We tested: ETOE Dolphin DLP projector – there are still good things in life!

The ETOE Dolphin is incredibly small and has become an incredibly good projector.

Check out my video review of the projector in action, if you liked the video, subscribe to my channel!

The future has just begun: The ETOE Dolphin pocket cinema is here!

Who hasn't dreamed of being able to conjure up a movie theater in their pocket, anytime, anywhere? ETOE's latest development, the Dolphin projector, makes this vision a reality, as it has managed to cram a full-fledged Full HD projector into a housing the size of a Coke can, and it doesn't even need an outlet.

Known as one of the leading projector brands in the Japanese market, ETOE is no stranger to the Far East market. Founded in 2018, the company has exploded into the Japanese market in just three years, where it is currently one of the three largest projector brands. This is no coincidence, as the company's founder, Jeric Li, has brought a new color to the market with his professional experience in the field of LCD projectors.

The newly launched Dolphin is ETOE's first DLP-enabled device, and is also the company's first product for the European market. The manufacturer has created a device that combines the advantages of a portable projector, Bluetooth speaker and power bank, in line with modern user needs.

One of the main strengths of ETOE Dolphin is its built-in Google TV system, which provides access to over 10 apps. In addition to Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video and other streaming services, Google Assistant voice control is also available, making operation as simple as possible.

Despite its compact size, the device packs a serious punch: it projects a native 1080p image that can be scaled up to 150 inches. The 10 mAh battery can be used for up to 000 hours without power, so it can truly create a cinematic atmosphere anywhere, even without an outlet.

ETOE's goal is to revolutionize the portable projector market with the Dolphin projector. The device has impressive specifications and features for its size, and is also competitively priced: it will debut on the European market for ~199 HUF with a coupon.

Representing a new generation of portable projectors, Dolphin is a device that, with its size, versatility and smart features, could open a new chapter in the field of portable entertainment. But will it live up to its hopes in practice? This article and the video above will definitely reveal that!

ETOE Dolphin: Elegant design, practical construction

The ETOE Dolphin is striking at first glance: the cylindrical housing is only 100 mm in diameter and 114 mm high, making it the size of a Coke can. And the weight of just 600 grams guarantees that you can take this compact projector with you anywhere.

The black (dark gray?) minimalist housing is not only aesthetic, but also practical: thanks to the weatherproof design, even humid environments should not be a problem for the projector. The housing is cooled by an extremely quiet fan with a noise level of only 25 dB, which is practically the same as a whisper (I'll talk more about this below).

The only slightly “Chinese” moment is the gold frame around the lens, but honestly, even this suits the camera well. We get an absolutely top-class look, the use of “gold plating” is not at all excessive in this case.

The back of the device houses most of the ports: an HDMI 2.1 port is used to connect external sources, while the USB Type-A port allows you to play content from a flash drive. The 3,5 mm jack allows you to connect external speakers or headphones, while the USB Type-C port is responsible for charging the battery.

Control is possible in several ways: with the included remote control, which has both infrared and Bluetooth connectivity, with the built-in Google Assistant voice control, or even with the physical buttons on the top of the projector. The device has autofocus and keystone correction, which makes setup much easier. The four-point keystone correction can be adjusted in a range of +/- 40 degrees, so you can project a perfect image from almost anywhere.

The projection distance can be adjusted between 1,1-4,5 meters, which results in an image size between 15-150 inches according to the factory data, but I managed to create a sharp image from a distance of about 15 centimeters, or even 6 inches. This can also be seen in the video above, watch it! The digital zoom function can be adjusted between 50-100%, so we can also fine-tune the image size without having to move the projector.

The carrying case that comes with the projector is practical: you can store the device, remote control and cables in separate compartments. The bag not only protects the device, but also ensures easy transport, making the Dolphin truly mobile.

Despite its compact size, the device also has two 5-watt speakers built into it, which provide surprisingly good sound thanks to Dolby certification. The built-in Bluetooth 5.2 module allows you to use the device as a standalone speaker.

ETOE Dolphin: Cutting-edge technology in a compact size

The heart of the Dolphin projector is a 0,23″ DLP chip, which produces a native 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolution image. The unit, equipped with an LED light source, is capable of playing content up to 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) resolution, which is of course converted to its native resolution. The 500 ANSI lumens projector unit works with a 1000:1 contrast ratio, which is average for the category.

In short, the About the operating principle of DLP (Digital Light Processing) projectors

DLP projectors use a special micro-mirror technology developed by Texas Instruments. Their most important component is the DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) chip, which contains millions of tiny mirrors.

1. light source: A light source (usually an LED or lamp) shines inside the projector.

2. Color wheel or LED color filter: If the projector has a single DMD chip, it uses a rotating color wheel consisting of red, green, and blue color filters. Some modern DLP projectors use LED or laser solutions where a mechanical color wheel is not needed.

   

3. Mirroring and imaging: The tiny mirrors on the DMD chip can be moved individually, allowing them to either direct light into or deflect it away from the lens. The mirrors move very quickly (with a millisecond response time), which is how they are able to create shades.

4. Projection: The light passes through the lens onto the screen, where the full color image appears to the viewer.

The “brain” of the device is an MTK 9630 processor, which contains four A53 cores and a G52MP2 graphics unit. The system has 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of built-in storage, on which the Google TV 3.0 operating system runs. The processor’s performance is not only enough to smoothly play 4K content, but also allows you to use Google Assistant, and you can even play games on it if the game does not require brutal hardware.

Wireless connectivity is provided by a dual-band WiFi module, which is compatible with both 2,4 GHz and 5 GHz networks. Bluetooth 5.2 support not only enables the speaker function, but can also be used to connect wireless controllers or keyboards. The device also supports Chromecast, Airplay and Miracast screen mirroring protocols.

The built-in 10 mAh battery provides approximately 000 hours of video playback and up to 2,5 hours of music playback. Charging via the Type-C port allows you to operate the device from a power bank instead of a wall outlet, so you can extend the operating time if necessary.

The manufacturer claims that the LED light source has a lifespan of 30 hours in normal mode, which means more than a decade of operation with average use. The projector's maximum power consumption is 000 watts, which is also average in its category.

The 2 x 5 watt stereo sound system supports Dolby audio formats and offers several preset sound profiles (e.g. standard, movie, music). The built-in TOF (Time of Flight) sensor also enables autofocus and keystone correction, which makes setting up the device much easier.

Thanks to the Google TV system, the device officially supports major streaming services, including Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, HBO, and Disney+ (I'll write about that later). There are over 10 apps available for download from the Google Play store, so you can access virtually any content service on the projector.

ETOE Dolphin in practice: A month and a half with the pocket cinema

I'll go through the real-world capabilities in detail, but first a little subjective opinion.

I knew, of course I was aware, that one of the biggest advantages of a DLP projector over an LCD is that you can pack the capabilities of a similarly capable LCD projector into a much smaller size. But nothing prepared me for what was waiting in the box. I emphasize, I got it well before it was released in stores, so I didn't have too much information at my disposal.

The pleasant, warming feeling started right there when the carrying case came out of the box, because it's very nice, made of very good material, and the stuff is of very high quality. Of course, the real revelation was opening the carrying case, because the ETOE Dolphin is shockingly small. Very small. Brutally tiny. It fits in the palm of my hand, and although the Coke can is a bit excessive due to its diameter, it's only a little, because its height is smaller than a Coke can. It's not heavy either, but 60 deka is not a little compared to its size. There's a noticeable amount of material in it, and every square millimeter of the casing has been used.

I'll note in parentheses that I couldn't help myself and took the machine apart. I had to see what was inside.

I probably don't need to say that every millimeter is really used. The speakers are relatively large despite the limited space, they don't have a plain paper diaphragm, but I don't know exactly what they're made of. I didn't want to take them apart to see the exact type of speaker.

However, it is clear that, despite the limited space, there are quite a few large heat sinks in the machine, of course with heat pipe cooling so that the generated heat can be distributed across the fins in the most efficient way.

All in all, the cabling, switches, and connectors seem to be of a better quality, and it's doubtful that we'll encounter any sloppy soldering with this projector. I really liked the focus adjustment, that little motor is really cute next to the lens.

When I picked it up and turned it around, my first impression was wow. Good quality materials, a truly high-end, exclusive look, which is reinforced by the gold plating around the lens. As I wrote above, this is not an exaggeration at all, I don't feel that this gold plating was chosen just for the sake of the camera, because the contents here more than justify the decoration. However, it is a matter of taste, but as I said, what I write will be subjective.

Well, now it's time for the practical experiences, I'll go through them one by one, as I discovered my abilities.

I projected onto the wall in the living room. In my case, it looks like there is a window opposite the wall, I usually put the projectors there and project above the TV. The wall is a light beige shade, which is not bad, but rather good for the colors, so I like to watch movies that way. The problem used to be that not all projectors fit properly on the inside window ledge. Well, in this case, it wasn't a problem, because the ETOE Dolphin is so small that when I put it on the ledge, no one noticed that there was a projector there.

I turned it on and immediately noticed that the Android TV interface was slightly different from the usual one. The differences are not significant, but it is still a little different. The settings are very good, there is a separate dedicated menu for image settings, which was very useful because the automatic keystone correction is absolutely useless. In other words, this is not entirely true, because from a smaller distance it works very well, very quickly and dynamically. In other words, I rotate the projector very slowly and the projected image constantly maintains its aspect ratio. I say this when I project close, because if the projection distance is around 2-3 meters, then the automatic keystone would no longer be good.

I note that I don't usually use automatic keystone correction with any projector, except during testing. I prefer to set everything manually and then turn off the automatic setting, so that when I turn it on, the options I set last are always applied. So automatic keystone would be nice if it worked, but I didn't give a damn if it didn't work. Fortunately, automatic focus works (both up close and far away), but if it didn't work, it wouldn't be a problem, because there's a dedicated button on the remote control for that too.

After turning it on and setting it up, I noticed that the cooling sound was quite loud. It turned out that I had placed the projector too close to the window frame, which prevented the warm air from escaping properly from the back, and it got quite warm. Moving it a little further forward reduced the cooling considerably. It is important to note here that when the projector is running on battery power, the brightness drops a bit and the cooling sound also becomes a whisper.

The speakers of the ETOE Dolphin are great. We get two 5-watt speakers, which is again surprising considering the size of the machine. What is really surprising is that the sound of the ETOE Dolphin is really good. There is dynamics, emphasized bass and treble and no distortion. Of course, everything has to be handled in its place, it is not a hi-fi thing, but the sound quality that comes out of the small machine is seriously surprising. Let's say this is necessary, because although there is no emphasis on it, the ETOE Dolphin can also be used as a Bluetooth speaker. And understand this to mean that the manufacturer gives this option, you can select the Bluetooth speaker mode from the menu, in which case the projection turns off and only pushes the sound that is sent to it via Bluetooth. And the bass, it is good for this too!

I got to the point where I set up the projector, connected it to my sound system via Bluetooth. I haven't mentioned it yet, but the keystone adjustment and zoom are enough to handle fairly sharp situations, which they can do. I just put the projector on the coffee table in front of me from behind my back, and projected it where I could straighten the edges of the image before (i.e. high up, on the wall above the TV), and even though the projector was a good meter closer to the wall, I still projected with a screen diagonal of about two TVs. The stuff is really great!

If I have to find fault, it won't be easy, but there is one thing, and that is the use of streaming channels. I probably shouldn't even mention that a device with such capabilities has Widevine L1 certification, so FHD projection works, for example, with Netflix. The problem is that not all streaming providers can be installed, for which I don't understand the reason. Some are available in the Android Play Store, and there is no problem with those. There are some that you can't access, but if they are installed on your phone, you can select there that I would like to install them on another device, in our case the ETOE Dolphin. Then there is Disney+, which simply cannot be installed.

Disney+ is not found in the Play Store if you search for it. If you search for it among your installed programs (e.g. it is installed on your phone), you cannot tell it to install it on Dolphin, it says that it is not compatible with the device. If you download the APK file from an alternative store and install it that way, there is no error until you log in, but the movies no longer start. And, what's worse, when it is installed, other streaming services also crashed on my device, some even exited every 10 minutes. After uninstalling Disney+, the error disappeared.

I really don't understand the problem, because if anything, it's Netflix that tends to complain about the hardware. If Netflix works, if Amazon Prime and MAX work, then Disney works too. Except for ETOE Dolphin. I'm hoping that this will improve with a software update, because the factory tables specifically list Disney+ as an available option.

So a few words about the projection experience. The manufacturer states a brightness of 500 ANSI, but when I first turned it on (I didn't know what the factory settings were at the time), I set the brightness to around 400-500 ANSI, so I wasn't wrong.

In practice, 500 ANSI means that if you dim the screen, scenes in the dark will no longer be a problem, so you don't have to worry about something like with projectors that can handle 200-250 ANSI, where you sometimes can't see anything in dark, night scenes. There's a snippet in the video above where I compare the ETOE Dolphin's image with the image of a projector that can handle 900 ANSI, I think it'll be useful if you watch it!

Of course, 500 ANSI lumens is far from the brightness of a good TV, and due to the lack of 4K resolution, the image on the huge "screen" will always be a little blurry, but I usually say that I like this cinematic effect much better than the pin-sharp image of TVs.

Anyway, the detail is very good, the colors are vivid, the difference is noticeable even with HDR content, even though I don't usually say this with such certainty in the case of 500 ANSI. The contrast is also good, but the brightness obviously makes things worse here, at 1000+ ANSI the difference compared to the tiny Dolphin is already visible. But let's not be insatiable, I also consider it a technical miracle that they were able to get such image quality, such brightness and, last but not least, such sound from this extremely small gadget. Quite a brutal achievement from the manufacturer, I take my hat off to them!

In the past, DLP projectors used to show the grid, i.e. the area between the pixels. Fortunately, this is not the case with the ETOE Dolphin. You can only see it if you look at the screen from 2 centimeters away, and even then you have to look hard (search) to see the grid.

Finally, one more thing, I have to try it, although I never use screen mirroring. When the phone and projector were on the same wifi network, the ETOE Dolphin immediately stood out among the wireless displays on the phone, the connection was fast and smooth. I would say I didn't expect anything else.

At the end of the experiences section, another bit of subjective opinion.

It may not be surprising, but I have quite a few projectors around, so I project quite a lot. Basically, I like to watch serious movies (even old classics) on a big “screen”, because that’s where they were originally intended. The only problem is that I simply can’t find a place in my living room where I can permanently place a projector. I’ve thought about shelves, tripods, everything, but somehow nothing seems right. Because of that, if I want to watch a movie, I have to pack up my projector (or the projector I’m testing), and when I’m done watching the movie, I have to pack it up. It’s a hassle.

You might also guess that I have a projector with more brightness and better sound than the ETOE Dolphin, but I can safely say that I have not watched as many movies in the past year as I have with this projector in the past 1-XNUMX months. And the obvious reason for this is the convenience, the easy use. It is small, light, I can even put it on the coffee table, and it doesn't even need an outlet. I just put it on the table, turn it on, and I can go to the movies.

Yes, you have to compromise, because 500 ANSI is not 1000 or 1100, and you can feel it. But for some reason. The big projector with the big screen will stay in the attic, and sometimes I'll go up there to watch a movie, but the ETOE Dolphin will be the one I can use to watch movies every night if I feel like it.

ETOE Dolphin: A new chapter in the history of portable projectors

The ETOE Dolphin projector targets a market segment where compact size and versatile usability meet an affordable price. With a price tag of ~199 forints, we get features that were only available in the much more expensive category a few years ago. The built-in Google TV system, automatic settings and portability create a combination that may be attractive to many.

The strengths of the device include excellent portability, versatile connectivity and a reliable software environment. Among the compromises, the limited brightness should be mentioned, which is why the projector is recommended primarily for evening use or in a darkened room. The battery life is adequate, but for longer movie marathons it is definitely worth taking a charger or power bank with you.

Dolphin is an ideal choice for those who frequently move between locations and want a projector that is easy to set up but still provides good image quality. It can be a particularly good choice for college students, business travelers, or even those looking for weekend homes. Native support for streaming services and a built-in sound system further increase the device's appeal.

As ETOE's first European product, the Dolphin projector makes a convincing debut. It offers modern features at a competitive price compared to other players in the category, and while it is not flawless, most of the compromises are acceptable. The manufacturer's first DLP projector is a promising start, and it will be worth keeping an eye on the brand's further European launches.

If you liked the machine, you can now order it from the EU warehouse for 198 forints at the time of publication of this article. To purchase, you must use the DOLPHINS coupon code too. The projector is now available for pre-order, shipping will start in 4 days (from the time of publication of this article). Shipping is free, and since it comes from an EU warehouse, you don't have to expect any other (hidden) costs. Click the link below to purchase!

ETOE Dolphin Mini DLP Projector – Polish Warehouse – Coupon Code: DOLPHINS

Similar articles on our site

Frequently Asked Questions about ETOE Dolphin Projector

Q: What kind of light source does the ETOE Dolphin projector use and what is its lifespan? A: The device uses an LED light source, which has a lifespan of 30 hours in normal mode, which means more than 000 years of operation even with 4 hours of use per day.

Q: Can the ETOE Dolphin be used during the day or in a brightly lit room? A: Due to its 600 ANSI lumens brightness, it is primarily recommended for use in darkened rooms or at night. In daylight conditions, the image loses significant contrast.

Q: How long does it take for the ETOE Dolphin battery to fully charge? A: The 10mAh battery is fully charged via Type-C connector in approximately 000-2,5 hours.

Q: Is ETOE Dolphin compatible with the Netflix app? A: Yes, the device is officially Google TV certified, so it natively supports Netflix and other popular streaming services.

Q: From what distance can the ETOE Dolphin projector be used? A: The projection distance can be adjusted from 1,1 to 4,5 meters, resulting in an image size of 15 to 150 inches.

Q: Is there a warranty for the ETOE Dolphin projector? A: The manufacturer provides a general commercial warranty for the device, the exact terms of which should be found at the place of purchase.

Q: Can the ETOE Dolphin be used with external speakers? A: Yes, the device has a 3,5mm jack output for wired speakers, as well as Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity for wireless audio devices.

Q: What file formats can ETOE Dolphin play? A: Thanks to the Google TV system, it supports most modern video and audio formats, including 4K UHD content, which is displayed by converting it to 1080p resolution.

Q: Can I connect a game console to the ETOE Dolphin projector? A: Yes, any game console or other HDMI source can be connected to the device via the HDMI 2.1 port.

Q: Is the ETOE Dolphin projector waterproof? A: The device is weatherproof, which means it can withstand humid environments and light drops, but it is not fully waterproof, so it cannot be exposed to prolonged rain.

This article contains a commercial message