H618 – Allwinner Quad-Core Cortex-A53 4K/8K Multimedia Application Processor

Product Overview

The H618 is a quad-core multimedia application processor / Android TV Box SoC manufactured by Allwinner Technology. It is designed for OTT TV boxes, Android TV devices, streaming media players, smart display terminals, digital signage, thin clients, and cost-effective multimedia embedded systems.

Allwinner’s official product page describes the H618 as integrating a 4-core Arm Cortex-A53 CPU, supporting up to 8K@24fps H.265 decoding, 4K@25fps H.264 encoding, 4K@60fps HDMI output, TV CVBS output, and HDR formats including HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, and HDR vivid. 

The H618 is widely used in Android TV box products. CNX Software reported that the H618 appeared in Android 12 TV boxes and supports 6K/4K VP9 and H.265 video playback, while Think-Core’s H618 SoM documentation lists a quad-core 64-bit Cortex-A53 CPU, Mali-G31 MP2 GPU, LPDDR4 memory, and eMMC storage options.

Part Number Breakdown

Competitive Advantages

✔ Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 64-bit CPU architecture

✔ Arm Mali-G31 MP2 GPU commonly used in H618 modules / TV boxes

✔ Supports up to 8K@24fps H.265 decoding

✔ Supports 4K@60fps HDMI output

✔ Supports HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, and HDR vivid

✔ Supports 4K@25fps H.264 encoding

✔ Available in module designs with LPDDR4 and eMMC options

✔ Widely used in Android TV boxes, OTT media players, streaming devices, smart displays, and digital signage products

Key Features

1. Quad-Core Arm Cortex-A53 CPU

The H618 integrates a quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 CPU, providing a 64-bit processing platform for Android TV boxes and embedded multimedia systems.

Benefits:

• Suitable for Android TV and Linux multimedia products
• Handles streaming apps, UI, network services, and playback control
• Cost-effective performance for mass-market OTT boxes
• Better software compatibility than older 32-bit platforms

2. Arm Mali-G31 MP2 GPU

H618 module and TV-box references commonly list an Arm Mali-G31 MP2 GPU. Think-Core’s H618 SoM listing identifies the GPU as Mali-G31 MP2. 

Benefits:

• Supports Android graphical user interfaces
• Useful for TV launcher UI and multimedia rendering
• Provides GPU acceleration for entry-level graphics workloads
• Suitable for low-cost smart display and streaming terminals

3. 8K H.265 Video Decoding

Allwinner’s official H618 page lists support for up to 8K@24fps H.265 decoding. 

Benefits:

• Supports high-resolution media playback pipelines
• Useful for OTT boxes and local media players
• Reduces CPU load during video decoding
• Helps deliver smooth playback in multimedia products

4. 4K@60fps HDMI Output

The H618 supports up to 4K@60fps HDMI output, according to Allwinner’s official product page. 

Benefits:

• Suitable for 4K TV boxes and streaming devices
• Enables high-resolution display output
• Useful for digital signage and smart display terminals
• Supports modern TV and monitor connection requirements

5. HDR Format Support

Allwinner lists support for HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, and HDR vivid on the H618. 

Benefits:

• Improves video display quality on compatible TVs
• Supports richer contrast and color performance
• Useful for OTT streaming and premium media playback
• Helps TV box manufacturers market HDR-capable devices

6. 4K H.264 Video Encoding

The H618 supports up to 4K@25fps H.264 encoding, according to Allwinner’s official page. 

Benefits:

• Useful for video capture and recording products
• Supports camera or HDMI-processing use cases depending design
• Reduces CPU workload for encoding tasks
• Suitable for multimedia terminals and display devices

7. LPDDR4 and eMMC Module Options

Think-Core’s H618 SoM lists onboard LPDDR4 2GB / 4GB and eMMC 8GB / 32GB options. 

Benefits:

• Simplifies product development using ready-made modules
• Supports Android TV firmware storage requirements
• Allows different RAM / storage product SKUs
• Reduces hardware design complexity for OEM/ODM projects

8. Android TV Box Ecosystem

CNX Software reported that the H618 powers Android 12 TV boxes and supports 6K/4K VP9 and H.265 video playback. 

Benefits:

• Proven use in mass-market Android TV boxes
• Suitable for OTT streaming media devices
• Helps OEMs develop cost-effective TV box products
• Supports common consumer multimedia use cases