Hi,
I'm very new to android tv boxes and kodi but I'm tech savvy so no issues with getting it all up and running but I do have a question about cpu core usage in kodi, is it normal for the program to only ever use two cores, even on a quad core tv box.
I was having a lot of performance issues with the mxq, especially when watching 1080p content, lots of momentary freezing etc so I brought up the overlay to see only two cores listed and they were often both maxed out. I also had buffering issues, I put the speedtest app on the box and ran numerous tests, even through a wired connection I was only getting around 15mbps over my 80mbps connection, I did read about stock firmwares on these boxes are often not that great so I found a custom rooted firmware and flashed that, that sorted out the ethernet speeds as I got 75mbps down on the first test but only two cores were ever visible or used in kodi and as they were often maxed out the performance suffered as a result.
I installed the free version of system tuner on the box and by using the app to change the cpu mode to either on demand or performance fixes it instantly, 4 cores are now being used in kodi, all buffering issues are gone, unless they're server side issues of course and I can even watch live streams in hd, something this box couldn't do without constant freezing and buffering when only having access to two cores.
Smartie36 said:
Hi,
I'm very new to android tv boxes and kodi but I'm tech savvy so no issues with getting it all up and running but I do have a question about cpu core usage in kodi, is it normal for the program to only ever use two cores, even on a quad core tv box.
I was having a lot of performance issues with the mxq, especially when watching 1080p content, lots of momentary freezing etc so I brought up the overlay to see only two cores listed and they were often both maxed out. I also had buffering issues, I put the speedtest app on the box and ran numerous tests, even through a wired connection I was only getting around 15mbps over my 80mbps connection, I did read about stock firmwares on these boxes are often not that great so I found a custom rooted firmware and flashed that, that sorted out the ethernet speeds as I got 75mbps down on the first test but only two cores were ever visible or used in kodi and as they were often maxed out the performance suffered as a result.
I installed the free version of system tuner on the box, used it to change the cpu mode from hotplug to on demand and that sorted it instantly, 4 cores are now being used in kodi, all buffering issues are gone, unless they're server side issues of course and I can even watch live streams in hd, something this box couldn't do without constant freezing and buffering when only having access to two cores.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What overlay are you referring to?
I'm interested in seeing if my box has the same problem.
Press 'o' on the keyboard while video is playing, you'll get the codec info overlay with a wealth of information displayed including the cpu core usage.
Smartie36 said:
Press 'o' on the keyboard while video is playing, you'll get the codec info overlay with a wealth of information displayed including the cpu core usage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perfect, I'll do that and see it I'm on the same boat
EDIT, indeed the governor was set to 2 CPUs, now it's the 4, I think this will help a lot.
royeiror said:
Perfect, I'll do that and see it I'm on the same boat
EDIT, indeed the governor was set to 2 CPUs, no it's the 4, I think this will help a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cpu governor on my box was set to hotplug, that shouldn't have been causing any issues but for some reason only two cores were ever active and used when running kodi.
Smartie36 said:
Cpu governor on my box was set to hotplug, that shouldn't have been causing any issues but for some reason only two cores were ever active and used when running kodi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as i know, more cores are active when more porgrams running. As for the buffering issues, momentary freezing problems seems related to internet connection speed, small RAM and Video decoding issues.
Tronfy said:
As far as i know, more cores are active when more porgrams running. As for the buffering issues, momentary freezing problems seems related to internet connection speed, small RAM and Video decoding issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
could also be to prevent over heating?
snoozy said:
could also be to prevent over heating?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, they can. One chip has limited ability to run programs and more cores and bigger RAM like Tronfy MXIV can handle that if more jobs need to do, which could prevent overheating in this way.
Apologies for joining your thread on an unrelated matter.
I am a non tech savvy newbie in awe of you guys. I have a recently bought MXQ which works fine but unlike my old android TV stick it dosent have bluetooth.
The MXQ has 4 unused USB ports and I have a bluetooth keyboard, mouse & 2 bluetooth dongles but the MXQ dosent recognise them.
Any ideas or advice would be appreciated.
Problem with MXQ box
Hi sorry but I could find how to post a new thread so I hope that someone reads this
I recently purchased a mxq box that was supposed to be fully loaded but every time I tried to set it up the same problem keeps happening firstly the screen is bright pink and positioned too far over to the right and when I press the cursor button on the remote then try to click on next the box turns itself off and I have to power the box off and back on again, I have tried to do a hard reset on it to see if it will sort the problem out but after it reboots the same thing happens again, don't suppose anyone has any ideas on how to sort it out?
I'm new to this and not that tech savvy so I will need laymans terms
Thanks
James
Really struggling with the buffering on this even on low quality. Have around 40mps intent speed which should be enough right?
Can someone explain how I find this system tuner app I'm lost.
---------- Post added at 07:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:57 PM ----------
danbatch said:
Really struggling with the buffering on this even on low quality. Have around 40mps intent speed which should be enough right?
Can someone explain how I find this system tuner app I'm lost.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK I found a system tuner in the android app store. But can't find an option for changing mode from hot plug to on demand. Can anyone help?
Where are the settings located in the system tuner app?
Where to find the settings to improve performance in System Tuner.
Go to CPU Manager. Press the hot bug tab. It is a drop down menu. The bottom 2 are performance and on demand. Performance worked better for me. Less glitchy.
Hi I could really do with some advice. I'm a complete newbie when it comes to this stuff so bear with me
Bought the mxq box for my gf. Loaded up genesis (preinstalled). Most movies and shows only show links to prime wire and mrdeb. Most of these come up as no stream available or playback failed. The odd rare one plays but out of sync.
Router is in the next room. There is also a VPN as gf works from home sometimes. This blocked chromecast. Could this be the reason?
Please help. Thanks!
Installing a new build to MXQ box
I dont suppose anyone has tried to change the kodi build on an MXQ box and if so how in heck did you do it cause Ive tried ABDShield but it doesnt connedt to the box and Ive tried to used straight off a USB drive and it never installeds always fails any ideas what can be done?!?!
Can someone please share some info on how to root mxq s850 please I would really appreciate it thanks.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Everyone needs to start somewhere
nutspurxxx said:
Apologies for joining your thread on an unrelated matter.
I am a non tech savvy newbie in awe of you guys. I have a recently bought MXQ which works fine but unlike my old android TV stick it dosent have bluetooth.
The MXQ has 4 unused USB ports and I have a bluetooth keyboard, mouse & 2 bluetooth dongles but the MXQ dosent recognise them.
Any ideas or advice would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried inserting a USB memory stick or at her USB device to check to see if any other devices are recognized?
I'm using Rapoo wireless keyboard/mouse
Smartie36 said:
Press 'o' on the keyboard while video is playing, you'll get the codec info overlay with a wealth of information displayed including the cpu core usage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can this only be done with an actual physical keyboard, and not by bringing up an on screen keyboard?
Do the mxq boxes work only on some brands of television, i got the OTT TV box 4X 4X try to hook it up to my Toshiba TV and it kept turning the tv off, i hooked it to my Samsung and it works fine. I got another box bro unite mx android tv box and tried in on my Toshiba and it done the same thing cut tv off or won't let it come on
I got the box yesterday & all seemed to be working fine but today it wont let me watch anything. I either get an error message down the bottom right saying to check the log or it says "working..." and then just disappears without doing anything! Can anyone help? I followed instructions on how to debug but that didnt work.
It's now also saying it can't connect to server but it's fully connected to the wifi.
Related
It looks like they finally fixed the issues with Splashtop HD and the 10.1. I want to know if anyone is using it and if so, how is it so far? I'm very close to buying it, but want to know for sure that it is working.
Splashtop Remote Desktop HD
"...** Validated for Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, Asus Transformer, Motorola Xoom, Acer
Iconia Tab A500, Acer Picasso, LG G-Slate, and others **"
I saw that in the market this morning. I'm curious if when you access your PC, if it does like other remote desktop type apps and actually shows on my screen at home when I'm away. I'd have to remember to turn my display off, but leave my cpu on if that is the case I assume.
I have it. works fine. I see almost no difference between it and the non-hd version though. hopefully they add all the features they have on the ipad soon.
Does it take up the full tab screen? Does it still change the resolution on the pc?
Has to be some reason for hd version.
smaskell said:
I have it. works fine. I see almost no difference between it and the non-hd version though. hopefully they add all the features they have on the ipad soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So it doesn't support higher resolutions? I'm trying to decide between this one and Remote Desktop Client. It has great reviews.
I own it. It has the option to scale the screen to match the tab, or set it to 1280x720 to fit the tab. Works great, provided the computer is both on and logged in.
Unfortunately, on headless servers the software is useless because the client software requires a user to bbe logged in and active. When an RDP session ends, the software shuts down automatically and prevents login through Splashtop.
cekle said:
When an RDP session ends, the software shuts down automatically and prevents login through Splashtop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a similar setup where that issue affects me. I also wish it could zoom if you did want to use a higher resolution.
It is very fast, you could watch a movie from local network fine but with a little bit of delay.
ericc191 said:
So it doesn't support higher resolutions? I'm trying to decide between this one and Remote Desktop Client. It has great reviews.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, it does support higher resolutions.
The resolutions are
800 x 600
1024 x 768
1280 x 720
Best fit to this device
Native of the computer
So basically it does any resolution if you choose native of the computer.
Is there anyway to zoom using this version?
njfoses said:
Is there anyway to zoom using this version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good question - adding mine - any way to get it to rotate 180degs?
xnappo
Any recommendations for this app? I've been using VLC for the past while, is this better?
I use this type of app numerous times a day to get info off my companies servers as well as use our company data software.
I have used this for the past 5hrs and im impressed so far. Works well. Maybe a little lag once in a while...but im assuming that's from spotty 3g service (tethered to phone).
I got this app yesterday so I could stream live TV from windows media center on my desktop. The video was surprisingly smooth. I would say it ran pretty close to 30 fps with some fps hiccups from time to time. The audio was great as well.
I haven't tried using VLC but if you're looking to watch other things than video files, this app works great. Other remote desktop apps come nowhere close to the video and audio performance of this one.
Ever tried 2X ?
Dc5e said:
I got this app yesterday so I could stream live TV from windows media center on my desktop. The video was surprisingly smooth. I would say it ran pretty close to 30 fps with some fps hiccups from time to time. The audio was great as well.
I haven't tried using VLC but if you're looking to watch other things than video files, this app works great. Other remote desktop apps come nowhere close to the video and audio performance of this one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What makes this better than free one like 2X ? Really would like to know.
Also I found a hack that lets windows home edition work like a terminal server which is saweet!
Even lets you connect console and have more than two users just like terminal server.
EDIT: ah I see now 2x won't play video over rdp... Window is black in player
Splashtop doesn't use traditional remote desktop protocol, it uses its own streamer that you install on the computer/server. I've never seen regular remote desktop or vnc server/client stream this well, especially with videos.
I have no experience with 2x but no video or black video window on client/secondary monitor is usually due overlay issues. Try changing video player setting away from overlay.
What kind of upstream connection do you guys have? Splashtop HD works amazingly well on my local network, but once I try using remotely I find it's performance leaves something to be desired. It works OK, but is generally slow and I wouldn't even think of doing any audio or video with it. My upstream is capped to around 100 kb/s or maybe a little higher, so I suspect that may be the issue.
Does anybody know of a solution that works better with such bandwidth constraints. I'd like to be able to remote in on my tablet and from my computer at work.
Splashtop is great on a LAN, but not as good over the internet. My cable (comcast blast) upload is ~3.7 Mbps at home, and the DSL download at work is 3 Mbps. And even then watching videos is not good. The audio portion is fine, the video portion is about 3 frames per second and less.
For watching video over the internet, Plex or Playon should be better. With Plex, you can adjust for your bandwidth. I think Playon detects your upload and adjust accordingly.
I couldn't get Plex to detect my server over the internet to test on my Gtab 10.1, works on a regular computer browser so it's not a firewall issue. Playon works fine for streaming. But I suspect your 100kbps could be problematic.
So between LogMeIn Ignition, 2X, Remote Desktop Client, and Remote RDP, which do you all recommend?
I plan to use it for repairing/diagnosing software issues from my house instead of having people bring me their computers.
I'm (generally) not that interested in watching video via remote desktop of any sort. It would be nice if I could use spotify from work sometimes though. Mostly I just want to have access to my appications (not to mention unrestricted internet access) on my home computer.
Splashtop remote desktop was just released and it works gr8 however when I stream video it has a slight lag. Is this caused by my PC not having enough processing power and is there a way to fix this. My pc is running duel core 2.8 processor I believe.
how fast is your internet connection?
Dual core 2.8 should be enough I would think. More ram may help if you have space to upgrade.
Also try putting anti virus in silent mode or the appropriate equivalent.
And disable all non necessary back ground apps
Unless your trying to stream out side of the LAN internet speed will have no effect whatsoever. And unless router was made in Bedrock it would be current enough to provide at least 64mps, that would be sufficient as well
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
Internet connection is not the issue i have 35up/35dwn Vfios I have only 3g of ram tho (win7 32bit , ) and streaming through LAN and streaming through remote connect seem to have the same lag. Router is brand new sp not a router issue...
I don't know if this will help, but I came across a link at the splashtop support forums. I don't have enough posts to cite the link, but it's to do with GeForce cards not working properly with the splashtop 'optimisations' and is related to drivers.
You might want to have a look at it if you have a geforce card in your machine. I have one in my PC, not sure what version of the driver is installed because I'm at work. Might see if any of the tweaks in the link sort out my flickering problem. (Splashtop worked fine the first time I used it, but since then I get intermittent blackscreens and flickering; my machine is a quad-core i7 920, 6GB ram, geforce 295 GTX, Win7 64bit, and is connected to my LAN by ethernet.)
Maxy
Thanx @Maxy ill give that a try
No worries mate. For info, I updated my nvidia drivers last night and it sorted my problem, mostly. I still have a little skipping, but it's much better.
Maxy
I've noticed lag with streaming video over splashtop on WiFi. Whereas, I experience no lag streaming video with SubSonic over wifi.
IMO -- Subsonic streams movie files a lot better; plus you can control quality of the stream. Splashtop is GREAT for remote desktop, and pretty good for streaming other stuff.
there's no app for SubSonic on the HP marketplace yet (probably wont ever be) but SubSonic creates a server for you on a .org domain, you just have to donate some money to the developers and bam. Give it a shot!
Try changing your wireless channel. Swapped mine to 11 and it works a treat
Check your server pc. I've noticed it's more cpu usage than broadband bandwidth. The server software is very cpu demanding even for dual cores. I've found my Intel E4400 is struggling to keep up. Check the server pc's task manager to see your cpu usage. I'm looking into upgrading my cpu to correct this issues. I've found the server software uses (on my cpu, other may vary) 40-50% and when I watch netflix, the silverlight plug-in uses another 40-50%, maxing out my cpu.
This app allows you to switch the hertz of your display. This is a tool for advanced users, please read this entire description. Hopefully this app will be obsolete sooner rather than later.
If you have a compatible TV or monitor, you may want to view specific content on a different hz. Apps can actually switch the hz used by your device. This feature is new to Android, and thus very few apps support it yet, which is the main reason an app like this one can come in handy.
Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, even if developers added this functionality to their apps (devs: check preferredRefreshRate in WindowManager.LayoutParams), it may not work right or at all. There are several issues with Google's current implementation, as it exists on the Nexus Player, firmware LRX21V:
- The available modes appear to only be detected on Android TV boot. This means your TV or receiver needs to be turned on and switched to the correct input before booting the Android TV device, or not all the modes your TV supports will be recognized.
- Switching hz may break audio. This app provides an option to fix that, but that does require your device to be rooted. Note that this may be both Android TV device as well TV dependent - your setup may not display this issue.
- Switching hz may randomly reboot the device
- The Android API lies. It'll happily report the current refresh rate to be X hz while it is actually Y hz, which may cause timing issues for video apps that actually take refresh rate into account.
- There is no hz override in display settings
So, until these things are fixed Google-side - and it would actually start to make sense for developers to include the functionality in their apps - at least you can play around with this.
Note that 'forcing' a certain hz might be wording it too strong. Android is still free to ignore the setting, and if an app really wanted to, it could override it as well.
Disclaimer: works for me, provided as-is, this app has no support, the situation describe above may change at any time
Why?
I was looking at committing this feature into xbmc/kodi, so I built a quick proof-of-concept app first, as I has not used the API before. During testing I quickly noted that the API doesn't work reliably enough yet to be part of that project.
Download
Google Play (this link is pending Play cache update and Play team approval)
Gonna be a bit off-topic here, sorry about that.
I don't have a Nexus Player, but changing the external display's refresh rate was one of the features I wanted for a long time, it was the last missing thing to have a nice, smooth movie playback experience in an app like xbmc/kodi.
How device-dependent is this app? Can I use it on a N5 for instance? (or a Chromecast?) It has power to pretty much play any video file, it has an 1080p display and can send 1080p through hdmi, so a ~24 hz refresh rate for movies is all that's missing.
It's nice to see Android itself supporting this (even if it currently broken as you say).
What about the external display's modes or the external display's resolution, can they also be changed? The other problem for a good movie experience is with devices not having an exact 1080p display (like the N7 2013). Since the external display is always mirrored (and not extended), the device's 1920*1200 image will be shrunk to the TV's 1920*1080 screen leaving black bars on the sides which really sucks. I've seen some root-required hacks for the N7 2013 to force a standard 1080p resolution, but that's not a real solution... It would be nice to have these sorted out, because until that, even a Raspberry Pi provides a way superior movie-experience than pretty much any Android-powered stuff...
Will this work on the ADT-1?
What about 120Hz TVs?
I dont see 120Hz in the selection is that because of some limitation?
scorpeeon said:
Gonna be a bit off-topic here, sorry about that.
I don't have a Nexus Player, but changing the external display's refresh rate was one of the features I wanted for a long time, it was the last missing thing to have a nice, smooth movie playback experience in an app like xbmc/kodi.
How device-dependent is this app? Can I use it on a N5 for instance? (or a Chromecast?) It has power to pretty much play any video file, it has an 1080p display and can send 1080p through hdmi, so a ~24 hz refresh rate for movies is all that's missing.
It's nice to see Android itself supporting this (even if it currently broken as you say).
What about the external display's modes or the external display's resolution, can they also be changed? The other problem for a good movie experience is with devices not having an exact 1080p display (like the N7 2013). Since the external display is always mirrored (and not extended), the device's 1920*1200 image will be shrunk to the TV's 1920*1080 screen leaving black bars on the sides which really sucks. I've seen some root-required hacks for the N7 2013 to force a standard 1080p resolution, but that's not a real solution... It would be nice to have these sorted out, because until that, even a Raspberry Pi provides a way superior movie-experience than pretty much any Android-powered stuff...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First, this app is written only with the main display in mind. As such, it won't work for external displays as it seems you are after. It won't work on an N5 or N7 either as this incarnation of the app only has a TV interface. It won't run on a Chromecast, because that doesn't actually run Android apps. Also, I'm pretty sure the main screens of the N5 and N7 only support 60hz.
That being said, and I have never tried this myself (I really should get a mini-HDMI cable to I can play with this stuff), so take this with a big grain of salt, but from what I've seen and read, the scaling and mirroring you mention is app-based. The Android API does provide mechanisms to display content in the full resolution of the external display (since API 17), but the app requires (potentially a lot of) extra code to do this. The mirroring (and thus auto-scaling) is merely the default thing Android does when an app does not override that behavior. Quickly checking the API docs, it also appears to be possible to adjust the hz of the secondary display in the same way (since API 21). However, again, the currently active app is the one who must control this.
TVHZ uses a trick to get around the restriction of having to be the currently active app. It does not appear this trick can be used the same way to control the hz of an external screen, through the regular API. This does not necessarily mean it isn't possible (without root), it just means more investigation would be required to know for sure.
xamadeix said:
Will this work on the ADT-1?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not tried.
the_mentor said:
What about 120Hz TVs?
I dont see 120Hz in the selection is that because of some limitation?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. 120hz is display panel refresh rate, not an input refresh rate. Don't worry about it
With stuff like this the rule is pretty much, if you don't know why you would change it and what you would change it to, you're probably best off with the default (unless someone specifically tells you otherwise).
Chainfire said:
First, this app is written only with the main display in mind. As such, it won't work for external displays as it seems you are after. It won't work on an N5 or N7 either as this incarnation of the app only has a TV interface. It won't run on a Chromecast, because that doesn't actually run Android apps. Also, I'm pretty sure the main screens of the N5 and N7 only support 60hz.
That being said, and I have never tried this myself (I really should get a mini-HDMI cable to I can play with this stuff), so take this with a big grain of salt, but from what I've seen and read, the scaling and mirroring you mention is app-based. The Android API does provide mechanisms to display content in the full resolution of the external display (since API 17), but the app requires (potentially a lot of) extra code to do this. The mirroring (and thus auto-scaling) is merely the default thing Android does when an app does not override that behavior. Quickly checking the API docs, it also appears to be possible to adjust the hz of the secondary display in the same way (since API 21). However, again, the currently active app is the one who must control this.
TVHZ uses a trick to get around the restriction of having to be the currently active app. It does not appear this trick can be used the same way to control the hz of an external screen, through the regular API. This does not necessarily mean it isn't possible (without root), it just means more investigation would be required to know for sure.
I have not tried.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is amazing.. Will it work on a ouya do you think?
Chainfire said:
This app allows you to switch the hertz of your display. This is a tool for advanced users, please read this entire description. Hopefully this app will be obsolete sooner rather than later.
If you have a compatible TV or monitor, you may want to view specific content on a different hz. Apps can actually switch the hz used by your device. This feature is new to Android, and thus very few apps support it yet, which is the main reason an app like this one can come in handy.
Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, even if developers added this functionality to their apps (devs: check preferredRefreshRate in WindowManager.LayoutParams), it may not work right or at all. There are several issues with Google's current implementation, as it exists on the Nexus Player, firmware LRX21V:
- The available modes appear to only be detected on Android TV boot. This means your TV or receiver needs to be turned on and switched to the correct input before booting the Android TV device, or not all the modes your TV supports will be recognized.
- Switching hz may break audio. This app provides an option to fix that, but that does require your device to be rooted. Note that this may be both Android TV device as well TV dependent - your setup may not display this issue.
- Switching hz may randomly reboot the device
- The Android API lies. It'll happily report the current refresh rate to be X hz while it is actually Y hz, which may cause timing issues for video apps that actually take refresh rate into account.
- There is no hz override in display settings
So, until these things are fixed Google-side - and it would actually start to make sense for developers to include the functionality in their apps - at least you can play around with this.
Note that 'forcing' a certain hz might be wording it too strong. Android is still free to ignore the setting, and if an app really wanted to, it could override it as well.
Disclaimer: works for me, provided as-is, this app has no support, the situation describe above may change at any time
Why?
I was looking at committing this feature into xbmc/kodi, so I built a quick proof-of-concept app first, as I has not used the API before. During testing I quickly noted that the API doesn't work reliably enough yet to be part of that project.
Download
Google Play (this link is pending Play cache update and Play team approval)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good job man, thanks for developing for the nexus player
Absolutely awesome!
Hopefully this will work for the Amazon Fire TV in the future too!
Chainfire said:
I was looking at committing this feature into xbmc/kodi, so I built a quick proof-of-concept app first, as I has not used the API before. During testing I quickly noted that the API doesn't work reliably enough yet to be part of that project.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FYI, I've also dabbled with refresh rate switching with Kodi, very WIP code (i.e. full of commented trial-and-error code ) is at https://github.com/anssih/xbmc/commits/android/refreshrate_wip (2 commits).
I also noticed the audio breaking (haven't investigated further yet), but I didn't see any reboots occurring.
If I remember correctly, this did not work on ADT-1 last I tested.
dsfdfsdfs said:
FYI, I've also dabbled with refresh rate switching with Kodi, very WIP code (i.e. full of commented trial-and-error code ) is at https://github.com/anssih/xbmc/commits/android/refreshrate_wip (2 commits).
I also noticed the audio breaking (haven't investigated further yet), but I didn't see any reboots occurring.
If I remember correctly, this did not work on ADT-1 last I tested.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The audio breakage occurs in device-specific code, so it may not happen on different devices. On the other hand, it may have been an oversight in the Android framework itself that many TVs will disconnect the audio channel as well when switching hz's - in essence completely severing the connection and building it up again.
Fixing the audio can be done by manually killing /system/bin/mediaserver (it is automatically restarted after a few seconds), or calling "stop media && start media". As a side effect this may actually crash apps using audio (or video) at that time, so actually doing this at the start of a video is not really an option - even if it didn't require root and wasn't device-specific.
The reboot is rare, but I've switched hz's a couple of hundred times now, and it does happen.
Glad to see someone else is looking at this though, if you put it in Kodi (when it actually works) that means I won't have to
Chainfire said:
The audio breakage occurs in device-specific code, so it may not happen on different devices. On the other hand, it may have been an oversight in the Android framework itself that many TVs will disconnect the audio channel as well when switching hz's - in essence completely severing the connection and building it up again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, by "not working on ADT-1" I meant that the refresh rate switching wasn't working there.
Anyway, the HDMI audio stuff is one-way communication (except for EDID, which can't be "disconnected" in that sense), so there is no "disconnecting the audio channel" from the TV side.
Chainfire said:
Fixing the audio can be done by manually killing /system/bin/mediaserver (it is automatically restarted after a few seconds), or calling "stop media && start media". As a side effect this may actually crash apps using audio (or video) at that time, so actually doing this at the start of a video is not really an option - even if it didn't require root and wasn't device-specific.
The reboot is rare, but I've switched hz's a couple of hundred times now, and it does happen.
Glad to see someone else is looking at this though, if you put it in Kodi (when it actually works) that means I won't have to
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Argh, and I was thinking the opposite here But yeah, I'll work on it as long as time permits.
Have you reported the audio/reboot issues to Google yet?
dsfdfsdfs said:
Sorry, by "not working on ADT-1" I meant that the refresh rate switching wasn't working there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't implying it might work on any specific device, just that at least the log spam from the audio issue come from a fugu-specific driver, a different driver may behave differently, or not if it's really a framework issue. Anyway, we're knee-deep in speculation here, it matters not.
Anyway, the HDMI audio stuff is one-way communication (except for EDID, which can't be "disconnected" in that sense), so there is no "disconnecting the audio channel" from the TV side.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll admit I know nothing about these things, but if the TV cuts all power to the port, wouldn't the device 'sense' that and possibly interpret that as a disconnect?
Argh, and I was thinking the opposite here But yeah, I'll work on it as long as time permits.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe my test videos weren't great, but I didn't think things looked noticably better at 24hz than they did at 60hz. Though admittedly that may be related to the renderer not actually knowing the display is at 24hz. It was more of an experiment for me than that I truly need it - I have some other issues to figure out with my NP that have higher priority.
Have you reported the audio/reboot issues to Google yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, because I have not had the time (or will) to produce a decent error report yet.
Chainfire said:
I'll admit I know nothing about these things, but if the TV cuts all power to the port, wouldn't the device 'sense' that and possibly interpret that as a disconnect?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, though I'd be somewhat surprised if that happens - if the source device sees a disconnect/reconnect, it may consider the to be a "new device" and do all sorts of enumeration... but anyway, as you said, pointless to speculate really
Chainfire said:
Maybe my test videos weren't great, but I didn't think things looked noticably better at 24hz than they did at 60hz. Though admittedly that may be related to the renderer not actually knowing the display is at 24hz. It was more of an experiment for me than that I truly need it - I have some other issues to figure out with my NP that have higher priority.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I too have a hard time seeing the 24/60Hz difference with most videos - not immediately sure if renderer thinking it was 60Hz could cause visible issues, though. With 25/50p European TV footage the 50/60Hz difference is more pronounced.
Chainfire said:
Nope, because I have not had the time (or will) to produce a decent error report yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK. I'll probably make one after I've had the time to gather some more data/info.
Update?
Can anyone update me on the current status of frame rate switching for android tv, specifically within Kodi? I'm hoping by the time the Shield console comes out I will be able to playback movies at 24hz.
anyone? I've searched around and haven't been able to find if this has been officially implemented in any apps.
Chainfire said:
This app allows you to switch the hertz of your display.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will your tool conflict with modes that are built in to integrated Android TVs, such as the forthcoming Sonys?
please get 24hz working on the Shield Tv
This is now finally implemented in Kodi (version 15.0 Beta 2, on Google Play, formerly XBMC). It works in at least Nexus Player and Shield TV, but should work in any Android system that supports refresh rate switching. You need to enable automatic refresh rate switching in the Kodi video settings.
I wrote the support back in December, but the problems mentioned in this thread prevented putting it in officially until now. Those issues seem to have been resolved in the Android versions released since then.
Works, somehow
The app does it job, although it seems to reset to 60Hz at reboot (even with the option set to keep at reboot).
Now, I agree, Google should set the output Hz to match the video stream at hand. Yes, it will be a short blackout, but so what!?.
Thanks for the app. I'm running it on the latest 6.0 available today.
Q-BOX 4K Amlogic S905 TV Box Android 5.1 2G/16G 2.4G+5G Dual Band WIFI 1000M LAN Bluetooth4.0 (KODI Preinstalled)
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"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
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Hi folks in this review i will be looking at the Q Box sent to me from Mod Edit: Selling site link removed.
The Q Box comes with the Amlogic S905 2.0GHz processer ,There is two variants of the Q Box the 2G/8G & 2G/16G, Both have Dual band wifi 2.4GHz / 5GHz & Bluetooth 4.0 The device in this review is for the Mod Edit: Selling site link removed.
My first thoughts on this are wow i love this thing.I cant beleave how cheap it is at just under£40 a real bargain IMO,, nice looking ,fast smooth UI & the stock firmware is not too bad at all for a starting firmware.
Q Box LED
Main Features:
●Fully Rooted
● Comes with a RJ45 jack for 10M / 100M / 1000M Ethernet which provides a strong network extension.
● True 4K x 2K resolution which delivers best audio and video quality for you.
● Powerful 2.0GHz Cortex-A53 quad core CPU: Stable and reliable.
● Android 5.1: Rapid and stable, gives you access to over 800,000 apps including Facebook, Youtube, Picasa and more.
● Professional H.265 video decoding technology and 2.4G + 5.8G WiFi, offering a more stable WiFi signal to enjoy a higher quality video experience.
● 2GB DDR3 + 16GB EMMC, 32GB maximum extended capacity gives you more space to download your favorite apps and caches to browse websites, play games, run apps, watch movies more smoothly.
● HDMI 2.0 connector: You can go directly to let your TV and Q-BOX are connected through a HDMI cable and set up your home cinema for the best 4K x 2K Full HD multimedia experience.
● 2 x USB host ports, Connect with your mouse and keyboard to help you operate more convenient.
● Infrared remote control let you enjoy your wonderful life which the wireless brings to you.
● HDMI CEC Use your normal TV remote to control your tv box (If your tv supports it)
Internal Photos
As you can see in this photo there is a Heat sink, its only small but doing a great job as iv not came across any over heating issues.
Device
The Q Box is A cool looking Tv box with its Ribbon of LED light that goes all around the top edge of the box that has 3 colors to choose from baby blue,dark blue & green .
The boot time is around 25 seconds so its quite nippy,There is a bottom & top status bar, Whitch i always like to see.My Q Box came fully rooted out of the box too so no messing about trying to root it.
Iv been playing around with this Q Box for over a week now & i have to say im more than impressed by it everything seems to run so well on,For an out of the box tv box experience This thing is pretty dam good.
The remote that the Q box comes with is a good remote, its not an airmouse but for a inferred remote its doing a great job.The only way to power down the Q box is with the button on the remote as there's no power button on the device its self.
Once booted up it takes you to the home screen shown below.
Home Screen
App Draw
About Tab
Kodi
The Q box comes with Kodi 16.0 & on the first run you get the choice to install the preset addons or a clean blank kodi.This is good to see that you do get the choice of the addons or not,The kodi loading time is also fast.
Games
Iv tested both beach buggy blitz & Asphalt 8, Both played perfect with no crashes or lag even with the graphics set to high,The game loading time is very fast.Also something to note the Q box has not over heated once even though it only has a small heatsink.Iv tested both the Tronsmart Mars G01 gamepad & my ps3 sixaxis controller Both worked fine & no bugs with the sixaxis gamepad ether.
Misc
Logitech c270 webcam works fine
External non powered 1TB samsung HD works
Tronsmart Mars G01 Gamepad works
Sixaxis Ps3 controller works
32GB works + my 64GB scandisk Extreme works
128GB USB Stick works
HDMI CEC works
Google play store NOT working
OTT updates NOT working
Wifi & Ethernet
The wifi on the Q box is strong its finding my home network & one another close by network im getting full signal strenth & the download speed is fast enough to stream 1080p & 4k Im finding the wifi & Ethernet quite good.
Wifi
Ap6330 Wifi Chip
Ethernet
Some tech stuff starting with the Antutu bench mark score
Antutu
Antutu Video
CPU Z
Stock Firmware
https://mega.nz/#!IgV10bID!RilT9J6EH-4bIyVorEfXdgu831bxhWEzG1ewF-Kzi6E
BootCard Maker
http://chinagadgetsreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/download-amlogic-bootcardmaker-english.html
New Stock Firmware 10/06/2016 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-otRcubD2DtUlZtUjZIZ055Wnc/view
Specification:
Type TV Box
Model Q box
GPU GPU: Mali-450
System Android 5.1
CPU Amlogic S905
Core Octa Core 2.0GHz
RAM 2G
ROM 16G
Color Black
Media Supported
Decoder Format: H.265
Video format: 4K
Audio format: AAC,FLAC,MP3,OGG,RM,WMA
Product Details
Bluetooth Bluetooth4.0
Power Supply Charge Adapter
Interface AV,DC Power Port,HDMI,Optical,RJ45,USB2.0
Product size 12.8*12.8*3cm
Whats in the Box
1 x Sunvell Q-BOX TV Box
1 x Power Adapter
1 x HDMI Cable
1 x Remote Control
1 x English Manual
Basic Unboxing Video
Mod Edit: Link removed for affiliate sales and selling site links.
great review, i just have one question
My bedroom is about 10m from my router, and know I wish to know how far was your box from your router because you got great speeds. I would like to order one, but I am afraid that wifi will be to weak, because I allready bought m8s and his wifi is terrible
Thanks for the review. I've just got the box and it seems pretty good except for a few problems.
1) Kodi and SPMC both play quite a few files with the sound out of sync which is the same as my other android box by sumvision. Seems to be a common problem on android boxes.
2) There are some apps I want but won't install from the play store due to them being "incompatible". Solif Explorer, Firefox and Torguard VPN all refuse to install for this reason. Very annoying.
3) There is a new firmware available at ndroidtvbox.eu (Search for sunvell qbox firmware) but I cannot figure out how to install it using the updater.
4) Sunvell does not have this product on their site which is strange. What hope is there of any support?
---------- Post added at 02:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:17 PM ----------
luka-san said:
great review, i just have one question
My bedroom is about 10m from my router, and know I wish to know how far was your box from your router because you got great speeds. I would like to order one, but I am afraid that wifi will be to weak, because I allready bought m8s and his wifi is terrible
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might be ok. Depends more on having a decent router rather than the device.
It also has a wired network port. Can you use that instead?
I can't, cable isn't a option in my case. My router is great, all other my devices have great wifi reception in my bedroom, but for example m8s is just terrible. I read that many of s905 boxes have the same problem. But when I see your result, q box wifi should be, just fine
Poslano sa mog SM-G928F koristeći Tapatalk
Hi, thx for great review. Could you test some video files (1080p, 2160p, H264, H265, maybe some weird stuff too)?
luka-san said:
I can't, cable isn't a option in my case. My router is great, all other my devices have great wifi reception in my bedroom, but for example m8s is just terrible. I read that many of s905 boxes have the same problem. But when I see your result, q box wifi should be, just fine
Poslano sa mog SM-G928F koristeći Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, perhaps the M8 has a weak antenna. You might be ok. Otherwise you might have to invest in one of those powerline adapter kits.
---------- Post added at 04:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:10 PM ----------
edekzkk said:
Hi, thx for great review. Could you test some video files (1080p, 2160p, H264, H265, maybe some weird stuff too)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, I might as well add my observations:
All my files are on a local NAS.
1080p and 720p x264 video files play fine, with the exception of lots of TV episodes being out of sync. I have to set a lot of videos to have the audio 250ms ahead, but others are fine.
I have a few x265 1080p videos, and all of them play with the sound out of sync by varying degrees. It also seems to take a few seconds for the sound sync to "settle" when the file is played, but still ends up inaccurate.
great review, i just have one question
My bedroom is about 10m from my router, and know I wish to know how far was your box from your router because you got great speeds. I would like to order one, but I am afraid that wifi will be to weak, because I allready bought m8s and his wifi is terrible
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi thanks,
All my tests so far have been about 3 or 4 feet from my router. I will do some more wifi tests a little further away.
Hi, thx for great review. Could you test some video files (1080p, 2160p, H264, H265, maybe some weird stuff too)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi ya thanks,
A few video tests about 3 or 4 meters from the router through a wall
Wifi
jellyfish-10-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 10 Mbps 1920x1080 H.264 FINE
jellyfish-20-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 20 Mbps 1920x1080 H.264 FINE
jellyfish-30-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 30 Mbps 1920x1080 H.264 FINE
jellyfish-40-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 40 Mbps 1920x1080 H.264 A LITTLE BUFFERING
jellyfish-50-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 50 Mbps 1920x1080 H.264 BUFFERING
jellyfish-60-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 60 Mbps 1920x1080 H.264 BUFFERING
jellyfish-80-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 80 Mbps 1920x1080 H.264 BUFFERING
jellyfish-100-mbps-hd-h264.mkv100 Mbps1920x1080 H.264 BUFFERING
jellyfish-120-mbps-4k-uhd-h264.mkv120 Mbps3840x2160 H.264 BUFFERING
Ethernet
jellyfish-50-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 50 Mbps 1920x1080 H.264 FINE
jellyfish-60-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 60 Mbps 1920x1080 H.264 FINE
jellyfish-80-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 80 Mbps 1920x1080 H.264 FINE
jellyfish-100-mbps-hd-h264.mkv100 Mbps1920x1080 H.264 VIDEO STUTTER
jellyfish-120-mbps-4k-uhd-h264.mkv120 Mbps 3840x2160 H.264 VIDEO STUTTER
USB 3 stick
jellyfish-60-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 60 Mbps 1920x1080 H.264 FINE
jellyfish-80-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 80 Mbps 1920x1080 H.264 FINE
jellyfish-100-mbps-hd-h264.mkv100 Mbps1920x1080 H.264 FINE
jellyfish-120-mbps-4k-uhd-h264.mkv120 Mbps 3840x2160 H.264 FINE
jellyfish-200-mbps-4k-uhd-h264.mkv200 Mbps3840x2160 H.264 VIDEO STUTTER
Sybs said:
Thanks for the review. I've just got the box and it seems pretty good except for a few problems.
3) There is a new firmware available at ndroidtvbox.eu (Search for sunvell qbox firmware) but I cannot figure out how to install it using the updater.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Thanks,,
Iv already installed the latest firmware on my Q box for this Review the new firmware is also in my review.
Heres a guide to use the bootcard maker that may help https://mega.nz/#!ogUW1ARY!vS_HjUWYKFTo4u00p858cXeHAYouXwkuXnpz8x0ckn8
Sybs said:
Hey, I might as well add my observations:
All my files are on a local NAS.
1080p and 720p x264 video files play fine, with the exception of lots of TV episodes being out of sync. I have to set a lot of videos to have the audio 250ms ahead, but others are fine.
I have a few x265 1080p videos, and all of them play with the sound out of sync by varying degrees. It also seems to take a few seconds for the sound sync to "settle" when the file is played, but still ends up inaccurate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's disappointing... I've already ordered Qbox as home video/audio player (Kodi), and this doesn't look good...
blinkone said:
Hi Thanks,,
Iv already installed the latest firmware on my Q box for this Review the new firmware is also in my review.
Heres a guide to use the bootcard maker that may help https://mega.nz/#!ogUW1ARY!vS_HjUWYKFTo4u00p858cXeHAYouXwkuXnpz8x0ckn8
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the guide, can I press the button from the outside somehow? I've tried bending a pin but I can't manage to press anything.
BTW, perhaps you could post it here for others.
OK, I've installed the latest firmware. I cannot believe I had to dismantle the device in order to install a firmware update. My sumvision box, which has the identical "Update&Backup" app can do it from there, but this one can't apparently.
I got all my data deleted using that update method so that was also aa huge annoyance.
I cannot notice any difference whatsoever in the new image. It still has the same problems. A lot of apps aren't compatible on the play store.
I forgot to mention in my previous comment that it has random wired network dropouts. There are occasionaly times when I wake it up and it cannot get a network connection until I reboot it. This is still happening after the upgrade.
The "Update&Backup" STILL has a OTA update to download, but fails to download it and crashes after a few seconds every time. Terrible, untested software.
It says "New york" up in the top right corner of the home screen and I have no idea what that's about. (Possibly some kind of weather announcement, but I have corrected my location, regional settings etc and it remains there)
I managed to remedy the play store problem by modifying the build.prop file which thankfully is possible because the device is pre-rooted. Doing this allowed me to install SPMC, Solid Explorer, Torguard etc.
Overall, I can't recommend this device. The quality of the software is terrible. I've spent many hours tinkering trying to get it to work the way I want, so novice users should definitely not get this. The hardware seems to be perfectly capable and miles beyond something like a RPi3, but the software really spoils it.
@Sybs, my "Update&Backup" sais under changes something like "modify google play store" in bad english, does the same update still appears under the new firmware?
Ive also tried out some chinese proxies to get the update working, since the downloads from china are very unstable. But it looks like it always stops around 316 kb of 21xxx kb).
I will try to use a network sniffer to get the actual url to download the file from another pc and then to flash it manually.
What changes have you made to the file "build.prop"?
DieHardMan said:
@Sybs, my "Update&Backup" sais under changes something like "modify google play store" in bad english, does the same update still appears under the new firmware?
Ive also tried out some chinese proxies to get the update working, since the downloads from china are very unstable. But it looks like it always stops around 316 kb of 21xxx kb).
I will try to use a network sniffer to get the actual url to download the file from another pc and then to flash it manually.
What changes have you made to the file "build.prop"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi @DieHardMan, yes that's the same update that appears for me and it fails at about the same point every time.
I only changed the build.prop device and manufacturer to a Nvidia Shield TV as I figured that would allow me to download any apps I need. It worked.
Today the download size of the update changed to 640 MB, but now i wont even start the download. But they seem to do something server side. Ive also looked into the build.prop and theres the following line:
ro.product.otaupdateurl=http://198.11.176.47:9090/otaupdate_t95_2G/update
The ip is located in the US and the url leads to a 404, perfect.
Google Cast and TV PlayStore
Hi, I just got this TV box and it seems there is no support of Google Cast and no Google TV PlayStore (No TV app's...). How can I bring there features on board?
I bought this box for my old CRT NTSC TV, but unfortunately the composite AV output doesn't support NTSC resolution: the lowest setting is 480p and it's completely garbled so I guess my TV needs 480i.
I've seen KitKat-based TV boxes with PAL/NTSC settings, but it seem to have disappeared with Lollipop: is there any way to bring this feature back with an app or a custom rom?
Thanks in advance
qbox
Is there a possibility on the latest firmwere to turn green LED box when it is in stand-by mode . Changing the color of the backlight off working on my home screen natomast green podswiedlenie standby is quite annoying .
Regards
Michael
Latest Firmware can be found here https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-otRcubD2DtUlZtUjZIZ055Wnc/view
Hi guys, I'm considering buying an android TV box, so any other feedbacks on this Qbox?
If the firmware is still not fully functioning (Google Play, e.g.), what box would you recommend in this range of price?
Thanks!
Sybs said:
Hi @DieHardMan, yes that's the same update that appears for me and it fails at about the same point every time.
I only changed the build.prop device and manufacturer to a Nvidia Shield TV as I figured that would allow me to download any apps I need. It worked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What lines did you change for this? I changed the device brand to nvidia shield TV and I don't get any more apps available in the play store.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA-Developers mobile app
Disclaimer: I received this box free as part of a beelink beta-test group. I am not a professional reviewer so please take this review as more from an average user perspective.
On tearing open the package, I have to say the premium feel of this box is outstanding and on a level above any other Android TV box I’ve received in this price range. The sleek black box with the silver lettering definitely screams classy premium.
[See pics posted at end of review]
Specs:
OS: Android 6.0
CPU: Octa Core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU up to 2GHz(DVFS)
GPU: ARM Mali-T820MP3 GPU up to 750MHz(DVFS)
RAM：DDR3 2GB
ROM：Onboard eMMC Flash 16GB
Connectivity: 1000Mbps LAN; WIFI: IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac，2.4G+5.8G
Bluetooth: BT 4.0
USB: 2x USB 2.0 ports
Expand Memory: Micro SD Card (Maximum support 32GB)
Language: Multi -language
Power Supply – 5V/2A
Android Version: 6.0.1
Security Patch Level: June 1 2016
Build #: GT1_102M0
For a complete listing of hardware and video output specs please see forum post linked here: http://www.bee-link.com/Beelink-274-1-1.html
Unboxing:
[see pics at end]
Initial Setup/Performance:
Included in the box is the main device itself, a “high speed” HDMI cable, power adapter and remote which carries 2xAAA batteries (batteries not included).
The top of the device carries a classy beelink logo with a glossy finish helping this box stand out. The right side of the device is blank and I wish there was an additional USB port here. The back houses the main ports: Power, 1xUSB, HDMI, GB Ethernet and SPDIF. On the left side of the box is a 1xUSB port and a microSD card slot. Beelink states the microSD slot supports up to 32GB cards but I was able to read/write to my 64GB PNY card with no problems. On the bottom there are four subtle feet to help stop the device from sliding around.
Powering up the device you will find 1 ‘soft’ white LED status indicator on the front. Thankfully it’s not super bright and shouldn’t keep you up at night.
Boot time - first boot 23.7 seconds
Reboot from home screen - 34.06 seconds
The beelink launcher is one of the best Android TVBox launchers out there. It’s simple, uncluttered with big bright unmistakable icons and most of all it works great with the remote or a mouse.
Bluetooth is also natively supported on the box (you won’t need an external dongle) and I successfully connected my bluetooth speakers and headset for use.
There is no bloatware on this box. None at all. Kudos to beelink for this as some manufacturers preload too much unnecessary software on these boxes. Of the 16GB storage about 10GB is available to the user to install apps or store your media files. Here’s a list of what’s installed by default: App4TV, AppInstaller, Browser, FileBrowser, Fishing Joy, Gallery, Kodi, KodiMate, Media Center, MoviePlayer, Music, Play Store, PPOE, Settings, Update&Backup.
Additional apps I’ve installed:
MXPlayer - plays pretty much everything you can throw at it.
CrossyRoad - game response is better than expected even with the slow remote
Riptide GP - gameplay was good even with the slow remote
Youtube for AndroidTV.
Antutu Benchmark - direct through Play Store
Geekbench 4 - direct through Play Store
Youtube installed via play store does not have the native Android TV resolution or controls and is extremely hard to navigate without a mouse. You will have a better experience if you manually install Youtube for Android TV. Max resolution available 1080p60.
Download Youtube for Android TV (current version 1.3.11) from APKMirror here: http://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/youtube-for-android-tv/
The included remote is very basic, is lighter than their previous controls and does not match the premium feel of the box. It’s functional but somewhat slow.
Wifi Connectivity:
The S912 device successfully found and connected to both my 2.4 and 5GHz networks. Also picked up a few of my neighbors
The following results are from the SpeedTest.net app from the Play Store:
My home internet speed 250 Mbps Down / 50 Mbps Up
Router 3 feet away
2.4GHz - 30.91 Mbps Down / 38.18 Mbps Up
5GHz - 107.88 Mbps Down / 48.86 Mbps Up
Router 13 feet away with 1 wall between
2.4GHz - 2.94 Mbps Down / 26.50 Mbps Up
5 GHz - 16.58 Mbps Down / 15.52 Mbps Up
The 5GHz band is clearly superior so I’d recommend using this if you can.
Benchmarks:
I’m not a big fan of software benchmarks so I won’t go into any details here as there are plenty of other reviews listing them. However here are the scores:
Antutu scored - 41407
Geekbench 4 score - 585 Single-Core / 2418 Multi-Core
Video Playback:
Majority of videos play smooth with no issues including 4K. Streaming via Kodi was smooth and error free on those add-ons we all love to use that I won’t mention. Playback was fast from both attached USB drives and the microSD card. Pausing and seeking (forward and back) provided no challenges.
I have experienced some video stutters and audio is out of sync with some 4K files but this will need further testing. Not sure if this is user error or a limitation of this particular chip as has been mentioned of boxes from other manufacturers carrying the S912 chip. However, this shouldn’t be a problem for the average user whose main goal is to stream general content via Kodi, Hulu, Netflix and 1080p Youtube.
Video Test Files:
BigBuck Bunny
4K Samples from: http://4ksamples.com/
Linaro Sample Media: http://samplemedia.linaro.org/
Google Widevine - Supported
Apps like Netflix need Widevine Level 1 DRM to be able to stream in a resolution above SD.
Missing Features / Issues:
Button on remote to open multitasking like on the Zidoo boxes.
Remote not as responsive as the MiniMX III remote. Clicks sometimes don’t register or register as double. Hopefully this can be fixed in a software update.
Does not come pre-rooted. Hopefully root can come as part of an OTA update.
HDMI CEC - starts the box when you turn on your TV. Would be a nice feature to have.
Overall:
From my limited time with this device I am highly satisfied with this box specs vs performance. If you enjoyed the beelink MiniMX III then you will enjoy the upgrade this box provides. This is another great offering from beelink and I doubt you will find another Android TV box with this spec/performance for this price. I would definitely recommend this to my customers.
Image Album: http://imgur.com/a/T9tOe
You can purchase this beelink GT1 on GearBest or from the Beelink Official Store on Amazon
Amazon: https://amzn.com/B01KFMLCX6
GearBest: http://www.gearbest.com/tv-box-mini-pc/pp_416057.html
Can you do me a favor, can you check in the playstore if the game "Summoner Wars: Sky arena" is avaible for this tv box, please, i want to buy one to play, it is good to play?
Apps like Netflix need Widevine Level 1 DRM to be able to stream in a resolution above SD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This means it will not run videos in Netflix above 480p, correct?
Is there a way to get Widevine Level 1 DRM on it if it doesnt have it
---------- Post added at 06:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:24 PM ----------
agentevic said:
Can you do me a favor, can you check in the playstore if the game "Summoner Wars: Sky arena" is avaible for this tv box, please, i want to buy one to play, it is good to play?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes its on the play store
Can you check if its possible to send picture to a miracast enabled TV?
i have 3 issues with this GT1 box.
1) Plugging 1TB hard drive while the box is on will cause the screen goes blank. Nothing can be done except turn off and on the power plug to reboot it.
2) Random green screen flickering. Change to other HDMI cable and change display setting still not solve the issue.
3) Picture quality a little bit darker compare to my other android box. Can notice when I watch movie with a lot dark scene.
How to send picture with the Miracast?
fincax said:
How to send picture with the Miracast?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want to know if it has the option. I think it would be more settings, display, cast screen then enable "enable wireless display" option
I have same issues. Green screen flickering, maybe caused by automatic brightness option or by Rendering Section, maybe option "Turn off hardware overlays" hardware overlays", will force the device to always use GPU for screen compositing.
I read this somewhere....
1Gbit lan
Hello,
I'd like to use it to share my external harddisk with Samba, have you tested the speed transfert between a computer and an external device connected?
Got a RPI2+ but the transfert is maximum 11MB/S due to 100mbits chip.
Thanks
Hevc 10-bit
My problem is with hevc 10-bit videos. While in some video reviews I watched over the Internet everything worked perfectly, when I tried it didn't go very well. While with h264 and h265 video files everything is ok in kodi, there is no way to play h265 10bit videos(with kodi). Green flickering all over the screen, absolutely unwatchable. Also tried to play h265 10bit video files with mx player and default media player and everything was working smooth with hw decoding. Absolutely no idea why kodi can't play h265 10bit files. Any idea?
Plex app for android same result when using direct play. Green flickering. Interesting that when I use external player for plex (mx player, default video player) no flickering at all
If you're planning on using any live tv/live channels or streaming on kodi with this box, it will NOT work.
A lot of us are having issues with anything live on Kodi. Meanwhile, 1080p Youtube, 4k media files, kodi with pre-recorded programs all play fine, very smooth and without issue, and so it isn't a network problem.
But load up Kodi and open any addon with any live tv/channel streaming (Exodus, cCloudTV, Phoenix) and all you get is working audio with very choppy/lagging video that changes one frame every 3-5 seconds. Other standalone streaming apps work without problem. The problem is just Kodi but Kodi is far too important and I might have to return this drive if there's no fix.
Many people are complaining on the company site and Beelink is just ignoring them. Avoid this box if you are planning on using Kodi streaming.
theviper07 said:
Plex app for android same result when using direct play. Green flickering. Interesting that when I use external player for plex (mx player, default video player) no flickering at all
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Click to collapse
Same thing with my box. Very disappointed.
Beelink forum has a thread about this, and they said change kodi system set may solve this problem.
Cptn_Nemo said:
If you're planning on using any live tv/live channels or streaming on kodi with this box, it will NOT work.
A lot of us are having issues with anything live on Kodi. Meanwhile, 1080p Youtube, 4k media files, kodi with pre-recorded programs all play fine, very smooth and without issue, and so it isn't a network problem.
But load up Kodi and open any addon with any live tv/channel streaming (Exodus, cCloudTV, Phoenix) and all you get is working audio with very choppy/lagging video that changes one frame every 3-5 seconds. Other standalone streaming apps work without problem. The problem is just Kodi but Kodi is far too important and I might have to return this drive if there's no fix.
Many people are complaining on the company site and Beelink is just ignoring them. Avoid this box if you are planning on using Kodi streaming.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ordered this device for kodi live stream..terrible news!
I am trying to sign in beelink forum without result.
But how is possible they ignore this problem in kodi?
Inviato dal mio ONEPLUS A3003 utilizzando Tapatalk
Tabs78 said:
I ordered this device for kodi live stream..terrible news!
I am trying to sign in beelink forum without result.
But how is possible they ignore this problem in kodi?
Inviato dal mio ONEPLUS A3003 utilizzando Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is terrible. Everyone buys this box for kodi and it does not even work properly. They not only ignore the problem in their website forum but they have intentionally deleted posts about this problem.
I managed to get it fixed today after many factory resets and using the pre-installed kodi. So it looks like Kodi doesn't work on the Beelink GT1 box if you remove/uninstall the one that comes already included with the Beelink and attempt to use a brand new Kodi from the Play Store or Kodi website. I do not like this as I prefer a clean fresh kodi install and you can never know what they might have put in the already installed kodi.
Cptn_Nemo said:
It is terrible. Everyone buys this box for kodi and it does not even work properly. They not only ignore the problem in their website forum but they have intentionally deleted posts about this problem.
I managed to get it fixed today after many factory resets and using the pre-installed kodi. So it looks like Kodi doesn't work on the Beelink GT1 box if you remove/uninstall the one that comes already included with the Beelink and attempt to use a brand new Kodi from the Play Store or Kodi website. I do not like this as I prefer a clean fresh kodi install and you can never know what they might have put in the already installed kodi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, my english is bad.
You say if i use preinstalled kodi maybe i could not the problem?
Inviato dal mio ONEPLUS A3003 utilizzando Tapatalk
Tabs78 said:
Sorry, my english is bad.
You say if i use preinstalled kodi maybe i could not the problem?
Inviato dal mio ONEPLUS A3003 utilizzando Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that is what appears to happen.
You said you already ordered it, right?
When the box comes, before you do anything, try using the preinstalled kodi and see if it streams properly and good. If it works, that is great. Then try erasing Kodi and installing a fresh new one from the Play Store and try streaming with that one. If you see any problems, just do a quick system factory reset and use the preinstalled kodi.
This is what I ended up doing now
theviper07 said:
My problem is with hevc 10-bit videos. While in some video reviews I watched over the Internet everything worked perfectly, when I tried it didn't go very well. While with h264 and h265 video files everything is ok in kodi, there is no way to play h265 10bit videos(with kodi). Green flickering all over the screen, absolutely unwatchable. Also tried to play h265 10bit video files with mx player and default media player and everything was working smooth with hw decoding. Absolutely no idea why kodi can't play h265 10bit files. Any idea?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which video files are you trying? Any chance you can give me the names or provide a download link and I'll test. Also have you tried SPMC instead of Kodi? The guy behind SPMC was the main Android Dev for Kodi but he left the group a few months back.
Cptn_Nemo said:
If you're planning on using any live tv/live channels or streaming on kodi with this box, it will NOT work.
A lot of us are having issues with anything live on Kodi. Meanwhile, 1080p Youtube, 4k media files, kodi with pre-recorded programs all play fine, very smooth and without issue, and so it isn't a network problem.
But load up Kodi and open any addon with any live tv/channel streaming (Exodus, cCloudTV, Phoenix) and all you get is working audio with very choppy/lagging video that changes one frame every 3-5 seconds. Other standalone streaming apps work without problem. The problem is just Kodi but Kodi is far too important and I might have to return this drive if there's no fix.
Many people are complaining on the company site and Beelink is just ignoring them. Avoid this box if you are planning on using Kodi streaming.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly since Koying stopped developing the main Kodi app I've been using his fork SPMC, With SPMC I don't have any issue with Live TV/Channel streaming. cCloud, Clu IPTV, UKTurks all work ok. Phoenix has always been hit or miss for me so I hardly ever use it. I expect this is a problem with Kodi which the Android devs have yet to fix since it works OK in SPMC which is a fork of Kodi.
Tabs78 said:
I ordered this device for kodi live stream..terrible news!
I am trying to sign in beelink forum without result.
But how is possible they ignore this problem in kodi?
Inviato dal mio ONEPLUS A3003 utilizzando Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Until they fix the Kodi app you can give SPMC a try. It works great and is in active development.
Cptn_Nemo said:
It is terrible. Everyone buys this box for kodi and it does not even work properly. They not only ignore the problem in their website forum but they have intentionally deleted posts about this problem.
I managed to get it fixed today after many factory resets and using the pre-installed kodi. So it looks like Kodi doesn't work on the Beelink GT1 box if you remove/uninstall the one that comes already included with the Beelink and attempt to use a brand new Kodi from the Play Store or Kodi website. I do not like this as I prefer a clean fresh kodi install and you can never know what they might have put in the already installed kodi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like I mentioned above, this could be a problem for the Kodi devs to fix not Beelink. I could be wrong, however the fact that SPMC (the Kodi fork) works great for live streaming, is still actively developed by the guy that was the main Android dev for the Kodi team, speaks volumes.
Also the Kodi that comes pre-installed on the box is the same from the PlayStore, check the signature on the apk.