NEXBOX N9 Review: TV Box with Android 4.4 powered by Rockchip RK3229

Today we are pleased to show you a review NEXBOX N9 TV Box, which was equipped with a new chipset from Rockchip called Rockchip RK3229. Is the TV Box with RK3229 will run as efficiently and well as TV Box with S905, check it. Also in this review we want to bring you the features and impressions of using NEXBOX N9 and answer the questions: how NEXBOX N9 TV Box works in normal use, how copes with video playback at 4K , whether appeared any problems and whether you should buy NEXBOX N9?. We invite you to read. Together, we follow the standard stages of our review.

I want to say thanks to NEXBOX company for sending us a NEXBOX N9 TV Box to review. NowNEXBOX N9 Android TV Box is available on on TOMTOP for $27.32 and Geekbuying for $29.99.

NEXBOX N9 TV Box specification:

• SoC – Rockchip RK3229 quad core ARM Cortex A7 processor @ 1.5 GHz
• GPU – ARM Mali-400MP2
• Memory – 1GB DDR3
• Storage – 8GB NAND flash + SD card slot up to 32GB
• Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K2K @ 60 fps, and 3.5mm AV output (composite)
• Audio Output – HDMI, AV, and coaxial S/PDIF
• Connectivity – 100Mbps Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi
• USB – 4x USB 2.0 host ports
• Interfaces – HDMI port, RJ45 port, SPDIF port, 4x USB Host, SD Card Slot, AV Out; DC jack.
• Power Supply – 5V/2A
• Dimensions – 11.3 x 11.3 x 2.5 cm
• Weight – 224g

What we find in the box? The box included everything that you need to get started:

• NEXBOX N9 Android TV Box
• HDMI cable
• Power adapter 5V/2A (EU)
• Remote control (without AAA batteries)
• User Manual

The following video from our YouTube channel where you can take a look at more NEXBOX N9 TV Box andbundled accessories.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Brw1Yhx6WsI[/embedyt]
First impressions, settings, overview of features

The NEXBOX N9 TV Box is also a small (11.3 x 11.3 x 2.5 cm) well and solidly made of good quality plastic in black. Top housing is a matt while the sides of the device are shiny. As we said at the beginning of his heart is Rockchip RK3229 quad core ARM Cortex A7 processor @1.5GHz which supports 4K*2K H.265/H.264 hardware decoding, 4K*2K UHD video playback, 4K@60fps and HD Audio (7.1CH) passthrough. Device runs on Android 4.4 KitKat. The front panel has IR receiver and power LED. On one side is a three USB 2.0 ports and SD card slot. On the rear panel are: another USB 2.0 port, Optical S / PDIF port, AV port, HDMI 2.0 port, RJ45 Ethernet port and 5V/2A  DC jack.

At the bottom of the device there are rubber pads to prevent shifting. The NEXBOX N9 also has holes for the discharge of hot air. Below also remote control.

Booting Android to the “home screen” takes about 00:36.9 seconds. “Home screen” launcher N9 looks very simple, easy to use and familiar. In addition to the remote control I used a standard keyboard and mouse, MINIX A2 Lite. Unfortunately I could not use my favorite Xiaomi gamepad because NEXBOX N9 does not have bluetooth. You can also use simpler launcher (available in settings)

Launcher includes icons in different sized, enabling available for the most important functions, inter alia: Online Video, My Recommend, My Apps, Local, Settings etc. and also as at the top of the screen found a Clean Memory app. Unfortunately, you can set the location on the main screen. The device worked in the resolution of FHD 1920×1080 (1080p 60Hz) but you can also adjust the preferred resolution (also 4K) or set the auto mode. Sadly lacking options reboot, the device can only be turned off. After switching off the device with a remote control or mouse to the PC, not off the LED on the device.

NEXBOX TV Box has also DLNA, Miracast and Airplay. I had no problem with Ethernet and WiFi connection to my router and to Internet. Below screenshot from SPEEDTEST.

In the specification, you can see that the N9 has 8GB of internal memory, but internal storage was divided into 1.91GB and 4.15GB (screen below).The remote control and A2 Lite works without a problem. Everything worked stable and quickly without delays, but sometimes there were problems with applications (return to the main screen). The biggest problem was with Kodi 16.1. After switching Kodi 16.1 and attempt to retrieve a sample of the video, device did reboot. Below a some screenshots.

The NEXBOX N9 TV Box has Kodi 16.0 Jarvis version with addons and skin. TTo test also installed Kodi 16.1, but there were problems with the action. The device worked unstable (frequent reboot).

On NEXBOX N9 you can play in simple games. Unfortunately, the most well-known and newer versions are not compatible with the device, it can also have here affects Android 4.4. In contrast, we were able to play Beach Buggy Blitz (without a Xiaomi gamepad, no bluetooth).

Operating system and components

The NEXBOX N9 TV Box runs on the Android 4.4 KitKat, namely version 4.4.4 and the Linux Kernel version 3.10.0. Received device has firmware build number NEXBOX_N9-eng 4.4.4 KTU84Q eng.melvin.20160316.083839 test-keys. TV Box is equipped with a SoC Rockchip RK3229 quad core ARM Cortex A7 processor @1.5GHz processor and GPU ARM Mali-400MP2, CPU speed between 408 MHz and 1.5 GHz. On the following screens you can see exactly the components used and their specification (Information taken from the CPU-Z app). 

After using the DRM info (app) we know that N9 TV Box not supported Google Widevine Moudlar DRM, and unfortunately does not supported Microsoft Playready DRM.

Performance tests and benchmarks

For testing I use the AnTuTu Video Tester 3.0 app and AnTuTu Benchmark 6.1.4. The result 544. Z68 TV Box (result 442), MemoBox MX MAX  (result 913), MXV+ (result 903),  PROBOX2 Z (result 910), MX Plus (result 892). Other MRX (result 906), T95 (result 906), Minix Neo U1 (result 899), K1 Plus TV Box (result 886) and Beelink Mini MX (result 920). Also worthy of note is that N9 TV Box did not have not supported codecs, but also some are not smooth.

Video playback by Kodi 16.0 Jarvis and MX Player runs smoothly and stable (problem with Kodi 16.1 Jarvis). The NEXBOX N9 TV Box without problem seems plays movies with the resolution of480p,720p and1080p(24fps, 30fps,60fps) and also 4K (60fps) with various codecs video such as H.264, H.265, MPEG2, MPEG4, RMVB and audio – DTS and AC3. Dolby Digital 5.1 passthrough worked fine via HDMI. Also I tested several videoformats – AVI, MKV, MP4 (typical formats in which it holds the majority of films) and also videos wasplayed without any problems. The tested N9 plays video files in 4K (also 60fps) without any major problems. The following table compares Kodi and MX Player for some video samples. Also copes well with playing the video on YouTube.

Typical 1080p	KODI	MX Player
MPEG2 / MP2 2.0 – 6.6Mbps	OK	OK
MPEG4 / MP3 2.0 – 7.6Mbps	OK	OK
H264 / AAC 2.0 – 7.2Mbps	OK	OK
VC1 / WMA3 2.0 – 25Mbps	OK	OK
VP8 / VORBIS 2.0 – 7.8Mbs	OK	OK
–	–	–
4K Video
Sintel – H264 / AAC 2.0 – 24fps	OK	OK
BBB Sunflower -H264 – 60fps	OK	OK
Honey Bees – 96fps	OK	OK
Skyfall – H264 / AAC 2.0 – 10Mbps	OK	OK
Puppies Bath – h264/AAC 2.0	OK	OK
Cinemartin H265/HEVC	OK	OK
Tears of steel – 60fps	OK	OK
HD Club Chimei – H264 / AAC 2.0 – 60Mbps	OK	OK
–	–	–
H.265/VP9 Video
Tears of steel – H265-HVEC / AAC 2.0 – 15Mbps	OK	OK
Jellyfish – H26-HEVC – 140Mbps, 10bit	OK	OK
Youtube – VP9 / 1080p	OK	OK

 

NEXBOX N9 TV Box Benchmarks

The N9 Android TV Box  scored 21336 ( Z68 – 27053, MX MAX – 35024, MXV+ – 34208, PROBOX2 Z – 35996, MX Plus – 35808, MRX– 35466, Sunvell T95 – 28731, MINIX Neo U1 – 37564, Beelink Mini MX –34123, K1 Plus – 29252, PROBOX2 EX+ – 34332, ZIDOO X6 Pro – 30158) on AnTuTu Benchmark v6.1.4. The N9  scored  on AnTuTu and GeekBech 3: Single Core score – 352 and Multi Core score – 1157. Below some of screenshots.

The N9 TV Box scored 2203 (Z68 – 3319, MX Max – 4349, MXV+ – 4218, PROBOX 2 Z – 4333, MX Plus– 4300, MRX – 4357, Sunvell T95 – 4300, MINIX Neo U1 – 4326, Beelink Mini MX – 4282, K1 PLUS – 4299, PROBOX2 EX+ – 5834, ZIDOO X6 Pro – 4431) on Ice Storm Extreme.  3076 scored on Ice Storm Unlimited.

Below screen with the results in Vellamo. N9 TV Box has the internal memory benchmarks: Read 13.08MB/s – Write 27.54MB/s. RAM copy speed was 1189.03MB/s.

Conclusions

The NEXBOX N9 is a TV Box equipped with a new RK3229 chipset. Plays typical video content in 1080p and copes well with the video in 4K (also with 60fps). The N9 TV Box has nice and an easy to use UI which provides quick and intuitive access to key features. Unfortunately, the firmware has currently compatibility problem with some games. We hope that the manufacturer will soon prepare firmware in which this problem will be fixed. Unfortunately, also it has a few minor bugs. NEXBOX N9 has potential, but needs support firmware. Unfortunately, N9 does not have bluetooth, so if you want to play games you need to purchase a gamepad with USB receiver. The device has 4 USB ports (big PLUS) easily connect accessories without using a USB hub. A strong advantage is also its price it costs less than 30USD. Once again I want to say thanks to NEXBOX company for sending us a NEXBOX N9 sample. If you are looking a TV Box with Rockchip RK3229 chip, which copes well with play most video files and 4K, promised firmware update and do not want to undermine its own budget – NEXBOX N9 is for you.