The Epson EF-22 Laser Projector delivers a fine mostly-portable picture for your projection needs – as long as you steer clear of its inbuilt Google TV features.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Good, simple 1080p projection | 1000 Lumens might not be bright enough in every situation |
| Auto keystoning works very well | Google TV is slow and painful to use |
| HDMI input for other video sources | Inbuilt speaker is mediocre |
Score: 3/5
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In this review
Epson EF-22 Laser Projector Specifications
Epson EF-22 Laser Projector Design
Epson EF-22 Laser Projector Performance
Epson EF-22 Laser Projector Conclusion
While TV screens have become larger and larger… and larger… there’s still a place in many people’s hearts for a projected image on a flat wall. It’s probably some kind of yearning for cinema, or for some people the desire for a more flexible display that can bounce up to sizes where you’d have to take out a mortgage to afford a comparably sized flat panel TV.
The Epson EF-22 Laser Projector is pitched as being an affordable big-screen projector with a focus on portability, which is why it’s essentially the twin to the Epson EF-21 Laser Projector; the difference between the two is that the model that Epson has loaned me comes with its own stand.
It’s meant to work around an ease of use principle with inbuilt Google TV making it theoretically frictionless to enjoy all your streaming TV delights without needing any other hardware at all.
That’s a nice theory, and while it does a fair job of laser image projection, it’s badly let down by its Google TV integration, which is just too slow and unresponsive.
Technical note: The pictures in this review (and in the video review) are all within my office, though I’ve actually been testing it mostly in my living room.
However for reasons of privacy, I’ve not done my video or stills shooting in that space, which is why all the images appear to show a tiny projection.
That’s purely illustrative, but the Epson EF-22 Laser Projector has been fully put through its paces in a much more regular, everyday consumer way, as is only fair.
Design
The EF-22 Laser Projector is a smaller projector – far from the smallest on market – that measures in at 191x236x193mm with a carrying weight of around 3kg. Roughly 700g of that weight is in the base, so if you want to go as light as possible within the Epson family, opt instead for the base-free EF-21 Laser Projector instead, which is markedly cheaper.
What you get out of that base is more than just a place to park your projector securely, because it affords it a vertical tilt range, making it easier to place if you wanted to project up onto a diagonal wall or even the ceiling if you fancied watching movies in bed. Hey, I won’t judge what you get up to in your free time…
The EF-22 Laser Projector is technically the EF-22B Laser Projector with the B standing for “Black”, while the EF-21 Laser Projector comes in white or green finishes.
Honestly, I’d prefer a black projector in most circumstances, but especially so for a portable or semi-portable unit as this is, because the odds are decent that you’re going to be sitting behind it in some kind of hopefully darkened area, and black of course vanishes more easily from your view in those circumstances.
I say semi-portable because while it is certainly luggable to move around with you, because it still relies on a wall socket to get its power, it’s not quite as portable as some other projector models if that matters to you.
It might have been nice for Epson to incorporate some way to use the EF-22 Laser Projector via a suitable PD-certified power bank, if only for a short period of viewing, but it’s not the story here.
The EF-22 Laser Projector's remote is functional... but it feels a bit basic.
For a unit with a $1599 asking price, the EF-22 Laser Projector’s remote feels just a little cheap for my tastes, with soft rubbery buttons to cover primary functions. You also get direct launch buttons for YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video – more on that below.
In terms of inputs and outputs ,it’s all rather simple with a single USB-A port and single HDMI input socket plus a 3.5mm headphone socket if you needed to keep your audio all to yourself or if you were connecting to an external wired speaker that way.
More interested in the cheaper EF-21 Laser Projector?
Also read:
Epson EF-21 Laser Projector Review (Pickr)
Performance
The EF-22 Laser Projector is a 1080p capable laser projector capable of creating displays from 30 inches all the way up to 150 inches with 1000 lumens of brightness and a claimed contrast ratio of 5,000,000:1. That brightness rating isn’t the punchiest you can get, but then this isn’t a cinephile level projector; folks in that market are going to be spending a whole lot more on a far more capable – and probably bulkier 4K projector to fulfill their needs.
I’ve tested out the EF-22 Laser Projector in a few more “everyday” locations rather than cinephile ones, including white walls, curtains and even the side of a storage box (for video shooting purposes), and while it could be brighter, for what it does there’s not too much to complain about its visual presentation.
The side of a black box isn't exactly a prime projection screen, so the fact that the EF-22 Laser Projector works this well is a testament to its general video quality.
I was quite impressed with how well it generally managed its auto keystoning and focus implementations, even when being jostled or moved around.
While you absolutely can manually adjust to make the most of your specific presentation circumstances, for many users I suspect that they’ll be more than happy to leave the EF-22 Laser Projector to correct itself when set up in a new location.
The EF-22 Laser Projector also smartly and safely switches off its bulb if it thinks somebody is moving in front of the projector. This isn't some kind of self-defence move, but instead to protect your eyes from glancing the wrong way and being dazzled. Why yes, I have accidentally looked the wrong way at a projector before up close. It HURTS, so this is quite a good feature to have.
So far so good, but there is a problem here, and it’s to do with the EF-22 Laser Projector’s “smart” TV implementation, and ultimately the internal processor running the whole show. No, I’ve not busted the EF-22 Laser Projector open to see precisely which processor it’s running off, but I can tell you that without doubt, it’s a slow and low cost one.
The EF-22 Laser Projector supports Wi-Fi for direct Internet connectivity with Google TV built in, making it in effect a big, self-projecting Chromecast or Google TV Streamer set top box, though you can’t actually “cast” to it to speak of.
Google’s TV interface is a decent one, and it does allow for easy access to just about every TV streaming app you’d care to name, which might make the EF-22 Laser Projector seem like an easy all-in-one entertainment solution.
The problem is that while it does function that way, it doesn’t do so with any particular urgency.
The EF-22 Laser Projector’s response is glacial, and far too often I was just left wondering if the remote control had gone flat as it slowly… loaded… content from any source.
This wasn’t an issue of a slow Internet connection, because actual Chromecasts and Google TV streamers on the same network simultaneously loaded considerably quicker than the EF-22 Laser Projector could manage.
This is less than ideal for a unit at this kind of price point. I persisted for as long as I could, but then ultimately switched to plugging in a Chromecast HD unit – yes, the older one, not even the faster 4K capable model or Google TV Streamer – in order to enjoy the EF-22 Laser Projector.
It can’t help but feel redundant to plug a Google TV capable device into a Google TV capable device in order to enjoy Google TV.
The EF-22 Laser Projector has its own inbuilt speakers with 5W of output, and they’re certainly… present. For basic video watching on, say, YouTube they’re fine but absolutely nothing exciting in any way at all.
The absolute best case use I’ve hit with using the inbuilt speakers is that they’re decent enough for a lot of retro game play action; I certainly played games back in the day on TV speakers far less capable than these. For Hollywood cinematic epics, though, I’d look to some form of external audio source.
Bluetooth audio is supported if you’re happy working that way, and the HDMI port is ARC-enabled if you wanted to plug through an external soundbar or even sound system, though that would rather fly in the face of the unit’s portability.
Epson EF-22 Laser Projector: Alex’s Verdict
The concept behind the EF-22 Laser Projector is a perfectly fine one, and there’s little doubt that there’s a market for a semi-portable, decent quality projector that doesn’t need any kind of external smart TV box in order to be entertaining.
The EF-22 Laser Projector handles the picture element well enough, but it’s badly let down by slow and sludgy smart TV performance. It falls rather classically into the position I take when I’m asked about advice about the “best” smart TV to buy.
Just in case you were curious, the “best” smart TV to buy… is the one with the best picture output, and to a much lesser extent audio if you’re not also pairing it up with a soundbar or external sound system. Smart TV systems tend to degrade over time as apps aren’t updated or made available at all, but it’s always pretty cheap to buy a new Smart TV dongle or set top box.
The Epson EF-22 Laser Projector falls into the exact same situation; it’s a decent enough projector within its own technical specifications, and it’s nice and easy to set up and have its automatic setup work out a good image against most surfaces and in most lighting situations – but you will want to budget for a way to make it properly smart unless you’ve got a lot of patience.
Epson EF-22 Laser Projector:
Pricing and availability
The Epson EF-22 Laser Projector retails in Australia for $1,599. The EF-21 Laser Projector retails for $1,299.
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