UT8 Pro is the first (out of two) TV box I received from Ugoos to review in 2022.
I want to thank James from Ugoos for sending me this unit to review.
UT8 Pro is higher up on the “food chain” with better hardware specifications. For instance, 8GB of DDR4 (laptop version) RAM, as well as 64GB of storage. These are actually the highest specs I have worked with in an android TV box so far. It also supports HDMI 2.1 which allows for 8K video to be shown from the box to a (supporting) display. And last but not least, it supports all Wi-Fi standards up to and including Wi-Fi 6.
What’s in the Box?
UT8 Pro comes in a metallic shell. It is powder spray painted blue, and aside from that has the classic rectangular (even sides) shape we are all used to from most TV boxes on the market. It is, however, relatively heavy at about 300 grams.
UT8 Pro Looks
Here are the items that come in the box: UT8 Pro TV Box, Two antennas, Infrared remote control, HDMI 2.1 cable, a EU 5V power adapter, as well as a small user manual:
UT8 Pro Specifications
| Operation System | Android 11.0 |
| Language | English, Chinese …Multi-Language support |
| CPU | RK3568(Rockchip) CPU + 2.0G （64bit) |
| GPU | ARM Mali-G52 2EE GPU |
| RAM | LPDDR4 4GB or 8GB for PRO version |
| Storage Capacity (Flash) | 32GB （EMMC） or 64GB for PRO version |
| WIFI | 2.4G/5G 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax 2T2R MIMO standard & WiFi 6 |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.0 with LE technology |
| The Extended Storage | TF Card, up to 32GB (SD2.X,SD3.X,SD4.X, eMMC ver5.0) |
| Power Supply | DC 5V/3A |
| HDR | Support |
| HDMI Output | HDMI(2.1 and 2.0 ) to support maximum 4K@60fps output(HDCP2.2) |
| USB Port | 2x USB 3.0 host ports, 1x USB 3.0 OTG port, 1x USB 2.0 port |
| Optical Output | 1*SPDIF |
| Led Work Light | Support |
| Network | 1*RJ45 1000M (1000M Ethernet Integrated IEEE 802.3 10/100/1000M Ethernet MAC with RGMII interface) |
| Power Supply | 1*DC Jack |
| Audio Container | MP3,AAC,WMA,RM,FLAC,OGG |
| Audio Out | Supports MP3, AAC, WMA, RM, FLAC, Ogg Built-in serial digital audio SPDIF/IEC958 output and PCM input/output Built-in stereo audio DAC, Stereo digital microphone PDM input Support concurrent dual audio stereo channel output with combination of analog+PCM or I2S+PCM |
| Video CODEC | VP9 Profile-2 up to 4Kx2K@60fps H.265 HEVCMP-10@L5.1 up to 4K*2K@60fps H.264 AVC HP@L5.1 up to4K*2K@60fps H264 MVC up to1080P@60fps MPEG-4 ASP@L5 up to 1080P@60fps (ISO-14496) WMV/VC-1 5P/MP/AP up to 1080P@60fps AVS-P16(AVS+)/AVS-P2 jiZhun Profile up to 1080P@60fps MPEG-2 MP/HL up to 1080P@60fps(ISO-13818) MPEG-1 MP/HL up to 1080P@60fps(ISO-11172) Realvideo 8/9/10 up to 1080P WebM up to VGA Multiple language and multiple format sub-title video support MJPEG and JPEG unlimited pixe resolution decoding(ISO/IEC-10918) Supports JPEG thumbnail, scaling, rotation and transition effects Support *.mkv,*.wmv,*.mpg,*.mpeg,*.dat,*.avi,*.mov,*.iso,*.mp4,*.rm and *.jpg file formats |
| Software Extension | Support Google Play & APK install |
| DLNA, Miracast Protocol | Support DLNA, Miracast Protocol |
| Remote Control | BT remote with Voice+Gyro |
| IM Software | Support Skype/QQ/MSN/GTALK (Depends on APK ） |
| Office Software | WORD/EXCEL/PDF(Depends on APK installed) |
| Other Parameters: | |
| Operation Temperature | 0~60℃ |
| Storage Temperature | -10~60℃ |
| Humidity Environment | 5%-90%(No condensation） |
| Certificate | CE, FCC |
| Dimensions | 117*117*18.5mm |
| Net Weight | 300g |
| Gift Box Size | 162*162*80mm |
UT8 Pro Benchmarks and Testing
*All completed benchmarks have been repeated 3 times and results have been averaged to give a more accurate reading (aside for PCMark):
Antutu Benchmark
The Antutu benchmark tests single core performance over multi-core as it is a better indication of the performance of one device over others in most situations. UT8 Pro performed quite well in the older version (6.3.5) and placed 4th.
However, when comparing the latest 3 boxes on the newer version (9.2.6), UT8 Pro takes the crown.
GPU Mark Benchmark
GPU Mark tests 3d gaming performance and also provides a normalized score according to the used screen resolution (for a more accurate result). The test is quite short and should be taken as a supporting result to that of the more serious 3D Mark benchmark.
A1 SD Benchmark
A1 SD Benchmark tests RAM and flash memory speeds. As can be seen in the provided graphs, RAM is much faster (by a factor of about 40) than flash memory – that is why it’s in smaller amount and is also volatile (does not keep its contents after a reboot).
PC Mark Benchmark
UT8 Pro the new king of the hill! It won first place in this extensive suite of productivity tests which is designed to show a more balanced picture of an android device’s ability to perform various tasks such as spreadsheet calculations, photo editing, complex web page browsing and more.
* However, after the latest firmware update (two runs were done before it), PCMark was unable to complete a full run.. so the results are only two runs averaged. FYI.
3D Mark Benchmark
3D Mark benchmark is considered as one of the best ways to test 3d performance on Android (and other platforms). Among these 3 top boxes, UT8 Pro is not the top one. It may be due to the fact that the GPU is not even close to a match to these other Amlogic based boxes.
Here is also the result from the latest 3dmark test:
UT8 Pro Extra Benchmarks
For some more information, see the following screenshots from other benchmarks such as Passmark, Mobile GPU Benchmark, AndroBench, Vellamo:
UT8 Pro Bugs and Issues
- The most pressing issue (even after the latest firmware update to date – 1.0.2) is Kodi performance. Both Kodi 18.9 and Kodi 19.3 have the same issue: Video playback stops after 5-7 minutes and exits to Kodi. And kodi itself may crash to the desktop during library updates/scraping.
- Issues with copying/moving files around (from internal storage to MicroSD, or even inside internal storage) – may be related to the main issue which I suspect is due to the new android version. As in, permissions and stability.
- No Ugoos specific functions under settings.
- No SAMBA support at the moment (unless you install an independent application)
- 8K video playback seems broken after latest firmware update
UT8 Pro Root Function
The box comes with a built-in root function which works like a charm. All you need to do is go to the settings, locate it under Ugoos device preferences section, and turn it on or off as needed. It will keep after reboot, till you decide to turn it off. The power and decision are all yours!
UT8 Pro Video Playback testing (using Kodi)
| Resolution | Video Format | Local Playback | Network (Wi-Fi) Playback |
| 720p (1280*720) | AVC (High@L4.1) | Plays Okay | Plays Okay |
| 1080P (1920*1080) | AVC (High@L4) | *Plays Okay | *Plays Okay |
| 2160P (3840*2160) | HEVC (H.265) | *Plays Okay | *Plays Okay |
| 4K (4096*2304) | AVC (High@L5.1) | *Plays Okay | *Plays Okay |
| 4K HDR | HEVC Main 10@L5@High HDR10 | *Plays Okay | *Plays Okay |
| 4K TS HEVC | HEVC (H.265) 10Bit | *Plays Okay | *Plays Okay |
UT8 Pro showed excellent picture quality, and also surprised with some support for 8K video (only prior to the latest 1.0.2 firmware update). This chipset does not officially support 8k, but with the new crop of 8k supporting AV receivers (Denon, Marantz, Yamaha and others) That arrived last year, I have tested a few 8k video files. All of them actually played, but stopped doing so after the latest firmware update.
* Currently crashes/stops playback and return to Kodi after a few minutes of playback… tested with Kodi 19.3, 18.9 and variants of Kodi such as RKMC and WBMC.
But.. this box is still unstable. Whether it is because it overheat (which it does, upwards of 80c when benchmarking for instance), or because of the brand new Android 11 (yes, I know 12 is already out, but not for TV Boxes) – there are plenty of issues to be ironed out before I could say it’s a good product.
UT8 Pro Network Performance
I tested the network performance using the popular Speedtest.net application from the play store. I tested both WiFi (the fastest WiFi supported – in this case 5GHz 802.11ac), and wired network connection. My home connection is a symmetric 1GBit Fiber connection so it would not limit the testing – UT8 Pro performed amazingly with wired connection, and about half that speed on the 5GHz wireless network (but still above and beyond any other TV box I’ve tested to date:
UT8 Pro Gaming Performance
Ugoos UT8 Pro is a bit of a mixed bag in the gaming tests. It’s graphic chip can handle most games, but I noticed bugs in Angry birds 2, and lack of smoothness. Control may also be an issue, unless you splurge for a game pad or other more gaming friendly remote.
Asphalt 9 Legends – a 3d graphic intensive racing game. UT8 Pro Loads and runs it mostly smoothly, but control is not really possible using the standard remote. Only using a air-mouse with a keyboard allows play, or a gamepad.
Angry Birds 2 – a popular 2d action game. UT8 Pro mostly runs it smoothly and loaded the stages fast, but had this bug where a residual pointing hand animated icon stays from one screen to the next and prevents you from continuing to the next level and so you get stuck.
Walking War Robots – an online robot warfare game that requires a game-pad (I don’t have a game-pad). UT8 Pro mostly runs it well, as long as you have a gamepad or a air mouse. Otherwise, control is only partial and you cannot complete a battle.
UT8 Pro Conclusions
Did I like it? Yes* But the asterisk is there for a big reason. The box have serious issues with Kodi playback. I was pleasantly surprised with it’s partial HD Audio support. After many Amlogic based boxes which do not support HD Audio formats properly (especially DTS-X and Multi-Channel AAC), the UT8 Pro supports DTS-X properly out of the box. However, It still decodes Multi-channel AAC to stereo, sadly.
Would I recommend it? Not at the moment as it cannot perform reliably its main function. But hopefully in the future after a round (or few) of firmware updates.
You like it anyways! Where can you buy it? It’s sold for about 140 USD here: AliExpress.com Product – Presale 8GB RAM 64GB 32GB ROM 2.4G 5G WiFi 6 1000M BT 4K Dolby Audio Rockchip RK3568 Android 11 TV Box UGOOS UT8 PRO
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