Epson's latest home projector kind of looks like a boxy bedside light. In fact it can bounce multi-colored mood lighting off the gimbal stand to create just the right ambience. This smart entertainment hub also features a triple-core engine that "redefines 4K image quality and "ultra-dynamic" contrast.
The projector/lamp hybrid features ambient mood lighting strips below the main body that can be controlled via an app, to change colors, brightness and modes for dialing in the perfect atmosphere. This appears to be geared towards use between watch sessions, but the projector can also throw out photobooks or wallpapers stored on the phone.
The projector unit is built around Epson's 3LCD technology working with a triple-LED light source – which means that each of the red, blue and green colors gets its own LED block and all merge to throw a single beam out of the optics. The system can produce 4K UHD (3,840 x 2,160) visuals in a viewing rectangle between 30 and 150 diagonal inches.
The company is reported to have introduced a "light energy recycling system" to improve brightness uniformity across the display area while also reducing image noise. However, the EF-51 is only rated to put out 700 lumens according to the given specs, which seems rather low for a full-throttle smart projector these days and will limit play time to shaded corners or after dark use.
It does boast a 10-bit color depth though, along with a monstrous 5-million:1 dynamic contrast ratio that should enhance details in the shadows and bring clarity to the bright spots. There's support for HDR content cooked in too.
Autofocus, automatic keystone correction and four-corner adjustment should make for relatively easy setup. And the unit comes mounted on a gimbal stand that can rotate the business end 180 degrees horizontally and 105 degrees vertically for positioning flexibility.
The EF-51 runs Android 13 with Tencent Video and Aurora TV serving up entertainment over a Wi-Fi connection, and there's support for voice searches via the remote plus wireless screen mirroring. A pair of 6-W Dolby speakers rock the movie soundtrack or serve up tunes in Bluetooth speaker mode. Folks who prefer cabling to a media source can do so over HDMI, and big-screen gamers benefit from fast wake-up and auto low-latency modes.
The EF-51 looks to be a China only model for the moment, though other members of the EF Series have enjoyed more widespread release so this one may follow suit. It's priced at ¥5,299 (which converts to around US$735).
Product page: Epson EF-51
