TV-BOX X96 Max Plus 2/16 GB - review, reviews

Among budget solutions (up to $ 50), a dozen set-top boxes can boast of high performance. In our previous review, 5 winners were identified. But many readers ask the question - what is better to buy not in China, but in the domestic market. After all, the price of consoles grows in a strange way, and the characteristics deteriorate.

Going to one of the online stores in our country, we bought a TV-BOX X96 Max Plus 2/16 GB for $ 40. The same console costs $ 25 from the Chinese. Having overpaid more than 50%, we are guaranteed to receive a working and technically sound gadget. Moreover, the payment was made after testing the TV-BOX. This is the beauty of buying devices in the domestic market. On the one hand, there is an overpayment. On the other hand, there is no "pig in a poke" and no disputes with the seller.

TV-BOX X96 Max Plus 2/16 GB - specifications

 

Chipset	Amlogic S905X3
Processor	4хARM Cortex-A55 (up to 1.9 GHz), 12nm process
Video adapter	Mali-G31 MP2 (650 MHz, 6 Cores)
RAM	2 GB (DDR3, 3200 MHz)
Persistent memory	16 GB (eMMC Flash)
ROM expansion	Yes, memory cards
Memory card support	Yes, microSD up to 64 GB
Wired network	100 Mbps
Wireless network	802.11 b / g / n 2.4GHz
Bluetooth	No
Operating system	Android 9.0
Update support	Yes, hardware, you can manually
Interfaces	1xUSB 3.0 1xUSB 2.0 HDMI 2.0a (supports HD CEC, Dynamic HDR and HDCP 2.2, 4K @ 60, 8K @ 24) AV-out (standard 480i / 576i) SPDIF RJ-45 (10/100) DC (5V / 2A, blue power indicator)
The presence of external antennas	No
Digital panel	Yes
Price	40$

 

 

Review of TV-BOX X96 Max Plus 2/16 GB

 

The weakest link in this set-top box is the Wi-Fi wireless interface. At 2.4 GHz, the TV-Box outputs only 40 Megabits per second. It does not even reach the 802.11g standard, although it is declared. Moreover, we got these 40 Mb / s with a business router ASUS RT-AC66U B1... There is confidence that state employees like TP-Link, which are represented by providers, will generally cut the speed by half.

The lack of Bluetooth does not affect anything. It's just that the set-top box itself is not aimed at high performance and functionality. And there is no point in attaching multimedia to it.

And another nuisance is the terrible stock remote. It is clear that you can buy a G10S or G20S Pro and forget about the problem. But still, this is the middle price segment, they could put a remote control with a gyroscope. Even without voice control. By the way, when the remote control is connected normally, voice commands are not supported. You need to remove the original Google service and install a third-party application. Fortunately, the TV-BOX X96 Max Plus has ROOT.

TV-BOX X96 Max Plus 2/16 GB - reviews on functionality

 

The advantages include performance. Even in the 2/16 GB version, the console is very nimble. The gadget copes well with video in 4K and FullHD in IPTV, Youtube, online torrents.

There is only one thing - to play 4K without braking, you need to connect to the Internet via a cable (RJ-45). Via Wi-Fi - you can only enjoy video in FullHD and HD format.

 

Surprisingly, the bundle comes with a great noName HDMI cable that handles HDR transmission. Maybe we have a successful circulation (just lucky), but it pleases. After all, a good cable from a well-known brand costs at least $ 10.

Coming back to the remote control - it's not practical at all. Especially when you need to search for videos by title. And also, the remote control is infrared. That is, it must be directed to the receiver of the set-top box. By the way, there is a connector for an IR extension cable, but the device is not included.

 

Fortunately, after the review, we still have the Logitech K400 Plus wireless keyboard with a touchpad. This is a real salvation for the comfortable control of the attachment. The future owner will have to get used to the supplied remote control, or purchase a normal gadget. We recommend to buy G20S Pro.

 

Should you buy TV-BOX X96 Max Plus 2/16 GB

 

If we talk purely about watching videos from different sources, then the set-top box definitely needs to be bought. She really copes with any task and has a minimum price (in the domestic market). Such a gadget is suitable for home leisure for people of different ages. Especially for parents, who can configure everything once and show them how to use it.

TV-BOX X96 Max Plus 2/16 GB will not work in such cases:

 

• If a cheap router is installed and the set-top box is planned to work via Wi-Fi.
• The console is needed for games.
• In cases where the owner prefers to watch 4K movies in Blu-Ray quality. The trick is that the set-top box will not have enough performance to decode content and network bandwidth for transmission from the Internet. Even over a cable, 100 Mb / s is not enough.