There are many types of projectors out there. Huge projectors are often hugely expensive and hard to move around. Tiny ones that are great for travelling but tend to offer much less brightness due to their size and a lesser cinematic experience.

And then there are projectors like this. The Epson EF 22 which comes at around £799 at the time of this video…but if you are interested in picking one up, I've partnered up with Epson on this video to get you a better deal…so stick around for that.

Epson has designed the EF22 to be the sweet spot for anyone who wants to de-clutter their living space and go more minimalistic. With a projector like this, you could even consider getting rid of your big TV to free up more space.

Because in exchange for a permanent flat screen, the EF22 will give you a much more discrete option. The advantage is that it allows you to fire up a massive 150" or a smaller display as and when and wherever you need it.

I’ve test-run the EF22 & I can tell you It's great for watching movies or binge-watching the latest series on streaming services. The fact that it does run on the Google TV operating system means it can be operated standalone with just its power supply and WiFi connection & Chromecast is built in, so it will work well when casting content from your phone. And in this video, you will highlight the most important need to know about the Epson EF22.

Unboxing & First Impressions

Let's start with what's in the box. You get the Paperwork, the power adapter & a three-pin UK power lead and the European two-pin version. As well as triple-A batteries for the remote and the remote itself. The remote has shortcut buttons to jump straight into three of the most popular streaming platforms. And there's also the Google Assistant button at the top for voice controls. More on the smart features in a moment.

And, of course, you get the EF22 itself. There are 2 different colour options available. There's metallic black, and there's this one in metallic blue. My first impressions of the design are good. I like the metallic matte finish, the branding is quite subtle and not distracting. The base of the projector allows it to swivel 360 on the spot in a nice smooth motion. And it's very sturdy. It also has a nice smooth motion for height adjustments.

The heat vents are only on one side. The front of the projector has this glossy black finish, which does a great job of camouflaging the sensors. One of which can detect if you get too close to the laser and will auto-dim the picture or stop the content for eye safety.

There’s fabric mesh material used over its built-in stereo speakers on the back, which helps soften the look even more. And the sound quality is surprisingly good for a small projector, and better than some bi asg projectors I’ve tested. It sounds the best when the projector is placed in front of you as stereo 5W drivers fire backwards away from the front of the projector.

So Epson has done a great job making the design elegant and stylish without being too distracting if placed in a room full of soft furnishing.

Key Features & Benefits

In terms of the hardware, the Epson EF 22 uses 3LCD tech, and unlike the big heavy projectors with expensive bulbs, it uses a laser light source & one of the advantages this brings to the table is the lifespan. Epson says that the EF 22 can last up to 10 years.The brightness of this laser is 1000ANSI lumens, which is respectable for such a compact projector.

This is bright enough to make it usable in a well-lit room, but like all projectors. It will perform at its best in a lower light or pitch-black setting. As in those scenarios, the contrast ratio can be as good as 5 million to 1, which is why it has an official HDR10 rating.

In terms of throw distance at the optimal furthest distance of just over 2 meters, the EF22 can output a 150" display in Full HD resolution. So yes, it's not 4K but when using it at a shorter distance, with a smaller display size the image becomes much sharper. And the fact that it is a 1080P projector is reflected in the price.

The EF22 also handles light gaming nicely, and motion smoothness is good. One of the nicest additions to the EF22 is as well as its built-in stereo 5-watt speakers, it has a built mini subwoofer in the stand, which boosts the bass frequencies.

This is one of the main differences between the EF 22 and the more affordable EF 21, which doesn't have a sub or this fully adjustable stand. So if the built in audio and the stand is not so important to you you can save some money and go for the EF21.

The colour performance looks particularly nice, and the brightness output will be more than enough for most people. With that said, if you consider yourself more of a cinephile, you might want to check out the Epson EH TW700, which is brighter and supports 4K but is also around £500 more expensive & as definitely not as compact as the EF22.

Usability & Features

Regarding using the EF22, one of its significant advantages is that it is more portable than most, and can be quickly moved from room to room. And the setup really couldn't be more straightforward. As it's plug-and-play & thanks to the Google TV platform, you'll have access to over 10,000 apps and over 400,000 movies & TV shows without needing a 3rd party device.

Also, the EF22 has automatic focus and auto keystone correction activated by default to make things even easier. This means you can place and angle it almost anywhere, and the EF22 will square up the picture and focus it for you.

There are, of course, manual settings to do this & they're also a nice screen fit software if you want to use a projector screen & there's a clever obstacle avoidance feature that can detect if something is obstructing the picture, and it will account for that by shifting the picture over a little bit.

And If you plan to hook up a gaming device, Blu-ray player, or set-top box, there's some decent I/O on the back. There's a HDMI ARC port. This can be used as an input, but it also can send a high-quality audio signal to a soundbar or home theatre setup. There's also a USB type A port, which means you can connect an external HDD or pen drive or a third party streaming device.

There's also a Micro USB port and an analogue audio jack to wire headphones or an audio device instead of using the HDMI ARC. The EF22 also supports Bluetooth, so you can wirelessly connect to a BT speaker or sound system or BT headphones. And this bluetooth connectivity does mean you can also use this projector as a BT speaker if needed.

So there are lots of use cases for this projector. First and foremost it’s great for movies and TV, but it could also be helpful in workspace environments and on a nice day when it's not raining outdoors. And if someone's hogging the TV, it can give you the ability to set up your own display pretty much anywhere you want with minimum effort.

So the advantages of this particular projector compared to more classic style larger projectors is that it's plug and play, it’s more portable & versatile and can potentially live longer. It's easy to set up and use, the picture quality is amazing for an FHD projector, it sounds great on its own, and it looks stylish. So, if you are someone who wants a big display but doesn't want it to take over your living room, or if you want to have the ability to add an extra screen to any room whenever you need it. The Epson EF22 could be the perfect projector for you.