The HU80KA is certainly one of the most unique projectors we’ve seen in years. It doesn’t look like other projectors. It uses a large mirror to aim the beam (the last time that was popular was with Proxima and Polaroid projectors in the mid-‘90s) and it has a carry handle! Cute! And practical, considering LG markets this as a projector that can be moved around easily, indoors or out, for movie nights, sports, whatever.
The most common setup of the LG will likely be people standing it up on the floor, although lying it down horizontally will work if your table you rest it on is about the same height as the bottom of your screen (or any other surface you want to project on).
Either way, there’s a 1.2:1 manual zoom lens, with controls on one side.
The mirror allows you to adjust the height of the image on the screen, but if the angle is a lot, then you’ll see a trapezoidal image. That’s normally made into a rectangle by lens shift (which the mirror can sort of do a bit of), or keystone correction, which the LG has, but we always say, don’t use keystone correction unless you must, because it softens the image and reduces detail.
There are four screw-on feet that can be used when the projector is intended to be lying down flat. You can see the four screw thread holes are on the same side of the projector as the cutout for most of the connectors. The two pairs of holes (left side and right) are about 5 inches apart, with one set just above the cutout, and the other “higher up” (closer to the mirror and lens). Those will protect your tabletop, and the bottom surface of the projector when it is used horizontally.
The projector can even be ceiling mounted horizontally, in the same fashion as most home theater/home entertainment projectors!
If the projector is set up vertically, and you are standing behind it facing the screen, the focus and zoom controls will be on the left side, just behind the front (lens area).
The mirror, as noted, is hinged and can be moved out of the way, rotated, etc.
There’s a cable cover close the opening (except for the back). The power cord, interestingly enough, is about 10 feet long (a guess). What’s interesting is it is hard-wired to the projector instead of using a typical, standard power receptacle.
There’s a button just above the bottom, on the opposite side of the lens controls, which, when pushed, reels in the power cord. Nice touch, although a little more tension might be better. Sometimes it just doesn’t have enough muscle to reel it all in, especially if the projector is on a table, and has to pull the cord “up” to the unit. Still, count it as a nice extra thought, great for those that plan to move the HU80KA around a lot.
