Epson CO-FH02 Review: Best Portable Projector for Work and Play

Apart from beautiful colors, the Epson CO-FH02 also has a built-in Android TV and speakers, notably high brightness and high color light intensity. In our opinion, it’s a versatile best portable projector that enhances the experience in many ways, especially entertainment with Android TV, and we used it to play PS5 as well. So let’s see in this Epson CO-FH02 review what else this best portable video projector can do.

Epson CO-FH02 Review: Best Portable Projector

The Epson CO-FH02 is a projector with 1080P resolution, 3000-lumen brightness, a built-in 5W speaker, an Android 10 operating system, and the ability to connect like a Smart TV. In terms of projection capabilities, the FH02 is capable of projecting a screen from 26 to 391″, with manual focus, and weighs only 2.6 kg. Epson’s home projector is famous for its 3LCD technology for very bright and vibrant colors. Excellent can be said to be the specialty of Epson.

Unboxing

The Epson CO-FH02 doesn’t have basic stuff in the box, we’ll have the main components the FH02 projector, two remotes, one power supply cord, one HDMI cable, one USB-A cable to micro USB, and finally, a Chromecast device – the FH02 plays the role of converting from a normal projector to a smart projector.

Design

The Epson CO-FH02 has a minimalistic design with a white body that is surrounded by a power supply port, information, and a lifting bar that allows you to change the projection angle.

Epson CO-FH02 Review: Best Portable Projector

The FH02 has a matte plastic body that is lightweight and suitable for a variety of use situations, although it is not as sleek as metal-body projectors or as flashy as near-range 4K laser projectors. It is well-optimized for a wide range of uses, including in a meeting room, a cafe that needs to project football games, or as a portable projector for a teacher. The FH02 is responsive, durable, and easy to use.

There are 5 areas of the FH02 that you will use frequently. These include the power button on the top, the focus control lever next to it, the power port on the back, and a compartment on the left that hides the ports. The FH02 looks neat with these features. The lifting bar, which is small but convenient, allows you to change the projection angle without the need to find a piece of paper or book to prop it up.

If you are using the Epson CO-FH02 with only wireless and Android, it will have only one wire, which is the power cord. The rest of the projector will be neat.

The Epson CO-FH02 has an HDMI port, a USB-A 2A output, and a service port that are all housed in a closed compartment with a lid. This design makes the device more compact and prevents exposed ports. To use the Chromecast device with the FH02, you can connect it to the HDMI port and power it with the USB-A to Micro USB port. Then, you can place it neatly in the compartment and close the lid.

Epson CO-FH02 Review: Best Portable Projector

At this point, you have completed approximately 95% of the setup process. To activate and use the device, you will need to open it.

Epson CO-FH02 review test

For an all-in-one experience with the Epson CO-FH02, we used only wireless and Android TV, which provided neatness and flexibility. The FH02 weighs 2.6kg and can project images up to 26″ by 391″, which meets all of our needs.

Pictures and colors

The Epson CO-FH02 uses 3LCD technology, which involves three chips that receive separate red, green, and blue light signals. This technology often results in better color and color brightness for Epson projectors.

In addition, there is a parameter you rarely pay attention to, which is the brightness of the colors on the projector, usually, the declared brightness on the projector is the brightness of the white light, and the brightness of the colors will generally be weak.

As for Epson projectors, most of these two parameters are equal, thanks to 3LCD technology.

Another advantage of 3LCD technology is that it produces flicker-free and rainbow-free images, which is particularly useful for gaming. FPS games require clear and precise pictures, and blurriness, flicker, and rainbow streaks can be distracting. Therefore, we don’t often play games on projectors. However, the Epson CO-FH02 was smooth, and we had a great experience playing God of War and FIFA on it.

The Epson CO-FH02 also has an Eco mode that saves energy and provides service in very dark environments. Eco mode has 2000 lumens of brightness, which makes it suitable for use in a dark room for activities such as watching movies, entertainment, and gaming. It is gentle on the eyes, especially since watching movies with too much brightness and vibrant colors can cause eye strain and sleepiness. We appreciated and liked the Eco mode a lot.

We only use the 3000 lumens of brightness in slightly challenging cases, such as when projecting in complex lighting environments with high light intensity. We tested the FH02 in an open room with many window lights and office lights, and it still provided the brightness and detail we needed for a still image. The color was also not very light, which was especially impressive.

Next are the details of the projected image, the FHD resolution of the machine is not all, but also depends on the quality and quality of the light. Lens, image chip quality, we will use it in many different sizes from 26″ to the largest 391″, and will take close-up shots of approximate details for your reference.

The FHD resolution of the Epson CO-FH02 is not the only factor that affects the quality of the projected image. The quality and intensity of the light, the quality of the lens and image chip, and the size of the image also play a role. We have tested the FH02 with image sizes ranging from 26″ to the largest 391″, and will provide close-up shots of the approximate details for your reference.

Based on our subjective assessment, the sharpness and detail of the CO-FH02 are very good. When we used it to watch entertainment content, we did not notice any broken or blurred images. However, it is important to carefully focus the projector to ensure the best results. Do not let it go out of focus and blame the projector for poor performance.

The difference between projecting at the largest size of 391″ and the smallest size of 26″ is very difficult to spot.

We used the size range of 80-100″ for playing games, FPS games, FIFA, watching movies, and sitting on a couch in the living room. Around 100″ to 120″ was sufficient for these purposes, but it was also enough for workshops and teaching.

This gives us maximum flexibility for both work and entertainment, and the projector is lightweight so you can easily take it with you in your bag. You can pick it up in the morning and bring it home to watch a movie in the evening. The Epson CO-FH02 is versatile and capable of handling a variety of tasks.

Sound

The body has a built-in speaker with a capacity of 5W, which would have the advantage of a large volume, which can be heard by many when presenting a large screen, but it is not very good in terms of sound quality.

Epson CO-FH02 Review: Best Portable Projector

Despite this, the speaker meets all of our needs and can be used for teaching, entertainment, watching TV shows, and other purposes. The higher volume is a plus.

Additionally, you can use the operating system’s ability to connect removable speakers or Bluetooth speakers for a better audio experience that is more tailored to your individual needs.

Android 10

The operating system on presentation devices, from screens to TVs to projectors, is now a basic configuration we think every presentation device should have. The operating system not only helps you access entertainment content faster but also adds variety to your connectivity, making work much easier.

Epson CO-FH02 Review: Best Portable Projector

The operating system allows you to quickly cast something from your phone, watch entertainment content, and watch movies, all in one place, and it is the cleanest way to do so. You no longer have to spend time plugging in a long HDMI cord or a USB to present content.

Everything can be installed and used with one app, or cast from a phone or tablet and used immediately. This experience has long been popular on TVs and is now available on projectors as well. According to information from Epson, the Chromecast device used on the Epson CO-FH02 is licensed and copyrighted by Google, so you will be able to update and use new features for a long time.

Epson’s official website does not announce the configuration of the Chromecast on the FH02, but based on our understanding, the specific configuration is as follows:

  • Arm Cortex-A53 core processor
  • Mali-G31 GPU
  • 2GB RAM
  • 8GB of internal memory
  • Bluetooth 5.0
  • Android 10

This configuration is quite common on Android TV boxes, and we have had a similar device experience in the past, which has built trust over a long period. As of the time of writing this Epson CO-FH02 review, we have had no lag incidents after two days of use for control and entertainment purposes.

Setup

Setting up the Epson CO-FH02 portable movie projector is as simple as connecting the Chromecast device and using it, without any cumbersome setup steps. The device’s ability to hide the ports makes it look clean and uniform.

Epson CO-FH02 Review: Best Portable Projector

If you need an HDMI port, the extension cord can be pulled out of the compartment and used normally.

An unusual experience for us was using two remotes at the same time, as some of them had certain features while others did not. For example, when we tried to adjust the volume on the Android TV remote, we did not hear any changes and had to use the projector remote instead. It was unfamiliar to have to use two remotes to make adjustments.

To switch to Eco mode, you must use the projector remote, but to go home or quickly access apps, you must use the Android TV remote. This was awkward for us at first, but we believe it will become more familiar with continued use.

Epson CO-FH02 Review: Best Portable Projector

The Epson CO-FH02 has many convenient setup features, such as buttons on the projector remote to adjust the projection screen, customize image modes, and toggle eco mode on and off. The bar used to change the projection angle also helps with setup. Overall, the setup process was fast and efficient, providing a good user experience.

Final line

The 3LCD technology provides high-quality colors, the image quality is excellent, and the integration of Android allows the Epson CO-FH02 to be a versatile and smart projector. It is easy to use, compact, and suitable for a variety of needs such as entertainment, gaming, movie watching, presenting, and teaching. We believe the Epson CO-FH02 will perform well in any setting.

Price and availability

The Epson CO-FH02 smart portable projector can be purchased for $629.99 on Amazon.com, Bhphotovideo.com, and Bestbuy.com, or for £469.99 on Amazon.co.uk, which is a discount of 25% off the original price of £629.99.

About Ankeet Solanki

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