The Tronsmart Vega S95 Meta - A User's Review....

[RISCy Dude]

The Tronsmart Vega S95 comes in three versions, the Pro, the Meta, and the Telos. All are powered by the Amlogic Quad-Core, 64-bit S905 processor. As the title says, this review is for the Meta.
Thanks to Geekbuying for supplying the quickly-shipped, Vega S95 Meta.

The Meta is the middle model, in Tronsmart's Vega S95 lineup and features:

• 2GB DDR3 RAM, 8GB eMMC 5.0 Flash Storage
• Dual-Band WiFi(2.4GHz/5GHz) and Bluetooth 4.0 via the AP6330 module
• Gigabit Ethernet.
• HDMI 2.0
• 3 USB 2.0 Ports Note: The USB port next to the SD slot has OTG function.
• SPDIF Optical and a Full-size SD card slot
• A "Fn" (recovery/reset) button on the bottom.
• A 5vdc 3amp power supply.

Our Package Arrival Warning System, better known as PAWS, went off today. As PAWS can be prone to false-alarms, I almost ignored it. As seen in the photos, I nearly missed it. It was DHL delivering the aforementioned device. Unfortunately, I was involved with a prior commitment and had to delay the unpacking for several hours. I surprised myself by the amount of restraint I was able to muster.
Anyway, now that I have a minute, let's open that package and get to some photos!


Showing Dolby indicators using VidOn XBMC Pro on my Onkyo HT-R391 and Ookla's 2.4GHz Wifi results....

The Board... Top and Bottom.....

The default Launcher, MediaBox......
Using Simple TV Launcher(Google Playstore)....

Some gaming screens. Riptide GP2, Sparkle HD and Beach Buggy Blitz....
note on screenshots: Notification/status and system bar only showing to make screenshot, not visible during game play.........



Benchmarks
AnTuTu V6.0 and AnTuTu Video Tester......

Vellamo, followed by Icestorm Extreme, multi-pass....

Good news for Harmony remote owners....Don't worry, Meta and Pro are also covered...





More to come........stay tuned......

[RISCy Dude]

So far I am fairly impressed with the S95 Meta. Very snappy UI and apps open and close with alacrity. Boot time is about 25 seconds to useable desktop, shut down about 8 seconds. VidOn XBMC opens quickly, but can take a few(2-8) seconds to close. I have noticed this behavior on other Android devices, so may be due to Android/XBMC.
.
I have only tried a few local video files, up to 3840x2160, so far, they have played and sounded well, further experience needed. Created an account at VidOn.me. Logging in to VidOn XBMC enables VidOn XBMC Pro. Pro offers some features such as Dolby TrueHD and others. Using VidOn XBMC Pro to play some local Dolby Digital, Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD Master, test videos, I noticed no issues. My AVR, an Onkyo HT-R391, was used for testing these formats, pictures of the display are in the first post. I still need to evaluate the online streaming side of VidOn XBMC.

I used the Youtube app to play some of the Evosia Studios videos at 1080P. Also played a video from Timestorm Films called, PATAGONIA 8K, simply gorgeous picture. The same was true for, "Cruising Galapagos", and "Costa Rica in 4K", all displayed beautifully at 1080P. Very lifelike picture quality on my 1080P monitor. Watched a few movie trailers in 1080P, all played well.

If anyone wants me to check something specific, please post a link, of course, legally available content only please.

Ethernet speed seems good up to the limits of my ISP.
WiFI working well @2.4GHz. Ookla shows about 33+Mbps down and about 5Mbps up(ISP cap).
Browsing is quick.

The supplied IR remote works well, and unlike many, it is not particularly picky about aiming.

Very early in the testing phase at this point, but this box seems very promising.

I asked a few questions at Tronsmart's Vega S95 forum, I have found them to respond quickly. Firmware and instructions are there too.

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Update: The Vega S95 Meta continues to be a pleasant out-of-the-box experience. My "other" is new to the TV box world, but I don't think she will have trouble using this box. Using the Simple TV Launcher will make it even easier for her.
Some observations below.

Gaming:
I am not a big gamer, but I played a few levels of each of the following.

-Angry Birds Star Wars II, played very well, looked good and loads fairly fast.

-Gun Fu Stickman 2, played well, loads quickly.

-Sparkle HD, played well, looks great, loads quickly. note: Whether you start the game with the System Bar hidden or showing, don't change it once the game begins, or it messes up the display(only in the game). The game will require restart to display correctly again. I preferred to hide the System bar prior to running the game.

-Riptide GP2, played well, looks great, loads fairly fast. note: I was surprised to find that the IR remote can be used as the controller, works OK.

-Asphalt 8: Airborne, played well, looks good, load times are long and switching between levels takes a bit. Once loaded, it plays well.

-Beach Buggy Blitz, played well, looks good, loads fairly quick.

If anyone wants me to try a specific title let me know.

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Update: Ran benchmarks from AnTuTu V6.0, AnTuTu Video Tester, Vellamo and ICE Storm extreme. All benchmarks completed without crash or anomaly. Scores seem consistent with the breed. Screenshots in the first post show the numbers.

If there is a benchmark you feel I missed, let me know.

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Summary and thoughts next.......

[clarkss12]

I want one!!! Tell us if it is worth it, and does it do HD audio.

[RISCy Dude]

Thank you for the reply clarkss12. Just starting to dive in, but I will check HD Audio results as soon as I can.
Please bare in mind, that I do not have your lovely and very precious support staff. You are a fortunate soul, you have my envy.
Anyway, I will begin to round out this review in the coming days. So far I am liking this box, we'll see.
Best wishes.

[RISCy Dude]

From Trebor's thread on the Vega S95, I see that Finless will be looking in to wringing even more out of these boxes. Geekbuying has stated that an OpenELEC version may be in the works. These contributions should be a value add to the Vega S95 line up.

[clarkss12]

Thanks Riscy for the update, especially the photo of your AVR display showing the "True HD" and "DTS HD". Does your remote have a pause/play button on it?, if it does, it will work great with a Logitech remote.

[RISCy Dude]

Hello clarkss12, Is there anything you would like me to try on this box? Apps or games?
Thanks for the tip on the remote.
Good day.

[clarkss12]

Does it have any heat issues?

[clarkss12]

My only concern, from my understanding is that you have to use their Vidon Kodi app to get the HD audio. This creates a problem, because from my understanding, they use an older version of Kodi. One of the primary usage of these boxes is for a DVR frontend, and each version of Kodi improves on the DVR/PVR functions, especially using tvheadend as my PVR server. Also, some of the versions of Kodi, do no include the PVR addons.

Can you check to make sure your Vidon Kodi has the PVR clients addons.

Thanks

[RISCy Dude]

Does it have any heat issues?

I have an IR thermometer on the way, but it is a week out or so. So I'll have to rely on an app to give you an idea of temps. I don't now which of the temp apps are accurate, but CPU Thermometer gives the following results. Temps are +/- 1-2C based on observed indicator fluctuations.

• Ambient(Room) temp, 21C indicated by wall thermometer
• Cold boot 48C
• Four contiguous plays of a 4min17sec 3840x2160 clip in VidOn XBMC 71C
• Back to idle for ten minutes 62C
• Four back-to-back runs of AnTuTu Version 6.0 65C

I hope that gives you an idea of thermal behavior. Subjectively, the case top is warm, but I don't think I'd call it hot.

I will post board pics of the Meta in the first post soon, to show the heatsink. Though the board differs little from the Telos.
Let me know if you want me to test further.

[RISCy Dude]

My only concern, from my understanding is that you have to use their Vidon Kodi app to get the HD audio. This creates a problem, because from my understanding, they use an older version of Kodi. One of the primary usage of these boxes is for a DVR frontend, and each version of Kodi improves on the DVR/PVR functions, especially using tvheadend as my PVR server. Also, some of the versions of Kodi, do no include the PVR addons.

Can you check to make sure your Vidon Kodi has the PVR clients addons.

Thanks

I think you are right regarding VidOn XBMC and HD audio.

Under Add-ons/PVR clients, two are shown...
1.)MythTV cmyth PVR Client - Enabled
2.) PVR IPTV Simple Client2 -Enabled
Timer options are shown at Settings/LiveTV/Recording
Additional PVR add-ons show under Disabled Add-ons, including Tvheadend HTSP Client.
Let me know if you need additional info.

[clarkss12]

I think you are right regarding VidOn XBMC and HD audio.

Under Add-ons/PVR clients, two are shown...
1.)MythTV cmyth PVR Client - Enabled
2.) PVR IPTV Simple Client2 -Enabled
Timer options are shown at Settings/LiveTV/Recording
Additional PVR add-ons show under Disabled Add-ons, including Tvheadend HTSP Client.
Let me know if you need additional info.

Perfect, thanks

[RISCy Dude]

Added some board, launcher and other pictures to post #1. Added some comments to post #2.

[clarkss12]

That is good news, Riscy, that you have high praise for this box.

[RISCy Dude]

That is good news, Riscy, that you have high praise for this box.

I feel pretty good about it generally.
The Christmas week has reduced the time for testing, more impressions will follow.

A quick note about the remote, long press of the play/pause button will open the Music player app.