The Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01 is a 16:10 LCD projector. With its relatively lightweight frame and 1280 x 800 resolution, the projector is geared towards productivity/office work rather than content consumption. It can project up to a massive 300" image, which is great for boardroom presentations. The projector has Epson's 3-chip LCD design, allowing it to project colorful images. The projector has one HDMI port, one USB-B port to connect a PC to, and one USB-A port for PC-free multimedia streaming from a USB key. Finally, it has one monoaural 5W speaker.
Our Verdict
The Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01 portable projector is okay for watching movies. It's very bright, so it performs extremely well in moderately lit rooms, and it's even decent in bright rooms. Unfortunately, its contrast is poor, so it's not optimal for watching movies in a dark room. The projector's image accuracy is decent out-of-the-box and looks fantastic after calibration.
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Image is bright and vibrant.
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Decent image accuracy out-of-the-box and fantastic accuracy after calibration.
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Poor contrast makes for grayish blacks in dark rooms.
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No integrated smart features or Wi-Fi support.
- 6.6 Movies
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Updated Nov 13, 2024:
We mentioned the newly reviewed NexiGo PJ40 (Gen 3) in the Contrast section of this review.
- Updated Jun 26, 2024: This projector's contrast score changed after the recent 0.9 TBU update, requiring some adjustments to the Compared To Other Projectors and Contrast sections.
- Updated Jun 25, 2024: We've converted this review to Test Bench 0.9. We've overhauled our Contrast tests, as we now measure contrast at various average pixel levels (APL). You can see the full changelog here.
- Updated Feb 27, 2024: Mentioned the newly reviewed Epson Home Cinema 1080 in the Pre-Calibration Color Accuracy section of this review.
- Updated Feb 13, 2024: Review published.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We bought and tested the Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01. It has no variants, but Epson has other projectors in their EpiqVision line, like the small and lightweight Epson EpiqVision Mini EF12 and the Ultra Short Throw Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS300.
Compared To Other Projectors
The Epson CO-W01 is an alright projector; it's not optimal for watching movies due to its poor contrast and 16:10 aspect ratio, but it's sold for a very low price, making it one of the best values at its price point. It excels in bright rooms due to its excellent brightness, which makes sense as the projector is marketed as an office projector. Still, for movies, the Epson Home Cinema 1080 and ViewSonic PX701-4K offer better image quality and more features for a bit more money.
Check out our recommendations for the best outdoor projectors and the best projectors. If you'd prefer to shop for another product in the same price range, look up the best projectors under $500 instead.
The Epson Home Cinema 1080 is better than the Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01. The EpiqVision is meant for use in bright office rooms, and as such, it's a bit brighter than the Home Cinema 1080. Still, the Home Cinema is better suited for watching movies due to its 1080p resolution, as the EpiqVision projects a 1280x800 resolution, which is a 16:10 aspect ratio that is great for work but not optimal for movies. The Home Cinema 1080 also has way better pre-calibration accuracy.
The Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01 and BenQ TH671ST excel in different areas, although the BenQ is a bit better overall. The Epson is the far brighter projector as it's meant for use in bright offices with lots of light. Conversely, the BenQ has far superior contrast, making it the better choice to watch movies in a dark room. The BenQ is also a bit more colorful due to its wider color gamut, and it's much more accurate out of the box than the Epson.
The Epson Home Cinema 3800 is much better than the Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01. The 3800 has vastly better contrast and pre-calibration image accuracy, and it projects a sharper image with its 4k pixel-shifting technology. However, the Flex is better for office work due to its 16:10 aspect ratio, while the 3800 is better suited for watching movies due to its 16:9 ratio.
The Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01 is better than the Epson EpiqVision Mini EF12. The Mini EF12 is a bit lighter and smaller, so it's easier to carry around, and it has full auto keystone correction and autofocus, so it's faster to set up. It also has Android TV integration with full Chromecast support and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, which the Flex CO-W01 lacks. The Flex CO-W01 is, however, vastly brighter than the Mini EF12 and bright enough for rooms with lots of light. The Mini EF12 has better contrast and looks better in a completely dark room.
The Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01 and the Samsung The Freestyle 2nd Gen are quite different, as the Samsung is a small and light portable projector, while the Epson, while not huge by any means, is not as portable. The Samsung also has more smart features than the Epson, which is pretty barebones in that regard. However, if you don't need smart features, go for the Epson, as it's much better due to its vastly superior brightness levels.
The Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01 is better than the WiMiUS P63, although the WiMiUS is a bit more portable due to its slightly smaller size and auto vertical keystone feature. The WiMiUS also has a better contrast ratio, partly due to how dim it is; in comparison, the Epson is incredibly bright and can easily handle moderately lit rooms. It's also much more accurate than the WiMiUS, with a wider color gamut.
The Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01 and BenQ HT2050A have opposite strengths. The BenQ HT2050A excels in pitch-black rooms due to its great contrast, while inversely, the Epson struggles in dark rooms with its poor contrast and raised blacks. The Epson is, however, much brighter than the BenQ, so it distinguishes itself when the lights are on. The Epson is also more accurate than the BenQ.
The ViewSonic PX701-4K is slightly better than the Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01. The ViewSonic projector is particularly interesting to gamers with its 1080p @ 240Hz support, while the Epson is aimed more at office use. Still, the Epson is much brighter and has vastly better color accuracy, although the ViewSonic's contrast is much better, making it the superior choice for watching movies in dark rooms. The ViewSonic also delivers sharper images through 4k pixel shifting, while the Epson projects a much lower 1280 x 800 image.
The Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01 and Epson EX3280 are both geared toward office usage, but the EpiqVision Flex CO-W01 is better for home theater use due to its versatile 16:10 aspect ratio. The EX3280 is limited to a 4:3 aspect ratio, which isn't optimal for watching movies. Still, the EX3280 does have slightly better image quality due to its better contrast, higher peak brightness, and better pre-calibration image accuracy.
In most ways, the Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01 is better than the Anker Nebula Capsule Max. The Epson has significantly better brightness, so colors pop more than they do on the Anker, and it gets bright enough that you can use it in a room with lights on. The Epson also has much more accurate colors, which you can calibrate to further improve. If you're after portability, the Anker has a built-in battery, is much smaller, lighter, and is easier to set up thanks to its automatic vertical keystone correction and autofocus.
The BenQ HT4550i is much better than the Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01. The BenQ has a much better contrast, is the more accurate projector of the two pre and post-calibration, and has a wider color gamut. The Epson is also limited to projecting an 800p resolution, while the BenQ projects up to 4k with pixel shifting. Finally, the Epson has no smart features or wireless connectivity out of the box, while the BenQ comes with the QS02 HDMI Media Streaming dongle with Android TV 11.0, Bluetooth 5.0, and Wi-Fi.
The Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01 is better than the VANKYO Leisure 470 in most ways. The Epson gets significantly brighter than the VANKYO, so colors pop more, and you can use it in a room with some lights on. Colors look better on the Epson thanks to its better color gamut and color accuracy, and you have calibration options to improve accuracy even further. However, the VANKYO is smaller and lighter and comes with a carrying case, so it's a bit easier to bring around with you, and it has better contrast for deeper blacks during dark scenes.
The Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01 is much better than the BenQ GV30, but they're different products. The BenQ GV30 is a small portable projector with an integrated battery and inadequate image quality. The Epson, for its part, is a bigger projector meant for office use, so it's not very easy to carry around, but it's no slouch as a home theater machine due to its impressive brightness and good pre-calibration color accuracy.
The Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01 is better than the NexiGo PJ40 (Gen 3), but they're quite different. The Epson is far brighter than the NexiGo, but its contrast is significantly worse. Thankfully, the Epson is also more colorful and is much more accurate out of the box. Unfortunately, the Epson's feature set is limited, as it doesn't come with any wireless or smart features, and it projects images in a 1280 x 800 resolution, which isn't optimal for content consumption. Ultimately, while the Epson is the better product, it also feels ancient compared to the more modern NexiGo.
The Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01 is much better than the KODAK LUMA 350. The Epson is much brighter and vastly more accurate than the KODAK. Still, the KODAK is a small ultra-portable projector with an integrated battery, while the Epson is a bigger but still somewhat portable unit, although you need to plug it into an outlet. If you need a super-light projector with a battery, go for the KODAK, but the Epson is the better buy for all other purposes.
Test Results
The Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01 is somewhat portable due to its fairly compact and lightweight body, although without an integrated battery. The projector lacks Auto Keystone correction and an autofocus, so you must manually adjust the image when setting it up. It does have an integrated speaker in case you need to move it.
This LCD projector uses a lamp as its light source, which can last from 6000 to about 12,000 hours, according to the manufacturer, after which you'll need to swap the lamp for a new one. This projector's native resolution is 1280 x 800, with a 16:10 aspect ratio. Epson promotes a variable throw ratio for this projector, featuring a Maximum Throw Ratio of 1.71; however, this is accomplished through digital zoom, which effectively functions as a crop-in.
This Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01's peak brightness is excellent. Its brightness uniformity is incredible. The projector is bright enough to look great in a moderately lit room, and it even looks decent in bright rooms. It's also bright enough to make its colors pop.
The Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01's contrast is poor; blacks look gray in a dark room. If you're looking for a similarly priced projector with better contrast, consider the NexiGo PJ40 (Gen 3), which has vastly better contrast than the Epson.
The Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01 portable projector's pre-calibration accuracy is decent. However, its white balance is sub-par; blues and greens are overrepresented in near blacks, while bright whites have a noticeable red hue. Thankfully, its color accuracy is great, with only whites showing notable accuracy errors. The projector's color temperature is excellent overall, even if it leans slightly cold. If pre-calibration matters to you, check out the Epson Home Cinema 1080.
This projector has a 2-point white balance calibration, and it looks spectacular after calibration, with fantastic color accuracy and color temperature. Its post-calibration white balance accuracy is excellent, with only minor accuracy errors, although blues and greens are still overrepresented in near blacks.
The Epson CO-W01 has a decently wide color gamut. It does an excellent job with the Rec. 709 color space used with SDR content but struggles with the wider Rec. 2020 color space.
The projector has one USB-A port through which you can play certain multimedia files directly from the projector without needing a PC. It supports only a few file formats: .jpg, .bmp, .gif, .png, and .avi files, and you need to format the USB key in FAT16/32 for best results. The USB-B port is meant to let a PC control the projector.