Android magic from this tiny media box
Over the last year or so we’ve seen so many tiny Android-based under the TV boxes, with each offering the many benefits associated with the Google Play Store within such a discrete sized media centre.
With so much competition around and to stand out from the crowd then, the manufacturer needs to be able to pull something special out the hat to pique the interest of the consumer. This latest under the TV box from MyGica looks interesting, but does it have the white rabbit ready to wow the audience?
The MyGica ATV585 has a Cortex-A5 quad-core, 1.5GHz processor with a Mali-450 quadcore GPU and 1GB of memory. The built-in 8GB eMMC flash storage has Android 4.4 installed out of the box, together with KODI (formerly XBMC), Chrome and a number of other apps.
There are a pair of USB 2.0 ports located to one side, with an SD card slot, while the rear of the ATV585 houses a HDMI port, 100Mb/s Ethernet, power, swivel antenna, and micro-AV. Three small LEDs on the front of the device indicate a connection to the network through the Ethernet port, and the status and power of the device.
Furthermore, the ATV585 has 802.11 b/g/n wi-fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and an IR strip for use with the accompanying remote. Speaking of which, the remote is surprisingly good in this case; we often come across Android media boxes with really terrible remotes, however the ATV585’s example has solid buttons, a separate section for pairing with the TV, and buttons for Android specific functions such as home, back, and menu. Additionally you’ll also find four quick-link buttons at the bottom for Netflix, Android settings, Play Store and KODI.
The ATV585 is certainly a quick little Android box. The apps load fast, and movement between already launched apps is fluid and without the usual stutter you normally see on these kinds of devices. Playback of video, from either an online source or from a local NAS drive or USB storage is also as near perfect as you could wish for.
There are a couple of niggles that let it down, though. For one, the IR sensor seems to be a bit picky at the angle it chooses to work at. With a straight view it works fine, but if you move slightly to one side or the other it tends to fail. Secondly, playback is limited to 1080p, there’s no 4K support – although H.265/HEVC hardware decoding is present.
While bemoaning the lack of 4K support may seem a little unfair, since most of us are still only just getting used to 1080p HD, it is something that separates the excellent Android boxes from the more mediocre ones. Take for instance the Minix NEO X8-H, with H.265/HEVC hardware decoding this is an example that’s ready as a 4K Android media hub – and it has a slightly more powerful CPU and GPU too, as well as an airmouse remote.
The MyGica ATV585 is a good little Android media centre. There’s plenty to please the user, and it’s reasonably priced too. It lacks some of the more alluring features the competition has on offer, however, which is a shame. David Hayward
A good Android-based media device.