X92 or H96 Pro plus - which one to buy?

[vel2000]

Hi guys, I need a new toy ;-)
The H96 has better specs, but I've read that people complaining about overheating, or that the box died within a few months.
What about "custom Roms", which box is better supported, or is it the same (more or less)?
PS: I want to use the box only for multimedia, NO gaming.
Thanks in advance

[X92-2GB]

To me the X92 has better specs. Big ram don't mean much to me, when I have plenty of card space and DLNA access on my router. Both have single channel wifi, so single play activities with games and app sharing. The band with we are looking for is on the either net side. So wifi is still a limiting factor to me, even though it is ac compatible.

better heat sink design on the main board, plus extra usb port, and to top it all off, Android 6.0. You have more options on 6.0 than 7.0. Plus it is less buggy. You may hold off and wait for my thread to continue. I plan on some customisations and such to share on what the X92 can do and how to transform any box running 6.0 to be lean and mean video wise. As AV is my main priority with his box.

[vel2000]

Big ram don't mean much to me, when I have plenty of card space and DLNA access on my router.

RAM(!) has nothing to do with "Card space" and 3/32 is just superior over 2/16 RAM/ROM - (but I agree, 16GB internal storage should be sufficient)
Anyway, I'm more interested in the technical "pro+cons" especially build quality, crashes, freezes, reliability, realistic Wifi range/speed, etc.pp
PS: what about "automatic refresh-rate switching" in KODI, does it work with these boxes?

[X92-2GB]

Oh, you want to get into hardware build not upgrades and features.

I think you miss understood my explanation on card vs ram. If using ultra fast cards, ram speed is not that much better, so you save how much for a wee more ram. My router pays for its self for 80MB/s transfer speeds as a DLNA server, so using the media capabilities of any tv box is a down grade, when connecting the box to 1gb ethernet.

well I assume the smaller foot print of the X92 board and it's provisions for extra shielding to be added makes a better build for stable operation from unwanted frequency bleeds. Though any plastic box is going to be tossed, since I don't want to radiate frequencies all over the foot print of my wireless router, tv and AV receiver. I plan on using an old blue ray box and it's power supply to shield and provide a nicer fit into my equipment. It would be with any tv box currently available, not just the two boxes you mention.

The main issues with H96 pro plus, is builds... Green boards are better, but the heat sink is not fastened on. So you must custom make a proper heat sink. Find an old defective WRT1200AC router, and pull the heat sink from that. It should cover without need of its fan, and allow for mounting, by sandwiching the H96 board between a plate or bottom of a sheet metal box using stand offs.

The X92 has provisions for most GPU coolers to properly fit, so no mods are required for adapting a good heat sink. Even some small laptop and tablet pipe coolers will work for both if trying to use the existing box.

look for a box with AP6255 or AP6354 (best wifi chip on the market for tv boxes).

Also some boxes have DDR4 ram, donno which one is better, but there has been reports on bad ram chips. As far as i can tell no board is better for ram speeds. Meaning 2 to 5% better on the bench mark is not going to be worth much to me. Benchmarks are useless, real world performance is key. Having a strong os, lean on background services, and proper connectivity, will always run circles around the fastest with every bell and whistle. Either build a gamer system or an A/V box, having two in one limits one or the other in how it functions.

as for automatic switching of frame rates and proper pull down, none do... though custom firmware is available for both and will remedy the issues with video content. They all have bugs out of the box, but year older x92 has more options on stable firmware availability than a newer H96 Pro plus. Though another 6 months or so things should equalise. By then we will see more boxes with the AP6356 being produced for 2x2 ac WiFi connectivity.

[xanadu89897]

There is a reason why boxes with competing brand names, some are higher priced than the other!
The ones with more reputable brands, the extra money you're paying goes towards better ROM development, updates and DRM licensing.

Don't just look at the hardware specs of generic branded boxes such as the unbranded X-Series and H-Series.Their ROM developers are probably part timers working on other branded boxes with half cooked firmwares that come with plenty of unresolved bugs.

Why do you think a Xiaomi Mi Box 3 which has an inferior Quad Core S905X chipset costs more than some generic branded Octa Core S912 boxes?
You need to take in account things such as is your generic X92 S912 box contain DRM codecs that support HD streaming such as Widevine LV1 or does it contain a stable ROM that works flawlessly with most apps?

A good TV box must have a good balance between its hardware and software support. You can have the most powerful hardware but if the firmware is half cooked, you're still getting crappy box.

What I've noticed with you is that you keep misleading people that boxes with different brands can have their images cross flashable. You're going to make a lot of angry readers out there when they brick the boxes.

Unless you are knowledgeable enough in customizing ROMs yourself, or know exactly the file structure of the targetted box model and the one you intend to port over, you CAN'T just cross flash ROM images like what you're suggesting.

That is the reason why Amlogic gave you the Amlogic Customization Tool for developers to extract and compile ROMs. They have since halted future updates because ROM developers where complaining of rivals stealing their ROM contents with similar hardware models.

I am HIGHLY against buying CHEAP unbranded TV models such as the X-Series and H-Series. They have very lousy firmware updates and ROM developers. Unless you can settle with bugged ROMs and live with them, spending a few Dollars more doesn't hurt to get a better all rounded designed product.

[vel2000]

There is a reason why boxes with competing brand names, some are higher priced than the other!
......

We all know that, but that was NOT the question!

[soldiaz]

Alright Id like to participate since I want to sell either my H96pro S912 or x92 S912, both 2/16.

I think the x92 Firmware is much better then H96 pro BUT it feels like wifi connection is better with H96pro?

I am facing the issue that X92 does not let me download OTAs since it recognizes Magisk root....

As I have bought a h96 MAX S905x2 one bos has to go...but which one?

Or would you keep the S912? I dunno wether it does make sense to give away an S912 and stick with the new S905x2...

[gefattern]

Alright Id like to participate since I want to sell either my H96pro S912 or x92 S912, both 2/16.

I think the x92 Firmware is much better then H96 pro BUT it feels like wifi connection is better with H96pro?

I am facing the issue that X92 does not let me download OTAs since it recognizes Magisk root....

As I have bought a h96 MAX S905x2 one bos has to go...but which one?

Or would you keep the S912? I dunno wether it does make sense to give away an S912 and stick with the new S905x2...

Hi ,

why not waiting for the new S922 ,

greetings / gefattern