The H96 Max is an Android TV box with some impressive hardware including a 6 core RK3399 CPU and 4GB of RAM.
The RK3399 CPU is basically equal to the S912 with some advantages to both depending on what it is being used for.
Overall the RK3399 processor gives a much higher benchmark score than the S912, but the S912 is better suited for SoC hardware which can give better game play.
*This unit was sent to me to review with my own honest opinion and results below.
Specifications
CPU: RK 3399 Hexa-Core @ 2 Ghz
GPU: Mali 860
4GB DDR3 RAM
32GB Internal Storage
Dual Band 802.11AC WiFi
Bluetooth 4.0
Android version 6.0 marshmallow
Support for Ultra HD 4K videos @ 60fps
Support for HDR10 and HLG HDR video Processing
The package comes with the unit, remote control, HDMI cable, power supply, and user manual.
The remote is a standard controller that ships with many android TV boxes.
On one side is a slot for a micro SD-Card.
Since has Android 6.0 the SD-Card can be setup to add more internal storage if needed.
On the back is Ethernet, SPDIF, HDMI, AV and power supply ports.
It also has 1 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0, and a USB Type-C slot.
The case is almost identical to the H96 Pro which we have reviewed here.
The unit is made of plastic which has a feel of being quickly mass produced.
It comes with Kodi 17.1 installed which is nice, but the newest Kodi 17.6 can easily be installed from the Play Store.
New shipments may come with the new Kodi 17.6 release.
Doing a video test it played 1080p and H64 4K resolution well.
The next test we did was with Real Racing 3 which also played well enough, although some S912 boxes have done better.
Some games do will not load from the Google Play Store and will need to be side loaded.
A WiFi 5GHz 802.11ac speed test at SpeedTest.net gave the less than desirable results at 17Mbps Down and 23.08Mbps UP.
The 2.4Ghz was even slower which makes the H96 Max one of the worst WiFi units of the many Android TV boxes we have tested.
We are unsure why this is and may be simply because we got a bad unit.
Running a benchmark test with AnTUTU it gave a score of 75432 which is a very good, and much higher than the H96 Pro with a score of 42036.
The 75432 benchmark rating was one of the highest we have tested with only Nvidia Shield scoring higher.
Summary
The H96 Max has some very nice hardware only really beat by the Nvidia Shield.
The downside to this box is what seems like a mass produced unit with low quality control.
This can be said of most Android TV boxes with many being quickly built and sold.
Wireless speed test were very low for a box with such nice hardware with results likely to vary from user to user.
While it will stream video over WiFi for best results plugging in a Ethernet cable would be much better.
Overall for a box with such nice hardware it was a bit disappointing to not see it built better to reach its full potential.
This was a bit surprising as we had very good results from the H96 PRO PLUS.
We are still testing the unit and will update if anything changes.
hi, i think it was not so good.
many of my apps don’t work..
youtube is not compatibile ( by playstore) chrome browser is not compatibile by playstore … the network menu chrash istantly…. the update sistem menu’ crash istantly..
dont’ you?
H i am looking for an android box 99% used for games, i understand you say s912 boxes some play better at games, can you pleaase tell me which ones perform the best for games ( besides nvidia shield). I aim to attach an infrared touch overlay on a 32 inch qhd monitor, so looking for the highest gpu performance and lag. Your advice woudl be greatly appreciated, im building a 32 inch android touch table for my sons 6th brthday and dont know too much about android devices in general. Thankyou!
This is an Android thing….hardware tends to be quite good (Samsung, HTC) but software simply sucks unless a lot of attention goes into it. This is why in general, I prefer Apple to Android. The hardware I feel is inferior with Apple but the hardware and software simply gel leaving Android far behind.
As such, this box is no different. It has decent hardware but it doesn’t work well. I also think it was a mistake to go with Android 6. Android 5 would’ve taken less resource…although this box has more RAM than you probably need unless you load up a tonne of other APKs which will run in the background.
The H96 pro max is rubbish.
Chip set not licenced to Dolby or DTS and sound signal is crap.
I have centre channel vocals coming through all five speakers through Denon AVR.
Tried all sound options, ended up crushing the H96 under my boot.
I’ve been told many cheap modern media players don’t focus on DSP with chip design.
Biggest waste of money I’ve ever spent.
can someone confirm the RD3399 decodes HDR content proper? I know it will ‘play’ this content, but will it actually decode proper if you have a HDR 4k TV; I ask because they have teamed with Intel; and I do not see HDR listed in the specs wiki, yet I see it for the 3328; and for its competitor the Armlogic S915 its plastered all over their specs.
I am looking to get away from all these Thermal overheat issues from android boxes. And workarounds?
If you want to get rid of that then buy the Nividia Shild 4k And all your issues will be solved as I have one so complaining in by the best
I have been playing with both the H96 Max and an X99 box. Both are the same 7.1.2 firmware and of course the same RK3399, It became obvious that both had thermal issues as Antutu scores for both were below what you obtained, and got worse if I did consecutive runs. I placed a standard 4″ computer case fan under each box and the results were amazing with the H96 at 104062, and the X99 at 101654.
Though both boxes got fairly warm in operation, TV performance was apparently not affected at all by the thermal issues. I would not normally have been concerned about it, until running benchmarks.
Hard to say for sure, but the poor internal cooling performance of both these boxes may lead to issues including component failure down the road. I was thinking of taking them apart and installing a small fan inside as in the Nvidia Shield, but since I have a number of small computer fans around, I have decided for now to simply rig up a small power supply for the fans, put some standoffs under them, and set the boxes on them. Since the fans are silent, this works well and gives me some peace of mind.
A couple of other issues developed with both these boxes, which leads me to believe that these are related to the RK3399 platform and the interface to the firmware/software. First, I keep losing the Kodi builds I install. Every few days, or if I do a system restart, when I run Kodi it has reverted to the first run state. Secondly, there are some apps it will not run like Pluto TV. I did run a Pluto TV version different from that in Playstore, and it ran OK, but the Icon would not show up in the apps list. I have to go to settings and then apps to find it and run it. Very annoying.
I also have tried some alternative launchers like Simple TV and Microsoft Launcher, and Nova Launcher., and, In all instances, they would lose widgets every few days, sometimes all of them (especially after a system restart) and I would have to startt over again in the set up. I finally gave up and am using the factory launcher.
its Android 7.1; came across the same issues when Nvidia updated their box 07-2018; had to return it. B/c I can sideload ‘most apps’ but cannot update them once they launch. This is super important for ‘meta data apps’. like ‘JustWatch’ and ‘Trakt’; that track what shows you watch and notify of new episodes.
Hello, thank you for the review. I have a question concerning format support:
Many tv boxes can’t correctly play 10-bit H.264.
Does the H96 Max correctly play 1080p 10-bit H.264 video content?
The AV port of the TV Box H96Max is not working when i fix it to My Old TV by composite AV cable.Is there any settings in the TV Box to get the link through AV port. Thanking you Chaminda Liyanage
The H96 Max was my box of choice, that is until I read this review and the subsequent comments. I just took delivery of the H96 Pro + . I like it. I’m in the market for another box and thought the MAX was “the” one….I guess not. In comparison, I thought the price was good considering the overall Antutu benchmark score against other boxes in its class. But I guess benchmark scores are only a part of the overall picture, as I’m just now beginning to understand specs. I’ve also heard that the Max should be modified to cool better as it overheats and freezes under certain conditions. And moreover than anything else, I look at user reviews (real user reviews). Judging by the aforementioned, I guess my shopping for another unit is still not over. Or maybe I should just get another H96 pro +. Thanks everyone, I really appreciate your feedback, right on time. Be well.
Well I can attest that this android box may as well be called a shitbox, because that’s what it is.
Have 4GB of ram and the best processor currently available in the box, it’s a shame that the advertised av port does nothing and the spdif output stutters every 5 seconds. Absolutely infuriating.
I’m going to organise a return. Everyone else, don’t buy it. Just. Don’t.
You got a bad box or your internet connection is slow. This is a good box.
It’s a good box that only does 1080p. Yes it plays 4K x265 video, doesn’t matter if it’s attached to a 1080p or 4k tv, it outputs 1080p. Impressive that it can downscale 4K in realtime, but it would be nice if it could output 4K.
I recently bought H96 max through GearBest. The videos play well but the box has no audio. I tried all setting configurations possible including youtube video, but no success. I even changed HDMI and optic cables. Nothing working. HOW CAN I SUCCESSFULLY SET UP THE BOX TO GET AUDIO?
Hello.
Do you think, that future updates will repaire this bugs?
Agree with Paolo.
I have a lot of issues with this.
1. My Ethernet does not work (is VERY unstable, and hardly work for more than a few seconds of a time)
(It luckily works OK on wireless)
2. It is not compatible with a lot of Google Play apps, like Chrome!!
3. When trying to use “update system”, it always crashes…
Yes, it is very fast, but the current firmware is crap. So stay away until they have fixed the firmware.