I have a confession to make. I’ve never used a projector before (this will probably become more apparent soon). Not a personal one anyway, and certainly not in my own home, so when I was given the chance to review the Freestyle, I was excited but ever so slightly nervous. Would I fall in love with a pricey bit of kit and insist TVs were over? Would I end up reorganising furniture to find the perfect blank wall? (Spoilers… yes.) Or would I end up struggling and not understanding a thing? Well, let’s get into it shall we?
Packaging and first thoughts
Admittedly, I spent too long oooh-ing as I unboxed the projector. The simple cardboard packaging feels very recyclable, with no wasteful plastic or miles of things to unwrap. It’s really nice to see. Everything has its place, the product itself is beautifully designed with a built-in stand, and the accessories are stored with Tetris-like efficiency.
Set up was nice and easy, alarmingly so considering this is what I would consider high-tech. £1000 and I can turn it on in 20 seconds? I was expecting hours of logging into things and downloading apps I’ll end up regretting. But no, plug it in, press the on button. That’s it.
Connecting to the app
I should probably interject at this point with a bit of a disclaimer. My husband has a Samsung Galaxy phone, and we have a Samsung TV (pure chance, not a secret brand ambassador) and let me tell you that this projector is built to live in a Samsung world. The control for the projector and our TV remote instantly started working together - a little bit alarming when we accidentally turned the TV off with the projector remote but ended up being really handy.
We both downloaded the app (it works with both iOS and Android, which is always helpful) and started scrolling through the features – all very intuitive and straightforward. But I was much more interested in getting the projector… well… projecting!
Setting up the projector
After a few initial start-up screens – choose your language etc. – you’re presented with a menu that’s very familiar for anyone with a Samsung TV. It’s the same smart hub with the option to log into apps like Netflix, Apple TV, Disney+ and loads more. Without having to do a thing, I ended up watching America’s Got Talent. Not exactly what I would have chosen, but I was genuinely shocked by how quickly I was properly up and running.
Getting set up with the TV apps
Just like setting up a new TV, when it comes to logging into your usual subscriptions, there’s usually a QR code to streamline the process. Same here. To log into Netflix – scan a QR code, log in on your phone, and the projector automatically updates and logs you in. Simple, until I forgot my Netflix login and had to spend half an hour resetting passwords and lamenting that I hadn’t saved everything to the password bank on my phone. But that was very much my fault.
Fast forward through my first-world problems and we were watching a show! A show I’d chosen to watch at that. And here is the first, and really only, snag that I came across. The brightness.
Let’s talk lumens
I need to get technical for a moment. Lumens are a unit of light output, and it’s how most projectors, and lightbulbs for that matter, are measured. The higher the number, the brighter the image. This is important for projectors and is the difference between being able to show a world cup match in the middle of the day or needing black out blinds to see a thing.
The Freestyle is 550 lumens, which is just not that much. As a rule of thumb, you want over 1000 for use in bright rooms like offices and schools.
For the initial test (and these photos) it was the middle of a sunny summer’s day, and our curtains were open. You’ll also notice that my living room is blue/grey. Bit unfair on the Freestyle, but worth knowing all the same that conditions really matter. If you’re hoping to put on the Wimbledon final for your mates, probably stick with a TV.
Is the image quality any good?
After switching to my cream-walled bedroom, moving furniture, waiting for the sun to set, and closing the blinds, I was ready to give the Freestyle a fair shot. And what a shot. The Full HD image in a dark room was bright, crisp, and detailed. It really was like having a TV on the wall. And even when my cat jumped into, yes into the projector, it was able to flawlessly right itself. Both cat and projector. This handy feature is known as keystone correction, and to quote my husband – “oh look, it’s straight again, I didn’t even have to touch it!”.
If you’re after something that lets you have cinematic movie nights, the Freestyle can deliver. You’ll just need thicker curtains than I own for daytime screenings.
Final thoughts
The Samsung Freestyle impresses in ways that I couldn’t have expected, namely the instant setup, automatic screen correction and easy connectivity. It’s also beautiful with a really smart design – it’s not another black box to find a space for, and it can easily be set up on any flat surface. Faffing around with a ceiling bracket? Not with the Freestyle.
Once I’d gotten set up in a dark room, and we were watching a film, I really loved using the projector. There’s just something special about turning an entire wall of your bedroom into a screen, and the 100” max screen size of the Freestyle is more than enough to fill most spaces. Overall, I really enjoyed using the Samsung Freestyle and I might have convinced myself that getting a projector for the bedroom is a sensible investment decision.
Want to check out the Freestyle for yourself? Or maybe you want something a bit more portable for movie nights outdoors? Check out our projector buying guide to learn more about these amazing bits of kit.
