VONTAR is one of the leading brands in the manufacture of TV Box, it has provided us with many devices in different shapes and specifications and at prices that are the best in the market and one of its most famous series is VONTAR X. For now, is back with a new upgrade called the VONTAR X4.
This upgrade gives the Tv Box an improved look with better hardware and features. It’s equipped with a new generation of Amlogic S905X4 quad-core SoC and Mali-G31 MP2GPU, in addition to 4GB RAM and up to 128GB storage, and powered by Android 11, all of this allows you to watch and enjoy thousands of 4K movies and series and even games, so it’s time to talk about this TV Box and see if it is worth investing in it and what are its advantages and disadvantages.
Design And Build Quality
The VONTAR X4 box is designed to attract your attention to its beautiful exterior design, The body is made of black plastic on a rectangular shape, on the top has a glossy cover with a large logo in the form of the V in the center with abstract design and yellow edges. On the front of the box, you have a power light (Power ON Blue; Standby: Red) and a small LED clock displaying the current time and network connection status, And below there are some ventilation holes for providing better air circulation. And although it’s plastic, it has a good manufacturing quality and looks solid.
For connectors on the side, Typical types included in most boxes, are the DC port, an AV port, Ethernet 10/100/1000 (RJ45), a micro SD card slot, a SPDIF audio output, 1 x USB 3.0 port, and 1 x USB 2.0. and finally, an HDMI 2.1 that allows you to output video with a resolution of up to 4K at 60 fps.
Under The Hood
The SoC used in the VONTAR X4 is Amlogic S905X4 64-bit Quad-core ARM Cortex A55 2.0GHz, This processor is known for its good manufacturing quality at 12nm and gives you 30 percent more performance than the previous generation compared to the S905X3 found in most TV box devices. Also, It’s designed for high-performance devices and supports AV1 decoding which is now mandatory for popular streaming services.
The Mali-G31 MP2 GPU offers good performance without forgetting the 4GB RAM for greater multitasking capabilities and provides excellent results in navigating and running applications. And storage capacity, it has 3 options 32/64/128GB eMMC and there is a TF card slot to support expansion up to 64GB.
Connectivity
For connectivity, the VONTAR X4 box contains 2.4GHz / 5GHz WIFI IEEE 802.11 b/g/n/ac dual-band for faster data transmission and better streaming experience, the network is acceptable but not the most stable. Also comes with a feature that is missing in a lot of other TV Boxes which is a 1000Mb LAN, that is more reliable than WI-FI and provides even better data transmission. And has Bluetooth 4.0 is not the latest generation but works well. However, a TV box at this price would have been better if it had version 5.0.
Remote can’t navigate on some Apps, It is a common issue for almost all android tv boxes that are hard to navigate on some Apps with the remote, as these Apps are mainly provided for tablets and phones that have a touch screen. I suggest purchasing the iPazzPort mini Wireless Keyboard/Remote, It will make it much easier navigating the screen in apps that aren’t remote-control friendly.
Software
One of the strengths of VONTAR X4 TV Box is that it is equipped with a new Android 11 operating system to provide you with a more efficient and secure operation, better compatibility with the latest applications, and thus better user experience, the operating system is pre-configured to access more permissions and install applications that require root activation with the ability to enable/disable.
In the beginning, it’s fast to boot up, it will not take more than a few seconds to take you directly to the launcher with no setup wizard.
The launcher is clean with a flat design, On the home screen, you look at 6 shortcuts that you can remove or replace, and this is the positive side of android for the possibility of customization according to what the user likes and what makes him comfortable. However, has the option to change the background and you still get an area for customizable shortcuts bottom of the previous one, where you can add as many shortcuts as you please, there also is a big and clear widget for the date and time.
And unusually, You find the navigation bar and status bar for easy navigation and multitasking. The overall performance is very good, we can move smoothly and quickly between menus.
Applications
VONTAR X4 supports Google services and Android 11 it allows to you install some app that is available in the play store because is not a certified Android TV box don’t get access to the full Google Play Store, has pre-installed Apps like Chrome, file manager, Tubi, AirScreen, Netflix, Wallpaper, Google Play Store, YouTube and more.
Even if you do not find some of the applications that you need on Google Play, you can use a third-party store like Aptoide app store, all you have to do is search for them on Google from any browser and download them in APK format, and the matter is done. And some applications are pre-installed once updated it might not work, so we do not recommend updating it.
VONTAR X4 Performance
The VONTAR X4 TV Box offers you a good solution if you are a fan of series and movies and like to enjoy the highest possible resolution, then this device will give you a resolution of 4K and compatibility with most programs that display video content with the ability to play games for a great experience.
Video Playback
VONTAR X4 supports 4K 30fps video output via HDMI 2.1 port which brings you high definition viewing and fluent video playback, making it the highest resolution signal available for home movies to let you watch 4K movies smoothly, every detail of the screen is clear and with high color saturation and quality excellent picture, no lag or stuttering, that’s the strength of this device.
When playing some 4k video samples from a USB Drive on a USB 3.0 port via the included Media player, it’s shown on 4k at 30-60 FPS with ultra-smooth, and High quality.
VONTAR X4 Streaming Service
As it’s known, it’s not possible to watch paid services like Netflix and amazon prime in 4k because these applications require specific licensing, This means it don’t have the DRM support required to stream HD or 4K from Netflix or other streaming services. And this is where the strength of Android TV OS, which you cannot find in the Chinese TV box.
Nevertheless, you can still enjoy Netflix and all other streaming services at a smooth 480p. However, IPTV services remain one of the solutions that you will find on this tv box and support high resolutions, and there are also other programs similar to Netflix for free.
YouTube Quality
When you go to YouTube, you can play videos on 2160P 60FPS, and this is the maximum limit to enjoy high quality but with freezing and with smooth performance, although playing videos on 1080p will be more than enough. However, this box has a maximum refresh rate ranging from 40 to 60 fps on average in HD / FULL HD.
When you put this tv box under pressure its temperature can be reached 75ºC or more, causing a performance little drop. But on normal use like watch movies, the temperature is acceptable between 55ºC – 65ºC And I find that the cooling system is fine on this box because the body has a big number of ventilation holes, which provide the necessary cooling of the tv box. and you can make it even lower by using a cooling fan for this purpose.
Conclusion
In general, the VONTAR X4 is one of the best TV Box with Amlogic S905X4 release to date under 60 dollars with a great performance, especially in playing 4K videos without any problems, as for YouTube, 4K resolution may have some delay, perhaps its downsides are the lack of DRM for Netflix in 4K but this is normal, playing games was ok, The launcher remains fast and it’s good that he came with a status bar and the navigation bar, However, the specifications and features were at the required level compared to another TV box. So, For those confused between which TV Box to buy, or as many would ask which is the best TV Box to buy, The X4 is deserved to be one of the best TV box manufacturers in 2022.