Beelink GT-King II Review – The Return of the TV-Box King

Beelink GT-King II Review – The Return of the TV-Box King

There is a very tasty Arabica coffee called «Egoiste». It has a special and very memorable taste. Even after several years, when consuming other coffee brands, the taste of Egoiste is easily recognizable. As well as the emotions received from this wonderful drink.

 

Chinese brand Beelink TV boxes can be compared to coffee. If someone has already used any TV-Box from this manufacturer, they have likely felt the difference when purchasing similar gadgets under other trademarks. After leaving the TV-Box market in 2020, Beelink condemned its fans to survive in a world of imperfect devices. The appearance of the Beelink GT-King II in 2022 was a pleasant surprise for everyone.

 

Features of the Beelink GT-King II TV-Box – an overview of competitors

 

Beelink stands for performance, functionality, and ease of use. The TV boxes are reasonably priced and demonstrate impeccable operation. There are solutions for everyday tasks (watching video content from any source). And there are gaming options for Android game enthusiasts.

Beelink GT-King II Review – The Return of the TV-Box King

It cannot be said that competitors have no analogs. They do. And quite interesting ones. But after two years of absence from the TV-Box market, the situation has changed significantly:

 

  • The mid-range and budget segments are flooded, sorry, with outright trash. Well-known and lesser-known brands, using old chips, produce poor-quality boxes, competing for the lowest price. Performance is hardly a consideration. Perhaps only for 720p video viewing.
  • NVIDIA emphasizes its legendary Shield TV PRO. The company has not developed this direction for three years, selling a morally outdated gadget. Yes, the TV-Box can run many demanding games and work with desktop gaming services. That’s cool, but there is no development in this area.
  • The Ugoos brand (a direct competitor to Beelink) also abandoned further development and focuses on 2021 models. Ugoos has interesting solutions. And it has many fans. But any Beelink owner will say that Ugoos is far from perfect. It has many nuances that are very difficult to tolerate after long-term use of a TV-Box.

Beelink GT-King II Review – The Return of the TV-Box King

The entry of Beelink GT-King II into the global market was a breath of fresh air. Both for brand enthusiasts and new buyers. The manufacturer used a new chip and modern technologies in assembling the box. This means that all competitors will also need to wake up and create something new and competitive. And that’s a good thing. Standing still is impossible. You always need a technologically advanced device at hand that supports all audio and video codecs, can display images or games at the specified specifications.

Beelink GT-King II Review – The Return of the TV-Box King

Technical specifications of the Beelink GT-King II

 

Chipset Amlogic A311D2
Processor 4x Cortex-A73 at 2.2 GHz

2x Cortex-A53 at 1.8 GHz

Video adapter Arm Mali-G52 MP8 (8EE), 4 cores, AVE-10
RAM 8 GB LPDDR4/X 2133 MHz, 64-bit
Storage 64 GB eMMC 5.1
Expandable storage Yes, TF memory cards up to 1 TB
Operating system Android 11 (first revision Android 9)
Wired interfaces 1x USB 2.0, 2x USB 3.0, RJ-45 (1 Gbps), SPDIF, 3.5 mm Jack, 1x HDMI 2.1, DC
Wireless connection 2T2R Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, 2.4 and 5.8 GHz
Bluetooth Version 5.1
Case, cooling Plastic, passive cooling system
Video output signal 4K, 2K, 1080P with 60fps support, 3D support
Audio output Hi-Fi standard via SPDIF
Control Remote control, voice control, mouse
Dimensions 108x108x15 mm
Price $180

Beelink GT-King II Review – The Return of the TV-Box King

Why is it profitable to buy the Beelink GT-King II TV-Box

 

Of course, the $180 price tag is expensive. But it fully complies with the declared requirements for a TV-Box. Analogs from Ugoos or NVIDIA with similar content reproduction quality also cost the same. But by paying 180 US dollars, you get 4K, HDR 10+, Wi-Fi 6, Hi-Fi, Atmos, Dolby. And, of course, guaranteed performance in games at Ultra quality settings.

Beelink GT-King II Review – The Return of the TV-Box King

The new Amlogic A311D2 chipset was originally developed for automotive dashcams. It emphasizes Arm Mali-G52 MP8 (8EE) with NPU support. This graphics core with artificial intelligence is designed for processing sound and video at the highest possible quality. In the Beelink GT-King II TV-Box, the Amlogic A311D2 creates the expected conditions for video viewing and sound reproduction at the declared technical specifications. Simply put, all content will be transmitted in the form originally intended by the author. But there is a nuance. A modern display (monitor or TV) is required, along with Hi-Fi audio equipment and speakers. All this is necessary for the technologies to work at 100%.

Beelink GT-King II Review – The Return of the TV-Box King

Accordingly, buying the Beelink GT-King II TV-Box is suitable for wealthy individuals who have proper audio equipment, a good TV, and a desire to enjoy video or audio content.

 

Order the Beelink GT-King II TV-Box or choose something cheaper

 

It all depends on your needs. And often, buyers make mistakes in their expectations regarding a TV-Box. To make it easier to understand, here are some examples:

 

  • I’ll get a gaming TV-Box, maybe I’ll play on the TV. The main mistake. If you don’t use games on your tablet or smartphone, you definitely won’t be playing Android games on a TV-Box. A good gamepad costs from $30. You should consider that too. And without a love for games, there’s no point in buying a high-performance box.
  • I want to watch videos from various sources in the best quality. We’re talking about YouTube, a hard drive, NAS, and torrents. Basically, any budget TV-Box can handle video. If you’re talking about 4K and HDR, then you need a TV, a home theater system, and a decent router (1 Gbps network and Wi-Fi 6 support). With all these resources, buying the Beelink GT-King II is profitable. If you’re satisfied with 720p and don’t have external speakers, the expenses are unjustified.
  • I need a multimedia device for DLNA, which will unify all systems in the house. TV, computer, home theater, media server (NAS), mobile devices, portable speakers. In this case, a powerful platform is required. The Beelink GT-King II will organize all this.

 

Beelink GT-King II Review – The Return of the TV-Box King

As you can see, purchasing a TV-Box is a complex process. And this is considering that the device is bought for 2-3 years ahead. Yes, it will work longer. But the emergence of new codecs and technologies in general will start to degrade the quality of the results.

 

Take, for example, the legendary 2019 Beelink GT-King. At the time, it was impeccable in every way. After 3 years, the device still works without issues (physically). But it no longer supports many Android games at Ultra quality. It has certain problems with the new H266/VVC video codec. It works poorly with the AV1 codec. When downloading videos from torrents, you need to check the codec type to ensure smooth playback.

 

Therefore, a balanced decision is required before purchasing the Beelink GT-King TV-Box. You can buy the device via this link on AliExpress.