Today we want to introduce you to YOKA KB2 TV Box review. We can confidently say that this is one of several successful TV Boxes from Videostrong. We do not want to reveal too much so later in the review you will find out more. Already now we can confirm to you that YOKA KB2 is a very good TV Box. YOKA KB2 is one of the first TV Boxes equipped with a 32GB eMMC flash storage, which went on sale In this review (typically) we want to bring you the the features and impressions of using YOKA KB2 TV Box and answer the questions: how KB2 TV Box powered by Amlogic S912 chip works in normal use, as copes with video playback at 4K and that we stumbled upon some problems. Together we follow the standard stages of our review. We invite you to read.
I want to say thanks to Videostrong (Videostrong Technology Co., Ltd – websita on Alibaba.com) and Gearbest store (one device we used for the Giveaway, more here) for sending us a YOKA KB2 TV Box to review. Now YOKA KB2 is available on Gearbest at Flash Sale for $67.99 + free shipping. The wholesell link of KB2.
YOKA KB2 TV Box specifications:
- CPU – Amlogic S912 octa-core ARM Cortex A53 processor @up to 2.0GHz
- GPU – ARM Mali-T820MP3 @ up to 750MHz
- Memory – 2GB DDR3
- Storage – 32GB eMMC flash and micro SD slot up to 32GB
- Video Output – HDMI 2.0a
- Audio Output – HDMI, and optical S/PDIF
- Video codecs – VP9-10/ and H.265 up to 4Kx2K@60fps, H.264, WMV, MPEG-1/2/4, VC-1, AVS, and RealVideo up to1080p@60fps
- Audio codecs – MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, FLAC, Ogg, and programmable with 7.1/5.1 down-mixing
- Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, dual band WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
- USB – 2x USB 2.0 ports
- Misc – IR receiver
- Power Supply – 5V/2A
- Dimensions – 13 x 10.9 x 2.4 cm
- Weight – 206 g
What we find in the box? The box included everything that you need to get started:
- YOKA KB2 Android TV Box
- HDMI cable
- Power adapter 5V/2A (US)
- Remote control (without AAA batteries)
- External WiFi antenna
- User Manual
The following video from our YouTube channel where you can take a look at more YOKA KB2 TV Box and bundled accessories.
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e8AA8oH3gE[/embedyt]
First impressions, settings, overview of features
The YOKA KB2 from Videostrong is an aesthetically and well made TV Box, having a housing with good quality plastic. As mentioned at the beginning of KB2 is equipped with a latest SoC from Amlogic called Amlogic S912,which supports VP9-10 Profile-2 up to 4Kx2K@60fps, H.265 HEVC MP-10@L5.1 up to 4Kx2K@60fps, H.264 AVCHP@L5.1 up to 4Kx2K@30fps, H.264 MVC up to 1080p @60fps, MPEG-4 ASP@L5 up to 1080P@60fps (ISO-14496) and more. YOKA KB2 runs on Android 6.0. The front panel (in a small window) has IR receiver with power LED, and Power button. On one side there are two USB 2.0 ports (one USB 2.0 OTG) and micro SD card slot. On the rear panelare: RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet port, Optical S / PDIF port, AV port, a small hole forrecovery firmware, HDMI 2.0a, 5V DC jack.
At the bottom of the device there are holes for the discharge of hot air, and MAC address. Below also remote control. Remote control is quite large, but very well fits the hand, and has a key function to which you can assign your preferred applications function known from the ZIDOO TV Boxes.
Below we include the YOKA KB2 4K UHD TV Box photos in combination with a matchbox so it was easier to see the size of KB2 Android TV Box.
Booting Android to the “home screen” takes about 00:33:03 seconds. Yoka KB2 has a very simple and easy to use launcher. The device worked (typcally) in the resolution of FHD 1920×1080 (1080p 60Hz) but you can also adjust the preferred resolution or set the auto switch. Everything worked stable and very quickly without delays, Netflix (Netflix offline) also works without problems. YOKA KB2 TV Box is suited to Netflix offline you know where you can use the 32GB of eMMC storage 🙂 ). KB2 TV Box support also DLNA, Miracast. We had no problem with Ethernet and WiFi connection to router and to Internet. In addition to the remote control I used a standard keyboard and mouse, Gamepad GameSir G3s, and Xiaomi gamepad. Below a some screenshots.
YOKA KB2 TV Box as one of the first to receive pre-installed Kodi v17 “Krypton”.
On KB2 TV Box games from Google Play are working properly. You can play without a problem just connect gamepad or airmouse and keyboard. We used GameSir G3s and Xiaomi gamepad. The combination of YOKA KB2 with gamepads is great fun. Beach Buggy Racing, Asphalt 8: Airborne works without problem, even with high resolution works trouble free.
Operating system and components
The YOKA KB2 runs on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow, namely version 6.0.1 and the Linux Kernel version 3.14.29. KB2 TV Box comes with firmware build number KB2-userdebug 6.0.1 MHC19J 20160827.135930.V0701 test-keys. It was enough to connect the TV Box to the Internet, and we have access to updates via OTA (Big plus!). There was no need to do anything special, no flash method etc. We updated device via OTA to firmware version build number KB2-userdebug 6.0.1 MHC19J 20161007.155515.V0701 test-keys.
TV Box is equipped in the recently very popular a SoC Amlogic S912 quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 2GHz processor and GPU ARM Mali-T820MP3, CPU speed between 100 MHz and 2.0 GHz. On the following screens you can see exactly the components used and their specification (Information taken from the CPU-Z app). CPU-Z app does not recognize too well Amlogic S912. The device is detected as KB2 (q20x)and board q20x. Below some screenchots.
After using the DRM info (app) we know that KB2 TV Box supports Google Widevine Moudlar DRM, but unfortunately does not support Microsoft Playready DRM, Marlin DRM and Verimatrix VCAS.
Performance tests and benchmarks
For testing I use the AnTuTu Video Tester 3.0 app and AnTuTu Benchmark 6.1.4. The result 858. Also worthy of note is that KB2 TV Box did not have not supported codecs.
Video playback by Kodi v17 “Krypton” and MX Player runs smoothly and stable The YOKA KB2 without problem seems plays movies with the resolution of 480p,720p and 1080p (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 video formats – AVI, MKV, MP4 (typical formats in which it holds the majority of movies), ISO and also videos was played fine. The tested KB2 TV Box plays video files in 4K (also 60fps) almost without any major problems. The following table of video samples tested for Kodi. TV Box Also copes well with playing the video on YouTube – videos plays in 1080p. Also, we tried to play VP9 4K video and also runs smoothly without any problems.
Typical 1080p | KODI |
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 |
– | – |
4K Video | |
Sintel – H264 / AAC 2.0 – 24fps | OK |
BBB Sunflower -H264 – 60fps | OK (audio delay) |
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 (without sound) |
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 |
Demo Samsung 2014 TS/HEVC 10bit – 51.4Mbps | OK |
H.265/VP9 Video | |
Tears of steel – H265-HVEC / AAC 2.0 – 15Mbps | OK |
Youtube – VP9 / 1080p | OK |
VP9 / 4k – Eye of the Storm 4K Ultra HD.webmv | OK |
YOKA KB2 TV Box Benchmarks
The YOKA KB2 scored 41892 (nice!) on AnTuTu Benchmark v6.1.4. The KB2 TV Box on GeekBech 3 scored: Single Core score – 444 and Multi Core score – 2235, and RenderScript score – 1430. Below screenshots.
The YOKA KB2 TV Box scored 4236 on Ice Storm Extreme. 7028 scored on Ice Storm Unlimited, and Sling Shot – 393.
Below screen with the results in Vellamo and GPUbench. YOKA KB2 TV Box has the internal memory benchmarks: Read 75.92MB/s – Write 24.91MB/s. RAM copy speed was 3340.49MB/s
Conclusions
YOKA KB2 is one of the better TV Boxes available on the market. Copes well with playing different video files, including 4K. KB2 is solidly constructed, and supports OTA firmware update. It has a very good performance and ample space for storage (32GB eMMC). KB2 TV Box also has a not exorbitant price, taking into account the specifications and features. Once again I want to say thanks to Videostrong and Gearbest for sending us a KB2 TV Box samples. If you are looking for a good TV Box to your home entertainment center YOKA KB2 is certainly for you. We recommend a YOKA KB2 TV Box.
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