Whatever portable device you watch your movies with gives you convenience. Still, we resort to home entertainment to immerse ourselves in a good movie or TV Show (and that’s what I did with the recent Severance show). TVs and Soundbars are great, but what if you have something scalable, perhaps a mini theatre in your home, without the need to break the bank by a lot? We are going to talk about it in this Epson EF-21 EpiqVision Review.
Epson EF-21 EpiqVision Projector Review
The Small Footprint
Coming in at 2.3kg, this projector is extremely small and easy to set up from the ground up. You just need a stable Wi-Fi connection and one cable to power it up. There are no dedicated controls on the projector because it comes with a remote included, which means more control from the comfort of your couch or wherever you are seated. On the bottom, you have the mount to mount it to a stand or onto a ceiling – because it is a projector, after all.
Powered by Google TV, which means…
… the Epson EF-21 EpiqVision is self-sufficient. With how TVs and even monitors are powered by a proper OS out of the box for this one-device-for-everything setup, it’s about time projectors caught onto that bandwagon. And this projector does exactly that. It runs on Google TV, which is the more improved and proper OS meant for big-screen devices with a more intuitive system. For starters, if you enjoy streaming content, Google TV OS gives you a “For You” tab with recommendations based on your subscription.
Using OS like such is a big advantage for users who are looking for a single device without the need to have multiple devices to make a projector work. So, its easy for rookies to enjoy but also at the same time, the projector has pors on the back – one HDMI specifically with HDCP 2.3 and ARC and of course you can Cast content via the built-in Chromecast. The HDMI is capped at 2.0 – which is expected.
Setting up is so Easy, and Obstacle Avoidance is Fool-proof
To make your projector work ideally, we need to make sure it fits into the screen, do the necessary adjustments to keep it in the 16:9 frame and of course, be able to adapt/scale up or down depending on the situation. It’s safe to say that you won’t be doing any tinkering because it has all the features it needs to get the image projection right.
For starters, the Auto Keystone Correction helps in keeping the shape right, the auto focus gives you a sharp image, and it happens immediately after boot, and for those who do screen it on a screen (which is recommended), it will adapt to the shape easily. In my case, I have an odd space to project on and it did work pretty well. The ideal setup is getting a proper black screen to project it on because you want the colours to pop and look good. And when you do it, it does work very well.
It’s easy to get in the way of your projector or someone could too – this is where auto obstacle avoidance does a good job in immediately cutting off the light source until the object is removed. We saw this to be a very effective feature because back when I was a kid, I had this itch to look into a projector lamp (good thing I didn’t), and I am sure kids these days would be curious too – so it saves them from unnecessary damage to the retina.
Laser Light, Scalability and HDR Support
Laser Light source is the go-to for projectors these days as people are moving away from the bulb-type projectors. Epson has been in this field for a while now. With really huge success on their Short throws and other Laser projectors, it’s no surprise that the Epson EF-21 EpiqVision is going to deliver well. For starters, it hits 1000 lumens of light output and can project from 30” to 150”. The fact that it can doesn’t mean that the performance is the same throughout the resolution.
And speaking of resolution, the EF-21 outputs in 1080p. For starters, the colour saturation, when projected at 30”, is absolutely beautiful with a punchy and vibrant finish. Scale it up to approx. 55” – 60” – it’s safe to say the colours do fall a little bit apart, but it’s because the pixels per inch are scarce – but the colours are still pretty great. But once you go any bigger, when we tested it – it works very well, and the quality, despite it’s little hit-and-miss moments, we must admit that it has come a long way from projectors 10 or so years ago which could not show true-to-life colours even at 40”. This is a big win.
Now, in general, Projection can be done on both Black and White screens – and it gives a rather different experience. I do prefer the black-screens as it gives an improved contrast with deeper blacks and I love a good cinematic experience. The EF-21 has hit the right spots. However, in our case, we have white screens/backgrounds in our VesperLab – how does that feel then?
White screens bring out the brightness because they reflect most light, and if you have a more controlled environment, you can enjoy it better. In my case, when the sun sets and the room goes all dark, it looks magnificent. In case you didn’t know, not many projectors can handle both black and white screens well, which, in this case, is a big win for the EF-21.
But the fact that you have this level of scalability gives you the room to use it as any kind of projector you want – be it for work or play. Since it’s a Laser source, LED can do some serious magic – especially in the HDR department – which we saw working with our very eye in Netflix. It is heavily content-dependent, but when it works, you can tell the subtle differences in the exposure and contrast.
Ports Selection
For a Google TV capable projector, I see it’s the prime focus and the EF-21 is built around that ecosystem – which is why, despite the limited port selection you see here, the Projector features Chromecast, baked right in it – which means casting content from your devices can be pretty easy as just a tap. For Apple users, just make sure to download the Google app.
Although, I can’t help it but to be a little bummed over the limited Ports selection. So, my suggestion is to set it up in a way you can make the most out of it. The HDMI port supports eARC, but it also has a dedicated 3.5mm audio jack. USB-A is good enough to connect to a local storage network so you can access things easily. So, an efficient setup is necessary.
I do hope to see USB-C one day on these projectors for high-speed data transfers/access and perhaps another HDMI, which could help with the projector being a multiple source of entertainment in just one small form.
Speakers
Epson equipped the Epson EF-21 EpiqVision with 2x 5W speakers, which is audible, but you won’t get the oomph you need as it lacks a sub, and you’d want to resort to a dedicated audio system for this – especially to complement the good visuals you get out of the projector. However, the EF-22N comes with a Passive Radiator, which we are unsure as to how it sounds. But say, if you do choose to bring the projector around, maybe to an Airbnb – those speakers might be convenient as it is a one package setup, and you don’t have to lug too many things around.
But ever since hearing the Yamaha Speakers baked into their older projector, it’s safe to say that I hope to see the return of those magnificent speakers in this lineup.
One Thing I wish the EF-21 had: EF-22N Swiveling Stand
The EF-22N gets a swivel stand which is what I’d love to see inside the box, but the EF-21 doesn’t get one in the box because it does not have one. Instead, you have to resort to traditional stands and ceiling mounts. Sometimes, they even treat it as a conventional projector with that tiny retractable angled stand on the front.
The EF-22N stand would have been a game changer, especially when you plan on doing something romantic, perhaps showing a video of stars in the sky on your ceiling, reenacting your Rachel and Ross moment from the Planetarium.
Conclusion
The Epson EpiqVision EF-21 is a pretty simple and, I’d say, the first projector worth looking into to amplify your home entertainment – because while it is true that, at this price point, you can’t get a TV this big, the EF-21 is not here to replace your everyday TV. It’s here to help you immerse yourself in a different medium – I mean, there’s a reason why we go to a theatre to get scared s*itless because a big screen like that, evokes emotion.
RM 3679 for a projector that gives an all-in-one experience sans the stand from EF-22N, it does have room to improve but even if you solely rely on Google TV alone, connect a nice sound system to the eARC, I believe, it can be a nice first step into a bigger, and better home entertainment experience. But seriously, get a 2.1 channel speaker at least, We paired ours with a PreSonus Eris 3.5 Gen 2, and it was already a huge improvement over the built-in speakers.
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