REVIEW – Getting decent video for one or two people is possible with just a phone, in a pinch, but sometimes, there are more folks that want to watch. Or maybe, you just want to feel the huge-screen experience and throw a video up on your wall or on a large screen. A projector is great for this. I was recently sent a new model from Ultimea, their Poseidon E40. Here’s what I found.
What is it?
The Ultimea Poseidon E40 projector is a full-featured video projector with sound.
What’s in the box?
- Ultimea Poseidon E40 projector
- Power supply and cable
- Remote
Hardware specs
Click to expand
- LCD Display Technique
- LED Light Source
- Brightness – 1000 ANSI Lumens
- Native Resolution – 1920 × 1080 Pixels
- Contrast Ratio – 2000:1
- Lamp Life – 10 Years
- 5-layer Coated Optical Lens
- Full-Sealed Optical Engine
- Projection Throw Ratio – 1.23:1
- Auto Focus
- Intelligent Obstacle Avoidance
- Intelligent Screen Alignment
- Auto Keystone Correction
- Recommended Image Size – 80-120in
- Projection Method – Front, Rear, Front Ceiling, Rear Ceiling
- Zoom – 50%-100%
- Audio Speaker – DSP 2 × 10W
Design and features
The Ultimea Poseidon E40 projector is a brushed metallic rounded rectangle box just under 9 inches high, and 5.5” wide. It is about 8.25” deep. The lens is mounted in a conical opening 3.5” across on the front. On the opposite side, there are ports for optical sound, USB-A, HDMI, and AUX across the top. The lower part of this rear face is mostly devoted to a grille for ventilation and a speaker opening.
A solid, very smooth metal handle swivels from the two large sides for carrying, and easily swings down on either face to get out of the way. The hinge is not loose, so the handle will stay where it’s placed, if you’d rather have it sticking up. (I’m in the process of moving, so my testing setup here was relegated to an old chair I still have at this house, despite not having a good, flat stand, the image autocorrected to the correct height and size, and auto-fit into the available space, which was off-center from where the projector was aimed!)
Setup
The setup of projectors can be troublesome. The image displayed can be affected by many factors: ambient light, the angle between the lens and the projection surface, the distance between those two planes, attaching sound or content sources, etc. When I turned on the Poseidon, it detected the wall I was projecting onto, avoided the bookcase that occluded half the wall, focused correctly in the wide area off-center from where I was pointing it, while also telling me how to tweak focus with the remote, should I need it. The device then moved into network setup. It found all the networks nearby, but made the intelligent choice, (I’m assuming by signal strength) and presented me with a keyboard for password entry. (Thank you for not presenting this with a long line of letters in alphabetical order, Ultimea! Other devices could learn a little here – I’m looking at you, Apple TV!)
It then moved on to set up the built-in Chromecast, but I don’t use Chrome Anything, so I turned on my AppleTV at this point. (Yes, I went back and set it up the rest of the way later, just for you!)
Performance
The Ultimea Poseidon E40 projector works flawlessly out of the box. I plugged it in, and immediately it detected the projection surface, set the correct focus, altered the angle slightly due to my projector placement, and started walking me through the TV tuner setup. I went through it enough to note that it was thorough and easy, but I don’t use smart apps on TVs. I did go back and finish the setup after using it for a bit with an AppleTV. Unlike other TV devices, I didn’t notice any untoward network activity, but I turned off Wifi just in case. I am not a fan of “aftermarket profits” being made by selling my data and me having to pay for its collection.
When I turned on the AppleTV, the device detected it on the HDMI port and switched easily. On subsequent launches, if the AppleTV was on, it just went straight into that menu without any issue.
The image displayed was clear and bright, even with ambient light from the kitchen lights (There’s no door in the doorway into this room!) It actually looked good with full room lights on, like above, but that’s no way to watch a movie.
The sound from the Ultimea Poseidon E40 projector was more than adequate, and there was no fan noise at all, so I didn’t have to turn things up to compensate. I watched the new Tom Cruise Reacher movie since it’s leaving Netflix at the end of the month. The action sequences were smooth and clean, and the quiet scenes were balanced as well.
What I like about the Ultimea Poseidon E40 projector
- Totally silent operation
- Sleek housing design
- Easy connections with modern ports
What I’d change
- The power brick is massive! Can’t that be internalized?
- Batteries not included for the remote? Why is it not rechargeable?
Final thoughts
I have sold or used projectors for presentations for over forty years – back when they were clear overlays on top of overhead projectors! The technology has moved forward quite slowly at times, but this unit is the first I’ve had with no legacy ports at all. (Well, except a single USB-A port! Will no one rid me of this troublesome thorn!) The included apps makes setup a breeze. Autofocus and auto-keystone correction were stunning to watch.
Price: Currently $469.99 (Regular price $769.99)
Where to buy: Company Website (Save $50 with code: JulieE40) and also available on Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Ultimea. Ultimea did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
