Comparison Beelink GT-King Pro 4/64 Gb vs Mecool KM3

— Proprietary system. The operating system of the device is represented by the proprietary software shell of the manufacturer. Usually, such operating systems have an attractive and convenient menu. A proprietary operating system is developed directly by the manufacturer for the hardware resources of a particular model or a whole line, but has limited capabilities.

— Android (AOSP). This type of operating system is a modification of the popular Android OS, mainly notable for being open source. It is a versatile operating system that gives the user much more freedom to create changes and customizations within the system itself. At the same time, the installation and stability of certain applications on this platform are not guaranteed, and the overall system management was not specially “tailored” for large screens, which may cause some inconvenience. First of all, such solutions will interest users who understand the features of the Android OS, like to customize and control everything for themselves, and have time for this.

— Android TV. Devices of this type have full-fledged Android TV software, specially adapted to work on large screens. In accordance with the name, it is a type of Android OS, specially designed for such equipment. In addition to the common features of all Androids (such as the ability to install additional applications, including...even games), it has a number of special features: an optimized interface, integration with smartphones (including the ability to use them as a remote control), voice search, etc. Thanks to this, TVs with this feature are significantly superior in functionality to models with a “regular” Smart TV. Of course, a dedicated processor, graphics subsystem and memory are provided for the operation of a multifunctional OS, and the presence of such hardware resources is reflected in the overall cost.

— Google TV. Rebranding of the Android TV platform for TVs and smart consoles, or rather, a new shell on top of the operating system under the sign of the “green droid”, introduced since 2021. Among the innovations, it has a redesigned user interface, an improved knowledge base that more efficiently distributes content by genre and collects search information from the entire list of installed applications and subscriptions. The voice assistant now understands the needs of the audience better and provides a detailed list of what was found. A separate tab in the interface contains live broadcasts of current events, whether it be sports events or a rocket launch to Mars. Among other things, the aspects that involve the use of TV as a command post for managing a single ecosystem of a “smart” home have been improved in the system.

A wireless technology that allows you to directly broadcast video and audio from one device to another directly over a Wi-Fi connection. At the same time, unlike AirPlay, transmission does not require a router and building a local network — it is enough that the receiver and transmitter are compatible with Miracast. One of the most popular ways to use this technology is to output a “picture” from a smartphone / tablet screen to a TV, and vice versa. A media centre or TV receiver with Miracast is useful if the TV itself does not support this function.

HDMI is the most common modern interface for working with HD content and multi-channel audio. Video and audio signals with this connection are transmitted over a single cable, and the bandwidth in the latest versions ( HDMI 2.0 and HDMI 2.1) is enough to work with UltraHD resolution and even higher. Almost any modern screen (TV, monitor, etc.) with HD support has at least one HDMI input, which is why most media players and TV receivers have outputs of this type. However, there are also models without HDMI — these are mostly outdated or the most inexpensive solutions that use only analogue video interfaces. There are also models for several HDMI and in most cases one of these ports is for the incoming signal, while the HDMI ports differ in versions.

— v 1.4. The version presented back in 2009, however, does not lose popularity to this day. Supports 4K (4096x2160) video at 24 fps and Full HD at 120 fps; the latter, among other things, allows you to transfer 3D video over this interface. In addition to the original v 1.4, there are also improved versions v 1.4a and v 1.4b, where the possibilities for working with 3D have been further expanded.

-v 2.0. Version released in 2013. Among other things, it introduced the ability to work with 4K video at speeds up to 60 fps, compatibility with ultra-wide format 21: 9, as well as support for up to 32 channels and 4...audio streams simultaneously. HDR support was not originally included in this release, but was introduced in v 2.0a and further enhanced in v 2.0b; media players from this category can support both the original version 2.0 and one of the improved ones.

— v 2.1. 2017 version, also known as HDMI Ultra High Speed. Indeed, it provides a very solid bandwidth, allowing you to work even with 10K video at a speed of 120 fps; in addition, a number of improvements have been made to HDR support. Note that the full use of HDMI v 2.1 is possible only with a special cable, but the functions of earlier versions remain available when using conventional wires.

— AV output. Analogue output for video and audio transferring. Previously, due to the large size of the equipment, it consisted of 3 RCA jacks and was connected to the TV accordingly. Now the devices have become more compact and don't have free space on the case. Therefore, the AV output is a single headphone jack, to which a tee cable is already connected (check availability in the package). Since all components of the video signal are on the same cable, the picture quality and immunity to interference are low.

The presence of an audio output in most cases implies a 3.5 mm mini-Jack connector for headphones. This connector does not transmit high power, which can fully supply the TV with an audio signal, but for compact devices, which include headphones, it will come in handy, since most household wired headphones are produced with a 3.5 mm plug. Headphones can be useful in noisy environments, or vice versa, when loud sound is undesirable, as well as in situations where sound must be listened to attentively (for example, when listening to radio broadcasts to learn a foreign language).

The model of the CPU installed in the media player.

This information is mainly of reference value: the processor is selected in such a way as to provide certain practical characteristics (maximum resolution, support for certain standards, embedded applications, etc.). So when choosing, you should focus primarily on these specifications. However, if you wish, knowing the processor model, you can find detailed data on it and evaluate the capabilities of the media centre to work with resource-consuming applications. This can be useful, in particular, if you choose an Android model (see above) and plan to use additional software intensively — the set of applications for this OS is very extensive, and some of them are quite demanding on system resources.

Also note that CPU data is often specified for advertising purposes — to emphasize that the device has a fairly advanced chip from a well-known brand. Among the most common brands of such processors are Allwinner, Amlogic, Rockchip, Realtek.

The clock speed of the CPU installed in the media centre.

On the technical side, the higher this indicator, the faster the processor works and the higher, accordingly, the overall system performance. At the same time, the CPU performance depends, in addition to the frequency itself, on a number of factors — architecture, number of cores, special design features, etc.; and the actual speed of the entire system is affected by performance of components other than the processor. In addition, manufacturers usually select processors in such a way that their computing power is guaranteed to be enough for all the features claimed for a media centre. Therefore, in this case, the CPU frequency is more of a reference parameter (and partly an advertising indicator that demonstrates the advanced specifications of the device), rather than practically significant for buyer.

The set of audio codecs supported by the device

Codec — from the phrase "Encoder-DEcoder" — in this case, the format used for encoding and compressing sound in digital form during storage/transmission and decoding — during playback (digital sound is basically impossible without encoding, and compression allows to reduce the amount of data). Information about supported codecs is relevant primarily for assessing whether the player will be able to work with sound in a particular video file. The fact is that even in video files of the same format (see below), sound can be compressed by different codecs; and if the player supports the file format, but does not support the codec, sound playback will become impossible.

Theoretically, these rules are also relevant for audio files and online broadcasts (all formats — TV, video, audio). However, in fact, when working with such content, you can ignore codec data. So, for each audio file format, usually, its own standard codec is used, and file type support automatically means codec support. Broadcasts usually use generally accepted audio decoders like MPEG-1 or MPEG-2, which are practically guaranteed to be supported by any modern player designed for such broadcasts.

As for specific codecs, detailed information on them can be found in special sources, however, with the standard use of devices, such details are usually not needed.