Back in December 2024 I had the chance to spend a little time with the Episode One Mini Projector and made sure to include it in our 2024 Holiday Gift Guide, which you can see here. It’s now been 8 months since I’ve used it on occasion and wanted to share my impressions. Special thanks to Formovie for sending me to include in our guide and review.
Full disclosure, this was challenging impressions because for one, I’m not a projector expert and having really spent time with any since my days back in retail. The other aspect is I don’t have a large home with many spaces where it would be a permanent screen replacement. I will say Formovie has some awesome projectors for those with higher budgets that are looking to replace a screen in a room.
My time with Episode One was mostly in my living room and you can see some of the set ups I did in my unboxing video here. This model is budget friendly and as of this article $199.99. It has a native 1080p resolution which includes Dolby audio with a 1500:1 Contrast Ratio. You can use any projector screen but also use your walls, which was my point of focus.
I have a rock designed wall over an unused fireplace that made the most sense for a place to use it. With our main TV in the same room, this has given us the chance to allow myself and my wife or son to use the TV and I can either watch something different or play a game on a different screen. For my testing I used the native Netflix app, which is built in, and I connected to a Steam Deck. The unboxing video you will see how they both display.
The initial issue was not having a place to put the actual projector where the screen would be expanded or aligned properly. I made a makeshift stand with a tripod and mount I use for interviews, and it worked well enough. The team sent a mount which can also be used later which will be good for once I find a permanent location. From my experience, projectors tended to be on the louder side, but this was not the case.
It was nice to see it running in the form of an Android OS and boot up in a short time. The menu is simple but when you have an idea of what you want to use it, many may not use the UI other than changing to the connected devices. The initial set up of the Wi-Fi and screen display was seamless and the included remote works well.
The built in audio doesn’t sound like I would have expected. Many built- in speakers tend to have a thin tone to them and I feel you could use this without adding an external soundbar or sound system. It can get loud if you are looking for that, but I didn’t feel it needed to be blasted to enjoy.
One thing I noticed is that many projectors get hot even in shorter sessions, but I felt like running this one for a couple hours and the temperature was cooler than expected. It still gets warm but not to the point of concern for wear and tear. Once in a mount and set, I can see this lasting for some time.
Most of my time using it was playing on my Steam Deck and despite the rock patterns on my wall, it worked for me, and it was an enjoyable experience. I feel if they put this much effort into their lower budget units, I can imagine how awesome their Laser TV models are.
For the price and functionality, it’s an easy recommendation. You can get one now at the link here.