Samsung The Freestyle Gen 2 Portable Projector with Gaming Hub
A 1080p projector the size of a container of spaghetti sauce! That’s the best way for me to describe the Samsung The Freestyle Portable Projector with Gaming Hub (2nd Gen). This is Samsung’s latest portable projector and I tested it at home.
The swivel device is mounted on a solid metal base. Place the base on the floor and point the projector at a wall, screen or even the ceiling. The cool thing about The Freestyle is that it does the dirty work for you, determining angles and keystone settings for you using sensors inside the projector. It couldn’t be much simpler to use.
The picture quality isn’t the brightest you’ve ever seen, I would recommend a fairly dark room when using the Freestyle. Samsung rates the projector at 230 ANSI lumen. The quality is excellent though, I get a pretty clear and colorful picture when navigating the menu, watching streaming TV and playing games. I tested it on my projector screen also on my ceiling. As expected, it looked better on a proper projection screen.
The image will reach a maximum diagonal image size of 100″ and the larger the image, the lower the projection. So you can get away with some ambient light in smaller sizes, but when you push it to 100″, expect to close all those curtains.
I reviewed the original Freestyle projector in 2022 and really liked it. The 2nd generation model looks identical, but the biggest change is in the power under the hood. Samsung upgraded the processor and added the Samsung Gaming hub. Menus and apps seem much snappier and faster than before. The Gaming Hub is something Samsung is adding to all of its new TVs and it’s a PERFECT combination for something like a portable projector.
Gaming Hub lets you pair a suitable video game controller with The Freestyle (I tested it using an Xbox controller) and use streaming game services directly to the device. I tested it with the Xbox cloud gaming service and it worked very well. The Freestyle also supports Amazon Luna, Nvidia GeForce Now, and a few others. Keep in mind that you’ll need a very strong and fast Wi-Fi connection for any of these video game streaming services to work properly. I had some issues streaming Xbox Cloud, but it’s not something I can pinpoint on Samsung hardware, it’s probably the result of trying to stream HD games over Wi-Fi. Would recommend a Wi-Fi 6 router if you plan to use it for regular gaming.
I give the Samsung The Freestyle (2nd generation) a geek score of 4 out of 5! I really like Freestyle. In fact, it’s the best portable projector I’ve tested. That said, you might find a brighter or better performing “projector” for this price, but what you’re really paying for is portability and ease of use. Samsung knows how to create an “experience” and that’s exactly what they’re doing with The Freestyle. It’s plug and play. Turn it on, point at the wall and the Freestyle does the rest.
If you are setting up a dedicated home theater room, this projector is NOT for you. This is the projector for the rest of us who want to be able to take it from the den to the kids’ bedroom to the back patio without spending hours setting it up.
The Samsung The Freestyle (Gen 2) is available now in stores and online at Samsung.com for $800.
Samsung The Freestyle Gen 2 Portable Projector with Gaming Hub
A 1080p projector the size of a container of spaghetti sauce! That’s the best way for me to describe the Samsung The Freestyle Portable Projector with Gaming Hub (2nd Gen). This is Samsung’s latest portable projector and I tested it at home.
The swivel device is mounted on a solid metal base. Place the base on the floor and point the projector at a wall, screen or even the ceiling. The cool thing about The Freestyle is that it does the dirty work for you, determining angles and keystone settings for you using sensors inside the projector. It couldn’t be much simpler to use.
The picture quality isn’t the brightest you’ve ever seen, I would recommend a fairly dark room when using the Freestyle. Samsung rates the projector at 230 ANSI lumen. The quality is excellent though, I get a pretty clear and colorful picture when navigating the menu, watching streaming TV and playing games. I tested it on my projector screen also on my ceiling. As expected, it looked better on a proper projection screen.
The image will reach a maximum diagonal image size of 100″ and the larger the image, the lower the projection. So you can get away with some ambient light in smaller sizes, but when you push it to 100″, expect to close all those curtains.
I reviewed the original Freestyle projector in 2022 and really liked it. The 2nd generation model looks identical, but the biggest change is in the power under the hood. Samsung upgraded the processor and added the Samsung Gaming hub. Menus and apps seem much snappier and faster than before. The Gaming Hub is something Samsung is adding to all of its new TVs and it’s a PERFECT combination for something like a portable projector.
Gaming Hub lets you pair a suitable video game controller with The Freestyle (I tested it using an Xbox controller) and use streaming game services directly to the device. I tested it with the Xbox cloud gaming service and it worked very well. The Freestyle also supports Amazon Luna, Nvidia GeForce Now, and a few others. Keep in mind that you’ll need a very strong and fast Wi-Fi connection for any of these video game streaming services to work properly. I had some issues streaming Xbox Cloud, but it’s not something I can pinpoint on Samsung hardware, it’s probably the result of trying to stream HD games over Wi-Fi. Would recommend a Wi-Fi 6 router if you plan to use it for regular gaming.
I give the Samsung The Freestyle (2nd generation) a geek score of 4 out of 5! I really like Freestyle. In fact, it’s the best portable projector I’ve tested. That said, you might find a brighter or better performing “projector” for this price, but what you’re really paying for is portability and ease of use. Samsung knows how to create an “experience” and that’s exactly what they’re doing with The Freestyle. It’s plug and play. Turn it on, point at the wall and the Freestyle does the rest.
If you are setting up a dedicated home theater room, this projector is NOT for you. This is the projector for the rest of us who want to be able to take it from the den to the kids’ bedroom to the back patio without spending hours setting it up.
The Samsung The Freestyle (Gen 2) is available now in stores and online at Samsung.com for $800.
