Earlier this year at CES, one of the most talked-about devices was Samsung’s The Freestyle. It’s a small and portable projector, which you might mistake for a spotlight if you first see it lying on the floor.
For the last decade, we’ve all rode the hype waves of short-throw portable projectors that promised to revolutionize the category. Still, with their low-resolution, bad audio, limited (or no) streaming app options, inaccurate color, fuzzy lenses, plus sometimes questionable durability and portability, the options always left us treading tepid water. Finally, we see the new wave cresting. The Freestyle is a high-end personal lifestyle projector that delivers smart solutions to our ever-changing needs. After seeing and hearing what it’s capable of, I feel it earns its name by offering a virtual tsunami of flexibility and quality.
Portable & Adaptable. Weighing less than a kilogram, The Freestyle promised to be an ultra-portable big screen that you could take anywhere — as long as you either have a screen to project to or a white wall (or roof). It doesn’t disappoint. The Freestyle is compact and has a really modern cylindrical design. The controls are on the front of the unit just below the lens – and an included remote control makes operating the projector very easy. There is also an option to control it with an app.
There are a couple of ways you can power this gadget – but you’ll need an external power source as there’s no built-in battery. If you want to use it on the go, a power bank with USB PD/50W/20V output is required – or you can also plug it into a standard wall outlet.
Easy of Using. For ease of use, The Freestyle comes with a compact remote that you can pair via Bluetooth and provides full menu navigation, voice searches, and media playback. Or you can control the projector and change the various setting using the Samsung SmartThings app. You can even use a compatible Samsung phone to calibrate the projector automatically in only 30 seconds. And in a pinch, there are touch-sensitive controls on the front of the projector for volume and power.
Performance. The Freestyle can project up to 100-inches and remains bright even in well-lit rooms. Of course, the best images came to life when it was dark. We had tested it and found it works very well on any surface too.
Image Quality. The stand makes this process extremely easy as you can simply swivel it around to display where you need it. And while it might not be the brightest projector on the market, the image quality was decent and the colors were bright and vibrant.
The Sound. The 360-degree speaker is impressive for its size, filling up a room easily. While it’s not going to replace a full surround system or soundbar, it is an excellent match for this projector. The Freestyle does a pretty impressive job for such a small device. There is an option to connect an external Bluetooth speaker if you wish to.
Automatic Levelling. Its automatic leveling and sizing are impressive, and the image is bright enough to see even in a very well-lit room. We do not have to stress ourselves adjusting the projector’s angle every time we move the projector elsewhere. During our tests with the device, we had no trouble projecting content onto a wall, the roof, and even a table. The projector adjusted to these surfaces every time we projected it to different surfaces.
Mood Setter. The Freestyle lens filter enables you to turn The Freestyle into a mood setter with its variation of lights, and a socket adapter – so you can use the Freestyle as a lightbulb, projecting images downward into the floor or table, which is something we personally think it’s really cool. We had tried it for one of our social gatherings and everyone’s focus we on The Freestyle all the time.
Build In Smart TV. With the built-in smart TV software, we were able to stream our Youtube, Netflix, and many others without connecting to an external device. One exciting feature is that you can use The Freestyle to connect to a Samsung TV over Wi-Fi, mirror the TV content when the main TV is on, or watch your main TV content on The Freestyle when the TV is off. This is an easy way to get live TV on the projector at home without using a specific streaming app.
Overall. It’s simple to use the projector on a standard wall, ceiling, or tilted surface, thanks to the stand. In addition, the small size and the need to only connect to power make it easy to place this in any room in the house. While it might not be the right device for people looking more for a full-fledged professional home theatre experience, The Freestyle is good enough for everyone else – and it’s that ease of use that’s its appeal. A big screen that you can take anywhere is certainly an impressive idea and something Samsung has nailed with The Freestyle. The Freestyle is an excellent choice for taking your entertainment anywhere in your home or while you are on the go.
With the starting price of RM 4999. Samsung’s The Freestyle is one of the best smart portable projectors up to date and is one of the projectors that had incorporated lifestyle features in it.
If you would like to know more, check out Samsung’s website at https://www.samsung.com/my/projectors/the-freestyle/the-freestyle-sp-lsp3blaxxm/
