UPDATE: Onn is as bad as the negative reviewers say. Avoid at all costs.

[SyCoREAPER]

Avoid Onn like the damn plague. If they can't get the basics right what's the point. Shame, because the interface was fast and snappy.
See post #5

Got my parents (to get rid of those ad-boxes made by Amazon) and got two onn 4K (2023). Based on the specs, and albeit attractive price point of $20 had little faith in these. I am equal parts impressed and perplexed.


As mentioned they are fairly low spec (compared to my Shield Pro) however what I'm finding and there's nothing wrong with my Shield, navigation is noticeably snappier and fluid on the cheap boxes compared to the Shield. I don't know if it's down to a more stock OS or if it's because it's a new ATV version but it 100% is smoother. Where do notice the power difference are installs and sometimes loading of apps but mostly installs.
Even with a custom launcher, these things fly to the launcher where the Shield feels like it takes a moment to load up the launcher and repopulate it despite that making no sense.

So for $20, all cables, batteries, remote, 4K, AV1, VP9-2, Dolby Vision, HDR10+ (no DV but that's fine, parents have Samsung TVs anyway), Dolby Audio. It's a steal, Firestick and Rokus shouldn't even be considered IMO. I was going to wait for the new Chromecast but I'm not baying $100 for a Chromecast. Only thing I'd say that's missing but understandable given the price, at least 1 USB port. DV is fairly important but the licensing would have driven the cost up.

 

[B. Diddy]

Thanks for the info! I've consistently heard good things about the Onn. boxes (and that they compare quite well with the Chromecast with Google TV) -- it'll be interesting to see if they continue to make these now that Google is transitioning from Chromecasts to the Google Streamer. If Onn. keeps making these cheap boxes, they would definitely be an excellent alternative to the significantly more expensive Streamer.

 

[SyCoREAPER]

Thanks for the info! I've consistently heard good things about the Onn. boxes (and that they compare quite well with the Chromecast with Google TV) -- it'll be interesting to see if they continue to make these now that Google is transitioning from Chromecasts to the Google Streamer. If Onn. keeps making these cheap boxes, they would definitely be an excellent alternative to the significantly more expensive Streamer.

They are already Google TV rather than Android TV so that's at least a plus for keeping things updated. There is an unlock bootloader option in Dev Ops but haven't looked into it.

 

[SyCoREAPER]

There is one fatal flaw however and two annoyance that probably only affects me.

First, there is no Audio-Sync in the settings. I know TVs have them but (as I've experienced), sometimes the sync needs to go negative which TVs can't go, maybe that's just a FiretV issue.

The second one is an annoyance. I have a USB AMP/DAC connected to one of the USB ports. Shield I can easily switch between headphones at the press of a button (Harmony Macro). Supposedly the Onn Pro 2024 w/accepts some USB output devices but not all and if it doesz you can't swap, you have to unplug each time.

Lastly, it seems that this is indeed a stripped down GoogleTV OS. A lot of ADB commands like 'Secure Write ' do not work on the Onn

Nevertheless I think it should be the defacto choice of your in the market for a streamer or want to get rid of the poop FireTV. Poop because the interface is like one giant advertisement with user experience being the last priority. Depending which model you have, HDR doesn't work properly I power on a video forum with screenshots if anyone cares, I will find the link. Lastly and a biggie they want to drop Android/FirwOS for some proprietary crap, so it's basically a Roku and you can't side load an app during say a content dispute where they take down the app or disable it.

 

[SyCoREAPER]

Mods FYI, I'm reporting myself so you change the title.

Updated main post.
I liked it enough that I got the new version (2024 - $50) for DV among some other things.

Well. It turns out since launch (4 months +) no matter what combination of settings you use, the DEVICE will switch to DV and not fall back to SDR for regular content. It's not all apps but it's all the main ones like Netflix, (some Prime, most isn't DV), and a few others. I've verified this to be a firmware issue and NOT a say Netflix issue. As soon as you open Netflix it goes to DV. If you play a HD stream and (external app or keyboard required), tap F8, it shows that it is infact Streaming AV1. If you stream DV it shows DV5. So it's not a Netflix and other app issue, it's this box. If it hasn't been fixed in 4+ months it's not getting fixed, not on a budget device where most won't notice. Also confirmed on Reddit.

Tomorrow the piece of Junk is going back.

Update to my Update.

And I just tested the one I initially was impressed by in the first post. Guess what. It does the same thing with HDR, and that's from 2023.

All these POS are going back. Avoid Onn.

 

[B. Diddy]

Oh well, thanks for that important feedback!

 

[SyCoREAPER]

Oh well, thanks for that important feedback!

Figured since I hyped it up so much I should post an update for those considering them or got them based on my post and still return it/them.

Decided to keep my original text and cross it so people can see it's not just a hater post too.

 

[Mooncatt]

Onn is basically Walmart's version of all the no-name brands on Amazon. Just not worth it for anything in my opinion.

 

[SyCoREAPER]

Onn is basically Walmart's version of all the no-name brands on Amazon. Just not worth it for anything in my opinion.

I knew it would never get updated, I was fine with that. ATV/GTV updates move at such a slow pace you can be using a 5 year old OS and it's still the same version.

This thing was absolutely perfect except for the false/broken switching. Even if I set it to HDR or SDR respectively (well SDR is obvious) but HDR would stay HDR and not fall back to SDR either.

For being an AMLogic chipset, which I've never dealt with before, it was faster than my Shield Pro 2021. That could be all the customization on the Shields part or that the Onn was slightly stripped down. Maybe there's a custom Shield OS that keeps Widevine L1 intact that I can flash to make it at least faster. If it had AV1 id have no need for a replacement.

Nevertheless, that one fatal flaw ruined it. In short, I agree, stay away from no-name and "house brands" (generally, few exceptions),

I'm going to wait and just shell out the $100 (after the reviews) for the new Chromecast successor 'Google Streamer Box'. Bet they are going to rebrand that horrible name in typical Google fashion.

I'm having a hard time staying positive with ATV/GTG, the same way I am with WearOS. Updates are slow, don't add or enhance anything in a significant manner.


Edit; Dear God, sorry that was long I guess I typed as in was thinking.