2023-09-28 19:26:07
Usually heavy and bulky, video projectors leave confined spaces with The Freestyle from Samsung. A year after the first generation, the Korean giant is already repeating the experience. A relevant purchase?
Samsung has been the undisputed leader in the television market for 17 years. Seventeen years during which technologies have evolved enormously, televisions becoming increasingly flat, and sometimes adopting unconventional technologies. From cathode ray tube televisions to our grandparents, the microcosm of television is today flirting with that of the video projector. More and more consumers are choosing to swap their traditional television for one that is more easily customizable to suit their needs.
More than a year ago, Samsung took a gamble on the portable video projector with The Freestyle. The idea of the bulky projector then seems very far away, since the objective here is to offer a product that can be carried everywhere and used in the living room, at work or while camping. Watching Netflix (which finally benefits from a native app, Editor’s note.) or your favorite videos on YouTube, projecting an ambient image… Samsung’s projector was then capable of everything, or almost, since we couldn’t do it play cloud gaming, which is extremely popular these days.
If you have never heard of the Freestyle, you should know that it is a relatively high-end model of video projector marketed by Samsung. Everything about the design of the device has been thought of so that it doesn’t seem too gimmicky. Once unpacked, the feeling is extremely positive. Very refined, the design is identical to that of the first model, all in white and ultra minimalist, which is rather practical for a portable device. In addition, the use of a simple power cable for the Freestyle greatly facilitates use in plug & play.
The device can be controlled with your smartphone and the SmartThings app, but also with a remote control provided in the box. Still with the aim of making the projector ultra-portable, Samsung has equipped the remote control with solar charging. A brilliant idea that allows you to finally get rid of batteries. However, this may not be the most important detail, but the quality of the zapette leaves something to be desired, at least in appearance. We have the impression that the slightest fall risks destroying it.
Once plugged in for the first time, the Freestyle can be configured in two different ways: via your smartphone, with the SmartThings app, or via the remote control. In this case, the configuration will be less complete. Whether you choose either way, setup is very easy and quick, although we ran into the vagaries of an unreliable app. From the second step of configuration, when creating two-factor authentication, the application crashed, preventing us from securing our account.
This is also a first indication of the unreliability of the app. Relatively slow to trigger, the home menu is not very responsive when pressing the remote control.
The quality of the device is impressive. The screen size ranges from 30″ to 100″ while maintaining adequate brightness and ensuring Full HD image quality. The brightness, which is clearly sufficient indoors, could have been greater when used outdoors in broad daylight. Designed for this, it’s a shame that the projector doesn’t hold up during the day.
However, a new feature solves this “problem”, namely Smart Edge Blending. The goal here is to allow the user to combine two Freestyle 2 projectors to obtain a huge 21:9 screen. The brightness is thus improved, but this is a double-edged novelty, since it is compulsory to have two 2nd generation Freestyle projectors (the 1st generation does not include the functionality, Editor’s note.), each costing 1,000 €. It is therefore a €2,000 setup that is necessary to take advantage of Smart Edge Blending.
The other feature that could justify the purchase of the 2nd generation Freestyle if you did not own the first model is the integration of the Samsung Gaming Hub, i.e. cloud gaming. Xbox GamePass, Nvidia GeForce Now, Amazon Luna, Utomik, Antstream Arcade and Blacknut are all the applications that are finally supported by the Samsung projector, giving you access to several thousand games, provided of course that you are subscribed to one of these services. Add to that the mini-HDMI port allowing you to connect a game console and the Bluetooth connection for a controller, and the Freestyle is like a real television. The mini-HDMI port is used to connect any multimedia device, from a TV decoder to a computer to a console.
The features already present with the first model are still relevant today, and are of excellent quality. Auto Keystone automatically adjusts distorted images to provide a straight, rectangular screen. Auto Focus automatically corrects the sharpness of the image and Auto Leveling straightens the image if the ground is not straight.
If we have one real criticism to make about this second generation Freestyle, it is about its unchanged price compared to last year’s model. Allow €1,000 for a projector, and therefore €2,000 to benefit from a 21:9 screen. This is a certain price, which will not be accessible to everyone, especially since you have to count on the purchase of an external battery for €139 offering 3 hours of autonomy and a cover costing €59 for outdoor use. Fortunately, the projector is compatible with all external batteries equipped with a USB-C cable, provided that it has enough mAh of course.
The +:
Quality autofocus A screen size of up to 100″ The ability to connect 2 Freestyles for a huge 21:9 screen Designed for cloud gaming An ultra-portable projector A mini-HDMI port for absolutely connecting everything you want Full HD definition Netflix native Speaker quality
THE – :
A price that is really too high A remote control that is a little too much cheap
Too light brightness A fairly slow interface
So, are we cracking?
With this second generation Freestyle, Samsung is trying a little more to free us from the use of traditional television and to replace it with a video projector which does (almost) all the same work. Its mini-HDMI port allows you to connect any device, from a TV decoder to a console via a PC, with a definition of up to 100″. Equipped with advanced functions, such as Auto Focus or Auto Leveling, the FreeStyle 2 undoubtedly stands out as a high-end portable video projector, even more so with the arrival of cloud gaming. However, certain points stand out, especially for a video projector that is close to the thousand euros mark. Partly designed for outdoor use, the brightness of the Freestyle 2 is too low. If you only plan to use the Freestyle 2 indoors, there is virtually no barrier to purchase.
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