Android-box Mecool KM9 on the fresh SoC Amlogic S905X2 with 4 GB of RAM and Android TV 8.1 - understand and forgive
Recently, quite a lot of boxes on the fresh SoC from Amlogic - S905X2 appeared on the market. All of them are cheap, “cold” right out of the box, have good technical characteristics, but all are problematic to one degree or another. Those who read my box reviews, know that if your requirements are higher “it turns on and somehow shows the video” and the budget is significantly limited, then the choice of box should be approached very carefully. Soon I will have a single detailed overview of several actual boxes on the S905X2 (not all have arrived yet). Well, today I will tell you in detail about one box - Mecool KM9. The most important difference from their fellows is that it comes with the Android TV 8.1 system and a Bluetooth remote control.
Since I publish an article about boxes on Habr for the first time, I will try to explain some details that can cause misunderstanding among unprepared (who only gets acquainted with boxes) readers.
The box comes in a typical Mecool carton box. Neither side of the sticker with the model name and brief characteristics. There is no contact information, data about the manufacturer, etc.
Inside: console, remote, HDMI cable, power supply with a European plug, a short guide in English.
Power supply typical for Chinese boxes. Voltage 5 V, maximum current 2 A. Cable length about 110 cm. Connector DC 4 x 1.7 mm.
The console is neat, similar to the Xiaomi Mi Box (not S). Works via Bluetooth and IR. IR only to turn on the box from the fully off state. It is powered by two AAA batteries (not included).
The box itself is very compact. The body is made of matte plastic. Weight about 140 grams. The size is 100x100x19 mm.
On the front is a multi-color LED indicator. In sleep mode - red. In operation mode - blue. USB drive is connected - green. No network - turquoise. Shines too bright when looking straight. A significant disadvantage is that it blinks in the operating mode (with a smooth attenuation, like “breathing”). These blinks are very annoying if the box is not hidden behind the TV or in the cabinet.
On one of the sides is a microSD slot, USB 3.0 port and USB 2.0 port. In firmware mode using a PC, a USB 2.0 port is used.
Rear: power connector (DC 4 x 1.7 mm), HDMI, Ethernet, AV-out. At the very bottom of the AV output, there is a recovery button (to enter recovery and activate firmware mode).
Below are a lot of vents and soft legs.
Analysis of the device was made after all the tests.
Mecool KM9 is easy to understand. Peel off the two rubber feet.
Unscrew the two screws and remove the top cover.
Unscrew four more screws and pull out the board.
SoC through the thermal substrate is adjacent to a fairly large metal plate. The plate itself is located at the vents. Next to the SoC is the SpecTek DDR4L memory module (Micron division), Toshiba eMMC THGBMFG8C4LBAIR module, Ampak AP6255 Wi-Fi / Bluetooth module. There is protection in the HDMI port harness. USB 3.0 port without additional screening (this is bad). There is no separate Ethernet controller on the board, since used embedded in the SoC. Near the AV port is the Dioo DIO2133 amplifier (the DAC is built into the SoC). There is a convenient GPIO platform and a UART platform on the board. There are markup for shielding cover RAM and SoC, but the covers themselves are not installed. Wi-Fi one antenna (because AP6255 can work only in 1x1 mode), additionally glued to the board for reliability. There is a platform for installing an optical S / PDIF connector,
There are no complaints about the quality of the workmanship, but you can see the savings. The only alarm is caused by the Wi-Fi antenna (its location in such a compact package), which is guaranteed to cause problems in certain situations (depending on the box's positioning), which the tests confirm.
S905X2 is made on 12-nm process technology. It is very "cold" and even with a simple "Chinese" cooling system does not go to throttling with long maximum loads and in games. The maximum SoC temperature in KM9 is at 65 ° C. The 15-minute stress test passes without throttling with a constant maximum performance.
Mecool KM9 comes with the Android TV 8.1 system. This is the basic system from Amlogic (with all its nuances) without any significant changes.
For those who do not know how Android TV 8 differs from the regular version of Android 8, let me briefly list some differences:
You can put any program. But remember that the Google Play Store for Android TV contains only those applications and games that are adapted for Android TV. All other programs can be easily installed via apk, Aptoide TV (illegal software), etc. Keep in mind that for programs that are not adapted for Android TV, you may need a mouse.
The ideology of Android TV is based on simplicity. But if you start to deal with it (“I need, as in a smartphone, and I want to control everything with the mouse”), then you are waiting for negative impressions. If you accept its ideology, and all your actual programs are adapted for Android TV, then you will simply get pleasure from the work of the system.
It is also important to understand that Android TV is currently the only official boxing system from Google. Certification of the conventional Android system for boxes terminated for more than two years. In the near future, you will not see boxes from A-brands or from operators with the usual Android system.
Firmware version V0828 from 11/09/2018. By OTA (this is Mecool's own program, made on the basis of the standard from Amlogic), no new updates are detected.
Mecool tried to get certified by Google, but for some reason did not pass. As a result, the system is not certified, i.e. illegal (illegally uses Google’s services and programs for Android TV). Google Cast support is cut out. Various trash programs have been added to the system itself (well, that is not in the system partition) - all of them can be removed if necessary. The lack of certification has played a very bad trick on Mecool, which you will read about in the DRM section.
The firmware uses the 64-bit kernel version 4.9.76. But the Android layer itself is 32-bit. Amlogic has simply not completed the full 64-bit version for the S905X2.
Localization into Russian is not fully implemented. Only elements of the general Android system (i.e. Google itself) are translated. The fact that Amlogic is added is practically not translated. For example, the settings of the screen, audio output, etc. in English.
There is no root support in the system, but it is easy to add such support - for boxing there is a TWRP.
Any box should have maximum stability in the basic functionality, regardless of the work of individual programs. On the network, you can find various complaints about the work of KM9. But I faced only a few minor and one critical problem (like many other users) - boxing just hung up after a while in sleep mode. I contacted Videostrong directly to provide the firmware with a fixed bug. But he never received an answer. As a result, when the review was ready, an obituary was written in the conclusions. Before publishing the review, GearBest gave me a link to an OTA update file with firmware dated 11/22/2018 , which they received from Videostrong. This update fixed a hangup in sleep mode, so the output had to be slightly rewritten.
The console can be called very good (it is simply the best of those produced by manufacturers of basement echelon boxes). According to tactile sensations, it is inferior, for example, to the Xiaomi console. Works via Bluetooth. But the remote has an IR transmitter, it is used only to turn on the box from the fully off state. There is no gyro (for mouse mode) in the remote, it is not necessary, because does not match the ideology of Android TV. A microphone with excellent sensitivity, it is not necessary to bring the console closer to the mouth, voice recognition works well. You do not need to keep the Global Voice Search / Google Assistant button for the microphone to work; you just need to press it once.
A single action of the power button can be set in the settings. Boxing supports partial sleep mode, i.e. When switching to sleep mode, only the video signal is turned off, and the programs receive an appropriate alert.
A long press of the power button brings up the power menu.
I will note that the menu of previously launched programs is not activated in the system. Those. No double or long press Home This menu is not called, which for some may add discomfort to use. Such a menu can be used only in custom systems or with a special patch.
In the operation of the console, there is only one drawback. In rare cases, after pressing the Global Voice Search / Google Assistant button, the microphone is not activated, i.e. The search itself is activated, but the microphone does not work. You need to press the button again.
With the work of GameSir and Xiaomi gamepads via Bluetooth, there were no problems. Connect and work with most games without problems.
Support for various HDMI CEC functions floats from one TV model to another. I have not yet met any Android-box, which would have perfect support for HDMI CEC with all TV, even with different TV models of the same brand. On Amlogic boxes, HDMI CEC support has never been good (mainly due to the selective operation of the power features and the inability to adjust the volume). HDMI CEC support is enabled in the settings.
HDMI CEC operation with LG test TV:
The console uses the fresh SoC Amlogic S905X2 - 4 ARM Cortex-A53 cores up to 1.8 GHz and the Mali-G31 MP2 GPU. This is a budget SoC. The system and programs work quickly and smoothly. It allows you to play simple 3D games (i.e., the minimum for games). Almost always required to reduce the level of graphics to the minimum. You need to understand that the main thing in Android boxes is media functionality, i.e. VPU and implementation of its capabilities in software. But the processor and GPU should have enough power to work with the device comfortable. S905X2 provides a comfortable level with a margin.
The interface is displayed with a maximum resolution of 1920x1080. Even if you select the resolution of 3840x2160 in the system, the interface and all programs will continue to work with a resolution of 1920x1080 and zoom to 3840x2160. As in many boxes, only SurfaceView objects can display real 4K resolution (they are used in media players and some games). In fact, it does not matter with what permission to run test programs and games - with 1920x1080 and 3840x2160 the result will be identical.
For convenience and clarity, I will give a comparison of performance with boxes on the Amlogic S912 (Minix Neo U9-H).
CPU
GPU (3D)
As you can see, the CPU performance is higher with the S905X2, and the GPU performance with the S912. In general, we can assume that parity. There is no visual difference in the operation of the two systems.
All tried 2D games worked well and without any complaints.
Most of the 3D games can be played. At the same time it is necessary to reduce the graphics settings to the minimum. There is no point in detailed testing, because S905X2 - this is the minimum for games (for simplicity, you can compare with Chinese smartphones for less than $ 100).
I liked that in S905X2 reduced output delays from the decoder. Streaming games via Nvidia GameStream (Moonlight), stream 1080p60, 30 Mbps - up to 40 ms for H.264 and up to 20 ms for H.265. In this case, it is visually visible violation of uniformity (boxes on the S912 with Minix firmware provide perfect uniformity when working through the Moonlight).
In a fresh KM9 system, about 25 GB of internal memory is available to the user.
The linear speed of the internal flash memory is at a good level for cheap boxes - 140/105 MB / s.
The SD controller in the SoC is just as weak as the previous SoC from Amlogic (the speed limit is at 20/15 MB / s). Those. There is no point in using fast microSD cards, and it’s better to use USB sticks or cards through a USB card reader. Here, for example, the speed of a very fast Samsung card with a capacity of 128 GB:
USB 3.0 interface is implemented honestly. The speed is very high - 300/300 MB / s. The box was connected on the JMicron controller (with UASP support) with the installed SSD from Samsung, the NTFS file system. Under Windows, such a disk provides 500/500 MB / s for SATA and 450/350 for USB 3.0.
Support for file systems on external media with USB interface:
As you know, the operation of the USB 3.0 interface introduces serious interference to the operation of radio devices at 2.4 GHz. To prevent this from happening, a USB 3.0 port is placed away from other components and additional shielding is done. In KM9, there is nothing of the kind, and the components are very close, i.e. Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz mode), Bluetooth, consoles / mice / keyboards with USB transmitters are hit if you connect USB 3.0 devices. It is worth considering.
For a wired network in KM9, a controller with support for Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps) built into the SoC is responsible. For the wireless network is responsible budget controller Ampak AP6255 with support for Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g / n / ac, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, MIMO 1x1.
The tests were performed using iperf 3. The iperf server is running on a computer that is connected to the local area network via Gigabit Ethernet. The selected key R - server transmits, the device accepts.
The actual KM9 data transfer rate over the wired interface is at 95 Mbps.
Boxing was 5 meters from the router through a single reinforced concrete wall - this is the place where I test all Android boxes and mini-PCs. The line connecting the box and the router passes through the wall at a 45 degree angle. In the role of the router acted popular Xiaomi Mi Router 3G. It would be possible to use Keenetic Ultra, but it sometimes gives a chance even to boxes with a poor Wi-Fi implementation, i.e. High results are demonstrated, which can be confusing for readers with simpler routers. So that you understand - I have no goal to find out the maximum Wi-Fi speed of a specific box at 1 meter from the router without obstacles (it does not matter to me whether it will squeeze out 200 or 300 Mbit / s). I model a typical case, and all boxes are tested under the same conditions. I'm testing only with 5 GHz band (if the box has such support).
First, I want to answer the low sensitivity of Wi-Fi in boxing. Those. Boxing saw only a fraction of the available networks in the test location. When away from the router, test networks were lost in places where other devices continued to see test networks. Secondly, due to the internal design of the box, in order to achieve an acceptable speed, the box must have been positioned. Those. you can not just put the box on the legs, you have to put it on the edge backwards, etc. This is a typical problem of cheap Chinese boxes, in which Wi-Fi is implemented by a tyap-bloop on a budget controller. Wi-Fi speed was 88 Mbps.
Box KM9 in many cases will not be suitable for work on Wi-Fi. Those. focus on the cable connection first.
I was surprised that the KM9 system has an AC3 decoder (decoding and mixing in stereo). It is present in both StageFright and MediaCodec. Although many players have a software decoder, in some situations it can be useful.
Amlogic did everything in his repertoire. If in one of the versions of the basic Android 7.1.2 system, support for the IEC 61937 standard has been fixed, and Kodi has added support for HD audio output, now everything has returned to the beginning. For tests, the Onkyo receiver was used.
Direct HDMI output in Kodi (17.6):
KM9 has HDMI 2.0b output. Formally, HDMI 2.1 support for SoC is stated, but it’s not very clear what it is - modes above 3840x2160 @ 60 are not supported, it’s not clear about the support for VRR features and the like. In general, at the moment we can say that boxing has support for HDMI 2.0b.
Supported resolutions up to 3840x2160 at 60 Hz, 10 bits with HDR. You can choose color coding. The interface is displayed with a maximum resolution of 1920x1080. Even if you select the resolution of 3840x2160 in the system, the interface and all programs will continue to work with a resolution of 1920x1080 and zoom to 3840x2160. As in many boxes, only SurfaceView objects can output real 4K resolution with HDR support, they are used in many players.
In Settings there is an opportunity to make color correction and it is possible to control the noise level. This setting does not work and does not affect anything. Spoofing when outputting video does not work (this is good).
HDR
I did not notice any problems with HDR10 output (in UHD Blu-ray). HDR to SDR conversion is supported in case you need to watch HDR content on an SDR TV. Amlogic's conversion is not perfect (and it cannot be perfect), but one of the best. There was no point in checking Dolby Vision support, since Boxing does not support DV and for Android TV at the moment there is not a single file player (only VOD services programs) that could work with DV metadata.
Deinterlacing system
Interlacing does not work in either StageFright or MediaCodec. Only one of the two fields is displayed. Those. at the output of the decoder for streams with interlaced video, you get twice the reduced frame rate and two times lower vertical resolution. This is bad.
Playing
KM9 video over Ethernet from NAS handles almost any content in Kodi (17.6). Any UHD BDRemux with a bitrate of up to 70 Mbps loses without problems (the lack of Gigabit Ethernet in the box no longer allows). Files and streams 2160p60, encoded with H.265 Main10, play perfectly. The streams 2160p60 encoded by H.264 (for example, from some action cameras) are played poorly, because The H.264 decoder in S905X2 does not support such parameters (only 2160p30 or 1080p60 H.264).
Autofreight
For those who do not know, I will briefly talk about autoframe ... Autoframe is automatically setting the screen frequency according to the frame rate in the video being played. Autofreight provides uniformity, which is a component of smoothness.
Take for example a movie on a Blu-ray disc or UHD Blu-ray. Most of this content is content from 23.976 fps (frames per second). For simplicity, we assume it is 24 fps.
Your device (box) outputs data in the mode of 3840x2160 at 60 Hz (as you specified in the system settings). How to display a 24 fps movie at 60 Hz, i.e. turn 24 frames per second to 60 frames per second? The most trivial way and it is also used on the vast majority of media players - 3: 2 conversion pull down. Here is its meaning in the picture:
From the first frame two frames are made, from the second three, from the third two, from the fourth three, etc. Thus, you have received a conversion of 24 frames> 60 frames. But this conversion has a negative effect, which is called judder effect (use Google search to understand the scale of this problem, and what actions are being taken to solve it, which eminent companies are involved in this) - unevenness. Those. in reality, some frames are displayed longer in time than others. Imagine that a ball is flying (24 frames). The first frame is displayed 1/30 sec, the second 1/20 sec, the third 1/30 sec, the fourth 1/20 sec, etc. Uneven flight, "jerking" the ball. No problem if there are no speakers in the video. But as soon as the dynamics begin (it does not matter, vertically or horizontally), then all this is manifested.
But as soon as the frequency of the scan will be 24 Hz, then everything will fall into place. There will be no transformations, because no need to adjust the sequence of 24 fps to 24 Hz. Each frame will display an equal amount of time - 1/24 sec. Uniformity will be perfect. The ball will fly evenly. It is for this that autofreight (a generalized concept) exists. When starting a video stream, the player program (if it is a modern autoframe) or the system (if it is a system autoframe) sets the screen frequency to match the frame rate in the stream or is a multiple of it.
I’ll also remind you about the types of autoframe ...
Autofreight implemented in a particular program specifically for a particular box (that is, using some proprietary functions or commands of a particular box system). This is the old school and the worst version of the implementation of autoframe on boxing.
System autoframe. It can be implemented both through separate StageFright and MediaCodec libraries with output in SurfaceView, and for two at once. In fact, it is a universal crutch. Programs do not even know what autoframe is, and that the output mode is changing. Since This is a universal solution, this kind of autoframe can cause problems in some cases. For example, in some programs an intermediate switch may occur when rewinding, in IPTV managers there may be extra switchings when switching channels, etc.
The so-called modern autoframe is the API that Google introduced even in the Android 6 system. A similar API functionality exists in the Amazon system and in the tvOS systemfrom Apple. But this API was implemented in the system by only a few box manufacturers. Its essence is that the program can change the resolution and frequency of the display on your own. These changes concern only the program itself, and not the system as a whole. This is the most correct and ideal implementation of autoframe in programs, because everything is under their control, and not a system that cannot take into account particular cases. That is why it is sometimes called modern autoframe for simplicity. The most popular programs that support modern autoframe are: Kodi, ViMu, Perfect Player, Plex, Archos, Amazon Video, etc. And there will only be more such programs.
KM9 does not support any kind of autoframe. After adding root support, you can use the Kodi.AmLogic.script.frequency.switcher plugin for Kodi, but then there is another old problem. Disturbed uniformity when outputting to SurfaceView at a frequency other than 60 Hz (pictures with confirmation will be in another large comparative overview of the boxes on the S905X2). Those. in fact, you are changing one unevenness to another.
3D
KM9 loses MVC MKV and BD3D ISO in Kodi only in 2D.
Videostrong purchased Widevine and HDCP keys from Amlogic. KM9 has support for Google Widevine DRM Level 1 and HDCP 2.2. Without this, Mecool would not have passed the certification of Android TV (which in the end she did not do so for some reason).
Boxing does not have Netflix certification (to support 4K with HDR, Atmos, etc.).
The lack of Google certification played a cruel and funny joke at Videostrong. Recently, Netflix began a hard hunt for boxes with no Google certification. Boxing KM9 recently came under distribution, and its DRM keys were locked on the side of Netflix servers. Those. now the official Netflix client does not work at all on KM9.
But many of us live in Russia, we don’t need to worry about Netflix.
There were no problems with content from HD VideoBox (from various sources) in ViMu.
Kodi + Elementum without any problems loses torrents directly (without preloading) with a bitrate of up to 25 Mbps. When playing BDRemux and Blu-ray (up to 40 GB) playback is sometimes "choked." It seems that there was not enough processor power (and it should be enough). It is also worth bearing in mind that at the time of all the tests, the Elementum supplement was updated several times and caused a lot of complaints about work on the network. In any case, KM9 does not support autoframe, direct audio output is limited to DD and DTS, i.e. not suitable for moviegoers, and for the vast majority of ordinary consumers BDRip will be enough, and boxing with such torrents will directly cope without problems.
IPTV from EDEM, OTTClub worked fine. Problems with one channel did not arise. Perfect Player (one of the best programs for IPTV) with a HW + decoder switched channels in a split second. Autoframe did not work (Perfect Player supports it), because Boxing does not support modern autoframe. Voice channel search worked without problems.
With torrent-TV services (streams with interlaced video of original quality) everything is bad, because There is no deinterlacing in the system in both StageFright and MediaCodec. Those. high-quality reproduction of such channels on this box is impossible.
Since Boxing uses the “real” Android TV system, and not a custom made from the usual Android system, you can safely use the latest version of YouTube for Android TV (2.04.05) from Google Store Play, it will not cause problems. In the YouTube client for Android TV on KM9, you can select stream quality up to 2160p60, it plays perfectly.
Mecool KM9 is a simple Chinese boxing not for moviegoers, but for the most undemanding consumers who simply need the box to “turn on and somehow show the video”. It could be safely recommended for purchase, if not for one “but”. And this “but” is called Xaiomi Mi Box S (MDZ-22-AB) with a price at a similar level. This box is also for undemanding consumers, i.e. moviegoers from him should stay away. Yes, KM9 is made on an updated S905X2 processor, but the average consumer will not see the difference in speed, if you do not play games. But in Xiaomi Mi Box S, the official and certified Android TV 8.1 system with Google Cast (at the same time, Xiaomi approached quality control better, and the system will be updated to Android TV 9), Netflix certification, acceptable Wi-Fi performance, better remote control, which works without problems.
While I was writing a review, Videostrong decided that the Mecool KM9 with a Bluetooth remote control will no longer be released. Now there will be a new simplified version of the KM9 with a penny IR remote without a microphone. Those. the meaning of this box is generally reduced to zero. Their logic is clear. After adding DRM-keys to the black list of Netflix, the fate of KM9 in Europe and the USA is predetermined (yes, there is also a whole layer of consumers who love inexpensive Chinese boxes).
You can buy Mecool KM9 and Xiaomi Mi Box S in the Gearbest store (which provided KM9 for review). Prices at the time of publication of the review:
Content
- Specifications
- Complete set and appearance
- Parsing device and cooling system
- Software and overall stability
- Remote, gamepad, HDMI CEC
- Performance
- Internal and external drives
- Network interfaces and network services
- Direct audio and audio decoder support
- Video decoder support, video playback, autoframe
- DRM and legal VOD services
- Illegal VOD-services and playing videos from torrents directly
- IPTV
- YouTube
- Conclusion
Since I publish an article about boxes on Habr for the first time, I will try to explain some details that can cause misunderstanding among unprepared (who only gets acquainted with boxes) readers.
Specifications
| Model | Mecool KM9 |
| Body materials | Plastic |
| SoC | Amlogic S905X2 4 core ARM Cortex-A53 up to 1.8 GHz GPU Mali-G31 MP2 |
| Ram | 4 GB DDR4L |
| Internal flash memory | 32 GB (eMMC) |
| USB | 1 x USB A 3.0, 1 x USB A 2.0 |
| Memory card support | microSD |
| Network interfaces | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11a / b / g / n / ac, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps) |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Video output | HDMI 2.0b (up to 3840x2160 @ 60 Hz with HDR) Analog (composite) AV |
| Audio output | HDMI, analog AV |
| Remote controller | Bluetooth, with microphone |
| Nutrition | 5 V / 2 A |
| OS | Android TV 8.1 |
Complete set and appearance
The box comes in a typical Mecool carton box. Neither side of the sticker with the model name and brief characteristics. There is no contact information, data about the manufacturer, etc.
Inside: console, remote, HDMI cable, power supply with a European plug, a short guide in English.
Power supply typical for Chinese boxes. Voltage 5 V, maximum current 2 A. Cable length about 110 cm. Connector DC 4 x 1.7 mm.
The console is neat, similar to the Xiaomi Mi Box (not S). Works via Bluetooth and IR. IR only to turn on the box from the fully off state. It is powered by two AAA batteries (not included).
The box itself is very compact. The body is made of matte plastic. Weight about 140 grams. The size is 100x100x19 mm.
On the front is a multi-color LED indicator. In sleep mode - red. In operation mode - blue. USB drive is connected - green. No network - turquoise. Shines too bright when looking straight. A significant disadvantage is that it blinks in the operating mode (with a smooth attenuation, like “breathing”). These blinks are very annoying if the box is not hidden behind the TV or in the cabinet.
On one of the sides is a microSD slot, USB 3.0 port and USB 2.0 port. In firmware mode using a PC, a USB 2.0 port is used.
Rear: power connector (DC 4 x 1.7 mm), HDMI, Ethernet, AV-out. At the very bottom of the AV output, there is a recovery button (to enter recovery and activate firmware mode).
Below are a lot of vents and soft legs.
Parsing device and cooling system
Analysis of the device was made after all the tests.
Mecool KM9 is easy to understand. Peel off the two rubber feet.
Unscrew the two screws and remove the top cover.
Unscrew four more screws and pull out the board.
SoC through the thermal substrate is adjacent to a fairly large metal plate. The plate itself is located at the vents. Next to the SoC is the SpecTek DDR4L memory module (Micron division), Toshiba eMMC THGBMFG8C4LBAIR module, Ampak AP6255 Wi-Fi / Bluetooth module. There is protection in the HDMI port harness. USB 3.0 port without additional screening (this is bad). There is no separate Ethernet controller on the board, since used embedded in the SoC. Near the AV port is the Dioo DIO2133 amplifier (the DAC is built into the SoC). There is a convenient GPIO platform and a UART platform on the board. There are markup for shielding cover RAM and SoC, but the covers themselves are not installed. Wi-Fi one antenna (because AP6255 can work only in 1x1 mode), additionally glued to the board for reliability. There is a platform for installing an optical S / PDIF connector,
There are no complaints about the quality of the workmanship, but you can see the savings. The only alarm is caused by the Wi-Fi antenna (its location in such a compact package), which is guaranteed to cause problems in certain situations (depending on the box's positioning), which the tests confirm.
S905X2 is made on 12-nm process technology. It is very "cold" and even with a simple "Chinese" cooling system does not go to throttling with long maximum loads and in games. The maximum SoC temperature in KM9 is at 65 ° C. The 15-minute stress test passes without throttling with a constant maximum performance.
Software and overall stability
Mecool KM9 comes with the Android TV 8.1 system. This is the basic system from Amlogic (with all its nuances) without any significant changes.
For those who do not know how Android TV 8 differs from the regular version of Android 8, let me briefly list some differences:
- No navigation bar and status bar.
- Rigidly fixed launcher (home screen) - Google Home Launcher. It displays only those programs and games that are adapted for Android TV.
- Global voice search in installed programs / Google Assistant.
- A number of unique features, for example, special channels (former recommendations), special alerts, picture-in-picture on the main screen, etc.
- The interface is adapted for TV screens and remote control (D-Pad and voice) or gamepad.
- Google programs and services are also adapted for TV screens and remote control.
- The Google Play Store for Android TV contains only those applications and games that are adapted for Android TV (interface and remote control / gamepad).
- There is support for Google Cast (on certified boxes).
You can put any program. But remember that the Google Play Store for Android TV contains only those applications and games that are adapted for Android TV. All other programs can be easily installed via apk, Aptoide TV (illegal software), etc. Keep in mind that for programs that are not adapted for Android TV, you may need a mouse.
The ideology of Android TV is based on simplicity. But if you start to deal with it (“I need, as in a smartphone, and I want to control everything with the mouse”), then you are waiting for negative impressions. If you accept its ideology, and all your actual programs are adapted for Android TV, then you will simply get pleasure from the work of the system.
It is also important to understand that Android TV is currently the only official boxing system from Google. Certification of the conventional Android system for boxes terminated for more than two years. In the near future, you will not see boxes from A-brands or from operators with the usual Android system.
Firmware version V0828 from 11/09/2018. By OTA (this is Mecool's own program, made on the basis of the standard from Amlogic), no new updates are detected.
Mecool tried to get certified by Google, but for some reason did not pass. As a result, the system is not certified, i.e. illegal (illegally uses Google’s services and programs for Android TV). Google Cast support is cut out. Various trash programs have been added to the system itself (well, that is not in the system partition) - all of them can be removed if necessary. The lack of certification has played a very bad trick on Mecool, which you will read about in the DRM section.
The firmware uses the 64-bit kernel version 4.9.76. But the Android layer itself is 32-bit. Amlogic has simply not completed the full 64-bit version for the S905X2.
Localization into Russian is not fully implemented. Only elements of the general Android system (i.e. Google itself) are translated. The fact that Amlogic is added is practically not translated. For example, the settings of the screen, audio output, etc. in English.
There is no root support in the system, but it is easy to add such support - for boxing there is a TWRP.
Any box should have maximum stability in the basic functionality, regardless of the work of individual programs. On the network, you can find various complaints about the work of KM9. But I faced only a few minor and one critical problem (like many other users) - boxing just hung up after a while in sleep mode. I contacted Videostrong directly to provide the firmware with a fixed bug. But he never received an answer. As a result, when the review was ready, an obituary was written in the conclusions. Before publishing the review, GearBest gave me a link to an OTA update file with firmware dated 11/22/2018 , which they received from Videostrong. This update fixed a hangup in sleep mode, so the output had to be slightly rewritten.
Remote, gamepad, HDMI CEC
The console can be called very good (it is simply the best of those produced by manufacturers of basement echelon boxes). According to tactile sensations, it is inferior, for example, to the Xiaomi console. Works via Bluetooth. But the remote has an IR transmitter, it is used only to turn on the box from the fully off state. There is no gyro (for mouse mode) in the remote, it is not necessary, because does not match the ideology of Android TV. A microphone with excellent sensitivity, it is not necessary to bring the console closer to the mouth, voice recognition works well. You do not need to keep the Global Voice Search / Google Assistant button for the microphone to work; you just need to press it once.
A single action of the power button can be set in the settings. Boxing supports partial sleep mode, i.e. When switching to sleep mode, only the video signal is turned off, and the programs receive an appropriate alert.
A long press of the power button brings up the power menu.
I will note that the menu of previously launched programs is not activated in the system. Those. No double or long press Home This menu is not called, which for some may add discomfort to use. Such a menu can be used only in custom systems or with a special patch.
In the operation of the console, there is only one drawback. In rare cases, after pressing the Global Voice Search / Google Assistant button, the microphone is not activated, i.e. The search itself is activated, but the microphone does not work. You need to press the button again.
With the work of GameSir and Xiaomi gamepads via Bluetooth, there were no problems. Connect and work with most games without problems.
Support for various HDMI CEC functions floats from one TV model to another. I have not yet met any Android-box, which would have perfect support for HDMI CEC with all TV, even with different TV models of the same brand. On Amlogic boxes, HDMI CEC support has never been good (mainly due to the selective operation of the power features and the inability to adjust the volume). HDMI CEC support is enabled in the settings.
HDMI CEC operation with LG test TV:
- You send to sleep a box with the help of the remote from the box, the TV turns off (goes into standby mode) - yes (not always).
- Wake up the box with the help of the remote from the box, TV turns on - yes.
- Turn on the TV with a regular TV remote, box wakes up - yes (not always).
- Turn off the TV with a regular TV remote, boxing goes to sleep - yes.
- You can control the box from the TV box - yes.
Performance
The console uses the fresh SoC Amlogic S905X2 - 4 ARM Cortex-A53 cores up to 1.8 GHz and the Mali-G31 MP2 GPU. This is a budget SoC. The system and programs work quickly and smoothly. It allows you to play simple 3D games (i.e., the minimum for games). Almost always required to reduce the level of graphics to the minimum. You need to understand that the main thing in Android boxes is media functionality, i.e. VPU and implementation of its capabilities in software. But the processor and GPU should have enough power to work with the device comfortable. S905X2 provides a comfortable level with a margin.
The interface is displayed with a maximum resolution of 1920x1080. Even if you select the resolution of 3840x2160 in the system, the interface and all programs will continue to work with a resolution of 1920x1080 and zoom to 3840x2160. As in many boxes, only SurfaceView objects can display real 4K resolution (they are used in media players and some games). In fact, it does not matter with what permission to run test programs and games - with 1920x1080 and 3840x2160 the result will be identical.
For convenience and clarity, I will give a comparison of performance with boxes on the Amlogic S912 (Minix Neo U9-H).
CPU
| Mecool KM9 | Amlogic S912 | |
| AnTuTu v6 (General Index / 3D / CPU) | 43500/8200/16100 | 42000/9300/14000 |
| Geeckbench 4 (Singe / Multi) | 700/2200 | 500/2500 |
| Google Octane | 4,000 | 3100 |
GPU (3D)
| Mecool KM9 | Amlogic S912 | |
| 3DMark Sling Shot Extreme | 300 | 400 |
| Bonsai | 3250 (46 fps) | 3250 (46 fps) |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex | 13 fps | 18 fps |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex 1080p Offscreen | 13 fps | 19 fps |
As you can see, the CPU performance is higher with the S905X2, and the GPU performance with the S912. In general, we can assume that parity. There is no visual difference in the operation of the two systems.
All tried 2D games worked well and without any complaints.
Most of the 3D games can be played. At the same time it is necessary to reduce the graphics settings to the minimum. There is no point in detailed testing, because S905X2 - this is the minimum for games (for simplicity, you can compare with Chinese smartphones for less than $ 100).
I liked that in S905X2 reduced output delays from the decoder. Streaming games via Nvidia GameStream (Moonlight), stream 1080p60, 30 Mbps - up to 40 ms for H.264 and up to 20 ms for H.265. In this case, it is visually visible violation of uniformity (boxes on the S912 with Minix firmware provide perfect uniformity when working through the Moonlight).
Internal and external drives
In a fresh KM9 system, about 25 GB of internal memory is available to the user.
The linear speed of the internal flash memory is at a good level for cheap boxes - 140/105 MB / s.
The SD controller in the SoC is just as weak as the previous SoC from Amlogic (the speed limit is at 20/15 MB / s). Those. There is no point in using fast microSD cards, and it’s better to use USB sticks or cards through a USB card reader. Here, for example, the speed of a very fast Samsung card with a capacity of 128 GB:
USB 3.0 interface is implemented honestly. The speed is very high - 300/300 MB / s. The box was connected on the JMicron controller (with UASP support) with the installed SSD from Samsung, the NTFS file system. Under Windows, such a disk provides 500/500 MB / s for SATA and 450/350 for USB 3.0.
Support for file systems on external media with USB interface:
| FAT32 | exFAT | NTFS | |
| KM9 | read / write | read / write | read / write |
Network interfaces and network services
For a wired network in KM9, a controller with support for Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps) built into the SoC is responsible. For the wireless network is responsible budget controller Ampak AP6255 with support for Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g / n / ac, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, MIMO 1x1.
The tests were performed using iperf 3. The iperf server is running on a computer that is connected to the local area network via Gigabit Ethernet. The selected key R - server transmits, the device accepts.
The actual KM9 data transfer rate over the wired interface is at 95 Mbps.
Boxing was 5 meters from the router through a single reinforced concrete wall - this is the place where I test all Android boxes and mini-PCs. The line connecting the box and the router passes through the wall at a 45 degree angle. In the role of the router acted popular Xiaomi Mi Router 3G. It would be possible to use Keenetic Ultra, but it sometimes gives a chance even to boxes with a poor Wi-Fi implementation, i.e. High results are demonstrated, which can be confusing for readers with simpler routers. So that you understand - I have no goal to find out the maximum Wi-Fi speed of a specific box at 1 meter from the router without obstacles (it does not matter to me whether it will squeeze out 200 or 300 Mbit / s). I model a typical case, and all boxes are tested under the same conditions. I'm testing only with 5 GHz band (if the box has such support).
First, I want to answer the low sensitivity of Wi-Fi in boxing. Those. Boxing saw only a fraction of the available networks in the test location. When away from the router, test networks were lost in places where other devices continued to see test networks. Secondly, due to the internal design of the box, in order to achieve an acceptable speed, the box must have been positioned. Those. you can not just put the box on the legs, you have to put it on the edge backwards, etc. This is a typical problem of cheap Chinese boxes, in which Wi-Fi is implemented by a tyap-bloop on a budget controller. Wi-Fi speed was 88 Mbps.
Box KM9 in many cases will not be suitable for work on Wi-Fi. Those. focus on the cable connection first.
Direct audio and audio decoder support
I was surprised that the KM9 system has an AC3 decoder (decoding and mixing in stereo). It is present in both StageFright and MediaCodec. Although many players have a software decoder, in some situations it can be useful.
Amlogic did everything in his repertoire. If in one of the versions of the basic Android 7.1.2 system, support for the IEC 61937 standard has been fixed, and Kodi has added support for HD audio output, now everything has returned to the beginning. For tests, the Onkyo receiver was used.
Direct HDMI output in Kodi (17.6):
| Dolby Digital 5.1 | DD |
| DTS 5.1 | DTS |
| Dolby TrueHD 7.1 | Not |
| DTS-HD MA 7.1 | Not |
| Dolby atmos | Not |
| DTS: X | Not |
Video decoder support, video playback, autoframe
KM9 has HDMI 2.0b output. Formally, HDMI 2.1 support for SoC is stated, but it’s not very clear what it is - modes above 3840x2160 @ 60 are not supported, it’s not clear about the support for VRR features and the like. In general, at the moment we can say that boxing has support for HDMI 2.0b.
Supported resolutions up to 3840x2160 at 60 Hz, 10 bits with HDR. You can choose color coding. The interface is displayed with a maximum resolution of 1920x1080. Even if you select the resolution of 3840x2160 in the system, the interface and all programs will continue to work with a resolution of 1920x1080 and zoom to 3840x2160. As in many boxes, only SurfaceView objects can output real 4K resolution with HDR support, they are used in many players.
In Settings there is an opportunity to make color correction and it is possible to control the noise level. This setting does not work and does not affect anything. Spoofing when outputting video does not work (this is good).
HDR
I did not notice any problems with HDR10 output (in UHD Blu-ray). HDR to SDR conversion is supported in case you need to watch HDR content on an SDR TV. Amlogic's conversion is not perfect (and it cannot be perfect), but one of the best. There was no point in checking Dolby Vision support, since Boxing does not support DV and for Android TV at the moment there is not a single file player (only VOD services programs) that could work with DV metadata.
Deinterlacing system
Interlacing does not work in either StageFright or MediaCodec. Only one of the two fields is displayed. Those. at the output of the decoder for streams with interlaced video, you get twice the reduced frame rate and two times lower vertical resolution. This is bad.
Playing
KM9 video over Ethernet from NAS handles almost any content in Kodi (17.6). Any UHD BDRemux with a bitrate of up to 70 Mbps loses without problems (the lack of Gigabit Ethernet in the box no longer allows). Files and streams 2160p60, encoded with H.265 Main10, play perfectly. The streams 2160p60 encoded by H.264 (for example, from some action cameras) are played poorly, because The H.264 decoder in S905X2 does not support such parameters (only 2160p30 or 1080p60 H.264).
Autofreight
For those who do not know, I will briefly talk about autoframe ... Autoframe is automatically setting the screen frequency according to the frame rate in the video being played. Autofreight provides uniformity, which is a component of smoothness.
Take for example a movie on a Blu-ray disc or UHD Blu-ray. Most of this content is content from 23.976 fps (frames per second). For simplicity, we assume it is 24 fps.
Your device (box) outputs data in the mode of 3840x2160 at 60 Hz (as you specified in the system settings). How to display a 24 fps movie at 60 Hz, i.e. turn 24 frames per second to 60 frames per second? The most trivial way and it is also used on the vast majority of media players - 3: 2 conversion pull down. Here is its meaning in the picture:
From the first frame two frames are made, from the second three, from the third two, from the fourth three, etc. Thus, you have received a conversion of 24 frames> 60 frames. But this conversion has a negative effect, which is called judder effect (use Google search to understand the scale of this problem, and what actions are being taken to solve it, which eminent companies are involved in this) - unevenness. Those. in reality, some frames are displayed longer in time than others. Imagine that a ball is flying (24 frames). The first frame is displayed 1/30 sec, the second 1/20 sec, the third 1/30 sec, the fourth 1/20 sec, etc. Uneven flight, "jerking" the ball. No problem if there are no speakers in the video. But as soon as the dynamics begin (it does not matter, vertically or horizontally), then all this is manifested.
But as soon as the frequency of the scan will be 24 Hz, then everything will fall into place. There will be no transformations, because no need to adjust the sequence of 24 fps to 24 Hz. Each frame will display an equal amount of time - 1/24 sec. Uniformity will be perfect. The ball will fly evenly. It is for this that autofreight (a generalized concept) exists. When starting a video stream, the player program (if it is a modern autoframe) or the system (if it is a system autoframe) sets the screen frequency to match the frame rate in the stream or is a multiple of it.
I’ll also remind you about the types of autoframe ...
Autofreight implemented in a particular program specifically for a particular box (that is, using some proprietary functions or commands of a particular box system). This is the old school and the worst version of the implementation of autoframe on boxing.
System autoframe. It can be implemented both through separate StageFright and MediaCodec libraries with output in SurfaceView, and for two at once. In fact, it is a universal crutch. Programs do not even know what autoframe is, and that the output mode is changing. Since This is a universal solution, this kind of autoframe can cause problems in some cases. For example, in some programs an intermediate switch may occur when rewinding, in IPTV managers there may be extra switchings when switching channels, etc.
The so-called modern autoframe is the API that Google introduced even in the Android 6 system. A similar API functionality exists in the Amazon system and in the tvOS systemfrom Apple. But this API was implemented in the system by only a few box manufacturers. Its essence is that the program can change the resolution and frequency of the display on your own. These changes concern only the program itself, and not the system as a whole. This is the most correct and ideal implementation of autoframe in programs, because everything is under their control, and not a system that cannot take into account particular cases. That is why it is sometimes called modern autoframe for simplicity. The most popular programs that support modern autoframe are: Kodi, ViMu, Perfect Player, Plex, Archos, Amazon Video, etc. And there will only be more such programs.
KM9 does not support any kind of autoframe. After adding root support, you can use the Kodi.AmLogic.script.frequency.switcher plugin for Kodi, but then there is another old problem. Disturbed uniformity when outputting to SurfaceView at a frequency other than 60 Hz (pictures with confirmation will be in another large comparative overview of the boxes on the S905X2). Those. in fact, you are changing one unevenness to another.
3D
KM9 loses MVC MKV and BD3D ISO in Kodi only in 2D.
DRM and legal VOD services
Videostrong purchased Widevine and HDCP keys from Amlogic. KM9 has support for Google Widevine DRM Level 1 and HDCP 2.2. Without this, Mecool would not have passed the certification of Android TV (which in the end she did not do so for some reason).
Boxing does not have Netflix certification (to support 4K with HDR, Atmos, etc.).
The lack of Google certification played a cruel and funny joke at Videostrong. Recently, Netflix began a hard hunt for boxes with no Google certification. Boxing KM9 recently came under distribution, and its DRM keys were locked on the side of Netflix servers. Those. now the official Netflix client does not work at all on KM9.
But many of us live in Russia, we don’t need to worry about Netflix.
Illegal VOD-services and playing videos from torrents directly
There were no problems with content from HD VideoBox (from various sources) in ViMu.
Kodi + Elementum without any problems loses torrents directly (without preloading) with a bitrate of up to 25 Mbps. When playing BDRemux and Blu-ray (up to 40 GB) playback is sometimes "choked." It seems that there was not enough processor power (and it should be enough). It is also worth bearing in mind that at the time of all the tests, the Elementum supplement was updated several times and caused a lot of complaints about work on the network. In any case, KM9 does not support autoframe, direct audio output is limited to DD and DTS, i.e. not suitable for moviegoers, and for the vast majority of ordinary consumers BDRip will be enough, and boxing with such torrents will directly cope without problems.
IPTV
IPTV from EDEM, OTTClub worked fine. Problems with one channel did not arise. Perfect Player (one of the best programs for IPTV) with a HW + decoder switched channels in a split second. Autoframe did not work (Perfect Player supports it), because Boxing does not support modern autoframe. Voice channel search worked without problems.
With torrent-TV services (streams with interlaced video of original quality) everything is bad, because There is no deinterlacing in the system in both StageFright and MediaCodec. Those. high-quality reproduction of such channels on this box is impossible.
YouTube
Since Boxing uses the “real” Android TV system, and not a custom made from the usual Android system, you can safely use the latest version of YouTube for Android TV (2.04.05) from Google Store Play, it will not cause problems. In the YouTube client for Android TV on KM9, you can select stream quality up to 2160p60, it plays perfectly.
Conclusion
Mecool KM9 is a simple Chinese boxing not for moviegoers, but for the most undemanding consumers who simply need the box to “turn on and somehow show the video”. It could be safely recommended for purchase, if not for one “but”. And this “but” is called Xaiomi Mi Box S (MDZ-22-AB) with a price at a similar level. This box is also for undemanding consumers, i.e. moviegoers from him should stay away. Yes, KM9 is made on an updated S905X2 processor, but the average consumer will not see the difference in speed, if you do not play games. But in Xiaomi Mi Box S, the official and certified Android TV 8.1 system with Google Cast (at the same time, Xiaomi approached quality control better, and the system will be updated to Android TV 9), Netflix certification, acceptable Wi-Fi performance, better remote control, which works without problems.
While I was writing a review, Videostrong decided that the Mecool KM9 with a Bluetooth remote control will no longer be released. Now there will be a new simplified version of the KM9 with a penny IR remote without a microphone. Those. the meaning of this box is generally reduced to zero. Their logic is clear. After adding DRM-keys to the black list of Netflix, the fate of KM9 in Europe and the USA is predetermined (yes, there is also a whole layer of consumers who love inexpensive Chinese boxes).
You can buy Mecool KM9 and Xiaomi Mi Box S in the Gearbest store (which provided KM9 for review). Prices at the time of publication of the review: