Amkette EvoTV Review
Amkette EvoTV is a android based Media Player that comes with loads of connectivity, a good form factor. It’s design is nice, a small black square box that can be covered by my palm.
Pros:
Android Media Player
A Powerful Remote (IMO the cost of the remote will be more than that of the box)
WiFi/Ethernet Connectivity
DLNA
Loads of Games
Android 2.3.4
4 USB Ports
Mali 400 GPU
Cortex A-9 Processor
YouTube Channel
Updates
Makes my TV a Computer (Almost)
Plays almost all formats
SPDIF Output
HDMI Output
Cons :
Home Screen Lags a Bit
Force Close Issues arise sometimes (rarely)
No Bundled Keyboard
Have to change the media resolution to 1080p if I want to play a Full HD Movie.
4GB Inbuilt Memory is Less for me.
512MB Ram (1GB would have made me more happier)
No USB 3.0
Review :
The Box :Small and well designed, with kind of matte finish many would fall for it’s form factor only. Has Wi-Fi and Ethernet Connectivity, 1 HDMI Port, SPDIF Port, 4 USB Posts and a/v cable output.
Personally, loved the design, shape and size of the box.
Would rate the Box 4/5
Box Specs :
Operating System EVO View optimized Android 2.3.4
Video Output HDMI 480p, 720p, 1080p (50/60Hz) Composite A/V 480i, 576i
Audio Output Stereo L/R , 7.1 Digital Audio using HDMI, Digital SPDIF Coaxial output
USB Ports Four USB 2.0 ports
Card Reader SD/MMC Slot for storage expansion
Networking Internal Wi fi - 802.11 b/g/n, Ethernet 10/100 Base-T Ethernet
Network Sharing uPnP (DLNA), Samba Share (Windows)
Memory Internal 4GB Solid State Memory
RAM 512MB
Main Processor Arm Cortex A9
Graphics Processor Arm Mali 400
Power Input 12V 1.5A -- 110-240VAC
Dimension EvoTV Box : 118 X 118 X 26 (mm) (LxWxH)
Evo Touch Remote : 125 X 35 X 22 (mm) (LxWxH)
Weight EvoTV Box : 277 gm , Evo Touch Remote : 75 gm
Supported Accessories USB keyboard, mouse, webcam (certain models), 3G dongle (certain models)
Formats Supported
Video Formats : MPEG-1(DAT, MPEG, MPE, MPG) MPEG-2(MPEG, MPE, MPG, M2V, ISO, TS, VOB) MPEG-4 ASP(AVI, MKV, MP4, MOV, 3GP, 3GPP, FLC AVI(DivX 3-6, Xvid), H.264(AVI, MOV, MP4, MKV, TS, M2TS, M3TS, M4TS, M5TS, MTS, M4V，FLV) VC-1(WMV, AVI, TS), WMV(WMV, AVI), H.263(AVI, FLV, 3GP, 3GPP, MOV, MP4, 3G2)
Audio Formats : MP1/MP2/MP3(MPEG 1/2/2.5, Audio Layer 1/2/3), WMA(WMA 4-9, WMA Pro) WAV(PCM), OGG/OGA(Vorbis), FLAC(Flac), alac(ALAC), Ape(APE), AAC/M4A(AAC-LC, AAC-HE, AAC+) AC-3, DTS, Real Audio
Photo Formats : JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF
Subtitle Formats : SRT, SUB, SMI, IDX, SSA, ASS
The Remote :
Now this is the thing that actually made me buy this Media Player, It has got capacitive buttons which when touched can be used to move the cursor, it makes it act like a air mouse, control is easy and I don’t have to move my whole hand to move from one point of screen to another, movement of wrist is more than enough.
It has got a accelerometer inbuilt that helps in control motion sense games (read not all motion games are compatible). A inbuilt Mic in the remote for Skype (yes, Skype works flawlessly)
And other Zoom in-out buttons that works when moved finger clock wise or vice-versa with media player buttons to control the music, play-pause, volume up-down, next-previous.
Gaming Mode button makes the remote more responsive and faster also activates it’s motion gaming capabilities if the game supports and is compatible to it.
Remote Specs :
Radio Frequency: 2.4 Ghz. Does not need line of sight
Range: 10 meters
Air Mouse: Works in 360’ direction
EvoTouch Functions: Touch sensor for on screen control
Gaming Mode: Motion sensors for games
Inbuilt Microphone for video conferencing and voice commands
Universal Remote functions for standard TV control
Battery: 3.7 V, 700 mAh Li-ion Rechargeable with charging cable
Now the Main Features
UI :
It comes with a 6 Screen tiles UI which is fully customizable and I can add my own views, application, web links or a single widget inside a Tile. I Can also add Widget like Facebook, twitter on the tiles also.
On the left Corner information about weather is given and on the bottom part a live newsfeed keeps going which is again good. It’s simple, nice and does the job nicely but one thing that effects is while scrolling sideways It does lag a bit
Would rate it 4/5 (Because of the lag) (Edit : Complained about the same and they did somethings and the box is smooth now !! )
As a Media Player :
It plays almost all the formats I’ve thrown to it, be it a Full HD x264 or MKV or even a AVI file, it has played all of them easily and the quality is nice. The only thing I don’t like is that in order to have the best video quality for 1080p movies I’ve to change the video mode to 1080p which makes the system a still slower and I think 1GB Ram could have played a important part here. Never the less even at the 720p mode, it is very difficult to differentiate between the quality, have tested it on my 32 incher as well as a 42 incher regza.
As far as playing music is concerned it does play FLAC files and it’s SPDIF output gives a better sound output
Overall for it’s media player capability would rate it 4/5
Games :
I’m a Hardcore Gamer and I love these anywhere, on my phone to my Desktop and now the Media Player. IT does come with few games, but you can always download game from Play Store (yes it comes with Google Play). Have download and tried few free games currently have around 10-12 fully compatible games other than what comes in the box. As it comes with the Mali 400 GPU, the graphics quality is nice and feels like I’m playing the old classics again on my TV.
Gaming is fun and I really liked it, this is one of the best features of EvoTV that actually made me buy it. Motion sensing is flawless although it doesn’t work in every game, but for the time being happy with these few games. It Fills the gap of gaming console for me.
Overall would rate 4.5/5 (Few Very good free games out there.)
Applications and Web Browsing :
Also for the information, there’s one more store as EvoStore, which is similar to Play Store but only those applications are listed that are fully Compatible with the evotv. It comes with few basic applications for banking, cooking, yoga and others but the only application I use it office suite on the TV and it really works well, most of the application on Play Store are compatible with the evo tv but I really love my desktop for these similar applications.
For browsing it has a default android browser and works like same and zoomin-zoomout buttons can be used while using the web browsers. Goof Basic browser and can full fill the basic needs
Would rate 4/5 (I love my desktop for these thing so I’m being a little biased here.)
1. EvoStore :
It’s a store created by Amkette Itself so that end users can download compatible applications, games etc for their use. Currently not many applications are listed.
2. MY YT Viewer :
This is a very good application, as because of this I can watch channels which are not available in India. It’s powered by youtube and one it was a treat watching it on the TV.
3. Youtube Channels (Part of My YT Viewer)
This simply organizes the different videos (of serials) or the channels from star plus to sony, zee, life ok and many more. In one line, my “Ma†(mother) loved it. So I won’t rate it here
If to summaries, I’m very happy for the decision of buying a EvoTV, as it is not just a Media Player but a better entertainment device, loved the features, remote, games, media playback., youtube channels. Wish I could get more ram and a dual core CPU, but still I could rate it a Value for Money Product when it comes to Price thing but it is actually better than just being a Value for Money Device.
If you love android you would love this device instantly
Overall, price-performance wise I would Rate it as 4/5 and Recommend it if you are looking for more than just a media player or A Smart TV Convertor, then definitely it should be on your list.
Edit : Brought it for 9995 from ebay.
