Tronsmart Pavo M9 Impressions: HDMI Recording for under $70

The Tronsmart Pavo M9 is Tronsmart’s first HDMI recording TV box. Running Android 4.4 with a heavily customised “Pavo  M9 UI”, the M9 features 1GB RAM and 8GB of onboard storage.

I want to say thanks to GeekBuying for sending me a sample of the Tronsmart Pavo M9 to review. Click here to view the latest price.

What Is It?

The Tronsmart Pavo M9 is an Android-powered TV Box that features 4K video decoding and HDMI recording.

Tronsmart-Pavo-M9-Power

Tronsmart Pavo M9 Technical Specifications

  • Operating System: Android KitKat 4.4
  • Chipset: Mstar MSO9180D1R
  • CPU: Quad core ARM Cortex A9
  • GPU: Octa core ARM Mali-450 GPU
  • Memory: 1GB DDR3
  • Internal Storage: 8GB eMMC + MicroSD card slot
  • Connectivity: 802.11 b/g/n WiFi (Realtek 8188), 10/100 Ethernet
  • Audio/Video Output: HDMI 1.4, SP-DIF, Composite Video Out
  • Video Input: HDMI In
  • Interfaces: 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.0

What’s in the box?

Inside the box, Tronsmart have been fairly comprehensive with their inclusions:

  • 1x Tronsmart Pavo M9
  • 1x IR Remote Control
  • 1x Power Supply
  • 1x HDMI cable
  • 1x English Instruction Manual

Tronsmart-Pavo-M9-Inside-The-Box

Tronsmart Pavo M9 Initial Impressions

Those of you who’ve seen Tronsmart’s designs of late will immediately recognize the black square. It’s nothing exciting but is unobtrusive which is great.

The ports on the M9 are located on the rear and side of the device. At the rear of the device (from left to right), we have Ethernet, optical audio, Reset button, HDMI In, AV out, HDMI out, DC in and the power switch.

Tronsmart-Pavo-M9-Back

The side of the device features a USB 3.0 port, two USB 2.0 ports and a micro SD card slot.

Tronsmart-Pavo-M9-Side

Powering up the device is done via a flick of the switch. Boot times aren’t bad at around 30 seconds.

When the Pavo M9 booted, the resolution was correctly set to 1080p. For those with higher or lower spec’ed panels, output settings go right up to 4K at 30Hz.

Tronsmart-Pavo-M9-UI-Output

The Pavo UI is definitely “inspired” by Zidoo’s efforts on the X9, with everything separated elegantly into categories. It’s a breeze to navigate and I really wish Tronsmart would port it across to their other devices. It is locked at 720p however, movies play at their native resolution.

Tronsmart-Pavo-M9-UI-01

Those who have used the Zidoo X9 will be right at home with the HDMI Recording function. You can select the recording resolution and format, and even schedule a time to start recording.

Tronsmart-Pavo-M9-UI-Recording

WiFi performance seemed good during testing. I was able to stream my 4K and 1080p samples from an NFS share without any noticeable buffering.

Gaming performance was great, although part of that can be attributed to the 720p UI lock. Jetpack Joyride played well with no hints of lag and Beach Buggy Racing was very playable, even on the highest graphics settings. However, keep in mind that with the 720p UI lock, games don’t look as sharp, with some jagged edges being noticeable when viewed on a 1080p display.

For you benchmark-lovers out there, the Pavo M9 scored on 18987 on Antutu 5.7.1.

Verdict So Far

The Tronsmart Pavo M9 seems to be a respectable media player so far. However, being able to record video via HDMI for under $70 makes the device a very attractive option. As long as you can accept the 720p UI, the Tronsmart Pavo M9 appears to be a good device, particularly if you are looking to record via HDMI

Getting One

You can purchase the Tronsmart Pavo M9 from GeekBuying. Click here to view the latest price.

Michael

Michael is a technology expert with over 15 years of experience in IT, Home Theatre and Automation. Feel free to send Michael a message here.

You May Also Like...

Previous

No.1 Sun S2 Smartwatch Impressions: Round and Stylish

Tronsmart Ara BJ19 Barebones PC Powered by Intel Celeron J1900

Next

2 thoughts on “Tronsmart Pavo M9 Impressions: HDMI Recording for under $70”

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.