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. Sadly, there's no HDR support, so all of your movies will be shown in SDR.
Extremely bright image.
- Decent image accuracy out-of-the-box and fantastic accuracy after calibration.
- Poor contrast makes for grayish blacks in dark rooms.
- No integrated smart features or Wi-Fi support.
Lamp isn't replaceable, and might explode after it has reached end of life.
1280x800 resolution isn't optimal for watching movies.
No HDR support.
The Epson EpiqVision Flex CO-W01 is a poor choice for gaming. It's very bright, but its native 1280×800 resolution makes for blurry gameplay when projected on a large screen. Plus, its weak contrast holds it back in darker rooms, as all blacks end up looking quite gray. It tops out at 60Hz at any resolution, and its input lag is high, so motion feels less responsive than on gaming-focused projectors. It also lacks HDR support, so this is an SDR-only projector.
Extremely bright image.
- Decent image accuracy out-of-the-box and fantastic accuracy after calibration.
- Poor contrast makes for grayish blacks in dark rooms.
Lamp isn't replaceable, and might explode after it has reached end of life.
No gaming features.
High input lag due to the lack of a Game Mode.
Limited resolution support.
No HDR support.
Changelog
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Updated Oct 03, 2025:
We made some minor adjustments before our official TBU 0.10 launch.
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Updated Oct 03, 2025:
We've added text to the Imaging, Optics, Noise, Supported Resolutions, HDR Format Support, 3D, Input Lag, and Audio Passthrough boxes as a result of our latest test bench. We've also added Gaming and Game Mode Responsiveness usages in the Verdict section.
- Updated Oct 03, 2025: We've converted the review to Test Bench 0.10, which updates our Design tests, and adds a whole new suite of Inputs tests. We also added new gaming-oriented usage scores in Our Verdict. See the 0.10 changelog.
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Updated Jul 25, 2025:
We modified the Projector Technology and Compared To Other Projectors text boxes, and added a con, to emphasize that the projector's lamp isn't replaceable and that changing the entire projector is recommended once the lamp reaches the end of its life. Continuing to use the unit beyond that point risks causing the projector to explode.
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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.
Popular Projector Comparisons
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. Unfortunately, the projector is disposable, as its lamp isn't replaceable. It might even explode if you continue using the unit after the lamp has reached the end of its life. Still, it excels in bright rooms due to its excellent brightness, which makes sense as the projector is marketed as an office projector. 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 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 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 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 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.
We've independently bought and tested over 60 projectors, and we've published all the detailed results for each so you can decide which one to buy. These have all been tested under the same standardized methodology, allowing you to compare them side by side. We still have all these projects in our lab so we can continually go back and compare them to ensure our reviews are still accurate. All our test methodology is also public on our website, so you can validate the results yourself.
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Test Results
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.
This LCD projector uses a lamp as its light source, which can last from 6000 to about 12,000 hours, according to the manufacturer. The lamp isn't replaceable; at the end of the lamp's life, a message appears recommending the user replace the entire projector. If you keep on using the projector nevertheless, you risk having the lamp explode, so keep that in mind. This projector's native resolution is 1280 x 800, with a 16:10 aspect ratio.
The lamp produces a broad, continuous spectrum with a strong blue component and distinct green/yellow energy peaks from the color filters, which is typical of lamp-based LCD designs.
The projector has a fixed lens with no optical zoom; digital zoom is a crop. Here are 16:10 throw distances for common screen sizes:
• 80″ → ~7.2 ft
• 100″ → ~9.0 ft
• 120″ → ~10.8 ft
• 150″ → ~13.5 ft
• 200″ → ~18.0 ft
For the sharpest image, keep the projector centered on the screen and avoid digital keystone when possible.
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.
At maximum brightness, the fan is loud, and you'll clearly hear it during quiet scenes.
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.
The projector's native resolution is 1280×800. 4k and 120Hz inputs aren't supported. 1080p @ 60Hz (including 4:4:4) is accepted and downscaled to the unit's native resolution; expect slight softness with 1080p due to scaling, but nothing that will be bothersome for the unit's intended office usage.
The unit’s input lag is very high. There is no Game Mode and no 120Hz option, so players sensitive to input lag should look elsewhere.
This model doesn’t support HDR. All signals are processed in SDR.
There’s no ARC/eARC or optical output, so the projector can’t pass digital surround formats. If you need external audio, connect your source directly to a soundbar/AVR and pass video to the projector, or use an HDMI audio extractor.
