MECOOL M8S PRO

The Mecool M8S Pro turns the TV into a smart TV with an Android 7.1 operating system, which supports many apps from the Playstore.

Design

The Mecool M8S Pro is very simple. A matt black plastic housing with the dimensions 10,2 x 10,2 x 2,1cm knows here the same size as the Xiaomi TV Box. The weight of the M8S Pro with 110 grams is 60 grams lighter than the box of the competition. The Mecool M8S Pro has unfortunately not been perfectly processed and so you can find on the edges slight gaps and overhangs between the different housing parts. On the underside, anti-slip knobs are made of rubber. In addition to the box, the Mecool M8S Pro also contains a power cable with EU plug, an HDMI cable and the remote control.

Android TV

The Android operating system has already been tested in the Xiaomi TV Box 3 test report. Even if the Mecool M8S Pro is delivered from the factory with an Android 7.1 and does not have to be updated by an update, in OS OS the two boxes nothing. The weak point of the Mecool M8S Pro TV Box does not lie in the hardware but is clearly the result of the included remote control. This reacts heavily and you have to aim very precisely at the box to achieve something. However, if you switch the remote control against the smartphone with infrared transmitter, this problem is made out of the world.

Service

As already mentioned, the included remote control can not keep up with the performance of the TV Box. The processing makes you think that here was saved and a simple model was taken. Since without a remote control operation is impossible, however, one should either resort to the mobile phone or get a new one. An advantage with the Mecool M8S Pro is the possibility of the Bluetooth connection. So you can also use normal Bluetooth keyboards of tablets and makes the operation around worlds easier. On the Tv box itself there are no buttons to give instructions.

In terms of user friendliness, the Mecool M8S Pro has a point where the Xiaomi TV Box 3 clearly has its nose in front: the voice control. What makes Xiaomi the service so child-friendly, is missing in the M8S Pro completely.

Power

The Mecool M8S Pro can deliver an image with 4K resolution and 60 fps via the HDMI output. As an processor, an Octa-Core Amlogic S912 with as also with Xiaomi, 8 Cortex A53 cores 2,0 GHz clocking was installed. The GPU is a Mali-T820, in contrast to the Mali-450 at the Xiaomi Box. This constellation also brings to larger 4K TV connected good performance and leaves the system, as synonymous movies run in high resolution smooth running. An internal memory of amazing 16GB and a working memory with 3GB do their other things to a fault-free and liquid operation. There is also a version with only 2GB RAM, we would not recommend because of the low savings. In the Antutu benchmark test, the Mecool M8S Pro achieved 40673 points and is even slightly above the 36000 points of the Xiaomi Box.

In the gaming test, the Mecool M8S Pro performed flawlessly. Also great 3D games like GTA ran flawlessly. This is, of course, not the standard use of the normal user, but already here one can see that the box in operation as a Media Center makes a good figure. Apps and system run without lags and it is pleasant to use the TV box.

In addition, a connection to the Internet via Wifi and to other devices via Bluetooth 4.1 is possible. A 3.5mm jack connection with 5.1 surround sound support is responsible for the sound. The internal memory can either be extended using a microSD card or a connected hard disk. Unlike the Xiaomi Box 3, the Mecool M8S Pro also has a second USB port and an Internet connection to connect the box to the web via LAN cable.

Conclusion

Even though most TVs are already considered as smart TV, handling apps and the internet is usually rather bad than right. Here helps then a TV box. The Mecool M8S Pro is available for under $61.99 and offers an amazing performance. In direct comparison to the Xiaomi TV Box 3 was missing only the voice control, which would have been quite a nice feature. 3GB RAM and an octa core processor, however, bring a lot of fun with the use and let everything run perfectly round and error-free. The many connections are a plus point of the box. If you are looking for the poor remote control and the slightly weak external processing, it is definitely worth buying the Mecool M8S Pro.

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