Introducing the Zidoo Z9X Pro
Zidoo has officially rolled out its newest media player lineup, featuring five distinct models, all powered by the advanced Realtek RTD1619BPD System on Chip (SoC). This release represents a significant step forward for home entertainment enthusiasts.
We are specifically exploring the Z9X Pro model, which is designed to deliver the exact same high-quality video performance as the other devices in this fresh collection. It promises a truly immersive experience for discerning viewers.
First Impressions: Packaging and Design
While packaging typically isn’t a primary concern for product performance, the Zidoo Z9X Pro arrived in a perfectly functional white and grey cardboard box. Its eco-friendly design offers a straightforward and no-fuss unboxing experience.
Inside, you’ll find the Z9X Pro media player itself, along with a newly designed remote control. The box also includes a SATA connector for external HDD hookup, an HDMI cable, the necessary power brick, and essential documentation to get you started.
A small but important note: you will need to supply three AAA batteries for the remote, as these are not included in the package. Otherwise, the setup comes with everything you need for immediate connection.
The Zidoo Z9X Pro retains a robust aluminum alloy chassis, mirroring the practical dimensions of its predecessor. Its sleek, new dark grey color is particularly pleasing, making it a more suitable and understated addition to any modern living room setup.
Essential connections like power, LAN, and HDMI are thoughtfully located at the back of the unit. This strategic placement is ideal for effective cable management, helping to keep your entertainment area tidy and organized.
Furthermore, a physical power switch is always a welcome inclusion for direct control. The unit also features three convenient USB ports positioned on its sides, offering easy access for various peripherals or external storage devices.
Effective heat dissipation is handled through large, well-placed openings on both the sides and bottom of the chassis. This design ensures the player remains cool and performs optimally even during extended periods of use.
On the front of the Z9X Pro, you’s find the familiar LED display, providing quick status information. Its brightness can be easily adjusted via the quick settings menu, offering options for “off,” “dark,” or “light” to match your environment.
User Experience: Remote and Software
The Z9X Pro boasts an updated remote control, which initially impresses with its pleasing ergonomic design. However, its elegant black-on-black color scheme can sometimes make identifying buttons slightly challenging in brighter daylight conditions.
Fortunately, this minor issue is offset by the remote’s backlit feature, ensuring effortless operation when the lights are low. The button layout is intuitive and easily memorable, offering an upgraded tactile feel compared to previous models.
For those preferring smartphone control, Zidoo provides a dedicated application compatible with both iOS and Android platforms. This offers an additional layer of convenience and flexibility for managing your media player.
Despite a new SoC, the Zidoo Z9X Pro maintains a consistent software experience. Its UI still sports an Android-like appearance, featuring large, clearly visible icons that are perfectly suited for display on larger television screens.
The home screen presents main applications and setting shortcuts, while a secondary screen offers a complete list of all installed applications. Users can also customize the main page by adding shortcuts to their favorite apps in the last row.
While functional, some users might prefer the cleaner, more media-centric UI found on Zidoo’s pricier units. Nevertheless, the current interface remains highly usable for everyday tasks.
Core Playback Capabilities
- Supports auto frame rate switching for smooth video playback.
- Provides accurate MaxCLL/Fall information for HDR content.
- Offers HD Audio pass-through for an immersive sound experience.
- Features 3D frame-packing for compatible visual content.
- Includes Zidoo’s proprietary “Home Theater” poster wall application.
- Comes with its own developed music playback applications for varied audio files.
The Zidoo quick settings menu remains a standout feature, requiring no major alterations from its prior successful implementation. All necessary settings are intuitively organized by category, including Playback, Display, Audio, Network, and Other.
A significant upgrade comes from the integration of Dolby’s new high dynamic range processor. This adds two compelling settings to the Display -> HDR category: “Dolby Vision VS10 Engine” and “Dolby Vision Low Latency.”
These advanced options have a direct and substantial impact on the player’s overall video performance, which we will elaborate on further. According to Zidoo’s product page, these features are central to its next-gen capabilities.
Audio and Video Performance Excellence
While not primarily a dedicated music streamer, the Z9X Pro capably handles music files like MP3 and FLAC. Zidoo has even launched successful music streamer lineups, underscoring their commitment to audio quality across their products.
The native music player, developed by Zidoo, consistently improves with updates, providing lossless playback for major file formats. This includes DSD (SACD ISO, DSF, DFF), WAV, APE, and DTS, though some limitations may apply based on file type.
As expected, the device experienced no issues with Spotify playback, delivering a smooth and reliable streaming experience. Audio pass-through is perfect, supporting all codecs up to Dolby ATMOS and DTS X for an immersive home theater sound.
Stereo down-mixing is also possible, providing flexibility if you connect the Z9X Pro directly to your TV screen. This ensures great sound, even without a full surround sound system.
Video performance is where the Zidoo Z9X Pro truly shines, delivering an excellent job across the board. For 4K playback, we observed proper MaxCLL/FALL transmission and accurate 24p motion handling, ensuring cinematic fluidity.
The auto frame rate switching also functioned flawlessly when needed, contributing to a seamless viewing experience across various content. Upscaling is notably better than its predecessor, a great upgrade for owners of SD or HD video files.
Projector owners, whether using 1080p or 4K models, will greatly appreciate the device’s very good HDR to SDR tone mapping. This ensures vibrant images even when the projector cannot reach full HDR brightness levels.
Dolby Vision video playback is broadly supported across almost all major formats, including BD/UHD backups and dedicated video files. This comprehensive compatibility makes it a versatile choice for any media library.
According to The Audio Tailor, the Z9X Pro is considered a “cinema-grade powerhouse” for its robust video capabilities.
Playback of 1080p content, encompassing BD rips, ISO images, 3D ISOs, MKV, and other containers, was consistently perfect. This includes exceptionally smooth motion handling, providing a pristine viewing experience.
During video playback, a multitude of options are available for customization. Beyond standard settings, you get outstanding subtitle support, allowing adjustments to height, color, size, and even line spacing for personalized viewing.
The ability to download missing subtitles works well, particularly if the filename closely matches the movie’s title for better recognition. Projector owners with masking applied will appreciate the option to alter subtitle height during menu navigation.
Menu navigation for disc-less BD playback is supported, though minor glitches may occasionally occur. This is because Zidoo relies on its custom implementation due to the Blu-ray Disc Association’s refusal to provide its disc engine for BD.ISO playback.
Networking, Gaming, and Streaming Apps
Wired LAN Gigabit performance on the Z9X Pro is stellar, effortlessly handling high-bit-rate UHD and Blu-Ray files. Switching chapters and long-time jumps are lag and buffer-free, even with very demanding content.
Wireless performance has seen a significant boost with the integration of the WiFi 6 protocol. This makes streaming higher bit rate files much easier, with only the most demanding 4K remux files occasionally needing a pause.
To fully benefit from WiFi 6, ensure your home network setup is equally capable. Streaming from various NAS servers, including Synology and Asustor, proved flawless using the SMB protocol.
Although not advertised as a gaming platform, the Z9X Pro shows improved performance, thanks to a 15-20% higher single-core performance. While it won’t deliver flawless 60fps on demanding modern 3D titles, simpler games perform well on lower settings.
Remember to add a gamepad for the best possible gaming experience. According to its Amazon listing, the Zidoo Z9X PRO is a 4K Android TV Box, supporting various applications.
It’s important to note that the Z9X Pro does not come with Google Apps pre-installed, meaning services like YouTube are not immediately available. However, a “G” firmware variant can be downloaded to include the Play Store.
As with most Realtek-based solutions, maximizing official streaming services like Netflix or Disney+ for peak audio and video performance is not possible. This is a common limitation to consider for dedicated streaming users.
It is crucial to update to the latest firmware, version v1.0.75 or newer (even beta), as many significant bug fixes have been implemented in these releases. This ensures optimal performance and stability.
The Revolutionary Dolby VS10 Engine
The increasingly popular Dolby VS10 engine is a standout feature, promoting the mapping of non-High Dynamic Range (or HDR10) content to Dolby Vision. This process effectively upgrades the visual quality of standard content.
However, the most critical function of the VS10 engine is its ability to expertly process Dolby Vision material for display on both HDR and SDR screens. It intelligently adapts the output based on the display’s EDID (Extended Display Identification).
Once enabled, this feature ensures that you receive the absolute best visual outcome available from any media player on the market. It truly elevates the viewing experience, regardless of your display type.
Projector owners, especially those with 1080p or 4K models unable to reach full HDR brightness, will find this immensely beneficial. It eliminates the need for additional external processing, simplifying their setup while enhancing picture quality.
Always pay close attention to the corresponding options within the settings to ensure a perfect match with your specific display. This fine-tuning guarantees the best possible image representation.
Zidoo’s “Home Theater” Poster Wall
Zidoo refers to its impressive poster wall implementation as “Home Theater,” now in its fourth generation. This feature strikes an excellent balance between rich functionality and user-friendly simplicity for organizing your media.
It provides a well-designed theme that is extensively customizable, allowing selection via filters, manual matching of unmatched video files, and personalized poster choices. You can also adjust poster size, view trailers, and access soundtracks.
While navigation can become slower with exceptionally large movie libraries, practical workarounds exist, such as adjusting the size of the displayed posters. TV titles are also fully supported, although this requires precise folder and file labeling from the user.
The system intelligently separates movies and TV shows, enabling easy selection of each category through corresponding icons. This keeps your expansive media collection neatly organized and accessible.
What Happens Next
The Zidoo Z9X Pro clearly builds upon a strong foundation, representing a powerful evolution in media player technology. With ongoing firmware updates continually refining its performance and addressing any potential bugs, its capabilities are poised to grow even further.
This device firmly establishes itself as a formidable contender for any discerning home theater enthusiast. It offers a comprehensive, high-quality solution for both audio and video playback, backed by innovative features.