You will like it Kenny. I donât think you can go wrong with any of those that you listed.
Onn boxes are great and provide most of us with what we need!
Agree @Franksr I use Onn boxes on all of my TVs except for my main television where we watch most of our content and on that one I use a more expensive device. But, that really isnât necessary as the Onn boxes are so good. Devices like these are more for people who want more storage, better remote, etc.
Great intro to the Formula Z Ultra. Iâve been on the fence what with the new Onn Plus being so good. 128gig internal will be good for recordings as I donât save them. This allows me to keep my Shield Pro as my main here at home. Iâll bring the Z12 down to my winter residence and I wonât have to get a second Tivimate subscription. This allows me to say good bye to all my Firestick 4K Maxsâ. Got a delivery date from Amazon for October 1, must be a popular item.
@TROYPOINT - do you find that thereâs less CPU bottleneck with the Z12 when it comes to VPN decryption - hopefully resulting in better overall speeds when VPN is used and speed tests are performed.
I think in your impressions video, you were speed testing your gigabit connection without vpn on.
I think, with my shield pro, my Tegra cpu bottlenecks vpn speeds. With surfshark and Proton, I can get d/l speeds of around 430-470 on a 500mbps connection. On my shield, with wireguard, I get 160-190 at best. Worse on my Onn boxes.
I was hoping to see with a faster SoC from the Z12, this may be less of an issue.
I still get plenty for my viewing needs, but I get hung up with inefficiency. 
Got mine today, was very excited until I tried to set the remote up to run my tv and surround amp. Said it recognized them but not so much. Wouldnât run the volume on the receiver and wouldnât turn everything off together. Sometimes all, then other times not. Staying with the 4k pro. Works like a charm. I know Troy had issues with the z12 not recognizing his tv. Well it recognized mine but alas no cigar! lol. Sending it back!
Maybe these links will help - remote TV codes.
I have seen on another forum, one brand of tv used another brands codes simply because of where it was manufactured.
I cancelled my order due to the remote issue. Besides, I wouldnât have gotten it until October 1st to 3rd. Iâll wait until the review is complete and if the remote issue is fixed Iâll order one. Btw, I run a home theater system with a shield pro connected directly to a Yamaha RX573 feeding a NEC commercial 53â TV (was used for electronic signage) all via CEC which works perfectly. I also have an Onn 4K Pro connected to another HDMI port and al work flawlessly.
Thanks for the info Mike. The issue isnât codes though. You hit test in the set up and look for the volume control to move up and down. That worked for my Sony tv. Then you do another for your amplifier which I have a marantz. No volume control movement and I tried all 9 tests. I even tried manually remote to remote. I watch everything with my 7.1 surround system, so maybe Iâll try the nvidia shield pro next. Cheers!!
Thank you, sir
I watch everything with my 7.1 surround system
In that case I donât see why you would be looking at the Z12 unless you are going to do a 2(or more) box setup. The Z12 doesnât support DTS so wouldnât be getting the most out of your system. The Shield would work, or you could check out the Ugoos boxes if you want to move away from certified boxes.
Hello @mthr1 I will test the VPN speeds soon and report back.
The Z12 supports Dolby atmos and Dolby vision also has a 1 gig Ethernet port. Thatâs why I got it. But sheâs gone now!
Yes, but it doesnât support DTS which is major in movies and remux files. With that sound system you have it deserves full support. Hope you find something you like.
Most higher end boxes wonât natively decode DTS through onboard hardware, but rather allow pass-through for DTS to be decoded by the home theater AVR.
It works great, assuming you have a receiver that decodes and implements well.
I agree, my Marantz decodes most audio. I just pick. Atmos seems to sound better on my system.
For me, through my Denon, I find that Atmos sounds superior OVER vanilla DTS. DTS-HD Master sources sound âcanâ sound as good as most Atmos tracks but not as good as highly implemented Atmos reference tracks.
Though my AVR can decode DTS-X, I just donât have access to enough sources using that highest grade of DTS to compare with.
Diggin the Marantz avr. And moreover love Troypoint Insider! Great place to learn new things!! Cheers!
Most of what I consider highend do: Shield Pro, Ugoos, Minix, Dune, Zidoo etc. The only ones that donât are Buzz and Formuler which I get since they are focused on IPTV with their own software. At least they have DV and Atmos. But even many TV series remuxes will have DTS audio. If passthrough works then great but dropping down to compatibility audio can be harsh, especially for a nice 7.1 setup.
Passthrough can be a dark art like CEC. When it works it is great, when it doesnât it is extremely frustrating. For example, while researching the Buzz P6 for a possible emulation device the reports for passthrough were all over the place. I have no idea how Formuler is with passthrough, but I wouldnât take it for granted. It gets even more complicated if you run through the TV inputs and use ARC because of a lack of inputs on the receiver etc.
My intent wasnât to derail this thread off of the intended subject but just to say it seems @kik has a nice sound system and would enjoy full audio compatibility. But in the end, it is all in the eye/ear of the beholder. I have a friend who has a 100â TV and uses the TVâs built-in speakers, not even a basic soundbar. Watching a movie on that big, beautiful screen and having that flat audio drives me crazy but heâs happy so thatâs all that matters.
Optical S/PDIF port returned on Z12 Ultra with Dolby atmos and Dolby vision support being added due to demand from users (Z7+ and Z8 had this port / Z10 pro and Z11 pro did not have this port)
All the Formuler boxes I have setup connect to a tv, my friend being the only one will benefit from Dolby atmos and Dolby vision with his setup