Chinese manufacturer of TV set-top boxes, VONTAR, has taken on mastering a new and powerful RK3566 chip. The first in the series with an upgraded processor is the TV-BOX H96 MAX series. The gadget has decent claimed specifications and an affordable price.
TV-BOX H96 MAX (powered by RK3566) – review
| Manufacturer | VONTAR |
| Chip | Rockchip RK3566 |
| Processor | 4x ARM Cortex-A55 (up to 1.99 GHz) |
| Video adapter | Mali-G52 2EE |
| RAM | 4/8 GB (DDR3, 2133 MHz) |
| Flash memory | 32/64 GB (eMMC Flash) |
| Memory expansion | Yes |
| Operating system | Android 11.0 |
| Wired network | 1 Gbps |
| Wireless network | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2.4GHz/5GHz |
| Bluetooth | Yes, version 4.2 |
| Interfaces | 1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0, HDMI 2.0a, SPDIF, LAN, DC |
| Memory cards | microSD up to 128 GB |
| Remote control | BT, voice control, air mouse |
| Price | $50-100 |
The design of the set-top box vaguely resembles Nvidia Shield TV Pro (there is a triangular textured area on the edge of the TV-BOX). The manufacturer installed an LCD display on the side edge and even made an interesting LED backlight on the case. The build quality is decent, but the cooling system is oddly implemented.
Advantages of TV-BOX H96 MAX
- Unique (unusual) design of the set-top box.
- Wide range of configurations in RAM and storage capacity.
- Good speed over Wi-Fi 5 GHz and via LAN cable.
- Excellent remote control (Bluetooth, voice control).
- YouTube and IPTV work in 4K60fps.
- Handles games at medium quality settings.
Disadvantages of TV-BOX H96 MAX
- Unpleasant backlighting on the case (low-quality LEDs).
- Poor cooling system. The set-top box heats up to 82 degrees Celsius.
- Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz standard does not work with all routers.
- No HDR support at all (despite claims).
- The air mouse in the remote control works poorly.
- Impossible to adjust the parameters of the image output to the TV.
- No ROOT rights.
- Auto frame rate is missing.
- Incorrect online torrent handling (files over 20 GB cause lag).
- Does not support 8K video decoding (despite manufacturer claims).
