Ebox T8 V Smart Android TV Box Review – Best Android TV Box 2017

Hey guys. This is my first detailed box review of 2017! The box that I will be reviewing is the new Ebox T8 V from EntertainmentBox, I have to say that this is the best android tv box that I ever tried!

Many have tried to copy the T8 series without success, no copy is equivalent to the original T8 from EntertainmentBox. So, careful where you buy it, this review only applies to the original Ebox T8 V.

The box was ordered and sent by EntertainmentBox on a Friday and arrived on Monday (1 business day delivery) in perfect conditions.

Ebox T8 V Specs

The Ebox T8 V is packed with the best hardware on the market for Android TV Boxes:

• OS: Android 6.0 Marshmallow
• Processor: Amlogic S912 Octa Core 64bit Cortex A-53 up to 2.0GHz
• GPU: ARM Mali-T820MP3 GPU up to 750MHz
• Memory: DDR3 2GB
• Internal Storage: EMMC 16GB
• Ethernet: RJ45 GigaBit Ethernet
• WiFi: 802.11 ac/a/b/g/n 2.4ghz/5.0ghz Dual Band WiFi
• HDMI: HDMI 2.0 up to 4K x 2K
• USB Host: 3 USB 2.0, support USB Disk and USB HDD
• AV: AV Support
• Card Reader: SD / MMC cards
• Video Decoder: 4Kp60 10bit H.265, 4Kp60 VP9 Profile 2, 4Kp30 H.264
• Audio Format: MP3 / WMA / AAC / WAV / OGG / DDP / HD / FLAC / APE
• Photo Format: HD JPEG / BMP / GIF / PNG / TIFF
• Power Supply: DC 5V / 3A

Unpacking the Ebox T8 V

Here are some photos that I took of the packing, the T8 V tv box and the accessories.

Air Mouse Remote Control

I normally recommend to buy a Rii mini keyboard in my posts, but I’ve tried now the Air Mouse and I’m impressed because you can actually do everything with this remote control and it’s very convenient.

With this remote control you have 3 functions in one remote:

• The Air Mouse allows you to use the mouse just pointing the remote to your TV and select clicking the OK button. It’s like using the Wii console.
• If you flip the remote you will find a keyboard, very useful to make searches on the browser / Play Store or Kodi.
• And you also have the standard remote control buttons.

HDD Disk Slot

The previous version (the T8-4 box), was very popular because you could add an extra HDD Disk to the box, allowing you to had like 1TB extra disk space. That’s very useful if you want to store all of your movies / music / photos in this media box and access it easily in your TV. The new Ebox T8 V was designed to keep that extra slot for the HDD Disk, this is a very rare feature in an Android TV Box.

AV Support

Very few Android TV Boxes have AV support for older TVs without HDMI ports. With AV support, this T8 V box can be used in any TV.

Internet Speed Test

There are many Smart Android TV Boxes, all of them support ethernet and wifi connections, but that doesn’t mean that they will get the same signal strength.

As these boxes are made to stream over the internet, you need a good internet signal reception.

I’ve tested and compared this box with the Q-Box Android TV Box and my brand new laptop Dell 13 7000. My broadband is 70Mb fiber. These are the internet speed test results:

I wasn’t expecting the T8 V to beat my £750 laptop in WiFi signal reception, but it did!

T8 V Ebox Performance

I’ve tested this box opening and closing apps, using Kodi, streaming media, playing 4K movies and I was impressed how easy and fast this box handled all the tasks. Even closing Kodi was in less than 1 second, in other boxes that I’ve tested it takes sometimes 30 seconds and in many of them Kodi freezes when you try to close it.

OTA updates

Many manufactures of TV Boxes only think on making money selling boxes and they don’t care about launch new firmware updates. I’m not sure if it was just luck, but in the next day after I received the box, I had a new OTA update available! Maybe that’s because EntertainmentBox are one of very few manufactures that have their own software, and they continually work on their software to improve functionality and fix errors. Also they provide technical support by email, phone and in-store, so they need to fix errors to avoid complains.

Installed apps

The Ebox T8 V comes with many useful apps already installed. In the Ebox main screen, if you select “All Apps” you will find the following apps:

• AppInstaller
• Aptoide
• Auto Start
• BBC iPlayer
• BionicTCP
• Browser
• EBMC
• EBox App
• EBox Apps
• EBox OTA (Here, you can check for OTA firmware updates)
• Ebox Store (Easily install the best apps for your EBox)
• Factory Reset
• File Manager
• FileBrowser
• FilmOn Live TV (Watch live TV Channels legally and for free)
• Gallery
• ExpressVPN (The best VPN for Kodi / Android TV Boxes to keep you anonymous and unblock geo-blocked content)
• Market Helper
• Media Center
• Miracast
• MoviePlayer
• Music
• Netflix
• Play Store
• Plex
• QuickSupport
• Read Logs
• RebootManager
• Settings
• SettingsMbox
• SpeedTest
• Update&Backup
• Wookie Sports
• YouTube

Kodi (Ebox Media center)

On the Ebox launcher, Kodi was renamed to EBOX MEDIA CENTER, but it’s the same thing as Kodi 16.

Android 6.0 – Change Kodi Settings

With the introduction of the new Android 6.0, Amcodec is no longer being supported, which can cause issues with the Ebox Media Center (Kodi 16).

To avoid future issues you will need to adjust the settings a bit in the Ebox Media Center (Kodi). Let’s go into settings, then click on Video, go to the bottom and change the Settings Level to Expert. Now go to the Acceleration Tab, then over to Allow Hardware Acceleration – Amcodec, and turn it off. That’s it! You won’t need to do this again.

No kodi addons installed

This box doesn’t come fully loaded with Kodi Addons. That’s because the law is changing to penalize the sellers of Android TV Boxes that sells equipment with illegal addons installed. So these boxes only comes with legal software. But you can easily install these kodi addons to stream movies, series, events, channels, etc through the Addon Installer.

How to install kodi addons

Has this box doesn’t come with Kodi Addons installed, you may want to install your favourite Kodi Addons. To do that, I recommend you to install the Addon Installer on your Kodi / Ebox Media Center.

After installing Addon installer, on the main menu, go to PROGRAMS > Program Add-ons > Addon Installer > and look for the addons that you want to install > Search by … / Featured Addons / Video Addons. Then select the addon and click INSTALL. If you installed a Video Addon, it will be available in the following location: MAIN MENU > VIDEOS > VIDEO ADD-ONS.

How to buy the Ebox T8 V

The Ebox T8 V is only available to buy in the EntertainmentBox website. They deliver from UK to any country in the world and the payments can be made through the safest payment method: Paypal.

Buy the Ebox T8 V

Fast Shipping

EntertainmentBox does same day shipping for orders before 2PM and they promise max. 3 days delivery.

30 days Money Back

If for any reason you’re not happy with your device, just return it in 30 days and you will be fully refunded.

Support

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 07598 612 688

In-store at Walthamstow, London, UK.

Conclusion

Pros:

• Android 6.0
• Best processor available
• Good internal memory
• Supports an extra HDD disk
• Metal body, premium feel
• Excellent WiFi signal reception
• Excellent Performance
• Regular OTA updates
• Shipping from UK and US
• Excellent Support

Cons:

• Doesn’t come with Kodi addons installed (because of legal reasons). But you can easily install your favourite addons by yourself.
• It’s a bit taller than other boxes, but that’s because of the space needed for the HDD disk slot.
• It’s a bit expensive, but I highly recommend it.

I’ve concluded that this is one of the best android tv boxes 2017 and the best that I’ve reviewed! Congrats for the EntertainmentBox team!

Summary

Reviewer

BDP

Review Date

2017-01-30

Reviewed Item

Ebox T8 V - Android TV Box

Author Rating

5