Artlii Energon 2 Review: 5G Wi-Fi & Bluetooth Connectivity
Home theater projectors have made significant strides in recent years, approaching the quality of the traditional theatrical projection. Presently, they can handle a plethora of multimedia content such as videos, audio, photos, games at higher resolutions, but most possess full HD and 4K resolutions.
The projector is designed to offer an enhanced experience for entertainment in your home. As technology advances, these projectors continue to develop, making them more user-friendly. These include the ability to support Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth connectivity, and mobile devices among others.
Besides, most brands pack a lot of features into a more compact design with portability in mind, owing to which people can move them from one room to another without any hassles. Artlii Energon 2 is a dream for its targeted audience. Not only is this full HD projector affordable to most, but it also renders a unique cinematic viewing experience to you. With a maximum screen size of up to 300 inches, it is the ultimate gadget with which you can watch movies, TV series, and play games.
It features an improved LCD technology that generates clearer, color-rich, and lifelike images for the user, with an immersive contrast. This versatile projector also makes a great choice for individuals who travel a lot, as it is portable and easy to carry, with a handy carrying case. It is also a suitable choice for teaching and business presentations. Let’s have a look at some of its main features and some of their benefits.
Features of the Artlii Energton 2
Multiple connectivity
Artlii Energon 2, at first glance, has a uniquely built and sturdy projector right out of the box with a simple and elegant remote control (no batteries). You have access to multiple ports at its rear; the VGA port for connecting to a computer, two HDMI ports, USB port, AV port, 3.5mm audio output, micro SD slot, and an IR sensor.
This projector makes it easy to set up for various inputs, connecting to both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and mirroring of mobile devices which makes it compatible with a wide range of operating systems.
It also features wireless mirror casting. Mirroring mobile devices works well enabling you to display videos, photos, or business presentations, but, unlike HDCP-enabled HDTVs, you cannot mirror or stream video content through hard-wired cables or even copyrighted video content. Also, it isn’t a “smart” projector as most expensive projectors since it doesn’t come preloaded with video streaming applications like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Disney+.
The only way you can stream your favorite movies, TV shows, or content, from your Netflix account, is by connecting TV sticks, like Fire Stick, Roku to the HDMI port. Chromecast Wi-Fi connector would also come in handy. You’ll have to purchase these TV sticks when getting the Artlii Energon 2 home theater.
The audio and picture fidelity is excellent. What’s interesting with Energon 2 is that its connection isn’t limited. It gives you a lot of connectivity options, both wireless and wired, that make it easy for you to play content from any of your sources. You can easily connect PCs, laptops, MacBooks, smartphones, Blu-ray disc players, Wii, PS4, PS5, Xbox gaming consoles, and much more.
The 3.5mm audio input allows them to connect their laptop/PC directly to the sound system. And for those who are not tech-savvy but still want to enjoy content on this amazing projector, the SD card slot allows you to plug your card directly into the projector and watch movies on your ceiling or wall.
Fast and Stable 5G Wi-Fi & Bluetooth Connection
The projector features an excellent Wi-Fi connection for wireless media streaming. What makes this projector an exception in its market domain is its updated Wi-Fi connection enables you to wirelessly connect smart devices by 2.4GHz + 5G Wi-Fi. iOS cast, Miracast, and DLNA.
Ultra-fast 5G Wi-Fi offers you much smoother, clearer, and lag-free online streaming from various popular streaming services. Even if you only have an old iPhone, it helps you stream the content in HD and 4K with Full-HD quality.
You can also Bluetooth connect to the projector for streaming music wirelessly to your speakers in your room. For those who need to get things done while watching a movie or playing games. It also features a Bluetooth 4.0 chip for fast and stable streaming from your Bluetooth-enabled devices like smartphones. They are also compatible with audio systems such as BOSE SoundTouch 300 and B&O BeoSound 8 with 5G Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support.
Maximum 300-inch screen projection
Artlii Energon allows you to enjoy your favorite content on screen sizes ranging between 44” to 300” at a distance of between 5ft to 27ft from the screen. The maximum projection distance is great for those who want to run this projector on a longer throw distance or place it at other locations in their homes, although you’ll enjoy optimum projection with a 75 to 100-inch screen at 7-9ft of distance.
However, the minimum viewing distance is not very impressive so if you’re planning to connect it up to the wall, you will still need to be around 4-5 feet away for ideally good picture quality.
The best thing about this projector is that you don’t have to move the projector around since it comes with a 60 to 100% image zoom function which is great for adjusting your screen size by remote control or manually.
Manual +15o keystone correction
The Artlii Energon 2 features a keystone adjustment knob at its rear for manual keystone correction to ensure you get a distortion-free picture on the screen. They can also get projected in the center without any distortion and cutouts.
Be very careful to place the projector level with the screen to minimize manual keystone correction as it can be impossible to correct the image distortions while projecting. Besides, extreme keystone correction may also result in further image distortion at the edges which can be frustrating.
Provides a native 1080p resolution with 4K UHD support
The native resolution of the Artlii Energon 2 projector is 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixels), but its strong performance with 4K UHD (3840 x 2160 pixels) makes it preferable in projecting 4K images. However, since it’s not a native 4K projector, you need to feed it with 4K UHD signals to achieve a better output.
So, even if you have a lower-tier TV with only Full HD resolution, you can still project images in ultra-high definition 4K resolution and enjoy the same quality of your TV screen. With a higher dynamic range, you get a more enhanced picture quality. You’ll not only be able to get sharp, bright, colorful pictures but also enjoy a high-definition cinema viewing experience.
340 ANSI lumens brightness level
For the best picture quality, you need a projector that gives you the right output level and brightness level. There are few native 1080p projectors, within this home theater’s budget, which we’ve reviewed that can deliver good and clear images as seen in Artlii Energon 2 and this can only be because of the number of lumens in this projector.
The images may not be as brighter as seen in high-end projectors we have reviewed, however, it does put out a pretty bright colorful picture. Just make sure when you’re setting up this projector, you do so in dark or light-controlled rooms to get impressive image quality. Otherwise, brighter rooms wash out image clarity and brightness and ruin the cinema or gaming experience.
Amazing cinematic color performance
With everything set perfectly in a dark room, keystone adjusted correctly, the cinema experience is outstanding. The image colors are incredibly reproduced and pop out. It can reproduce the Rec. 709 color gamut. It also has an 8-segment color wheel and 10-bit to produce very vibrant and saturated colors. The color gamut is up to 80% of NTSC providing up to 17 million color ranges and can display 100% RGB color signals for each image.
Just like other projectors, the cinema mode delivers the best color performance, which comes at the expense of brightness. But, unlike other bright projectors, the Energon 2 does not fall victim to rainbow color distortion. In the other color modes, it still performs well enough. The Energon 2 has a relatively high contrast ratio of 10000:1 to ensure a sharper image is projected. However, the black levels are surprisingly average. It has an efficient color management system that lets you adjust the colors to your preference.
Perfect choice for casual gaming
The gaming graphics and colors appear sharp, but not as good as for an HDR-compatible projector. The response time is quite fast for casual games. With its relatively high input lag, highly competitive gaming may feel unresponsive. You’ll be surprised at how much you can get from this projector that can produce impressive visuals in games like Modern Warfare, Battlefield 1, and Dark Souls 3.
The projector can also completely synchronize with your gaming console or laptop to ensure that the action just keeps on coming. Although it cannot match some of the better gaming projectors in this regard, it is still one of the best home theatre projectors for gamers.
Having looked at the features of the Artlii Energon 2, let’s have a look at some of its pros and cons and see what makes this projector unique and if it is worth the praise.
Pros of Artlii Energon 2
Ease of Use: The machine is easy to roll out of the box, especially if you are a tech-savvy person. The remote control isn’t that hard to master with the help of its user interface. You can find many setup guides online on how to get the projector ready in minutes. It also has a touch panel navigational control at its top for accessing the UI when it is at a hand’s length.
Good picture quality: The projector produces sharp, colorful, and clear pictures, especially when in a dark room.
A cheap projector: At its price point ($279.99), the Energon 2 offers a compelling alternative to most mid-range full HD or 4K projectors delivering a good image quality, with HDR support, and can project pictures up to a screen size of 300-inch without distorting its fidelity.
Easy setup: Consists of a quick and simple setup process, making it easier to get the best image quality.
Versatile: You can connect with external devices such as tablets or smartphones and play from them. Also, this projector includes an HDMI port for connecting to a gaming console.
Cons of Artlii Energon 2
No advanced keystone adjustment: It is hard to develop a perfectly horizontal image if you’re projecting from an angle and have a larger screen size. However, this problem is fairly common among projectors in this price range.
No 4K upscaling: It only supports Full HD resolution. With that, you need to change the output from one to the other depending on your screen size
Not good for playing games: With a slow response time, you may notice lag and see not as fast-paced or responsive gameplay. The only exception to this might be gaming with it connected to a VR headset.
Extremely low brightness: With a rated brightness of 340 ANSI lumens, the Elfin Mini isn’t bright enough to deliver a full HDR effect; it produces noticeably washed out and dull images.
Here are some alternatives to consider if still, this projector doesn’t convince you.
Alternatives
Optoma UHD38 – this is one of the most affordable UHD projectors improving on every feature of the Artlii Energon 2. With this alternative, you’ll immerse yourself with stunning 4K UHD images and an incredible brightness (4,000 lumens) ideal for home entertainment and gaming, even in ambient lit rooms. It also boasts the lowest input lag (4.2ms) and an impressive 240Hz refresh rate all of which are perfect for fast-paced or competitive online gaming. Alternative two would be to go for Artlii Energon 1. This is a good choice for those on a strictly low budget who wants a nearly similar experience as seen in Energon 2.
Conclusion
The Artlii Energon 2 is one of the best projectors for its price range. It offers an exceptional image quality with sharp, vibrant colors, and impressive brightness in dark rooms. It’s got a great response time for film and casual gaming, but the lag is a bit too high for competitive gaming. The overall user experience is positive and most people will be satisfied with its performance even though it can’t match other high-end projectors such as Sony VPL-VW915ES or BenQ HT2050.