Are you tired of wondering where to put your TV in your living room, or do you want to take a big screen with you to your cottage, terrace or garden? Honestly, I don't either. Fortunately, the Epson EF-62B projector, which I recently received for testing, plays exactly this note. This seemingly inconspicuous box can actually conjure up a 150″ image, has built-in Google TV and, on top of that, sound from Bose. It's the combination of portability, 4K Pro UHD image and surprisingly mature sound make it a projector that I quickly grew to like during testing. And I say this objectively as someone who is otherwise used to a quality OLED panel at home. So let's take a closer look at it, so that you too can understand what a treasure we are honored to have.
Technical specifications, processing and design
Epson EF-62B belongs to the Life seriesstudio Pop Plus and at first glance it is clear that it is aimed more at the modern household than at the meeting room, unlike the model Epson EB-FH54, which I tested a few months ago. Dimensions of 199 × 190 × 75 mm and a weight of 1,6 kg make it a projector that you can easily carry with one hand, practically anywhere. For example, during testing, I moved it several times between the living room, study, winter garden and even took it to my parents' house for one evening to show photos and videos with my little one, and I never felt like I was dealing with heavy equipment.
Don't let the small body fool you, though, because this beauty has a very solid construction. The plastic body is solid, nothing creaks anywhere, and overall it feels like it's ready for frequent handling. In addition, the metallic black finish makes it look discreet and elegant, so you won't have a problem keeping it in your pocket.chat in the living room (or anywhere else) in a visible place. In short, the Epson EF-62B certainly does not seem like a typical "projector from theanc"wallpaper", but more like a design accessory that can be seen as a bit of a nice addition to the interior of a geek household. MiniMy wife almost tolerated it in the living room without saying a word, and what's more, when I wasn't using it, she found her way to it too, but more on that later.
Gallery
Inside the projector we find 3LCD technology with RGB LED light source and Triple Core Engine. The resolution is 4K Pro UHD, contrast over 5,000,000:1 and brightness of 700 lumens. And this is where it's good to pour some pure wine, which may be a bit sour for some. 700 lumens is not exactly a value for projection in direct sunlight. The EF-62B is a projector that loves evening, twilight and slightly darkened interiors. In these conditions, it can offer an image that draws you in. However, its performance is weaker in light, which I will also return to later.
The size of the projection, or if you prefer, the projected area, is really generous. The range from 30 to 150 inches gives you a lot of flexibility, thanks to which you can use the projector more or less anywhere you can think of. I projected most of the time at around 100-120 inches, and it was in this range that I found the image to be the most balanced in terms of brightness and detail. When maxAt a minimum of 150 inches, it is already clear that the light output is spread over a really large area, but it still works very well for evening garden screening.
It is also worth mentioning the 20,000-hour lifespan of the LED source. Yes, I admit that this is a parameter that you may not think about so much when buying, but know that in practice it means that for several years you will not think about any replacement at all, which is great. In this regard, it is therefore always a good idea to always reach for a model with the longest possible lifespan of the source, which was achieved here. What is perhaps even more interesting from a user point of view is the five-year warranty on the entire machine, thanks to which you will be sure that if it breaks down, you will not have to deal with anything at your own expense for a good 5 years. In my opinion, this is a literally brutal benefit that you probably do not expect for a device with a price tag of around CZK 21,000.
As for what then?oneactivities, there is HDMI with ARC/eARC, USB-A, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2 and of course Google TV with Chromepartly. ProThe projector thus functions as a separate entertainment center where you log in to your streaming services and go. Without Apple TV or any other "boxes", which can be a great advantage for many users. As a apple fan, I would sincerely support Apple AirPlay or HomeKitappreciated, however, Google TV with ChromeCastem are solutions that make sense to me, and thanks to the addition of classic HDMI ports and the possibility of wired "broadcasting", for example from a laptop, there is nothing to worry about.
Testing
ProI still remember vividly how I recently enjoyed testing another Epson projector. When this one arrived around noon, I didn't hesitate for a minute and, despite the nice, sunny weather, I immediately plugged it in and started testing it. Even in these conditions (i.e. on a sunny day without the blinds closed), the image was watchable, but it was clear that the projector has greater ambitions in the evening. This was also confirmed by the subsequent closing of the blinds, which created a twilight, thanks to which the image gained depth and the colors developed beautifully.
The manufacturer has used 3LCD technology in this projector and I must admit that its benefits are really noticeable. Thanks to it, the colors do not look overblown, skin tones are natural and dark scenes have decent drawing. If you are wondering what 3LCD actually is, in short, it is a system that uses three separate LCD panels to create an image, one for the red, one for the green and one for the blue component of light. The principle is quite simple. White light from a lamp or laser is divided into three basic colors (RGB) using prisms. Each of them passes through its own LCD panel, where the relevant part of the image is "rendered". Subsequently, all three color components are combined again and projected onto the screen as a full-color image.
As for my other observations about the image, HDR10 support helps mainly with modern films and series, where there are more contrast transitions. Of course, don't expect absolute black like with OLED, but for a portable projector, the result is very convincing. And let's face it, imperfect black is part of projection. After all, even in the best cinemas you don't see black as it really is, and it doesn't detract from the experience.
For me, the big benefit of the projector is its 4K. Pro UHD resolution, which is mainly noticeable in the details. Specifically, this is not a native 4K panel, but pixel shifting technology, i.e. smart pixel shifting in a Full HD chip, thanks to which the projector can render significantly more details and get very close to a 4K image, even though technically it is not a full-fledged native 4K. In nature documentaries, I really noticed the structure of fur, leaves or textures in scenes where a Full HD projector would appear softer and everything would blend together overall. Here, however, the drawing is sharper and the image is overall "cleaner".
Gallery
The same can be said about video games in pale blue. I specifically connected the Xbox Series X to the projector, which supports 4K, and I have to say that when I looked closely at some of the newer games with impressive graphics, I was giddy with joy. For example, Kingdom Come: Deliveranceance II or Metro Exodus was visual porn.
Speaking of games, I'll add for completeness that the projector has a gaming mode and even though it's clear that this is not an e-sports monitor, gaming was enjoyable. The response is fast enough and you won't notice any lag during normal gaming. Plus, playing on a screen that spans the entire wall is an experience that has something to offer.
ProUsers who have not yet embraced printers will undoubtedly be pleased by the fact that absolutely anyone can "control" and set up the Epson EF-62B. ProThe projector is automated in many ways, which means automatic focusing, keystone correction and image adjustment to the surface, with all these functions working very reliably and with a bit of exaggeration it can be said that thanks to them the projector doesn't actually ask you for anything special. In practice, for example, if you place it a little diagonally and turn it on, you have a level image within a few seconds. In practice, this means that you really don't hesitate to transfer it, because you know that you won't have to adjust the geometry for five minutes.
A separate chapter is the sound, which I was actually a little afraid of. Fortunately, Sound by Bose is not just marketing here, but a signal that something really decent awaits you. The 5 W + 5 W speakers play cleanly, have solid volume and, most importantly, surprisingly good dialogue delivery. So for regular movie nights, you can just use the projector, which is not entirely a given with projectors as such, and that's why I was quite surprised. If you want more, you can of course easily connect an external device via Bluetooth or HDMI ARC. audio.
If there's one thing that generally annoys me about projectors, even though I understand the point, it's their cooling, which is generally always audible. But fortunately, the manufacturer has managed to "tune" everything so that it only annoys you mini24 dB in normal mode and 20 dB in ECO means that you basically cannot hear the projector. Or rather, in a quiet scene, you can of course perceive it, but it is definitely not a disturbing element.
An interesting detail for me is the relatively low power consumption, around 83 W in normal mode. Compared to projectors, this is a relatively energy-efficient device, which is especially useful for longer evening screenings.
Summary
The Epson EF-62B is a projector that nestIt's not about extreme brightness, but about the combination of picture, sound, portability and simplicity. It's a device that you can take off your desk, put anywhere, turn it on and in a moment you'll be watching a movie in 4K Pro UHD. You don't have to deal with cables, you don't have to deal with external players, you don't have to deal with complicated setup. And that's its greatest strength.
So if you're looking for a portable projector primarily for watching movies, series, sports or playing games in the evening, which can function as a standalone multimedia center and also offers above-average sound, the EF-62B makes a lot of sense. It's not a replacement for a giant TV wall for watching the news at noon. It's more of an experience device, and frankly, that's exactly what it can offer you very convincingly. I'm almost sad to say goodbye to it after reviewing it.
