R-Box Pro 3G Android TV Box Review – Part 2: Android 6.0 Firmware

The vast majority of octa-core Android TV Boxes sold on the market comes with 2GB RAM, but Amlogic S912 based R-Box Pro TV box was interesting with its 3GB RAM option (aka R-Box Pro 3G), as I wondered if I would see any noticeable improvements during my tests with the extra RAM. We’ve already confirmed the the hardware comes with 3GB RAM using 2x 1GB + 2x 512MB RAM chips configuration in the first part of the review last month, and it’s now time to check out whether this translates to anything in Android, as well as go through the usual hard-to-get features to work like automatic frame rate switching and HD audio pass-through. First Boot, Firmware Update, and First Impressions One positive with the device is the four USB ports, so this time I did not need an USB hub at all, and connected a USB HDD, two RF […]

Vorke Z1 Amlogic S912 Android TV Box Comes with 3GB DDR4 Memory

DDR4 memory is coming to one more TV box. We first discovered it in Yundoo Y7 TV box powered by Amlogic S905X processor, but now Vorke, which started with Vorke V1 Intel Braswell mini PC and then V2 Ultra earlier this year, has now launched Vorke Z1 TV box with an octa-core Amlogic S912 processor combined with 3 GB DDR4 memory with higher bandwidth than your typical DDR3(L) memory. Vorke Z1 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S912 octo-core ARM Cortex A53 processor @ up to 1.5 GHz with ARM Mali-820MP3 GPU System Memory – 3GB DDR4 Storage – 32GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot up to 32GB Video Output – HDMI 2.0a with HDR and CEC support up to 4K @ 60 fps, and 3.5mm AV jack for composite output Audio Output – HDMI, AV jack (stereo audio), and optical S/PDIF Video codecs – VP9, 10-bit H.265 up to 4K […]

Egreat A10 4K Android Media Center Comes with an Internal 3.5″ SATA Bay, an external SATA Port and a USB 3.0 Port

Egreat A10 is an Android TV box powered by Hisilicon Hi3798CV200 processor, coupled with 2GB RAM, 16GB flash, and is an exciting device for people who like to keep the media files on local storage, as it includes an Internal SATA bay for 3.5″ hard drive, an external SATA connector for 2.5″ “laptop” drives, as well as a USB 3.0 port. Egreat A10 specifications: SoC – HiSilicon Hi3798C V200 quad-core ARM Cortex A53 processor @ up to 2.0 GHz with ARM Mali-T720 GPU System Memory –  2GB DDR3 Storage – 16 GB eMMC flash + 3.5″ SATA bay + external SATA interface with support for EXT-3/4, FAT32, NTFS and GPT Video Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K2K @ 60 Hz and CVBS output (RCA) Video Codecs – 10-bit H.265/HEVC 4Kx2K@60fps, VP9 up to 4K @ 60 Hz, H.264 AVC, H.264/AVC MVC up 1080p30, MPEG-1/2/4 up to 1080p60, VC-1 up […]

Rikomagic MK22 Review – Part 2: Android Firmware, Video & Audio in Kodi, Benchmarks…

Rikomagic MK22 is one of the many Android TV boxes powered by Amlogic S912 octa-core processor with typical hardware specifications such as 2GB RAM, 16GB flash, Gigabit Ethernet and dual band WiFi. I’ve already taken the box apart to check out the hardware in the first part of the review, so I’ll focus on the firmware, but I’ll keep it short focusing on typical problem areas, as I’ve already reviewed a bunch of other Amlogic S912 TV boxes such as Qintaix Q912 or Beelink GT1. First Boot, Firmware Update, and First Impressions After having connected all usual cables and  accessories include a 1TB USB hard drive, and RF dongles for my air mouse and wireless gamepad, I booted the device, and after around 45 seconds (typically), I got to the main launcher. Since I received the device about a month ago, I decided to go to the UPDATE&BACKUP app to […]

Zidoo A5 and A5S Android TV Boxes Powered by Amlogic S905X SoC Sell for $62.99 and Up

Zidoo never stops pushing new hardware, and today I’ve come across the company’s two new models powered by Amlogic S905X processor with Zidoo A5 and A5S sold on GeekBuying for respectively $62.99 and $79.99. Zidoo A5 & A5S models look exactly the same but have different hardware specifications under the hood: SoC –  Amlogic S905X quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.5 GHz with  penta-core Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – A5: 1GB DDR3; A5S: 2GB DDR3 Storage A5 – 8GB eMMC flash + micro SD card slot A5S – 16GB eMMC flash + micro SD card slot Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0a, AV Video Codec – 4K@60 Hz video decoding 10-bit HEVC and AVS+ codec support; H.264 up to 4K,VP9 up to 4K,support HDR Connectivity A5 – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 A5S – 10/100M Ethernet, Dual band 802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 USB – […]

Remix IO+ Android TV Box Features Rockchip RK3399 Processor, 4GB RAM, 32GB Storage for $129 (Crowdfunding)

Jide Technology launched a Kickstarter campaign for Remix IO TV box a couple of weeks ago, and now they’ve added a very interesting device with Remix IO+ TV box running the company’s Remix OS operating system powered by Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core processor with 4GB RAM, 32 GB storage. The case design will be the same, but the hardware much more powerful than the Rockchip RK3368 based modek. Remix IO+ specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399 Hexa core processor with 2x ARM Cortex-A72 cores @ up to 2.0 GHz, 4x ARM Coertex A53 cores, and Mali-T860MP4 GPU System Memory – 4 GB RAM Storage – 32 GB eMMC flash + microSD card slot up to 128GB Video Output – HDMI 2.0s port up to 4K @ 60 Hz, VGA port Audio Output – HDMI, 3.5mm audio jack Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet port, dual band 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 2x […]

ONENUTS Nut 1 TV Box Specifications, Unbagging and Teardown

I first discovered Shenzhen Tomato’s ONENUTS brand through ONENUTS T1 3-in-1 projector, tablet, and mini PC, but the company has now launched a new product with ONENUTS Nut 1 Android TV box powered by Amlogic S912 processor, and the usual 2GB RAM and 16GB storage, but the product stands out a little thanks to its presentation as we’ll see below. ONENUTS Nut 1 Specifications The technical specifications are pretty much standard: SoC – Amlogic S912 octa-core ARM Cortex A53 processor @ up to 1.5 GHz with ARM Mali-820MP3 @ up to 750MHz System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot up to 32GB Video Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60Hz with CEC and HDR support, and AV port (composite) Audio Output – HDMI, AV (stereo audio), and optical S/PDIF Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, dual band WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0 USB […]

ARM Introduces Bifrost Mali-G51 GPU, and Mali-V61 4K H.265 & VP9 Video Processing Unit

Back in May of this year, ARM unveiled Mali-G71 GPU for premium devices, and the first GPU of the company based on Bifrost architecture. The company has now introduced the second Bifrost GPU with Mali-G51 targeting augmented & virtual reality and higher resolution screens to be found in mainstream devices in 2018, as well as Mali-V61 VPU with 4K H.265 & VP9 video decode and encode capabilities, previously unknown under the codename “Egil“. Mali-G51 GPU ARM Mali-G51 will be 60% more energy efficiency, and have 60% more performance density compared to Mali-T830 GPU, making the new GPU the most efficient ARM GPU to date. It will also be 30% smaller, and support 1080p to 4K displays. Under the hood, Mali-G51 include an updated Bifrost’s low level instruction set, a dual-pixel shader core per GPU core to deliver twice the texel and pixel rates, features the latest ARM Frame Buffer Compression […]