Review: Mecool KM7 Plus gives Google TV some flexibility for a reasonable price

Ben Schoon | May 3 2023 - 10:05 am PT

Google TV’s strength is in streaming services, but its Android base means you can do a whole lot more behind the scenes – but only if the performance and hardware hold up. The Mecool KM7 Plus is a Google TV box with plenty of ports and excellent performance, all for a fairly affordable price point.

Mecool is an Android TV OS brand that’s not particularly well known but has produced some excellent hardware over the past few years. The main standout, though, has always been the brand’s set-top boxes which offer a plethora of ports to fit just about any need at a much lower cost than the Nvidia Shield TV Pro.

That’s what sets the Mecool KM7 Plus apart. In a world of Google TV devices that have a singular port, this streamer packs two full-size USB ports, a microSD card slot, an audio jack, HDMI, full-size Ethernet, and also a S/PDIF port which can be used for optical audio (also known as TOSLINK). It’s a very flexible setup on a hardware basis, which opens the door to using this device in just about any way you’d like.

In the software, it’s got a clean install of Google TV based on Android TV 11. That’s running on 2 GB of RAM with 16 GB of built-in storage, double that of the Chromecast with Google TV and every other Google TV streaming add-on we’ve seen thus far. The chip is the Amlogic S905Y4, an AV1-capable chip that should be solid for years to come. In terms of raw performance, I was generally very happy with the whole setup, and it was nice to have plenty of breathing room for apps.

Plus, this device ships with the same Google TV reference remote we’ve covered in the past. It’s comfortable to hold, built pretty well, has excellent battery life and connection status, and supports IR for soundbars or the TV you’re connected to.

But, like other Mecool devices I’ve used in the past, the experience wasn’t without some hiccups.

One of the issues I ran into was trouble with HDR content from the Amazon Prime Video app. There was a lot of screen flashing and artifacting throughout the show, enough to pretty much ruin the viewing experience. This wasn’t a problem within Disney+ and other apps I tried, though, so your results may vary, but inconsistent HDR issues seem relatively common from other Mecool users I’ve heard from. Keep in mind you’re also giving up Dolby Vision and Atmos here. Mecool also tells me that it’s looking into HDR issues to be fixed in future updates.

Another small problem I had was with power controls over CEC. When connected to my Hisense TV, the Mecool KM7 Plus would turn off completely when the TV did, requiring a full restart the next time I wanted to use it and for me to use the TV’s remote to get back to the box. This wasn’t a problem on other TVs I used, though, and Mecool showed me how the power controls work in their own testing, so it may simply be a niche problem or a flaw in the HDMI cable included with the box.

Should you buy the Mecool KM7 Plus? At $78.99, it’s not a bad proposition for Google TV with a lot more flexibility. You get far more ports, easy storage expansion, and better overall specs than you’d find on something like Google’s Chromecast. The only things that give me pause are the assorted software quirks I ran into. But on the whole, you’re getting good performance, an excellent remote, and flexible hardware, all for a reasonable price, and that at least feels worth giving a shot if it fits your needs.

You can get the Mecool KM7 Plus from major retailers such as Amazon and Walmart, but you’ll be paying a $10 upcharge. The best price is available directly on Mecool’s website, and you can score an even better deal using the coupon May15 at checkout.