Amlogic USB Burning Tool Still Sucks in 2016

[Update November 2016: If you don’t like USB Burning Tool or don’t have the necessary USB cable, you can flash Amlogic IMG firmware to a micro SD card instead] In the first few years when Android TV Boxes/mini PCs started to hit the markets, in the 2012-2014 period, online firmware update was inexistent for the vast majority of the boxes, and if you wanted to update your firmware you had to use some windows tools like USB Burning Tool for Amlogic, AndroidTool for Rockchip, or PhoenixUSBPro / PhonixSuite for Allwinner platforms. All those tools have poor design, for example the window is not resizable, so it’s impossible to your an old netbook (1024×600 resolution), and then you have to install drivers which is easy, for after detection of the box may be hit and miss, and you have to follow a procedure with the right power sequence with a USB […]

Giveaway Week – K1 Plus T2 S2 Android TV Box and DTV Receiver

Videostrong K1 Plus T2 S2 is one of the most popular devices this year on CNX Software, as it’s probably the cheapest 4K Android TV box that includes both DVB-T/T2 and DVB-S2/T2 tuner, and beside just supporting Android, the community has also released an OpenELEC image with tuner support, and tools such as a Windows channel editor. When I first reviewed K1 Plus T2 S2 in February of this year, I found the Android part still needed some work, but the DTV app to watch live TV through my aerial antenna or satellite dish worked reasonably well despite some bugs here and there. Since then the company must have fixed some of the issues through various firmware updated, but some people are running Vitmos OpenELEC image instead since it may be more familiar, and other interfaces like Enigma may also be supported. All accessories shown above will be included in […]

Zidoo A5 and A5S Android TV Boxes Powered by Amlogic S905X SoC Sell for $62.99 and Up

Zidoo never stops pushing new hardware, and today I’ve come across the company’s two new models powered by Amlogic S905X processor with Zidoo A5 and A5S sold on GeekBuying for respectively $62.99 and $79.99. Zidoo A5 & A5S models look exactly the same but have different hardware specifications under the hood: SoC –  Amlogic S905X quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.5 GHz with  penta-core Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – A5: 1GB DDR3; A5S: 2GB DDR3 Storage A5 – 8GB eMMC flash + micro SD card slot A5S – 16GB eMMC flash + micro SD card slot Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0a, AV Video Codec – 4K@60 Hz video decoding 10-bit HEVC and AVS+ codec support; H.264 up to 4K,VP9 up to 4K,support HDR Connectivity A5 – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 A5S – 10/100M Ethernet, Dual band 802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 USB – […]

ONENUTS Nut 1 TV Box Specifications, Unbagging and Teardown

I first discovered Shenzhen Tomato’s ONENUTS brand through ONENUTS T1 3-in-1 projector, tablet, and mini PC, but the company has now launched a new product with ONENUTS Nut 1 Android TV box powered by Amlogic S912 processor, and the usual 2GB RAM and 16GB storage, but the product stands out a little thanks to its presentation as we’ll see below. ONENUTS Nut 1 Specifications The technical specifications are pretty much standard: SoC – Amlogic S912 octa-core ARM Cortex A53 processor @ up to 1.5 GHz with ARM Mali-820MP3 @ up to 750MHz System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot up to 32GB Video Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60Hz with CEC and HDR support, and AV port (composite) Audio Output – HDMI, AV (stereo audio), and optical S/PDIF Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, dual band WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0 USB […]

Giveaway Week – WeTek Core Android TV Box

For day 2 of this giveaway week, I’ll send one lucky winner WeTek Core Android or OpenELEC TV box powered by Amlogic S812 processor, and one of the rare boxes with support Netflix HD, which is partially why I listed it as one of the best Android TV boxes. But as discussed in WeTek Core review, there are also other reasons the box stands out with HD audio pass-through and automatic frame rate switching support, support forums, regular firmware updates, and WeTek is one of the few companies providing an official OpenELEC firmware image. All accessories shown above are included, except the HDMI cable. To enter the draw simply leave a comment below. Other rules are as follows: Only one entry per contest. I will filter out entries with the same IP and/or email address. Contests are open for 48 hours starting at 10am (Bangkok time) every day. Comments will […]

CS668 Combines Android TV Box, Power Bank, and Bluetooth Speakers Into One Device

CS668 is an Android 6.0 TV box powered by Amlogic S905X quad core processor, which triples as Bluetooth stereo speakers and a power bank thanks to its built-in 5,000 mAh battery. CS668 3-in-1 TV box specifications: SoC –  Amlogic S905X quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.5 GHz with Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot up to 32 GB Video Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz Audio I/O – HDMI output, 3.5mm headphone jack, 10W stereo speakers, built-in microphone Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi @ 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth 4.0 (AP6212 module) USB – 3x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x micro USB OTG port Misc – Power & Play/Pause combo button, and volume buttons Battery – 5,000 mAh rechargeable lithium battery good for up to 48 hours Power Supply –  5V/3A Dimensions – 15.1 cm […]

Beelink GT1 TV Box Review – Part 2: Android Marshmallow Firmware

I’ve previously reviewed other Amlogic S912 TV boxes such as M12N MXQ Plus or Qintaix Q912, but Beelink GT1 has the advantage of being quite cheaper at $56 and up, but still come with many of the same features as more expensive devices. I’ve already posted pictures, and checked out the hardware design in the first part of Beelink GT1 review, so in the second part I’ll report my experience with Android, including video and audio capabilities, hardware features testing, and some benchmarks. First Boot, OTA Firmware Update, Settings, and First Impressions The device comes with two USB ports only, so I connected a USB hard drive to one of the port, and a USB hub to the other with the RF dongles for MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse and Tronsmart Mars G01 gamepad, as well as a USB keyboard to take screenshots. I completed the setup by adding […]

Test Widevine & PlayReady DRM, HDCP 1.x/2.x, 4K VP9 and H.265 in Android with Exoplayer App

I first heard about ExoPlayer in an Android TV Overview presentation at Linaro Connect 2014, but I never really looked into it. The source code is available on Github, and I’ve been given ExoPlayer.apk [Update April 2020: Exoplayer binary is now available on Apkpure] as it can be used to test UHD H265 support, HDCP 1.x, HDCP 2.x compatibility, PlayReady & Widevine DRM using different format and so on. So I installed it on Beelink GT1 Android TV box which I’m currently reviewing, and only include basic Widewine Level 3 DRM, and certainly does not support HDCP features. There are 9 sections in the app to test various videos and DRM schemes: YouTube Dash Widevine Dash Policy Tests (GTS) – Widewine with or without HDCP, with or without secure video path Widevine HDCP Capabilities Tests – NoHDCP, HDCP 1.0, HDCP 1.1, HDCP 2.0, HDCP 2.1, HDCP 2.2, and HDCP no […]

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