Hello and welcome, an thanks for visiting, Its your host Nick here with yet another TV box stop review.
Today we have another M8S pro model from Mecool, and this one is the Mecool M8S Pro L, Amlogic S912 octa core Android 7.
1 4K TV box.
After the break, I have a full review on itshardware and features, along with a live demonstration and bench mark scores.
So stay tuned, we have more in a moment.
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Welcome back.
What we have here is this white box that thedevice comes in.
All it shows to the bottom is that it's anocta core CPU, it has 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, It can play 4K videosamples up to 60 fps, an it has HDR display with H.
265 and HEVC decoders.
This is the Pro L version, an I'll now unpackthe contents of the box.
The Mecool M8S Pro L version runs on the AmlogicS912 octa core CPU.
Its display is powered by the ARM Mali T820tri core GPU, It comes with 3GB of DDR3 RAM, and 32GB of internal storage, It has 802.
11dual band WiFi, and Bluetooth 4.
1.
In the box, you have the device itself.
You get this remote control.
This remote will work well to control thebasic functions of the box, but it's not a Bluetooth controlled device.
For omni directional control with touchpadand keyboard capability, a Bluetooth air mouse like this one, or mini touchpad keyboard wouldbe a better option.
And I'll just open this one to show you guyswhat it looks like.
Special thanks goes out to GearBest for providingthis air mouse, a link to this product can be found in the description area.
I'll also be testing this one to see how wellit performs.
You get 1 HDMI cable.
A 5 volts 2 amps universal DC power adapter.
And a users setup guide.
Let's take a look at the box.
The box is made of a black plastic housing, with the M8S Pro logo to the top.
To the back, you have 1 HDMI port, 1 RJ45Ethernet LAN port, you get 1 audio video port and your DC power input.
To the side, you get 2 USB 2.
0 ports and anSD card slot.
To the other side, you have some ventilationholes.
To the front, you have an LED power light.
And to the bottom, you have more ventilationholes.
So I'll now connect this box to my TV, andwhen I return I'll continue.
So here we are at the first launch of theM8S Pro L, and what we have is the Mecool startup animation, and then you're taken directlyto the launcher.
Before I get into the launcher.
I would like to point out that the versionof Android installed on this box is Android TV.
This is not the regular version but the AndroidTV version liked the one used on the Nvidia Shield.
The Google play store looks different, andthere are lots of apps that you can't install from the Google Play Store that you'd normallyinstall on a Full version of Android.
I had to side load all my apps with the useof application APKs to complete this review.
Now back to the launcher.
The launcher is the same launcher used inmost of the Mecool models, with large buttons and the shortcuts feature.
This launcher does not come with a navigationbar at the bottom, or a status bar at the top.
These bars come in handy, when used with aPC mouse or a wireless air mouse.
In the apps section, you have your regularset of apps like chrome browser Google play store TV center and Miracast just to namea few.
I have already install my system and benchmarkingapps so I'll get right into to next segment.
let's start off by checking to see if thebox is rooted.
And it shows that the box is rooted, runningon Android 7.
1.
1 nougat operating system.
This is great news, because despite runningthe Android TV version, you have the freedom to install any app from the Google Play storeusing APKs.
I now have the DRM information.
It shows that the M8S Pro L only has supportfor 2 out of the 6 services, this allows services like Netflix to only show up to 720p quality.
Let's look at its system and hardware information.
Under system, it shows that the manufactureris VS, And the model is the M8S Pro L.
Below it shows that the box comes with 3GB of RAM, and below it also shows the remaining memory and internal storage from the 32GB total afterthe Android installation and apps installed on the box.
Under CPU information, it shows that the boxruns on an octa core 64bit Cortex A53 CPU with a maximum clock range of 1.
5GHz.
However, below it shows that the box onlyhas support for 32bit ABIs, this allows the box to run only 32bit applications.
Under display, it shows that the display ispowered by the ARM Mali T820 tri core GPU, with a refresh rate of 60hz.
Under network, it shows that the box has supportfor dual band 2.
4 and 5.
8GHz WiFi, and below it will show your signal strength, link speedand frequency.
Under Android information, here again it showsthat the box runs on Android 7.
1.
1 nougat, and below it confirms for the second timethat the box is rooted.
Under thermal information, I have tested andthe box runs at 50 to 60° Celsius on normal room temperature, and at 40 to 45° with passivecooling.
These temperatures can increase dependingon the level of activity on the box.
Under codecs information, we have the usuallist of codecs that include, H.
264 HEVC an VP9 decoding, all needed for 4K video playback.
However, I cannot detect any H.
265 in thislist.
And that's all for system and hardware information, and I'll now move on to the benchmark segment of this review.
Let's start with the results from the memoryread and write speed test.
The M8S Pro L, has a RAM copy speed of 2709MB/s, the internal storage, has a read speed of 55 MB/s and a write speed of 12.
And the SD card reader, has a read speed of22 MB/s and a write speed of 11.
These scores are not high scores, but theyare on par with other S912 boxes with similar hardware.
I now have the results of the WiFi speed test.
On the 5.
8GHz band, I was able to attain themaximum speed on my Internet package which runs at 30MB, and on the 2.
4 GHz band, thespeed fell a bit below the maximum speed, but that is expected.
However, these results are based on my Internetpackage, and much higher speeds can be attained on a much faster network like a fiber package.
Next I have the Antutu benchmark results.
The results show that the M8S Pro L got anAntutu score of 36399.
Not very high, but consistent with other S912boxes.
Next I have the results of the Geekbench 4CPU benchmark.
The results show that the box got a scoreof 503 single core, and 1800 multicore.
Again, not very high, but consistent.
The final results I have is the 3D mark icestorm extreme GPU benchmark.
And it shows that the M8S Pro L got a scoreof 4674, which is also average and consistent with scores from other S912 boxes in its class.
And that's it for the benchmarks.
The next segment is focused on the media streaming4K video playback and gaming capabilities of the box.
Let's start with the TV center application.
The TV center does not come installed on thebox, and you have to install it using the app icon in the apps area.
When it is completed, open the TV center iconto run the application.
This TV center app is actually a custom Kodibuild, and if you go to the settings area, here we can see that the version is 17.
3 Krypton.
This is not the latest version, and it comespre installed with a couple with of popular movie addons.
However, if you would like to install theofficial updated version of Kodi, you can simply do so by installing it from the GooglePlay Store.
So I've installed the latest version of Kodiwithout uninstalling the TV center application, they can coexist without obstructing eachother.
If I go to system information in the settingsarea, here we can see that the version is now Kodi 17.
4 Krypton.
I also took the liberty of installing someof the latest movie addons that actually work.
With these new addons, you have unlimitedstreams of free movies and complete and new TV series for months of entertainment.
If you're not into Kodi, and you need an alternativeway of streaming, then you have the option to install free movie streaming applicationsvia APKs.
These can be downloaded to the box itself, or onto a PC, and then installed via USB flash drive.
Some of these include, Terrarium TV, ShowBox, Mega Box HD, and Mobdro.
That's all for streaming, and I'll now testthe 4K video playback capability of the box.
Well that was just fantastic! The box was able to play all of the 4K videosamples without any issues what so ever, even the 4K jellyfish video at 400 mbps.
This is good news for this box, as many otherboxes have difficulty playing some of my samples.
I'll now run a 4K YouTube sample video tosee what's the highest resolution.
Just a quick note, the default YouTube applicationinstalled on the box is no good.
However, you cannot uninstall it, you haveto disable it first in the settings area, then install the latest YouTube app from theGoogle Play Store.
Now let's see how the app performs.
Well that's a first, the YouTube applicationplays in 4K quality.
This is the first time I've achieved thatresolution on one of my boxes.
Just remember you have to disable the stockYouTube app, you cannot uninstall it because it is locked into the root of the system.
Also when you install the new app using theAPK, you cannot get a shortcut you can only run it from the open app option in the settingsarea, I believe that's a bug in the firmware.
For my final demonstration, I am playing afighting game called Mortal Kombat X.
This is to test the box's 3D gaming capability.
Please note, this game contains fighting withgruesome scenes, So parental discretion advised.
So as you can see the game ran smoothly, andthe graphics rendering was of a high quality with no freezing or jerky movement.
That's it for the demonstrations, and I wouldjust touch on the wireless air mouse I showed you guys earlier.
This remote is the TZ MX9 wireless Keyboardand air mouse.
It has controls buttons to the front, anda full qwerty keyboard on the flip side.
It also comes with D pad controller and twobuttons for gaming.
The air mouse feature works in real time, and you also have a mic feature.
It comes with a dongle receiver that you don'thave to program, it's a simple plug and play feature.
The remote has built in battery, and it chargeswith any standard USB port.
I am pleased with the performance of thisremote, and a link to this product can be found in the description area and on my website.
So in summary, the Mecool M8S Pro L has somepros and cons.
Well for pros, the box has good hardware.
It is rooted, and it can install any streamingapp or game.
It played all of my 4K video samples withoutproblems.
It ran YouTube videos in 4K quality whichwas a first for me.
I was able to play Mortal Kombat X using myfavorite key mapping application, and the game ran smoothly in high quality.
For the cons.
It runs on Android TV and not the regularversion of android.
Due to this, you are restricted to what youcan install directly off the Google play store.
Kodi installs OK off the Google play store, but I had to install all my other apps using APKs.
The Stock YouTube app you cannot uninstallit or update it, you can only disable it.
And when you install the latest YouTube app, you cannot access it from the launcher.
You have to run it from the settings appsarea.
The launcher doesn't have a navigation baror a status bar, which takes away your multitasking ability.
So when it came to performance the box didgreat, and in user experience, I had some challenges.
So you have to decide for yourself weatheryou like this box.
I have come to the end of my review of theMecool M8S Pro L Android 7.
1 4K TV box.
If you are interested in this device, linkswere placed in the description area for more information.
Thanks for watching, remember to like thisvideo if you found it informative, share it with your friends, and subscribe to this channelfor more TV box stop videos.
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