Rikomagic RKM V3 Review: TV Dongle for Digital Signage

atb_teamOctober 8, 2020

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Product details
First impressions, settings, an overview of features
XOGO Digital Signage on RKM V3 TV Dongle
Operating system and components
Video Tests
Conclusions

Today we have a Rikomagic RKM V3 review for all of you. Rikomagic RKM V3 is an Android media player in HDMI Stick / TV Dongle format.

This is another Android Media Player from Rikomagic dedicated to Digital Signage. Just like the RKM DS02 (review here), the RKM V3 can be used to display digital content, advertisements in shops, grocery stores, restaurants, banks, etc.

Whether Rikomagic V3 is a device more for home or commercial use as a Digital Signage player, you will find out from our Rikomagic V3 review.

Availability and price

I want to say thanks to the Rikomagic (Shenzhen Rikomagic Tech Corp., Ltd company) for sending us a Rikomagic RKM V3 to review.

Rikomagic RKM V3 now is available at Official Rikomagic Store on Aliexpress for $65.90.

Rikomagic RKM V3 Review: Product details

Rikomagic RKM V3 TV Dongle Specification:

CPU – Rockchip RK3328, Quad-core Cortex-A53 up to 1.5GHz
GPU – Mali-450MP2 GPU,support OpenGL ES1.1/2.0
OS – Android 7.1
Memory – RAM/ROM 2G RAM, 16G ROM
WIFI – 2.4Ghz WiFi, IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
Ethernet – 10/100M LAN Port
Bluetooth – 4.2
Expand Memory – Micro SD card, up to 32GB
Power – DC IN 5V/2A
Interface – HDMI Output 1 x HDMI2.0 4K*[email protected] display, USB 1 x USB2.0 Host, 1 x USB3.0 Host, MicroSD 1 x MicroSD card, Network 1 x RJ45 10/100M, Power Supply DC IN 5V/2A
Software Performance – Google play Support downloading more than 600,000 applications from google play store. UI Attractive UI design for better user experience; Original Android UI can be settled by the user as well. Language Support Multi-language 3G dongle Compatible with 3G dongle Protocol Support Miracast, DLNA, Airplay
Media Parameter:
- Audio Container Support MP1,MP2,MP3,WMA,WAV,OGG,OGA,APE,FLAC,AAC,M4A,3GPP…etc Audio formats.
- Video Format Support 4K VP9 and 4K 10bits H265/H264 video decoding, up to 60fps 1080P multi-format video decoding (WMV, MPEG-1/2/4, H264, VP8) Picture Format HD JPG/JPEG/BMP/GIF/PNG/TIFF
- Resolution Support 4Kx2K & Full HD 4K*[email protected] fps video output
Unit Size – 110*48*22 mm
Weight – 0.325KG

The box included everything that you need to get started:

RKM TV Stick
HDMI cable
Power adapter
User Manual

The following video from our YouTube channel where you can take a look at more RKM V3 TV Dongle and bundled accessories.

RKM V3 Stick Review: First impressions, settings, an overview of features

The RKM V3 from Rikomagic is a well-made TV Dongle. The housing is made of plastic that is pleasant to the touch. The presence of the RJ45 port is immediately visible. This is probably the only TV Stick / TV Dongle with Android OS that has an RJ45 port. In addition, there is also a USB 3.0 port and a DC jack on the bottom, and a USB 2.0 port and a TF card slot on one of the sides. There are openings in the upper part for better ventilation. There is HDMI (male) on the top of the device. To connect the device, all you need is an HDMI port on the TV. Pictures below.

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Impressions from the use

The RKM V3 has an interesting launcher with a good layout for the most important features. The status of the bar can be hidden.

We can choose typically the resolution of FHD 1920×1080 (1080p 60Hz), but the device works in a resolution of 1280x720p. Everything worked stable and very quickly without delays. We had no problem with Ethernet (Ethernet: Download – 93.3Mbps Upload – 94.1Mbps) and but the WiFi connection (WiFi: Download – 2.77Mbps Upload – 5.32Mbps) is not satisfactory. Although it is slow when updating digital signage content we did not feel this speed. However, when downloading games, streaming via Youtube, smooth playback up to 1440p.

The device supports Miracast. Rikomagic V3 HDMI Stick has network signage features such as Time controller/ time on/off (*RKM V3 supports rotation, RTC, Time on and off, customized fw supported). We also installed Kodi 18.8 “Leia”. On the RKM V3, you can play simple games, for example, Beach Buggy Racing. Same as for DS02 for Digital Signage tests, we also installed the XOGO Player app.

Unfortunately, we were unable to run any performance tests (Antutu, Geekbench). While testing the Geekbench 5 app, the device turned off. Below a lot of screenshots.

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XOGO Digital Signage on RKM V3 TV Dongle

Same as for RKM DS02, also for RKM V3 we used the same Digital Signage software, namely XOGO Digital Signage.

To display digital content, you need the XOGO digital Signage Player app, is available for Windows 10, Chrome, Android, and Fire (installed on TV Box / Network Player) and XOGO manager for player and content management (application installed on Windows 10, Android or iOS device). You can find the guide here.

We used a Free subscription (HD content) for one player. A PRO version (HD and 4K content) is also available ($20 per player per month, or paid annually), more here. Despite the slow speed of WiFi, we had no problem configuring the software and displaying the content on the RKM V3 player and remote management (for example, remote device restart). XOGO software is intuitive and everyone should cope with its service. We used Ethernet and WiFi connections in our tests. If you are looking for easy-to-use Digital Signage for one player or many, for example for your grocery store, the combination of RKM V3 and XOGO is satisfactory. Below some screenshots.

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Rikomagic RKM V3 Review: Operating system and components

The RKM V3 runs on the Android 7.1.2, Kernel version 3.10.104, Firmware build V3 RK3328_ANDROID7.1.2-20191220. HDMI Stick is equipped with a Rockchip RK3288 processor quad-core Cortex-A53 and GPU Mali-450MP2, CPU speed between 408MHz and 1.51GHz.

Below screenshots from the CPU-Z app, DRM info app, and Root Checker app. ROOT is granted.

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RKM V3 TV Dongle Review: Video Tests

Video playback by Kodi 18.8 Leia in some samples did not run smoothly. The TV Dongle without problem seems to play movies with a resolution of 480p,720p, and 1080p (24fps, 30fps, 60fps) and in some 4K (60fps) with various codecs videos such as H.264, H.265, MPEG2, MPEG4, RMVB, and audio passthrough worked fine via HDMI. RKM V3 TV Stick playing the video on YouTube in 4K 2160p, but at 1440p more smoothly.

Video Playback via Kodi 18.8

Typical 1080p	Kodi 18.8
MPEG2 / MP2 2.0 – 6.6Mbps	OK
MPEG4 / MP3 2.0 – 7.6Mbps	OK
H264 / AAC 2.0 – 7.2Mbps	OK
VC1 / WMA3 2.0 – 25Mbps	OK
VP8 / VORBIS 2.0 – 7.8Mbs	OK
Jellyfish 1080p HEVC 10bit – 90Mbps	OK
4K Video
Sintel – H264 / AAC 2.0 – 24fps	OK
BBB Sunflower -H264 – 30fps	OK
BBB Sunflower -H264 – 60fps	Not smooth, sound delays
Honey Bees – 96fps	OK
Skyfall – H264 / AAC 2.0 – 10Mbps	OK
Puppies Bath – h264/AAC 2.0	OK
Cinemartin H265/HEVC	OK
Tears of steel – 60fps	OK
HD Club Chimei – H264 / AAC 2.0 – 60Mbps	OK
Jellyfish 4k uhd HEVC 10bit – 140Mbps	OK
Jellyfish 4k uhd HEVC 10bit – 200/250/300/400Mbps	Not smooth
LG Demo – Istanbul 3840×2160 MP4/H264 8bit – 116Mbps	OK
Sony 4K – Camp HDR MP4/HEVC 10bit – 75.8Mbps	OK
Demo Samsung 2014 – USA Road Trip TS/HEVC 10bit – 51.4Mbps	OK
Samsung UHD DUBAI TS/HEVC 10bit – 51Mbps	OK
H.265/VP9 Video
Tears of steel – H265-HVEC / AAC 2.0 – 15Mbps	Not smooth
Youtube – VP9 / 1080p	No
VP9 / 4k – Eye of the Storm 4K Ultra HD.webmv	OK
VP9 / 4k – 10 Incredible 4K (Ultra HD) Videos.webmv	OK
VP9 / 4k – Australia – Land Down Under in 4K.webmv	OK

Rikomagic RKM V3 Review: Conclusions

In our opinion, the RKM V3 is a device more dedicated to commercial projects than to home use. In combination with XOGO Digital Signage software, it is a very good signage player. If you need a Digital Signage player in HDMI format that also supports Ethernet connection (RJ45 port), the RKM V3 is worth your attention. If you need a TV Dongle for home use, you should look for another device.