Recommend an Android Box that runs XBMC - [No copyrighted material]

Blade

@Allyall, would that Teamviewer app not have to be on the same wifi network to work? Or would you need to set up port forwarding to access it outside?

@Zeppi, out of curiosity what changes to the satellite affected your father? In what country? Once he can pick up Astra at 28.2 he should be able to get all the channels. Or is he outside that footprint?

iba

Blade wrote: »

@Allyall, would that Teamviewer app not have to be on the same wifi network to work? Or would you need to set up port forwarding to access it outside?

@Zeppi, out of curiosity what changes to the satellite affected your father? In what country? Once he can pick up Astra at 28.2 he should be able to get all the channels. Or is he outside that footprint?

Blade - I know that in France (and I think luxumbourg, Belgium, Spain) now you cannot pick-up stations from Astra 28.2 anymore because the frequency beams were shortened.

Zeppi

Blade wrote: »

@Allyall, would that Teamviewer app not have to be on the same wifi network to work? Or would you need to set up port forwarding to access it outside?

@Zeppi, out of curiosity what changes to the satellite affected your father? In what country? Once he can pick up Astra at 28.2 he should be able to get all the channels. Or is he outside that footprint?

Hi Blade,

Team viewer does not need to be on the same network and once installed it works straight away (tried & tested).

All the bbc's and Itv's changed the frequencies and where my father lives are out of footprint.

Thanks to a friend of mine I got a lend of IMX6 to play with and it does the job. I've decided to go for MiniX NEO X7 and since it's quad core it should be better than the IMX6.

regards
Zeppi

Blade

Zeppi, it might be a good idea to set up Dropbox on the device before you send it over to your father. That way you can upload apk's from here and install them on his device remotely. A lot of the good stuff isn't on the play store. Though not sure if you can already do that with the android teamviewer app. Handy to have it anyway. If you need some recommendations for apps to install on it for him, send me a PM. I wouldn't bother with XBMC for him TBH, there's enough stand alone user friendly apps to keep him entertained.

Zeppi

Hi Blade,

Thanks for the tip about dropbox I've seen a you tube video about it but I completely forgot about it.

I've ordered one with the air mouse/ keyboard from a guy on Adverts.ie

regards
Zeppi

Allyall

Blade wrote: »

@Allyall, would that Teamviewer app not have to be on the same wifi network to work? Or would you need to set up port forwarding to access it outside?

Sorry, I meant to get back this morning when I saw your post.

The Teamviewer App is touch and go.
For the MX2, A WinPC with .Net up to date, and (i think) the lenovo version - So it should've worked in that/this instance straight away.

If you want a specific device to work, the Teamviewer forums have quite a few different builds including one or two homemade ones.

Re: dropbox.
If you like that, you should definitely get on to ZeroPC . I love it. I have tried quite a few others, but I found this best for me. Photos, Videos, Apps, Movies etc.. all in different accounts or storage services.

I have it on my phone to upload to.
I can share a video (for example) from ZeroPC or choose (By default) one of these:

Box (50GB), Dropbox, Google, SkyDrive, SugarSync, 4Shared, FaceBook, Flickr, Instagram, Photobucket, Picasa, Record, Evernote, Twitter..

Different than the version I have (maybe paid version), and on my phone I access the Desktop OS through the browser, I only use the App to upload and maybe organise..
On the PC i Fullscreen it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8KGJWs3zmc

wawaman

Apologies in advance if this is the wrong place, but has anyone tried to install the quickplay addon in XMBC?

branners69

My 5 year old WD Media Player has finally fallen over so I am in the market to replace it. I have a WD Media Player Live in the kids room and they love it, handy for them and the wife to use!

So the questions below are relating to the MINIX NEO X7:

1) Is it kid and wife friendly in comparison to a WD Media Player Live?

2) Has anyone connected a 3tb hard drive to one? Mostly the files are 1080p mkv with DTS ranging from 2gb to 18gb, should I expect any playback issues?

Many thanks!

Branners

TrustedApple

Picked up a quid core no brand TV box there for my birthday

Got it today and have XBMC running no problem what so ever.

But the thing i have 2 problems with it.

One is that i have about 4 inch black border on the right and also on the left hand side i went into change the res in the settings and i can't pick full HD.

The other problem as i am using a plasma as my TV i dont wont any screen burn. I have all the home Buttons and the other kind of Buttons on the bottom.

Is there a way i can remove that ?

Allyall

branners69 wrote: »

1) Is it kid and wife friendly in comparison to a WD Media Player Live?

Yes

branners69 wrote: »

2) Has anyone connected a 3tb hard drive to one? Mostly the files are 1080p mkv with DTS ranging from 2gb to 18gb, should I expect any playback issues?

You shouldn't, but Maybe. You may want to look up a little more about playback issues with the RK3188. Most have been fixed within XBMC with updates, but there are still a few. Full HD MKV files had an audio/sync problem. I don't know whether or not they still do.

samapple789 wrote: »

Picked up a quid core no brand TV box there for my birthday

Got it today and have XBMC running no problem what so ever.

But the thing i have 2 problems with it.

One is that i have about 4 inch black border on the right and also on the left hand side i went into change the res in the settings and i can't pick full HD.

The other problem as i am using a plasma as my TV i dont wont any screen burn. I have all the home Buttons and the other kind of Buttons on the bottom.

Is there a way i can remove that ?

Try a Screen Calibration Tool or Check that your TV is on the correct settings in Display.

You can get a free app - Full!Screen - It requires Root.

tomdempsey200

my rk3188 tv stick reboots when I shutdown

what would cause that?

Allyall

tomdempsey200 wrote: »

my rk3188 tv stick reboots when I shutdown

what would cause that?

Firmware could. Is it a Custom ROM?
Is it powered by the TV?
Many Custom ROMS have different settings, Some have the incorrect voltage/frequency settings for shutting down or when the device is in an idle state. That can cause it to freeze, crash or reboot when shutting down.

If it is a stock ROM (That came with the device) try using a different power source, even if you are using the plug that came with it.

Prefereably a USB plug from a Phone or iPod or Tablet etc.. (Not one of the Generic Chinese brands).

tomdempsey200

Allyall wrote: »

Firmware could. Is it a Custom ROM?
Is it powered by the TV?
Many Custom ROMS have different settings, Some have the incorrect voltage/frequency settings for shutting down or when the device is in an idle state. That can cause it to freeze, crash or reboot when shutting down.

If it is a stock ROM (That came with the device) try using a different power source, even if you are using the plug that came with it.

Prefereably a USB plug from a Phone or iPod or Tablet etc.. (Not one of the Generic Chinese brands).

it's the basic rom that came with it

powered off usb plug

only started doin this lately

Allyall

tomdempsey200 wrote: »

powered off usb plug

Try using a different plug and see if that makes a difference. If possible, use one that came with a phone or tablet.

tomdempsey200

Allyall wrote: »

Try using a different plug and see if that makes a difference. If possible, use one that came with a phone or tablet.

will do thanks allyall

branners69

I have a Minix Neo x 7 on order and am looking for advice from current owners on the best/most stable firmware etc?

Is there anything I should or shouldnt do when I open the box?

Thanks,

Branners

timetogo

branners69 wrote: »

I have a Minix Neo x 7 on order and am looking for advice from current owners on the best/most stable firmware etc?

Is there anything I should or shouldnt do when I open the box?

Thanks,

Branners

I got one a few weeks ago. I have it running XBMC pretty much 100% and never turn it off. I didn't pop any other ROM onto it. It has been very stable.

The only config change I did was set it up for my network and in Display options you'll see a tickbox to turn off the menu bar at the bottom of the screen (you'll never need it).

If you have an android phone get Yatse to control your XBMC. This adds a "Send to XBMC" option on many video apps (Youtube and some that you'll need to Google for".

It comes with a TV app which shows channels from various countries. Some are better quality than others.

I only use mine as a video box but it's deadly. Got mine from Amazon, where did you order yours from?

branners69

timetogo wrote: »

Got mine from Amazon, where did you order yours from?

I ordered from Futeko, I couldnt find a seller on Amazon which would deliver to Ireland.

I have read stock V08 is stable, do you have V08 or V10 on yours?

I might put Finless or Quickshot roms on it to see what they offer!

bazzz

I'd stay away from the v10 firmware for a couple of weeks,just till it's fully road tested by other users.So far V08 seems to be the most stable of of the official roms.

A family member of mine has just started selling Minix and other smart tv box products.Based in Waterford .Their website was just launched a week or two ago.
http://www.smarttvbox.ie
Hope it's ok giving them a mention here!

uRbaN

Anyone use Torrent Stream Controller much? It was wrecking my head over the weekend...I presume there was an issue with volume of traffic or something given the weekend that was in it.
Sky sports 1 & 2 sluggish or non responsive.

tomdempsey200

uRbaN wrote: »

Anyone use Torrent Stream Controller much? It was wrecking my head over the weekend...I presume there was an issue with volume of traffic or something given the weekend that was in it.
Sky sports 1 & 2 sluggish or non responsive.

I don't bother with it now on my 3 meg
doesn't seem to be working as good as it was

I assume you adjusted the acestream settings?

uRbaN

Without doing a whole lot of research I did mess with them a little bit. Every other channel I tried worked perfectly so I presumed it was an issue with the source stream.

Blade

uRbaN wrote: »

Without doing a whole lot of research I did mess with them a little bit. Every other channel I tried worked perfectly so I presumed it was an issue with the source stream.

I can't remember what the default buffer settings were, 3 and 10? Anyway I upped them to 9 and 30 and haven't had a problem since, I found even at 20 it was stuttering. On my MK808b the TSC HD channels don't play well but on the S4 mobile even those play perfectly.

There shouldn't be an issue with the stream as you're downloading from lots of different people so in theory the more people on it the better. At least I presume that's how torrent streaming works!

tomdempsey200

Allyall wrote: »

Firmware could. Is it a Custom ROM?
Is it powered by the TV?
Many Custom ROMS have different settings, Some have the incorrect voltage/frequency settings for shutting down or when the device is in an idle state. That can cause it to freeze, crash or reboot when shutting down.

If it is a stock ROM (That came with the device) try using a different power source, even if you are using the plug that came with it.

Prefereably a USB plug from a Phone or iPod or Tablet etc.. (Not one of the Generic Chinese brands).

seems to be shutting down now with a different power supply
thanks allyall

dlnv27

Bought the MX2 from androidsticks.co.uk a couple of weeks ago and I'm delighted with it. They have there own android wizard installed on this and post regular updates adding new add ons on to the device. Using parcel motel paid €98 in total.

Zeppi

I second bazzz this guy http://www.smarttvbox.ie was very helpful. I highly recomend him he saved my day.

Zeppi

bigron2109

Is there much of a difference between the Android sticks and the android Boxs apart from the price. I just want one to stream movies and sports etc, No Games or browsing really.

Zeppi

If I were you I'll go for a box, I've just installed the Minix Neo 7 for my father and it's the best I've seen so far

the_syco

I'm looking for an Android PC that plays 1080p with DTS, and also has a RJ-45 LAN connection, a USB connection, and a SD-card expansion port.

I need a LAN port so I can upload files across a homeplug network, as wireless signal spikes and drops whilst transferring large files. The SD card is for storage, and at least two USB ports, one for the wireless keyboard remote, and one for plugging a USB stick in for firmware updating. The SPDIF output is for playing the DTS though my Yamaha receiver.

Had a look at the HiSilikon® T-R42, but the reviews mentioned it's choppy when playing 1080p with DTS.

Currently have a Tronsmart Prometheus which is awesome, but no DTS, and find the fake stereo-to-5.1 doesn't cut it.

Zeppi wrote: »

I second bazzz this guy http://www.smarttvbox.ie was very helpful. I highly recomend him he saved my day.

Zeppi

Seems the "CS918" they list is identical to the "T-R42" I linked to above. I'm avoiding for reasons listed above.

bigron2109 wrote: »

Is there much of a difference between the Android sticks and the android Boxs apart from the price. I just want one to stream movies and sports etc, No Games or browsing really.

It comes down to what extra features you want. See how well you can browse the internet from your phone next to the TV; this shall tell you how well your Android PC may do so. Also, the boxes tend to have a proper power source, as well as more than one USB socket.

Allyall

the_syco wrote: »

I'm looking for an Android PC that plays 1080p with DTS, and also has a RJ-45 LAN connection, a USB connection, and a SD-card expansion port.

The SPDIF output is for playing the DTS though my Yamaha receiver.

Currently have a Tronsmart Prometheus which is awesome, but no DTS, and find the fake stereo-to-5.1 doesn't cut it.

Back to the MX2
The Tronsmarts Prometheus' Twin. Just not identical.

The RK3066 can't, and the RK3188 isn't ideal. Most (RK3188) boxes won't offer it, and I'm not even sure if the ones that do, have the firmware to support it. The minix don't. Also some ongoing problems with both HQ audio and some Full HD Video (together).

It's possible the Prometheus could be slightly modded for it, but I have never thought about it or heard of anyone else trying. It would be a shame to dump the Prometheus for a virtually identical device. The MX2.

DVD ISO No Blu-Ray ISO No
XBMC Android 1080p
HD Audio
Downmix DolbyDigital DTS TrueHD DTS-HD MA
Passthrough DolbyDigital DTS TrueHD DTS-HDMA

Review here from CNX-Software about the G-Box Midnight MX2.
It's an old review, and the newest firmware is even better (not the matricom one).

The box passed all tests with videos with common Audio codecs:

• AC3 – OK
• Dolby Digital 5.1 / Dolby Digital 7.1 – OK
• TrueHD 5.1 & 7.1 – OK
• DTS-MA and DTS-HR – OK

The MX2 unbranded (Some may refer to as clone), is the exact same box, identical in every way from the same factory and the same product line, with the exception of the chassis, which has matricom's branding on it.
And the difference in price, which is quite a lot.