A95X R2 (Rockchip RK3328) TV Box Review – Part 1: Specifications, Unboxing & Teardown

Rockchip RK3328 is a new TV box SoC competing with Amlogic S905(X) TV boxes thanks to its quad core Cortex A53 processor, Mali-450MP GPU, HDMI 2.0a, and its 4K VPU with HDR support. We’ve already seen a few products launched with the processor such as A5X Plus, and T98 4K Ultra HD TV boxes, but I’ve only just received my first RK3328 TV box – courtesy of GearBest – with A95X R2 model. In the first part of the review, I’ll go through the specifications, and check out the devices, and the hardware design, before testing the firmware in several weeks. A95X R2 TV Box Specifications SoC – Rockchip RK3328 quad core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.5 GHz with Mali-450MP2 GPU System Memory – 1GB RAM Storage – 8 GB eMMC flash + micro SD card Video Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz with HDR10 and […]

HiSilicon Hi3796M V200 UHD DVB + H.265 STB SoC Showcased at Broadcast Asia 2017

Broadcast Asia international digital multimedia & entertaiment technology exhibition & conference is taking place in Singapore on May 23 – 25, and I’ve been informed that Hisilicon showcased their latest Hi3796M V200 Set-top box SoC with support for 4K DVB, H.265, and high dynamic range technology such as HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision. Key features and specifications of Hi3796M V200 processor: CPU – Quad core ARM Cortex A53 GPU – ARM Mali-450MP Memory – DDR3, DDR3L, DDR4 Video Output – 1x HDMI 2.0a Tx with HDCP 2.2 Video format – HEVC, H.264, MPEG2, MPEG4, VC1, VP9, AVS 2.0 HDR – HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision, HDR and SDR conversion HiVXE 2.0 VPU – Decoder – 4K60 10-bit; Encoder – HEVC/H.264 1080p30 or 2x 720p30 Ethernet – 1x Gigabit Ethernet, 1x Fast Ethernet USB 2.0 – 2x USB 2.0 ports SATA & PCIe & USB 3.0 – USB 3.0, SATA 3.0, PCIe […]

Rockchip RK3328 Powered T98 4K Ultra HD TV Box Comes with 2GB RAM

We’ve already seen one of the first Rockchip RK3328 4K UHD TV boxes with A5X Plus Mini model now selling for $34.60, but with only 1GB RAM. There’s now another model called T98 with 2GB RAM, and mostly the same other specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3328 quad core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.5 GHz with Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 8 GB eMMC flash + micro SD card up to 32 GB Video Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz with HDR10 and HLG support, 3.5mm AV port (composite video + stereo audio) Audio Output – HDMI, AV, and optical S/PDIF Video Codec – 4K VP9, H.265 and H.264. 1080p VC-1, MPEG-1/2/4, VP6/8 Connectivity – Fast Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi (No Bluetooth) USB – 1x USB 2.0 port, 1x USB 3.0 port Misc – IR receiver, power LED Power Supply – 5V/2A Dimensions […]

Mecool KI PRO Hybrid Android TV Box with Amlogic S905D SoC, DVB-T2 & DVB-S2 Tuners Sells for $80

VideoStrong has become popular among people wanting an Android TV box with a tuner thanks to their affordable and customizable products such as K1 Plus T2 S2, or KIII Pro coming with DVB-T/T2 and DVB-S/S2 tuners. AFAIK, all there products so far came with a single demodulator meaning you could watch or record satellite or terrestrial TV, but not do both at the same time, for example watching a channel via DVB-S2, and recording one via DVB-T2. Amlogic S905D is supposed to support this, and upcoming products like Sen5 Android set-top box do come with two demodulators. Mecool KI PRO – based on the processor – has just been launched, pre-selling for $79.99 on Banggood with shipping scheduled for mid May. Mecool KI Pro specifications: SoC –  Amlogic S905D quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.5 GHz with  Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 2 GB DDR4 Storage – 16GB […]

Yundoo Y8 Rockchip RK3399 mini PC Review – Part 2: Android Firmware, Audio & Video Playback in Kodi

Yundoo Y8 is one of the first Android TV boxes / mini PCs powered by Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core processor to be launched. GearBest sent me a review sample, and since I’ve already taken it apart in the first part of the review, I’ll report my experience with the firmware in terms of stability and performance, as well as audio & video capabilities with TVMC (Kodi fork), and more. First Boot, Setup, and First Impressions I’ve first connected a few peripherals Seagate USB 3.0 drive to the USB port, a USB keyboard to one of the USB 2.0 port, and a USB hub to the other one with two USB RF dongles for MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse, and Tronsmart Mars G01 gamepad. After adding Ethernet and HDMI cable, I pressed the power button on the unit to start it up. Please note that the remote control cannot turn on […]

Yundoo Y8 (Rockchip RK3399) TV Box Review – Part 1: Unboxing and Teardown

Rockchip first unveiled RK3399 hexa-core processor at the beginning of 2016, but we had to wait longer than expected to get devices to play with. The first retail product based on the processor is really Samsung Chromebook Plus, and we only saw a few TV boxes for pre-sale in January such as Yundoo Y8 or R-TV Box K99, and with the first shipments occurring in March. However, I’ve also noticed many companies postponed the launch of the RK3399 mini PC/TV box, and no company contacted me for review so far, so I had no rush because that probably means the boxes were not quite ready. But starting at the beginning of next month, more companies will start selling their model, and GearBest proposed to send me Yundoo Y8 model with 4GB RAm, 32GB flash, and decided to give it a go. In this first part of the review, I’ll only […]

Zidoo X10 Android & OpenWrt TV Box with 3.5″ SATA Bay Sells for $229

Zidoo has sold two TV boxes based on Realtek RTD1295 so far with Zidoo X9S and Zidoo X8, and the company has done a pretty good job based on my review of Zidoo X9S. Both models run Android 6.0 with HDMI input recording and broadcasting functions, as well as OpenWrt for NAS functions, with X8 model relying on USB 3.0 storage, and X9S adding an external SATA port. It would be nice to have a model with an internal SATA bay, and it’s exactly what Zidoo X10 brings to the table. Zidoo X10 specifications with highlights in bold showing differences with Zidoo X9S: SoC – Realtek RTD1295 quad core Cortex A53 processor with ARM Mali-T820 MP3 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot up to 32GB + SATA 3.0 bay for 3.5″ hard drives Video I/O – HDMI 2.0a output up to […]

Allwinner H6 Processor for 4K HDR Set-Top Boxes Supports USB 3.0, PCIe, and Smart Card Interfaces

Allwinner H6 is a new quad core Cortex A53 processor designed for 4K set-top boxes. It will support “6K” video decoding for 10-bit HEVC, VP9, and H.264, integrate HDR10 and HLG video processing, support high speed interfaces like USB 3.0 and PCIe, as well as security features like two ISO7816 smart card interfaces and DRM solutions. Allwinner H6 specifications: CPU –  Quad-core ARM Cortex A53 with NEON, hardware Java acceleration, and FPU 3D GPU – Dual shader ARM Mali-T720 with support for OpenGL ES3.1/3.0/2.0/1.1, OpenCL 1.1/RenderScript, Microsoft DirectX 11 FL9_3 Memory I/F – DDR4/DDR3/DDR3L interface Storage I/F – 1x eMMC 5.0 flash interface, 1x NAND Flash interface for SLC/MLC/TLC flash memory with up to 80-bit error-correcting code (ECC), 1x SPI NOR Flash interface, 1x SD Card 2.0 Multimedia via Allwinner Phoenix 3.0 VE Engine Video Decoder H265/HEVC Main/Main10 [email protected] High-tier ;4K@60fps, up to 6Kx4K@30fps H264/AVC BP/MP/[email protected], MVC, 4K@30fps VP9,Profile 0/2, […]