As I most recently mentioned back in March, I’ve dissected a lot of media streamers over the years, most of them from well-known suppliers such as Amazon, Apple, Google and Roku. One manufacturer you might not be aware of, although seemingly a growing presence in this segment of the electronics business, is Walmart, with its line of streamers and other products branded via the onn. moniker. Walmart? Why?
Originally, I thought that the company’s media streamer “push” might be related to its 2010 acquisition of Vudu, one of the early pioneers in online media content distribution (where it competed against, for example, the then-embryonic online division at then-optical-disc-still-dominant Netflix). But then I learned while researching this particular piece that Walmart had subsequently sold Vudu to Fandango a decade later (in 2020), which made Walmart’s subsequent partnership with Paramount+ more sensical…on that note, the onn. UHD Streaming Device we’re looking at today wasn’t introduced until mid-2021.
So again, why? I suspect it has at least something to do with the Android TV-then-Google TV commodity software foundation on which Google’s own Chromecast with Google TV series along with the TiVo box I tore down for March 2024 publication (for example) are also based, which also allows for generic hardware. Combine that with a widespread distribution network:
Today, Walmart operates more than 10,500 stores and clubs in 19 countries and eCommerce websites.
and a compelling (translation: impulse purchase candidate) price point ($30 at intro, vs $20 more for the comparable-resolution 4K variant of Google’s own Chromecast with Google TV). And you’ve got, I suspect Walmart executives were thinking, a winner on your hands, starting with the original Android TV-based UHD (3840×2160 pixel, alternately stated as 4-times 1920×1080 pixel FHD) Streaming Device “box”, soon afterward joined by a FHD “stick” sibling, and both subsequently obsoleted by Google TV-based successors…all of which are queued up on the bookshelf to my right for sooner-or-later teardown purposes.
When I bought the UHD Streaming Device we’ll be dissecting today in October 2021 (with a teardown in mind from the very beginning…clearly, it took me a while to actualize this particular aspiration!), it was even less expensive, $19.88 online. Here are “stock” images of it:
its companion remote control:
the full kit contents, also including a HDMI cable and a microUSB-connection power supply:
and a representation of what it all looks like hooked up and operational:
And here are the outer box shots of today’s actual patient:
Cute, huh?
Let’s see what’s inside…
The smaller of the two internal cardboard enclosures houses the Bluetooth-interface remote control and its pair of AAA batteries. I’ll take a pass on dissecting the former, instead keeping it as a spare under the assumption that it’ll also work with newer-generation Walmart onn. devices. The latter will assuredly find alternative use elsewhere:
The larger inside box contains the media streamer device, along with its companion power supply and a HDMI cable (which will also assuredly find alternative use elsewhere):
Here are a couple of closeup shots of the PSU, showcasing its microUSB output and specs:
Post-teardown, I happened to also notice a bit of documentation still stuck inside the outer box:
And now for our patient, as usual accompanied by a 0.75″ (19.1 mm) diameter U.S. penny for size comparison purposes (per the product page, the device has dimensions of 4.90” x 4.90” x 0.80” and weighs 1.2 lbs., which seems overly heavy to me. Mebbe that latter spec also included the box and everything else in it?). Top first:
Now the bottom:
Here’s a closeup of the underside sticker, revealing (among other things) FCC ID H8N-8822CS. Note, too the “Contains” prefix, which I hadn’t encountered before. Hold that thought:
I hesitate a bit to call this next viewpoint the “front” because I wouldn’t personally be enthralled with seeing a microUSB cable sticking out of a device sitting on top of my TV, but absent any better idea I’ll go with it per the “representation of what it all looks like hooked up and operational” stock photo I showed earlier (a reminder, too, that the blue glow seen here and in other shots is from the OWC MiniStack STX on my desk behind the teardown victim):
If the previous shot was indeed of the “front”, then I guess this one’s of the bare left side:
Around back is the HDMI connector:
And last but not least, on the right side, are an activity LED and a remote control pairing (along with multi-function undocumented factory reset and recovery mode access) switch:
That underside sticker I showed you earlier is often a pathway inside a device (specifically, via screws or other latching mechanisms underneath it), but not so in this case (bad pun intended). Instead, I focused my “spudger” attention on the seam running around the bottom edges:
That did the trick!
See the two screw heads, one in the upper right and the other at lower left?
You know what comes next, right?
Be free, little PCB!
And now the PCB topside is exposed to view, too:
Note the sizeable heatsink here! Heat rises, don’cha know, therefore the topside presence.
You probably already saw those Faraday cages on both sides, too. And regular readers already know what comes next now. Bottom side first:
I couldn’t get the cage to pop cleanly off but ripping it to shreds instead accomplished the same “see what’s underneath” objective 
albeit with a less cosmetically attractive outcome. That’s a Nanya Technology NT5AD512M16H4-HR 8 Gbit DDR4-2666 x16 SDRAM under the lid. And below it, normally exposed to view, is a Samsung KLM8G1GETF-B041 8 GByte eMMC flash memory module.
Now back to the topside. The cage top popped off cleanly this time:
Here’s a closeup:
Easy stuff first: at top is the HDMI connector. At bottom is the microSD power input. To the right is the multi-function switch. And above/next to it is the LED, which points straight up from the board. How does it end up shining out the side of the device? Via this nifty light pipe, of course!
Now for the various ICs on this side of the board. Exposing to view, therefore identifying, the first one necessitated a bit more upfront surgery:
It’s another Nanya 8 Gbit DDR4 SDRAM. The markings on the large square IC to its right are faint, so you’ll have to take my word on the identity, but its proximity to the earlier noted heatsink should be a tipoff: it’s the system’s “brains”, an Amlogic S905Y2. Can I just say that I’m not surprised to find the exact same SoC inside as the one found in the TiVo RA2400 Stream 4K I tore down just a couple months back? Along with the exact same DRAM and flash memory allocation? “Straight-to-production private-labeled reference design”, anyone?
That said, the two products’ guts aren’t completely identical. The Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module in the TiVo was the AP6398S, based on Broadcom’s BCM43598. Here, conversely, it’s Askey Computer’s 8822CS, which seemingly has Realtek wireless transceiver silicon inside. And if the H8N-8822CS FCC ID conveniently also stamped atop the module sounds familiar, it should: that’s the same code that was on the case-underside sticker I showed you earlier!
One other set of wireless-related deviations between the two designs also bears mentioning. The TiVo RA2400 Stream 4K had PCB-embedded its Bluetooth and Wi-Fi antennae. Here, on the other hand, they’re jutting out of the board, and funny looking (at least to me) to boot. The one in the upper right corner handles Wi-Fi, I’m guessing; note the black wire extending to it from a connector below it and to the left of the switch. And by the process of elimination, I’m guessing the one in the lower right must handle Bluetooth. The system’s Bluetooth remote facilities are an Achilles Heel, apparently, judging from this video:
along with various reviews and user-complaint posts I came across while doing my research.
I’ll wrap up with four side-view shots (oh, that poor mangled bottom-side Faraday cage…):
And in closing, here’s a lengthy forum thread for any of you who are interested in hacking yours. And with that, I’ll close and turn it over to you for your thoughts in the comments!
—Brian Dipert is the Editor-in-Chief of the Edge AI and Vision Alliance, and a Senior Analyst at BDTI and Editor-in-Chief of InsideDSP, the company’s online newsletter.
Related Content
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- Are streaming sticks the present and future?
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