If you want to level up your home cinema set-up for movies, TV shows, or the upcoming FIFA World Cup, then you may be looking at investing in one of the best projectors. If you're working on a budget though, I've just found a sneaky deal that will save you some serious money.
Right now, Samsung's The Freestyle 2nd Gen can be yours for just £297 at Richer Sounds, a whopping £600 saving and the lowest price we've ever seen it drop to. But, there are a couple of things you need to do.
Firstly, you'll need to enter code 'RSTV50' at checkout to secure a discount. Then, as this is a cashback deal, you'll have to pay the £349 before claiming 15 per cent (£52.35) back directly from Samsung. Full T&Cs can be found here.
We're yet to get Samsung's The Freestyle 2nd Gen into our testing rooms, but we were lucky enough to get hands-on at its launch event. And what we enjoyed in the four-star original Samsung The Freestyle, we found to be present again, along with a couple of new surprises.
And while we haven't made a definitive verdict, we still had plenty to say from our time with the newest model. Firstly, the 2nd Gen is pretty much identical in design, with its compact build, cylindrical body and podium-style base helping it stand out from rivals.
The spec sheet offers more of the same, with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, alongside support for HDR10+ and HLG. It uses an LED light source, with a claimed 30,000-hour life span, and a claimed peak brightness of 230 ANSI lumens. The built-in speaker capable of 360-degree sound that featured in the original is back, as well as Samsung’s extremely clever auto keystone feature.
While physical connectivity options are limited to micro HDMI (although the connector does support HDMI ARC), The Freestyle excels in what it offers in terms of simplicity and portability with smart features and gaming abilities all built-in.
One of those new abilities is access to Samsung's Gaming Hub, meaning you can play Xbox games using an Xbox Game Pass subscription directly through it.
Plus, you've got access to Samsung's Tizen OS, which can be found on its TVs, giving you multiple streaming services including Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+, all of which are reached via dedicated hot keys on the remote control.
Visually, it was hard to get a clear impression of the 2nd Gen in the bright exhibition space we saw it in, but our expert tester said: "There appeared to be decent detail to the picture, with solid enough colours and good definition and detail on faces and clothing. One of the areas we criticised the original for was the below-par black levels, but it was impossible to really get an idea of this in an exhibition environment."
If you're looking for an entertaining projector that'll suit your movie watching and World Cup needs, the Samsung The Freestyle 2nd Gen is an incredibly entertaining option, especially at this knockdown price, just £297 at Richer Sounds.
MORE
Read our hands on with Samsung The Freestyle 2nd Gen
Or, check out our full Samsung The Freestyle review
And here's the best projectors: budget, 4K and ultra-short-throw
