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LG PA75U -Anybody else own one of LG's Abandoned Children?

78K views 479 replies 84 participants last post by  strindl 
#1 ·
I bought this at, and will soon be trying to return it to BestBuy. Touted as having LG's "Smart TV Features" one would assume it would have Hulu, Netflix, even HBO Go perhaps. Some descriptions online mention Hulu and Netflix, but fire up the projector and they are nowhere to be found.


In fact, the apps that are available are all pure crap.


I went to check the LG site, to see if they have any documentation on upcoming features or anything at all, only to notice that the PA75U is NOT LISTED under current models. Mine was manufactured in March of 2013. Are the Web guys on strike or has LG given up/discontinued/who-knows-what on this projector?


Anyway, there are some positives - the picture is good, and the "PLEX media server" software is nice to have (constantly improving, but poorly implemented on the PA75U)

I am not quite sure why, but once you have that media server running on your PC, you can then access the content in two ways - one is through the "Media Link" option on the PA75U - this pulls in all sorts of other information about your files from the web (movie ratings/synopses/etc)


The other method is via "SmartShare" which is more of a browse-folders-and-filenames experience.


Somehow these two methods utilize different looking media players. I have found that the SmartShare media player looks better, gives you more information on screen about the video resolution & audio type, and is generally smoother. But the MediaLink player pulls in all of that web info so your library looks organized instead of the potential cluster-F that it actually is.


Plex also includes "channels" including Amazon Video, Hulu, and Netflix - but these are poorly implemented and well hidden deep in the menus. (By poorly implemented I mean they don't look/function well. I should mention that Amazon just doesn't work. And none of these channels are supported by the respective companies...)


Lucky for me, the wifi keeps dropping out - has been happening with three different access points - so maybe that'll ease the return process.


Until then, I've been experimenting with the USB port - so far, successfully attached a USB hub and a wireless logitech keyboard. Unfortunately, only the escape button, the arrow keys and 0-9 seem to work - but it does show another device in "input selection"





Anybody out there own this model, or have any insight or tips/
 
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#402 ·
Yeah, those projectors can become top heavy on a tripod.

So you were lifting it up over a piece of furniture ? was it a couch because you said it bounced back up onto a chair ?

These LED projectors are pretty much solid state, hardly any moving parts other than the fans, that's another reason why I love them
no color wheel to wear out or shatter.

You said all in the same fall and movement you gripped the projector ? and the case snapped back together ? in your words cracked back together.

So the force of the fall caused the case of the projector to come apart ?

These LED projectors can take a little trauma and still work, but still pretty much wont survive in a intentional smash'em up on the concrete floor and see if it survives force.

The old UHP bulb and color wheel projector ? even if you accidentally bumped your head against it could, might, maybe cause damage to the projector.

When you shook it it did sound like broken glass ? or a screw that was broken lose inside the case ?

I can't think of anything glass other than the lens, but those are suppose to be made out of plastic, or the lens in front of the LEDs.

That is ? if the LGPA75U has a lens in front of the LEDS.

The things I would worry about are the main lens, the light path and mirrors, and fans.

Everything else could ? maybe take some what of a shock and survive.
 
#403 ·
It was being lifted over a pair of rockingchairs separated by a short table with a large China bowl. It landed on the bowl hard enough to bounce up and over a chair's wooden arm and end up seated in the chair. The back halves must've misaligned slightly between the corner screws (nothing was noticeably apart and nothing feels loose), then it popped back in place as I picked it up from its seat. I guess one of the plastic clips that hold it together popped out of place in the fall and then back in from the slight squeeze. The rattle sounded like very small slivers of glass (or maybe ceramic/china) but it either settled somewhere or fell out because it doesn't do it now. The fans are still quiet too, so nothing got stuck or messed up there.


I've read a review of one of the cheaper benq's taking a fall from a shelf and still playing as long as a weight(book) was placed on top. I've watched a few hours of video and everything is as if nothing happened.


As a side, I finally have a solid 105" screen in the family room that flips up to lay along the ceiling (so the TV is unblocked) and despite being surrounded by windows with terrible curtains (next project..better curtains), I can't get 3D to lose sinc for more than a second. Even turning away from the screen doesn't throw it off, I don't know if it's the PJ or if I got really lucky with these $12 DLPlink G15's but I'm trying to think of excuses to use 3D more often.
 
#404 ·
Brought the LG to a friend's and whatever is inside -broken- IS still inside rattling around on occasion. I'm really not looking forward to taking it apart again.
 
#405 ·

I wonder it would be better to use this projector with a silver screen or a white screen. I'm not quite happy with the white wall that I'm using right now. Have anybody use the silver screen with it? I don't know if the noise and hot spot problem in silver screen would be an issue for a low lumens projector like this one.
 
#406 ·

It's a glorious sunny morning. The PA75u is still set up behind the familyroom seats from last-night's viewing and the 110" flat-white screen takes 5seconds to unhinge down in front of the LCD TV. The room is white; white walls white ceiling and off-white carpet. It's surrounded by windows without curtains and china-hutches with mirrored backs. This is a bad room at a bad time with a cheap LED projector. LET'S TAKE SOME PICTURES

 

The LG is setup for daytime viewing right now, with brightness turned up so blacks aren't terribly crushed by the sun and colors are turned up a little past clipping so they aren't as washed-out. There's one more weapon in its arsenal. "Dynamic Contrast" is a setting (off/low/med/high) that takes the image and tries to stretch the scene's contrast until the brightest part is near-white and the darkest part is wherever you have "brightness" control set. It, therefore can't do much to high-contrast scenes nor very bright scenes. It also tends to wipe out some small details and I recommend shutting it off during any dark-time viewing, BUT it really helps low-APL scenes cut through a bit of light.

 

The top row of pictures shows a midAPL live-action scene, a highAPL animated scene, and a very lowAPL live-action scene with plenty of black space.

The lower six shots show how much difference lowering the backlight/LED-brightness makes, going (left to right) bright, medium, dim.



That's roughly 400lumens trying to fill a 56"X90" space with about 11.5ftL. 
 
#407 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ftoast  /t/1468730/lg-pa75u-anybody-else-own-one-of-lgs-abandoned-children/390#post_24647574


That's roughly 400lumens trying to fill a 56"X90" space with about 11.5ftL. 
That's a great set of shots and represents what I would consider an unusable on screen image. About a 6:1 contrast ratio. You can tell what's going on, but you aren't going to be enjoying the viewing experience at all.
 
#408 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by AV_Integrated  /t/1468730/lg-pa75u-anybody-else-own-one-of-lgs-abandoned-children/390#post_24648043



That's a great set of shots and represents what I would consider an unusable on screen image. About a 6:1 contrast ratio. You can tell what's going on, but you aren't going to be enjoying the viewing experience at all.
Thanks, I consider myself "blessed" with a situation that can show a fair worst-case-scenario, lol.

Something neat to consider then, even a monster PJ putting out 4000lm would only be achieving roughly 60:1 contrast in the same place, and the much easier alternative to start with is curtains. Curtains for daytime and some simple, appropriately dim, directional lamps for night-time are easy steps that anyone can perform without spending much money at all. With a higher contrast projector, dark/flat paint is a good consideration, but I wouldn't bother with this particular PJ or much anything else that's similarly inexpensive.

 

-That dopey screen was about $25(including "mounting" parts), 15minutes of rolling paint, and it weighs about 2-3pounds and can be hung from any ceiling without issue. It sits flush with the ceiling out of the way when not in use and can lower in front of the TV when needed.

-Decent dark curtains are easily had for $20-30 a pair, and lamps/spots are a paltry $30 investment.

-Find a seat or a low shelf to put behind your seats if you don't want to ceiling-mount, and leveling can be a one-time investment of a few minutes.

-Perfectly watchable 1080p PJs are available in the $700-900range and 720p is down to $400.

 

Part of me doesn't understand why more people aren't putting projectors in their homes, but another part loves that little feeling of being "special". Ha.
 
#409 ·
Its a Freaking Portable Projector with a LED light source. For what it does its great for the price. Try putting it side by side with a high Lumen projector and you will still get crappy images in a well lit room. Its really kinda dishonest to use the worst possible set up and complain that its a "Cheap LED projector" If you have kids its probably one of the best all around projectors on the market for the price, Especially if they are growing up and will be using it for video games net surfing and other things that kids do. Time had pretty much proven that kids and lamp based projectors can be a VERY expensive proposition. I wonder how many parents have had to turn around, drive back and check if junior left the projector on or has heard "Mommy or daddy The projector won't come on" just to find out the new lamp has exploded because Junior wants to turn it on and off like a regular TV. Get real! - Bohanna
 
#410 ·
I hope you realize that I absolutely love this PJ (even despite my hatred for LG) and was showing a clearly defined worst-case scenario because I felt as if my beloved, cheap, LG was holding it's own fairly well given the circumstances. I wasn't complaining at all, and certainly didn't mean to sound like I was. For the record, I've been significantly LESS impressed trying a 3000lm LCD in that same space as well as a 3500(dirty lie)DLP.


I posted a set of similar pictures showing this LG (in brightest backlight) side-by-side the 2500lm-claiming hd131xe(eco mode) going through the whole spread of "Brilliantcolor" brightness-enhancing options. I thought the little LG held its own so well in ALL regards compared to the Optoma that I'll be returning the Optoma to the store. Every major thing important to me that the Optoma did well, the LG matched or bettered. For a cheaper price.


I figured newbies might see these and go "That's the worst? Pfft. That's not as bad as some have made it sound."

Or at the worst realize "Huh, that's not gonna be me. I'm putting curtains on my next shopping list."


There's no dishonesty in posting accurate pictures of a clearly defined situation. If somebody new to projection wanted to know what to expect from a PJ in a bright room, the most thorough answer is showing them. If they don't like how it looks and know they won't be able to darken their room, they are justified in being scared away.
 
#411 ·
The pictures you posted were horrible and would scare any Noobs into staying away from projectors period! How you could take the worst case scenario and think anyone would believe you Absolutely Love the PA75 boggles the mind. Its pretty clear that your minds eye and a normal minds eye are not on the same page or for that matter even in the same book! - Bohanna
 
#412 ·

These pictures were taken with the hd131xe(top) and pa75u(bottom) simultaneously showing the same paused scene.  The pa75u is at its brightest backlight setting while the 131xe is in ECO mode using a new bulb and about 1ft. farther back.

 

The pa75u(bottom) is the same in all 4 shots (brilliantcolor OFF) and was set as close as it would get to match the Optoma(top).

 

Left to right; Brilliantcolor is low, medium, high, high. The last/fourth (high) also has CMS color gain controls cranked and deep colors are clipped because of it.



I consider all of these easily watchable (photography skills notwithstanding), but the first and last ones are the most pleasant and least "washed out".

 

 

 Sadly the color-gain cranking trick doesn't work well when you're dealing with high-color content.

 

Left to right; Brilliantcolor is low, medium, high, high. The last/fourth (high) also has CMS color gain controls cranked and deep colors are clipped because of it.

The lower image of each pair is the same across all four shots, and has brilliantcolor OFF.



It starts out good and balanced, then it gets weird with the unbalance from BC, THEN it gets downright ugly with the combination of BC's unbalance along with clipped color problems.

 

The first image is fine, but the second and third are getting distractingly bad with glowing whites. That last image is even worse in person, if you can believe that..the camera just refused to capture the full "badness" of it, I suspect out of pity.
 
#413 ·

Here's what those three different mid/high/low-APL shots look like at four common room-light situations using the PA75u.

 

Top to bottom:

-Direct sunlight pouring in mostly though the large bay window at my back.

-Indirect sunlight with the sun blurring through some cloud cover.

-Dawn light, plus indoor adjacent lighting around 400watts.

-Dawn light, all indoor lights off.

 

There's enough light in the room to read small print in the top two picture-sets and more than enough to pass some snacks around or walk without stumbling in all four sets. The dim, early morning light (lowest row) provided a wonderful compromise of usable light for navigating the somewhat messy familyroom without noticeably hurting the on-screen image, and a simple pair of dimming table-lamps should yield similar results.

 
#414 ·
Hello all! I am glad to see I'm not the only one going the LED projector route. I have been an owner of a LG HX350T projector for several years and it has worked wonderfully. I also picked up a qumi q5 but it's more my outdoor projector now, not too impressed with it. Buuut..... I just recently picked up the pa75u at Bestbuy for 599.00. They had it labeled wrong and I was holding them to it. So I have this set up in my basement in a dedicated theater space, ceiling mounted on a 106" low gain high contrast grey screen. It actually looks amazing! But thanks to my job I am now taking the plunge and really making an upgrade. I ordered a 106" Black Diamond screen!!! The guys at work have their preferences to sell to customers, the Sony 55es or the 600 if someone is ready for 4K, or Epson of course or Runco if you really want high end. Don't get me wrong, I'm not comparing my 600.00 projector to a 4000.00 Sony or anything. I use my projector every day. Every....Day. So for me the LED just makes sense. I am amazed how great it looks and I haven't really adjusted much and the 3d was surprising good. And not an ounce of focus problems. I'll take photos of the new screen once it arrives at the store. If you haven't guessed already I work at a high end home theater shop. I get to geek out on the new gear and get paid for it. Pretty dang cool. Thanks.
 
#416 ·

The w1070 finally arrived, so I've taken a few side by side pictures of it next to the PA75u. Besides the brightness and contrast difference being a little less dramatic than I'd hoped, I also noticed a strange advantage of the LG's pixel structure..When dealing with resolution lower than 1080, and/or when using 1080 coupled with digital keystone correction (which should be avoided if possible) the LG appears to have smoother yet sharper edges and less image noise despite having noise-reduction set OFF. The w1070 is still the sharper projector for 1080 material (as long as digital keystone adjustment isn't used), but for everything that uses re-mapping the LG seems to have a visible advantage.

 

The W1070(top) is in "eco" set for cinema mode with contrast boosted slightly and "BrilliantColor" turned OFF. The LG(bottom) is on brightest backlight setting with "DynamicContrast" turned to MEDIUM



Despite output hypothetically being around 900lm for the w1070 and around 400lm for the LG at these settings, the perceived brightness was very similar. A bit disappointing.

 

Next, the W1070(right side) is set for boosted colors/contrast/gamma/brightness at full lamp brightness and "BrilliantColor" is ON. The LG is still set for brightest backlight and "DynamicContrast" at MEDIUM. This is during the day, using a smaller image size in the daylight.



The DynamicContrast of the LG keeps the dark APL scenes looking similar, but the brightness advantage of the w1070 shows through during the brighter scenes. In person the W1070 looked a little cold at these settings but plenty watchable, and there's always the option to sacrifice some of the brightness to warm the picture.

 

Still, the knowledge that the w1070 will lose nearly half of its brightness after a year of my usage habits coupled with the lack of visible contrast improvement means the W1070 will be getting returned and my search will have to continue.
 
#423 ·
The w1070 finally arrived, so I've taken a few side by side pictures of it next to the PA75u. Besides the brightness and contrast difference being a little less dramatic than I'd hoped, I also noticed a strange advantage of the LG's pixel structure..When dealing with resolution lower than 1080, and/or when using 1080 coupled with digital keystone correction (which should be avoided if possible) the LG appears to have smoother yet sharper edges and less image noise despite having noise-reduction set OFF. The w1070 is still the sharper projector for 1080 material (as long as digital keystone adjustment isn't used), but for everything that uses re-mapping the LG seems to have a visible advantage.


It seems that you have booth PA 75U & W1070, may I ask your thoughts which projector you preferred? & why? Thanks!
 
#417 ·

I just got a used PA75U recently.  But to my dismay that system was password locked.  I search every where on the net and couldn't find a solution to reset it.  Any one can help with that? How about open up the case and looking for CMOS reset?  I can reset desktop motherboard, most electronic gadget has reset hole some where at the bottom.  But not this one.
 
#419 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by avboy1  /t/1468730/lg-pa75u-anybody-else-own-one-of-lgs-abandoned-children/390#post_24735863


I just got a used PA75U recently.  But to my dismay that system was password locked.  I search every where on the net and couldn't find a solution to reset it.  Any one can help with that? How about open up the case and looking for CMOS reset?  I can reset desktop motherboard, most electronic gadget has reset hole some where at the bottom.  But not this one.
According to LG, when prompted for the password, type 0000 then go into options/set-password and turn it OFF. They say 0000 will be a default that will let you through to disable password protection..I've received misinformation from LG support before, so I can NOT say if this will work for sure.


Okay, tried it myself. If someone has changed the default password, using 0000 will NOT work. It's worth a try if you haven't already.


If it doesn't work, have the unit within reach and call 1800 243-0000 to see if LG support can help you more specifically.
 
#420 ·

I ran out of extension-cord before I could get a larger image, but this being 16-17ft wide helped the camera pick up the picture a little better anyway. The siding is a flat, dirty off-white and phone-cameras aren't exactly renown for their ability to capture low-light well, but the little LG is still bright enough to get some decent pictures at a size that's too big for many indoor areas.





If only the mosquitoes around here weren't immune to TikiTorches I'd have it made.




Okay, found another cord. This was measured at 25ft. wide. There was a small fire about 30ft to the left, but it didn't seem to hit the picture hard enough to do any damage.

 
#422 ·
I'm getting what the LG pa75u 's info panel is telling me is 1080p, 60Hz from my hdmi PC feed...is that right? I thought i needed the other lg projector to get 1080p...
The pa75 will still recognize and play a 1080p signal, it just needs to down-scale it to the projector's native resolution.
The "other" LG (pf80/85/87) uses 1080p as its native resolution so it needs to upscale lower resolutions, but can display 1080 content at a perfectly un-scaled, 1:1 ratio.

This is the difference between a projector that is native-1080 and one that "supports 1080p"..technically they BOTH support 1080/fullHD, but the one that isn't native 1080 has to display 1080 content using less pixels so some information get lost.
 
#426 ·
No problem.

If you go back one page (page 14), I've got quite a few pictures of the pa75 in different situations and some side-by-side the w1070 as well as the 131xe/hd25e with descriptions alongside.
 
#427 · (Edited)
I've got a couple more fun examples of what can be done with the humble PA75u.


That is a brand-new 150watt bare bulb on the right doing battle with the PuppetMasterDVDpack (because there's no accounting for taste). It wasn't actually being watched with the lights on (I was only curious), but after seeing how well it performed I did feel tempted to just let it continue.


During some down time a cinema was kind enough to let me borrow one of their bigscreens...and room.
Do you see that blue border around the screen? That's how large the projected image actually is. I didn't have an extension cord and couldn't move forward far enough to properly fit the screen, so properly filling the screen would've resulted in a significantly brighter image with much less wasted light.


Here, have some color.
Like most video/pictures shot with a cellphone, it was brighter in person..but pictures are still fun to show and see.
I'm not sure if it was an effect of the better whitebalance or something else, but the LG appeared to be brighter than the theater's own pre-show LCDs (which are typically low-resolution 5000-ish+ lumen models). ..weird.

I also was able to go on a battery-powered outdoor adventure with a grey/khaki colored pole-building and stretch out to a 50ft-wide image that a few night-owls living nearby and I got to enjoy for a while from a few hundred feet away.
Sadly, though it was clear and colorful in person, it was past my cheap phone-camera's abilities to capture anything more than an underexposed mess. :(
Maybe, if I can find such a building in white..
 

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#428 ·
Last night I started having problems with my PA75u. It will power off, then almost immediately come back on. Will stay on for maybe a minute, then off again. Any ideas of things I should check? Is there way to do a hard reset? I don't really want to send it in for service if I don't have to.
 
#429 ·
If you haven't already, doublecheck that the power cord (and its midway connection) is tightly seated..and it might be worth a shot trying another outlet even though the one you're using should be fine.

I haven't yet seen a hard reset, so I'd like to know as well (just in case).
 
#432 ·
I got my projector back from LG today and it still has the same issue. They didn't include any paperwork to let me know what/if they did anything to it. According to the tracking info it was at their facility for maybe 24 hours. Knowing how repair facilities work it makes me wonder if they just turned it on, didn't see a problem right away assumed it's NPF and sent it back.
 
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