H96 Max Plus review: a budget TV box with good performance

H96 Max Plus: specs

● System: Android 8.1

● Processor: RK3328, 4 cores

● Graphics: ARM Mali-450MP5

● RAM: 4GB DDR3

● Built-in memory: 32GB eMMC

● WIFI: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2.4GHz/5.8GHz

● Bluetooth: 4.1

● Lan: 100/1000Mb

● Support: 4K + 2K

● Sound: 5.1 Surround Sound

● Dimensions: 100 x 100 x 18 mm

Design

The H96 Max Plus TV box comes in a nice catchy box with the name of the model. Inside we find a very short instruction manual for TV BOX. Separate instructions for the remote control. Classic 5 volt 2 amp power supply. And HDMI-HDMI cable to connect to your TV.

The supplied remote control is not quite standard. The fact that the connection is made through a USB transmitter, ie the remote control itself occupies one USB port in TV BOX’e. An attempt to use the remote control from another set-top box did not yield any results, perhaps in the design of the box itself there is no corresponding infrared unit.

The remote control is very comfortable in your hand. It is made of matt plastic with rubberized control unit. It is powered by two AAA batteries. In the upper part of the console we have an LED indicator, power button and microphone. Underneath them is a pause and a switch to the mouse. Many may think it’s called AirMouse, but alas. The mouse button just turns the cursor on and lets you control it with the four arrows below and the key in the middle acts as a confirmation. And just below we have the standard Android buttons.

As for the page selector block, I can’t give any comments here, because I couldn’t find how to use them. But volume changes, muting and deleting – they work perfectly. The main pearl of this remote control is the microphone activation button, which allows you to type text by voice. This is especially useful when searching for the right movie or series, as well as video on YouTube.

The boxing itself looks quite compact. The upper part of it, like the box, has bright colored stripes. At the top there’s a CPU model: RK3328, and in the middle – the name H96 Max+, 4K support icon and memory configuration value (I have a 32 GB version).

On the front part we have an LED indicator, and the box automatically turns on when the power is supplied, as well as the corresponding button from the remote control. On the next edge is a slot for MicroSD, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 memory cards. The USB 2.0 port is used for firmware update and remote control connection. That is, in fact, only USB 3.0 is available. Of course, TV BOX is a stationary device and an adapter for at least 20 USB ports can be easily connected to it. However, such a splitter will have to be bought separately, and hanging “tails” somewhat spoil the appearance of the device.

At the back we have AV output for connecting tulips, HDMI version 2.0, ETHERNET and power input. The reset button is located directly inside the AV output.

The bottom part contains heat removal holes, 4 legs and a memory configuration sticker (4/32 GB) and CPU.

Interface

The interface of the console is simple and straightforward. Application icons can be added to the bottom part of the device, and basic services are put out in the form of huge colorful tiles.

The list of applications is extended by English video services, which we are absolutely not interested in. We have PlayMarket, two file managers, RKMC, YouTube and superuser rights management.

Yeah, the Root comes out of the box here. In the settings you can select resolution, color set and adjust the size of the visible part of the image and color.

In sound, we are asked to choose either HDMI or a non-existent SPDIF. I have not tested it myself, but English sources confirm sound support in 5.1 and 7.1 configurations.

There is also working HDMI CEC support, which allows you to automatically turn the TV on and off when you turn the box on and off.

I didn’t get any updates by air, however, when I first received the console, I immediately found a fresher firmware from 08.10.2018. Which, of course, I decided to roll.

Firmware process

Compared to Amlogic, firmware upgrade in RockChip is done only by direct connection to PC using USB-USB cable.

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Conclusions

A little aside, in the advantages of boxing can take an interesting remote control with a microphone, 4 GB. RAM, USB 3.0 and low price. Disadvantages of the box are critical: one USB port is not enough, and the temperature even in the simple – shocking. The most interesting thing is that at the moment there are already several reviews, and everywhere about the temperature is written in passing, as if it is an unpleasant, but not critical feature. I emphasized this not only to your attention, but also to the manufacturer, who promised in the next update (it is unclear, boxing or firmware) to fix this flaw.

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