When comparing LG PH550 vs LG PH300, the Slant community recommends LG PH300 for most people. In the question“What are the best portable projectors?” LG PH300 is ranked 1st while LG PH550 is ranked 3rd. The most important reason people chose LG PH300 is:
LG PH300 has a native 1280x720 high-definition resolution with a 16:9 aspect ratio. This is great for playing video content. For a pico-projector, the PH300 also has very decent black levels (the contrast ratio is 100 000:1).
Specs
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Pros
Pro Good picture quality
Although the colors can be a bit too vibrant, they can be tuned down in the settings to make them balanced. The projector is also bright, so you can use it in a family room for watching movies. Although the resolution is 720p not 1080p, the PH550 has overall a brighter and more detailed picture than most portable projectors.
Pro Works for presentations
The picture is detailed enough for data presentation. Also the overly vibrant colors are not an issue when presenting text slides.
Pro 3D support
There is no crosstalk (picture meant for one eye is seen by the other) in 3D mode, which is an issue for a lot of projectors. On the downside, there is just one 3D color preset and also a few motion artifacts can be seen. Besides that, the projector is bright and therefore works well with 3D content.
Pro Very few rainbows
DLP projectors often show flashes of red, green, and blue on bright objects in darker movie scenes. They are called rainbow artifacts. These artifacts are not a major issue for the PH550. They can appear every once in a while, but it's definitely nothing bothering.
Pro Built-in TV tuner
LG PH550 can be used to project videos or images like a TV screen through its built-in TV turner. The user can project the images from a cable box or home TV through a coaxial connector.
Pro Rechargeable battery
The battery can last up to 2.5 hours, which is enough to watch one whole movie or give a lengthy presentation.
Pro Wide range of connectivity options
LG PH550 has ports for HDMI, VGA, USB ports and AV-in video jack. It has AV-out jack and Bluetooth for sound outputs. To connect to a cable box or TV, one can use a coaxial connector. The remote control is also big enough for scrolling.
Pro Great picture for video content
LG PH300 has a native 1280x720 high-definition resolution with a 16:9 aspect ratio. This is great for playing video content. For a pico-projector, the PH300 also has very decent black levels (the contrast ratio is 100 000:1).
Pro Very small and light
This LG is only 2.5 x 3.5 x 4.5 inches in size. It weighs just one pound.
Pro Everlasting lamp
The lamp lasts for up to 30 000 hours, so you probably will never have to replace it. Replacement lamps for PH300 are hard to find anyways.
Pro Low input lag for gaming
It has a 33ms input lag, meaning you can take it to a lan-party or play video games on a big screen while travelling.
Pro Rather quiet fans
The fan noise is a high-pitch whiny noise: 26 dB in normal mode and 28 dB in high brightness mode. The projector is rather quiet, but you can still hear the fans buzzing.
Cons
Con No android OS built in (not smart).
Con Grayish blacks
The contrast is a little low and makes the blacks seem rather gray. Though with the lights on, it doesn't matter, since any deep blacks would get washed out anyways.
Con Bulkier than most portable projectors
Compared to other projectors in its class, LG PH550 is at the upper end in terms of size and weight specifications.
Con No support for microSD
Amidst the wide connectivity range, LG PH550 does not support microSD.
Con Poor sound quality
It’s not recommended to use the built-in audio system. These one-watt stereo speakers have disappointing sound quality.
Con Rainbow artifacts
It is a single-chip DLP projector, so you might experience a rainbow effect on the screen every once in a while.