Homatics Box R 4K Plus review: Dolby TrueHD passthrough inside! 🥳🥳🥳🥳

by latinriky78

Homatics was kind enough to provide me with a Homatics Box R 4K Plus unit to test and review.

Don't forget that the OEM is SEI Robotics, which is part of project "Hailstorm", project responsible for the Netflix certification.

SPECIFICATIONS:

- Android 11.

- Amlogic S905X4 with AV1 hardware decoding.

- Quad-core 2.0 GHz (ARM Cortex-A55).

- ARM Mali-G31 MP2.

- Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG.

- Dolby Atmos passthrough.

- 4GB RAM LPDDR4.

- 32GB of internal storage.

- WiFi 4, 5 and 6.

- Bluetooth 5.0.

- HDMI 2.1.

- One USB 2.0 port, one USB 3.0 port and one USB-C port.

- One optical audio port.

- One analog AV port.

- Ethernet 10/100/1000 port.

- One long LED light at the top front of the device that turns green when it’s ON and red when it’s OFF.

PROS:

- It's fast thanks to its 4GB of RAM, apps open faster, the UI is more fluid and the system as a whole seems to perform better. The native Android games I tested also seemed to perform better overall.

- I can finally use the internal microphone of any UVC webcam different than Logitech to make videocalls with Duo and Jami thanks to the security patch installed on the device dated august 5th 2022, though I'm not sure if it's actually Android 11 the one that makes this possible but anyway it works.

- HDR, Dolby Vision and HDR Auto toggles. The HDR toggle allows to turn OFF the HDR mode for 4K TVs without HDR support, the options remain OFF on 1080p or lower resolution TVs:

They are OFF because I don't own a 4K HDR TV yet.

- There is a toggle in the “Energy saver” section to switch between keeping the device alive while in standby mode for an instant power back ON, or to a allow the device to go to a deep standby mode after 20 minutes of being turned OFF, in this mode the device will boot from the start:

The \"Power Saving Mode\" option is absent in the Mecool KM2 Plus and it's a must.

- The remote control has one available key that can be programmed to open an app of user’s choice:

https://preview.redd.it/6wyz8dhuyqv91.png?width=710&format=png&auto=webp&s=f107c6bfe3b235646f91b12f3b7b2229fae5aecf

- Dolby TrueHD passthrough is supported, apps I tested working and not working are:

* Emby = Audio stutter, the issue is already reported ( https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/113171-dolby-truehd-71-passthrough-stutter-on-homatics-box-r-4k-plus/ )

* Jellyfin = Didn’t passthrough the audio but transcoded it to Dolby Digital, the issue is already reported ( https://github.com/jellyfin/jellyfin-androidtv/issues/2196 )

* VLC = Didn’t passthrough the audio nor decoded it to multichannel PCM, the issue is already reported ( https://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=160985 )

* Kodi doesn't detect that it has TrueHD passhtrough support, though I can't report the issue since I don't have an account in their forums.

* Nova Video Player = Played OK.

* GV Video Player = Played OK.

Dolby TrueHD decoding to multichannel PCM is also supported.

CONS:

- DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and Master Audio passthrough are still not supported, but the box is able to passthrough the DTS Core from them. Decoding to multichannel PCM is also supported. I hope Homatics adds real HRA and MA passthrough support in a future firmware update.

- Auto framerate is not supported but it will be supported once Android 12 arrives... someday.

- The game mode is one of Android 11 features but I don’t see the toggle available as in other devices with Android 11.

- Pressing and holding the power button doesn't bring the options to take screenshots and rebooting the device but that is something removed by Google and not by Homatics.

- In the gaming emulation department, I tested a few PSX games and they performed a little better thanks to the 4GB of RAM, but some N64 ones still stutter like Mario Power Tennis, not sure if the emulator needs to be improved to take advantage of the amount of RAM or if it's something else.

ISSUES:

- Many apps still fail to access the internal or external storage due to the new permission policy implemented in Android 11 and above, developers still need to optimize this policy in their apps, a workaround is to manually select the option in each individual Android’s app settings to allow access to the storage all the time if available, otherwise, selecting the option to access the storage only when the app is in use work with some apps. I've been unable to use some game console emulators such as Lemuroid because of this.

- As you may know, the G10 remote control can be programmed to control TVs, AV receivers and soundbars, so I set it up to control my TV, but I discovered the following situation: After I setup and switched it to control the volume of my TV, I noticed that the volume of the device doesn't change to a "fixed" state, which means, if I accidentally or on purpose reduce the volume level of the device to zero and then switch the remote to control the volume level of the TV, I will hear no sound coming out of the TV speakers because the volume level of the device was reduced to zero previously. To fix that inconvenience, the device should reset the volume level to 100% automatically and keep it that way indefinitely until the option to control the volume of the device is selected again:

For some reason, the OS is labeled as \"Google TV\" instead of \"Android TV\".

- Programming the remote control to power the TV ON and OFF has one issue: when I press the power button to turn ON the TV, the device also turns ON thanks to the bluetooth connection, BUT, when I press the power button to turn OFF the TV, the device stays ON until it reaches the time set in the “Energy saver” section to turn OFF by itself or it will never turn OFF if it was set to "never". It looks like the remote control is not sending the appropriate bluetooth command to turn OFF the device:

For some reason, the OS is labeled as \"Google TV\" instead of \"Android TV\".

- There is a constant fake Dolby Digital Plus signal sent to my receiver when using the “Auto” option in the “Select formats” section, it doesn’t let me know what audio codec is actually being output when playing back a video, the only way to fix it up is by selecting the “Passthrough” option, but to me that is a redundant option, “Automatic” and “None” are enough:

It's not possible to know the supported codecs in Android 11 but it's back again in Android 12.

CONCLUSION:

I really love this device, its hardware design and features make it a very good option despite the high price and the current issues it has, Homatics told me they are already working on addressing them to make it even better than it is already and to make it a good alternative to the Nvidia Shield.

If you decided to purchase this box after this review, please visit the Homatics Online Store .

walterjrscs

Unfortunately at $149, it competes directly with Nvidia Shield non pro. That has to be a deal breaker to any consumer who seriously wants to buy a Google TV.

I really wished this TV box was under the $100 mark.

thekrautboy

Very interesting device! Thanks a lot for sharing your impressions with it :)

More competition with TrueHD support is always great.

For me personally this device is not very interesting, considering its price range (apparently ~$150 USD?) and the lack of DTS support. Sure AV1 decoding is nice but i currently have 0 media with it so thats more a thing for the distant future, if at all. I see this thing more competing with the new FireTV Cube that just came out and is very much the same price range iirc, and also lacks DTS. For people who dont want/need DTS for whatever reason, these two devices sure can be a cheaper alternative to Apple TV 4K and Shield Pro.

tSuaisisdi

Beastly work you have here.

Specialist_Ad_9561

So I got one today. I am little bit pissed of after hours of trying different cables. With AVR/without. My TV is LG C1 OLED.

- I am not able to switch refresh rate in Refresh Rate App. I have there only one (1080p though I am running box in 4k) choice or system default.

- If DV and HDR selected, box start my tv in DV mode and dont switch to HDR if HDR is played. Can't tell if it's playing in HDR but it seems to me too dark

- If HDR selected only the box start my tv in HDR mode. Also cannot tell if really plays HDR files correctly.

- If HDR and DV selected plus auto HDR selected box start tv in normal mode. If I play DV file, then tv detects DV but if I play HDR, tv plays it in non HDR mode.

​

Edit: HDR auto seems to do the problem with DV playback. If DV has color overlay, turn off and on the HDR auto switch and it will play DV correctly then.

Waggmans

For the price it’s just not enough. The Zidoo Z9X and Shield are both better options for what each does compared to this.

clarkss12

Thank you for the review. Glad to see that the this Google Certified device now support 4g of memory.

clarkss12

I am very close to purchasing one. One question before I do, do they ever put out firmware updates?

International-Oil377

Considering it's almost the price of a shield, without DTS HD support is a hard pass lol

_gRiNgO-311

Thanks for the review/info !! I think I'm going to pull the trigger and order one. Is there any way you can test passthrough with PLEX ?

urbanman2004

Based on its gaming performance, it's a hard pass for me.

svemonix

What about Kodi? Same passthrough limitations?

Sunset-1982

I would love to know if it works with kodi to trigger dolby vision from within mkv files. (With the marven builds from kodinerds website)

_gRiNgO-311

I finally received it late yesterday, setting it up this morning. Initial impressions: It does passthrough Dolby TrueHD but its limited to 5.1. With 7.1 sourced videos it sends a LPCM signal, similar to my Apple TV 4K 2nd Gen. I have passthrough enabled in system settings, out of the three options available (automatic, none, and passthrough) which btw doesn't have the extended options like the Shield has. It does passthrough DTS but only the core signal like mentioned in OP's findings, when playing DTS-HD MA/DTS-X. It bitstreams Dolby Digital Plus Atmos. As far as HDR, I have both HDR10 and Dolby Vision enabled in settings along with 'HDR-Auto'. It does switch from SDR to Dolby Vision when I play videos with DV Profile 5 through my PLEX. Unfortunately doesn't switch from SDR to HDR10 or SDR to DV (Profile 7). I will continue testing (about to install KODI, toggle HDR-Auto on/off, etc..) As far as the unit itself; I really like it, very snappy, definitely notice the 4GB of RAM. Not a big fan of the led light (wish it could be dimmed or turned off ala the Shield). Remote is nice, able to control receiver and tv no issues. Love the 'APP Key' (assignable) without having to install an keymap app. I will post screenshots later, I want to keep testing/tweaking.

Update: toggle'd DV off, kept HDR10 and HDR-Auto on and the box switches between SDR to HDR10 and SDR to HLG on YouTube just fine. I have to connect it directly to my Vizio OLED to test HDR10+, which I plan to do later.

2nd update: Prime Video Dolby Vision and Atmos succesful watching Rings Of Power. Device switched from SDR to DV with HDR, Dolby Vision, and HDR-Auto all on. Again, no HDR-10 with those settings. HDR10 will play with DV toggled off. I don't have Netflix so I can't test that out.

CVGPi

does hdr work on 1080P HDR displays? You said the option is off for 1080 and below.

fareek

How much have you tested video playback with vlc?

I've noticed slight sync problems when playing videos with vlc. Mostly sd/hd files with 23.96 fr and aac 2.0 audio.

It is probably not a problem with the box, because mx player plays the same files fine.

Although vlc player also plays them fine on other boxes.

ooftymcgoofty

Too soon to ask about root-ability?

WorldlinessThis3656

Hallo. This thing has a HDMI problem. Does anyone have the same problem.

https://youtu.be/RQDy1LAJtyY

Homatics box r 4k plus

seventysamurai

Read this still has some issues with Hulu HDR and such. Would love to get one in the hands of someone with a 4k HDR setup.

kretsstdr

Thank you, its sound realy great, have you trued some dolby vision fel 7 profile files? Can it play them ? If it does its the perfect box for me

satake

Can you tell me if the [HDR Auto] mode sets the signal to SDR when not playing HDR/DV content?

markeymark1971

Better off with Mecool KM6 box at a fraction of the price, same hardware....

_gRiNgO-311

Gm, just an update. The Homatics box is still in transit. It finally made it to the US yesterday (4 days just to leave China, lol). USPS will handle it from there, although they haven't received it yet. As it stands I'll be posting my findings sometime this upcoming weekend.

xxxsskxxx

Does this pass through TrueHD Atmos to the AV receiver? I can see DD+ Atmos is passed through. Thanks

Hashz70

Too expensive,and how much updates/support will it get,I don't trust the chinese

FoxNo5231

Rocktek G2 on newegg is way cheaper. You'll get it for around 92usd with the coupon code. Though the coupons only valid for another 3 hours from now. And if you miss the coupon code it's still available for 111USD. It's the exact same as the Nokia 8010 and homatics plus 4k pro. Way better pricing for the exact same product.