The new Neo U1 from Minix is the latest and greatest from the leading TV Box manufacturer in the market. It is based on the successor of the S805, but is pitted against S812 and RK3368 devices – mostly for one reason: as the new generation of SOCs, it supports 10Bit video encoding. Meaning, it can basically play all the video formats out there (not really, but mostly).
This review unit was sent to me courtesy of the good people at Minix, so thank you all, and especially John, for the helpful communication.
As can be seen, the box contains the following: the Neo U1 S905 TV Box, MiMO Dual Wi-Fi Antenna, DC Power adapter, HDMI 2.0 cable, USB OTG cable, Micro-USB cable, and the basic IR remote control.
Not much to be said regarding the look of the box, as Minix uses the exact same design (saves on production and design costs) in each and every model. It is still simple and elegant with the embossed logo on the top, a new IR sensor on the front, and a multitude of ports on the side and back of the box.
Chipset Amlogic S905 Quad-core 64 bit Cortex A53 GPU Penta-Core Mali-450 GPU Memory / Storage 2 GB DDR3 / 16 GB EMMC LAN Gigabit (10/100/1000M) Wireless 802.11ac 2 x 2 MIMO Dual-band WiFi (2.4 GHz / 5 GHz) Bluetooth v4.1 OS Android 5.1.1 Video Output HDMI 2.0 (4K/2K 60 FPS) Audio Output / Input HDMI out, 3.5 mm Headphone Jack, SPDIF (optical), 3.5 mm Microphone Jack Power DC 5V / 3A Peripheral Interface 2 * USB Host, 1 * Micro SD card (TF card) reader, 1 * SPDIF, 1 * 3.5mm Headphone Jack, 1 * HDMI(A type Male), 1 * RJ45 LAN Port Packing Included 1 * Neo U1 1 * Adapter(DC 5V/3A), 1 * HDMI Cable ,1 * IR Remote Controller,1 * Quick Guide, 1 * Product Brochure
All benchmarks have been repeated 3 times and results have been averaged to give a more accurate reading:
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 box shows that it’s single core performance is not the highest which is consistent with the S905 being a more “budget-y” SOC and not really meant for the high end products. It is still in the top 4 and not too far from the S812 and RK3368 based boxes. * Recently, Antutu benchmark has been updated to version 6 which uses different parameters and sub-tests, so the graphs are still based on the older 5.7.2 version for comparison, but here is the result of the new (6.0.0) Antutu version: 38260
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. The U1 had issues completing GPU Mark benchmark properly and froze either mid-test or upon the result screen. Issue has been reported to the manufacturer for correction.
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 RAM performance is similar between the new Minix and the Probox2, as both are using a similar chipset. But in both Internal and External SD card tests, the Probox2 seems to take a backseat to the new Minix, probably due to a better implementation of a memory reader/controller.
Work performance, Photo editing, Writing and Web browsing Scores
The PC Mark benchmark tests run several productivity tests and the U1 performed well in most of them. It came second only to RK3368 based boxes which have the advantage of four more cores..
3D Mark benchmark is considered as one of the best ways to test 3d performance on Android (and other platforms). The U1 did not shine in it, coming as number five out of seven in the running. As this is the budget chip of the new AMLogic generation, it is understandable.
The U1 got a new update to firmware version 003 over the weekend (11 December), which was aimed at solving some of the issues that were encountered – especially regarding video playback. However, even with the update and a specialized Kodi version made for Minix, there are still issues:
1. Long pre-buffering for heavy videos (25mb and up) – even if played from local storage
2. Degraded audio noticed in both 4K 10bit TS demo file (http://www.andytather.co.uk/Panda/Files/Video/UHD_PQ_Dive_to_New_World.ts) and in a standard 1080p DTS (2 channels) encoded film (The.Hard.Way.1991.1080p.BluRay.x264-HD4U) may be in others as well. sounds like clipping.
3. Volume bar bug – appears randomly on the screen without any remote control interaction.
4. Low volume audio. Even when defined to keep audio amplification settings on all videos, many (or all) start with low volume.
5. 10mb bug. Unable to copy to, rename on, or delete from connected USB drives. in my case it’s a 1.5 TB hard drive that works perfectly when connected to any other TV box.
6. Reverts to 720p. Upon reboot (not sure if it happens every time, but it happened at least twice so far), the screen resolution reverts to 720p (from 1080p) even when the “return to default resolution” is set to “off”.
7. Add-ons installation – it requires repeat action almost every time since some dependencies fail to install. the installation succeeds the second time, but this happened in any Kodi version I tried (the 16 beta included, the XBMC for minix offered with the firmware upgrade, and SPMC 15)
8. Backing up XBMC/Kodi/SPMC to a folder either on the external USB drive or a MicroSD card failed. (“not writeable” error) It seems that small files can be written correctly to the targets, but bigger files just refuse to write. The targets are formatted in NTFS, and I was using compression in the backup add-on.
9. ES Explorer, a popular file manager is unable to retain passwords for network locations (SMB shares) and asks for them anew even though “remember password” tick box is checked.
10. Torrent streaming Kodi Add-ons still do not work (pulsar, Kmediatorrent and so on) in Kodi or Kodi variants.
11. GPU Benchmark froze either in mid test or at the end of it, forcing to use “home” button and kill the program.
Keep in mind that this is a brand new model and that those are most likely growing pains that will be ironed out in time. All issues have been reported to Minix and should be dealt with in future updates.
Video Playback testing (Using KODI)
Resolution Video Format Local Playback Network (Wi-Fi/LAN) Playback 720p (1280*720) AVC ([email protected]) 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 ([email protected]) Playing correctly Long Pre-buffering (on Wifi. PLC over LAN is worse with stutter and buffering) 4K TS HEVC files HEVC (H.265) 10Bit Playing correctly Long Pre-buffering (on Wifi. PLC over LAN is worse with stutter and buffering)
Video playback is quite great. 10 Bit TS files that never worked before are now playing quite well, but bandwidth still affects playback, and the heavier the file is, the more of an issue it is. Wi-Fi performance is noticeably better (especially AC/5GHz connection) than LAN over PLC.
Rooting is unavailable for the time being, and for review purposes it is quite an important requirement. As such, I could not measure frame rate, or resource usage and had to resort to subjective experience.
Asphalt 8 Airborne – a 3d graphic intensive racing game. Game performance is fine in standard settings. It is not completely smooth, but is more than playable. I cannot offer frame rate count due to the reasons mentioned above.
Angry Birds 2 – a popular 2d action game. The gameplay was mostly smooth with a few stutters/jerks (both in picture and audio) along the way. The loading times were a little slower than I expected. Overall, a mediocre to good experience. The GPU/RAM handling may need some polishing to avoid these issues in the future, and it may also have to do with the “Google play services” bug that does not allow games to use it for game play tracking.
Walking War Robots – an online robot warfare game that requires a game-pad (I don’t have a game-pad). Game loaded fast and frame rate was quite satisfactory. The A2 Lite gyro function did not work with the game, so only directional arrows were used.
Did I like it? Yes. As can be seen, on the top, I’ve given it the highest marks I gave any box, even with the list of bugs and mediocre 3d performance. I believe TV boxes are measured more by their video/audio playback performance – unless there are other issues that make them mostly unusable as anything else. In this case the general performance (gaming, web browsing, working) is quite satisfactory even if not the best. Minix has come out with the best (so far) S905 64 bit box in its class. It can play pretty much any video/audio file, and aside from no support for some new HD audio formats (DTS: X and Dolby Atmos) due to lack of licensing, it is another impressive high quality release.
Would I recommend it? Definitely. It still got some rough edges, but with Minix’s excellent support, I am sure it will shine much better in the future. And it is quite future proof.
The Minix Neo A2 Lite Air mouse (and keyboard) Mini Review
When you buy the Neo U1, you may also get the Neo A2 Lite Air mouse bundled with it.
What makes it so great? It is one of the most comfortable air mice I ever used, and it’s also quite versatile thanks to the included keyboard.
It is compatible with Android, Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.
It takes 2 standard (or rechargeable) AAA batteries which goes on both sides of the Air mouse. (keyboard side)
Range could not be tested seriously (the room is not spacious enough), but the responsiveness is quite good and the buttons are of the softer, quiet kind.
The keys arrangement is quite good, although somewhat different than other remotes. It does not take long to get used to.
Switching to the A2 Lite from another (Minix) air mouse I have (the Neo M1), is like moving up from a banged up Beetle VW to a Mercedes. The experience is on a completely different level and makes the TV box usage that much more enjoyable.
The “Lite” in it’s name refers to it’s bigger brother, the A2 which adds one more function: a built in Speaker and Microphone for voice commands and sound recording.
However, it is not be aware that it is relatively bulky and heavy for a remote. If you have small hands, you may be better off with another, smaller product. Also, the mouse function reverts to remote function very fast once the remote loses it’s line of sight. On top of that, I was not able to use the Gyro functions on the (two) games I tested.
Did I like it? Most definitely!
Would I recommend it? Yes. I haven’t tested it with other boxes, PCs or devices, but from past experience with other Minix remotes, I am sure it will perform on the exact same level.
I give it… 4.2/5 Stars – Great, with the only thing missing (and I am nitpicking) is true game-pad functionality (the gyro did not work in the games I tested)
So, you like it? You can buy the Neo U1 for 15 USD less, with this dicount code (kodilU1) at Geekbuying (minus the A2 lite air mouse) which brings the price down to USD 114.90, Or with the A2 Lite and the same coupon (kodilU1) to bring the price down to 134.90 USD.
Minix Neo U1 S905 TV Box & Neo A2 Lite Air Mouse Review The new Neo U1 from Minix is the latest and greatest from the leading TV Box manufacturer in the market.
