. You don't necessarily need a Roku or an Apple TV stick sticking out of the back, though most enthusiasts still use them. The inclusion of AirPlay 2 and Screen Share is a nice touch, too. It’s basically a giant TV that happens to be a box instead of a panel.
Real Talk: The Screen Problem
Here is the thing nobody tells you in the marketing materials: You cannot just point a short throw LG projector at a bumpy, beige wall and expect it to look like the pictures on the box.
You just can't.
Because the light is hitting the wall at such a sharp, upward angle, any tiny imperfection in your drywall—every bump, every paint drip, every slight curve—will cast a tiny shadow. It makes the image look wavy or distorted. If you are dropping $3,000 on a premium LG laser projector, you absolutely have to budget for an Ambient Light Rejecting (ALR) screen.
These screens have microscopic ridges that "catch" the light coming from below (the projector) and reflect it toward your eyes, while simultaneously "rejecting" the light coming from above (your ceiling lights). It’s the difference between a washed-out mess and a crisp, high-contrast image that rivals a flagship TV.
Gaming Performance and Lag
Gamers are usually the hardest crowd to please. For a long time, projectors were a non-starter because the input lag was astronomical. If you pressed "jump" in Elden Ring, your character wouldn't move until the next day.
LG has trimmed this down significantly.
While you aren't getting the 1ms response time of a dedicated gaming monitor, models like the HU715Q hover around the 20ms to 30ms mark. For 90% of players, that is perfectly fine. It's snappy enough for Call of Duty and definitely smooth enough for God of War. Just don't expect 144Hz refresh rates; you’re mostly locked into 60Hz at 4K.
Maintenance and Longevity
The old fear with projectors was the "bulb life." You’d use it for 2,000 hours, the bulb would dim, and then it would pop, costing you $300 to replace.
Those days are over.
The laser diode in a modern short throw LG projector is rated for about 20,000 to 30,000 hours. If you watched five hours of movies every single day, the light source would still last you over 10 years. By the time the laser dies, the software will be obsolete anyway, and we’ll probably be projecting movies directly into our retinas.
The Contrast Controversy
Let’s be honest about the black levels. If you are coming from an LG C3 or G4 OLED, you are going to notice that "black" on a projector is actually just a very dark grey. That’s just physics. A projector cannot project the color black; it can only project "no light."
The blackest your screen can be is the color of the screen when the power is off.
This is where the "Adaptive Contrast" feature comes in. LG uses software to dim the laser in dark scenes and boost it in bright ones. It’s effective, but it’s not perfect. In a pitch-black room, an OLED will win every time for depth. But an OLED can't easily give you a 120-inch screen for under five grand. It's a trade-off of scale versus absolute precision.
Setup Tips for the Best Experience
- Check your furniture height. Because the projector sits so low and aims so high, if your media console is 30 inches tall, the 120-inch image will start at the ceiling. You need a low-profile "credenza" style stand.
- Hardwire the internet. 4K HDR streaming requires a massive amount of bandwidth. Don't rely on Wi-Fi if you have a mesh node nearby; plug in that ethernet cable.
- Calibrate the focus. LG has a motorized focus on many of these units. Take the time to dial it in using the edge-adjustment tools. If the corners are blurry, your projector might not be perfectly level. Use a physical level, not just your eyes.
Is It Worth the Premium?
The short throw LG projector ecosystem isn't cheap. You’re looking at a price range of $2,500 to $6,000 depending on the model and the sales. But when you consider that a 98-inch LED TV is a permanent, heavy fixture that dominates a room even when it's off, the projector starts to make sense. When it's off, it’s just a sleek white box on a table. When it’s on, your living room is a cinema.
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How to Get Started with Your Setup
If you’re ready to pull the trigger, start by measuring your wall space. A 120-inch screen is roughly 105 inches wide. Ensure you have no light switches or thermostats in the way. Next, look at the LG HU715Q if you have a moderately dark room, or step up to the HU915 series if you have lots of windows.
Forget about the "white wall" plan immediately. Order an ALR fixed-frame screen or a floor-rising screen if you want the "magic" effect of the display appearing out of nowhere. Once the hardware is set, go into the settings and turn off "TruMotion" unless you like the soap opera effect. Set the color mode to "Filmmaker Mode" to see the movie exactly how the director intended, without the artificial sharpening and weird blue tints.
Your last step is sound. While LG includes decent speakers in these units—some even have 40W 2.2 channel systems—they can't beat a dedicated soundbar or a 5.1 surround setup. Since the projector is already sitting right where your center channel would be, it’s incredibly easy to run an eARC HDMI cable to a high-end sound system and finish the transformation of your space.