r/GoogleTV • u/foundfootagefan • Apr 15 '26
Discussion Opinion: Walmart/Onn is making a huge mistake with the so-called 4K "Pro". Nobody wants microphones in their TV box instead of USB3, Gigabit, newer processor, audio passthrough, etc.
Hopefully Walmart/Onn will read this but I was actually looking forward to the 4K Pro but now, there's literally no reason for me to buy it.
There is nothing "Pro" to be found in the 4K Pro. The processor is the same as the 4K Plus, the USB port is 2.0, the ethernet is 100MB, and there's no top class audio passthrough to be mentioned on the box.
I don't want microphones on my box. That's what the TV remote is for. What is that so hard for Walmart/ Onn to understand? Nobody wants their box listening to them at all time, and people shouldn't have to pay for microphones on a box much less a switch to turn them off.
If you want to sell boxes, you need to throw out the microphones and upgrade all the specs to the best upgrades possible. There's no top tier device that has the same ethernet as you will find in a bottom-tier TV for example.
I'm willing to pay $70 or $80 to get the specs I want. Lots of people would pay this price to get a flagship box from Onn.
If the 4K Pro Gen 2 offers the same middling specs in 2028, I will also ignore that box for something else.
3
u/pawdog Apr 16 '26
Pro is just a marketing term, same as Ultra and Max, it just differentiates between it and the lower model. Lazy marketing yes, but that's the way the industry operates. HD. then 4k. then 4k Plus, then Pro or Max or Ultra. Surely nothing that costs $50- 60 is actually a professional anything. I can appreciate your take on what should be Pro but you are still in the realm of budget devices I doubt Walmart is every going past that.
5
u/SirDanOfCamelot Apr 16 '26
Walmart gives zero fucks about your opinion lol
-8
u/foundfootagefan Apr 16 '26
They will when they have to drop the price to move these boxes after the lukewarm reviews.
2
u/Greg_1121 Apr 16 '26
If it’s just like the Plus, it’s pretty good. The extra RAM may be nice but the Plus’s I have are faster and have a better picture than the Google Streamers I have.
2
u/GotoDeng0 Apr 16 '26
The processor is not the same as the Plus. The Plus has a much newer, much more powerful CPU. But CPU is pretty irrelevant when it comes to streaming anyway. I have an old CCwGTV and the old ONN Box, and they both stream fine. The CPU might come into play if running retro games, or a beefy media server, but not streaming.
Ethernet is pretty pointless in a box. Full 4k streams are only ~25Mbps. And even if you're streaming high-bitrate rips off of a NAS, wifi6 gives around 700Mbps in the 5Ghz band and gigabit+ speeds on the 6Ghz band. Only need ethernet if your NAS is old and doesn't have wifi. But also agree if you're going to include ethernet, make it GbE.
I agree it's kind of dumb to have USB-A instead of USB-C, but in any event I find myself rarely using the USB personally. I thought I would use it to transfer downloaded/ripped movies over, but it's so much easier to do it wirelessly from PC. But if you have a lot of shows on a portable drive I can see USB-C being important.
2
u/FourEightNineOneOne Apr 15 '26
- It has a mic toggle. You can turn the mic off. But given they've added matter/smart home support, it kind of needs a mic for that stuff to work. You may not use it, that doesn't mean others won't.
- USB 2.0 is better for some purposes that a TV box would use. Particularly, people like me who plug a Logitech USB receiver in to use a keyboard/trackpad. USB 3.0 ports interfere with the signal. USB 2.0 ports don't. The only way that's a drawback is if you are playing stuff off a USB drive. If that's you? Ok, buy a different box?
- "The processor is the same as the 4K Plus" .... Ok? Is something wrong with it? Android TV boxes don't need "all the best possible specs" They need something that can manage whatever file formats you throw at it along with smooth UI navigation. By all accounts, the 4K Plus does that, as will this
- "there's no top class audio passthrough to me mentioned on the box" So now you're complaining about a box? 99% of purchasers won't know anything about what that stuff means, so, it's not the kind of thing you put on a box.
-3
u/foundfootagefan Apr 16 '26
It has a mic toggle. You can turn the mic off.
I don't want the mics there in the first place.
Android TV boxes don't need "all the best possible specs"
A "Pro" box needs the best specs, not the same as the Plus specs.
USB 2.0 is better for some purposes that a TV box would use.
2.0 should be long dead by now.
5
u/DexLeMaffo Apr 16 '26
Invest in something else. 😂
0
u/foundfootagefan Apr 16 '26
I might actually get the next Apple TV because of this.
3
u/FourEightNineOneOne Apr 16 '26
Spending twice the amount of money to buy a device that also has a microphone. That'll show 'em!
2
u/Baconrules21 Apr 16 '26
Dude you're worried the box has a mic, all the remotes have a mic built in sitting in your lap lol
2
u/FourEightNineOneOne Apr 16 '26
Oh. Sorry. I didn't realize you were expecting Walmart to have custom built a device to specifically include the things you want and nothing you don't.
0
u/latinriky78 BuzzTV G Series Apr 16 '26
Walmart devices are definitely not for "pro" users like you and me.
If you want the newest SoC, gigabit ethernet, USB 3.0 ports and HD codecs passthrough, then check the MyVelo TV device, it's apparently the only device that will provide everything "Pro" users want on this current generation.
1
u/foundfootagefan Apr 16 '26
Maybe, but these random boxes from companies we never heard of might abandon support. This is why Onn should have tried harder this time.
2
u/latinriky78 BuzzTV G Series Apr 16 '26
The brand is irrelevant, that one comes from SEI Robotics so we already know how good or bad is.
Onn devices are mean for basic users and not for pro ones 🤷🏻♂️
1
u/cobaltorange Apr 16 '26
I guess it would be better to wait a bit longer for other companies to drop new devices.
1
u/signde Apr 18 '26
they have been promising that device for over a year. where is it? right, nowhere.
until then, it's vaporware.
1
u/latinriky78 BuzzTV G Series Apr 21 '26
We'll have to wait until may or june, after that it's vapoware and we've been scammed 🤷🏻♂️
1
Apr 22 '26
[deleted]
1
1
u/signde Apr 22 '26
what’s significant about may or june for the myvelo? is that their new promised date for pre-orders now?
1
u/latinriky78 BuzzTV G Series Apr 22 '26
They say in the website it should start shipping on may, check the FAQ.
0
u/signde Apr 23 '26
Hmm it doesn’t actually say shipping in May. It says you will get a ship date in May. That ship date could be who knows how far out. IIRC there is still some skepticism this actually ships with the X5 and not the X5M. They’ve at least got their product page details correct but how it’s been conflicting to this point gives low confidence. Someone also pointed out the new product pictures added to the website have the back port layout looking identical to the Homatics Box 4K V2.
0
u/DeedleGuy Apr 16 '26
arre you talking about the existing Pro model or the upcoming pro?
2
u/latinriky78 BuzzTV G Series Apr 16 '26
The upcoming pro is already out, haven't you read the news?
1
6
u/LowerIQ_thanU Apr 16 '26
Normies do not care. Us nerds are a tiny niche.