Unboxing and Teardown of Ugoos UT4 Android TV Box with a Cooling Fan

Most Android TV box ship with simple heatsink, which may lead to performance degradation due to throttling if you push your device a little too hard, and Ugoos UT3s was one of the few Android TV boxes to feature a fan. The company now have a new model model with Ugoos UT4 powered by Rockchip RK3368 octa-core processor, and they’ve sent me an early sample for review. Today, I’ll start by taking pictures of the device, and taking it apart to check the hardware and how cooling is implemented, before reviewed the unit in a few weeks. Ugoos UT4 specifications Before this, since I’ve only shortly mention Ugoos UT4 in Rockchip RK3368 TV boxes list, I’ll go through the specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3368 octa core Cortex A53 processor with PowerVR G6110 GPU up to 700 MHz System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB eMMC + micro SD slot […]

Maxsun MS-GTX960 Nvidia GTX960 Graphics Card Unboxing and Installation

When I wrote an article about H.265 and VP9 video encoding, I noticed only the second generation Maxwell Nvidia Graphics would support H.265 decoding (up to 500 fps) and HDMI 2.0 output, a few weeks after purchasing a first generation Nvidia GTX750 GPU… So when GearBest contacted me about Graphics cards reviews I said I would be interesting in HDMI 2.0 and H.265 capable graphics card, which I meant I had to get a card with Nvidia GM20x chip with the cheapest being GTX960. So the company agreed to send me Maxsun MS-GTX960 graphics card matching my requirements for $240.04. I won’t use it for gaming at all, but instead I plan to use the card to evaluate Kodi 16.x 4K H.265 and VP9 support and compare video performance to the cheap and low power Amlogic S905 TV boxes on the market, as well as try out H.265 video encoding, […]

Amlogic S905X and S912 Processors To Support 4K VP9, HDMI 2.0a, Built-in DAC and More

I had heard some news that Amlogic S912 was delayed, and even possibly canceled, while talks about a new S908 processor surfaced recently with support for VP9 up to 4K resolution. We now have some more details as I’ve received some more information about Amlogic product roadmap, and S908 should be renamed S905M [Update: The name will apparently be changed to S905X now, the saga continues…] Amlogic S905 Amlogic S908 / S905M / S905X Amlogic S912 CPU Quad core Cortex A53 @ up to 2.0 GHz Quad core Cortex A53 @ up to 1.5/2.0 GHz Octa core Cortex A53 @ up to 2.0 GHz GPU Penta-core Mali-450 up to 750 MHz High perf gaming GPU Memory 16/32-bit DDR3, LPDDR2/3 Up to 2GB, DDR2133 16/32-bit DDR3/4, LPDDR2/3 Up to 2GB, DDR2400 Storage NAND Flash@BCH60 eMMC 5.0, SD, Nor Flash Video Decoding 4Kp60 10-bit HEVC, 4Kp30 H.264 4Kp60 10-bit HEVC, VP9 4Kp30 […]

Unboxing and Teardown of Eny EM95 4K Android TV Box with Front Panel LCD Display

Eny EM95 was first unveiled in early July, as the flow of Android TV boxes based on Amlogic S905 started. Eny Technology has now sent me a sample of this device with the typical 1GB RAM and 8GB Flash, but it adds an LCD display on the front panel. Today, I’ll take a few photos of the device, and open it to find more details about the hardware. Eny EM95 TV Box Unboxing I received the device by DHL in a colorful retail package referring to EM95 as a Quad core Smart TV box, with some specs on the back, which I already listed in my first post. The media player ships with a 5V/2A power supply, an IR remote control with IR learning function requiring two AAA batteries, an HDMI cable, and a user’s manual in English. The style of the box it’s pretty neat, and I usually like […]

Lenkeng HDMI PowerLine Extender Brings one HDMI Signal to Many Displays over Electrical Cables

Shenzhen Lenkeng Technology is a company specializing in video converters, splitters, and extender products. One of their latest product is LKV380Pro HDbitT HDMI over powerline extender that allows to carry one HDMI signal from a source to up to 4 displays through existing electrical cabling. Some of the features and specifications listed for LKV380Pro transmitters and receivers: Technology – HDMI over power line with HDbitT technology Video I/O – 1x HDMI 1.3 / HDCP 1.2 output, transmitter also includes an HDMI loop out. Resolution – 480i/p, 576i/p, 720p50/60, 1080i50/60, and 1080p50/60 Range – 1080p video transmission up to 300 meters One transmitter supports to 4 receivers simultaneously IR pass back function (20 to 60 kHz IR devices) with IR output on transmitter, and IR input on receivers. Security – AES encryption Power Supply – 100~240V AC Dimensions – 150 x 92.7 x 25 mm Weight – Tx: 330 grams, Rx: […]

Low Cost 15.6″ Portable DVD Player Could Be Used as a Cheap Battery Powered HDMI Display

I’ve already written about portable displays with products such as Gechic On-Lap Monitors which sells for $200 and AOC USB Portable monitors are also popular, and somewhat cheaper than I expected at $120 and $199 for a 15.6″ display at respectively 1366×768 and 1920×1080 resolution, although if you live outside the US, shipping and import fees deposit bring the price much higher. A search for “portable display” on Aliexpress only showed some smaller 3.5 to 7″ displays, but I’ve been tipped about a 15.6″ portable DVD player selling for $114.53 on Chinavasion that could be used as an external display too thanks to its HDMI input. Specifications of this portable DVD player: SoC – Mediatek Solution Display – 15.6″ TFT LED Screen with 270 degree swivel; 1366×768 resolution; 16:9 aspect ratio Disc support – DVD, CD, EVD, VCD, CD-RW, DVD-R. Hitachi lens Video Output – AV Video Input – HDMI, […]

Ugoos UT3+ Rockchip RK3288 TV Box Supports HDMI Input with PiP and DVR Functions

Ugoos has been working on four new TV box models for the end of year, and one of them is Ugoos UT3+, an Android 4.4 TV box powered by Rockchip RK3288 processor that includes an HDMI input. While it’s not the first RK3288 mini PC with an HDMI input, AFAIC it is the first that supports both picture-in-picture (PiP), and video recording function (DVR), which are also supported by Zidoo X9, but with an Mstar processor. Ugoos UT3+ specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3288 quad core Cortex A17 @ 1.8 GHz with ARM Mali-T764 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 (1GB optional) Storage – 16GB NAND Flash (Options: 8, 32 or 64GB) + micro SD slot up to 32 GB Connectivity – 100/1000M Ethernet, dual band WiFi 802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz/5GHz) and 802.11ac with external Wi-Fi antenna Video I/F Output – HDMI 1..4 output up to 4k2k @ 30 fps Input – […]

Review of WeTek Core Android Lollipop Media Player

EThe first devices based on Amlogic S812 processors started shipping by the end of 2014, but in the third quarter of 2015, there’s been a few new device released as some companies ported Android 5.x Lollipop to the platform. I reviewed two of these. Mygica ATV1900AC had potential but the number of bugs was disappointing, while Tronfy MXIV Telos was almost a disaster. Today, I’m going to report my test results with WeTek Core Android 5.1 TV box, also powered by Amlogic S812, more exactly S812-H, which includes DTS and Dolby licenses. I’ve already listed the specs, and torn down WeTek Core in two previous posts, so I’ll focus on the firmware in this review. Initial Setup and OTA Firmware Update First of all, I’d like to mention that I got an early WeTek Core sample, and while the hardware is frozen, the firmware is still being developed before the […]

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