RCA Roku 24-inch HD TV: review If you’re looking for a small smart TV for your kitchen or bedroom, the RCA Roku 24-inch HD TV will likely slot into your space with ease. This model harnesses Roku’s Smart TV interface, meaning you’ll get access to all the big streaming platforms – think Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney Plus – as well as apps like YouTube and on-demand services including BBC iPlayer and ITVX. It has a £125 RRP, which is undoubtedly on the cheaper side of things, but still, it’s worth asking: is the RCA Roku 24-inch HD TV worth the money? Well, first of all, I have to hand it to RCA and Roku – this TV is nice and easy to set up. It comes with two plastic feet that are simple to screw on, as well as two AAA batteries for the included remote – something that’s not always a given (ridiculous, I know). After firing the TV up, you have to update its software and sign in using a Roku account on your phone, but this doesn’t take too long and enables you to pre-install any extra apps you want – pretty handy. It’s worth noting, though, that you can download apps at any point using the Roku Store, which is a basic, although easy-to-use, digital storefront. It’s also nice and responsive – as is the Roku user interface more generally. Scrolling through menus isn’t perfectly sharp, but it doesn’t feel frustratingly laggy or slow. I would say, however, that the Roku interface is visually unappealing. It looks outdated and uses a pretty rudimentary-looking menu on startup. This isn’t a dealbreaker, but the best small TVs usually have a sleeker, more modern interface in my experience. (Image credit: Future) But although a neat interface is nice to have, you’re probably more interested in how good this TV looks. First of all, it’s worth breaking down what ‘HD’ really means here. This TV has a resolution of 720p, so you won’t be able to enjoy full HD (1080p) or 4K content. As a result, this set isn’t really primed for a lot of modern video content and if you want to get the best out of platforms like Amazon Prime Video or formats like Blu-ray, for instance, you’ll likely be left wanting more. With that out of the way, I’d argue that picture quality can be described as adequate. When watching Spider-Man: Homecoming, I skipped forward to a fight scene between the eponymous hero and a gang of bank robbers. The picture was decently clear and motion was totally passable. Spidey’s acrobatics weren’t overly judder-y as he flung across the screen, but the colour of his suit didn’t look particularly accurate. There was a bit too much warmth, leaving the reds and blues appearing slightly less contrasted than I’d like. This TV, like many LED models, also struggles a fair bit with black levels and dark details. When watching the admittedly very dingy The Batman, details on the title character’s suit were quite challenging to make out and facial features were a little blurred. Elements like sweat droplets, lines on faces and stitching on clothing weren’t very defined and given that much of the film takes place in the shadows, the result was a fairly muddy overall picture. (Image credit: Future) But again, you really can’t expect too much in terms of picture quality here due to the RCA Roku HD TV’s technical restrictions. To give this model its due, the vast majority of video content was clear enough for me to enjoy on-screen action. Studio Ghibli’s excellent The Boy and the Heron may not have been replicated with top-tier colour accuracy, but the display was quite vibrant in Standard mode without looking oversaturated or artificial. This TV also won’t wow you with amazing brightness, but it’s OK for its size, with peak brightness on a 10% window test pattern coming in at 177 nits and 167 nits in Standard and Movie mode respectively. If you’re not quite happy with how the picture looks, however, rest assured that there are plenty of ways to customise it. There are expert settings, such as dynamic contrast and colour temperature adjustment, as well as the typical picture modes, including: Roku Smart Picture (which auto-selects the best mode based on what you’re watching); Film; Low-Power; Sports; Standard and Vivid. (Image credit: Future) Similarly, there are different sound modes, such as Music, Speech and Theatre. I used the latter for much of my testing to get the most cinematic sound possible. Having said that, you’re not going to get great sound out of this TV, no matter what setting you choose. For instance, I watched the movie Smile and although the dialogue was clear enough during a conversation between two characters, it sounded pretty harsh at higher volumes. During one horror-filled scene, imposing bass is meant to heighten tensions. And sure, bass was audible, but it was no more than that, leaving quite an underwhelming impression. That’s largely to be expected from a tiny 24-inch model, though, and I’d recommend investing in one of the best soundbars if you’re looking to take audio to the next level for movie nights. (Image credit: Future) Another area that won’t impress is gaming performance. Once more, this is down to the technical limitations of the RCA Roku HD TV. When gaming on the Xbox Series X, motion and picture were once again fine, but no better. Of course, you won’t be able to access current-gen features like 4K, 120fps gameplay, but if you just want a functional display for your favourite titles, this TV will get the job done. You can plug your games console into one of the three HDMI ports situated on the reverse side of the RCA Roku HD TV. Personally, I was very pleased to see that there were three HDMI slots here – that’s pretty generous for a TV of this size and price. One can be used for ARC if you’d like to connect up a soundbar too, which is another big positive. Beyond this, the TV’s design and build quality is pretty unimpressive, though. It’s very plasticky – almost toy-like in its construction – and it’s on the bulkier side for a modern TV. I will say, however, that I liked the included remote, which has a textured finish and all the useful shortcuts for streaming services and the like. All in all, the RCA Roku 24-inch HD TV does what it says on the tin. It’s a very basic smart TV with totally functional, although unimpressive, performance across the board. You’re going to get flawed, albeit passable picture and sound quality, a basic design and little in the way of fancy features. But if you want a cheap, easy-to-use small TV for watching broadcast TV or streaming, this will provide just that. If you have a bit more room, however, there are superior options in terms of value – you can get a 1080p resolution, better colour accuracy and HDR for less than £150 with TVs like the 32-inch Toshiba 32LF2F53DB. (Image credit: Future) RCA Roku 24-inch HD TV review: price & release date £125 RRP Available now The RCA Roku 24-inch HD TV, also known as the RK24HF1, has a RRP of £125 and is available right now in the UK. It’s worth noting, however, that this model can often be found for a considerable chunk less. I’ve seen this TV go for less than £110 in the past and at the time of writing, Amazon are selling it for less than £120, so keep your eye out for discounts. Of course, this places the RCA Roku 24-inch HD TV firmly in the budget category, meaning it faces tough competition from the likes of JVC, TCL and Toshiba. If you’d like to weigh your options before pulling the trigger on a purchase, why not check out some strong alternatives in the ‘Also Consider’ section of this review. RCA Roku 24-inch HD TV review: Specs Swipe to scroll horizontally Screen type LED Refresh rate 60Hz HDR No Audio Dolby Audio Smart TV Roku HDMI ports 3x, including 1x ARC Should I buy the RCA Roku 24-inch HD TV? Swipe to scroll horizontally Attributes Notes Rating Features Offering three HDMI ports is welcome, includes solid picture and sound settings too. 4/5 Picture quality Decently bright display but lacks detail and crispness due to technical limitations. 2.5/5 Sound quality Narrow audio with thin bass but dialogue is usually clear enough. 2.5/5 Design Very plasticky build, slightly chunky, but remote is pretty neat. 2/5 Smart TV & menus Roku TV platform isn’t pretty but it’s responsive and easy-to-use. 3.5/5 Gaming No next-gen features or anything but performance is passable. 2.5/5 Value Better options exist in the 32-inch category for a tad more but this is still a cheap TV. 3/5 Buy it if… Don’t buy it if… RCA Roku 24-inch HD TV review: Also consider Swipe to scroll horizontally Header Cell – Column 0 RCA Roku 24-inch HD TV TCL 32S5400 LG 32LQ6300 Price £125 £179 £249 Screen type LED LED LED Refresh rate 60Hz 60Hz 50/60Hz HDR No HDR10, HLG HDR10, HLG Smart TV Roku Android TV webOS 22 HDMI ports 3x, including 1x ARC 2x HDMI 1.4 2x HDMI 1.4 How I tested the RCA Roku 24-inch HD TV (Image credit: Future) Tested at Future Labs TV testing room in various lighting conditions Measurements taken using Portrait Displays’ Calman software Tested with a variety of video content I used a variety of sources and apps to test picture quality on the RCA Roku 24-inch. I predominantly watched content via streaming services like Netflix and YouTube, ensuring I tested out the various picture and sound modes along the way. I also played on the Xbox Series X to cover gaming performance. When watching the TV, I selected video content that would expose its specific strengths and weaknesses of the TV. For instance, I tuned into The Batman to judge aspects such as colour fidelity, contrast and black-levels. But I also watched Smile and Sky News to assess competence in the audio department. Lastly, I took measurements with the help of Portrait Displays’ Calman calibration software. I measured peak brightness on a 10% window and 100% window, recorded the Delta-E values (which demonstrate the margin of error between the test pattern and what is displayed) for colour accuracy, grayscale and gamma. For all tests, I used the Murideo Six 8K test pattern generator. You can read all about how we test TVs at that link. First reviewed: January 2025 Read more about how we test
Tag: Television
I tested the Epson QB1000, and this stunning, super-bright projector is perfect for gaming
Epson’s latest projector is even better value thanks to boosted brightness and performance.
I saw Philips’ new elite OLED TV with Bowers & Wilkins speakers, and it’s a serious one-box home theatre option
Philips has just unveiled its 2025 range of OLED TVs, and one of its top two models (known as the OLED+ range) is the Philips OLED+910. This is a high-end OLED TV (using the new-generation META 3.0 OLED panel from LG Display) with a powerful built-in Bowers & Wilkins speaker system at the bottom. The idea is that it offers an easy single-unit option for people who want premium sound and visuals, but don’t want to deal with the extra boxes of soundbars or an actual home theatre system. Take this out of the box, mount it on the wall – it looks good and fills the room with sound. Easy. Of course, it actually has to deliver on this promise, but I had a demo with both music and movie audio at Philips’ launch event, and it looks extremely promising. One of the Philips OLED+910’s three forward speaker arrays. (Image credit: Future) The speaker setup is a 3.1 system, but there are 10 speakers in total to give it real depth and power. Across the front of the TV at the bottom, hidden behind some Kvadrat acoustic cloth, are left, centre and right speaker arrays. Each of these arrays consists of two racetrack mid-range drivers, and a tweeter, all independently suspended so their vibrations won’t interfere with each other. On the back of the TV is a subwoofer – but there’s also a subwoofer out, for wiring up a dedicated sub, and it’s important to know that my demo used a small Bowers & Wilkins sub throughout the session. The bass driver with two reflex ports, which goes on the rear of the TV. (Image credit: Future) The TV comes in 55-inch, 65-inch and 77-inch sizes, and the same speakers are used on all sizes, but are tuned for the particular size, to make sure that sound is aligned to the action on-screen. Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. You can definitely feel the width of the speaker setup when watching a movie, and the system impresses with ambient sounds especially. Watching the start of A Quiet Place: Day One, the sounds of the city around the on-screen characters and their dialogue feels detached from the action, in a good way – speech comes centrally from the screen, but the traffic sounds and other noise feel beyond and behind the TV. There’s no virtual surround effect to speak of that I noticed, it’s more just about the width and height in front of you, and I’d be perfectly happy with that. Speaking of height, while again it’s not trying to put Dolby Atmos sounds above you, it did reveal some impressive vertical motion when someone gets plucked upward from the street in the movie. The speaker arrays of the Philips OLED+910 TV in the right positions… just, y’know, they’d normally go inside. (Image credit: Future) There was good dynamic attack for when things get suddenly loud, though when a big explosion hit in the movie, I felt like maybe the speaker was pushing to its limit there – I’d need to test more to find out if it’s the same in other movies. It’s the same with dialogue; I was expecting a little more clarity than we got, considering it has a strong centre channel, but it might have just been this movie’s mix. With music, there’s impressive fidelity and a nice warm, rich tone. There’s great separation of different elements in the mix, with crisp mid-range vocals that feel well-textured, and treble percussion could shimmer around the screen nicely. The bass was broad, pervasive and full – but remember, it was coming from a dedicated sub in my demo, so more testing will be needed there. What about the picture and features? As for the picture, the new META 3.0 panel with four-stack Primary RGB Tandem construction continues to impress, after seeing it in the LG G5 and Panasonic Z95B TV at all sizes, and the 83-inch version of the Samsung S95F – it’s going to appear a lot in our list of the best OLED TVs, no question. There’s better fullscreen brightness, which Philips says should hit 350 nits (but this may depend on the mode), and this seems to help with bolder colors in overall bright scenes (though the panel overall has improved color range), and the bright peak HDR brightness produces cleaner white tones. I’ve also been impressed by Philips’ new adaptive AI color gamut enhancement tech in the demos so far, which is designed to shift the color gamut of what you’re watching closer to the native gamut of the panel, to provide rich colors – but it’s designed to handle skin tones separately, keeping those as neutral and natural as possible. This will be available on all of its 2025 OLED TVs, happily. (Image credit: Future) The OLED+910 has 4K 144Hz support with VRR for gaming, and some new features in Philips’ Game Bar software for customizing the picture based on your game. However, there are still only two HDMI 2.1 ports (out of four) for gaming in 4K 120Hz/144Hz. Notably, Philips has upgraded its budget OLED TV, the OLED760, to include four HDMI 2.1 ports – but the company told me that it had to choose between a larger and more powerful chip for picture processing that only supports 2x HDMI 2.1 ports, or a less powerful chip with 4x HDMI 2.1 ports. For the OLED810, OLED+910 and OLED+950, it chose the more powerful chips to prioritise picture. Still, at least with the built-in B&W sound, you won’t sacrifice one of those ports to one of the best soundbars over HDMI eARC. On top of all this, it comes with Philips’ four-sided Ambilight tech. I’m a total convert to Ambilight – it makes the picture feel much bigger than it is, which is probably ideal for a TV like this that aims to bring a solid home theater experience to people who don’t want the scale of gadgets and installation that a more complex setup requires. We rated 2024’s version of this TV, the Philips OLED+909, very highly – and with the new panel, new processing, and re-engineering of the sound system with its own better processing, I think this looks like a strong contender if you want one of the best TVs for sound. We’ll see how it holds up in testing, relying on its own sub, around the time of its June launch. There’s no confirmed pricing yet, but last year’s model started at £1,999 for the 55-inch. You might also like…
Epson’s super-bright new ultra short throw 4K projectors promise easy elite home theater pictures up to 160 inches
3-LCD short throw laser projectors with 4K UHD and HDR10/10+ Available in the UK; no details of US or Australian availability £4,500 Epson has launched two new “4K Pro-UHD” short-throw laser projectors, the EH-QS100W and the EH-QS100B. Similar to the Epson LS12000, our top pick among the best 4K projectors, the new projectors use Epson’s triple-LCD laser technology, which has separate red, green and blue panels. Epson says that delivers better colour brightness compared to one-chip DLP projectors, and both projectors are definitely bright: they’re capable of up to 4,500 lumens and can project images up to 160 inches in size. The models are identical apart from their colors: the W is white and the B is black. (Image credit: Epson) Epson EH-QS100W and EH-QS100B: key features and pricing The projectors are powered by Epson’s 4K Pro-UHD processing system and have a 5,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio for deep blacks and better shadow detail. The processing also includes frame interpolation and the projectors support HDR10/10+ and have dynamic tone mapping. The laser source has a claimed lifetime of 20,000 hours and Epson says it delivers “near-instant” warm-up and cool-down times to reduce energy use. One of the key features here is full IP control, which enables you to control the projector with related systems such as lighting and sound setups for a seamless home entertainment experience. It is compatible with systems including Crestron and Control4, and there are RS232 and Ethernet connectors. Both models are available now in the UK for £4,500 (about $5,601 / AU$8,958) but there’s no word of a US or Australian launch date. Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. You might also like
Hisense’s mini 4K projector changes my mind about the laser TV revolution in 2 key ways
One of the coolest things I saw at CES 2025 was Hisense’s mini laser TV projector, which is an interesting prototype that’s not like the many other mini options among the best portable projectors we’ve seen recently. I got to see it away from the CES show floor during a trip to Hisense’s headquarters recently, and to speak to the team about it – and it’s winning me over to the idea of having a laser TV in my home instead of a regular TV. I’m a huge fan of seeing movies at the theater, and so obviously I’m a big home theater advocate – but my own home doesn’t have the space to go all out on a huge screen and speakers, and I’m far from alone there. It’s one reason why Hisense has been pushing the idea of its laser TVs, which are basically ultra-short throw projectors with streaming tech built in, that come with a matching ambient light-rejecting screen packaged. But I haven’t been convinced that this will work for me because they’re big units that still need to sit some distance from the wall – it just didn’t seem like enough of a trade up. @techradar ♬ original sound – TechRadar The Hisense mini projector is so much smaller, and so the surface it needs to sit on can be much smaller, making the UST projector-and-screen combo way more tempting as something that won’t stick a way out into the room. Now I can imagine not only going for a laser TV as my main way of watching, but it’s also making me think I can swap one of the best soundbars for something more meaty at the same time. The Hisense mini laser TV is basically the specs of a Hisense PX3-Pro UST projector packed into a way smaller body, thanks to a next-gen laser projection tech platform, but still hits over 100 inches. We rate this model as the best ultra-short throw projector, and you can read our Hisense PX3-Pro review for why – but the main things are that it’s bright, colorful and natural. Hisense says that this projector beamed onto the company’s new-gen ambient light rejection screen should be capable of creating an image that can hit around 750 nits of peak brightness at 100 inches when you’re actually watching, putting it in line with budget options among the best OLED TVs for brightness. When I originally saw the mini projector at Hisense’s HQ, it was listed as projecting 2,100 lumens, though at CES Hisense said it should match the PX3-Pro’s specs, putting it at 3,000 lumens. Either one is far beyond the small 4K projector competition – the LG CineBeam Q is 500 lumens, for example… And not only is it bright, but it’s 4K and it’s ultra short throw, which other small projectors generally are not. (Image credit: Future) The small size doesn’t just tempt me because the whole setup can stick less far out from the wall (which is essential for me), but the much smaller design leaves more space for other things… such as proper speakers. I can far more easily imagine connecting a pair of Kanto Ren speakers, or Technics’ very cool new active speakers, in a setup like this – the small projector leaves more space and a gap between it and the screen that the speakers would fit in perfectly. It is ideal for moving away from the limited acoustic of the best soundbars and into big, meaty left and right power. What are the downsides? Well, as you might have guessed from the fact that I haven’t mentioned this thing’s name, it’s really a prototype right now, so there’s no price or release date – though the tech inside fully exists, so it’s probably just a matter of time. (Image credit: Future) However, I can tell you that the current version is also notably loud. Those who saw it on the CES show floor would have no idea, but seeing it in a separate showcase, that fan was really working hard. It’s not a surprise – that’s a lot of heat for a small box, and if I commit to my beefy speakers next to it, they’ll probably manage to drown it out. But I would definitely need to see how any real product handles that before I committed to going for something like this. Still, this is the first projector that got me thinking excitedly about the idea of switching to a projector in my current home, rather than the best projectors being just something for something closer to real home theater that I want one day. It feels like a small game-changer, in that way. You might also like…
I test soundbars for a living, and these 4 affordable models are a great audio upgrade for your Super Bowl Sunday
Super Bowl LIX is set to air on Sunday, February 9, 2025, and while you may have your TV ready for your viewing party, is your audio also covered? The audio quality on many TVs is limited by a lack of power and inefficient positioning of the built-in speakers. That lacking sound quality could affect your Super Bowl experience, but there’s a solution: a soundbar. Don’t get me wrong; even the best TVs could benefit from a soundbar. The LG C4, one of the best OLED TVs we’ve tested here at TechRadar, excelled in every area, but we still found its sound lacking. One of the best soundbars can easily fix that issue. While the very best soundbars, such as the Samsung HW-Q990D, have a premium price, there are plenty of affordable models that will significantly upgrade your TV’s audio. This is because soundbars bring the sound from the rear of the TV (where most built-in TV speakers are positioned) to the front, which will let you more directly hear the sounds of the stadium and the commentary during the big game. Below, I’ve picked four of the most affordable soundbars we’ve tested. While they won’t beat the very best Dolby Atmos soundbars, they will give your TV an audio upgrade without breaking the bank. 1. Amazon Fire TV soundbar (Image credit: Future) Amazon’s first soundbar, the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar, is a cheap, no-frills model that delivers “surprisingly good sound for the cost” as we noted in our Amazon Fire TV Soundbar review. It’s light on features but does offer Bluetooth streaming and an HDMI ARC connection to your TV. We found in our testing that its main plus point is clear speech, which will be perfect for hearing commentary during the game. We also found that it delivers decent spatial processing for a compact soundbar, providing a greater sense of immersion than the built-in speakers on most TVs. At $119 / £119, it is one of the cheaper soundbars you can buy without making too many compromises. Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. 2. Sony HT-S2000 (Image credit: Future) The Sony HT-S2000 has impressive sound quality for a compact, all-in-one soundbar and is incredibly affordable for what it delivers. Plus, it’s packed with features such as Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support and a virtual surround engine for improved spatial processing of both movies and music. We found in our testing that the HT-S2000’s dedicated center channel produces clean dialogue and commentary. Pushed to higher volumes, it doesn’t falter, meaning even in a crowded Super Bowl party, the sounds of the game will be clear. Also, as we noted in our Sony HT-S2000 review, the soundbar’s great virtual processing creates a “satisfying level of immersion.” At $399 / £299, the HT-S2000 is a step up in price over cheaper models like the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar, but you’re getting a more powerful, dynamic and immersive experience. 3. Hisense AX5125H (Image credit: Future) If you’re looking for a cheaper soundbar that delivers even better immersion, you may want to expand to one with multiple units (soundbar, subwoofer and satellite surround speakers). With the Hisense AX5125H, which delivers 5.1.2 channels of ‘real’ surround sound, you don’t have to spend a fortune to do this. As I noted in my Hisense AX5125H review, the AX5125H is “impressive, providing plenty of punch, clarity and immersion” for both movies and music. It’s easily one of the best budget Dolby Atmos soundbar systems and is sure to take your Super Bowl party to another level. At its normal price of $349 / £499, the Hisense AX5125H is good value, but you’ll regularly find it for as low as $299 / £249, which is exceptional value for a 5.1.2-channel system. Once you’re done with the Super Bowl, the AX5125H will more than satisfy for movie viewing, too. 4. Sonos Beam (Gen 2) (Image credit: Future) Another all-in-one soundbar, the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is a great all-rounder for both movies and music. As a bonus, it can be expanded with the best Sonos speakers, including the Sonos Era 100 or Sonos Era 300 and a Sonos Sub (Gen 3 or the latest Gen 4). But how does it perform on its own? In our Sonos Beam (Gen 2) review, we noted that for a compact all-in-one soundbar, it had a wide soundstage, convincing bass and clear dialogue. It’s also excellent for music playback, meaning you’re covered for both the Super Bowl and the party that follows. At $459 / £449, the Beam is the most premium of these affordable soundbars, but for what it delivers, it’s great value.
Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED TV review: the best Fire TV yet, and a solid option for sports and gaming
Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED TV review: Two minute review The new Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED enters a seriously competitive mini-LED TV market, taking on Samsung, Hisense, TCL and Roku. It doesn’t stand out in this crowded arena, but it is a solid all-around TV for the price. The Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED’s picture quality is pretty good overall compared to the best TVs. Colors are vibrant, textures and details are lifelike and contrast is well-balanced. Motion handling is good for both sports and movies. Unfortunately, it suffers from crushed black levels in some picture modes, resulting in a loss of shadow detail. Audio quality is a mixed bag on the Omni Mini-LED. Sound is accurately placed with a good sense of direction, speech is clear and there’s generally good bass. While the sound can go beyond the borders of the screen, it feels narrow and contained, especially with Dolby Atmos effects. For those wanting a full home theater experience, I’d recommend one of the best soundbars. The Omni Mini-LED has a good stock of gaming features including 4K 144Hz, Dolby Vision gaming, VRR (AMD FreeSync Premium Pro is included) and ALLM support. Performance is smooth and while it won’t beat the best gaming TVs from LG and Samsung, it provides a good mid-range alternative, though its graphics could be better. Amazon’s Fire TV smart TV platform performs well enough and has a good number of picture settings for those who like to experiment. While Fire TV can be on the cluttered side, and there’s occasional stutter, it’s a perfectly decent smart TV platform. With a similar price to its main competitor, the Hisense U7N, the Omni Mini-LED’s real value comes down to what sort of prices it can hit during Prime Day and Black Friday. Discounts are already appearing, so it has the chance to seriously up its value when the sales begin. Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED TV review: Prices & release date (Image credit: Future) Release date: November 2024 55-inch: $819.99 / £849.99 (about AU$1,316) 65-inch: $1,089.99 / £1,149.99 (about AU$1,750) 75-inch: $1,499.99 / £1,599.99 (about AU$2,409) 85-inch: $2,099.99 / N/A (about AU$3,373) The Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED series is the latest entry in Amazon’s Fire TV range, following the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED. It is the first Fire TV to feature a panel with a mini-LED backlight and is available in 55, 65, 75 and 85-inch (US-only for the 85-inch) sizes. Its launch prices are strikingly similar to the Hisense U7N, one of the best mini-LED TVs on the market. The U7N has seen major discounts since its release in April 2024, especially during Black Friday, and the Amazon Mini-LED is already following suit. Despite a relatively recent release, the 55-inch Mini-LED (the size I tested) is already down to $699.99 / £749.99 (about AU$1,122) and the 65-inch is down to $959.99 / £949.99. I expect these prices will drop even further during peak trading events in 2025 such as Amazon’s own Prime Day and Black Friday. Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED TV review: Specs Swipe to scroll horizontally Screen type QLED with mini-LED Refresh rate 120Hz (up to 144Hz) HDR support Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, HLG Audio support Dolby Atmos Smart TV Fire TV HDMI ports 4 (2x HDMI 2.1) Built-in tuner ATSC 1.0 Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED TV review: Benchmark results Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED TV review: Features The Amazon Omni Mini-LED features two HDMI 2.1 ports, a first for an Amazon Fire TV (Image credit: Future) First mini-LED panel in Amazon’s TV range 4K 144Hz support for gaming Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ high dynamic range The Amazon Omni Mini-LED is the first set in Amazon’s Fire TV range to feature a display panel with a mini-LED backlight, a step-up feature from its LED and QLED TVs. The Omni Mini-LED features 512 dimming zones and supports both Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ high dynamic range. Gaming support on the Omni Mini-LED includes 4K 144Hz, VRR (including AMD FreeSync Premium), ALLM and Dolby Vision and HDR10+ gaming. A game mode provides optimal picture settings for gaming but does not feature a game bar, a useful feature in gaming TVs from brands like LG, Samsung, Hisense and Panasonic. It also only features two HDMI 2.1 ports. (One HDMI-related issue occurred during my testing. When switching a source from HDMI 2 to HDMI 1, the TV kept switching back to HDMI 2. I found that turning the TV off at the wall fixed the problem, which is something to bear in mind should this issue happen to you.) The Omni Mini-LED has a 2.1-channel speaker array with Dolby Atmos support plus several preset audio modes including Standard, Movie and Sport. The Omni Mini-LED uses Amazon’s own Fire TV as its smart TV platform. Fire TV supports all major streaming services such as Prime Video, Netflix and Disney Plus as well as UK-based streaming services such as BBC iPlayer and ITVX. It also has an Ambient Experience, where photos and artwork can be displayed on the screen when the TV is idle and it supports hands-free Alexa voice control. Features score: 4.5 / 5 Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED TV review: Picture quality The Amazon Omni Mini-LED demonstrates very good detail (Image credit: Future) Bold color and accurate detail Better than expected contrast Black crush in darker scenes The Omni Mini-LED’s peak HDR brightness as measured on a 10% white window pattern was 845 nits in the Standard picture preset and 973 nits in Filmmaker Mode. These results were with out-of-the-box settings for both picture modes, where the backlight was set to 80 and 70, respectively, and are roughly in the range of the Hisense U7N, which hit 807 nits in Standard mode and 1,074 nits in Filmmaker Mode. Raising the backlight to 100 for both modes, the Omni Mini-LED hit 1,081 nits in Standard mode and 1,333 nits in Filmmaker Mode. While the higher backlight settings resulted in much higher brightness levels, I found it made highlights look blown out when watching movies. Measuring fullscreen HDR brightness on a 100% white window pattern, again with out-of-the-box settings, the Omni Mini-LED hit 431 nits in Standard mode and 481 nits in Filmmaker Mode. When bumping up the backlight to 100 in picture settings in those modes, the Omni mini-LED hit 538 and 633 nits, respectively. For picture testing and measurements, I used the Omni Mini-LED’s out-of-the-box settings. When measuring color and grayscale in Filmmaker mode (with local dimming set to Medium), it averaged 2.9 for color accuracy and 4.8 for grayscale accuracy. However, I did find that the Omni Mini-LED has potential for those who want its picture calibrated. After using the TV’s calibration tools in Filmmaker Mode (SDR), it averaged 1.7 and 2.5 for color and grayscale accuracy, respectively, which are notable improvements. Watching an HD stream of Fight Club via Disney Plus, the Omni Mini-LED did a solid job of upscaling, with both textures and contrast improved. It also did a good job of displaying the movie’s murky, dark color palette. Color on the Omni mini-LED was very good overall. A 4K Dolby Vision stream of Star Wars: The Last Jedi on Disney Plus showcased vivid reds during the throne room fight scene. They verged on oversaturation but were still pleasing to the eye. A 4K Blu-ray of La La Land also demonstrated stunning color reproduction, with Mia’s yellow dress given a dynamic punch. Measuring the Omni Mini-LED’s HDR color gamut coverage, it yielded results of 70.3% for BT.2020 and 94.9% for UHDA-P3 – both good results that are comparable to the Samsung QN85D and Hisense U7N. The Amazon Omni Mini-LED delivers solid contrast (Image credit: Future) Contrast was generally strong, with the Omni mini-LED displaying a good balance between light and dark tones, something that could be seen in the opening crime scene and aerial shots of the city when watching a 4K Blu-ray of The Batman. I found that Dolby Vision Filmmaker Mode was the best overall picture preset, though setting local dimming to Medium in the picture settings resulted in the best contrast. Also, when watching the black-and-white scenes in Oppenheimer, there was a good range of gray tones throughout. Black levels and shadow detail were a mixed bag on the Omni Mini-LED. The contrast was solid and it demonstrated decent backlight control, but I found it would crush black tones in darker scenes, resulting in a loss of shadow detail. For example, in the same opening crime scene of The Batman, with local dimming set to Medium in Dolby Vision Filmmaker Mode, the detail in clothing was lost. Brighter picture modes such as Dolby Vision IQ or Dolby Vision Bright rectified this, but contrast also looked less accurate in those modes. Textures were generally very good on the Omni Mini-LED, with facial features and details in a wide range of movies including The Batman, Top Gun: Maverick and Oppenheimer all looking accurate and true-to-life. Pictures could occasionally look on the soft side compared to more premium mini-LED TVs, but they were still solid for a mid-range model. Motion in Sports TV mode was accurate out-of-the-box. When watching an HD stream of a soccer game, I found that setting Smoothness (judder reduction) at 4 and Clarity (blur reduction) at 10 were the optimal adjustments. For viewing sports, I found the Omini Mini-LED to be better than both the Hisense U6N and U7N, which required a lot more setup. Motion was also good for movies, with the Omni Mini-LED easily handling the intense, fast-moving flight sequences in Top Gun: Maverick. Interestingly, I found I couldn’t alter the Natural Cinema motion setting in Dolby Vision Filmmaker Mode, but it did not seem to make a noticeable difference when tested on other picture modes. Picture quality score: 4 / 5 Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED TV review: Sound quality The Omni mini-LED has average built-in sound quality, so movies such as La La Land could benefit from a soundbar (Image credit: Future) 2.1-channel speakers Good accuracy and placement Sound is narrow and contained The Omni Mini-LED has a 2.1-channel speaker system totaling 24W of power. It supports Dolby Atmos and comes with several sound modes targeted towards different types of content such as Movie, Sports, and Music. In my testing, I generally found Movie to be the best sound preset. Watching the Batmobile freeway chase sequence in The Batman, the Omni mini-LED demonstrated good sound placement and accuracy – as cars swerved across the screen, the sound of the screeching tires also swept across the screen. Bass was decent, with a good level of rumble stemming from the Batmobile’s engine. When watching Top Gun: Maverick, the sound exceeded the confines of the screen during flight sequences, giving it an expansive quality, and the dialogue was clear throughout my viewing. Even so, in both The Batman and Top Gun: Maverick, Dolby Atmos effects were so faint as to be unnoticeable, with the rain in The Batman and height channels in the Mach 10 scene in Top Gun: Maverick never hitting – something to be expected from a TV with basic, 2.1-channel built-in speakers. For those using the Omni Mini-LED mainly for watching movies, I’d recommend adding a soundbar. Sound quality score: 3.5 / 5 Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED TV review: Design The Amazon Omni Mini-LED’s tall feet allow plenty of space for a soundbar (Image credit: Future) Tall feet allow space for a soundbar Hand-free voice control Bland design for the price One of the Omni Mini-LED’s best design features is its supplied feet. They are tall enough to easily fit a soundbar without the soundbar obscuring the bottom of the screen, a common issue with many TVs. Otherwise, the Omni Mini-LED’s design is very uninspired, with a rather generic and slightly bulky appearance compared with mini-LED rivals from Hisense, Samsung and TCL. I expected a slimmer depth at this price. The Omni Mini-LED comes with Amazon’s latest generation Alexa Voice remote, which still feels a little cheap and flimsy compared to remotes from other brands. Hands-free Alexa voice control is available via the TV’s built-in microphone – a welcome feature that can also be turned off in the settings. Design score: 4 / 5 Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED TV review: Smart TV & menus Fire TV has access to plenty of apps but its home screen is taken up by a large banner ad (Image credit: Future) Fire TV smart TV platform Sometimes stuttering performance Advanced picture setup options The Omni Mini-LED uses Amazon’s Fire TV smart TV platform, which is featured on the Amazon Fire TV Stick range as well as TVs from other brands. Fire TV’s home screen provides a good number of movie and TV recommendations (especially for Prime Video) based on your viewing history and lets you easily jump back into programs you’ve previously been watching. It also has a large, revolving banner ad at the top that takes up roughly one-third of the screen. Performance-wise, Fire TV is generally responsive when navigating though there were occasional stutters and freeze-ups during my testing. Menus, while fairly easy to get around, could be a little more user-friendly. There are plenty of settings to tailor the picture to your taste and even 2-point, 11-point and Color Grading calibration tools for those who want advanced fine-tuning. While Fire TV gives preference on its home screen to Prime Video movies and TV shows, it does provide access to a wide array of streaming services including Netflix and Disney Plus. Smart TV & menus score: 4 / 5 Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED TV review: Gaming The Amazon Omni Mini-LED, shown here with Battlefield V, has a good stock of gaming features and performs well (Image credit: Future) 4K 144Hz and Dolby Vision gaming 13.4ms input lag time Only two HDMI 2.1 ports The Omni Mini-LED is well-equipped with gaming features, including support for 4K 144Hz, VRR (including AMD FreeSync Premium Pro), ALLM and Dolby Vision gaming. It is the first of Amazon’s FireTVs to feature 120Hz support, but only features two HDMI 2.1 ports, which is currently the case for all TVs not made by LG or Samsung. The Omni Mini-LED performs well, even at higher frame rates. Playing Battlefield V on Xbox Series X, I found chaotic battle sequences, quick targeting and panning shots all ran smoothly and showed quick response times. When I measured the input lag time, it hit 13.4ms, which is similar to TVs from Hisense, TCL, and Sony, but doesn’t quite beat the best gaming TVs from Samsung and LG. Still, it sits below the 15ms threshold gamers look for. For picture quality during gaming, the Omni Mini-LED delivers good detail and dazzling colors along with solid contrast, again shown in desert and night missions in Battlefield V. I did find that textures took on a soft, muddy tone in some cases, which detracted from the experience a bit, but overall the Omni mini-LED is a solid gaming TV. Gaming score: 4 / 5 Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED TV review: Value The Amazon Omni Mini-LED is supplied with the Alexa Voice remote (Image credit: Future) Extremely competitive mini-LED TV market Closely matches rivals’ prices Potential for discounts The Omni Mini-LED enters a highly competitive mini-LED TV market dominated by Samsung, Hisense and TCL, and also competes with budget models from Roku. Its primary rival is arguably the Hisense U7N, which delivers similar features and performance and has very similar prices. For the 55-inch model I tested, we’ve seen the U7N average about $598.99 / £699.99, and it has gone as low as $480 in Black Friday sales. But the Omni Mini-LED has already hit $699.99 / £749.99 only months after release, and as an Amazon product, it has the potential to drop lower during Prime Day and Black Friday. The Omni Mini-LED is a solid TV for the money, offering good performance and many features that will please most TV buyers. It doesn’t quite beat the Hisense U7N in terms of value, but that could all change come Prime Day. Value score: 4 / 5 Should you buy the Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED TV? (Image credit: Future) Swipe to scroll horizontally Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED TV Attributes Notes Rating Features A good range of features for gaming, with good overall picture quality 4.5/5 Picture quality Colorful, detailed and with surprisngly good contrast, but suffers with dark tones – even in the most accurate picture mode 4/5 Sound quality Accurate placement and sense of direction, but feels narrow and limited 3.5/5 Design High feet allow space for soundbar, but design is very standard-issue 4/5 Smart TV and menus Fire TV runs mostly smoothly but with some stutter. Plenty of customization available in picture settings 4/5 Gaming Good stock of gaming features such as 4K 120Hz, VRR and Dolby Vision gaming with solid performance 4.5/5 Value Competitive mini-LED market, but well priced and lots of potential for discounts 3/5 Buy it if… Don’t buy it if… Also consider Swipe to scroll horizontally Row 0 – Cell 0 Amazon Omni Mini-LED Hisense U7N Amazon Omni QLED Samsung QN90D Price (55-inch) $699/£749/about AU$1,110 $599/£699/AU$1,195 $439/£549/about AU$699 $1,199 / £1,099 / AU$2,995 Screen type Mini-LED Mini-LED QLED Mini-LED Refresh rate 144Hz 144Hz 60Hz 144Hz HDR support Dolby Vision/HDR10+/HDR10/HLG Dolby Vision/HDR10+/HDR10/HLG Dolby Vision/HDR10+/HDR10/HLG HDR10+/HDR10/HLG Smart TV Fire TV Google TV (US/Aus) VIDAA (UK) Fire TV Tizen HDMI ports 4 (2x HDMI 2.1, 2x HDMI 2.0) 4x HDMI 2.1 4x HDMI 2.0 4x HDMI 2.1 How I tested the Amazon Fire TV Omni Mini-LED TV Tested in light light-controlled environment Used SDR and HDR sources for testing picture quality Measurements were taken using Portrait Displays’ Calman color calibration software (Image credit: Future) To test the Amazon Omni Mini-LED, I first conducted casual viewing to establish the TV’s most accurate picture mode. In this case, it was Filmmaker Mode, which I used to carry out both subjective and objective testing. For subjective testing, I used reference scenes from both SDR sources, such as HD streaming and broadcast TV, as well as 4K Blu-ray and streaming HDR sources. I tested the Omni Mini-LED’s color, contrast, detail, motion handling, and black levels. Some of the same reference scenes were also used to test the Omni Mini-LED’s built-in audio quality. I also tested the Omni Mini-LED’s gaming features and performance using an Xbox Series X. For objective testing, I took measurements of the Omni Mini-LED’s brightness, color and grayscale accuracy, and HDR color gamut coverage. The measurements were taken using a colorimeter, test pattern generator and Portrait Displays’ Calman color calibration software. Brightness measurements were taken using both SDR and HDR white window patterns, ranging in size from 1-100% with a focus on 10% (peak brightness) and 100% (fullscreen brightness). Color and grayscale accuracy were taken in SDR, using Delta E values, looking for a score below 3. HDR color gamut coverage was measured for the BT.2020 and UHDA-P3 color spaces. For input lag testing, measured in milliseconds, I used a Leo Bodnar 4K HDMI input lag tester.
Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 review: a well-rounded portable laser projector with Google TV
Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22: One minute review Epson’s smaller, portable EpiqVision home projector models were long overdue for an update, and that’s just what it has done with the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22. This introduces the tilting, swiveling stand design that’s proven so popular with many other recent projectors, and it packs in Google TV for streaming, which helps bring the EpiqVision Mini EF22 closer to parity with its competition. Add in a pair of stereo speakers and the EpiqVision Mini EF22 proves an effective all-in-one system. The Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 beams a laser through its 3LCD projection system, providing respectable brightness near 1,000 lumens. It makes for a decent picture, though it doesn’t manage quite the exciting color gamut of triple-laser options like the JMGO N1S Pro. Its 1080p resolution will also have you sticking to smaller projection sizes than you might otherwise opt for with the best 4K projectors like the BenQ X300G or even the older Xgimi Horizon Pro.While the EpiqVision Mini EF22 is a simple and effective little home theater projector selling for a reasonable $999, it struggles to contend with the market it’s entering. Not only are there many great new projectors in the $1000-$2000 range but there’s also a sea of slightly older models that have come down in price. It’s a good projector, but I’m hard-pressed to find a reason to choose it over the alternatives. I’d snag myself a BenQ X300G or Xgimi Horizon Pro instead, both of which have been seeing some impossible-to-ignore discounts. (Image credit: Future) Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 review: Specs Swipe to scroll horizontally Screen sizes supported: 30-150 inches Brightness (specified): 1,000 ISO lumens HDR support: HDR10, HLG Optical technology: 3LCD Laser Smart TV: Google TV Connections: HDMI, 3.5mm audio out, USB-A, Mini USB (service) Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.5 x 7.5 inches Weight: 6.6 pounds / 3 kg The JMGO N1S Pro 4K delivered strong picture quality across the board (Image credit: Future) Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 review: Prices & release date Release date: October 2024 Price: $999 The Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 launched in late 2024 with a starting price of $999 (£799, AU$1,599). It has seen some discounts since then, though these tend to come and go. The EpiqVision Mini EF22 comes in a variety of colors, giving you more options. You can find it in Stone Blue, Opal Green, Quartz Rose, Onyx Black, and Diamond White. (Image credit: Future) Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 review: Design & features Built-in stand makes setup easy Google TV and automatic image adjustments Built-in 2x 5W stereo speakers Like many of the new consumer projectors in 2024, the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 comes with a stand built in. This makes it easy to adjust the vertical tilt and horizontal angle of the projector, even supporting vertical projection up toward the ceiling. This provides a simpler setup, though anything but a perfectly lined-up projection will result in some digital corrections that detract from the usable image. The EpiqVision Mini EF22 makes automatic vertical and horizontal keystone adjustments very quickly, letting you shift the projector around and see the image change shape in real time. It’s also quick to focus automatically. It has an optional setting to avoid obstacles when projecting, and this proves effective, but it is a slower process than the other automatic corrections, taking a few seconds. The EpiqVision Mini EF22 rounds out its smart projection features with eye protection that dims the projector when it detects someone in front of it. The Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 is plenty compact, proving not dramatically different in size from the JGMO N1S I recently tested. That said, projectors can certainly come smaller, as LG showed with the LG CineBeam Q. It’s hard to have small projectors get very bright or offer solid audio, though, and those aren’t sacrifices the EpiqVision Mini EF22 made. It features stereo speakers and is rated to hit 1,000 ISO lumens. It also comes with Google TV. Unfortunately, Epson didn’t make the most of the projector’s size, as it opted to include just one HDMI port (with ARC), a USB-A port, and a 3.5mm audio output jack. It’s providing options, but not many. The focus of the EpiqVision Mini EF22 really is on being a standalone device that doesn’t call for external connections. The Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 comes with a simple remote. It’s all plastic with rubber buttons and nothing too elegant, but it’s effective. It has simple navigation controls, a Google Assistant button, a shortcut to the HDMI input (making the input selection button a bit redundant), dedicated volume and brightness controls, and shortcuts for projection settings, auto-focus, as well as YouTube, Netflix, and Prime Video. None of the buttons have backlighting, making it a bit hard to use in the dark, but at least some of the buttons are white, and it’s easy enough to feel out the volume buttons. Design & features score: 4/5 The JMGO N1S Pro 4K’s picture is at its best with bright and colorful images (Image credit: Future) Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 review: Picture & sound quality Decent brightness No unsightly motion smoothing Color could use a boost The Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 provides an overall good-looking image, but it’s not the most impressive I’ve seen in this projector category. While natural content looks solid, with the projector offering a great presentation for Dune, it can struggle elsewhere. In the extremely colorful Mind Game, it didn’t keep up with some of the triple-laser options on the market, like the JMGO N1S, and I noticed some banding in color gradients. That said, the 3LCD technology avoids some of the unsightly swimming-pixel artifacts I’ve seen from DLP projectors displaying large monotone regions, as well as DLP rainbow artifacts. The EpiqVision Mini EF22 doesn’t keep up with some of its 4K competition either. BenQ’s X300G may have originally been much more expensive, but it’s come down considerably in price, and it has the chops to really threaten the EpiqVision Mini EF22. I took a rough measurement to overall brightness in the Dynamic profile, which achieved 959 lumens with an ANSI test pattern and a matte white screen. There again, it’s just decent. Competitors like the Dangbei Atom and JGMO N1S offer as much, and slightly more expensive options from BenQ and JMGO take it to another level. Gaming on the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22, I found the projector added considerable latency if it had any sort of processing going on (i.e., keystone correction or digital zoom). With these disabled, the projector still had a tangible delay between actions and on-screen effects, but it wasn’t significant enough to slow me down as I worked my way through numerous encounters in Hades. Oddly enough, there’s no specific picture profile for gaming that would disable the projector’s processing automatically, so you’ll have to manage these settings on your own. With two speakers on the rear of the EpiqVision Mini EF22, it works reasonably well whether you set the projector up in front of you or at the back of the room. They provide a bit of stereo separation, which adds a touch of depth, though they’re no substitute for a dedicated audio system. They get reasonably loud for a small, quiet room, but the sound gets a bit muddled at higher volumes, making it hard to pick out everything that’s going on in a song, for example. You’ll get clear enough mids and a bit of bass, but higher frequencies tend to suffer when the volume is cranked. To the EF22’s credit, it doesn’t mess around with any unsightly motion smoothing. Right from the jump, it provides good, clear motion. Picture and sound quality score: 3/5 (Image credit: Future) Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 review: Value Effective all-in-one package Comes up short next to the competition The Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 puts plenty into one package. It’s a decent projector, providing a bright image that can handle impromptu movie nights or let you settle in to binge the next hot series, as long as you turn the lights off. With Google TV, it’s ready to stream a great variety of content with no external sources. And it packs in a good enough set of speakers to make do in quiet, intimate viewing conditions. The built-in stand also proves helpful, making it that much easier to set up in various places without the need to stack up a pile of books or go buy a separate stand. The biggest thing holding the EpiqVision Mini EF22 back in the value department is the competition it faces. You can get much brighter projectors and ones that offer 4K or provide more vivid color for the same price or just a little more. Compared to these, the EpiqVision Mini EF22 ends up feeling lacking. Value score: 3/5 The JMGO N1S Pro 4K comes in a styrofoam carry case. Although portable, it is on the weightier side (Image credit: Future) Should I buy the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22? Swipe to scroll horizontally Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 Attributes Notes Rating Design and features Combines everything you need into one device and even builds in a stand that allows for easy setup 4/5 Picture and sound quality Reasonably bright, modestly sharp, and avoids some of the artifacts that affect DLP projectors. But it’s not 4K, and not bright enough to use in well-lit rooms 3/5 Value Not too shabby for a $1,000 projector, but you can get brighter, 4K projectors for the money, and that alone is enough to sink Epson’s value 3/5 Buy it if… Don’t buy it if… Also consider Swipe to scroll horizontally Comparison: portable projectors Header Cell – Column 0 Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 JMGO N1S Pro LG CineBeam Q BenQ X300G Price: $999 $1,999 $1,299 $1,799 Screen sizes supported: 30 to 150 inches 85-180 inches 50-120 inches 30 to 150 inches Brightness (specified): 1,000 ISO lumens 2,400 ANSI lumens 500 ANSI lumens 2,000 lumens HDR support HDR10, HLG HDR10, HLG HDR10, HLG HDR10, HLG Optical technology: 3LCD, Laser RGB laser DLP RGB laser DLP LED DLP Smart TV: Google TV Google TV WebOS Android TV Connections: 1HDMI ( with ARC), 1x 3.5mm audio 2x HDMI ( 1with eARC), 3.5mm HDMI, USB type-C (display, power) 2x HDMI 2.0 (1 with eARC) USB-C DP Alt Mode (Image credit: Future) How I tested the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 Tested at home in multiple, real-world viewing conditions Presented the display with a variety of media and formats I have tested numerous projectors and displays over the last half-decade I tested the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF22 at home, in real-world conditions. This saw it faced with ambient light coming in from numerous windows, in-room lighting, as well as ambient noise that both the projector and speaker systems had to overcome. The projector was tested both against a bare, white wall and an Akia Screens CineWhite screen. It was presented with streamed content, HDR and non-HDR, and PC gameplay. My testing evaluates the projector’s performance concerning its price and competition from other models that I and my colleagues at TechRadar have tested. I have been testing projectors since 2021 and displays for even longer.
This cheap Dolby Atmos soundbar splits into 3 speakers, and has its own Philips Hue-style LED lights too
The Ultimea Apollo S80 splits into three front speakers and a sub Available in Canada now, coming to US and UK in February $209 / £171 / about AU$336 It’s fair to say that most soundbars aren’t very exciting to look at, and don’t tend to go beyond the familiar lozenge shape. But the Ultimea Apollo S80 soundbar is like no soundbar I’ve ever seen. It isn’t just a soundbar. It’s a TV transformer that thinks it’s a Philips Hue system too. If you look at the main image you’d think there’s nothing particularly unusual going on: it’s a soundbar with a separate sub unit, like so many others. But that main soundbar isn’t one unit. It’s three, and you can pull them apart to turn them into completely separate speakers for left, center and right channels – adding the kind of real separation that hardcore home theater enthusiasts espouse. Once you’ve pulled your soundbar apart, you can then leave the speakers standing horizontally or vertically, or you can wall mount some or all of them. However, if you’re thinking of wall mounting, it’s worth noting that although the soundbar has Bluetooth, the speaker units need to be wired to each other. On the plus side, not only do they separate, but the left and right speakers also have LED lighting that you can adjust with the companion app. There are six dynamic scene modes and a color wheel to get the lights just-so. (Image credit: Ultimea) Is a splittable soundbar a good idea? The specification is decent: as Notebookcheck reports, the drivers are 2 inches, the sub is 5.25 inches and it’s a 5.1 system (though that’s five forward channels, not real surround) with Dolby Atmos, optical audio, HDMI eARC, USB and Bluetooth 5.3. We’ve been quite impressed with Ultimea’s affordable soundbars, such as the Ultimea Poseidon D50: while they’re not up there with their more expensive rivals from the likes of Samsung or Sonos, they’re relatively cheap ways to significantly upgrade the sound of your TV, and we rate the Poseidon as being among the best soundbars today if you’re on a budget. You can’t fault the thinking here: it’s not so much thinking outside of the box as thinking in a completely different zip code to the box. But I do wonder who the target market is for this particular unit’s transforming talents, because once you’ve got your soundbar or speakers just-so you’re probably just going to leave them where they are. Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Having said that, we do like the similarly transformable JBL Bar 1300X with its rear speakers that attach to the soundbar or can be placed behind you when you want them… but those are totally wireless with built-in batteries, and rear speakers are more of an inconvenience to have permanently than front speakers, so the whole step makes more sense. And also costs many times what the Ultimea costs. The big draw here is price: good luck putting together a similar system of separates without having to hit eBay or Aliexpress and seriously lower your standards. The Ultimea Apollo S80 has an list price of $209 / £171 / about AU$336, but it’s currently cheaper with 10% off if you buy direct from the Ultimea website. You might also like
RGB backlighting explained: why the next-gen TV tech is a big deal
RGB backlit TVs are coming, and you’re going to hear a lot about them in the next few years. They’re the next big development in LCD TVs, and they take the technology used in the best mini-LED TVs to a new level. The crucial development of RGB backlit TVs is that the backlight behind the pixels can now show a wide range of colors, instead of a single color, which means you’ll see a wider color gamut when watching, and it should produce better brightness – or the same brightness with less energy use. RGB backlit TVs have been unveiled by Samsung, Hisense and TCL, with the first TVs set to arrive in the second half of 2025. I’ve seen these first sets in the flesh, and the technology really looks set to rival the best TVs, so here’s how it works, and what to expect from it. What is RGB backlighting? Hisense’s depiction of how an RGB backlight translates into the image you see. (Image credit: Future) Let’s start with how current mini-LED backlit TVs work. There’s a grid of tiny LEDs behind the pixels, and these generate the light that will reach your eyes. These LEDs are all blue (another color could be used, but blue is normal), and they pass through a color-filtering layer of pixels, which then convert this blue light to other colors. Filtering color absorbs some energy, however, meaning that this process reduces the brightness of the light significantly as it changes. This is why quantum dots are used in so many TVs – they can filter colors in a very wide gamut, without absorbing too much energy. In RGB backlit TVs, the LEDs behind the pixels aren’t just blue. Each one has red, green and blue elements, which can combine so that the backlight itself is already creating the colors of what’s on-screen even before it reaches the color-filtering pixels. Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Because the backlight is already projecting the right colors, the color-filtering layer can be less aggressive, which means less light will be absorbed as it passes though. TCL told me that the set it showed off with the technology doesn’t include quantum dots at all. Here’s a video with a depiction of how RGB backlighting looks, and how that translates to the final image. @techradar ♬ original sound – TechRadar What are the benefits of RGB backlighting? The Hisense 116UX at CES 2025. (Image credit: Future) With less aggressive color filtering needed in the pixels, less light is absorbed as it passes through, meaning that you get better efficiency from the backlight. There are two ways that this can benefit us: it can mean higher levels of brightness, making TVs more easily able to overcome reflections in bright rooms; or it can allow us to maintain current levels of brightness, but using less power to do it. The other advantage is the boldness of the colors, and the breadth of colors the TV is able to show. Colors are more vivid, especially in difficult red tones, without becoming overblown or unnatural. A wider color gamut means that when watching HDR video, the TV is able to show even closer to the full color quality of what was captured and mastered in the studio. What TVs are coming? (Image credit: Future) Right now, we know that Samsung, Hisense and TCL have plans in motion to launch RGB backlit TVs. Hisense and Samsung say that they intend to launch sets in the second half of 2025, while TCL says that its TVs will likely arrive in 2026. Hisense appeared to be the furthest along in its launch plans at CES 2025, showing off actual units of what it plans to launch on the show floor. The TV will be called the Hisense 116UX, and we were very impressed by what we saw of it. There’s no pricing or exact release date yet, but there were multiple models on display. We don’t know if it will come in any smaller sizes too, but I’m betting that it won’t – this is a first-gen product for showing off, and Hisense has a history of putting its most elite tech into its largest TV only at first. Take the Hisense 110UXN, for example. TCL showed a set with its RGB backlighting tech, but wasn’t able to share any major further information, other than that it will likely launch next year. It was smaller than 110 inches, though, so may well be worth waiting for. Samsung showed me its own RGB backlit prototype, which is potentially a little different to the others. For a start, the TV I saw was 8K, unlike Hisense’s – although Samsung said that it plans to launch a 4K version in 2025. Samsung it calling its technology ‘RGB Micro LED’, and the LEDs are reportedly much smaller than mini-LEDs (which would enable Samsung to offer amazing brightness and very precise contrast), but I’ve approached Samsung for more information about where this tech sits between mini-LEDs and true micro-LED TVs, and I’ll update if we get more clarity. Samsung’s TV was, notably, 98 inches – but the company says smaller sets may be possible this year. We’ll have to wait and see. @techradar ♬ original sound – TechRadar How much will it cost? I was told by Samsung that it doesn’t expect the cost of its RGB Micro LED backlight to be much higher than its mini-LED tech (which it calls Neo QLED) even early on, which bodes really well for RGB backlights becoming mainstream very quickly, in the same way that mini-LED tech has already filtered down into extremely affordable TVs just a few years after first appearing. However, the first TVs will inevitably be expensive, especially because it seems like they’ll be very large. This is first-gen tech, so the first versions will be aimed at enthusiasts to avoid too much risk of going straight into mass production. So it’s 2026 and 2027 TVs that you need to keep your eye on, and from what I’m hearing, RGB backlighting could be become normal fairly fast – especially with lots of different companies competing over it. Final thoughts RGB backlighting was the break-out TV tech of CES 2025, and though the first sets that use it will be niche and very large, it’s very clearly the next big development in TV tech. The makers of the best OLED TVs are still struggling to bring the price down, and true micro-LED TVs are suffering from a similar problem to OLED in that they have some high fixed costs that don’t have an obvious path to being fixed for years. Mini-LED continues to improve and drop in price, however, and this jump in color depth and efficiency will only keep mini-LED as the best bang-for-your-buck option if it does cost the same as (or close to) current versions. You might also like
