#a1sd

[dropswisdom]

Minix Neo U22-XJ is Minix’s latest (and blazing fast!) Amlogic based Android TV Box! Based on Amlogic’s most powerful S922-XJ SoC, you can now expect great HDR support as well as Dolby Vision straight out of the box.

  What’s in the Box?



U22-XJ comes in the standard classy box embossed with the logos of supported standards such as 4k, HDR, Dolby and so on. Inside we find the TV Box itself encased in soft nylon and laid in a caveat inside a cardboard cover. After we lift that cover we find all the peripherals – HDMI 2.1 cable, USB-OTG cable and, of course, the DC power adapter (with multiple power plug adapters), removable antenna, IR remote control and the Setup guide. U22-XJ itself uses the standard black minix matte plastic box with its plethora of ports (see details bellow)

  U22-XJ Looks

Minix box design remains the same over the years. If I had to venture a guess, it is to reduce cost and use the same basic box design for all of Minix’s Android/Windows product lines. At most, extra ports need to be embedded into the box, but the classic black plastic shell is the same.

U22 Top

U22 Front

U22 Back

U22 Right

U22 Bottom

U22 Left

U22-XJ PCB Top without heatsink. Curtesy of Minix & Trebor from Freaktab Forum

U22-XJ PCB Bottom. Curtesy of Minix & Trebor from Freaktab Forum

U22-XJ Open Box showing PCB with heatsink. Curtesy of Minix & Trebor from Freaktab Forum

Here are the items that come in the box: WiFi antenna, HDMI 2.1 cable, User Guide, IR Remote, Power adapter, Power plug adapters, and a USB-OTG cable.

Minix Neo U22-XJ Items

Minix Neo U22-XJ Home Screen

  U22-XJ Specifications

Chipset Amlogic S922XJ Quad Core Cortex-A73 + Dual Core Cortex A53 Processor (64-bit) GPU Mali-G52 MP4 Memory / Storage 4 GB (LPDDR4 3200 MHz) / 32GB eMMC 5.1 flash, microSD card slot LAN Yes, RJ-45, 1Gbit / s Wireless 802.11ac 2.4GHz / 5GHz WiFi (2 × 2 MIMO) Bluetooth Bluetooth 4.1 + EDR OS Android 9.0 Pie Video Output HDMI 2.1 output up to 4Kp60 with HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision support Audio Output / Input HDMI 2.1, Optical S/PDIF, 3.5mm audio jack Power 5VDC/3A via power jack Peripheral Interface RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet Micro SD card reader, Kensington Lock ready USB 3.0 port x 3, USB-C port x 1 (data only) 3.5mm audio jack, IR receiver (remote included) Packing Included power adapter, OTG-USB Cable, HDMI Cable, MINIX IR remote control, and a user manual Dimensions 128mm x 128mm x 28 mm

  U22-XJ Benchmarks and Testing

All benchmarks have been repeated 3 times and results have been averaged to give a more accurate reading:

Antutu Benchmark

The Antutu benchmark tests single core performance over multi-core as it is a better indication of the performance of one device over others in most situations. Minix U22-XJ performs amazingly, and is placed number 1 in the list of TV boxes (and one tablet) reviewed. It is also worth noting that Minix U22-XJ is placed above any other Amlogic based box on the list.

Bellow is a screenshot of the latest Antutu benchmark (I have not tested other boxes with this new version, so there is no comparison graph as yet):

    GPU Mark Benchmark

[easy-image-collage id=28444]

GPU Mark tests 3d gaming performance and also provides a normalized score according to the used screen resolution (for a more accurate result). The test is quite short and should be taken as a supporting result to that of the more serious 3D Mark benchmark. Minix U22-XJ performs very well here, placing it second only to the top contender (a powerful tablet) – it’s S922-XJ chipset placing it higher than all TV Boxes reviewed so far.

    A1 SD Benchmark

[easy-image-collage id=28447]

A1 SD Benchmark tests RAM and flash memory speeds. As can be seen in the provided graphs, RAM is much faster (by a factor of about 40) than flash memory – that is why it’s in smaller amount and is also volatile (does not keep its contents after a reboot). Minix U22-XJ achieved 2th place in the RAM Copy Speed test, placing it only under the powerful tablet. In the storage Read/Write testing, Minix U22-XJ takes 2nd place again, this time only behind a Realtek based box.

    PC Mark Benchmark

The PC Mark benchmark tests run several productivity tests, but sadly, results page comes up empty, and freezes the application.

  3D Mark Benchmark

Slingshot

Slingshot Extreme

3D Mark benchmark is considered as one of the best ways to test 3d performance on Android (and other platforms). Minix U22-XJ is officially compatible with only these two tests: Slingshot, and Slingshot Extreme (which results are also showing above). But using an older APK of 3dmark, I was able to run the older “Ice Storm Unlimited” test and get quantifiable results (with the new version on the android play store, you can run the test, but the result comes out as “Max”). As can be seen, this new generation of Amlogic chipsets opens a wide gap ahead of everything I tested before it..

    U22-XJ Extra Benchmarks

For some more information, see the following screenshots from other benchmarks such as Basemark, Vellamo, Passmark, and GFXBench:

CPUMark

DiskMark

PassMark

    U22-XJ Bugs and Issues

Restarting the box causes loss of picture on screen. Must unplug and re-plug HDMI cable to restore.

PCMark Work 2.0 benchmark will not show results at end of testing

After shutting down box from remote, sometimes unable to turn it back on from remote, and must use the physical power button. Then must unplug and re-plug HDMI cable to restore picture as in issue above

Built-in Root function only works per session (while the device is running, and reverts to non-root after a restart). Also does not play well with SuperSU root permission management app, as when you try to update the SU binary, it will brick the U22-XJ box. Also, the root switch stay “ON” after a restart, even though root functionality is not active.

John from Minix assures me that at least some of these aforementioned issues (especially the loss of picture) will be corrected in upcoming firmware updates.

  U22-XJ Root function

Minix seems to have done away with the unofficial (which requires some know-how and may cause box bricking) methods for rooting their new boxes. Instead, you get a nice menu option for turning Root “ON” or “OFF”.

But.. it is far from perfect. Instead of turning it on and expecting it to stay on after reboot, this root is only per session. Meaning, after reboot the U22-XJ is no longer rooted. On top of that, the switch option itself still remains as “ON”, even though the root is not active. To allow root status again, you’ll need to turn it “OFF”, and then back “ON”. That’s tedious, and really unnecessary.

On top of that, this is a permission-less root. So there is no “SuperSU” or other permission management app which gets installed along with the root. It will automatically grant your application root rights as needed. Personally, I prefer to have better control of which applications gets root access and which do not. You can always install SuperSU yourself, but be warned: if you agree to update the SU binary – which the application will automatically offer you to do, the U22 will be soft bricked upon reboot, and will require a firmware flash using a cable and a PC. Learned that the hard way.

    U22-XJ Video Playback testing (Using KODI)

Resolution Video Format Local Playback Network (Wi-Fi) Playback 720p (1280*720) AVC (High@L4.1) Plays OK Plays OK 1080P (1920*1080) AVC (High@L4) Plays OK Plays OK  2160P (3840*2160) HEVC (H.265) Plays OK Plays OK 4K (4096*2304) AVC (High@L5.1) Plays OK Plays OK 4K HDR HEVC Main 10@L5@High HDR10 Plays OK Some buffering 4K TS HEVC HEVC (H.265) 10Bit Plays OK Plays OK

Kodi 18.6 arrives pre-installed on the U22-XJ. Video performance is very good, although local network streaming was less than perfect (especially with 4k HDR content) even though the WiFi performance measured very well outside of Kodi.

* 8k video is not really usable in kodi, but I have found that these samples DID play locally (with some stutter and a bit of buffering) on MX Player Pro

Kodi add-ons tested quite well. IPTV streamed without issues. Also, this box contains a SDR to HDR and HDR to SDR capabilities. It makes the picture pop. Some would like it and some would not, but you can always turn that feature off.

Antutu Video Testing got mixed results: U22-XJ played all the videos in the test, aside for FLV and RMVB formats which failed. Video playback was pretty flawless in general.

  U22-XJ Network performance

I tested the network performance using the popular Speedtest.net application from the play store. I tested both WiFi (the fastest WiFi supported – in this case 5GHz 802.11ac), and wired connection (in my case AV1200 Ethernet over power line). My home connection is a symmetric 500 Mb Fiber connection so it would not limit the testing (but the Ethernet over power line connection does) – Minix U22-XJ shows the strength of its MIMO antennas in the excellent WiFi performance, but less so with the LAN over Power-line connection:

WiFi 5Ghz

  Wired, over power lines

According to the Speed test, the network connection performed amazingly on WiFi 5 GHz (probably due to the MiMo and hardware), but not so great on the wired connection. Since the wired connection is over powerline adapters, inferior speeds are to be expected.

  U22-XJ Gaming performance

U22-XJ is definitely suited for smooth gaming – as long as you have a proper controller with which to play:

Asphalt 8 Airborne – a 3d graphic intensive racing game. Loads and runs smoothly, Using the included standard IR remote I could steer, but could not use Nitro..

Angry Birds 2 – a popular 2d action game. U22-XJ loaded the game fast and run smooth as butter – using an air mouse (not included). There is an issue where you cannot move from one stop to the next due to inability to click on an icon (clicking does nothing – also tried with a mouse), but that seems to be due to a game bug with this and some of the other TV boxes I tested.

Walking War Robots – an online robot warfare game that requires a game-pad (I don’t have a game-pad). U22-XJ loaded the game fast, and it run smoothly without issues. But full control was only possible via an air mouse with built in keyboard. otherwise, could only look around, but could not shoot or move with the standard IR remote.

    U22-XJ Conclusions

Did I like it? Yes, it is another quality power performer from Minix.

Would I recommend it? Yes, even though there area few issues, they do not affect the stability or the performance of the box in general. (8k is not currently common, a requirement or officially available on this chipset, so it cannot be counted)

You like it! Where can you buy it? It’s not a cheap box, but starting at about 170 USD for the basic package, you can find it here: AliExpress.com Product – MINIX NEO U22-XJ TV BOX S922X-J Android 9.0 4GB DDR4 32GB eMMC Smart TV BOX Dolby Video Audio 4K UHD Media Hub 2.4G/5.0G WiFi

or here: MINIX Android 9.0 Pie Media Hub 4K Ultra HD Dolby Vision Dolby Audio HDR10+4GB DDR4/32GB eMMC HDMI 4K @ 60Hz 3 x USB 3.0 USB-C [data only] GLAN AC Wi-Fi TF Card (NEO U22-XJ)

Amazon Minix Store

Aliexpress Minix Store

Review | Minix Neo U22-XJ AMLogic S922-XJ TV Box Minix Neo U22-XJ is Minix's latest (and blazing fast!) Amlogic based Android TV Box! Based on Amlogic's most powerful S922-XJ SoC, you can now expect great HDR support as well as Dolby Vision straight out of the box.

[ladmob]

https://it.ladmb.com/a1Sd

Screaming compliments at strangers from a car or truck [wholesome] - last

Screaming compliments at strangers from a automobile [wholesome] – formidable

Source

#FunnyShit, #LolzFunny, #FunnyAnimations, #Video

[pricetracker-blog]

Întrerup?tor subminiatur? DB1 Cherry, DB1C-A1SD, 250 V/AC, manet? cu simulare rol?, lung?, conexiune prin ochiuri de lipire, curent de comutare 6 A

Pret recomandat: 6.5 RON

de la German Electronics

[dropswisdom]

Today, I look at one of Himedia’s latest and greatest TV Box offering, the Q10 Pro. The Q10 Pro is based on HiSilicon’s Hi3798C V200 SoC.

[yasr_overall_rating]

HiMedia is a Chinese brand name located in Shenzhen,China and has been operating since 2005. They have a large range of TV Boxes and that’s their sole product range. As a result, they are quite experienced in the field.

Q10 Pro was sent to me courtesy of the good people at HiMedia, so thank you all, and especially Nicole, for the great communication and help.

What’s in the Box?

The box contains the basic items: Q10 Pro TV Box, DC power adapter, HDMI 2.0a cable, IR Remote control, and a Quick Guide.

Looks

Q10 Pro is a robust and big box, made of black painted brushed aluminum and plastic. It has a small external WiFi antenna, and opens up to allow housing of a full size 3.5″ SATA drive. It also offers a cool touch panel on the front and an LCD that shows status (Boot, time and so on).

The Q10 Pro is larger than most TV Boxes out there, and especially other Android boxes. This is to allow for two things: the HDD drawer, and the multitude of ports – including USB 2.0 and 3.0 as well as coaxial and optical audio, stereo and video ports.

Specifications

Chipset HiSilicon HI3798CV200 quad-core ARM Cortex A53 processor GPU Mali-T720 supporting OpenGL ES 3.1/2.0, OpenVG 1.1, EGL, and Imprex 2.0 PQ engine with HDR, Dolby vision support. Memory / Storage 2 GB DDR3 RAM / 16 GB Flash Memory LAN Gigabit Wireless 802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi with external antenna Bluetooth Bluetooth 4.0 OS Android Lollipop 5.1 Video Output HDMI 2.0a @ 60 Hz, Composite Audio Output HDMI out, SPDIF (optical) Power  12V / 2A Peripheral Interface 1 x USB 3.0 host port, 2 x USB 2.0 host ports, 1 x USB 3.0 device port (to connect to PC), SD/MMC 2-in-1 Card Reader, SPDIF Optical Audio Input, 1 x HDMI 2.0 cable, 1 x RJ45 LAN Port Packing Included 1 x Q10 Pro, 1 x Power Adapter (DC 12V / 2A), 1 x HDMI 2.0 Cable ,1 x IR Remote Controller,1 x Manual

Benchmarks and Testing

All benchmarks have been repeated 3 times and results have been averaged to give a more accurate reading:

Antutu Benchmark

The Antutu benchmark tests single core performance over multi-core as it is a better indication of the performance of one device over others in most situations. The Q10 pro takes the third place which puts it in the forefront of TV Boxes today. (although other tests may show otherwise..)

GPU Mark Benchmark

GPU Mark tests 3d gaming performance and also provides a normalized score according to the used screen resolution (for a more accurate result). The test is quite short and should be taken as a supporting result to that of the more serious 3D Mark benchmark. Sadly, the Q10 pro takes one of the last places on this test.. though it’s general real-life performance does not reflect this poor result.

*A1 SD Benchmark

A1 SD Benchmark tests RAM and flash memory speeds. As can be seen in the provided graphs, RAM is much faster (by a factor of about 40) than flash memory – that is why it’s in smaller amount and is also volatile (does not keep its contents after a reboot). Q10 pro takes a middle position in this test, though the RAM copy speed leaves room for improvement.

* The read/write speed only measured the internal storage, as I noticed the app did not recognize the 32GB SD card I inserted, but it supposedly recognized two SD storage cards – with a very similar capacity.

PC Mark Benchmark

The PC Mark benchmark tests shows good results for the Q10 Pro, though not the best. Still, it is one of the top 6 boxes.

3D Mark Benchmark

3D Mark could not be run with the standard “Ice Storm” test as it freezes when attempting to download that test. “Slingshot” test did download and run but the results are less relevant in comparison to all the other boxes as they were all tested with “Ice Storm”.

3D Mark benchmark is considered as one of the best ways to test 3d performance on Android (and other platforms).

Usage and Performance

First impressions and testing shows a fast boot time of 26 seconds from “On” to desktop.

Q10 Pro is VERY versatile. It includes a HDD drawer, strong building materials, USB 3.0 port, Touch button front panel with LCD screen, and a HDMI 2.0a interface which I haven’t seen so far in any other TV boxes.

Rooting is not built into the default firmware, but can be achieved with a manual local file upgrade (Be aware that it will may void your warranty, and any issues that arise from this step will not be dealt with by the manufacturer!).

Performance is better than may be inferred from the benchmarks. Also, I give some weight to stability as many boxes may perform great in benchmarks, but when it comes to real-life performance it turns out they are to buggy to sustain performance without crashing.

Kodi is able to play EVERYTHING I threw at it, and that includes all UltraHD/4K content. That is a big accomplishment seeing that all the new boxes claim that they can do that, but most of them can only play a percentage of the 4K content in its different encoding forms. That said, as I mention next in the bugs section, I noticed some micro-stutter (continuous dropped frames) in some 720p H.264 encoded files, and I also noticed that SD (Standard definition) quality content does not look so great when played with this box. It is somewhat understandable as it is marketed as a UltraHD solution and must have gone through optimization to that end. But at this price point, I do expect a more powerful video processor that can handle up-scaling SD content better.

Bugs & Issues

3DMark would freeze when attempting to download “ice storm” benchmark.

A1SD RAM/Storage speed benchmark does not recognize external SD card.

Certain video files (encoded in H.264) display micro stutter and frame drops.

Standard definition content does not look good. artifacts and quite grainy. (little to none post-processing?)

Quick boot app freezes when attempting shutdown from it.

Music cannot be played from Kodi. Haven’t been tested in SPMC or other forks.

Network performance

Network performance has been tested using Speedtest.net Internet speed measuring app, in WiFi and in Wired mode. My Internet connection is 200 Mbit Synchronous Fibre connection. Speeds measured are Wired (Lan over Powerlines), Wireless 2.4GHz, and Wireless 5GHz:

Be aware, that repeat tests showed some variation in results. 5Ghz WiFi speeds could go as low as 86 Mb/s, so performance may depend on the quality, distance from router and other obstacles.

Video Playback testing

Video playback testing was done with the latest official Kodi (16.1):

Resolution Video Format Local Playback Network (Wi-Fi/LAN) Playback 720p (1280*720) AVC (High@L4.1) Playing correctly Playing correctly 1080P (1920*1080) AVC (High@L4) Playing correctly Playing correctly  2160P (3840*2160) HEVC (H.265) Playing correctly Playing correctly 4K (4096*2304) AVC (High@L5.1) Playing correctly *Buffering and stutter 4K / HD / FullHD HEVC (H.265) 10Bit Playing correctly Buffering and stutter

* Wireless/LAN playback performance seems to depend on file bandwidth requirements. Less demanding files such as HEVC (H.265) 4K encoded files and some H.264 4K content played back without a hitch. Also, the nature of the playback issues shows that given a better connection, these issues may not manifest. However, given the 5 GHz WiFi speed tests, they should all run perfectly.

Gaming performance

I have tested the Q10 Pro with three games, but could not measure frame rate or resource usage accurately due to performance measuring issues. (both GameBench could not grab statistics correctly, and FPS meter was unable to maintain correct frame count at all times)

Asphalt 8 Airborne – a 3d graphic intensive racing game. Run quite well in normal settings.

Angry Birds 2 – a popular 2d action game. Run quite smoothly.

Walking War Robots – an online robot warfare game that requires a game-pad. The game run mostly smooth.

Q10 Pro Conclusions

Did I like it? Yes. Mediocre 3d performance aside, this box is a real performer and one of the more stable devices I encountered. Considering it’s a brand new model, that’s a real achievement.

Would I recommend it? Yes, but.. It is one of the most expensive android TV boxes out there, and that may deter people who look for price/performance and not just performance.

For purchase, you can find it here: AliExpress.com Product – 2016 Hot 4K Ultra Output Android TV Box Himedia Q10 Pro Android Box Kodi 16.0 Google Android 5.1 Smart TV Box, Free shipment for a hefty 299 USD.

I hope you enjoyed the review, as you can expect quite a few more, and soon!

Review | HiMedia Q10 Pro Hi3798C V200 TV Box Today, I look at one of Himedia's latest and greatest TV Box offering, the Q10 Pro…

[dropswisdom]

Q5 Pro was sent to me courtesy of the good people at HiMedia, so thank you all, and especially Nicole, for the great communication and help.

Today, I look at one of Himedia’s latest and greatest TV Box offering, the Q5 Pro. The Q5 Pro is based on HiSilicon’s Hi3798C V200 SoC.

HiMedia is a Chinese brand name located in Shenzhen,China and has been operating since 2005. They have a large range of TV Boxes and that’s their sole product range. As a result, they are quite experienced in the field.

What’s in the Box?

The box contains the basic items: Q5 Pro TV Box, DC power adapter, HDMI 2.0a cable, IR Remote control, and a Quick Guide.

Looks

Q5 Pro is the younger brother of Q10 Pro, a larger TV box with a HDD drawer which I reviewed a few months ago. Essentially, the hardware is identical, aside for the SATA support offered by the Q10 Pro.

 The Q5 Pro is an elegant silver-y metal box with tampered edges. It includes 3 USB ports, out of which 1 is a USB 3.0 Superspeed port, and the other two USB 2.0. The card reader is for Micro-SD flash cards, and there are Optical audio port as well as Coaxial audio and video ports on top of the customary (but advanced) HDMI 2.0a port.

Specifications

Chipset HiSilicon HI3798CV200 quad-core ARM Cortex A53 processor GPU Mali-T720 supporting OpenGL ES 3.1/2.0, OpenVG 1.1, EGL, and Imprex 2.0 PQ engine with HDR, Dolby vision support. Memory / Storage 2 GB DDR3 RAM / 8 GB Flash Memory LAN Gigabit Wireless Dual-band WiFi(ac) Bluetooth Bluetooth 4.0 + EDR OS Android Lollipop 5.1 Video Output HDMI 2.0a @ 60 Hz, Composite Audio Output HDMI out, SPDIF (optical) Power  12V / 2A Peripheral Interface 1 x USB 3.0 host port, 2 x USB 2.0 host ports, composite AV, Micro-SD/TF Card Reader, SPDIF Optical Audio Input, 1 x HDMI 2.0 cable, 1 x RJ45 LAN Port Packing Included 1 x Q5 Pro, 1 x Power Adapter (DC 12V / 2A), 1 x HDMI 2.0a Cable ,1 x IR Remote Controller,1 x Manual

Benchmarks and Testing

All benchmarks have been repeated 3 times and results have been averaged to give a more accurate reading:

Antutu Benchmark

The Antutu benchmark tests single core performance over multi-core as it is a better indication of the performance of one device over others in most situations. The Q5 Pro takes the second place and pushes it’s older bigger brother down one spot, to the third place.

GPU Mark Benchmark

GPU Mark tests 3d gaming performance and also provides a normalized score according to the used screen resolution (for a more accurate result). The test is quite short and should be taken as a supporting result to that of the more serious 3D Mark benchmark. Sadly, the Q5 Pro does not perform well on this benchmark, even though it surpasses the Q10 Pro.

A1 SD Benchmark

A1 SD Benchmark tests RAM and flash memory speeds. As can be seen in the provided graphs, RAM is much faster (by a factor of about 40) than flash memory – that is why it’s in smaller amount and is also volatile (does not keep its contents after a reboot). Q5 Pro takes a mid-position in this test, passing the Q10 Pro again. This time, I was able to test external SD card read/write speeds, and they are quite fast.

PC Mark Benchmark

The PC Mark benchmark tests shows good results for the Q5 Pro, though not the best. Still, it is one of the top 6 boxes, and again pushes the Q10 Pro down to the 7th spot.

3D Mark Benchmark

3D Mark could not be run with the standard “Ice Storm” test as it freezes when attempting to download that test. “Slingshot” test did download and run but the results are less relevant in comparison to all the other boxes as they were all tested with “Ice Storm”.

3D Mark benchmark is considered as one of the best ways to test 3d performance on Android (and other platforms).

Usage and Performance

First impressions and testing shows a fast boot time of 22 seconds from “On” to desktop.

Q5 Pro is quite a performer. It uses a metal body, USB 3.0 port, physical on/off button, a small LCD screen, and a HDMI 2.0a (up to 18 Gbps) interface.

Rooting is not built into the default firmware, but can be achieved with a manual local file upgrade (Be aware that it will may void your warranty, and any issues that arise from this step will not be dealt with by the manufacturer!).

Performance is even better than the Q5 Pro’s bigger brother, maybe since it’s using (essentially) the same hardware but does not use a SATA controller. Also, it is just as stable as the Q10 pro, even with the 3d mark continued issues.

Kodi is able to play EVERYTHING I threw at it, and that includes all UltraHD/4K content. That is a big accomplishment seeing that all the new boxes claim that they can do that, but most of them can only play a percentage of the 4K content in its different encoding forms. The only small issue I noticed in regard to video playback was the inability to control volume via the remote in some clips. Also, the required use of the Himedia “wrapper” to get optimized performance is not so great as it limits Kodi abilities.

Bugs & Issues

3DMark would freeze (again) when attempting to download “ice storm” benchmark.

A1SD RAM/Storage speed benchmark does not recognize external SD card, unless a custom path is mapped manually.

A wrapper is used to make the best use of the video processing capabilities of the box. The wrapper makes many of Kodi’s advantages (e.g. subtitles download, information overlay and others) inaccessible.

Certain videos will not allow to change volume via the android audio support (the volume up and down buttons on the box remote)

Rooting was not provided for this box (unlike for the Q10), and so, reliable testing of games was not possible.

Network performance

Network performance has been tested using Speedtest.net Internet speed measuring app, in WiFi and in Wired mode. My Internet connection is 200 Mbit Synchronous Fibre connection. Speeds measured are Wired (LAN over Power-line), Wireless 2.4GHz, and Wireless 5 GHz:

Wired, 2.4 GHz WiFi, 5 Ghz WiFi

Be aware, that repeat tests showed some variation in results.

Video Playback testing

Video playback testing was done with the latest official Kodi (16.1), and using the internal himedia “wrapper” (customized codec):

Resolution Video Format Local Playback Network (Wi-Fi/LAN) Playback 720p (1280*720) AVC (High@L4.1) Playing correctly Playing correctly 1080P (1920*1080) AVC (High@L4) Playing correctly Playing correctly  2160P (3840*2160) HEVC (H.265) Playing correctly Playing correctly 4K (4096*2304) AVC (High@L5.1) Playing correctly Playing correctly 4K / HD / FullHD HEVC (H.265) 10Bit Playing correctly Playing correctly

I must say a few words about this box, and the results I got: They are unprecedented! This is the first box that managed to play all of my 4k samples without a hitch – both locally, and via WiFi (5Ghz) network connection from my PC.

Gaming performance

I have tested the Q5 Pro with three games, but could not measure frame rate or resource usage accurately due to performance measuring issues. (both GameBench could not grab statistics correctly, and FPS meter was unable to maintain correct frame count at all times)

Asphalt 8 Airborne – a 3d graphic intensive racing game. Run mostly well. Sometimes it was not smooth.

  Angry Birds 2 – a popular 2d action game. Run quite smoothly, but load times tended to be longer.

  Walking War Robots – an online robot warfare game that requires a game-pad. The game run mostly smooth.

Q5 Pro Conclusions

Did I like it? Yes. This box is a real performer and a deserving little (stronger) brother to one of the more stable devices I encountered. Considering it’s a brand new model, that’s a real achievement.

Would I recommend it? Yes, Himedia managed to squeeze a lot of goodness into a much smaller box, and use the same quality materials. The touch interface is gone, but not overly missed, and the need to use the wrapper aside, it is a solid contender with a good price.

For purchase, you can find it here: Himedia Q5 Pro HI3798CV200 4K@60fps Android 5.1 TV BOX 2G8G 802.11AC WIFI 1000M LAN KODI H.265 3D Bluetooth for a hefty 120 USD.

I hope you enjoyed the review, as you can expect quite a few more, and soon!

[Updated] Review | HiMedia Q5 Pro Hi3798C V200 TV Box Q5 Pro was sent to me courtesy of the good people at HiMedia, so thank you all, and especially Nicole, for the great communication and help.

[dropswisdom]

HiMedia is a Chinese brand name located in Shenzhen,China and has been operating since 2005. They have a large range of TV Boxes and that’s their sole product range. As a result, they are quite experienced in the field.

Today, I look at one of their latest and greatest TV Boxes, the H8 Core (not to be confused with the older, previous Allwinner A31 based variant). The H8 Core is based on Rockchip’s RK3368 Octa core CPU.

This review unit was sent to me courtesy of the good people at HiMedia, so thank you all, and especially Nicole, for the great communication and help.

What’s in the Box?

The box contains the basic items: H8 TV Box, DC power adapter, HDMI 2.0 cable, IR Remote control, and a user manual.

Looks

[easy-image-collage id=1137]

The H8 Core is encased in a brushed aluminium box, with passive cooling only. That means it is completely silent. Most of the connections are on the back of the unit, aside from the SD/MMC reader which is on the left side, and the USB ports on the right side.

The H8 Core does not have any buttons on it, and can only be turned on and off (no suspend/sleep option) from the included remote. There is no recovery pin hole either, and any and all upgrades are done either online or locally via the upgrade option in settings.

Specifications

Chipset Rockchip RK3368 28nm Octa-core CPU, up to 1.5GHz GPU PowerVR G6110 GPU Memory / Storage 2GB DDR3 RAM / 16GB Flash Memory LAN 10/100M RJ45 Wireless IEEE 802.11 b/g/n @ 2.4G OS Android OS 5.1.1 Video Output HDMI 2.0 @ 60Hz, Composite Audio Output HDMI out, SPDIF (optical) Power DC 5V/2A Peripheral Interface 2 x USB 2.0 Host, SD/MMC 2-in-1 Card Reader, SPDIF Optical Audio Input, 1 x HDMI 2.0 cable, 1 x RJ45 LAN Port Packing Included 1 x H8 Core, 1 x Power Adapter (DC 5V/2A), 1 x HDMI 2.0 Cable ,1 x Learning IR Remote Controller,1 x Manual

Benchmarks and Testing

All benchmarks have been repeated 3 times and results have been averaged to give a more accurate reading:

Antutu Benchmark

The Antutu benchmark tests single core performance over multi-core as it is a better indication of the performance of one device over others in most situations.

GPU Mark Benchmark

GPU Mark tests 3d gaming performance and also provides a normalized score according to the used screen resolution (for a more accurate result). The test is quite short and should be taken as a supporting result to that of the more serious 3D Mark benchmark.

*A1 SD Benchmark

A1 SD Benchmark tests RAM and flash memory speeds. As can be seen in the provided graphs, RAM is much faster (by a factor of about 40) than flash memory – that is why it’s in smaller amount and is also volatile (does not keep its contents after a reboot). * The results showing in the tests may be skewed due to caching (as can be seen, a similar effect was observed in the other RK3368 based box tested). The results being skewed is re-enforced when you look at the other benchmarks and see that their results do not correspond to a RAM that’s twice as fast. The internal storage and SD card testing also show a higher than expected result that don’t necessarily correspond to real world results. The A1SD benchmark did notice it and alerted in that regard. I also used the (much) longer “accurate” measuring to get a better picture of the box’s results.

PC Mark Benchmark

4 Tests-in-one: Work Performance, Photo Editing, Writing & Web Browing

The PC Mark benchmark tests shows an apparent lead for the new HiMedia H8 Core. Also, only the Minix X8-H and the H8 Core were able to complete the video test portion of the test. It seems that both the EX+ and the Gecko require the use of specialized codecs in order to play some encoded video files.

3D Mark Benchmark

3D Mark benchmark is considered as one of the best ways to test 3d performance on Android (and other platforms).

On the H8, even though it identified it as OpenGL ES 3.1 capable, it could not run the 3.1 or the 3.0 tests correctly, so I was forced to run the OpenGL ES 2.1 tests instead. This happened before in another RK3368 I’ve tested (the ENY EKB368), so it might be a known issue.

The mediocre results may indicate a need for some improvements in the firmware that will elevate this box to it’s proper high placement. (closer to or even higher than the EKB368)

Usage and Performance

First impressions and testing shows a fast boot time of 27.21 seconds from “On” to desktop.

I was pleasantly surprised by the remote control. It has universal functions which I may test later, but the buttons are soft, it has a “mouse” function (not air mouse, just the kind you use the arrows to move the cursor around the screen), and it’s quite responsive. It does have a bit of sharp edges, but that can be corrected easily.

Rooting is not built into the default firmware, but can be achieved with a manual local file upgrade (Be aware that it will factory reset your box and also revert the language to Chinese, as well as possibly negating your warranty).

The default Himedia H8 Core launcher

One of the built-in tools in Android (4.x and 5.x) is the screenshot. It is not accessible in this box, but thanks to the root I was able to install a third party free tool so I can take screenshots in good quality.

Kodi performance was a less encouraging affair. There are bugs in this custom version of Kodi (15.1 Beta) which includes the RK codec to allow for hardware video acceleration. Those bugs manifested in small video stutters (the video stops for periods of less than a second and than continues while the audio continues without pausing), video completely stopped while audio continued in another occasion, and all videos took a few seconds to start, while fast forwarding resulted in long delays (up to 20 seconds!) while the audio comes back first and then the video syncs in.

Most of these issues were resolved when I switched to SPMC 15.0.0 (another Kodi fork which includes many codecs built-in and is more stable than custom kodi versions). Also, the pre-installed media manager (accessible from the H8’s desktop) was able to play most content without an issue, aside from the heavier 4K content which still lagged and stuttered. SPMC solved most of the issues, but not all. I experienced a few mid-playback crashes (from SPMC to the desktop), and browsing SMB shares from both Kodi and SPMC was very slow.

Note: All of these and other issues I encountered have been reported to HiMedia to be rectified and dealt with in future updates.

Video Playback testing (Using SPMC)

Resolution Video Format Local Playback Network (Wi-Fi/LAN) Playback 720p (1280*720) AVC (High@L4.1) Playing correctly Playing correctly 1080P (1920*1080) AVC (High@L4) Playing correctly Playing correctly  2160P (3840*2160) HEVC (H.265) Playing correctly Playing correctly 4K (4096*2304) AVC (High@L5.1) Playing correctly Buffering  and stutter 4K / HD / FullHD HEVC (H.265) 10Bit Does not play Does not play

Antutu Video Tester

Gaming performance

I have tested the H8 with three games, but could not measure frame rate or resource usage accurately due to performance measuring issues. (both GameBench could not grab statistics correctly, and FPS meter was unable to maintain correct frame count at all times)

Asphalt 8 Airborne – a 3d graphic intensive racing game – run well in normal settings. But, I could not measure FPS consistently. I did see it kept at 45-60 fps at most times. It did think that I am using a phone or tablet and would not let me control it via the remote control arrows.

Angry Birds 2 – a popular 2d action game – worked great, with a frame rate between 35-55 fps at most times. (measuring was unreliable)

Walking War Robots – an online robot warfare game that requires a game-pad – seemed to load and play fine, with a frame rate of 35-45 and no issues, other than the need for a game pad.

  Conclusions

Did I like it? Yes, But it will take a few rounds of firmware updates to get this box to its full potential. It’s not there yet.

Would I recommend it? Yes, but keep in mind that it is a new model with some growing pains. It also shows good format support including HD audio via its Media Manager app. (also BD-ISO playback)

For purchase, you can find it at Aliexpress, Niking Store, iAndroidTVbox, Geekbuying or even Amazon for prices ranging between 95.99 USD to 109.99 USD before coupons and/or discounts.

I hope you enjoyed the review, as you can expect quite a few more, and soon!

Review | HiMedia H8 Core RK3368 TV Box HiMedia is a Chinese brand name located in Shenzhen,China and has been operating since 2005. They have a large range of TV Boxes and that's their sole product range.