ETOE Whale Pro test: Affordable LED projector with 1,500 ANSI lumens

After the compact Seal Pro from ETOE has already impressed in our test, today we take a closer look at the top model in the form of the ETOE Whale Pro. The projector comes with a Full HD resolution and brightness of 1,500 ANSI lumens.

ETOE Whale Pro Android TV-Projektor

€ 389.00

€ 436.77

N/A

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Technical data

The product	Whale Pro
Resolution (native)	1920 × 1080 (Full HD)
Brightness	1500 ANSI lumens
Contrast ratio	3000:1
Projection	40-200 inches, 1.1-5.4 meters
Throw ratio	1.22:1
Focus	Autofocus & digital focus
Keystone correction	±40° automatic, 4-point, digital
Operating system	Android TV 11 (Google-licensed)
Memory	2 GB RAM, 16 GB ROM
WLAN	2.4G & 5G dual-band
Streaming standards	Chromecast, AirPlay
Speakers	2 × 10 W
Interfaces	1 × HDMI 2.1, 1 × USB, 1 × AUX, DC-In
Light source	LED, 30,000 hours service life
Price	€ 389.00 * (349€ with the voucher NNNDEWH)

Design and workmanship

The ETOE Whale Pro immediately catches the eye: instead of the typical white or gray plastic housing, the manufacturer has opted for an angular, dark gray design with red accents. This choice of color not only makes it stand out visually from the crowd, but also gives the projector a certain elegance that doesn’t look out of place in the living room. At the same time, the solid construction conveys confidence in the durability of the device – however, the projector weighs almost 3.7 kilograms as a result. This makes it more of a stationary home theater device than a portable companion for the next camping trip.

The ventilation slits are distributed all around, which is not only a technical detail but also a striking design element. In addition, the clean workmanship ensures that the projector leaves a high-quality impression despite its voluminous appearance. The 1/4-inch threaded connection on the underside enables mounting on tripods or special brackets – a practical option for users who are not just looking for a fixed position on a table.

The non-slip rubber feet prevent slipping even on smooth surfaces. However, if you want to move the projector frequently, you will find that its weight and size make it somewhat unwieldy to move around spontaneously. The scope of delivery is solid but unspectacular: in addition to the projector itself, there is a well-made Bluetooth remote control, a powerful 180 watt power supply unit, a mains cable and a multilingual manual. This gives the impression that ETOE has deliberately focused on the essentials.

Connections and operation

A glance at the rear reveals the Whale Pro’s wide range of connections. In addition to the obligatory DC power input, there is an HDMI 2.1 connection, a USB-A port and a headphone connection. There is also an infrared sensor on the device for remote control signal transmission. The projector therefore covers the most important standards for home cinema applications. A second HDMI input would have been desirable, as users often have to switch between games consoles, streaming sticks or laptops.

The control buttons on the top are a minor shortcoming: six buttons allow basic controls such as on/off, source selection and navigation, but no direct volume control. Here, the manufacturer forces users to use the remote control – sometimes impractical in everyday life.

An Amlogic S905Y4 processor with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal memory is at work inside. The operating system is based on Android TV 11, allowing a wide range of apps from the Google Play Store to be installed. Thanks to Widevine L1, streaming services such as Netflix, Prime Video or Disney+ can be used in Full HD – an important requirement that not every projector fulfills.

The connection to the network is made via stable Wi-Fi 5, which delivers decent speed even through several walls. Bluetooth 5.0 is available for peripherals such as gamepads or external speakers. Chromecast support is particularly practical, allowing content to be mirrored directly from the smartphone to the projector.

In practice, however, the system does not always respond as smoothly as one would wish. Menus are sometimes slow to open and inputs via the remote control require noticeably more patience than with a modern smart TV, for example. Voice control via Google Assistant is therefore a welcome relief.

Practical test of the ETOE Whale Pro

The Whale Pro does a lot of things right as soon as it is switched on. The automatic image adjustment adjusts both focus and keystone correction within a few seconds, which makes set-up much easier. This is a plus point, especially for spontaneous movie nights, as there is no need to fiddle with the settings for a long time. However, the autofocus is not overly precise and rarely focuses the image, so manual post-processing is often necessary.

Of course, the fans have to work hard with this light output and this affects the noise level. With a measured 44 dB(A), the ETOE Whale Pro is noticeably louder than many of its competitors, which is clearly perceptible and quite annoying in quiet scenes.

ETOE also relies on a completely sealed optical unit, which means that dust inclusions hardly stand a chance. This extends the service life and ensures consistent image quality in the long term. The lamp itself is designed for over 30,000 hours – in purely mathematical terms, this is enough for many years of regular use.

However, there are also weaknesses in everyday use. The system performance is average. Especially in the Android TV interface, there are a few stutters and hangs; the projector could be a little faster here and implement inputs more precisely, but it is always usable in practice.

Picture and sound quality

The manufacturer claims 1,500 ANSI lumens brightness, HDR10 support and native Full HD resolution. In practice, however, the results are more mixed: Measurements show an actual brightness of around 400 lumens – significantly less than stated. This makes the Whale Pro primarily suitable for use in darkened rooms. In daylight or in bright living rooms, the picture clearly lacks assertiveness.

Black levels are rather gray, colors are quite pale, while image details are somewhat lost. This can be remedied somewhat if you use the projector in darkened rooms, but other projectors deliver a better picture here.

Positive: The color reproduction appears pleasantly natural without going over the top. Movies and series benefit from the relatively neutral color balance, which is neither oversaturated nor flat. Sharpness is solid at Full HD level, 4K content is downscaled cleanly. This results in a detailed picture, especially with animations or high-resolution streaming.

The following applies to the size of the image: at a distance of 2.1 meters, around 80 inches are possible, at 2.7 meters around 100 inches – if you want, you can expand the image to up to 200 inches, but you should then plan for a completely darkened room.

I particularly like the built-in speakers, which provide 2x 10 watts of power. Considering their size, they deliver a lively, full and detailed sound that is ideal for enjoying movies and series. However, you shouldn’t expect a miracle.

ETOE Whale Pro test: Conclusion

With the ETOE Whale Pro, the manufacturer delivers an extremely stylish projector that delivers a very good picture quality and convincing sound. However, this only applies to darkened rooms. Even when there is some light, the picture suffers significantly from the comparatively low brightness, which does not reach the advertised values. There are competitors here that cost considerably less and produce a better picture.

The system performance could also be better. The comparably priced Nebula Mars 3 Air (our test) or Yaber T2 simply offer more for the money.