Zidoo Z9S Media Player Review
Zidoo has decided to hit the mainstream market with the release with their two boxes one of which is the Zidoo Z9S media player. This is more than just a TV box, the features contained in this device allows you to utilize massive external storage options to record and store media, and expand the storage of the box itself. It doesn’t take the same route in hardware as its recent counterparts in the Amlogic line, but instead decided to use a different combination that not only produces outstanding performance but produces some interesting scores in comparison to other boxes.
Zidoo Official product page – https://www.zidoo.tv/Product/index/model/Z9S/target/2INlOr7QH%2B1KKmVViAFMcQ%3D%3D.html
Gearbest – http://shrsl.com/1lygk
Geekbuying – http://shrsl.com/t4ec-ty4-evof8z_1-1 $179 after coupon: XZWJVGFS
Aliexpress – http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/bijdUZhe
Amazon – https://amzn.to/2Eelynr
ZIDOO Z9S Latest Firmware and Google apps APK – https://mega.nz/#F!qzpBzYRD!3RkzgCIYNFBKXRNstViUpw
Updated Kodi addons backup – https://mega.nz/#F!6jg0EIKL!jTDbqRjNcuM63LjBK_pPNA
Hardware
- CPU: Realtek RTD1296
- GPU: Mali T820
- RAM: 2GB
- RAM Type: DDR3
- ROM: 16GB
- WiFi – 2.4Ghz + 5.8GHz Dual Band
- Ethernet LAN 1000Mbps
Most of us have grown accustomed to the Amlogic CPUs, but the Zidoo Z9S runs on a Realtek CPU the RTD1296 4X running up to 1.4GHz. I find this speed a bit low, but after monitoring the operating temperatures of the box it would have been dangerous to increase the clock any higher without increased cooling options. The Mali T820 is a nice addition as it provides Open GL ES 3.2 which is good for gaming.
IO Ports
- 2 HDMI
- 2 USB 2.0
- 2 USB 3.0
- 1 DC input
- 1 RS232
- 1 AV port
- 1 RJ45 LAN 100Mbps
- 2 SATA
- 1 Optical audio
Now that’s 13 ports in total, and I don’t think that there is any TV box to date with that many IO ports, and I think Zidoo is a record holder for the most amount of ports in a TV box.
ZIUI Interface
ZIUI is by far one of the best feature-rich user interfaces in the industry and you will not find it any other boxes as it is owned and maintained by Zidoo. In spite of being a great launcher, in this review, I experienced some difficulty in getting off the ground and operating it. It came with an outdated firmware that had no Google Play Store and Google services. I thought this was a nightmare, but a quick response from the Zidoo support team provided me with an updated firmware and Google APK file to install Google Play services. I also had a bad experience where I had to sideload most of my apps because the Google play store had restricted issues.
These are just some of the features of ZIUI in this box include:
- HDMI recording
- OTA Updates
- Picture in picture display
- Custom remote control buttons
- RS232 Remote control features
- Mobile remote control of the box
- 4K 3840 x 2160 HDR display
- Dolby DTS audio output
- Expandable storage up to 10TB via USB 3.0 and SATA connections
- Optical audio option
- Programmable Front LED display
4K video Playback
There’s no other way to say it, but the Zidoo Z9S played all of my 4K video samples without issues, even the stubborn 4K jellyfish video at 400Mbps bitrate the most boxes struggles to play. Now that is a great achievement for the Z9S, the team who optimized this device.
3D Gaming
Again, I played a number of games that would normally give TV boxes problems to play, and the Z9S was able to play them smoothly. However, during the gameplay I noticed temperatures rising above 70°C but no freezing during gameplay. So if you intend on gaming on this box I recommend getting a modem cooling fan like Evercool RC02.
Benchmarks
- Antutu – 53,372
- Geekbench 4 – 632 single-core 1,831 multi-core
- Ice Storm Extreme -5,939
- Sling Shot Test – 332
- RAM Copy – 2,700 MB/s
- ROM Speed – 1134MB/s read NA MB/s
- WiFi Speed – Max speed on both 2.4GHz + 5.8GHz + LAN
Conclusion
Pros
First of all, the build quality is really premium grade, and that is something you can always expect from Ziddoo.
It runs on a new CPU and GPU combination, which is the Realtek RTD 1296, together with the ARM Mali T820 tri-core GPU, which produces some amazing results while not having the highest benchmarks in the industry. You have the most connecting ports you’ll find on any TV Box. From 4 USB, to 2 SATA connectors, and even an RS232.
It runs on one of the best custom interface and launcher in the industry, which is Ziddoo’s very own ZIUI, and it has more features and settings than any regular TV Box, and it includes a navigation bar. You can record from other media devices using the included second HDMI input port, and it can read up to 10TB external hard drives. and that’s huge.
It plays 4K videos the best I’ve seen for 2019, and that is without issues even the stubborn 4K jellyfish video that most boxes struggle to play. And its 3D gaming quality is the best I’ve seen for the first half of 2019.
Cons
On the flip side. The box has to be updated immediately out of the box, because of missing Google features. It is running on Android 7.1 Nougat operating system which is old Android, but I was informed by a Ziddoo agent that Android 7 provides support for features like HDR to SDR mapping in their media player. You have to sideload a lot of your personal apps via flash drive because the Google play store and the Aptoide app store are restricted in many ways.
The box is not rooted, with no Google wide-vine DRM support, and this prevents Netflix in any form working on this box. The benchmark scores are lower than top boxes in the industry, but one score, which is the graphics benchmark score, is higher than most boxes runs a bit hot, so passive cooling is recommended. And though the included remote is way better than most, it does not have an air mouse feature.
Hey Dude,
No need to apologize for long videos. You are consistently thorough and professional. Keep up the great work. Many reviewers miss so much it is scary. For this particular box did you notice how hot it got during game-play – 91 degrees at one one point. That is high. Also, did you not find the 2 GB of ddr3 ram limiting? I would think it would be.
Interested to see you do a review of the beelink GT King – this one seems very promising.
Thanks – keep up the great work – the both of you.
Yes, I did see it and that’s why I recommended that one should use a cooling fan on this box. The RAM and is limited and should have been 4GB / 64GB ROM
Regards
TV Box Stop
Hi thanks for sharing us your review, could advice me which is the best TV media box that can support Dolby Vision and HDR10+?
One more thing, I’m seeking to buy a new tv media box has the best quality image, unfortunately I have Nivida Shield tv but Nvidia has a bad quality picture because it has not won operating player like Zidoo Z9S has Home Theater 2..
Regards.
I think you are the first person to discover that the Nvidia Shield does not do everything better than all the TV boxes out there. If I play the same 4K videos on the Nvidia Shield some of them freeze and fail to play. I think you answered your own question, the Zidoo Z9S is the first box in a long time to play 4K videos like that.