Suggestions for a replacement

[Byron]

Happy New year to all,

My faithful Q10 pro is having issues after many years of heavy use.
I have been searching to try and find another without any luck so far they seem to be very scarce in Australia.
Has anyone got a suggestion as to where I can find one or a replacement that is near identical .
I have gotten so used to the Q10 Pro and its reliability over the years I really do not want to say goodbye to it .

[Nice Monkey]

Had an Himedia Q10 Pro for some time but replaced it with an Egreat A10 and A11 for its better FW and support.
These are very similar sharing the same SOC and SDK. If you don't need the very much hyped DV then you can move to Egreat (or a used one). Should be running or have been upgraded to Android 7 just like Himedia Q10 Pro. 

Copied from my Dune review on this site:

Guide to: which brand media player to select
Regarding Video format support and Picture Quality including DV and HDR10+ all mentioned media player models are good and offer basically the same. For Music they all play Stereo PCM formats in High Definition and 2CH SACD.

Dune is an above average stable and universal media player doing everything pretty well. The best all-around media player I found thus far and I have seen plenty of them. Only my Egreat players (no DV or HDR10+ on these) do get close (MovieWall is less functional but Music Player is nicer)

If you want perfect BD Menu playback/processing from ISO/Folder get yourself a real (used) OPPO if you can still find one. There are no current alternatives to that. A Dune is getting close functionally but not (always) very smooth. An Egreat on the other is fluent but has problems with some menus scoring just below Dune there with Zidoo at a distance on the bottom of the list here.

If you want many advanced Video player features in general and specifically Music Library & Movie Wall features too then get yourself a Zidoo. They also have a large range of standard and HiFi models all with a great value/money ratio to choose from.

If you want next to Stereo also MCH Music for DVD-CD, SACD, DVD-Audio and BD Pure Audio then get yourself an OPPO (or equivalent disc player). There are no full alternatives here but Dune, Egreat and to a lesser degree Zidoo come close:
- No Native DSD via HDMI but 2CH DSD => PCM conversion (Dune including MCH)
- 2CH Native DSD supported on HiFi models only
- No DVD-Audio support for the essential MLP tracks
- Zidoo specifically suffers from essential Menu troubles with DVD-Audio and BD Pure Audio albums

If you want perfect streaming services get a Powered by Android TV, NVIDIA Shield TV or a Fire TV stick. This restriction is not a media player shortcoming but enforced by the respective video streaming providers stripping high end features as they like per brand/platform. The Android APP compatibility in itself is excellent with both Dune (Android TV) and Egreat / Zidoo (Android Leanback).

No Egreat did not stop as they still release both new HW models and FW (Chinese and English  only) but seem to concentrate on the internal Chinese market these days.

But what about those new Zappiti? Just seen the first reviews/demos and I conclude there is really nothing unique there for me at far higher prices. The main FW looks very much Dune like including the information displays on the Front Panel. Their MovieWall follows their own Client/Server model and is of proven quality which may next to their GUI be a valid reason to go for it. For me these are irrelevant.

[atkinsom]

Thank you very much for this detailed review. I have a Q5 Pro which still works well but I'm looking for something new in this category of device that works just as well or better with more vendor support. Any suggestions as I don't really need an internal hard drive but an SD card like the Q5 is a nice to have. I primarily use it for IPTV using Tivimate Pro and streaming of videos from a Synology NAS. Thanks for any suggestions. Cheers.

[Byron]

Thank you so much for your reply.
I managed to get a Eweat RTD1619DR HDD Media Player 4K UHD Android 9.0 Streaming Blu Ray Player with Dolby Vision HDR10+ (2GB+32GB, Black)
It is coming from China so could be some time.
It seems that there is some sort of chip shortage at the moment and that is causing production run problems ?

[futeko.com]

My honest opinion is to stay well clear of Egreat or Eweat. Both offer close to zero ongoing firmware support. Features will be broken and they won't ever get fixed.

[atkinsom]

My honest opinion is to stay well clear of Egreat or Eweat. Both offer close to zero ongoing firmware support. Features will be broken and they won't ever get fixed.

Thank you Futeko for your reply. If I were to order a replacement from your stable of products which one would you recommend that would be similar to the Q5 Pro with better support at the moment and perhaps more up to date features. As per my previous post I don't need an internal HD but SD card support would be nice. Thanks very much your support. Cheers.

[Nice Monkey]

On that basis I would go for a baby Dune Real Vision but would consider a the Dune Pro Vision version for many more ports and a big good display and better remote.

Would not buy a new Egreat or Eweat myself neither but getting a (very) cheap used Egreat as a pure replacement for a Himedia Pro 10 is not strange. Does the same just better and no development anymore taken for granted.

[Mount81]

Ugoos AM6(B) Plus is what I would buy. On Android it does DV better (knows more profiles and more accurate) than Dunes or Zidoos and for anything up to HDR10+ you can dual boot CoreElec on it. Or if dual boot system is too uncomfortable to you, just go buy a Shield 2019, still better than Dune.
 

[Byron]

I paid roughly 188 pounds with freight but if it is a dud well I am out of pocket.
What is a good recommendation for a unit with an internal hdd that is readily available ?
Thank you in advance  

[futeko.com]

Ugoos AM6(B) Plus is what I would buy. On Android it does DV better (knows more profiles and more accurate) than Dunes or Zidoos and for anything up to HDR10+ you can dual boot CoreElec on it. Or if dual boot system is too uncomfortable to you, just go buy a Shield 2019, still better than Dune.

As a general purpose Android box, perhaps, but picture quality is much inferior to the Realtek.

[atkinsom]

Ugoos AM6(B) Plus is what I would buy. On Android it does DV better (knows more profiles and more accurate) than Dunes or Zidoos and for anything up to HDR10+ you can dual boot CoreElec on it. Or if dual boot system is too uncomfortable to you, just go buy a Shield 2019, still better than Dune.

As a general purpose Android box, perhaps, but picture quality is much inferior to the Realtek.

Hi Futeko. In both your posts you've indicated what NOT to buy but what about your recommendation on what to buy as per my previous post.

[Mount81]

Ugoos AM6(B) Plus is what I would buy. On Android it does DV better (knows more profiles and more accurate) than Dunes or Zidoos and for anything up to HDR10+ you can dual boot CoreElec on it. Or if dual boot system is too uncomfortable to you, just go buy a Shield 2019, still better than Dune.

As a general purpose Android box, perhaps, but picture quality is much inferior to the Realtek.

Inferior to the Realtek SOC on it's own by nature or inferior to with the Zidoos FW? With CoreElec the Amlogic SOCs proof to be just as perfect as the Zidoo could be (or even better) in PQ. Nothing inferior here to talk about.

[futeko.com]

The Realtek boxes all produce a better image than any Amlogic. Deeper colour and a more movie like sharpness. It's like the difference between a good BD player and playing a movie using a Blu-Ray drive in a PC.

The 1619DR chipset in particular produces the best image of any Android based (i.e. in last 10 years) media chipset, on a par with HiSilicon and similar to the very old Sigma Designs boxes (Popcorn Hour, original Dunes).

That's the reason why all the high-end Media Player brands use Realtek and not Amlogic.

As to what to buy, Zidoo use Realtek 1619DR and they have the best firmware (excellent media browsing software and few bugs). They also have a busy support forum, responding to customer feedback with a steady stream of updates. Dune also use Realtek 1619DR and, whilst I appreciate some people prefer their software (not Android and for legacy reasons), their media browsing software is inferior and the firmware is less reliable with fewer options. The new Zapittis use Realtek 1619DR and have good media browsing software, but it's up to the customer whether this justifies the extreme pricing.

[atkinsom]

The Realtek boxes all produce a better image than any Amlogic. Deeper colour and a more movie like sharpness. It's like the difference between a good BD player and playing a movie using a Blu-Ray drive in a PC.

The 1619DR chipset in particular produces the best image of any Android based (i.e. in last 10 years) media chipset, on a par with HiSilicon and similar to the very old Sigma Designs boxes (Popcorn Hour, original Dunes).

That's the reason why all the high-end Media Player brands use Realtek and not Amlogic.

As to what to buy, Zidoo use Realtek 1619DR and they have the best firmware (excellent media browsing software and few bugs). They also have a busy support forum, responding to customer feedback with a steady stream of updates. Dune also use Realtek 1619DR and, whilst I appreciate some people prefer their software (not Android and for legacy reasons), their media browsing software is inferior and the firmware is less reliable with fewer options. The new Zapittis use Realtek 1619DR and have good media browsing software, but it's up to the customer whether this justifies the extreme pricing.

Excellent information. Thank you Futeko and other users here for the great details. Many of us using HiMedia devices are looking for alternatives and these posts help tremendously in deciding which route to take. Thanks again.

[Byron]

Thank you,
I am looking at the Zidoo Z10 Pro.
It seems to have all the specs I require and I have found a supplier with stock.
Before I pull the trigger on this one I would like to just check if everyone thinks this would be a reasonable replacement for my Himedia 10 pro