Many people like ARM based media player because most of them run Android providing access too many apps available via Google Play Store, a similar experience to what they got used with phones and tablets, and also because they are small, inexpensive, and fanless. However, the latest ARM processors such as Rockchip RK3288, can get really hot, so most of the time CPU frequency needs to be limited to avoid overheating and stability, which reduces performance. Which may be why, Ugoos decided to launch UT3S mini PC, an upgrade to UT3 mini PC with a mini Fan placed on top of a larger heatsink.
Ugoos UT3S specifications and look remain very similar to the original model:
- SoC – Rockchip RK3288 quad core CortexA17 @ 1.80 GHz + Mali-T764 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0 /3.0, and OpenCL 1.1
- System Memory – 2GB to 4GB DDR3
- Storage – 16GB or 32GB eMMC Flash + micro SD card slot (up to 32 GB)
- Connectivity – 100M/1000M Ethernet, dual band WiFi 802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz/5GHz) and 802.11 a/c using external Wi-Fi antenna?, and Bluetooth
- Video I/F – HDMI 2.0 output (female) up to 4k2k @ 60 fps, and AV output (3.5mm jack)
- Audio I/F – HDMI, AV, and optical S/PDIF
- Video Codecs
- Decoding – MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4,H.263, H.264, H.265,AVS, VC-1, RV, VP6/VP8, Sorenson Spark, MVC up to 4K2K @ 60fps
- Encoding – H.264, H.265, VP8, MVC (1080p)
- H.264, H.265 Data Rate – Up to 60Mbps
- Audio Codecs/Formats – MP1, MP2, MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG, OGA, APE, FLAC, AAC, M4A, 3GPP
- USB – 4x USB Host port, 1x micro USB OTG
- Power Supply – 5V/3A
- Dimensions – 115 x 115 x 20 mm
- Temperature Range – Operating: -10~40, Storage: -20~50
- Humidity – 5%-90%, No condensation
- Certification – CCC,CE,EMC,FCC,Wi-Fi
The company also decided to remove the HDMI input, and replace it with a USB host port. It’s probably not a big loss since I’ve yet to see a Rockchip box with HDMI input support PVR or PiP. The base frequency is listed as 1.8GHz in the specs, but with the fan it should be possible safely (TBC) to overclock RK3288 to 2.2 GHz, The box comes with an HDMI cable, a power adapter, an IR remote control, and a user’s manual by default, and optionally an air mouse, or a wireless mouse or keyboard combo may be provided.
The device runs the dual boot Android 4.4 + Ubuntu 14.10 image I tried with Ugoos UM3. The user experience should be the same as any other boxes in Android, and Ubuntu is very usable as long as you don’t try to play full screen 480p or greater online videos smoothly in a web browser, and also don’t expect Adobe flash to run nice and smooth.
Two version of Ugoos UTS3 are available:
- Ugoos UT3S Black with 2GB RAM and 16GB flash
- Ugoos UT3S Red with 4GB RAM and 32GB flash
Both models are available for pre-order on GearBest for $129 and $169 with “UT3S” coupon. I could not find it on other sites, except on DealsMachine, but while the title refers to UT3S, the description is fully about UM3…
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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Boo, the cool ( pun intended ) thing about ARM SOCs was that they were low power and passive cooling was enough. Now if they have fans I might as well get a small PC ( like Intel NUC ). There are even small PCs that are fanless and have a good price on Aliexpress.
Yeah, if they now use the lessons learned in the past decades of x86 builds, they went the same ugly way as all the cheap x86 board went, using those nasty chainsaw imitators, that some people still call fans… 🙁 Too bad they did not go with the times with massive passive heatsinks, as that would have upped the price more than a failing fan, and shipping costs would have also effected… But still that would have been the better way. They really should stop designing PCBs with an heatsink, but an heatsink that you attach the PCB into, the… Read more »
Some of those models have HDMI input recording capability, have you ever tested this feature?
@zoobab
I’ve checked two models with HDMI input: HPH NT-V6 (RK3288) and M-195 (Realtek), and neither have PVR function.
I also have Zidoo X9 which does have PVR function, and will be tested soon.
1. In the current UT3 the fan is only switched on when the device gets hot under full load – current case has not much air flow (this might happen when overclocked to 2.2 GHz and cpu governor is set to performacne + heavy load). I hope the manufacturer will keep the temp sensor and fan control in the UT3S. 2. My UT3 plays 720p Flash video in the Chromium WEB browser + fullscreen without issues. HTML5 videos are indeed not working good and are slow (currently there is no hardware graphics acceleration in Ubuntu). Forcing flash video can be… Read more »
IMHO the heatsink should be rotated by 90 degree…to have the right air flow on all the extruded fins.
@Jibril
I bet virtually NONE of those Chinese engineers do any CFD simulations on their products, calling it “too time consuming” or “expensive”… Cheap is cheap. 🙂
@anon
I did not even know CFD was be used for electronic devices. I also thought computational fluid dynamics was mostly used to design planes, boats, and cars, or other applications where you need to optimize air/water flow.
Is that common practise for electronics? I can imagine in the server world maybe, but I’m not so sure about consumer devices.
@Peter Bauer
Hmmm. OK. So I did not know UT3 had a fan too. After reading about it, the first batch did not have fan, but they decided to add one due to overheating issues… So the main difference between the new UT3 and UT3S is the USB port replacing HDMI input then.
I might have have used HTML5 YouTube video in my test, which should explain the poor performance.
@Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) Well, CFD is nowadays used all over with electronics, cooling design has been radically changed since the era of chainsaw fans being used inside an plastic heat isolation box (heh), personally all PCB designs I have been involved for this Millennium or so have almost all involved CFD to check the efficiency of the air-pass, and cooling (let it be air, metal, water, etc.). Sure the stuff I’m involved is not direct competition to cheap ARM sticks/STBs, but will likely start to make ripples on those markets too, now mainly embedded Linux (and in-house RTOS) boxes for…… Read more »
@Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)
Hi
Have you thought of testing and comparing the UT3/nt-v6 and the Beelink i ONE – both with HDMI input, to see who is the better ? It seems that the S812 in the Beelink has an antutu of over 40000 !!!
And Im wondering about the HDMI input – if both supports the same there.
Regards, Claus
A bit cheaper here, eg:
https://www.chinavasion.com/china/wholesale/Android_Media_Players/Android_TV_Box/UGOOS-UT3S-Mini-PC/
Ugoos is working on four new devices. I don’t have the full details yet though.
1. UT3+ – RK3288 device with controlled HDMI IN (PIP+PVR) witn KitKat (Lollipop upgrade soon) + Ubuntu Dualboot.
Specification will be similar with UT3S models.
2. UT4 – RK3368 device with Lollipop Inside, 2GB RAM DDR3, 16GB NAND, Gigabit LAN, Dualband wifi, AV output, Metal housing for cooling with fan
3. AM1 – Amlogic S905 box with Lollipop inside, 2Gb RAM, 16GB NAND, 3x USB,
4. AM2 – dongle with our UM3 form factor, based on S905 with lollipop without LAN, 2Gb RAM, 8GB NAND