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April 11, 2016April 11, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

Zidoo X1 II 4K Android TV Box (Rockchip RK3229) Review

After skipping MXQ-4K TV box review due to severe issues with video playback, Zidoo X1 II is actually the first device powered by Rockchip RK3229 processor that I’ve fully tested. I’ve already taken pictures of the box, and opened it up to check the board in Zidoo X1 II unboxing and teardown post, and confirmed 4K videos could play pretty well from my USB hard drive using Zidoo Media Center after disabling Media Scanner process. So today, I’ll review other parts of the firmware, as well as video playback with ZDMC 16.0, Zidoo’s fork of Kodi 16.0. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions The device only has two USB ports, and I used one for a USB hard drive, and the other for RF dongles for MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse, a USB keyboard, and the RF dongle for Tronsmart Mars G01 gamepad via a USB hub. I also […]

April 11, 2016April 12, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Xiaomi Mi Box 3 Enhanced Unboxing and Teardown

Xiaomi Mi Box 3 Enhanced launched earlier this year, must be one of the most powerful Android TV Box thanks to its Mediatek MT8693 hexa-core processor with two ARM Cortex-A72 cores @ 2.0GHz and four Cortex-A53 cores @ 1.6 GHz coupled with Imagination PowerVR GX6250 GPU. The downside is that the product has been specifically launched for the Chinese market, however we can still purchase it via Chinese e-retailers, and likely modify the user interface to use English. To find out, GearBest sent me one review sample. But first, I’ll check the device and hardware, before fully reviewing the TV box in a few weeks. Xiaomi Mi Box 3 Enhanced Unboxing I normally received samples by DHL, but this time the postman brought it to me. It’s slower, but it can also be advantageous since custom duties are less likely. The package has not much to it, but the back […]

April 7, 2016April 11, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Rockchip RK3229 Video Playback Take 2 – 10-bit H.264 & H.265, Audio HD Pass-through with Zidoo X1 II

A few weeks ago I tried to play 4K videos in MXQ-4K TV box powered by Rockchip RK3229 processor. The device costs only about $30 including shipping, and it would have been if it could indeed play 10-bit H.265 and 10-bit H.264 videos for that price point, but sadly the results were catastrophic, and most of my 4K videos were unwatchable, either playing in slow motion, or with many slow downs and audio cuts. This happens in all players be it Kodi or Androids Video Player with the worst results occurring when playing from USB hard drive with network share video playback being a bit better. But I have now tested another Rockchip RK3229 based TV box – Zidoo X1 II – and the results are much better, so I also decided to show the results of HD audio pass-through over HDMI too. I played the videos from USB hard […]

April 6, 2016April 7, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 20 Comments

Amlogic S912 Processor Specifications

Amlogic plans to launch at least three new processors for OTT boxes and set-top boxes this year: Amlogic S905X, Amlogic S912, and Amlogic S905D. We already knew Amlogic S905 specifications, but I’ve recently received a document with some more details about Amlogic S912 revealing Mali-T820 GPU, a lack of USB 3.0 support, but still some interesting features such as HDMI 2.0a, 4K VP9, 10-bit H.265, Gigabit Ethernet Mac, and so on. Amlogic S912 specifications with highlights in bold showing differences with Amlogic S905X: CPU Sub-system – Octa core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU up to 2 GHz (DVFS) with two CPU clusters one optimized for high performance (big) and the other for low power (LITTLE) 3D Graphics Processing Unit –ARM Mali-T820MP3 GPU up to 750MHz (DVFS) with 3 shader engines supporting OpenGL ES 1.1/2.03.1, DirectX 11 FL9_3, OpenCL 1.1/1.2 full profile and RenderScript. 2.5D Graphics Processor – Fast bitblt engine with dual […]

April 5, 2016April 5, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

MK808B Pro Amlogic S905 Android TV Stick Unboxing and Teardown

MK808B Pro TV stick is the successor of the popular MK808B Plus and before that MK808B Android TV dongles with an upgrade to Amlogic S905 processor with 4K support. GeekBuying sent me a sample for evaluation, so I’ll start by checking the hardware before testing the device thoroughly in the full review. MK808B Pro Unboxing I received the stick in a package larger than I expected, but apparently about the same as the previous models (which I had not reviewed). But that’s because of the included accessories: a 5V/2A power supply, a USB cable, a mini USB OTG adapter, a mini HDMI to HDMI cable, and a user’s manual. Apart from the markings “MK808B PRO” and “4K Ultra HD”, the device looks the same as the older models. A mini USB port for power, and a USB 2.0 host port can be found on one end, with a micro SD […]

April 5, 2016April 5, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Review of U4 Quad Hybrid Android Set-top box with DVB-T2/C and DVB-S2 Tuner

U4 Quad Hybrid is an Android 4.4 satellite, cable and terrestrial TV receiver powered by HiSilicon Hi3796M V100 quad core Cortex A7 supporting video decoding for H.264 and H.265 up to 4K @ 30 Hz. I’ve already taken a few pictures of the device and the board and tuner, shown how to easily configure another device or computer to stream live TV from this Android TV box, so today, I’ll write more about the Android and DVB parts both in terms of features and performance in the full review. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions I’ve started by connecting USB peripherals and cables: USB 3.0 hard drive to USB 3.0 port, USB keyboard, and RF dongles for MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse and Tronsmart Mars G01 gamepad, as well as Ethernet and HDMI cables, and the terrestrial and satellite antenna cables. The DVB-T2 connector is using an F-connector, so […]

March 31, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Unboxing and Teardown of Zidoo X1 II Android TV Box

MXQ-4K, the first Android TV box based on Rockchip RK3229 I received, was a massive disappointment to me as it was unusable to play 4K videos possibly due to CPU throttling and/or poorly optimized USB storage support. So I was eager to try another device based on the latest Rockchip media processor with support for 4K 10-bit H.265 and H.264 video playback, and Zidoo sent their Zidoo X1 II TV box for review on CNX Software. Today, I’ll start by checking the device and the hardware, before testing the firmware later on. Zidoo X1 II Unboxing I got the device by DHL in the usual Zidoo’s white and green package with some icons representing the key features: 4K, 3D, ZIUI user interface, WiFI, 10-bit HEVC… ZDMC is the custom version of Kodi developed by the company, and that makes Zidoo one of the rare companies to respect Kodi’s trademark. The […]

March 30, 2016March 30, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 20 Comments

HiMedia Q10 Pro Android TV Box Supports 4K HDR, H.265 & VP9 Video Playback, Comes with a 3.5″ SATA HDD Bay

Hisilicon HI3798C V200 is a promising processor with four Cortex A53 cores, ARM Mali-T720, 4K video output (HDMI 2.0a), 4K H.265/H.264/VP9 decoding with Dolby Vision & HDR10 high dynamic range standards support, native SATA, Gigabit Ethernet and USB 3.0 interfaces, and TS inputs to support tuners. That means products based on the SoC should be both decent media players and NAS, and one of the first product to hit the market will be HiMedia Q10 Pro. HiMedia Q10 Pro specifications: SoC – HiSilicon HI3798CV200 quad-core ARM Cortex A53 processor with ARM Mali-T720 supporting OpenGL ES 3.1/2.0, OpenVG1.1, EGL, and Imprex 2.0 PQ engine with HDR,Dolby vision support. System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash, 3.5″ SATA bay, and 2-in-1 card reader (MMC/SD) Video Ouput – 1x HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz, 1x composite video (RCA) Audio Output – HDMI, stereo audio (RCA), coaxial and optical […]