LG HS102 portable projector June 2009

Which? takes a first look at the LG HS102 portable video projector, a small LED projector that is versatile enough to use for business presentations, watching movies, playing console games or displaying photo slideshows.

LG HS102 - the basics

First impressions of the LG HS102 portable projector are good – its sleek, glossy black exterior is complemented by red illuminated touch-sensitive controls. The LG HS102's dimensions are a diminutive 154x117x50mm – not much larger than a stack of six CDs. There's a standard screw thread on the underside for mounting it on a camera tripod, or the HS102 can be hung from a ceiling.  

It's also simple to set up – just plug in your video source and focus the picture using the silver-coloured ring around the lens, though there's no zoom function, so you'll need to physically move the projector forward or back to alter the size of the projected image.

The HS102 itself weighs 780g but, if you're planning to carry it around regularly, the significant additional weight of the power supply transformer will need to be taken into account. Alternatively there's an optional rechargeable battery (not supplied) that LG claims has a two hour battery life – fine for most business presentations, but insufficient for many feature films.

The HS102's native resolution is 800x600 pixels, so this projector is not the best choice if you're planning to project full HD sources such as Blu-ray movies. The claimed maximum display size is 80 inches but, realistically, projecting a 60-inch image would probably be best for a projector of this type. 

The touch-sensitive control buttons on the top panel of the HS102 mean that it isn't particularly easy to use, as you have to keep glancing between the projected image and the control panel to check which button to press. Alternatively, a small remote control is supplied, which is claimed to control the HS102 from a distance of up to 6m, though we found that it had a fairly narrow angle of operation. 

LG HS102 - picture and sound quality

The picture quality was good, and when we watched Batman – The Dark Knight, colours and blackness levels were acceptable for a LED projector in this price bracket, despite a claimed brightness of only 160 lumens. We found that, unsurprisingly, the HS102 couldn't deliver a picture that was easily watchable in a living room on a bright sunny day. 

Later in the evening, however, the HS102 came into its own – it was a few minutes' work to set it up in the garden to project onto a wall. This was ideal for al-fresco summer entertainment, though you'll need to connect a separate speaker system to give the audio anywhere near as much impact as the picture – worth budgeting for if you're considering a video projector as an alternative to a LCD or plasma screen.

The noise of the cooling fan is noticeable when the projector's in operation, though it's not especially distracting, and the quoted noise level is 32dB. 

LG HS102 - audio and video connections

The rear panel of the LG HS102 projector has VGA and S-Video inputs, but no HDMI socket. A supplied adaptor lets you connect component video inputs (for details on common types of video sockets read our guide to LCD and plasma TV features). There's an audio-out socket in the form of a 3.5mm jack for headphones or speakers, though the HS102 has a built-in 1W speaker that's loud enough for presentations in a small room.

An interesting feature of the HS102 is its ability to play media from devices connected to its USB port. It will play DivX video and MP3 music files, and it can also display a slideshow of Jpeg photos. 

The HS102 supports a range of input resolutions up to 1280x1024 from your PC or Mac, and will also accept inputs with picture formats up to 1080i.

The HS102 comes with an RGB to component cable, AV cable and VGA cable. This means that, straight out of the box, this LG projector should be quick and easy to connect to DVD players, PVRs, Freeview and Freesat set-top boxes and laptops.

It also comes with a polishing cloth, and printed and CD versions of the user manual. 

The LG HS102 portable projector is available online now, for around £520.

Pros: Versatile, portable and able to project large bright images

Cons: Expensive, noisy fan