Hey all.. I hope you are all staying safe out there in these times (Cuz Corona...!!!).. Welcome to yet another one of my comprehensive reviews. This time I'll be reviewing the latest Google Certified Mecool KM1 Deluxe TV Box running Android 10 ATV OS. The KM1 Deluxe is one of 3 variants simultaneously released earlier this year. They all share the same exterior & internals except RAM & or Storage amount...We have the;
KM1 Classic, the cheapest of the 3 and equipped with 2GBs RAM & 16GBs storage.



Then there's the Deluxe which I have here, which is equipped with 4GBs RAM & 32GBs of storage.



Lastly, and the most expensive of them all...the KM1 Collective packing 4GBs of RAM & 64GB of Storage.



MECOOL KM1 DELUXE SPECIFICATIONS
CPU: AMLOGIC S905X3 QUAD-CORE (UP TO 1.9GHZ)
GPU: MALI-G31 MP2
RAM: 4GB (DDR4)
STORAGE: 32GB
BLUETOOTH: 4.2
WI-FI: DUAL-BAND AC (2T2R)...**See below for brief explanation on what 2T2R means.
OS: GOOGLE CERTIFIED ANDROID 10 (ATV)
LED INDICATOR: SMART BREATHING LIGHT
DRM: MICROSOFT PLAYREADY, GOOGLE WIDEVINE L1
HDR: 4K HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, AND TECHNICOLOR HDR PROCESSING
PORTS
1X AV
1X USB 2.0
1X USB 3.0
1X POWER (DC 5V)
1X MICRO-SD CARD
1X 10/100M ETHERNET
1X HDMI (V2.1 & HDCP 2.2) UP TO 4K@60FPS
MACHINE SIZE/WEIGHT: 100*100*17.5MM / 143G
BOX CONTENTS
1X ADAPTER
1X GIFT BOX
1X VOICE REMOTE
1X HDMI CABLE
1X USER MANUAL

**2T2R stands for 2 Transmitter, 2 receivers. This like MIMO stands for “multiple input, multiple output.” A 4×4 MIMO device has four antennas for four simultaneous data streams, while a 2×2 MIMO or 2T2R like this Mecool KM1 Deluxe has two simultaneous data streams. Offering 100% increase in throughput versus a single antenna setup. As shown in the video below, this I believe helped the box achieve faster network speeds than via the 100Mbps limited Ethernet port.



Check out my review video below to find all you'll ever need to know about this Android TV Box. Network & File-Transfer speed tests, Benchmarks, 3D Game-play, Emulator Gaming, Local Media Playback using Kodi (I ran tests on VLC too but omitted it to prevent an even lengthier video ), and Video Streaming performance from ALL major providers. Such as free Live TV via the Plex app & also streaming high bitrate 4K UHD HEVC bluray content off my Windows 10 PC Server, Hulu (Live TV & VOD), Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, ESPN+, Crunchyroll, iFlix, UnifiTV, PlayTV@Unifi, Twitch, Vimeo, Play Movies & TV, YouTube, Smart YouTube TV, YouTube Kids, and not to forget...ehem IPTV apk up to 4K... So I hope you good folks enjoy it and as usual it helps you in your buying decision.




CONS
*No root and thus no AFRd support
*Single USB 3.0 port
*10/100M Ethernet
*Netflix max 540p. There might be a way to get it up to at least 1080P. But since no official support? I didn't want to mod/tweak until that level as most people wouldn't want to do all that if Netflix is a priority. Best to use the bundled app on your TV or a Netflix certified box.
*UnifiTV & playtv@unifi crashes...Typical TM..zzz... Although it could just be that particular version. Who knows an update might fix it.
*DTS-HD MA & DD+ (core Dolby Digital passed-through)
*No DTS:X or Dolby ATMOS or Dolby Vision support
*Unkilled stutters and poor emulator gaming performance.

PROS
*No Root
*OTA FW Updates
*Excellent Streaming
*Local media Playback (Somewhat)
*Official Android 10
*Google Voice Assistant, Google Cast & Google Home
*Bundled remote with dedicated buttons
*Fast eMMc storage speeds
*IPTV up to 4K
*YouTube up to 4K HDR
*Prime up to 4K UHD
*Gaming (Most ATV OS Games).
*Full Dolby Digital & DTS supported up to 7.1.

Gray Area
*Netflix FHD
*Disney+ Mobile App (up to 4K HDR)
*Disney+ Android TV (maxes out at SD)
*Astro Go might work.
*No YouTube 8K

Thanks to fellow forummer Scissorshand who graciously lent me his device for this review. So.... The usual, kindly smash the like button, share and sub to my YouTube channel in appreciation, every bit counts. I appreciate all who have shown their support by subscribing. More in-depth reviews, tutorials n stuff coming.. Thanks.

Some Info & Purchase URLs
Official Mecool KM1 Product Page
Purchase from Shopee Malaysia
Purchase from Lazada Malaysia
Purchase from Gearbest
Purchase from Geekbuying

This post has been edited by voncrane: Nov 23 2020, 10:44 AM

Reserved for future updates

Too bad not Netflix certified. Would buy this in a heartbeat if it does
Any good Android Box with both Google & Netflix certified?

Not looking for Mi Box as their RAM & storage is too low
And Nvidia Shield is way too expensive

Can consider this android tvbox

Specs looks OK but as per other 'less-official' Android boxes, I'm concerned with the support and longevity of the channels.

Well... Assuming one's TV doesn't support it. Netflix certification is the problem. Once that is thrown into the mix..As you can see, your choices are severely limited immediately. If you don't want to spring for the Shield or MiBox, you can consider mixing 2 devices..Cheaper Google's chromecast or sticks just for Netflix, supplement with a decent box for other playback needs.

Other boxes I've reviewed not considered Android TV box...?

I assume you are talking about ehem iptv channels? When you buy a computer, does it come with "channels" or you install services on it. ... This is a Google certified box, it does have its channels as you can see on the homescreen. The rest of the illegal stuff you'll have to source and install on your own. Support and reliability depends on the service you sub to. Unfortunately, I refuse to get into specific details on a public forum given the government's stance on such. However, as the video shows.. You can get it working.. Install & run is all. no special tricks or geo-locks.

You're welcome Voncrane for your honest review as always although you're not benefiting financially from this box but hope it'll be soon

As mentioned I'm happy with this box as it currently ticked all my requirement incl 1080p Netflix* cos my Toshiba Full LED still ain't giving up after 9 years 😂 Upper floor has another awesome/reliable Toshiba ZV series which is I think 13 years old and still rocking with PS4 as spare, paired with KM9 Pro box in case I needed personal time to watch sports event 😜

It is now my daily driver replacing the Mecool M8S Pro L

M8S Pro L - it couldn't play Disney+, all others OK
KM9 Pro - for strange reason it couldn't play Hulu smoothly, all others OK (maybe I need to reset the box and try it all over again) and perhaps sell it 😝

Cheers!

This post has been edited by Scissorshand: Dec 3 2020, 12:20 AM


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Looking to get this or the new KM6 Deluxe. Noticed that AstroGo is listed as grey area above, has anyone tried if it is working yet?

Also how does this box compares to KM6 Deluxe?

This post has been edited by coolguy99: Mar 10 2021, 07:02 AM

hi bro,

can see that u r still very busy testing all these boxes!

for 1 year now, i try to look for a new box but there isn't one that does what i want!

.. 1080p/4k hdr/DV auto framerate switching for PLAYBACK.
.. dts/dtshdma/dtsx-dd/dd+/ddtruehd/ddatmos for PLAYBACK.
.. plays bdmv (no menu never mind)

no need netflix HD/4K as TV can do.
no need axtrogo/unifiplaytv as i have others that can do.

while some boxes list as DV/DDatmos but is only for online streaming, not playback, e.g. shieldTV

there is this beelink GSKing-X which supposedly can do DDtrueHD but only via corelec - how does that work?
https://tvboxstop.com/64gb-tv-boxes-2017-tv...91%80-must-see/
https://tvboxstop.com/tv-box-rank-chart-2020/

Ugoos, Minix... all cannot do DDtrueHD; Himedia old models can but no new model, looks silly to buy something >8 years old.
may need to go for Zidoo - but rm1.5k... a bit too high for my liking.

Anything else I should take a closer look at?

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Mar 10 2021, 02:26 PM

Hi...Unfortunately, I didn't have Astro login back then to test if it works. The app installs and launches just fine. That's why it's under the grey area section. So here are the differences between the Mecool KM1 Deluxe and the newer Mecool KM6 Deluxe (not Classic).


Haha... Yeah, we still looking for that elusive TV Box to do it all. Although, i've been using the Beelink GS-King X and I can confidently say it ticks most of my boxes for now. Well, that's until I upgrade my AV system. CoreELEC is a wonderful OS. Unfortunately, many don't give it enough credit. So for me to be able to easily dual-boot and switch between each OS is handy. It just simply works. Partly because Beelink is an official partner and thus the devs do take their hardware into account when pushing out updates. Additionally, CoreELEC is a "Kodi fork" that was built for the big screen from the ground up. Unlike most regular Android boxes that are running a heavily modified Android OS that was originally built for mobile devices only. I can see Google being concerned enough if it was ATV OS, but regular Android for such boxes? Nah... So up to each manufacturer and or custom ROM chefs to put in the work.

On another note, perhaps wait for the upcoming Mecool KM2 instead? Mecool announced it should be available in about a month. They promising Dolby Audio and advertising it. So at minimum they paid the rights to it. So perhaps it'll pass that DD TrueHD you seek? and even ATMOS? ..Looks like Mecool finally broke through all Netflix's barriers.. Looking at you Beelink..

MECOOL KM2 is an Andriod TV 10 powered media player with the new Google reference design remote control. Except for the old features of MECOOL Android TV box which including Google official Android TV 10 OS, built-in Chromecast, Google Assistant supported, 4k HDR, Prime Video, Youtube 4K, etc. MECOOL KM2 has built-in the Netflix for TVs version with on Android operating system. It supports Netflix 4K streaming!

This new product MECOOL KM2 will be able to delivered on 15th, April, 2021. Pre-oder will be available laterly this month.



This post has been edited by voncrane: Mar 12 2021, 05:23 PM

OK, thanks.

look forward to your review of KM2!

out of impatience and budget, i bought a himedia Q30 - a slightly lower version of the Q10pro.

for rm300, serves my purpose very well alto 4 years old.

playback HD audio incl ddtrueHD; auto framerate switching; plays BDMV/m2ts; unifi playtv fine.

retired an old box!


will still check newer boxes coming out... but i guess the same direction continues - focus on online streaming, netflix 4k... not much use for me...

Although I'm not a fan of the "weak specs" like 2GB DDR3 RAM & 8GB eMMC storage.. But hey, where audio passthrough is concerned? Simply can't go wrong with a HiMedia device. Haha, Congrats on finally retiring your HiMedia Q10Pro ..Itchy fingers win...

This post has been edited by voncrane: Mar 21 2021, 10:08 AM

no, Q10pro is still v good, in use - i have 2 home theaters.

retired the older Q16.

Ah, I see...

after almost a decade of "boxes", it is clear to me diff users look for diff things.

i look for boxes for playback picture quality and audio quality... audio does not mean anything to some users.

some users look for netflix HD/4k - i have no use for that becos i already have 2 tvs that can do that.

for now, i have everything i want/use.

when i finally upgrade my home theaters to DV/atmos/DTSX, i will have to look for another box!

Voncrane pleased to share an important update (at least to me ) that there's a new apk for Netflix 1080p with 5.1 passthru and compatible with stock remote . Personally, this new apk works well on both KM9 Pro and KM1 boxes i currently have .

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SdTRwShxIs...SZWuAE5Fwq/view

Below are screenshot ..


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Yasssss.... Mice still winning!!!

how is the performance of unifitv and astro go on this box?

Hey..unfortunately, I don't have the box with me anymore... I do remember the Astro Go app launched fine but i couldn't test further because i don't have an Astro sub. So could work fine.. UnifiTV app kept crashing during my tests.. Probably got an update since then to fix it.. Again, i can't speak for now.. Perhaps Scissorshand can shed more light on these 2 issues?