Probox2 AVA

[testman78]

Introduction

Today we want to introduce you to Probox2 AVA review. Probox2 AVA TV Box is a flagship TV Box from Probox2. Indeed, the device has everything you should have a flagship TV Box. Actually it comes with many impressive features like internal 2.5″ HDD/SSD bay with Sata 3.0 support. The Probox2 AVA, runs on a Realtek 1295DD quad core CPU running up to 1.4GHz. The AVA display, is powered ARM Mali T820 tri core GPU (X3) running up to 750MHz. It comes with 2GB of DDR3 RAM, and 16GB of internal storage. Probox2 AVA is more than a simple Android TV box, as it supports NAS function via OpenWrt running simultaneously with Android 6.0 and its USB 3.0 and SATA port, as well as HDMI input function capable of recording and broadcasting videos, and supporting Picture-in-picture, so I find "Android Media Center' better fit the description for this device.



Specifications.




Packaging & Contents

At the front of the box we have the name of the TV box which is the PROBOX2 AVA with the caption "Android TV BOX + HD Recorder". When you look below you'll see its various specs including an quad core processor with 64 bit, 4k HDR, along with the 2GB DRR4 RAM and an Android Marshmallow 6.0 OS.



At the back you'll have more in-depth information about the specs of the TV box. It's nice that they put the in-depth specs of the TV box at the back so you can easily check it at the store while browsing.



If you take off the top cardboard box, you'll see some paperwork like the user manual. The bottom cardboard box holds the antenna which you will need to attach if you're using a wireless connection. If you got the regular version you'll only get the standard remote. However, if you got the version that has the Remote+, you'll not only get the Remote+ but also the USB receiver for the Remote+. It's nice they also added an HDMI cable that you can use so if you don't have extra HDMI cables lying around or this if is your first time needing an HDMI cable, you won't need to go out and buy one. Of course, you'll also get a power adaptor.




A Closer Look

The unit measures 200Lx125Wx21H mm. The AVA Android TV box features a slick matt black finish exterior. Even with the antenna attached, it's a nice compact design and it's pretty nondescript when placed with your other AV equipment. It also has a digital display on the front that shows the time. There is no physical power button, and all power functions are handled via the included remote control. There is an external 5dbi dual-band antenna to help boost the WiFi signal. You get also Bluetooth 4.0, and Gigabit Ethernet.



At the back you can find an HDMI Out slot, HDMI In slot another USB 2.0 port, SPDIF input port, Ethernet port, Antena port and a DC input.



On the left side of the Probox 2 AVA, you will find a USB-2.0 Port, a USB-3.0 Port, and an SD card slot.



The bottom of the unit has cooling air vents and rubber feet. On the bottom of the unit is the firmware update hole button and access to the SATA hard drive slot.



When we speak about memory Probox 2 AVA has 2 GB of RAM with 16 GB storage space. Storage space can be upgraded using the memory card up to the 32 GB. But if you need more space than these is not the problem because as just the title says it has internal 2.5″ HDD/SSD bay. Therefore internal 2.5″ HDD/SSD bay allows you to easily install hard drive! So you can load many movies to your storage, ro you can use free space for recording, eventually it is up to you. If you ask us how complicated is to install hard drive, then we can tell you it is quite easy. So you can install almost any 2.5″ hard drive with SATA 3 support. When inserting a SATA drive into the ProboX2 AVA box you are effectively creating your very own inexpensive NAS (Network-attached storage) device which allows you to easily transfer files to your computer as well as gain remote access to your computer files.



The PROBOX2 Air comes with the standard remote but if you get the special version the Remote+ will be bundled with it. The included remote is pretty standard and includes power, mute, media, music, web, app, skip, home, return, menu, mouse cursor, and number buttons as well as a navigation wheel and OK button.



This Remote+ is a great air mouse and should probably merit its own review just like how you can now also buy it separately on its own if you already do have another TV box. It has a 10 meter range, a microphone and is also built with gaming in mind as you can tell from its buttons. With the added dongle, you can use it with your other media players as well as Windows, Mac and Linux. The remote uses two AAA batteries which are not included but the battery usage is minimal. It takes weeks before you have to change it again. The remote includes a power button, a mic, microphone button, menu button, home button, arrow buttons, back button, OK button which also functions as a left/select button, a fly mouse button, a volume down, mute, volume up and four gaming buttons which are x,y,a and b. Besides an actual remote, it also has a mic and can also use gyration which you can use to play games like Fruit Ninja.




Packaging & Contents

The PROBOX2 AVA really is simple to use. Attach the antenna if you are planning on using a wireless connection, or plug in an Ethernet cable if you are going to be using it with a wired connection. Connect the HDMI and SPDIF cable as required, and finally plug it in. If you're using the Remote+, plug the included USB receiver into the USB slots on the side of the PROBOX2 AVA. Once you've booted up for the first time, you are guided through a quick setup which lets you choose your language, time zone, picture scaling, and finally network setup if connecting wireless. There's a nice DMCA warning screen reminding you to only view legal content, and then you're good to go once you accept.

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The interface on the PROBOX2 AVA received an overhaul from the previous models, and now includes a new PROBOX2 APEX UI launcher. Like the previous UI, it is nice and clean, and you do have the option of switching to the previous UI, or even another launcher of your choice like Nova Launcher. The Home menu has changed, and now three smaller tiles are on the left side which take you to Kodi, Google Play, and the Task Killer app. The main larger tiles are more rectangular in shape and include Movies & TV, Favorites, Music, Stream, Internet, Game, Photo, Social, and Files. These tiles are folder shortcuts, and opening them gives you access to apps that you?ve categorized for each folder.



We can also access our installed applications from the Apps menu. And since the Probox2 AVA is an Android device, you can also install almost any app from the Google play store and run it on your TV box.



Just beside the 1 click swap button, there's a cog to access the device settings. Clicking on it takes you the customized setting tab of the Apex UI launcher for the device. The settings layout of the Apex UI launcher is pretty simplified and well thought. You can access almost of the settings you'll need to play around the device with. Like the Display, Wifi, Sound, Applications, etc.



Within the Display setting, you can set your desired screen resolution as long as the TV supports the max resolution. You can also re-position, and play with the colors of the output from the Daydream and HDR mode.



On top of these standard screens, we can find the HDMI-In app that provides us with the ability to use a HDMI source (such as a digital TV tuner, a camera with a mini/HDMI port, or any other live source) to display it using the AVA (either full-screen or in a window PictureInPicture) and even record it immediately or with the scheduling function. Here are some pics of this function.



The second big feature in the versatile AVA box is the OpenWRT firmware, which in reality turns this box into a hybrid Linux/Android machine. The OpenWRT firmware deserves much more reading to get what it can do, but the gist of it would be a cross between Linux based router and a multitude of servers including VPN, Web server, File Server (NAS) and many more. Here is the basic system screen of the web interface for the OpenWRT function.




Performance

Internal storage usage does not seem optimized, even considering the OpenWrt partition, as only 8.91 GB is available to the user in the "internal storage" partition out of of the 16GB eMMC flash. Having said that, this should still be plenty enough of space for most people. The good news is that both SATA and USB 3.0 drive partitions were recognized with NTFS, exFAT, EXT-4, and FAT32 file systems supported. Most Android TV boxes will not work properly if you attach more than one hard drive. On this field this Android media player is at the very top thanks to well selected built-in hardware. So it is based on RealTek RTD1295DD chipset which includes 64bit quad core CPU ARM Cortex A53 with ARM Mali-T820MP3 GPU. But what is most important this chipset supports HEVC 10 Bit, 4K 3D movies, and HDR HDMI IN function including HDMI-in recording. Of course we have tested the Probox 2 AVA with several different benchmark applications like AnTuTu benchmark including Geekbench 4 where below you can see benchmark scores. Actually the scores are pretty ok.



Of course we love to play games, and because of that we tried to play several different games on Probox 2 AVA. After that we can say freely all games works as they should to work, and you can normally enjoy playing games. So we played Riptide GP2, and actually the game is really cool to play.



Actually in our opinion KODI including ,VLC and bsplayer are best movie players, and at the same time they are free. For this purpose we have tried to watch different kind movies from HD to 4K to see how good is working. From what we can see Probox 2 AVA has no problems with playing any kind of movies including 4K movies. Maybe sometimes you will need to adjust settings for some particular movies.



Dual band 5G WiFi download and upload speeds are 129Mb/s and 20MB/s upload respectively. When using Gigabit Ethernet plugged into the back of the ProboX2 AVA, the download and upload speeds are 450MB/s 13MB/s respectively. WiFi single band download and upload speeds are 85MB/s and 18MB/s respectively.



I did some extra tests for power consumption, testing various configuration with or without USB or SATA drives, and under load:



Power off (no HDD) 0.2 Watt
Standby (No HDD) 0.4 Watt
Idle (No HDD) 5.2 6.1 Watts
Power off + USB HDD 0.2 Watt
Standby + USB HDD 0.3 Watts
Idle + USB HDD 8.4 Watts
Power off + SATA HDD 0.2 Watt
Standby + SATA HDD 0.4 Watt
Idle + SATA HDD 7.2 Watts
Idle + SATA HDD + USB HDD 9.4 to 10.4 Watts
SATA HDD (Copy file to SAMBA share) + Play 4K video from USB HDD 13.4 Watts


Conclusion

So you can see why Probox 2 AVA is professional Android media player. For the start it has all features you will need including powerful hardware. But most important it has internal 2.5″ HDD/SSD bay with support hard drive up to 10TB. You do not have NAS, no wired gigabit network at home, and You need a discreet device in your living room with a large storage space to keep your movies...the Probox 2 AVA offers all this. The AVA worked properly with all my movie collection (avi, mkv, ISO, bdmv) in SD, HD and UHD. This chipset offers the latest generation HEVC / VP9 4Kp60 video decoding technology with HDR10 capability to provide wider color range and wider contrast for an enhanced viewing experience. Embedded multi-core 64-bit ARM CPUs and high-performance 3D GPUs enable users to experience the best on large screens. It offers one of the best image(out of box) in this category of device, compatible with an internal HDD. Our review sample came with the Remote+, which I much preferred to the standard included remote. The Remote+ is slightly smaller, and is a unique tailor-made media remote controller with Air mouse function, Gyroscope, Gaming pad, built-in microphone and directional pad for easy navigation in media applications like the Kodi. The remote includes the standard power, menu, home, back, and volume buttons, as well as a mouse cursor/gamepad toggle, directional pad, and four gaming buttons labelled A, B, Y, and X.



Priced at $59.99USD, the PROBOX2 AVA most definitely a fantastic value considering its easy setup and use. I'd also highly recommend the Remote+ for an extra $20USD (for a package price of $79.99USD), as it's just that much easier for navigation and control of the system. Overall Probox 2 AVA is serious movie guy.