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[futeko.com]

If there's anything anybody wants us to test please ask.

[kodiloaded]

The only thing i dont get is why the bigger name brands like himedia keep releasing new models with only 2Gb ram, Love to see 3-4

[T-MAN]

Just ordered one. But wanted to make sure:

1. Does it play proper kodi (no wrapper) properly. ie HD audio passthrough and 3D and frame switching
2. Does it play YouTube and/ or Netflix in 4K/HDR and Dolby atmos etc
3. Does it play Plex same as above?
4. It mentions it plays 3D. Can we please confirm this to be true and will it play it on internal player (so other apps can use it) or does it have to be used via the manufacturers apps/wrappers?
5. Does it auto switch colour modes. Even though a advertised feature, Shield has an issue with this still.

I have a shield (2017) and hoping that this device can replace it if the above are true.

Thanks!

[gonus]

I would appreciate a video of a complete walkthrough of the interface, menus and functionalities.
Especially Kodi and playing 4K videos.
Is that possible?

[futeko.com]

Just ordered one. But wanted to make sure:

1. Does it play proper kodi (no wrapper) properly. ie HD audio passthrough and 3D and frame switching
2. Does it play YouTube and/ or Netflix in 4K/HDR and Dolby atmos etc
3. Does it play Plex same as above?
4. It mentions it plays 3D. Can we please confirm this to be true and will it play it on internal player (so other apps can use it) or does it have to be used via the manufacturers apps/wrappers?
5. Does it auto switch colour modes. Even though a advertised feature, Shield has an issue with this still.

I have a shield (2017) and hoping that this device can replace it if the above are true.

Thanks!

1. No. The HiSilicon chipset is not supported beyond standard Android by Kodi. Audio is 2 channel PCM. There is no wrapper available for Kodi.
2. Youtube in 4K, Netflix in 1080p. PCM 2 channel stereo max.
3. Yes, same as above.
4. Not true. The specs have changed a bit since first listing, mostly due to the specs fed to us being incorrect. 3D will play in MKV and ISO using an app such as VLC.
5. No.

In general, HiMedia S500 is a good option for running Android TV and the apps you can download using it from Play Store. It's main advantage over similar products is the enhanced picture quality coming from the HiSilicon chipset. It has no hardware video playback app and does not support HD-Audio passthrough (something HiMedia helpfully confirmed to us only today!). It also has no framerate or resolution switching.

HiMedia S500 is £75, it's an enhancement to add streaming and local media playback capability with the highest picture quality to a TV. If you want a better alternative to the Shield then I'd recommend one of the Zidoo products. Except for Kodi (where Zidoo have a fork with wrapper-like full hardware functionality) and Plex it will do what you require.

[futeko.com]

I would appreciate a video of a complete walkthrough of the interface, menus and functionalities.
Especially Kodi and playing 4K videos.
Is that possible?

The interface is standard Android TV, no modifications. There are many walkthroughs on Youtube etc.

Kodi is also the standard version available from Play Store. 4K videos can be played in Kodi or other apps the same as 1080p videos. Note that the ethernet port is 10/100 so will limit playback of some 4K video. We've got better results from 5Ghz wi-fi.

[T-MAN]

Just ordered one. But wanted to make sure:

1. Does it play proper kodi (no wrapper) properly. ie HD audio passthrough and 3D and frame switching
2. Does it play YouTube and/ or Netflix in 4K/HDR and Dolby atmos etc
3. Does it play Plex same as above?
4. It mentions it plays 3D. Can we please confirm this to be true and will it play it on internal player (so other apps can use it) or does it have to be used via the manufacturers apps/wrappers?
5. Does it auto switch colour modes. Even though a advertised feature, Shield has an issue with this still.

I have a shield (2017) and hoping that this device can replace it if the above are true.

Thanks!

1. No. The HiSilicon chipset is not supported beyond standard Android by Kodi. Audio is 2 channel PCM. There is no wrapper available for Kodi.
2. Youtube in 4K, Netflix in 1080p. PCM 2 channel stereo max.
3. Yes, same as above.
4. Not true. The specs have changed a bit since first listing, mostly due to the specs fed to us being incorrect. 3D will play in MKV and ISO using an app such as VLC.
5. No.

In general, HiMedia S500 is a good option for running Android TV and the apps you can download using it from Play Store. It's main advantage over similar products is the enhanced picture quality coming from the HiSilicon chipset. It has no hardware video playback app and does not support HD-Audio passthrough (something HiMedia helpfully confirmed to us only today!). It also has no framerate or resolution switching.

HiMedia S500 is £75, it's an enhancement to add streaming and local media playback capability with the highest picture quality to a TV. If you want a better alternative to the Shield then I'd recommend one of the Zidoo products. Except for Kodi (where Zidoo have a fork with wrapper-like full hardware functionality) and Plex it will do what you require.

That’s really disappointing. So whay do they mean by ‘ GOOGLE ANDROID TV HiMedia S500 runs fully certified Google Android TV 9‘ and they go on about it as if it’s the first fully certified android box they have and will be able to ‘download and stream all of the apps in Google’s play store at their best’. Doesn’t google certification and android TV mean that it should open up all the items that I asked about?

Confused

Ps I have found no walkthroughs on the S500 either that are in English 

[futeko.com]

Google Certified Android TV means that it's running Android TV OS and has been through the Google certification process for Android TV. There are other 'Android TV' boxes that run a (kind of) hacked version of Android TV and are not Google certified. The Google certification will ensure that the box runs Android TV app correctly, will receive updates, and meets a certain hardware quality standard. HiMedia S500 is the first HiSililcon chipset box to run certified Android TV, this is important because the HiSilicon chipset has superior picture quality.

The other items on your list are nothing to do with the OS or any kind of certification and, to be honest, are going to be tough for you to achieve from any product.

[wulkanos]

If this box is original, certified Android TV then there is a hope that the official frimware can be converted to Q5/Q10 Pro ?

[futeko.com]

If this box is original, certified Android TV then there is a hope that the official frimware can be converted to Q5/Q10 Pro ?

It uses a different chipset to Q5/Q10 Pro (HiSilicon Hi3798MV200 vs Hi3798CV200) and Google certify on a per device basis, so no chance.

[KeyMag]

Hello! I ordered one. I wanted to know in more detail about the possibility of viewing 3D ISO. How to watch, how to watch a similar format and how problematic it is to view such content. What applications does the AFR work in? And I also did not understand about the performance of Kodi.

[futeko.com]

Hello! I ordered one. I wanted to know in more detail about the possibility of viewing 3D ISO. How to watch, how to watch a similar format and how problematic it is to view such content. What applications does the AFR work in? And I also did not understand about the performance of Kodi.

S500 is not recommended for 3D ISO. You would need a third party app that is compatible, which I'm not sure any are. For 3D ISO you'd need media player hardware designed for the format. From our site right now that would be the Zidoo boxes.

AFR = Auto frame rate? S500 does not have this feature.

S500 is good for streaming apps and to add Android TV to a TV. PQ is great but it's not designed to be a standalone local/LAN media player like Zidoo/Dune/Popcorn Hour etc.