Egreat A9 was first shown in spring last year with a Realtek RTD1195 processor, but it’s only now that I could see it for sale. But just like Zidoo X9, the device is now powered by Mstar MSO9810 quad core processor, and features an HDMI input port with PVR capabilities, but adds an internal 3.5″ SATA bay, double the internal storage (16GB eMMC), as well as a Gigabit Ethernet port.
Egreat A9 specifications:
- SoC – Mstar MSO9180-DB2 quad core Cortex A9 processor up to 1.5GHz with an ARM
- System Memory – 2GB DDR3
- Storage – 16 GB eMMC flash + 3.5″ internal SATA bay
- Video Output / Input – HDMI 1.4b output up to 4K30, HDMI input (1080p) with PVR support
- Audio I/O – HDMI Out and In, and optical S/PDIF
- Video Containers & Codecs
- DAT, MPEG, MPE, MPG, TS, TP, VOB, ISO, AVI, MP4, MOV, 3GP, FLV, MKV, M2TS, MTS, M4V, WMV, ASF
- 3D Video – FramePackaging 3D, Left / Right Side-by-Side 3D, Up / Down Side-by-Side 3D, Checkerboard
- 4K/2K H.265/HEVC hardware decoding
- Audio Support
- DD/DD+/Dolby True-HD/DTS/DTS-HD MA/MP2/MP3/WMA/WAV/OGG/OGA/FLAC/ALAC/APE/AAC
- Audio Pass-Through – Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS-HD MA
- Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, Dual band 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi (MT7632 module), Bluetooth 4.0. Dual external antennas.
- USB – 1x USB 3.0, 3x USB 2.0 host ports.
- Misc – IR receiver, power button, (firmware) update pinhole, LCD display and buttons on front panel, fan
- Power Supply – 12V/2A
- Dimensions – 198 x 199 x 60 mm (Aluminum enclosure)
- Weight – 1.19 kg
The device runs Android 4.4. It ships with an IR remote control, an HDMI cable, a power adapter, a user’s manual, and a warranty card.With USB 3.0, SATA, and Gigabit Ethermet, it could be used as a NAS too, although the firmware might not support it, and you may have to use third-party apps. The Mstar processor is about equivalent to Amlogic S805 in terms of CPU and GPU processing power.
In my review of Zidoo X9, XBMC/Kodi experience was not really optimal, and audio-pass-through was limited to Dolby / DTS 5.1 in Kodi, and in the company’s “Explorer” app DTS-HD 7.1 and TrueHD 7.1 audio was output as Dolby / DTS 5.1. I reviewed Egreat H5 previously (2013), and I never saw any firmware update for the device, but hopefully the company has improved since then, and they claim to have Vidon.me XBMC, so Kodi / audio pass-through might be better implemented than in Zidoo X9, but it’s something that would need to be tested. [Update: Based on comments below, MSO9180-DB2 processor found in Egreat A9 should support 7.1 pass-through contrary to MSO9180D1R found in Zidoo X9]
GeekBuying sells the media player & recorder for $179.79, but since the device is pretty heavy, shipping is not included, and only DHL, EMS or TNT shipping is available bringing the price to over $200. Despite the extra features, it’s still quite a gap compared to the ~$120 you would pay for Zidoo X9. I could not find other e-retailers selling the device yet, but it’s also listed on Alibaba.
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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looks nice and like something i’d buy
But Mstar MSO9180D1R … 🙁
@Dr. Azrael Tod
Are you kidding or serious?
if it only had an atsc tuner for an ota-hd pvr
The Egreat i6 Wintel Mini PC is great too.
CPU Z3735F, Windows 8.1 with bing NTE license, VGA, …
Does anyone know about the deeper functionality of the HDMI passthrough? So, there is a PVR function- which means it isn’t just a basic switch to a different HDMI feed. Android can process the input.
Is it possible to develop for this functionality? Could I write and app that uses the HDMI input feed and load it onto the box?
>newmiracle
Im also interested, but I suspect that like wityh all other Chinese SoCs you need documentation that is NDA and only available to official chinese partners
not to mention reluctance to answer about HDCP makes it suspicious (unofficial/non licensed hdmi usage)
@newmiracle
Somebody asked the same question about Zidoo X9:
http://www.cnx-software.com/2014/12/05/zidoo-x9-android-media-player-features-an-hdmi-input-port-with-pvr-time-shifting-functions/#comment-341900
The company said they can open the API, but you need to contact them.
Just a question on all these Chinese boxes, do you if we can read DVD/Bluray through Kodi if we plug a USB player on it?
The biggest difference for the Egreat A9 and zidoo x9 is cpu, the Egreat A9 use the Mstar MSO9180-DB2 , while the Zidoo x9 use the Mstar MSO9180, Only the Mstar MSO9180-DB2 can support 7.1 RAW audio passthrough, as far as i know, this is the only one in the market, The zidoo x9 only can do 5.1.
So the Egreat A9 is focus on those real video geeks.
@Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)
There’s a great post by Bunnie that talks about the IP / information sharing in China. Definately worth a read!
If it is really a Quad Cortex A9, it isn’t like Amlogic S805, it is much faster!
Probably you intends performance near Amlogic S812 (near but slower since cpu 2GHz vs 1.5GHz, Mali450MP6 vs Mali450MP??)
@Fabry
The remark is based on benchmark scores I got with Amlogic S805 platforms, and Mstar 9810 based Zidoo X9, which are very close. That’s because of the memory bandwidth on Mstar processor.
hi dosent any friend from europe has buy it ?
and has any problem with internet because i has the A1080 model and i can conect it in internet