UGOOS UT4 Octa Core Android TV Box
Lower Priced, High Performance Android TV Kodi Streamer from UGOOS
While not quite as well known as Minix, UGOOS has been making high quality boxes with good firmware support for several years now. Their UT4 Rockchip Octa Core model, is their latest high performance Android TV media streaming box.
If you have been following Android TV media streamers, you may have noticed the prices on the fastest Octa Core models have come down a lot from last year when they first came out.
When you consider the newest Apple TV is still only a dual core. The Fire TV and Roku 4 streamers are Quad Cores. Octa Core Android TV boxes are still in a class all by themselves.
When they first came out, these Octa Core boxes cost around $180. Now we have a UGOOS UT4 with an Octa Core CPU that is right around the $100 mark. Nice to see prices continue to drop on these little screamers.
Why Android TV?
For those of you that still may not yet be familiar with Android TV boxes. They offer something that platforms more locked down like Apple TV and Roku can't give you. Full access to KODI and all the great add-ons and wizards. This gives you a fully configured TV streamer in seconds that has access to most every TV show or movie.
Unboxing the UT4
When we first open the box, we were impressed. Gone was the shiny plastic case so many manufactures seem to use for media streamers these days. The UT4 is housed in a nice heavier aluminum case which has a high end rubberized feel.
This along with nice white and black case design gives the UT4 a premium feel to it. Something not often found in a media streamer at this price point.
Under the hood it has the new 64bit Octa Core Rockchip RK3368 for great performance. This will make Rockchip fans and Amlogic haters quite happy. UGOOS sells models that use both chipsets. It also includes dual band AC WiFi and Gigabit Ethernet and a fan for cooling is also onboard.
While we wish the UT4 did not need to use a fan, it's pretty quiet. This is an added bonus since our streamers all live inside a closed cabinet where the temps tend to be a little warmer than if placed on a shelf out in the open.
Under the hood it has the new 64bit Octa Core Rockchip RK3368 for great performance. This will make Rockchip fans and Amlogic haters quite happy. UGOOS sells models that use both chipsets. It also includes dual band AC WiFi and Gigabit Ethernet and a fan for cooling is also onboard.
While we wish the UT4 did not need to use a fan, it's pretty quiet. This is an added bonus since our streamers all live inside a closed cabinet where the temps tend to be a little warmer than if placed on a shelf out in the open.
Inside the box is also an external antenna for the dual band WiFi, external power supply and a nice quality UGOOS brand flat HDMI cable. Also included, is a remote control and an owners manual. Another thing UGOOS always includes with their streamers is a short USB cable for flashing firmware with new ROMS. This is a nice touch which gives UGOOS customers a little something extra to make life easier.
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| Unboxing the UGOOS UT4 |
Fully Unlocked Android OS
Unlike Fire TV, you get a fully open Android OS when you purchase a streamer from UGOOS. This means you don't need to jump through extra hoops to install apps from places other than Amazon or Google Play. These apps often have been banished from the Google Play and the Amazon App store because they contain free movies and TV shows.
KODI Support
The UT4 comes with Kodi Isengard 15.2 already installed. Ugoos also adds a rockchip patch in this version of Kodi for hardware acceleration. It's under Kodi-Videos-settings-acceleration. This patch is used to improve video playback and file compatibility.
We did not notice any video stutters, or audio drop outs with Kodi which was quite common in earlier slower Android TV boxes.
The included Kodi app comes clean without any add-ons or extras. To get it configured quickly with a full working build of all the best add-ons, take a look at these wizards that will have you up and running using Kodi in seconds. Certainly a much better and less time consuming approach than adding add-ons one at a time.
New UGOOS Launcher
A launcher is the front end of an Android TV box. It's like a home screen where you can add all your favorite shortcuts to frequently used Apps. UGOOS developed a brand new launcher for their UT4 and it's included with the latest firmware update. The first UT4 firmware did not have a launcher and just used the default Android desktop. When you install their latest V0.0.0.3b firmware, at first boot you will get to choose between their new UGOOS launcher or the Launcher 3, which is the Android desktop.
Great UGOOS Firmware Support
When UGOOS let us play with their latest UT4 Android box we were excited. Their Quad Core UT2 was one of the first Android TV/XBMC boxes we used when we first discovered these handy little streamers.
If you look on eBay or Amazon, you will find many Android TV boxes available. Ongoing support and firmware updates is something important to think about when buying an Android TV box. Only a handful of companies offer this and UGOOS is one of the few that have been around for a while and they stand behind their products.
FreakTAB has a great forum which also offers 3rd party Roms and support for UGOOS streamers. Back when we had our UT2 we were even able to flash it with a custom Wasser ROM and even a Minix Firmware Rom so our UT2 thought it was a Minix NEO.
UGOOS is now offering over the air updates. This is so much nicer than needing to install updates from a USB stick or hooking your box to a computer to flash the firmware manually.
This has only been enabled in the latest firmware. If your UT4 does not yet have firmware version Android5.1 Firmware V0.0.3b, get it from their download page and manually flash the firmware to this version. The instructions on how to do this are also on the UT4 download page.
Once this update has been applied, future updates can be done directly from the box over the air.
UGOOS is now offering over the air updates. This is so much nicer than needing to install updates from a USB stick or hooking your box to a computer to flash the firmware manually.
This has only been enabled in the latest firmware. If your UT4 does not yet have firmware version Android5.1 Firmware V0.0.3b, get it from their download page and manually flash the firmware to this version. The instructions on how to do this are also on the UT4 download page.
Once this update has been applied, future updates can be done directly from the box over the air.
You can find the latest firmware from UGOOS by visiting their download page here.
UGOOS UT4 Specifications
| CPU | Rockchip RK3368 Octa Core up to 1.5GHz (Cortex-A53 64bit) |
| GPU | SGX6110; support 4K*2K H.265/H.264 |
| Memory / Storage | 2GB DDR3 / 16GB eMMC |
| Network/LAN | RJ-45 Ethernet Jack (10/100/1000Mbps) Gigabit. |
| WiFi | IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/mimo, 802.11AC,4.900 GHz ~ 5.845 GHz (5.0 GHz ISM Band) AP6335 dual-band WIFI |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Operating System | Android 5.1 Lollipop, Google Play Store, Over The Air Updates. |
| Video Output | Standard HDMI female, v2.0 Support 4K@60fps, Composite video and audio port |
| Audio Output | HDMI out Supports HD Audio(7.1CH), S/SPDIF (2CH, 5.1CH), Composite video and audio port |
| Power Adapter | DC 5V / 2A |
| I/O Interface |
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| Inside the Box |
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Kudos and Clunkers
What's Best About the UGOOS UT4
- Fast Interface. The UT4 boot up time and menus with the Octa Core feel very snappy. Much faster than our current Android TV box which is a Mini X8-H.
- Great Build Quality. Metal case, with good connectivity. AC WiFI, and Gigabit Ethernet.
- Flawless Kodi playback with 4K video support.
UT4 Improvement Wish List
- Remote control range is very short and unusable. To be fair every Android box we tried has this problem. To easily over come this, use a bluetooth wireless mouse, or a trackpad keyboard like a Rii I8 Mini 2.4Ghz Wireless Touchpad Keyboard for the best Android TV experience.
- Off Button does not work. This is a problem that we also had with the Minx X8-H that was fixed in a later firmware update. The UT4 button does nothing. To reboot or shut it off you just need to pull the power cord which is easy enough.
- Fast Interface. The UT4 boot up time and menus with the Octa Core feel very snappy. Much faster than our current Android TV box which is a Mini X8-H.
- Great Build Quality. Metal case, with good connectivity. AC WiFI, and Gigabit Ethernet.
- Flawless Kodi playback with 4K video support.
UT4 Improvement Wish List
- Remote control range is very short and unusable. To be fair every Android box we tried has this problem. To easily over come this, use a bluetooth wireless mouse, or a trackpad keyboard like a Rii I8 Mini 2.4Ghz Wireless Touchpad Keyboard for the best Android TV experience.
- Off Button does not work. This is a problem that we also had with the Minx X8-H that was fixed in a later firmware update. The UT4 button does nothing. To reboot or shut it off you just need to pull the power cord which is easy enough.
Final Word
All in all, the UGOOS UT4 is a very nicely built high powered Android TV box that gives us an affordable Octa Core media streamer. Load it up with Kodi add-ons or some of the best Android TV apps and you have the tool you need to cut the cord. The money you save makes the UGOOS UT4 a very good investment.
The UGOOS UT4 has now been discontinued. And we now recommend the best Android Box ever made the Nvidia Shield. It has been updated regularly since it was released. This is unheard of from any other clone box maker. They would much rather sell you another box every 6 months. The SHIELD is still the most powerful Android box available today and this is several years later. You can find the SHIELD on Amazon.
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Use of third-party trademarks on this site is not intended to imply endorsement nor affiliation with respective trademark owners.
We are Not Affiliated with or Endorsed by Roku®, Apple, Google or Other Companies we may write about.
