This is a Tanix Android TV box, the model Tanix W2-A, also mentioned on the website as Tanix W2. In this video, I am going to unbox, show how to set it up and share as many details about its features and software.
This video is made into these sections so that you can directly find and watch the information from this video. Continue watching to learn about Tanix W2-A Android TV box.
This is the product box for Tanix W2-A. The box has a simple looking design and it is from an OEM manufacturer called Oranth which specializes in manufacturing Android OTT and IPTV Boxes. The only indication of what’s inside the box is the sticker at the top showing the W2-A model and its memory and storage capacity.
Let’s open the box to see its contents. The Tanix Android TV box is wrapped in protective plastic and the rest of the items are placed below it.
These are all the items from the box. The Tanix W2-A Android TV media box, IR remote control, power adaptor, HDMI cable and user manual.
The Tanix W2-A has a nearly square shaped compact design and feels light with its all plastic build. The brand Tanix is printed at the top and the front has an LED display. On the side, this is a MicroSD card slot, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0. On the other side, this is the AV port, optical audio, LAN ethernet port, HDMI port and DC IN power port.
At the bottom are four feet but they are not rubberized. So it does not grip and can slip easily on a flat surface. Also, there are no ventilation holes anywhere on this device, so hopefully it doesn’t get too hot.
The remote control requires two AAA batteries. It feels light and has a nice design for a comfortable grip in your hand. The buttons have a nice and firm click feedback feel and sound.
Included is a very simple user manual which includes information on network, upgrade steps and troubleshooting information.
Let’s get this device started. Connect the HDMI cable from this Android box to a display such as TV or monitor.
Connect the power cable and turn on power.
From the Android operating system loading and the Tanix boot splash screen, it took 33 seconds for the home screen interface to appear.
This Android screen interface is unique to Tanix and you may not find it in any other Android TV boxes. This is called the Alice UX interface and it runs on Android TV OS version 11.
The interface has a main navigation panel on the left and a pop out panel that shows recently launched apps. The main part of the screen has large tile like icons and you can also add your own shortcuts using this plus button.
Before using this Android box, you will need to connect to the internet via ethernet cable or Wifi connection. As you can see at the top here, only Bluetooth connection is active.
To connect to Wifi, go to Settings, then select Network and Internet to connect to a Wifi network. You can now search and install apps from the Google Play Store.
In device specifications, the system is reporting the model as W2. The device has 2GB installed RAM and 16GB internal storage space, however it is reporting 11.78GB here. It also supports Bluetooth 4.0.
The CPU is a 4-core ARM Cortex-A35 processor. It is a 64-bit processor running on 32-bit mode. The CPU clock speed can range between 100MHz and 1800MHz.
The graphics processor is a single core ARM Mali-G31. The current screen resolution is 1920×1080 and the display refresh rate is 60Hz.
The integrated graphics processing unit supports Vulkan which is a low level, low overhead, cross-platform API and open standard for 3D graphics and computing. This box supports 4K decoding capabilities.
Android version 11 which is also called Red Velvet Cake is installed in this device. This device is rooted and that allows a user perform actions such as changing the operating system, replace or alter settings and system applications, install custom themes, and download specialized apps.
Lets have a look at the available Android OS settings and options. Under Languages, there are 50 languages to choose from.
Under Display and Sound settings, there are options for screen resolution, screen position, screen rotation and HDMI CEC. HDMI CEC allows you to control HDMI connected devices, in this case the TV and this Android TV box by using only one remote control. You can turn on and off the settings here.
Under Advanced Sound Settings, S/PDIF audio support allows you to enjoy high quality digital audio.
The internal shared storage is shown as 16GB here.
Under Advanced Setting, there are options for Root Switch, Performance Dialog and USB Device Mode.
Bluetooth is supported, so you can connect devices such as keyboard, mouse, speakers, headphones or many more.
If you mainly use Android TV box for streaming media, there are a lot of apps available such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Stan, Paramount+, Binge, Crunchyroll, Stremio, Plex, Tubi, Zee5, DramaBox, iQIYI and many more.
If you are looking at gaming, this box is not suitable for intensive gaming due to its small memory size. But you can still play a lot of games that are lighter on system resources.
Using this box as a productivity device works well as it supports various apps such as Microsoft Word and Excel, Google Docs and Sheet and many others.
Now let’s test playing 4K video files and see the playback performance. This is a 4K trailer of a movie and the video playback seems to be good. This Android TV box plays 4K quality video without any problem even when having only 2GB RAM. If you like to watch 4K quality movies, this Android box seems to handle it well.
Let’s test playing a YouTube video, a 4K movie trailer. The video playback quality is set to 4K. As you can see, the streaming video playback is quite smooth and clear. As I keep forwarding the video, it loads pretty quickly and plays well. If you have a non-smart TV, this Android box will let you enjoy watching 4K quality YouTube videos on a larger screen.
DRM or Digital Rights Management is a way of protecting contents from piracy. To stream and play HD quality videos from services like Netflix, Disney+ or Prime Video, the device needs to have DRM Security level L1. This Android TV box is only certified for L3, so you can’t stream HD or 4K quality videos from those protected services.
Let’s test playing a 3D game in this Android box. The game is called Riptide GP2. This is just a demonstration of game performance and graphics in the Tanix W2-A Android TV box. If you look carefully, there are places where the graphics are not sharp or lagged. Although you can play games in this box, it is not suitable for heavy gaming.
Tanix W2-A is a compact and easy to use Android TV box which performed quite well during my test. CPU System-on-Chip Amlogic S905W2 is a good platform in terms of video playback. The Alice UX is easy to use and has a responsive interface and navigation. Applications are generally loaded quickly and provide a good experience. 4K video files play without any problem. Youtube plays 4K videos without any issue. The box is more affordable than competitors.
But I also have some concerns about this TV box. It does not have the DRM security level support to play Netflix in HD or 4K. RAM is only 2GB which is small for today’s standard. Storage space is only 16GB which can run out quickly. Playing fast 3D games was ok but with some lag.
Overall, Tanix W2 is a budget Android TV box suitable for activities like watching or streaming videos, moderate gaming or productivity apps.
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