Samsung’s The Freestyle – a portable projector with the features of a smart TV
From watching movies to attending Zoom meetings, this device offers endless options for its users
Samsung, already known for its futuristic televisions, just expanded its roots in home entertainment with a new portable projector series. This portable projector is called
The Freestyle, and it is already taking the internet by storm.
After the warm reception of The Premier, Samsung's firstborn in the new generation of home theatre projectors, The Freestyle is Samsung's latest attempt to become a consumer projection brand that brought all the features of a smart TV in a portable, movable and adjustable package.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
From the looks of it, features-wise, it is basically a Samsung smart TV that happens to have projection capabilities – good projection capabilities, I must add.
With a resolution of 1920 x 1080 and a 550 nits brightness, it is one of the best-looking portable projectors that you can also mount or add to a tabletop socket with the optional socket adapter accessory and project on a table, wall, roof or your floor.
If you do not want to permanently mount or put it on a socket out of your reach, you can just pull out the stand and put it on any surface. And thanks to the 180 degree cradle stand, it is adjustable at pretty much every angle.
Even if you cannot get a good angle with the wall or a projection screen, The Freestyle has you covered with its auto vertical, horizontal and level keystone correction.
Just point to a surface and it will auto focus and adjust with the sloped surface to give you an optimal image projection at full HD.
Even if you do not have a white surface or a projector screen, you can use it freely on any coloured walls and surface, thanks to its smart calibration.
Besides, this freely scalable and movable projector can be stretched up to 100 inches diagonally, offering enough space for a home office, home classroom or a home theatre experience.
Be it a meeting or a cricket match, on a big screen like this, everyone will enjoy the content on screen, casted wirelessly from a phone or via the micro HDMI port.
As for what you can watch on it, the possibilities are limitless. Since it has all the features of a smart TV, you can use it as a traditional TV or watch content from streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Samsung TV+, etc.
Open YouTube on your phone and watch it on your wall. In a Zoom call? Just connect your computer with the projector and see the presentation as if you are in your office.
You can even mirror your TV on it and put it in a different room so that it acts as a second TV in your home.
It also supports Samsung SmartHub, Apple's AirPlay 2, SmartThings or Tap View to allow users to enjoy content from all sorts of devices.
However, it is not a fancy high-end projector like Samsung's 4K projection capable laser projector, The Premier.
It is a decent 1080p projector, good for watching movies, sporting events with friends and family or with a large crowd. You might want to get a dedicated speaker unit if you truly want to enjoy it in crowded outdoors or in a big auditorium.
Even though it has 360 cinematic audio capabilities, it is still a tiny portable projector. But in most cases, especially indoors, the built-in speaker will be enough to enjoy the content on a wide 100-inch screen.
As for the controls, the projector itself has buttons on it, but you could probably use it with the pocketable remote with dedicated buttons for the streaming platforms.
But if you want to go hands-free, it has Samsung's own underperformer voice assistant Bixby built-in. It also added support for Amazon Alexa, in case you do not want to use the default assistant.
Even if you are not using it for projecting movies and TV shows, it would not sit idle in your home. You could attach the removable translucent lens cap for mood lighting or you could display a neon sign on your roof to give it a party vibe.
Even though it is being marketed as a portable projector, it does not have an internal battery to power it. If you do not buy the optional battery base accessory with it, you will have to plug it into a wall with a USB Type-C cable.
If you have a 50W power bank with USB-PD support, you can power it with that.
It is basically a wedlock between a really good smart TV and an above-average portable projector from one of the biggest home entertainment tycoons right now.
Owning one
The Freestyle projector from Samsung is officially priced at $899 and will cost around Tk78,000 in Bangladesh. However, the actual retail price in Bangladesh will depend on the carrier cost and import taxes.
You can buy it from the local importers and resellers such as Projector Bangladesh and ZYMAK LED Projectors in the coming weeks.
Specifications:
- Operating System: Tizen OS
- Input: Wireless, Micro HDMI and USB Type-C
- Stand Type: Cradle Stand (Freestyle)
- Light source: LED
- Display Type: DLP
- Max brightness: 550 Lumen
- Throw Ratio: 1:2
- Screen Size: 30 to 100 inches
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080
- Colour: PurColor
- Image Processor and Engine: Crystal Engine
- High Dynamic Range (HDR): HDR10
- Contrast: 100000:1
- Dolby support: Dolby and Dolby Digital Plus
- Speaker type: 360 Degrees
- Connectivity: WiFi5, WiFi Direct and Bluetooth 5.2
