Android 9.0 TV Box, RK3328 Quad core 64 Bits 4GB RAM 32GB ROM WiFi Android Smart TV Box WiFi 2.4G/5G

NOTE: I had 5 of these boxes overall, and ended up returning 3 for the same sound problem (sound would cut out for about 1 second every 10 to 30 seconds - it did this in all apps both inside and outside of Kodi. Video was not affected). The remaining 2 boxes work fine. I set up all 5 boxes identically, so I suspect the sound problem was either a hardware or firmware glitch. I have lowered my Amazon star rating to 3 stars because of this problem. This is disappointing because I really liked these boxes otherwise, and the price is sure right.====================First of all, Android TV boxes require time and computer skills to get them set up and running with the apps you are interested in. Assuming you want to run the highly popular Kodi (formerly XBMC) media player environment (which can run thousands of media apps), you can easily spend a day or more studying online tutorials and setting up your box (but once set up they are easy to run). So know up front that these are not like an Apple TV box that comes ready to run out of the box . However, these Android TV boxes are totally customizable, and can do many things that can't be done by other types of tv boxes. You can install nearly any app you want from the Google Play Store, and from other non-Google sources. The wealth of free media content Android boxes let you access (especially with Kodi) is truly amazing. So if you are a computer geek, get an Android TV Box for sure (either for yourself, or to give as a gift after you set it up).I own three different brands of Android TV Boxes. This box was the least expensive of the three (half the cost of my Minix Neo X8-H). Considering the price point, I really like this particular box. Unlike many other Android boxes that come with their own application launcher shell pre-installed (some of which are really bad) and hard to disable, this box boots up to the regular Android home screen that looks just like your phone or tablet home screen - that is a real plus in my mind because I already know the environment. And this box came pretty much fully loaded with useful apps such as Showbox and XBMC. Plus the Android system on the box is pre-rooted which allows you to run numerous apps that require a rooted device.Additional pluses: This box has a built in microphone and camera, so you can run Skype for example. It's fun yelling at this box from across the room and having it execute Google voice searches. The box has a nice power button top front, with a pale blue LED showing when it is turned on (a nice touch). I was surprised to find these boxes have 3 USB ports, which lets you (for example) run a wireless keyboard, a wireless mouse, and a thumb drive all once.One thing that stumped me for a while is how to make this box display the correct time. I had to go to "Android|Settings|System|Date&Time" and unclick "Automatic Time Zone". Then the option to change the time zone from this box's default of China to your local time zone will "un-grey" itself.I've been running a couple of these boxes for several days now, and so far they have been very stable.The remote that comes with these is OK, but do yourself a favor and plug in a wireless mouse (the Logitech M325 is a great one, which you can get for about 10 bucks), and/or a wireless keyboard (the Logitech K400r keyboard with touchpad works great on these boxes, and you can pick one up for less than $25 here on Amazon). With the keyboard, you can use this box and your TV as a big-screen PC (email, etc).Bottom line is these boxes are really excellent for the price, and I recommend them. I knocked off one star only because one of the three CS918S boxes I ordered as gifts for my family had a problem (sound would cut out about every 10 seconds for about a second) and I had to return it for a replacement.

Wasn't near what the hype about it is .If you have a pc or tablet you can get an adapter to hook up to any TV thru hdmi and get the same results ,if you have to have an android OS get an adapter to run from your cellphone or tablet to a TV look around any cable is out there to tie any device to your TV which bottom line is just an oversized monitor .I use my home pc which has an hdmi port on the rear and hooked it up to my flat screen I mounted on the wall and has been that way for now 5 years it has windows 8.1 on it but I can still download any apps to it and watch it thru my 46" flat screen on the wall .My laptop which also has an hdmi port on it I just hook it up to any TV wherever I go even in hotels when traveling to watch TV channels and Netflix, amazon prime music and movies whatever plus this device really lags on wifi which mine was right next to my wifi unit so I plugged it directly into my either net and still had same results like on Netflix half or more the movie titles where gray until I placed the mouse over it and clicked on it to see what it was .Heck my old Xbox 360 works 100 times better then this did with all my apps installed on it plus the remote it comes with is so confusing even my genius son couldn't figure out hardly anything .I don't recommend this unit to anyone unless you have nothing else or little space.

Out of the box it only takes a few minutes to get up and running. It has a full power off which is nice. Devices like these inexpensive TV sticks and set top boxes can run a little warm, particularly with the Allwinner chipsets. Sleep is OK, when it is done correctly but heat is heat. After being on my second Roku 3 because they simply died after a few months it's nice to be able to do a full shutdown.It came as advertised,again that can be a bit of a crap shoot with devices like these. 2MB RAM, 16MB storage. The OS is very stable and it came with a newer version then I have seen online from March 2014. Xbmc is pre-installed an runs smooth. I have been running it for about 6 hours now so haven't pounded on it too hard. The system is rooted you just need to install Superuser or SuperSu from the Play store.Streaming from Netflix and Hulu + has been really good. Netflix took a little longer to sync, but this is common on generic Android devices.The Camera is OK, but the design makes it a little grainy even for a 5MP. The curve of the arm shades the lens a little. But for Skype calls it isn't as bad as some tablets.The remote is cheap feeling (what did you expect) but is very functional, the mouse mode on the fly is nice for different apps that don't let you switch selections from the d-pad. The range is OK but no matter the distance there is a slight lag in response, nothing too bad.I have said in other reviews I do not compare apples to oranges nor will I knock a device over wishes and aesthetics. Buying device with XX feature then complaining is has that feature or knocking points off a review is just insane.In comparison to the new Amazon Fire TV this holds up OK. Where it lacks in power, though still plenty fast, it makes up for being fully open OS wise. !6GB of storage versus the 8 on the FTV is nice, but so far I haven't had any luck using a gamepad, so games being the biggest storage hog that might not make a big difference yet. But I also don't see in any of the advertising gaming being mentioned as part of the selling point either. A lot of articles have been complaining about the S series A31 and A21 being underpowered but the S is actually for streaming. They are meant to be media processors, not necessarily gamers..Being an Allwinner platform I have already made a flashable backup of the stock firmware. If any bugs or hiccups come along it wouldn't be too difficult to make a custom ROM to fix it and beef it up a little.For the hardware and the functionality a solid 4 stars. The 1star knock is for the mediocre remote and camera. But I will update the review after a little more time with it and it might earn the 5th star back.