In November we had the opportunity to test the brand new PlayerOne media player for the first time. It had barely hit the market when the manufacturer R_Volution presented its successor, the PlayerOne 8K, which offers some notable improvements. Since we were already impressed by the original PlayerOne, we couldn't resist taking a closer look at the successor. At first and second glance, nothing has changed on the casing. The PlayerOne 8K logo now shines on the front, where previously only "PlayerOne" was visible. The most significant changes, however, have been made to the connections and the interior. This is undoubtedly a completely new generation. R_Volution sets new standards in all aspects.

A significant innovation that is immediately noticeable and is already included in the name is the 8K resolution. The newly launched R_Volution PlayerOne goes beyond the latest HDMI standard (HDMI 2.1a) by relying on a completely renewed CPU and GPU. This media player sets new standards in the areas of performance, image quality and processing.

It uses the high-end version of the S928X multimedia processor, equipped with the Dolby Vision VS10 engine, and offers considerable processing performance, up to twice that of the previous Realtek RTD1619DR chipset. The main processor consists of four ARM A55 cores running at 2,0 GHz and a powerful ARM A76 core running at 1,9 GHz, additionally supported by a dedicated core for system requirements. The GPU upgrade to Mali G57, coupled with ultra-fast LPDDR4X RAM and eMMC storage, enables impressive system performance. With a total Antutu score of over 300.000 points, the PlayerOne 8K significantly exceeds the performance of its previous generation.

• Dynamic HDR for optimized image quality – HDR metadata now adjusts in real time to ensure optimal depth, detail, brightness, contrast and color saturation for each scene or image.
• 8K 60p HDR video support – With four times the pixel count of 4K and eight times that of 1080p Full HD, 8K UHD resolution enables an immersive visual experience with smooth and sharp playback. The PlayerOne 8K supports 8K 60p HDR video from files and streaming with adaptive scaling for optimal viewing on all resolutions up to 8K.
• SmartTube 8K HDR with improved image quality - Benefit from higher bitrate on 8K YouTube streams thanks to AV1 codec, providing a significant improvement over 4K VP9/HEVC and improving the viewing experience on 1080p and 4K displays.
• High audio bitrate for home theater – Supports high bitrate premium audio formats including object-based audio (DTS X, Dolby Atmos, Auro3D) and uncompressed LPCM in 2.0, 5.1 and 7.1 channels.
• Full audio decoding – Enables decoding and conversion of high-quality audio formats such as DTS-HD, DTS X, TrueHD and Dolby Atmos to multi-channel LPCM (2.0, 5.1, 7.1).
• Flicker-free frame rate and resolution switching – The R_volution PlayerOne 8K eliminates unpleasant flickering when switching video modes before playback, allowing for a smoother home theater experience.

But that is not all. With its latest development, R_Volution introduces a variety of new software integrations that ensure improved and high-quality image quality. These include AI-powered image quality improvement, TruLife Image Engine, variable refresh rate (VRR), quick media switching (QMS) and source-based tone mapping.

Housing, connections & accessories

After unpacking, the first thing you notice is not the high-quality media center r_Video, but rather the housing and the variety of connections. The housing impresses with its first-class workmanship and is made entirely of metal; even the hard drive tray flap is not made of plastic. Given the price, we expect such a high-quality case that adequately represents not only the software but also the surroundings - and that's exactly the case here. The integration of the R_Volution logo is clean and gives an elegant impression. In general there are no complaints here.

The PlayerOne 8K allows for easy and quick addition and replacement of internal 3,5-inch SATA hard drives of up to 16TB, with even larger capacities possible with partitions. It also offers broad support for external media sources and powerful file transfer options. There is also another USB input below the on and off switch.

In addition to the classic remote control, the media player can also be controlled via IP and common control systems such as RTI, ProControl or Control4. Control4 was available to us in our test environment. The driver was set up quickly and the control works perfectly and, above all, very quickly.

Technical details

The PlayerOne 8K benefits from the high-end version of the latest S928X multimedia processor with integrated Dolby Vision VS10 engine. The main processor includes four ARM A55 cores at 2,0 GHz, a powerful ARM A76 core at 1,9 GHz, and an additional core for system requirements. This makes the processor performance up to 2 times higher than the Realtek RTD1619DR chipset used in the previous version of the PlayerOne. Hardware acceleration increases the performance of the R_video UI and speeds up video indexing. The GPU was upgraded to Mali G57. Together with ultra-fast LPDDR4X and eMMC, this enables impressive overall system performance. The overall Antutu score exceeds 300.000 points, which is significantly higher than the previous generation of R_volution media player.

With 8GB of RAM, twice as much as its predecessor, and a 64GB NAN eMMC ROM, also twice as large as before, the PlayerOne offers plenty of storage and even faster access times. When it comes to video and audio codec support, the PlayerOne leaves nothing to be desired, from HEVC, H.265 to Dolby Vision, and can play a variety of file formats. Audio/video synchronization customization, extensive subtitling functions and 3D hardware acceleration complete the package.

R_volution PlayerOne 8K offers HDMI 2.1a output for connecting to the latest UHD 8K TVs, projectors and A/V receivers. The HDMI 2.1a port offers up to 48Gbps as well as other improvements such as:

• Dynamic HDR (Dynamic HDR Metadata) – HDR data (depth, details, brightness, contrast and color gamut) can now be optimized scene by scene or even frame by frame.
• Full 8K 60p HDR video support – UHD 8K resolution offers four times as many pixels as 4K and eight times as many as Full HD 1080p. The 8K format offers the most immersive viewing experience and delivers a smooth and sharp image. The PlayerOne 8K supports both decoding 8K 60p HDR videos from video files and streaming content with 8Kp60 HDR video output for the best possible visual experience. The PlayerOne 8K can also downscale 8K content to any other resolution for a better experience on 1080p and 4K displays. It can also upscale any content to the glorious 8K resolution.
• SmartTube 8K HDR - Some 8K YouTube streams are encoded in the AV1 codec at a much higher bitrate (around 2x) than 4K stream playback (50 Mbps in AV1 quality is equivalent to an even higher bitrate of VP9 or HEVC) . This significantly improves image quality compared to older media players that can only play 4K VP9/HEVC, even for users with 1080p or 4K screens.
• High Audio Bitrate – Support for high bitrate home theater audio formats, object-based audio such as DTS X, Dolby Atmos and Auro3D, and uncompressed LPCM 2.0,

The R_volution PlayerOne 8K supports most digital audio and video formats, including the most modern HDR standards such as Dolby Vision and HDR10+, almost all current video file formats including MKVs, BD and UHD ISO files with full and fast BD/UHD menus, AV-1 and HEVC video codec with a billion colors, HDMI 2. 1 output 8K 60p HDR, high-resolution audio files such as DSD, AIFF, FLAC and ALAC, and has a wide solid body, Auro3D, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X for the best possible home theater experience.

• video Codecs: HEVC, H.265, x265 (up to Main10 Level 6.1 High 60p in 4K UHD), AV1 (up to 8K UHD 60p), AVC, MPEG, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, VC-1, H.264/ x.264 (up to 60p in Full HD and 24p/20 Mbps in 4K UHD), FLV, XVID, DIVX (3/4/5/6), RealVideo8/9/10, VP9 Profile 2 (up to 4K 60p and HDR); ultra high bitrate support up to 300 Mbps.
• Video File Formats: UHD ISO, BD ISO, BDMV, MKV, MPEG-TS, MPEG-PS, MPEG, MPE, MPG, TS, TP, M2TS, VOB, ASF, AVI, VC-1, MOV, MP4, QT, WebM, DVD -ISO, VIDEO_TS, RMVB, RM, DAT, VOB, FLV, DAT, WMV, AVCHD, 3D SbS/T&B.
• Dolby Vision support: UHD ISO, BDMV, MKV, MPEG-TS, TS, M2TS, MP4. Full support of Dolby Vision Profiles P5, P7 MEL, P7 FEL and P8.
• AV1 video codec support: Up to 50% better video quality compared to HEVC codec. AV1 requires up to 50% lower bitrate for the same video quality.
• Video Output Flexibility: Output videos in any resolution and format from SD to 1080p, 4K Ultra HD (3840×2160) and 8K Ultra HD (7680×4320).Up to 8K 60p. View your movies in true 24p (23.976 Hz output). Experimental support for 120Hz output.
• Audio codecs: AC-3 / Dolby Digital, EAC3, DTS, DTS-WAV, MPEG, MP3, ALAC (Apple lossless), APE (Monkey's Audio), M4A, M4A, AIFF, WAV, WavPack, VSELP, FLAC (2. 0) , AAC, AAC-LC, HEAAC, HE-AAC v2, AMR-NB, OGG (Ogg/Vorbis), RA_COOK, LPCM, PCM, ADPCM, FLA; Support for lossless and audiophile formats (up to 32-bit / 384 kHz), SACD ISO, SACD DSF, SACD DFF.
• SACD (DSD): Play high-quality Super Audio CD (DSD) music files in all popular formats (ISO, DFF, DSF), including stereo and multi-channel files as well as DST compression files. Multi-channel DSD files can be output in high-quality multi-channel PCM (up to 176,4 kHz) via HDMI. Stereo DSD files can be output via HDMI and S/PDIF in high quality stereo PCM (up to 176,4 kHz).
• Multi-channel home theater audio: Bitstream, Downmix Stereo and 5.1/7.1 (DTS, DTS-HD MA, DTS-HD HRA, DTS:X, DTS:X Pro, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital EX, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Atmos, Auro 3D ).
• Playlist file formats: M3U, PLS, CUE.
• Subtitle formats: SRT (Subrip / external), SUB (MicroDVD) (external), Text (MKV), SSA/ASS (MKV, external), VobSub (MP4, MKV, SUB/IDX external), SMI (Sami), IDX, PGS ( UHD ISO, BD ISO, BDMV, M2TS, MKV), DVBSUB (DVB-T, DVB-S, DVB-C).

Movies are recorded at 24 frames per second (fps), but most video or Blu-ray files are recorded at 23,976 fps. Today, many multimedia players output a video signal at 24.000 Hz. However, this conversion leads to stuttering problems, especially in video projectors. R_volution's Real Cinema technology maintains the original frame rate of the file, whether in 23.976 fps or 24.000 fps, until the final display, to enjoy the same fluidity as in the cinema and preserve the original integrity of the work being displayed. On the other hand, thanks to the autoframe rate, the player automatically switches to the correct output frequency depending on the frame rate of the file: 23,976 Hz, 24 Hz, 50 Hz and 59,94 Hz (60 Hz), depending on the type of file being played.

R_Video the media center

In addition to the high-quality workmanship and the technical aspect, the r_video Media Center software is of course another highlight, if not the HIGHLIGHT. The hardware-optimized performance of the media player in combination with the R_Video software ensures a user-friendly experience as well as high-quality image and sound reproduction. The R_Video software requires an account that can be activated with the included license key (TOKEN). This TOKEN can be found on the device nameplate. It is recommended to photograph or note this before installation. When you purchase the media player, lifelong cloud access and use of the software are included or as long as the manufacturer R_Volution offers it or exists. If the cloud no longer works, a so-called standalone mode takes effect. This means that the database works even without a cloud connection as long as the film database (TMDB) is available and accessible.

When used with the PlayerOne 8K, the r_Video software is not only extremely fast, but also has an amazing range of functions. Despite the large range and range of functions, the media center is easy and innovative to use.

In addition to extensive sorting options, spectacular background animations, film background music, things like child protection systems and film trailer functions are also available. In addition to the posters for films, series and concerts collected in various databases such as TMDB, R_video offers its own poster database: R_videoDB. These tens of thousands of posters were designed by the R_video graphic design team specifically for the aspect ratio of the R_video interface. Thanks to these high-quality posters, available in multiple languages, film and concert titles are always readable, important visual elements and text are not cut off and fit perfectly with the graphical interface. The posters are cleaned, restored and standardized to ensure the best possible viewing experience. The R_video DB database currently contains around 18.000 posters and background images for the most popular and newest films and concerts, but also many classic films. The amazing R_video interface offers the best AI available on the market to organize your movie library. R_video offers advanced features that allow you to create custom categories or groups of movies while listening to your movies' original soundtracks in the background, download subtitles, customize the homepage and buttons, including special top banners like Director's Cuts or Unreviewed Editions, or add your own personal film covers, backgrounds or soundtracks. In addition, the child protection code protects your children from adult content.

The multi-room function of the media library in conjunction with several R_Volution media players is also interesting. With the "R_share" function, you can share video files stored on the internal (or external) hard drive with other R_volution media players. With "R_share" you can benefit from a real multi-room video system and play up to 4 files simultaneously in different rooms in Blu-ray quality! (up to 2 in UHD quality). You can also share other types of media files such as music or photo content. Thanks to R_sync, your film collections are automatically synchronized with your other R_Players (multi-room) and with all your MAC and PC computers! It will soon also be possible to access your own database with the r_video software for Windows and Mac and make all changes conveniently with a mouse and keyboard. Alternatively, it is also possible to connect the keyboard and mouse directly to the PlayerOne media player via USB. This worked smoothly and without problems in our test. It is possible that not all keyboards and mice are compatible.

R_video is currently supported in 32 other languages ​​in addition to German. All user interface translations can be corrected and changed by users using a powerful translation tool. The changes are saved in a kind of database and released for voting. The translation with the most voting results will then be set automatically and integrated into the next software update.

R_Volution PlayerOne and PlayerOne 8K in comparison

Model	Playerone	Player One 8K
chipset	RTD1619DR	S928X
process pr	6-core	5-core
RAM	4 GB	8 GB
EMMC memory	32 GB	64 GB
Dolby Vision	Ja	Ja
Dolby VS10	Ja	Ja
HDR10 +	Ja	Ja
HDR10	Ja	Ja
AI Image Quality Enhancement	No	Ja
TruLife Image Engine	No	Ja
Variable Refresh Rate (VRR)	No	Ja
Quick Media Switching (QMS)	No	Ja
Source Based Tone Mapping	No	Ja
8K video decoding	No	Yes (hardware)
8K video output	No	Ja
120Hz output	No	Experimental
HDMI Version	2.0b	2.1a
HDMI Audio Only	Yes	Ja
HDD rack enclosure	Yes	Yes
Dual HDD rack enclosure	No	No
Front opening HDD rack	Ja	Ja
Hidden HDD Rack (vertical door)	Ja	Ja
IR extenders	Ja	Ja
Internal power supply	Ja	Ja
Audio analog output	RCA	3.5mm mini jack
Removable Wi-Fi antennas	Ja	Ja
Bluetooth antenna	Yes (5.0)	Yes (5.2)
High sensitivity IR sensor	Ja	Ja
Headphone Output	No	3.5mm mini jack
Rack mount kit option	Ja	Ja
Full standard rack width	43cm/16.9in	43cm/16.9in
Front panel USB ports	x1 (USB 2.0)	x1 (USB 2.0)
USB Ports	x4 (2.0/3.0/C)	x3 (USB 3.0)
Coaxial audio digital output	Ja	Ja
Acoustic insulation of the feet	Ja	Ja
audio processor	Dual chip	Dual chip
Front screen panel	LCD	LCD
Windscreen ON/OFF option	Ja	Ja
Widevine Level 1 DRM	Ja	Ja
Streaming resolution	1080p / 4K	1080p/8K HDR
AV sync. Adjustment	fwd/bwd	fwd/bwd
Android version	9.0	11
SMB version	V2	V2
Zoom for video content	Ja	Ja
Forced subtitle support	Ja	Ja
Thumbnails in Explorer	Ja	Ja
DVD chapter	Ja	Ja
Movie soundtracks	Ja	Ja
Animated backgrounds	Ja	Ja
Custom Top Movie Covers	Ja	Ja
DSD Multichanel	Ja	Ja
3D	SbS/TB/Frame Packing	SbS/TB
Flicker Free Auto Framerate	No	Ja
AV1 codec support	No	Ja
Wi-Fi	v.5	v.6

Conclusion

R_Volution revolutionizes image quality with advanced features: AI-powered image optimization, TruLife Image Engine, variable refresh rates (VRR), fast switching between media content (QMS) and source-based tone mapping. Together, these technologies ensure a significant increase in quality and take the presentation of all media content to a new level. Thanks to increased definition and precise signal processing, the image achieves reference quality. The PlayerOne 8K also sets new standards in the area of ​​sound quality with the option of an external high-end power cable in its price range of 799 euros. The offer is completed by the latest Amlogic S928X-K/J chipset, which enables many of the features mentioned - and at a reasonable price. A clear recommendation! We are excited.