TV box MXQ S85 Amlogic S805

While a review of a DVB-T2 tuner was a fairly unusual topic for this site, a review of a TV box won't surprise anyone. These devices have become very widespread, and in this review I'll try to tell you about one of them from the perspective of someone who hadn't used anything like this before.
If you'd like to read about it and see photos of the outside and inside, read on.

I don't consider myself an expert on reviewing tablets, TV boxes, and smartphones, but a TV box is more like a regular computer, so I decided to take a crack at reviewing one.
I'll try to describe this device from my own perspective, and I hope more experienced folks will correct me and offer suggestions if I get anything wrong.

I'll start with the usual: what it looks like when it arrives. I have a photo of the package, but I'll skip this familiar step.


The main features are shown as icons on the end.
Quad-core processor, quad-core graphics, WiFi, h265 support, and XBMC.


The other side lists the main specifications.
1 GB of RAM (they could have put in a bit more)
8 GB of internal storage, which seems sufficient to me, and at least it can be expanded.
WiFi and its available operating modes—standard stuff for many devices.
Power: 5 V, 2 A.
Bluetooth version 4.0
It also lists the software version: Android 4.4.2


Everything inside was neatly packed, with the box itself in a soft bag.
There's also a list of what should be included.


Here's what comes with the device.
Nothing unusual or different from other models.
1 — The TV box itself.
2 — Remote control (AAA batteries not included).
3 — HDMI cable
4 — Audio/video cable
5 — Short OTG cable
6 — Power adapter
7 — Manual.


The TV box has a plastic case with a soft-touch finish. It feels slightly textured and pleasant to the touch, but it picks up fingerprints easily and is translucent in bright light.
But since this little box usually sits somewhere out of sight, I don't consider that either a plus or a minus. It looks nice and feels good to the touch.


The case is square, about the size of a Kit Kat bar wrapper—with the bar inside, of course :)


Some of the interface connectors are on one side.
A microSD card slot, an OTG port, and two USB 2.0 ports.
The slot at the upper left is for ventilation (though the effectiveness of this solution is rather questionable).


The back has the usual set of connectors.
Power, a standard 5.5×2.1 connector
Audio/video output, 3.5 mm jack.
Ethernet port.
Standard HDMI
SPDIF output


There's a CE certification mark on the bottom. It looks more like CE than China Export.
But I can't say for sure.
The serial number is also on the bottom.
In the photo, the case looks colored; in fact, it is. It seems to be transparent to infrared, since the remote's IR sensor is inside and works perfectly.
To the human eye, though, it's practically black; the camera sees things a little differently.



Being a techie, I couldn't resist taking it apart, and opened it up before even turning it on.
In fact, I see all sorts of electronic devices from the inside much more often than from the outside.
Sometimes I don't even look at the model of what I'm repairing.
But I digress.


That wraps up the hardware overview. Now I’ll move on to the software, which I’m less familiar with.
I won’t dwell on the apps and menu items, since they’re much the same on most Android devices. I’ll just cover the main ones.
Some screenshots will also be frames captured from the TV tuner.
In fact, every screenshot has a corresponding frame captured from the TV tuner, but the quality there is naturally a bit worse.
First, let’s turn it on and visit muska :)
I’d entered the connection settings in advance.




Not many apps are installed; I added a couple while experimenting.


Unfortunately, the built-in browser won't play YouTube videos on other pages; it says there's no plugin. If you go to YouTube itself, it redirects to m.youtube.com, where videos play without any problems.
You can also open the YouTube app, where videos play just fine too.


Since I also planned to use the device for simply watching videos from a flash drive, I checked how this TV box handles videos at different resolutions.

Well, I meant to keep this short, but it turned out as usual, even though I tried to be selective with the photos and avoid posting too many.
That's probably all. I don't know what else to add. Ask away, and I'll try to answer or add more information.

Summary.
Pros.
Works quite well; I didn't notice any glitches during use.
Runs fairly cool.
In my opinion, performance is perfectly adequate as long as you don't expect to use it as a gaming console.
Quite attractive, although it does show fingerprints.
Good build quality
Analog video output for connecting to older TVs.

Cons.
I wish it had more USB ports; three is a bit too few.
There's no built-in clock battery, so the time resets when power is disconnected. Until it syncs with the internet or you set it manually, browsers show a page certificate error.
The resolution output over the analog video port is essentially a downscaled version of 1920x1080, which makes browsing in this mode very difficult. This problem doesn't occur when connected via HDMI, of course.
Not enough RAM.

I'd also list the somewhat sluggish mouse cursor movement as a downside, but in my experience this is common to many Android devices.
It annoys me quite a bit.

My opinion: if you want to watch movies, browse the internet, and play a few games without getting too serious, this device is perfectly adequate.

This TV box was offered and provided to me free of charge for review and testing by the gearbest store.

I don't think this review offers any new information, since these devices are quite common and don't differ all that much from one another. But perhaps it will help someone make a choice.