EPSON EF12 SMART LASER PROJECTOR REVIEW

The Epson EF12 is part of their EpiqVision series of Smart projectors, which offers all the benefits of a Smart flat panel TV while delivering the immense viewing experience that only a projection system can provide.

“Entertainment at home has never been more important, and streaming movies, TV, gaming, and sports keeps getting bigger and bigger,” said Rodrigo Catalan, Epson America Inc.’s senior product manager. “With Epson EpiqVision, we are bringing streaming directly to our projectors.”
The EpiqVision lineup includes two ultra-short-throw models along with two smaller portable units. Art reviewed the flagship ultra-short-throw model, the EpiqVision LS500. He was so impressed that he gave it a Hot Product award.

Check out the Epson LS500 review by clicking on the link below

While the LS500 is a great unit, many people need a more portable solution that still offers a good picture and sound, along with Smart features. The Epson EpiqVision Mini EF12 is targeted to those users.

The Epson EF12 is a Smart, Full HD (1,920 x 1,080), laser-powered home media projector that can deliver 1000 ANSI lumens of brightness. Since it has built-in Android TV, it is packed with all the features of a Smart TV, as well as Wi-Fi.
While the EF12 is compact, it has a custom-designed speaker system built by Yamaha that sounds better than most flat-panel TVs and can rival many small soundbars.

The EF12 is a user-friendly plug-and-play machine with a compact design that makes it suitable for everything from binge-watching your favorite show in any room of the house to hosting an outdoor movie night.

While many DLP-based portable projectors can deliver 4K resolution, the EF12 is a 1080P unit. However, the Epson EF12 delivered more accurate colors, better black levels than most portable smart DLP projectors we have reviewed. While additional resolution would be nice, better color and contrast have a much better impact on image quality.

Its superior picture quality and excellent audio performance make it one of the best compact projectors on the market. For these reasons, we are rewarding it with a Hot Product Award. It is now also on the latest list of best projectors under $1,000.

The Epson EpiqVision Mini EF12, which has an MSRP of $999.99, is a Smart streaming laser projector with built-in Android TV, sound by Yamaha, Chromecast, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

It offers Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) resolution, and its 1,000-lumen laser light source has a rated life of 20,000 hours in normal/quiet mode. While the EF12 is a 1080P projector, it can accept a 4K signal which is downconverted to HD before it is displayed.

To deliver all the convenience of a Smart TV, the EF12 utilizes an Android TV interface that provides easy access to streaming apps like Hulu, HBO Max, and Disney+. In addition to the pre-loaded streaming apps, there is also a wide variety of other apps available in the app store.

You can also use Chromecast to share content from your tablet, phone, or computer on the screen. If you have a Google Home ecosystem, you can connect the projector and use Google Assistant voice control to control it via the remote or any compatible Google Home device.

The Epson EF12 is one of two new portable projectors – the EpiqVision Mini EF12 Smart Streaming Laser Projector ($1,000) and the EpiqVision Mini EF11 Laser Projector ($800).

These two models are the smallest 3LCD laser projectors that Epson has ever produced. The EF12 weighs 4.7 lbs, and the EF11 is a featherweight 2.7 lbs.

Both units use Epson MicroLaser™ Array Technology, which Epson says delivers exceptional brightness while significantly enhancing blacks. Their rated brightness of 1000 ANSI lumens allows use with screens up to 150”.

The EF11 and EF12 feature Epson’s Auto Picture Skew & Focus Correction, which takes the guesswork out of setting up a projector by automatically focusing the image and correcting the picture geometry.

The Epson EF12 sound system is one of the main reasons it commands a $200 price premium over the EF11. The Yamaha-designed sound system utilizes twin drivers and a custom 3D acoustic enclosure to produce room-filling sound from a compact cube.