Android/Dream Box [ Illegal discussion = Ban ]

toby2111

mightybashful wrote: »

You're better off without a preloaded one TBH.

Is it easy enough to load it?Can it be done directly from the internet or would I have to sideload from an SD card?

BandMember

toby2111 wrote: »

Is it easy enough to load it?Can it be done directly from the internet or would I have to sideload from an SD card?

We can't go into too much detail here, but Google is your friend...

P.S. It is very easy and simple to do, only takes a few minutes and loads of online tutorials and videos to take you through it step by step. Just stay away from builds and install only what you need. You'll be grand!

mightybashful

BandMember wrote: »

We can't go into too much detail here, but Google is your friend...

P.S. It is very easy and simple to do, only takes a few minutes and loads of online tutorials and videos to take you through it step by step. Just stay away from builds and install only what you need. You'll be grand!

Easy. And enjoyable!

R11

Apart from price,whats the difference between that Nexbox and a Minix Neo U1 here-
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0192M8CSS/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483066825&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=minix+neo&dpPl=1&dpID=411n1UDi5oL&ref=plSrch

inforfun

R11 wrote: »

Looks decent. Does it come pre-loaded and easy to set up?
Also I presume you won't get hit with customs coming from EU warehouse? Any idea how long delivery normally takes?

Due to things being out of stock, i ended up with 2 boxes. A Beelink mxmiii i bought from Gearbest UK/Eu warehouse.
When that one was back in stock, it took about a week to arrive. No custom hassle obviously.

The Nexbox i had bought while it was on offer at Banggood came from China and took a lot longer of course and i escaped customs with that one.
Wouldnt have been a lot anyway as it was on offer for €28

Both could be used straight from the box after some automatic updates.

Loading some preferred add ons in Kodi was a pita for me as i had no experience whatsoever but there is tons of info available to guide you through it. After that i ended up getting rid of stuff i didnt need/want or didnt work.
Get an air mouse once you end up in that situation

What i have "learned" is that these things got me in the smartphone state i na way that you keep loading add ons and apps in the beginning and after a while always end up at a select 2 or 3.

Just need to figure out now how to get rid of ads on that Android 6 one.
Managed to do so on the Beelink running Android 5.x but same procedure on Android 6 hasnt done the trick. Also have a bluetooth mouse that runs smooth with the Android 5 box but on the Nexbox it runs pretty crap.

I like both boxes but if i had to pick one, i would take the Nexbox. More future proof. And the little issues i have with it, i will sort out i am sure.

When i was looking for a box i had the "expensive" option like the various Minix' on the radar as well but went for testing the waters with a cheaper box first.
I wanted some really specific tricks with that box and had to find out first if that was at all possible. Those tricks were not related to price/quality of the box.

vectra

inforfun wrote: »

Due to things being out of stock, i ended up with 2 boxes. A Beelink mxmiii i bought from Gearbest UK/Eu warehouse.
When that one was back in stock, it took about a week to arrive. No custom hassle obviously.

As you probably know I am looking at upgrading from my mx3 2gb/8gb box that has served me extremely well over the past two years.

Should I hit the "BUY" button or hold for newer tech?
http://www.gearbest.com/tv-box-mini-pc/pp_443335.html?wid=3

inforfun

vectra wrote: »

As you probably know I am looking at upgrading from my mx3 2gb/8gb box that has served me extremely well over the past two years.

Should I hit the "BUY" button or hold for newer tech?
http://www.gearbest.com/tv-box-mini-pc/pp_443335.html?wid=3

That looks like a beelink with the specs of the nexbox A95X i have....

This is my beelink


1 thing.... my beelink cant update over the air (OTA), gives a server error message.
I have no issue whatsoever with that Beelink so i dont really need an update to get things working
My Nexbox (with the specs of "your" beelink) needed an update before it started to work properly on my tv, which is a 10 year old LCD.

And i just checked, gearbest uk warehouse sent the box in friday, received it thursday so took 6 days.

So if you can find the nexbox A95X for similar money and similar delivery conditions, i would pick that one just because of the OTA update.

Also, have you considered this one if you go Beelink?

As far as i can see, that is the "newer" tech. I might be corrected by more knowledgeable people here.

vectra

inforfun wrote: »

That looks like a beelink with the specs of the nexbox A95X i have....

This is my beelink


1 thing.... my beelink cant update over the air (OTA), gives a server error message.
I have no issue whatsoever with that Beelink so i dont really need an update to get things working
My Nexbox (with the specs of "your" beelink) needed an update before it started to work properly on my tv, which is a 10 year old LCD.

And i just checked, gearbest uk warehouse sent the box in friday, received it thursday so took 6 days.

So if you can find the nexbox A95X for similar money and similar delivery conditions, i would pick that one just because of the OTA update.

Also, have you considered this one if you go Beelink?

As far as i can see, that is the "newer" tech. I might be corrected by more knowledgeable people here.

Plenty of confusion on the thread LOL

I have asked about boxes with the Octa Core Amlogic S912 before and some said there was still issues loading certain "stuff" or something along those lines.

This >> Nexbox?

inforfun

Yep, that's the Nexbox i have.
Remote is slightly nicer as well as the one from Beelink.
Mind you, you definitely want an Air mouse or something like that for typing.

toby2111

R11 wrote: »

Apart from price,whats the difference between that Nexbox and a Minix Neo U1 here-
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0192M8CSS/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483066825&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=minix+neo&dpPl=1&dpID=411n1UDi5oL&ref=plSrch

Would be interested to know this also. I think Minix has more support but I'm not very knowledgeable. I'm close to buying that Nexbox A95x Amlogic S905X(2gb,16gb rom) for about £40 which is £60 less than the Neo U1.....maybe others can advise why theres such a price difference?

vectra

inforfun wrote: »

Yep, that's the Nexbox i have.
Remote is slightly nicer as well as the one from Beelink.
Mind you, you definitely want an Air mouse or something like that for typing.

Confused as to the exact difference between the beelink and the Nexbox.?

I have an airmouse with this box so will be moving that across.

BandMember

R11 wrote: »

Apart from price,whats the difference between that Nexbox and a Minix Neo U1 here-
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0192M8CSS/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483066825&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=minix+neo&dpPl=1&dpID=411n1UDi5oL&ref=plSrch

toby2111 wrote: »

Would be interested to know this also. I think Minix has more support but I'm not very knowledgeable. I'm close to buying that Nexbox A95x Amlogic S905X(2gb,16gb rom) for about £40 which is £60 less than the Neo U1.....maybe others can advise why theres such a price difference?

The reasons for going for a Minix over other models has been covered in depth by a number of posters recently in the past number of pages. If you both read back, you'll find your answer there.

inforfun

vectra wrote: »

Confused as to the exact difference between the beelink and the Nexbox.?

I have an airmouse with this box so will be moving that across.

Nothing much apart from my experience that i cant update my beelink and could update my Nexbox OTA.
Other than that, they are basically the same, spec wise as far as i can see.

Copper_pipe

Anyone update an MXQ PRO 4K recently?

When I try to update using the Built in update app it says " Check failed, Check your OTA Servier Argent" :pac:

vectra

inforfun wrote: »

Nothing much apart from my experience that i cant update my beelink and could update my Nexbox OTA.
Other than that, they are basically the same, spec wise as far as i can see.

My current boq wont update ota anyhow, so that doesnt bother me.

Copper_pipe wrote: »

Anyone update an MXQ PRO 4K recently?

When I try to update using the Built in update app it says " Check failed, Check your OTA Servier Argent" :pac:

I get that in my MX3
I just download the kodi I desire to a usb drive and update from there.

toby2111

Think I'll take the plunge and go with the Nexbox from here- https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01KCNI632/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1S5N5RZ811IT8
If I use click and collect I can collect it up North on Friday(only up the road for me).
Cant see why the Minix Neo U1 is £60 more expensive,maybe if I was more tech minded but I'll prob just use a few movie apps on it. Been reading about clones of some of these boxes,is the one above legit?How would Ii know if its cloned?

styron

toby2111 wrote: »

Think I'll take the plunge and go with the Nexbox from here- https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01KCNI632/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1S5N5RZ811IT8
If I use click and collect I can collect it up North on Friday(only up the road for me).
Cant see why the Minix Neo U1 is £60 more expensive,maybe if I was more tech minded but I'll prob just use a few movie apps on it. Been reading about clones of some of these boxes,is the one above legit?How would Ii know if its cloned?

The 8GB version from Nexbox themselves for £37 supersaver delivery. The €3.95 PM + £2.75 saved will compensate/get the 8GB storage difference in SDHC, and no clone worries.

toby2111

styron wrote: »

The 8GB version from Nexbox themselves for £37 supersaver delivery. The €3.95 PM + £2.75 saved will compensate/get the 8GB storage difference in SDHC, and no clone worries.

Cheers!Its also got click and collect and tech support,which 1 reviewer said was excellent. Looks like that might be better option. What size of an SD card would I need?Would I even need one?

EDIT- They also have the 2gb ram,16gb rom for £40.99 - https://www.amazon.co.uk/NEXBOX-Android-Amlogic-Support-Streaming/dp/B01IVX78W0/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1483562299&sr=8-5&keywords=nexbox+a95x+2gb+16gb

styron

toby2111 wrote: »

Cheers!Its also got click and collect and tech support,which 1 reviewer said was excellent. Looks like that might be better option. What size of an SD card would I need?Would I even need one?

EDIT- They also have the 2gb ram,16gb rom for £40.99 - https://www.amazon.co.uk/NEXBOX-Android-Amlogic-Support-Streaming/dp/B01IVX78W0/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1483562299&sr=8-5&keywords=nexbox+a95x+2gb+16gb

8GB should be fine for OS and apps with a little left over for storage, but £4 for 8GB extra built in (slightly faster than cards) is good value too. Plenty of SD, USB key & ext HD options for playing anything you have, including a dedicated adopted storage option under Android 6.0.

toby2111

Cheers.One last thing-is that Nexbox the best bang for my buck?Looking around the €50,it seems to be. I have an old MX box but want a better one.

styron

toby2111 wrote: »

Cheers.One last thing-is that Nexbox the best bang for my buck?Looking around the €50,it seems to be. I have an old MX box but want a better one.

Yeah, I think it is - the proc revision gives you HDR & VP9 - a leg up on the current Minix U1 (shortly to be replaced, so price falling). Well recommended here so far and future proofed for a bit.

I went for this S912 based one €62 shipped from EU (Hungary) 8-10 days. Won't get a chance to set it up for a bit, reviews (Amazon.com) are good and the finish is nice too - base is metal and resin/laminate less plasticky top. (Probably a firmware revision required before it's at its best though).

viperlogic

styron wrote: »

current Minix U1 (shortly to be replaced, so price falling).

Any more info on this as was about to pull the trigger on a U1? Links?

styron

viperlogic wrote: »

Any more info on this as was about to pull the trigger on a U1? Links?

It's the Minix Neo U9-H (release date appears to have slipped a bit):

http://www.cnx-software.com/2016/09/05/minix-neo-u9-h-4k-hdr-amlogic-s912-h-android-tv-box-coming-in-october/

http://hardware.hdblog.it/2016/09/02/Minix-Neo-U9-H-Android-4K-HDR--Anteprima-IFA-2016/ (thanks k123456)

http://www.minixforum.com/threads/u9.14187/

BandMember

viperlogic wrote: »

Any more info on this as was about to pull the trigger on a U1? Links?

You'll be grand with that, I'm still using the X-8H (have it a few years now) which is a few models back and it's still working with no problems! The only thing I've had an issue with is HEVC streams (they don't seem to play properly), but I can live with that as I can still play 1080 5.1 with no problems whatsoever.

sonofenoch

Copper_pipe wrote: »

Anyone update an MXQ PRO 4K recently?

When I try to update using the Built in update app it says " Check failed, Check your OTA Servier Argent" :pac:

Why fix something that's not broken.....do a quick google search, updating these boxes can lead to all sorts of problems or 'bricking' as it's called, you might not ever get the box back I personally wouldn't bother

viperlogic

Regards buying a Minix U1, any concerns not buying from "MINIX Direct" on Amazon? Theres free shipping from the other sellers eg Plater? I know I could still use PM with MINIX Direct if its the recommended route.

Sappy404

Sappy404 wrote: »

Got my Mi Box on Friday, haven't really had the chance to set up much on it, but just to answer some questions that were asked previously:

- It's defo the international version that's sold by Geekbuying. There were language options on setup, and the specs & interface matches int'l version
- It arrived in the plain brown box.

A few other points:

- It got through customs import duty free
- It's very small - the size of a small coaster
- Automatic setup via my phone failed and had to be done manually; Google Play Services crashed on first boot
- Voice search is working well; no integration with Netflix app as yet but I expect this will come soon as Google Home can do this now
- No batteries included for the remote.
- Overall I like the interface, presentation is slick and a lot more official looking than my older Tronsmart thing that looked very much like a Chinese import.

I bought a network/USB hub that is supposed to be compatible and will test this later this week as well as setting up a few other apps.

A few additional points on the MiBox

- When I plugged in my Logitech k400 keyboard the remote stopped working. When I unplugged it, the remote still didn't work. I had to ctrl-alt-del with the k400 and remove it ASAP to get the remote to work. Weird.
- Can confirm this Ethernet/USB adapter works a charm; apparently most ethernet adapters don't work.
- There's no browser. None show as compatible in Google Play Store and while I can install Chrome from the Play website to the device, it doesn't launch.
- My Harmony 650 remote works fine, so there's definitely an IR receiver on there.

Johngoose

What is the best android machine on the market?

batistuta9

nvidia shield

mightybashful

batistuta9 wrote: »

nvidia shield

Agreed. But it is restrictive. For example a lot of what's available in the play store isn't compatible or needs to be installed via file explorer.

That said for kodi, emulators, Netflix etc its easy the best one I ever used