41

They are now sold out at all Walmarts around me (Twin Cities US) and are “sold out” for shipping. Hope they release some more of these Krakens. Good luck Wizzard.

42

You are 100% right…some upgrades like that which is cool. I haven’t starting streaming with it, so I was just talking obvious stuff from the outside.

43

Hi there.

The new 2023 onn box has a faster SoC processor(slightly), better wifi antenna, AV1 codec support, HDR and Vision decoding, remote swapped out Amazon Prime hot key with Paramount+.

Google TV skin over Android 12 (prev had Android 10 OS). Cheaper launch price.

2021 version (I think) didn’t come with a hdmi cord, the new one does. Slightly bigger form factor.

Like the previous one, I still have struggled using it with hotel wifi captive portals. Using the browser in Downloader doesn’t work with Marriott properties and their captive portal. My firestick does fine with the silk browser.

44

All the upgrades you mention above are valid, but there is no proof the wifi was upgraded from the original. (although I agree it SEEMS better) Wifi specs copy and pasted below.

2021 Onn: WiFi: 2.4/5GHz 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac MIMO

2023 Onn: WiFi: 2.4/5GHz 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac MIMO

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45

I was just curious after viewing that review video.

46

Wow , Very impressive box for $20

47

Still not sure how they make a box with an upgraded Amlogic CPU and sell it for $20 lol.

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48

I know someone in Clearwater FL right now. We are going to ask if they can find one there. I would be going to Niagara Falls NY

49

After much testing I can confirm for myself that it does not support Dolby Vision. Or at least I can’t get it to work. Just because Google TV OS shows this as a possible option in the menu it doesn’t necessarily mean it is available if the hardware doesn’t support it. No matter what I do it still says not supported. I changed every setting, I used the same HDMI cable and the same input that I use for my Shield. If anyone gets Dolby Vision to work on a supported TV I would like to see proof.

As for the rest of my review, I think it’s pretty good for the price. There’s a little bit of lag when pushing buttons and getting the screen to respond. The system updates and the rest of the setup process seemed like it took forever. The remote isn’t terrible but I don’t like how small the select button is or how it’s slightly raised up. That’s the exact opposite of the shield remote. I did install Kodi and ran it without any issues. I did not try installing a custom launcher yet, but that’s the only other thing I’d want to test out.

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50

I cannot get Tivimate to record to any size USB stick for the life of me :exploding_head: :exploding_head: :exploding_head:

No matter if I make USB as permanent storage or as removable storage. I can’t even force / name the directory in Recordings menu. Tivimate will record a show for 4 mins and then stop. I’ve spent 8 hours in the last 2 days to no avail. BTW never have an issue on getting Tivimate to record on my Firestick 4ks or Maxs

Please help!

51

Not sure why you say it doesn’t support HDR or Dolby Vision. I posted a screenshot of the confirmation. there certainly is supported HDR and Dolby Vision

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52

… and in your screenshot it says Dolby Vision under “not supported formats”. Did you read my post entirely?

If Dolby Vision actually works you will see “Dolby Vision” pop up on the screen in the upper right-hand corner when you start playing something. Just like “HDR” pops up. This doesn’t happen, and you still get the green and purple tint.

53

I haven’t had a lot of time to test these new Onn boxes on my primary HT viewing room, aside from initial setup and early sideload and install impressions.

My first few stream tests did pass through hdr10 properly, as you already probably observed. I will reconnect and revisit Vision tests and check audio surround decodings this week.

Reflecting back, I’m uncertain what gave me the perception that the Onn box supported Dolby formats, other than the marketed baseline surround format. I’ll look at confirming dd+ and atmos output this weekend.

I did see a reference for Vision in the display settings menu, but didn’t prioritize focusing on validating that feature during my impressions run.

I know hdr10+ wasn’t supported. This is unsurprising as well. Arguably, DV is more relevant anyway for most videophiles anyway, unless you’re a Samsung fan or Prime Video fan. Though if you don’t have display that supports either, it wouldn’t matter.

The absence of both Dolby high end features would not surprise me ultimately. It is a price focused, $20 box after all. While it’s a great *phile’s dream to pipe in all flagship features, it’s likely not good business sense from that price point, nor should it be expected.

On a different note, I did test and validate that my new xiaomi 4k stick does properly output Atmos/Vision properly. However, they took the sketchy angle at advertising hdmi 2.1 support. For all intents and purposes, the stick doesn’t support full 2.1, as it’s still impossible to display 4k120 or offer eArc support. They’re “allowed” to market hdmi 2.1 merely by offering part of 2.1 benefits. Since bandwidth on the stick is still locked on 2.0 levels, the things I’m more excited about aren’t offered. HDMI forum allows device makers to abuse misleading marketing.

Sadly, neither is satisfied on my 2019 Shield Pro as well.

I’m still waiting on a true hdmi 2.1 compliant device that can output 4k120 natively with eArc capabilities and true 48gbps bandwidth.

Even the new Apple TV, despite having most hdmi 2.1 features (notably bandwidth) still has not enabled 4k120 support yet. Unclear if they ever will, though the bandwidth is capable.

I envisioned that’s what a new shield refresh would bring all of the goof stuff - but that blip is nowhere on the radar at this point.

  • Sorry, got sidetracked. Back to the Onn Dolby Vision and Atmos stuff. I’ll be checking but I’m sure Troy’s impending in-depth review of the device will cover and confirm all of that this weekend.
54

So, in the main post Troy did someone posted a screenshot of HDR10+ being enabled. This is great news. My TV doesn’t support it, but it does do DV. I have tried everything I can think of and can’t get DV enabled on this device.

55

Are you trying to establish compatibility so that you can use it on a different TV that supports DV or HDR10+?

It sounds as if you’re already using a Shield, which supports DV. Are you looking to replace the shield with the new Onn box?

Just curious.

56

You still have one. The Onn is manufactured in China. lol

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57

Yes I now have 3 “Cheap China” Boxes. I think if I buy 3 more I’ll approximate the cost of The Shield! :rofl:

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58

No, I was honestly just curious enough that I wanted to test it out. I might sell it to a friend who wants to cut cable. Or I may just save it to replace my fire stick if Amazon eventually finds a way to permanently break stuff. Or I’ll use this as a travel device. It was honestly an impulse purchase lol.

59

I took it during a quick trip out of town and struggled with the Onn box and the hotel’s captive portal for wifi access.

I’m going to need to toy around with what browser will work with Marriott captive portals and the Onn box.

So for travel functionality, the jury is still out. The fire stick does fine. I haven’t tried it on the xiaomi stick yet.

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60

I’ve had issues on the fire stick as well. Definitely takes some finagling. If the browser doesn’t automatically open when you connect to the wifi its a pain. I think the last time I had to figure out the address from my cell phone and manually type it into the browser on my device, or something like that.

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