Epson EF-22 1080p projector – portable Google TV (AV review)

The Epson EF-22 Google TV projector is a 3LCD, 3-chip, 1080p, 1000 ISO lumen semi-portable home projector. Its best, brightest images in its class set it apart from a plethora of low-cost 1-chip DLP projectors.

 Why? Epson EF-22 uses 3LCD, 3-chip RGB  (Red, Green, Blue), 8-bit/16.7m colour technology that produces better, more natural colours than any 1-chip DLP projector. The Laser Diode light source produces up to 1000 ISO lumens and a genuine 1920 x 1080p resolution (most cheaper projectors use a dithering technique or mirror adjustment to create faux 1080p).

Google TV is a Wi-Fi digital streamer offering all digital free-to-air TV channels, over 10,000 streaming services, and useful apps.

Epson pioneered the 3LCD technology, and Sony, Panasonic, BenQ, and NEC use it on some models.

Let’s get real about micro or portable projectors

Most portable projectors’ marketing material features bright, vivid, immersive images, claims of a cinematic experience, and premium sound. We politely call this bovine excrement. Most use a 1-chip DLP technology and dithered resolution (a 960 x 540 mirror with RGB and White flashed sequentially to faux display 1920 x 1080). These are OK for specific uses, but not what you might expect from a proper projector. The Epson EF-22 is a proper projector, and it is our job to show you its strengths and weaknesses.

Epson is a responsible, conservative Japanese company that focuses on technology to deliver what is reasonably expected of a portable projector. And frankly, there is only one—a 3LCD, 3-chip RGB, and a laser diode light source.

The difference between 1-chip DLP and Epson 3LCD is chalk and cheese.

This 1920 x 1080, 1000 lumen projector produces a watchable, acceptable, colourful image in <200 nit (dim) rooms and even better in <50 nit dark rooms.

The $1599 price tag reflects the cost of a fit-for-purpose projector. 1-chip DLP may be cheaper, but it is not as bright.

Epson EF-22 projector brief specs

• Chip: 3LCD*, 3-chip (separate chips for Red, Green and Blue or RGB)
• Resolution: Genuine 1920 x 1080p@60Hz
• Colour gamut: 4:4:4 uncompressed colour (best**)
• 8-bit/16.7m colours and decent sRGB gamut coverage
• Light source: Single Laser Diode up to 1000 ISO lumens and 20,000 power-on-hour life. 500 Lumens in ECO mode.
• Dynamic Contrast***: 5,000,000:1
• Screen size: 30 to 50” but best at 60 to 100” (for autofocus/keystone)
• Autofocus and auto keystone using a dToF camera
• 1 x HDMI 1.4 10Gbps (ARC/CEC), so you can use it with a soundbar or external audio/video source (Blu-ray, smartphone, PC, Mac). It will accept a 4K@60Hz signal and downscale.
• 1 x USB-A (for storage, camera, mic, HID, FAT 16/32
• 1 x USB-B (service port – not used)
• 3.5mm 3-pole audio out
• 2 x 5W Left/Right speakers and a passive bass radiator
• Google TV OS and Chromecast
• Sound: Dolby Digital AC-3, PCM 2.0 (24-bit/48kHz) and AAC 2.0 downmixed to 2.0
• Wi-Fi 5 AC 2.4/5GHz 433 Mbps half duplex and Wi-Fi direct (for direct connection when no Wi-Fi is available)
• BT 5.1 Tx/Rx
• Image Presets: Dynamic, vivid, natural, cinema, custom
• HDR: HDR10 frame-by-frame metadata processing downmixed to SDR
• 191 x 236 x 193 mm x 3kg
• 360° pivot/swivel/gimbal stand with ¼” tripod mount
• Projection type: Front/Rear, Front/Rear ceiling, vertical to ceiling
• Power: 100W default and.5W standby

Epson Tech

* 3LCD has no moving parts, unlike a DLP spinning colour wheel and DMD micromirrors, and essentially uses the same technology as an LED/LCD TV panel.

** 4:4:4 uncompressed colour means that the full 8-bit gamut is available. Most DLP 1-chip projectors can only provide compressed 4:2:2 (50%) or 4:2:0 (25%), resulting in an annoying rainbow effect, where a coloured spinning wheel creates colours. It also addresses all 2 m+ pixels where other technologies address 25-50%.

*** Dynamic Contrast is a theoretical measurement of the ratio between the maximum and minimum brightness in a small 2 to 5% window with HDR10 content. It achieves such a high figure by reducing the brightness when displaying a dark scene and increasing the brightness when displaying a bright scene.

A more accurate measurement is static contrast at the screen (difference between the blackest black and whitest white). Our test ranges from about 500:1 SDR to 1000:1 HDR content.

Australian Review: Epson EF-22 portable Google TV projector

Website	Product Page Manual
Price	$1599 – standard price
From	Epson online (free delivery), Officeworks, and most projector retailers
Warranty	Three year
Made in	Philippines
Company	Epson is a Japanese electronics company. It is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of inkjet printers for consumer, business, and industrial use. Epson also makes scanners, video projectors, watches, point-of-sale systems, robots and industrial automation equipment, semiconductor devices, crystal oscillators, sensing systems, and other electronic components.
More	CyberShack Epson news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Passable (meets low expectations), Pass (meets expectations), Pass+ (near Exceed but not class-leading) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

First Impression – Bigger than expected

The Epson EF-22 (B for Black chassis) projector is essentially a $1299 EF-21 with a 700g 360° pivoting swivel gimbal base that allows for easy projection on walls and ceilings.

The Google TV operating system has over 10,000 apps, including popular streaming platforms like Netflix, Prime, Disney+, Foxtel, Apple TV, and YouTube. It is an all-in-one smart TV entertainment system that eliminates the need for external streaming dongles​​​.

The HDMI ports connect gaming consoles, soundbars, smartphones (with Alt DP support) and media players. The BT function is Tx/Rx, meaning it can act as a BT speaker (Rx), transmit to a BT speaker (Tx), and link to HID (Human Interface Devices) like keyboards, mice, trackpads. It streams audio and video over Wi-Fi 5 AC. The USB port supports audio and video files.

It is well-connected!

Remote – Pass

It has a typical Google TV Voice remote with IR (3-5m) and BT (10m). It does not have a backlight, but the white icons make it OK for night use.

Setup – easy but slow going

The Epson EF-22 uses a standard Google TV (GTV/Android 11 TV) setup. The key difference is the additional Projector menu setting. It was slow to set up, taking about 30 minutes to install GTV and another 30 minutes to update to the latest firmware. This process usually only takes minutes on a decent TV. Thankfully, you only need to set it up once, and GTV updates are not frequent.

Processor – Pass

The MediaTek MT9630 processor is a feature-rich, high-performance quad-core CPU and dual-core GPU. It is Google TV, 4K-capable, AI-capable (AI-PQ), and Voice-capable.

It has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage (8GB free) for additional apps.

GTV is often laggy to start until it buffers enough content, but video processing with its Mali-G52 2EE MC1 GPU is excellent.

Brightness – Good

Measuring a TV’s screen brightness with a light meter is easy because the light comes from the TV panel towards the viewer. TVs use nits, and we measure typical SDR (Standard Dynamic Range Free-to-Air viewing), peak SDR in a 2 to 5% window (to see if it can support High Dynamic Range or HDR), and peak HDR (what can be achieved with HDR10 content and metadata in a 2 to 5% window).

But with a projector, the screen is not the light source, and brightness depends on the projector’s distance to the screen, screen size, its screen’s positive or negative gain (whether it reflects all the light – most painted walls don’t), ambient room light, and the perceived brightness at the viewing distance!

Epson uses the international standard ISO Lumens, where the Projector’s White Brightness and Colour Brightness require 9-point measurements of the entire screen, not at the light source. We trust its 1000 lumens claim.

Less ethical projector makers often use LUX, and some use LED/Light source Lumens or Lens Lumens—hugely inflated terms that mean nothing.

• 1,000 LED lumens convert to 417 lumens (LED lumen/2.4 = lumens)
• 1,000 Light Source lumens convert to 60 ANSI lumens (Light source lumens x 0.04 to 0.06)
• 1 nit is 3.426 Lumens.

In theory, 1000 ANSI lumens can just defeat 300 nits of ambient light. The best image is shown in a darkened room <200 nits.

Throw (16:9 image)

The throw ratio is 1.03:1.  

• 1m to screen = 46” and about 548 nits in <50 nits ambient light (dark room)
• 2m = 90” and about 143 nits (our recommended maximum)
• 3m = 134” and about 65 nits
• Maximum image: 3.38m for 150” and about 51 nits

Almost perfect image alignment with a slight twist – Pass

Epson’s EpiqSense technology simplifies setup. Using a dToF IR camera and return sensor, it automatically resizes, focuses, and aligns the picture to fit almost any surface. Tilt is -30 to +120°.

It does this by digitally resizing and shifting the image within whatever angle or distance the projector is from the screen. It shows the largest 16:9 image within the overall frame size. As the projector is moved off-centre, the image frame shrinks to fit.

An interesting feature is auto obstacle avoidance, in which the projector resizes the image size to avoid anything in front of the screen.

Colour presets and lumens – Pass+

• Dynamic: Optimises brightness at the expense of colour accuracy and can induce a slightly green cast (can adjust colour temperature)
• Vivid: General content in a bright environment – brightness over colour accuracy and HDR
• Natural: Closer to real colour (more natural colours, but for dim rooms)
• Cinema: Best for projecting movies in a dark environment

Maximum brightness Tests

• Dynamic: 1089 Lumens
• Vivid: 760 Lumens
• Natural: 710 Lumens with natural skin tones and colour temperature
• Cinema: 701 Lumens is the most natural colour, but there is a slight blue cast (can adjust) and some detail in high and low lights. If you have a suitably darkened room, this is the best mode.

Ultimately, you will choose the best mode for your viewing area.

Calibration – Pass+

Out of the box, Delta E on Vivid (default) is in the high threes (<4 is good), but each viewing mode changes this. Increased brightness is the enemy of contrast (black) and real colours. We experimented for a few hours and got the Delta E to around 2. Our final custom settings were:

• Brightness: 100 (you need that for any room!)
• Colour Temp: Standard
• Contrast: 50
• Saturation: 50
• Sharpness: 3
• Colour: Gain Red -6, Green -3, Blue +2
• Gamma: Normal
• Dynamic Contrast: On

Uniformity – Pass+

It is excellent with no obvious hot spots or drop off from the centre.

Screen

The wrong screen can suck the life out of an image. The right one can enhance it by ‘gain’.

Painted walls and cotton sheets absorb light (negative gain sucks the life out of the image). Some projectors have settings for different wall colours, but this does not. If you want the best picture, you must have at least a neutral gain screen, where every lumen it receives reflects a lumen. We test on a 1:1 satin white surface.

Officeworks sells a 100” tripod screen for $235. This is only necessary for a more permanent installation. A proper ALR (ambient light rejecting) screen can cost thousands of dollars.

Noise – Pass

Epson claim 18 – 22dB, but we measured up to 33dB at 1.5m. The fan is quiet and should not distract.

Power – Pass

It has a 24V/5A/120W charge brick. It draws too much power to consider using USB, as some less-than-erudite reviews have suggested.

• Maximum: 100W for most HDR movie viewing (10 hours use = 1kWh or about 60 cents peak tariff)
• Minimum: 70w for most SDR viewing.
• Sleep .5W

Sound – Pretty good with a caveat

The presets include:

• Standard: normal sound quality.
• Vocal: Clear voice.
• Music: Low and high-pitched sounds are clearer.
• Movie: Low and high-pitched sounds are emphasised

The 2 x 5-watt left/right stereo speakers are back and side-firing, so placing the projector anywhere other than in front of your viewing position impacts their sound stage and effectiveness. While you can use ceiling and rear projection, the speakers lose the sound stage!

The speakers are surprisingly clear and loud, maxing at 85dB with some distortion and compression.

Sound signature

It verges on the most desirable neutral sound signature, but in practice, it is warm and sweet for movies and music. The sound presets make a difference as there is enough signal to recess bass, mid and treble.

Frequency	Epson EF-22
Deep Bass 20-40Hz	Nil
Middle Bass 40-100Hz	Starts at 40Hz with a linear build to 90Hz – good
High Bass 100-200Hz	Flat to 6kHz
Low Mid 200-400Hz	Flat
Mid 400-1kHz	Flat but obvious clipping
High Mid 1-2kHz	Flat but obvious clipping
Low Treble 2-4kHz	Flat but obvious clipping
Mid Treble 4-6kHz	Flat
High Treble 6-10kHz	Dip to avoid harshness, then recovers strongly to 14kHz
Dog Whistle 10-20kHz	Linear decline from 14-20kHz

CONTINUED

Volume	85dB (good but back off a little for better sound)
Sound Signature type	It has no deep bass, so no subwoofer room-shaking effects exist. Mid bass starts at 40Hz and builds nicely, giving it most of the musically important bass and some oomph. This is courtesy of the passive bass reflex chamber (missing on the EF-21). Upper bass is good, as it is on most TVs. Mid (low, mid, high) is flat (good) and focuses on a clear voice. It shows noticeable clipping, where the sound is slightly compressed. Treble (Low and mid) is present and strong, suitable for musical instruments. High Treble after the dip to avoid harshness is strong and adds a certain feeling of air, as if you were there. This is more of a warm and sweet sound signature for easy listening to TV and movies.
Soundstage stereo	It is not very wide at 1m from the projector, but it’s enough for a 100” screen.
Soundstage Dolby Atmos	It decodes Dolby Audio (up to 5.1) downmixed to the 2.0 speakers. There is very little spatial or surround where a soundbar could help/
Comment	It is suitable for FTA TV and digital streaming.
BT (headphones)	The typical BT, SBC, or AAC codec crushes the mid-bass and high treble. There is decent Left/Right separation.
Read	How to tell if you have good music (sound signature is the key – guide).

BT Tx/Rx

BT 5.1 is not multipoint. Audio/video lag can affect sound sync and is adjustable in the projector settings.

How does the Epson EF-22 look? Pretty good for a portable projector

A real HDR experience, Dolby Vision and HDR10 content requires 10-bit/1.07 billion colours and about 800-1000 nits (2800 to 3500 lumens).  

This is an SDR display roughly equal to a typical edge-lit FHD, SDR, free-to-air TV. It can stream up to 4K HDR10 content and downmix to the projector’s 1080p capability.

All comments are predicated on a 90” diagonal screen and in a dark room <50 lumens.

SDR content – Pass+

SDR content is excellent with fairly accurate colours (as 3LCD provides). Focus is a little softer, but very acceptable. It works out at 320 dots per inch. Ideally, you should be sitting 3-5 to 4m from the screen.

HDR content – Pass

Please remember that it neither has the 10-bit colour nor the requisite brightness for true HDR. However, it accepts 4K@60 and lower resolution inputs and down or upmixes to the projector’s capability.

HDR content appears brighter. There is some increased detail in the highlights, but not in the shadows.

Colour – Pass

Contrast – Pass

Black and White Levels – White Pass, Black is grey

Bloom

Bloom is characteristic of LCD and shows the banding.

Sharpness and motion – Pass

The image is quite sharp (auto or manual digital focus), and the motion scenes are relatively smooth. A smaller screen is more optimal for this. A 24-point font is readable.

Maintenance – Pass

Its useful life is 20,000 hours, about seven years at eight hours a day. The Laser Diode is not replaceable—you throw the device away.

Privacy – Pass

Unlike Samsung et al., which have 30-40,000 words in several nested policies (agree to one means agree to all), this only requires you to sign in to Google TV (an 8000-word simple English policy).

Epson are not interested in selling your data!

CyberShack’s view: Epson EF-22 with Google TV is the class-leading portable projector.

It is a portable 1080p device that supplements your fixed-location 4K TV, but it is not really a daily substitute. Better 4K projectors start at about $4000 and go up to $9,000.

You get good images with better colour and contrast than any 1-chip DLP projector can provide. This makes it great for digital TV and movies in a darkened environment.

It is certainly the class-leader in Google TV, 3LCD, 1080p, projectors using the MT9630 chipset (use Find to see those with MT9630 chipset, but most are 1-Chip DLP)

You will be happy with this as long as you understand that brightness comes at the expense of deep black tones and saturated colours.

Epson EF-22 rating

While we have reviewed portable projectors before, they are mostly 1-chip DLP. This is a class of its own. We rate it as a premium 1080p portable.

• Features: 85 – fully featured and Google TV as well
• Value: 95 – It is a 3LCD in a plethora of 1-chip DLP (like the Samsung Freestyle)/
• Performance: 85 – it does everything it should as long as it is in a dimly lit room.
• Ease of Use: 85 – Three-year warranty, Google TV and excellent auto-correction
• Design: 85—It’s still a largish black box, but the gimbal stand makes it stand out.