As the recession continues to bite into our spending capabilities, the hunt is continually on for cheaper and simpler ways to enhance our entertainment possibilities and LG has already taken this into consideration when it brought out, about six months ago, the ultra portable HS102 projector.

The aim was to produce a lightweight and compact projector which would meet the needs of home cinema enthusiasts, those who like to play their console games in large format and business people who need to give presentations while constantly on the move. The HS200 is the HS102's successor and has been completely redesigned and given further enhancements to maximise entertainment viewing pleasure.

For a start, out has gone the predictable, flat rectangular style to be replaced by a more solid build in gun-metal blue with sweeping curves and softer moulding: in other words, a lot sexier. The new model measures a still highly compact 122 x 183 x 60mm, yet at 800g it's only marginally heavier than its predecessor. The fiddly focus ring around the lens has now been given a separate side control and the sometimes unresponsive touch-sensitive menu controls on the top have been replaced by prominent buttons which now become a viable alternative to using the remote.

When you go around the back, you'll notice that in addition to the previous VGA, audio and USB inputs there's now an HDMI capability which will please all those whose camcorders are shooting in HD, as well as games console and Blu-ray owners.

As with the HS102, the HS200 makes use of more environmentally friendly LED technology and its Twin XD Engine has the same 2,000:1 contrast ratio. However, the former 160 ANSI lumens has been increased to 200 while the native resolution has not altered at SVGA level (800 x 600). 4:3 is once again the native aspect ratio (with a 16:9 option) but the excellent news is that the maximum screen size has doubled from 60 to 120 inches.

Although picture quality is much grainier at maximum screen width, this does mean that you can still have superior quality sharpness, colour and saturation at a much greater size than before and thus experience more satisfying home cinema viewing and split-screen game-playing.

The range of formats available for slide shows and movies remains the same, covering JPEG, MP3, AVI and DivX files but if you want music while you view, LG has thrown in FM wireless radio which you can play out using the in-built Dolby speakers or marry up with external audio sources.

One niggle, however, is that both the paper manual and the disk version have text information correct and yet the pictures are of the HS102. Someone didn't do their proof-reading correctly.

Verdict
Rather than just making minor alterations, LG has put plenty of thought into the redesign of its ultra portable range. The HS200 is much classier than its forebear and now has HDMI capability, is brighter and gives double the screen size for a reasonable price.

Company: LG

Contact: 0844 847 5454

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