Little Black Box

corkscott

Has anyone had a look at this, http://www.thelittleblackbox.nl/en/
I have been using XBMC for a while now with a PC with all my media upstairs and another PC in the living room which is connected to my 42" TV in the kitchen so I can't hear it in the next room. But now I am currently installing a projector in the sitting room and looking to get something quiet to use in there.
What are your impressions of the Little Black Box I was going to buy a Mac Mini and use that or build a dedicated HTPC but this little box looks great for the money.:)

Johnboy1951

Got a link to the specifications?

Specs are on the website, its an Amlogic M3 box.

Johnboy1951

Deleted User wrote: »

Specs are on the website, its an Amlogic M3 box.

If I could see the specs I would not have asked ....... and I still cannot see the specs so your post was not at all helpful.

Thank you anyway.

corkscott

here are specs

An XBMC Linux STB called The Little Black Box has been officially announced today. This XBMC device is powered by AMLogic AML8726-M3 @ 1 GHz, and comes with 1GB RAM, 4GB Flash, HDMI and AV output and more..

Little Black Box hardware specifications:
SoC – AMLogic AML8726-M3 ARM Cortex A9 @ 1GHz + Mali-400 GPU

Dual Sided Remote
System Memory – 1GB RAM
Storage – 4GB NAND Flash
Video Output – HDMI (1080p) and composite
Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet + 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
USB – 2x USB host ports
Weight – 500 g
Dimensions – 10 x 10 x 3 cm
The package will come with the box, a dual sided RF remote with a qwerty keyboard and standard remote buttons (pictured on the right), an HDMI cable, a power supply, and a quick start guide.

Diddy Kong

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

If I could see the specs I would not have asked ....... and I still cannot see the specs so your post was not at all helpful.

Thank you anyway.

There is an Additional Information tab here but here is the information:

Additional Information
Weight 0.50 kg
Dimensions 10 x 10 x 3 cm
Chipset Family ARM Cortex A9
Chipset Model Amlogic 8726-M3
Chipset GPU Mali400
Intern Geheugen 1GB
Intern Opslag 4GB
USB 2 keer
LAN 10/100 MBit
WIFI a/b/g/n
Video Output HDMI
Audio Output HDMI
Max Resolutie 1080p [Full HD]
Additionele Informatie Ondanks dat er analoge composiet A/V uitgangen zichtbaar zijn, zijn deze software matig niet aangesloten. De software is geoptimaliseerd voor een minimale resolutie van 720p wat het gebruik van composiet slecht mogelijk maakt.

Johnboy1951

Thanks for the link and information ..... appreciated.


Not that it matters to me, as I would be using HDMI, but this looks a little 'odd' .....

Additionele Informatie Ondanks dat er analoge composiet A/V uitgangen zichtbaar zijn, zijn deze software matig niet aangesloten. De software is geoptimaliseerd voor een minimale resolutie van 720p wat het gebruik van composiet slecht mogelijk maakt.

Google Translate:

Additional Information Despite the analog composite A / V outputs are visible, moderately not connected this software. The software is optimized for a minimum resolution of 720p which is hardly possible using composite.

Access

Looks good...

Specs seem well capable of running xbmc, but would like to see more review videos before i made up my mind.

Its a promising candidate.

keithclancy

Whats wrong with a Raspberry Pi ?

Mate has it hooked up to a projected and it does 7.1 to his onkyo and 1080p no problem.

Luckycharms_74

keithclancy wrote: »

Whats wrong with a Raspberry Pi ?

Mate has it hooked up to a projected and it does 7.1 to his onkyo and 1080p no problem.

I was going to buy a Pi but then I saw this Black box device. I'm thinking with the cost of the Pi, keyboard, mouse, etc would I be better off getting black box which has an all in one solution.

Its still early days and I will wait until reviews are out on it.

Any advice ?

Edit: forgot to mention the Ouya. So its Ouya vs Pi vs Black box

Cabaal

Luckycharms_74, I wouldn't recommend a PI for XBMC,

I've had two PI's which I've run XBMC on, the first died and the the second had sd card corruption issues.

Now they both ran xbmc and played all HD content perfectly fine (720 and 1080), however they were extremely slow to create library's and had to have fan art off to use the memu's. (its known to be sluggish on menu's, skins etc).

Finally gave up on PI this week and just got a Ouya, only have it a few hours and in comparison its a pleasure to use. Well worth the 110e

Luckycharms_74

Cabaal wrote: »

Luckycharms_74, I wouldn't recommend a PI for XBMC,

I've had two PI's which I've run XBMC on, the first died and the the second had sd card corruption issues.

Now they both ran xbmc and played all HD content perfectly fine (720 and 1080), however they were extremely slow to create library's and had to have fan art off to use the memu's. (its known to be sluggish on menu's, skins etc).

Finally gave up on PI this week and just got a Ouya, only have it a few hours and in comparison its a pleasure to use. Well worth the 110e

You recommend the OUYA over this little black box.
Does it have wifi built in ?

Kur4mA

There is no comparison between this box and the Ouya in terms of performance. I just went from a Geniatech MyGica EnjoyTV 520 (more powerful than the LittleBlackBox) to an Ouya and the difference in performance is significant and quite noticeable. Here's a quick spec comparison:

LittleBlackBox
Chipset Family: ARM Cortex A9
Chipset Model: Amlogic 8726-M3
Chipset GPU: Mali400
RAM: 1GB

Geniatech MyGica 520
Chipset Family:ARM Cortex A9
Chipset Model: Amlogic 8726-M6 (dual core)
GPU: Mali400MP2
RAM: 1GB

Ouya
nVidia Tegra 3
CPU: ARM CortexA9, Quad Core @ 1.6GHz (or 1.7GHz in single-core mode)
GPU: 520MHz ULP GeForce (8 pixel shader units)
RAM: 1GB 1600MHz DDR3

The Tegra is the key. It just spanks anything Mali can put out.

BionicRasher

Cabaal wrote: »

Well worth the 110e

Where can this be ordered? I See it on Amazon.co.uk at about €120 but is it available anywhere here in Ireland?

Kur4mA

tui0hcg wrote: »

Where can this be ordered? I See it on Amazon.co.uk at about €120 but is it available anywhere here in Ireland?

Unless you get someone selling theirs on the only options are Amazon or Game.

massy086

kyub wrote: »

There is no comparison between this box and the Ouya in terms of performance. I just went from a Geniatech MyGica EnjoyTV 520 (more powerful than the LittleBlackBox) to an Ouya and the difference in performance is significant and quite noticeable. Here's a quick spec comparison:

LittleBlackBox
Chipset Family: ARM Cortex A9
Chipset Model: Amlogic 8726-M3
Chipset GPU: Mali400
RAM: 1GB

Geniatech MyGica 520
Chipset Family:ARM Cortex A9
Chipset Model: Amlogic 8726-M6 (dual core)
GPU: Mali400MP2
RAM: 1GB

Ouya
nVidia Tegra 3
CPU: ARM CortexA9, Quad Core @ 1.6GHz (or 1.7GHz in single-core mode)
GPU: 520MHz ULP GeForce (8 pixel shader units)
RAM: 1GB 1600MHz DDR3

The Tegra is the key. It just spanks anything Mali can put out.

your points here are valed but there is a few things to take into account.
the single core box can run linux and xbmc runs the best on linux by miles.
the dual core is on android and xbmc is very very buggy still on this platform .
with the ouya yes the quadcore is great but to my knowledge xbmc on uses 2 core at any time so in most cases quadcore is wasted on a quadcore box and also i believe ouya is still very buggy as it is also on android.
i have the first box running linux and i love it .way smoother and faster than apple tv2.my main htpc is custom built also running linux open-elec from a ssd and really you just cant beat it

Kur4mA

Yeah, I've run XBMC on a HTPC (Windows & Linux versions), XBMC Androis on a Geniatech MyGica 520, a non-branded Gbox Midnight and now the Ouya. There is work being done to get linux running on the dual core boxes. I expect it will be around in the next couple of months.

To be honest, the Android version (libstagefright version) is working perfectly for me on the Ouya. I haven't experienced any crashes or issues and it plays everything perfectly.

BenEadir

Hi guys,

Quick questions: Can you run HD internet based streams on the Ouya either via a browser or via an app like https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sashodev.LiveStreaming given it is Android based?

Ben

james g meaney

hi guys will TLBB work download speed 2.6mb/s

HarcourtGreen

Hi Guys,

I have heard (through pretty unreliable sources) that a wide list of free to air channels can be streamed on this device. Some even suggesting that its a viable alternative to a cable/satellite TV subscription. I would be very skeptical about such a claim but if anyone knows any more, please share what you know. Particularly with reference to the following:

Is this type of streaming legal?
If there is the slightest hint of any legal issues, i would be pretty sure this device would become unusable for this purpose very quickly as soon as the big players (Sky/UPC) start loosing customers.

What is the streaming quality like?
Would love to hear from anyone who already has a Little Black Box on this.

Thanks

BenEadir

HarcourtGreen wrote: »

Hi Guys,

I have heard (through pretty unreliable sources) that a wide list of free to air channels can be streamed on this device.

Correct, it's just a question of determining what channels you want and then loading the correct add-on. Check out www.xbmchub.com for info on easily configuring XBMC with all the popular add-ons etc

HarcourtGreen wrote: »

Some even suggesting that its a viable alternative to a cable/satellite TV subscription. I would be very skeptical about such a claim but if anyone knows any more, please share what you know.

I have XBMC with all the aforementioned add-ons etc PLUS I'm paying for UPC. Why? If I lived on my own I'd happily ditch UPC and rely 100% on XBMC and other content streaming options but using the menus and switching channels etc is a little fiddly compared to just hitting channel up/down on a traditional remote control and my wife/kids prefer the ease of use with UPC so for a quiet life I'm still paying for UPC

Having said that I just ordered a new Minix Neo X7 from Amazon.co.uk which I'm going to set up to be as easy to menu surf as possible and if that works I may well pull the plug on UPC and see how we get on!!!

HarcourtGreen wrote: »

Is this type of streaming legal?

No, it's definitely not legal.

HarcourtGreen wrote: »

What is the streaming quality like?
Would love to hear from anyone who already has a Little Black Box on this

I can't speak for the Little Black Box but XBMC on an Ouya or any other device I've tried it on (various Android phones and tablets + a Windows 8 PC) it's been spot on. If you are trying to watch one of the latest movies the quality can depend on the source of the movie but in general anything that's been out a while is spot on as is watching live sport etc contingent of course on having a good broadband connection. Fortunately I have a 100mb fibre connection from UPC

BTW, in my opinion this is the best option for a pure Android based XBMC media centre on the market at the moment. http://www.minix.com.hk/Products/MINIX-NEOX7.html It's £88 delivered FOC to Parcel Motel. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00E2R0Z3Y/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ben

Johnboy1951

BenThere wrote:

Quote:
Originally Posted by HarcourtGreen
Is this type of streaming legal?

No, it's definitely not legal.

I know nothing of this but would like some information if available.
If you have any references/links I would appreciate them, thanks.

I find it strange that it is illegal to receive over internet what is available free from satellite.

I can understand if it is illegal to make the streams available without permission ...... but illegal to watch those streams?

That is why I seek some further info.

beauf

Its kind of a different topic. You should probably great a new seperate topic to discuss that.

http://mp3.about.com/od/digitalmusicfaq/f/Is-Streaming-Media-Illegal.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_aspects_of_downloading_and_streaming

As a general point on demand services are much superior experience to streaming.

Johnboy1951

beauf wrote: »

Its kind of a different topic. You should probably great a new seperate topic to discuss that.

http://mp3.about.com/od/digitalmusicfaq/f/Is-Streaming-Media-Illegal.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_aspects_of_downloading_and_streaming

As a general point on demand services are much superior experience to streaming.

Yes .... my bad ...... needs to be separate.

HarcourtGreen

Thanks for this info Ben - Very informative.

BenEadir

HarcourtGreen wrote: »

Thanks for this info Ben - Very informative.

You're welcome HG, this time last year I hadn't a clue about this stuff (still have a lot to learn) but I got a lot of help here so it's nice to give a little back.

Ben