Articles

INTRODUCTION

   If you're into electronics and you enjoy watching movies on your large TV screen then in all likelihood to date you've owned at least one standalone hardware media player. Standalone hardware media players were extremely popular just 5 years ago and although right now most "smart" TV screens feature built-in hardware media players for the really demanding users out there standalone models are still the way to go. We've covered the various reasons standalone media players (certainly not every single model out there) are better at what they do compared to built-in models but the ones at the top are video and audio quality, available settings and compatibility with media files. Now I’m not about to claim I’ve used every single smart TV out there cause i honestly haven't. Still i have used several Samsung, LG, SONY and Toshiba models with prices ranging from 300Euros and all the way up to 4000Euros with less than satisfactory results when trying to playback heavy bitrate FullHD media files. Dune HD released their brand new Solo 4k compatible standalone media player back in February (announced in December last year) and today after roughly 3 months of testing both at the lab and office we can finally release our review.

   Dune HD is recognized as a global leader in high-performance digital media players. Over the last five years Dune HD has received more awards than any other company in the category for delivering the very best in networked digital media devices. Dune HD products support the widest number of digital formats in use today, from Internet-based digital streaming and downloadable content, to disc based formats such as Blu-ray, DVD and CD. The Dune HD line of media players offers superior quality HD video and audio with support for IPTV, VOD, OTT, networked digital files and interactive services.

   The Solo 4k is housed inside a compact plastic and metal enclosure but don't let that fool you since it's got plenty of power under the hood. This time over Dune HD has paired the latest SMP8758 SoC media processor by Sigma Designs which features an ARM A9 dual-core (@1.2GHz) processor that sports performance of up to 6000 DMIPS (Million Instructions per Second) with their ZM5304 Z-Wave smart home antenna module, 1GB RAM and 4GB of flash memory. The Sigma Designs SMP8758 media processor fully supports playback of FullHD 1080p60 and UHD 4kp30 content (HEVC 4Kp30 VOD, 3D and 10-bit video included) and is compatible with a wide range of media codecs (HEVC, VP9, H.264, MPEG-4.2-ASP, SMPTE 421M, AVS, H.261, DV AAC, HE-AAC, Dolby MS-12, DTS and WMA9) and audio formats up to 24-bit/192 KHz. In terms of connectivity the small size of the enclosure doesn't keep the Solo 4k from carrying an internal 2.5" rack, 2 USB 2.0 ports, HDMI 1.4b port, composite video and analog stereo audio output, coaxial S/PDIF, IR extender port, Gigabit Ethernet port, two external Wi-Fi antennas (802.11b/g/n/ac 2.4/5GHz client) and a DVB-T/T2 RF input (also features a built-in digital TV tuner by Silicon Labs). So although compact the Solo 4k packs more features than even the Dune HD Max which I’ve been using for many years now so let's see just how good it is.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 Dune HD ships the Solo 4k inside a small (yet thick) white box that has a large product picture at the front right over several logos of the main product features.

The features list is placed on the left side of the box.

You can take a look at the specifications, bundle contents and a picture of the available device connectors from the rear of the box.

The player is placed inside a piece of black foam which should protect it sufficiently during shipping.

Leaving out the main body of the Solo 4k you will also receive a remote control with its two AAA batteries, two Antennas, HDMI cable, composite cable, IR extender cable with a double side piece of tape, power adapter with EU/UK tips, two wall mount brackets with their mounting screws, quick start guide, warranty information paper and the user manual.

THE SOLO 4K

 The enclosure of the Solo 4k measures just 133mm in length, 133mm in width and 36mm in height so as already mentioned numerous times this is a compact media player.

 Dune HD has placed their logo on top of the enclosure.

A single USB 2.0 port is located at the lower right corner of the fascia.

Moving at the rear we see the DVB-T/T2 input, two Antenna ports, IR extender port, Audio/Video out, Gigabit Ethernet port, USB 2.0 port and the DC in with an small on/off switch at the top.

Turning the device over there is four round rubber feet and two thumbscrews.

The thumbscrews hold the 2.5" rack in place so if you want to mount a 2.5" HDD/SSD you will need to remove them.

The rack can hold 7mm 2.5" drives and if you plan on using the Solo 4k with UHD 4k content (or if you want to record TV programs) we truly recommend doing so.

You will need to install both Antennas if you don't have wired Ethernet connectivity where you will place the player (or if you plan on using the Z-Wave module).

Dune HD bundles a nice quality remote control with the Solo 4k but once again it comes without any kind of illumination (not a decisive factor really but some people do consider this as quite important).

GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE

 
Dune HD has been using the same GUI for as long as i can remember so once again from the sources menu you can access the local network and all attached devices (USB or 2.5" drive).

You can access TV stations either via digital or cable from the TV menu.

From the applications tab not only can you launch the android part of the device or the Z-Wave controller application (for some weird reason the application didn't recognize the player) but you can also access various "secondary" applications like the dune store, web browser, radio time (digital radio stations), shoutcast (audio streaming application), gismeteo (weather forecast), yandex.disk (Cloud), youtube, facebook, twitter, media collection, movie collection, recent files, ivi.ru (video streaming service), russia.ru (blog), vidimax (on-demand movie service) and videomore.ru (CTC station streaming).

The setup part of the GUI is pretty much where you will find all available settings so from here you can change the time, video modes and output, audio output and modes, Wi-Fi mode, choose which applications you want to be displayed, change media encoding, adjust power management, change GUI background images (this is not the default GUI image but the one we chose to use for this review), check for new firmware updates, clear the flash memory, and check general information about the player.

AUDIO & VIDEO QUALITY

Thanks to several full MKV rips of our blu-rays and "pure" 4k content courtesy of SONY (unfortunately our screen does not support 3D so we couldn't test with such content) we had the chance to test the Solo 4k quite thoroughly and so just like always Sigma Designs has launched a media processor that might as well offer the best image and audio quality among similar solutions. Now you may not be able to see the complete detail in each of the above screenshots (Avatar is at FullHD 1080p - upscaled obviously - and all the rest are UHD 4k ones) since unlike KODI we can't "grab" screenshots directly from the player so we had to use our D3300 for that but that aside you should be able to see the vibrant colors and level of sharpness (wish you could see the smooth playback as well). Audio quality is also quite impressive even though my 5.1/7.1 surround sound systems are certainly not state of the art (can only imagine how a better system would perform. Unfortunately during 4k playback we did encounter some audio issues and although at first we thought it was because some of the content we used was 4kp50 (only 4kp30 is officially supported) in the end the "culprit" was no other than the USB 2.0 port so these issues were all resolved by mounting a Seagate 2.5" HDD and playing the files from there.

CONCLUSION

   Dune HD is one of those companies that really require no introductions and the same applies for Sigma Designs since they’ve been at the vanguard of media player development since day one. All the previous media players I had the chance to use by Dune HD were at the top of their class with many features and although the MAX is still my favorite media player I can’t deny that the Solo 4k surpasses it in every possible way (leaving out the Blu-Ray module of the MAX of course which I found to be very convenient) pretty much because of the SMP8758 media processor which according to Sigma Designs Is up to 4 times more powerful than the ones used in previous models (includes an ARM A9 dual-core processor and quad-core Mali GPU). For reasons unknown Dune HD decided to use the “older” HDMI 1.4b output instead of the new HDMI 2.0 standard and that’s why it only supports 4kp30 and is not “really” compatible with 4kp50/60 (4K@50/60) content. I’m sure Dune HD had their reasons for doing so (or Sigma Designs for that matter) but it’s a strange choice regardless. Also although I’m not much into watching TV channels I did like the built in DVB-T digital TV-tuner since it gives something extra to people who may want a good media player for their “older” TV set and are also in need of a DVB-T tuner. Dune HD also used the latest Z-Wave controller module but it’s not something currently used in many devices and at least for now I see very little use for it. When and if it takes off however I’m sure many people will be happy this little device came with it. I was slightly disappointed with the fact that the Solo 4k didn’t come with an illuminated remote (unlike the TV-303D) and also lacked an optical audio output especially since many AV amplifiers and even soundbars have those instead of HDMI connectors (they do have 3.5mm ports but I’d still prefer an optical one) but I guess we can’t have it all especially in such a compact media player. One of the things that surprised us was the Wi-Fi receiver since even at roughly 11 meters away from our modem/router it worked like a charm but as you can see for yourselves in the GUI section I did prefer the safety offered by wired connectivity when performing firmware updates.

   Dune HD is considered to be the “Mercedes” of media players so their products are not known for their low prices. For good or bad the Solo 4k UHD HEVC media player is not an exception to that rule and so currently it sells for USD419 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 315Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk). Of course for that money you’re not just getting one of the best media players in the market today but a DVB-T digital tuner and what may be the center of your smart home in a few years (if Sigma Designs Z-Wave technology becomes popular that is). Can you find a lower-cost solution with roughly the same features? Probably but then again that applies to most things in the market especially in the electronics segment. Still since Dune HD is among the only manufacturers that use the latest media processors by Sigma Designs the moment they get released I’d say that they are in their very own league. Overall I still love the MAX model (mainly due to its Blu-Ray player) but the Solo 4k and the newly announced Duo 4k (should be here with us soon so expect a review in January/February) are certainly many steps above it and for that today the Solo 4k gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Compact Size
- Top Notch Performance (Sigma Designs SMP8758)
- Compatible With UHD HEVC 4kp30 VOD, 3D And 10-Bit Media Content
- 2.5" HDD Rack
- Z-Wave Controller Module
- Easy To Navigate GUI
- Built-In Wi-Fi
- Built-In DVB-T Digital Tuner
- Product Support

CONS

- HDMI v1.4b
- Price (For Some)
- Regular Remote Control (Not Illuminated)
- No Optical Audio Digital Output