We get sent a lot of different kit here at Droid Gamers, but a projector is a new one. With the ability to stream mobile games on a bigger screen the Formovie Episode One projector seemed a fitting piece of tech to check out though.
Promising a projector for those on a tighter budget – as typically projectors are hugely expensive – we think the Episode fulfills that objective, and then some. Despite some issues.
Out of the box you get the projector, remote (batteries not included), power cable, and manual. It feels weighty enough, but perhaps lacks the true heft of the more expensive projectors out there.
However this does make it truly portable – at three pounds we could take it out with us easily.
There will be a lack of ports here for some though, with only one USB-A port, one HDMI port, and then a single audio jack. This is to be expected for the unit’s cost though, and will meet most people’s needs easily.
When it comes to performance, Episode One does pretty well for the price. It has 150 ISO lumens, so it’s not the brightest or most powerful laser-based projector out there.
It did struggle in bright sunshine on our tests, but performed well in the dark – which you’d expect, but still.
Every film or TV show we threw at it was displayed clearly, and games we streamed worked pretty well too.
We needed to have the projector at least 10 feet away to get the best image, and we also found the sound output to be tolerable if not optimal.
This is because the in-built speaker is quite tinny. So although workable enough, it would definitely be recommended you get an external speaker to hook up to the Episode One if you can.
In terms of UI, the unit is one of the better in its field. Everything is simple to set up and use, and its pared back budget approach actually makes it easier than some of the far more expensive projectors we’ve suffered with.
Overall the Formovie Episode One is a perfect first step into projectors. It doesn’t do anything amazingly well, but is a solid all rounder and will serve most casual users needs perfectly well.
If you purchase an Episode One projector you get a Netflix gift card (worth $15/€15) too – with this only avaolable until May 27th. Click here to check it out.
