ZIDOO X6 Pro Review: Android TV Box with KODI Isengard and Support 4K@60fps powered by RK3368

ZIDOO (Shenzhen Zidoo Technology CO.,Ltd) is the company responsible for the success of such TV Boxes as ZIDOO X9 and ZIDOO X1 (review here). Today we want to introduce you to review the new TV Box from ZIDOO called ZIDOO X6 Pro which comes with a Rockchip RK3368 now popular chipset. In this review we want to bring you the the features and impressions of using X6 Pro TV Box and answer the question, Is X6 Pro TV Box is able to play video in 4K and like the previous models can succeed on the market.

I want to say thanks to ZIDOO for sending us a ZIDOO X6 Pro TV Box to review. Now X6 Pro TV Box is available on Geekbuying for $99 + free shipping and on Amazon for $109 + free shipping.

ZIDOO X6 Pro is a small, well and aesthetically made TV Box. As we said at the beginning of his heart is Cortex-A53 Rockchip 3368 Octa-core 64-bit processor which supports 4K*2K H.265/H.264 hardware decoding, 4K*2K UHD video playback, 4K@60fps and HD Audio (7.1CH) passthrough. Device also include 3D, KODI Isengard, Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 2.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11ac. X6 Pro runs on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.

ZIDOO X6 Pro Technical Specifications:

• CPU Model – Rockchip RK3368 Octa Core up to 1.5GHz (Cortex-A53 64bit)
• Operating System – Android 5.1, Built in Google Play Store,Support OTA Function
• GPU – PowerVR SGX6110; support 4K*2K H.265/H.264
• Memory – 2GB DDR3
• Internal Storage – 16GB eMMC
• Wifi Connectivity – IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/mimo, 802.11AC,4.900 GHz ~ 5.845 GHz (5.0 GHz ISM Band) AP6335 dual-band WIFI
• Ethernet – 1 * RJ-45 Ethernet Jack (10/100/1000Mbps)
• Bluetooth – BT 4.0
• HDMI Port – Standard HDMI female, v2.0 Support 4K@60fps Support HD Audio(7.1CH)
• Other Interface – 1 * TF card reader SD card interface . Support 1GB/2GB/4GB/8GB/16GB/32GB, 2 * USB 2.0 port (one could be a OTG port), 1 * IR receiver, 1 * Composite video and audio port, 1 * S/SPDIF (2CH, 5.1CH)
• Power – DC 5V/2A
• Video Format – DAT/MPEG/MPE/MPG/TS/TP/VOB/MP4/MOV/3GP/FLV/ISO/M2TS/BDISO/BDMV/WMV/WMA
• Audio Format – DD/DD+/DTS /MP2/MP3/WMA/WAV/OGG /OGA/FLAC/ALAC/ APE/ AAC
• Dimensions: 10.8 x 10.8 x 2.1cm

What’s in the box?

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

• ZIDOO X6 Pro Android TV Box
• HDMI cable
• Power adapter 5V/2A (EU)
• Remote control (without AAA batteries)
• User Manual
• Guarantee card
• Qualified certificate

The following video from our YouTube channel where you can take a look at more ZIDOO X6 Pro TV Box and bundled accessories.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs8EUrp0Ink[/embedyt]

 

First impressions, settings, overview of features

Noteworthy is simple and elegant design the X6 Pro TV Box. ZIDOO team did very aesthetic, distinctive appearance and size than most similar devices on the market – small TV Box (10.8 x 10.8 x 2.1cm) in the shape of a square. The ZIDOO X6 Pro housing is made of good quality not shiny plastic. The front panel (in a small window) has IR receiver and power LED. On one side there are two USB 2.0 ports (one USB 2.0 OTG) and micro SD card slot. On the rear panel are: 5V DC jack 3.5 mm CBVS (composite + stereo) jack, RJ45 Ethernet port, a small hole for recovery firmware, HDMI 2.0 port, and an optical S / PDIF port.

At the bottom of the device there are rubber pads to prevent shifting and warm air outlet. Below also remote control (same as in the ZIDOO X1). Available is application to control the TV Box using a smartphone called Zidoo Remote Control.

As we said at the beginning of X6 Pro is a small TV Box and extra thin (10.8 x 10.8 x 2.1cm). Indeed, the size of X6 Pro is impressive. It is the smallest TV Box which we had the opportunity to test. Below pictures Zidoo X6 Pro compared to matchbox.

Booting Android to the “home screen” takes about 17 seconds. “Home screen” ZIDOO launcher called ZIUI looks very nice and simple (a big plus) and access to functions is also simple and intuitive. I had no problems with navigation on the “home screen” probably because ZIDOO cares not only about design, but also about software quality.  In addition to the remote control I used the standard keyboard and mouse.

The device worked in the resolution of FHD 1920×1080 (1080p 60Hz) but you can also adjust the preferred resolution (also 4096x2160p @ 60Hz) or set the auto mode.  On the ZIUI launcher we have access to the most important features: settings, apps, browser, explorer (file browser), kodi, app lock, clean up etc. X6 Pro comes with pre-installed applications such as Popcorn, Facebook, OGYouTube and more. Application APP LOCK a sort of parental control allows you to give the password selected applications. CLEAN UP application, allows killing tasks and cleaning the cache memory. Well that they are placed on the main screen. Most features which are well known from the ZIDOO X1: zidoo remote control, shortcut key settings, easy cast (miracast, DLNA, mirror). Below a few screenshots.

TV Box has a Kodi 15.1 Isengard. It is the first TV Box where I could see a new version of Kodi. ZIDOO also Release Source code of Kodi for ZIDOO X6 (RK3368) and ZIDOO X1 (H3) (a big plus). Below screenshots from Kodi.

On ZIDOO X6 Pro you can play without a problem just connect gamepad. Beach Buggy Racing and Jetpack Joyride runs reliably and without problem, also I was able to run Asphalt 8: Airborne which also worked without problems.

Operating system and components

X6 Pro TV Box  received with firmware version 1.0.15, but it is already a new version 1.0.16 (Beta). UPDATE 11/10/2015: The new firmware v1.0.22 for ZIDOO X6 Pro TV Box Release.

The X6 Pro runs on the Android 5.1 Lollipop, namely version 5.5.1 and the Linux Kernel version 3.10.0. TV Box is equipped with a SoC Rockchip RK3368 Octa-core 64-bit Cortex–A53 processor and GPU PowerVR G6110, CPU speed between 312 MHz and 1.5 GHz. On the following screens you can see exactly the components used and their specification (Information taken from the application AnTuTu Benchmark v5.7.1, CPU-Z and AIDA64). X6 Pro TV Box chip in the app CPU-Z is recognized as RK3066, it is still not added to the base RK3368. The other application is OK.

Performance tests and benchmarks

For testing I use the app AnTuTu Video Tester 3.0 and AnTuTu Benchmark 5.7.1. The following screenshots from the video test. The result 530.

Video playback by Kodi (15.1 Isengard) and MX Player runs smoothly and stable. X6 Pro TV Box without problem seems plays movies with the resolution of 480p,720p and 1080p (24fps, 30fps, 60fps) and also 4K with various codecs video such as H.264, H.265, MPEG2, MPEG4, RMVB and audio – DTS and AC3. Also I tested several video formats – AVI, MKV, MP4 (typical formats in which it holds the majority of films) and also videos was played without any problems. The X6 Pro tested 4K video play without any major problems. In a few samples of the video were minimal jumping frames. The following table compares Kodi and MX Player for some video samples.

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	Jumping frames / audio sync issues, delay	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,slight jumping frames	OK
Tears of steel – 60fps	OK	OK, slight jumping frames
HD Club Chimei – H264 / AAC 2.0 – 60Mbps	OK, slight jumping frames	OK
–	–	–
H.265/VP9 Video
Tears of steel – H265-HVEC / AAC 2.0 – 15Mbps	OK	OK
Youtube – VP9 / 1080p	OK	OK

 

In some cases there were small jumping frames, but I am sure that the ZIDOO team quickly optimize Kodi and fix these problems. So we can now answer the question at the beginning (Is X6 Pro TV Box is able to play video in 4K and like the previous models can succeed on the market ?). Yes, ZIDOO X6 Pro TV Box plays videos in a 4K mostly without problem and certainly achieved a great sales success in the market.

ZIDOO X6 Pro Benchmarks

The ZIDOO X6 Pro scored 30158 on AnTuTu Benchmark 5.7. Below a lot of screenshots of AnTuTu and GeekBech 3.

The ZIDOO X6 Pro scored 4431 on Ice Storm Extreme and scored 7240 on Ice Storm Unlimited.

Below screen with the results in Vellamo and GPUbench.

Conclusions

ZIDOO X6 Pro is a small and nicely made TV Box which you can easily take with them and put it into his jacket pocket. The heart of X6 Pro is a Rockchip RK3368 octa-core 64-bit Cortex-A53 processor which provides fast and stable operation, and supports H.265 / H.264 video playback in hardware decoding and output 4K @60fps resolution video. Plays typical video content in 1080p and copes well with the video in 4K. X6 Pro has a nicely designed UI (ZIUI), which provides quick and intuitive access to key features. Compared to the competition X6 Pro TV Box is a high end. But the most important advantage is the vendor support that provides frequent updates to the firmware (huge plus!). Very good value for the price ($99). If you are looking device well done in terms of design and software that constantly is backed by the manufacturer that operates stably and well plays the popular codecs, video in 4K and supports HD Audio (7.1CH) passthrough, and allows additional entertainment (games, video streaming. Ect .) This ZIDOO X6 Pro is for you. We were not disappointed doing a review X6 Pro, and we hope that it will refer huge success. We recommend ZIDOO X6 Pro TV Box.