Wednesday, July 23, 2014

TV Media Box - 10moons D6 Quad-Core TV Box

Date:  July 23, 2014

What do I have now?

When you have a 4K big TV at home, you want to equip with it with the best TV entertainment gadget.  So far, I am satisfy with most of it.  All of these are based on my experience.

- The best TV box so far for Hulu & Netflix is Apple TV3 where you can get from any Apple shop.

- The best TV box for Amazon Prime Videos is Amazon Fire where you can order it from Amazon.

- The best TV box for US/UK Channels is the Minix box where you can get from Sim Lim.

- The best solution to play all your video files (AVI, MP4, MKV, WMV) is to use LG 4K TV with DNLA to connect to your Synology NAS.

- Now, the best TV box for playing Chinese, Korean, PPTV, LeTV, etc… is this following box.


What about Xiaomi TV Box?

Please note that I also tried both jailbroken & non-jailbroken Xiaomi TV Box too.  Will soon write a review on that.  But comparing both YunOS and Xiaomi UI, I like the 10moons’ YunOS.  Later I will show you why?  You can see the video and feel the speed and stability of the network.  Especially when you run PPTV on it, it is also very fast.  I also like Xiaomi, but the CDN19, CDN26 & CDN30 that gives a bit inconsistent results deduct some marks out from Xiaomi.  I still need time to play with Xiaomi in order to give a conclusive review on that box.  There are a lot of unknown fluctuations of performance that I need to investigate what is the reasons. 

 

Where do you buy this 10moons TV Box? 

You get it from Taobao.

http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?spm=a220m.1000858.0.0.P4v3ov&id=22289468827&is_b=1&cat_id=50936003&areaId=&q=%B5%E7%CA%D3%BA%D0

 

I bought it a few months ago, and it costs about RM349.  Now, the price has reduced down to RMB299.  I think they wanted to compete with the Xiaomi Box.

 

Ok, I admit, it does not looks as cool as Apple TV or Xiaomi TV Box.  It is big and square.

 

It packed with quad cores CPU, 8 cores GPU, 3D HD and 4K output.   Let’s check it out.

Screen Shot 2014 07 23 at 6 10 55 pm

 

Before we go on...

As usual, I am going to show you the videos I take when playing the video playback and so on.  Especially PPTV takes only 1 second or lesser than that to launch.  OK.  If you are on ISP Broadband network other than ViewQwest.  You may not get this kind of performance.  In order to get this kind or performance, I am using a 200Mbps ViewQwest FiberNet broadband network.

Screen Shot 2014 07 23 at 6 32 50 pm

For SingTel, Starhub and M1, I will not sure if you can get similar performance or not.  I am not sure about MyRepublic as I do not have one to test.

In order to enjoy Hulu, Netflix and PPTV and many more… you also need to subscribe to the Freedom VPN from ViewQwest.  There is no setup needed to be done.  If you do not have the network and the DNS/Freedom VPN, you will not be able to enjoy the show.

Screen Shot 2014 07 23 at 6 33 46 pm

 

The Hardware


OK.  To some people, this is not elegant.  But what I want is a box that can do the job.  I don’t care whether it is ugly.  HaHa.  This is a different school of thoughts.

IMG 7668

This is the back.  AV ports, HDMI ports, Optical sound, USB and a LAN port.  Pretty standard stuff.

IMG 7672

Oh ya.  There is a ON OFF switch.  Unlike Xiaomi or Apple TV, there is no ON OFF switch.  

There is also an antenna.  The Wifi is capable of doing 150Mbps throughput.

IMG 7670

This is the remote control.  OK.  Not as elegant as Xiaomi TV box or Apple TV or even Amazon Fire.  But it does comes with some neat features.

1.  The numbering pad can be configure as “Shortcut Key”.  Simply press “0” for PPTV.  Press “9” for Karaokae 酷我K歌.  You get what I mean.  This is very USEFUL!

2.  The playback video is getting the video from multiple source.  if you press the upper left button which is the menu button, you bring up a menu to change the source.  You can get it from LeTV, Youkoo, PPTV or others.

3.  The bottom right corner is the MOUSE pointer.  If press, you can point the remote control to the box and act as a mouse.  Very USEFUL too sometimes.

4.  There is also a feature to learn the infrared remote control of your TV too.  But I never use that.

So, overall, yes, the remote control is not elegant, but I like the feeling holding it in my hand.

IMG 7669

 

The Software - YunOS

 

This is the OS (also android I think) developed by Alibaba or AliYun.  It is also call AliYun OS.

And it is a Linux distribution designed for smartphones and TV boxes based on the Android Open Source project.  It is developed by AliCloud.

I love it.  Why?  It is Linux.

http://www.yunos.com

 Screen Shot 2014 07 23 at 6 47 28 pm

This is the boot up screen.

IMG 7595

This is the main screen.

IMG 7596

 

Speed Test

One thing I like about this YunOS is it comes with a Speed Test tool.

What is this speed test tool about?  It tells you how fast is your Internet speed to download the streaming video.  Whether or not you can play only SD, HD (高清) or Super HD (超清).  

My home network can play Super HD.  :)

IMG 7601

 This is how it works.  (Video).  To stream a HD movie needs only 1.2Mbps speed.


Video - Movie or TV Series Streaming

 

The navigation to the Movies, TV Series, Animation, Entertainment and Documentary is very smooth.

IMG 7630 

This is the movie page.

IMG 7631

Let’s try to play a TV Series.  Notice how long it takes to launch the show.  Then, I will try to fast forward it.  And see how fast it come back up.  the quality is nice.

And it takes about 1 seconds to fetch the videos.

 

Live TV

 

Let’s try to see the Live TV shows.  This is the TV shows currently showing on all the major channels in China.  (No HBO, Fox, oversea channels).  Only Chinese Channels.

It actually integrated with 4 native apps for Live TV streaming.

IMG 7605

Most of the channels are Chinese channels.

IMG 7608

Most of the time you have can change to multiple source if the speed is not that good.  So far, I have not found any speed slow down at all.

IMG 7612

Most of the channels are in working condition.

IMG 7621

 

The Mighty Speedy PPTV

 

Needless to say anything.  Just see it.  See the speed.  See the quality of the show.  PPTV is still very good.  Almost lesser than 1 second buffering.  And run smoothly for an hour.  I just watch “The Last Ship” episode 5 in HD streaming.  

 

The rest of the things that is worth mentioning

 

Unlike most of the android box or jailbroken box.  YunOS comes with a very slim and smooth interface.  It does not allow you to setup a lot of things.  In fact none.  Which is good.  So that you do not mess around it.

IMG 7597

There are education segment too.  For kids.

IMG 7652 

YunOS is from Alibaba.  So, they own Taobao.  Of course, Taobao must present in YunOS.  Just like the Amazon Fire has lots of Amazon shops in the channels.

IMG 7653

The Games segment.

IMG 7654

The Application Page.  These application are developed specially on the YunOS.  So, there isn’t a lot of choice but it is enough.  The most important thing is PPTV.

IMG 7655

The Karaokae app.

IMG 7658

Very nicely done App.  Kuwo KTV app.

 IMG 7665

 

Summary

I like this box because it is simple.  It is smooth.

And it is fast.

And it is Linux!  RMB299 is about S$60.  Buy!

Let’s look at another video.  Playing the movie streaming.  Very fast.

 

25 comments:

  1. can it play Taiwan live Channel? Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i tried before in taiwan, cannot play. I guess i need a vpn . Will be trying again next week when i get there.

      Delete
    2. actually i was asking if this box has APP that plays Taiwan channels. thanks

      Delete
    3. You can download Cloud TV App to play Taiwan Channels. http://app.shafa.com/apk/xiaodouzhibo.html

      Delete
  2. Depend on who is your isp? Last time I was staying in W hotel and they use seednet, and I have no problem assessing the china contents.

    ReplyDelete
  3. hello, do you know if i will have problem use some of the movie app from USA ( international ) ?
    Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  4. I realised Tvb drama listing is removed from yunos launcher recently. could u chk if your D6 have the same problem? The strange thing is I can still play from my history. BTW I m on viewquest too

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TVB drama usually got copy right, the Chinese regulatory is trying very hard to ensure the content provider are providing legitimate drama with proper copyright licensing. YunOS works with 华数TV, and they are not being "refined" by the regulators.

      Delete
  5. any one try with MeLe tv box? Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Le TV is also an Android box, should work the same.

      Delete
  6. Do I need a vpn to access all pptv content from Malaysia?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you are in Malaysia, you might need a VPN that can bring you to China. Otherwise, without VPN, the PPTV content will be "international version" where there are much lesser TV shows due to copyright. With VPN, you will get a full range of TV shows and these TV shows are updated shows and latest shows from all over the world.

      Delete
  7. Am looking to get the D8 but not sure how reliable is this brand.

    How about the firmware update? auto-update like xiaomi or have to manual update by downloading from the web?

    Lastly, does the firmware will get update frequently?

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm keen to buy D9 model, but it don't come with optical audio out.
    Can I get Dolby digital sound from HDMI 2.0?
    Can I watch TVB series and China / US channel with starhub fiber?
    Do I need vpn for geo unblock?
    How is MR teleport?

    ThankS in advance......

    ReplyDelete
  9. after its most recent system update, I am no longer able to see anything from china. I was able to see everything before. would this D6 model allow me to change its DNS? so far, every time I try to change its DNS it lock me out of the network. I had to restart the machine again. I am in U.S. by the way. thanks

    ReplyDelete
  10. How to configure D8 remote control number pad?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Ken, I was wondering if it is compatible with any apps downloader? Such as 沙发管家? So that we'll be able to download any other extra apps.

    ReplyDelete
  12. hi, Yunos for tv can run AKP app ? how to install google play and translate to english language ?
    yunos for tv is a customized version of android ?

    ReplyDelete
  13. How is this D6 box different from the white D9 box?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Do u manage to get English subtitles for the English movie?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Ken, I bought a unit of 天猫 M13 TV box. It is using AliyunOS. What app or Web browser can I download to surf the net? Thanks. Henry

    ReplyDelete

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    ReplyDelete
  17. I’m sure you will provide the more awesome blogs like these blogs that I’ve enjoyed a lot. With 8 GB internal storage Jailbroken Amazon Fire TV Box is optimized for Fire TV Game Controller from Amazon. Thanks for sharing..

    ReplyDelete
  18. I have purchased 10 Moons D9i tv box but unable to use it as when I put it on it shows error 255
    Returned to vendor in China and the replacement came with same problem. How do I solve it?

    ReplyDelete