Related
I got it on Sunday. I have a GT 10.1 Wi-Fi that I'm using until I get a GT 10.1 3G that's back-ordered from the UK. Spec wise, other than the weight, the Jetstream seems perfect. HTC did a great job with the UI too.
But, like all HTC devices, video playback is screwed up and streaming video is something I use a lot on a tablet. Neither Plex nor PlayOn, the two biggest streaming apps, work on the Jetstream but work fine out of the box on the GT. It also doesn't natively play MKV files which I have about a terabyte of. There are work-arounds via the market for MKV support but for $700 HTC should have been more thorough in their video support and implementation. The dev group at Plex is looking at a logcat file to see what the screw up is but I don't have a lot of hope. There's actually no dedicated video player in the Jetstream. You have to open a video via the library to get it to play. Wierd. Other than the weight and lack of video support there's a lot to like about the Jetstream. But the video issue(s) are a deal breaker (at least for me). So, back it goes.
BarryH_GEG said:
I got it on Sunday. I have a GT 10.1 Wi-Fi that I'm using until I get a GT 10.1 3G that's back-ordered from the UK. Spec wise, other than the weight, the Jetstream seems perfect. HTC did a great job with the UI too.
But, like all HTC devices, video playback is screwed up and streaming video is something I use a lot on a tablet. Neither Plex nor PlayOn, the two biggest streaming apps, work on the Jetstream but work fine out of the box on the GT. It also doesn't natively play MKV files which I have about a terabyte of. There are work-arounds via the market for MKV support but for $700 HTC should have been more thorough in their video support and implementation. The dev group at Plex is looking at a logcat file to see what the screw up is but I don't have a lot of hope. There's actually no dedicated video player in the Jetstream. You have to open a video via the library to get it to play. Wierd. Other than the weight and lack of video support there's a lot to like about the Jetstream. But the video issue(s) are a deal breaker (at least for me). So, back it goes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't tried any of those apps yet on mine, so I can't speak if I can get them to work or not, however I did manually install the Netflix apk as it wasn't available for the device in the market directly and it installed and worked perfectly. So as far as streaming video at least there is one working option so far.
- Dan
BarryH_GEG said:
I got it on Sunday. I have a GT 10.1 Wi-Fi that I'm using until I get a GT 10.1 3G that's back-ordered from the UK. Spec wise, other than the weight, the Jetstream seems perfect. HTC did a great job with the UI too.
But, like all HTC devices, video playback is screwed up and streaming video is something I use a lot on a tablet. Neither Plex nor PlayOn, the two biggest streaming apps, work on the Jetstream but work fine out of the box on the GT. It also doesn't natively play MKV files which I have about a terabyte of. There are work-arounds via the market for MKV support but for $700 HTC should have been more thorough in their video support and implementation. The dev group at Plex is looking at a logcat file to see what the screw up is but I don't have a lot of hope. There's actually no dedicated video player in the Jetstream. You have to open a video via the library to get it to play. Wierd. Other than the weight and lack of video support there's a lot to like about the Jetstream. But the video issue(s) are a deal breaker (at least for me). So, back it goes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea plex doesn't work... i emailed them a log file......however, emit does work.
https://market.android.com/details?id=tv.wpn.biokoda.android.emitfree
B"H
Sorry to hear about the Jetstream.
Just out of curiosity, there are many websites here in the USA that have the Galaxy 10.1 3G in stock, like onthegosolutions.com
Not sure why you are waiting for the units from England? Is there a difference?
Thanks.
dovid said:
B"H
Sorry to hear about the Jetstream.
Just out of curiosity, there are many websites here in the USA that have the Galaxy 10.1 3G in stock, like onthegosolutions.com
Not sure why you are waiting for the units from England? Is there a difference?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All the 3G units currently available in the U.S. are 16GB (I want 32GB or 64GB) and sourced from either Latin America or South Africa. The units from the UK have XEU firmware which pretty much covers all of Europe. It's updated much more frequently and comes with things left out in the U.S. like Reader's Hub. UK units also come with a two-year warranty. The new release date is 9/30.
I was wondering how good the selection of films and shows that Netflix UK has in comparison to LOVEFilm and also in terms of video quality. I'm tempted to sign up to one of these services for use mostly with my Prime.
Thanks.
Moothead2 said:
I was wondering how good the selection of films and shows that Netflix UK has in comparison to LOVEFilm and also in terms of video quality. I'm tempted to sign up to one of these services for use mostly with my Prime.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a lot of content already and this will slowly grow over time. LOVEFilm only stream in standard def, yet require more bandwidth. I'm using netflix and I have to say, so far I'm enjoying it.
Here is a gizmodo article about the pros and cons of each:
http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2012/01/th...film-smackdown-which-one-is-worth-your-money/
Thanks, good read. So basically the video quality and TV Shows are better on Netflix but the movie selection is slightly better on LOVEFilm at the moment? Might give the Netflix free trial a run out tonight or tomorrow and see how I find it.
Thanks again.
The design of this thing is awesome. Pair it with those monster 14 pound EACH speakers and man, that's drool worthy.
However, this device is kinda confusing to me. Is it a dumbed down receiver? Is it a dumbed down Google TV device? I can play vids from YouTube and and Google Play and music and that's it?
Where are the shots of what ever interface this will have? Where is Netflix? Huluu Plus? Amazon Prime? This seems to be the most limited - as far as what can be done with it from the get-go - device I have seen El Goog push out in a long while. Sad.
As good as it looks, it seems rushed to me. Why pay $299 for something that is simply novelty and available in many different flavors already?
Till they add a bit to it, or someone hacks it and makes it much better. Sorry Goog, I pass.
While they were doing the presentation, I understood it as it was just a receiver that connects to some speakers or a tv, so once you connect to it (I forget if it was WIFI or NFC) you can just play music or videos on the speakers or tv; and anybody that connects to it is able to play what they want on it.
It looks great and all but for $300 its definitely not worth the price tag.
This is on the network so I hope that it has easy access to Windows shares and that it will be able to play 1080p MKVs with lossless audio.
I haven't played around with playback on devices.
Even though it is pricey if it has this full feature set then I may pick this up. Would be a nice improvement over plugging in a laptop to the TV.
Shieze said:
This is on the network so I hope that it has easy access to Windows shares and that it will be able to play 1080p MKVs with lossless audio.
I haven't played around with playback on devices.
Even though it is pricey if it has this full feature set then I may pick this up. Would be a nice improvement over plugging in a laptop to the TV.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I was told yesterday, it won't. The guys here at IO said it would only stream from them (movies and music stored in their cloud or Play Store).
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA Premium HD app
I'm hoping there is at least some logic within the box that allows you to play more sophisticated content.
Mi|enko said:
From what I was told yesterday, it won't. The guys here at IO said it would only stream from them (movies and music stored in their cloud or Play Store).
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's $300 because it's supposedly actually manufactured in America... so do with that what you will
I'm still very confused as to what it is/how it works. Doesn't seem worthwhile.
seems like the coolest looking piece of crap.
The engadget preview says much of the price is because of the built in amp, which, IMHO is totally unnecessary. I have a surround sound system.. why would I want stereo sound from that puny little thing?
Drop the amp and $100 off the pricetag and this thing will sell itself. Oh, and unlock the damn thing. Only plays stuff from the play store? Google is starting to sound like apple...
preusstang said:
Google is starting to sound like apple...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? It has a USB port explicitly for the purpose of hacking it. I have no doubt the Nexus Q will be a cool device to own once there's enough dev support for it.
It seems like Google released the Nexus Q with the idea that the android community would figure out what to do with it.
Nexus q + dev support = sold. However I will wait for the support first instead of buying and hoping....
Its an interesting device, but I'm disappointed that they at least didn't add an "airplay" style connection for displaying your phone or tablet screen on the tv via wifi. That would at least make it more appealing for the price
I sat there during the keynote thinking what a killer feature this would have been for a google tv. Instead it's a more expensive and more limited device.
I came away from i/o feeling like the google tv is being de-prioritized and they want to push this device instead because it's locked down to google play content. There were zero mentions of google tv during either of the keynotes. There were sessions but after sitting through a few it seemed as if all the new and exciting things were happening in other product lines. I don't mean this as a dig at the google tv devs. I just think the company has made a cooporate decision to lock this down.
Maybe I'll feel a little different after unboxing it tonight and playing with it some but I just can't see myself getting on board this product line and I'm a google fanboy. It just feels like a limitations by design concept.
CASTRO2 said:
Really? It has a USB port explicitly for the purpose of hacking it. I have no doubt the Nexus Q will be a cool device to own once there's enough dev support for it.
It seems like Google released the Nexus Q with the idea that the android community would figure out what to do with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's cool. But inconsistent. Not everyone is tech savvy enough to even flash anything and I would be more apt to group those individuals with ones who would use the banana plugs on the back. It doesn't take an audiophile to desire more than 2 channels of sound.
I think its a brilliant device and ill probably get one once the price goes down. I just think it may increase sales to offer one without the amp - is it really that big of a selling point?
preusstang said:
That's cool. But inconsistent. Not everyone is tech savvy enough to even flash anything and I would be more apt to group those individuals with ones who would use the banana plugs on the back. It doesn't take an audiophile to desire more than 2 channels of sound.
I think its a brilliant device and ill probably get one once the price goes down. I just think it may increase sales to offer one without the amp - is it really that big of a selling point?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. This isn't like our Android phones running custom ROMs. You buy an Android phone, ANY Android phone, and you can:
1. Make phone calls
2. Send text messages
3. Use email
4. Browse the web
5. Download, install, and use the full Play Store catalog of apps
All without any hacking at all. When you install a custom rom, you're basically getting a few added features, customization, optimization, maybe the ability to overclock or run a select few apps that need root. You know, little things that aren't necessary but are nice to have.
The Nexus Q is different because it's gimped right out of the box. You basically can't do anything with it, other than play music and videos from the Play Store only (and who even has a huge collection of that stuff?). Even the very first Apple TV was capable of streaming content through a local network, even if it was limited to stuff you added to your iTunes library.
I appreciate Google reaching out to the dev community, but they can't rely on them to do all their work for them. What the Nexus Q should have been was a tiny Android desktop computer, controllable directly with an Android phone using a specific app (something like Gmote) and able to run any and all Android apps. I'm excited when I see thumb-sized Android computers available for under $100. The NQ could have been a cooler, more premium version of that, but as it is, it's both overpriced AND has no features.
YouTube app
So not living in US forces me to use Music and the YouTube app. Now it's time to do some raging.
Playing youtube vids on my tv is awesome through the app and all that. But I want to be able to play several videos. I have several playlists but the only option on a playlist in the youtube app is to delete it. Opening the playlists gives you the possibility to play one (and only one) video in a row. It really sucks. I don't want to open the app every time a video has ended :/
Guys what are you complaining about? Your where given cool toy for free because you are developers. You are suppose to find better applications for it . Just do it. Few years ago you had T-Mobile android phone without anything useful on it , nobody completed
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
All you guys in here complaining are just not dev or inspiring to be one cause from what I seen you're able to load a launcher to it from adb and stream netflix in 1080 so you guys dont really understand android or google yet but you will.
Sadly, I will buy a multitude of these for a project if someone can get the damn thing rooted and unlocked...
I bought a Sony XTZ couple weeks ago. I love everything about this tablet, until I watched a movie on Netflix on it. It is borderline blurry compared to streaming the same title on Windows 8 or iPad. So I thought it's just a Netflix thing, until last night I played a movie from Google Play. It looked absolutely horrible, SD quality. It is not my internet connection speed as I get 100/30Mbps here.
I Googled this subject and found no information about this. Am I seeing things or is there something wrong with my Sony XTZ?
iosandroid said:
I bought a Sony XTZ couple weeks ago. I love everything about this tablet, until I watched a movie on Netflix on it. It is borderline blurry compared to streaming the same title on Windows 8 or iPad. So I thought it's just a Netflix thing, until last night I played a movie from Google Play. It looked absolutely horrible, SD quality. It is not my internet connection speed as I get 100/30Mbps here.
I Googled this subject and found no information about this. Am I seeing things or is there something wrong with my Sony XTZ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I did some more reading, apparently Sony didn't pay for licensing for HD playback on the XTZ :silly: I've read that even Sony's own video services do not offer HD playback on the XTZ. Wow, just wow. I really love this tablet but this is a deal breaker.
I have 4 more days to request a return on this. I was trying to get it to update to the latest 10.4.1.b.0.101 but it's not available yet. I will give it 3 more days to see if the update hits, and see if it enables HD playback. If not I have to return it which will be unfortunate and very disappointing.
Please tell me this is not true ..
iosandroid said:
So I did some more reading, apparently Sony didn't pay for licensing for HD playback on the XTZ :silly: I've read that even Sony's own video services do not offer HD playback on the XTZ. Wow, just wow. I really love this tablet but this is a deal breaker.
I have 4 more days to request a return on this. I was trying to get it to update to the latest 10.4.1.b.0.101 but it's not available yet. I will give it 3 more days to see if the update hits, and see if it enables HD playback. If not I have to return it which will be unfortunate and very disappointing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please tell me this is not true DAMMN im about to buy this tablet ..( not waiting for the z2 because the tablet is on 350$ deal so yeah..)
i love watching netflix and i when i see this .. well no, just no i have like 24 hours before the deals end .. someone tell me that i can watch hd content on it .. is it netflix only or all hd playback?
jesusitox12 said:
Please tell me this is not true DAMMN im about to buy this tablet ..( not waiting for the z2 because the tablet is on 350$ deal so yeah..)
i love watching netflix and i when i see this .. well no, just no i have like 24 hours before the deals end .. someone tell me that i can watch hd content on it .. is it netflix only or all hd playback?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, all streaming HD services. Very disappointing as I loved everything about this tablet. I really wanted it to work, so much so that I called Xperia support even knowing it'd be a waste of time. First thing I was asked was if I can copy the movies to my XTZ to be played.
This appears to affect the entire range of Xperia devices including the flagship Z1 Ultra. I'll link two samples I found here, but I saw the same complaints on other Xperia devices. I've found no complaints about Netflix, but trust me, if you watch the same title on Netflix with any other devices, the quality difference will be clear - it's way sharper even on a 720p device than on the XTZ.
http://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/Xperia-Tablet-Z/VOD-and-HD-Video-Playback/td-p/362656
http://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/Xperi...vice-does-not-support-HD-playback/td-p/417467
iosandroid said:
Yes, all streaming HD services. Very disappointing as I loved everything about this tablet. I really wanted it to work, so much so that I called Xperia support even knowing it'd be a waste of time. First thing I was asked was if I can copy the movies to my XTZ to be played.
This appears to affect the entire range of Xperia devices including the flagship Z1 Ultra. I'll link two samples I found here, but I saw the same complaints on other Xperia devices. I've found no complaints about Netflix, but trust me, if you watch the same title on Netflix with any other devices, the quality difference will be clear - it's way sharper even on a 720p device than on the XTZ.
http://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/Xperia-Tablet-Z/VOD-and-HD-Video-Playback/td-p/362656
http://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/Xperi...vice-does-not-support-HD-playback/td-p/417467
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well sucks a lot I think I'll wait for the z2 or the next nexus 10
jesusitox12 said:
Well sucks a lot I think I'll wait for the z2 or the next nexus 10
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if the XTZ 2 will not have that issue - this seems to be an issue with every Xperia devices even the Z1 Ultra which came out not that long ago..
So I returned the XTZ and bought an LG G Pad 8.3, and find that the LG also has poor Netflix streaming quality, but at least the LG can play HD contents from Google Play which the XTZ would only play SD quality.
Did some more reading on this matter. 1080p Netflix on Android requires Android 4.3 (which the XTZ does in fact have) that has additional DRM API built-in, but it seems the ONLY Android device that can do 1080p streaming is the Nexus 7 2013. One might say on a smallish tablet device 720p vs 1080p shouldn't matter. I probably would've thought so myself if I hadn't been spoiled by the biting sharpness from iPads and Windows 8 devices when watching Netflix. The difference is immediately noticeable.
I've attached some pictures to show the difference in case anyone is interested to see. The difference in person is greater than these pictures show.
iosandroid said:
Did some more reading on this matter. 1080p Netflix on Android requires Android 4.3 (which the XTZ does in fact have) that has additional DRM API built-in, but it seems the ONLY Android device that can do 1080p streaming is the Nexus 7 2013. One might say on a smallish tablet device 720p vs 1080p shouldn't matter. I probably would've thought so myself if I hadn't been spoiled by the biting sharpness from iPads and Windows 8 devices when watching Netflix. The difference is immediately noticeable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure all non-Nexus 7 2013 devices only get 480p, hence the low quality. Netflix help pages also say HD is only supported on "new Nexus 7".
dsfdfsdfs said:
I'm pretty sure all non-Nexus 7 2013 devices only get 480p, hence the low quality. Netflix help pages also say HD is only supported on "new Nexus 7".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is the reasoning for this? That's ridiculous.
I kid you not, the regular iPad Mini with the 1024x768 screen and the Dell Windows 8.1 8" 1280x800 tablets look much sharper than the non-Nexus 7 full HD Android tablets I've tried so far. Yes I had a 2013 Nexus 7 previously and Netflix is very sharp on it. This inconsistent experience from Android is a big turn off, although I like the LG G Pad a lot and it is a keeper. I'll just use my other gadgets when I watch Netflix.
I don't think there would be much differences in your images above.
Since each tablet you used has different brightness and contrast, so the picture sharpness looks different.
I have attached my photos showing pictures from XTZ and iPad Air. The two are a little out of sync.
Look at detail of Liam's shirt. They are the same on both XTZ and Air.
iosandroid said:
What is the reasoning for this? That's ridiculous.
I kid you not, the regular iPad Mini with the 1024x768 screen and the Dell Windows 8.1 8" 1280x800 tablets look much sharper than the non-Nexus 7 full HD Android tablets I've tried so far. Yes I had a 2013 Nexus 7 previously and Netflix is very sharp on it. This inconsistent experience from Android is a big turn off, although I like the LG G Pad a lot and it is a keeper. I'll just use my other gadgets when I watch Netflix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe it is because of DRM mess, i.e. the Widevine DRM interfaces are not implemented properly or something about it is different, etc.
I modified the Netflix APK to enable verbose logging and I looked through the code, and it seems to check specifically for Nexus 7 2013 on Android 4.3 only to enable Widevine DRM mode, otherwise the Widevine mode is disabled (which, I guess, disables HD playback completely). On Android 4.4 there is no separate check for device name, so maybe HD playback could work with Netflix for any 4.4 tablet that implements the Android Widevine DRM interface properly (or it could be it is limited in other places as well)...
And yes, the playback doesn't go above 480p according to the logs on my Tablet Z.
ngvuanh said:
I don't think there would be much differences in your images above.
Since each tablet you used has different brightness and contrast, so the picture sharpness looks different.
I have attached my photos showing pictures from XTZ and iPad Air. The two are a little out of sync.
Look at detail of Liam's shirt. They are the same on both XTZ and Air.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't see any quality difference in the pictures because the photo resolution is way too low for that. 480p video has 480 pixels in the vertical direction, and your photos doesn't even have that amount of vertical pixels for each display.
To definitely see what resolution your Netflix is maxing out at, search for "example short" in Netflix and play the "Example Short 23.976" video (in U.S. Netflix). The video shows the current playback bitrate and size in the upper-left corner. For me it maxes out at "1750 kbps, 720x480", which is consistent with what I saw in the APK, and which is not HD.
Sorry to bump this old thread, but it seems Netflix has finally let it loose on full HD streaming to other Android devices, at least on both my LG (G Pad 8.3 and G2 phone). I think since two Netflix app updates ago. The difference is immediately noticeable - same biting sharpness I've been used to from iPads and Windows 8.1. I imagine this would be across the board on all Android devices.
I remembered this thread when I searched "LG G Pad Netflix stuttering", which very surprisingly was rectified by rebooting the G Pad.
Edit, seems Netflix has "fixed" it again with the new update. The super sharpness is once again gone. In trying to fix the stuttering issue, I updated the Netflix app to the current release. I'm not seeing things. I've gone nuts since the XTZ in trying to see what's going on with Netflix on Android. I settled on a scene on Skyfall. At 12:21 the conference call speaker (plus M's wrinkles on her face), you'll see the very fine details when on HD, which I saw on the G Pad on the last Netflix app update. It's gone now.
I give up.
Edit 2: I think Netflix is messing around with things on their backend. A couple days ago I started noticing titles actually say "HD" when browsing on the Android app. Now it's gone. I went as far as downloading the .apk for 3.3.3 and 3.4.0, nope HD is gone.
Now I give up.
very poor product, equally poor customer service
dsfdfsdfs said:
I believe it is because of DRM mess, i.e. the Widevine DRM interfaces are not implemented properly or something about it is different, etc.
I modified the Netflix APK to enable verbose logging and I looked through the code, and it seems to check specifically for Nexus 7 2013 on Android 4.3 only to enable Widevine DRM mode, otherwise the Widevine mode is disabled (which, I guess, disables HD playback completely). On Android 4.4 there is no separate check for device name, so maybe HD playback could work with Netflix for any 4.4 tablet that implements the Android Widevine DRM interface properly (or it could be it is limited in other places as well)...
And yes, the playback doesn't go above 480p according to the logs on my Tablet Z.
You can't see any quality difference in the pictures because the photo resolution is way too low for that. 480p video has 480 pixels in the vertical direction, and your photos doesn't even have that amount of vertical pixels for each display.
To definitely see what resolution your Netflix is maxing out at, search for "example short" in Netflix and play the "Example Short 23.976" video (in U.S. Netflix). The video shows the current playback bitrate and size in the upper-left corner. For me it maxes out at "1750 kbps, 720x480", which is consistent with what I saw in the APK, and which is not HD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought this tablet thinking it would be amazing, dust proof, water resistant, slim slick design, SD card etc. It is very poor for the price I paid here in UK £380, live streaming rarely works, it goes off after about 30 seconds. Battery life poor, takes forever charging. Uploading videos is shocking, producing such poor quality videos even from the HD GoPro cameras, it's all blurry. I wish now I had stuck with my original plan of staying with Apple. Waste of money, customer service on Twitter absolutely useless, saying for me to do the same thing "system repair" black black black, why should we have to do this after paying nearly £400 for a tablet. I did do the system repair process and it made absolutely no difference whatsoever. Avoid Sony Xperia at all costs.
Back to Apple for me after my refund. Boom
Hey there guys, I was wondering if anyone could tell me what the best Android TV device is on the market. Only catch, it has to be rootable. I do not really care if it is a dongle or some other kind of unit. As long as it is rootable, and runts 4.2 + android.
Any suggestions or ideas?
Thanks in advance.
Anyone?
Best Android TV
Hi. The best on my opinion is the Razer Forge, if you plan to play games on top hardware developed for Android and enjoy 4k streaming(full HD). About rooting possibility, don't know yet but almost all devices like these allow it if not now, early will.
Forgetting my advise you won't fail buying a Minix X8 H Plus... Its 4k even.
Best regards!
nicaroxo said:
Hi. The best on my opinion is the Razer Forge, if you plan to play games on top hardware developed for Android and enjoy 4k streaming(full HD). About rooting possibility, don't know yet but almost all devices like these allow it if not now, early will.
Forgetting my advise you won't fail buying a Minix X8 H Plus... Its 4k even.
Best regards!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What about a gbox q?
G Box Q
Awesome specs, but not available in my country yet! Better price either. Some reviews gave outstanding performance on 4k. Why not?
nicaroxo said:
Awesome specs, but not available in my country yet! Better price either. Some reviews gave outstanding performance on 4k. Why not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks dude.... I appreciate it
I bought a Tronfy MX-IV, looking at some of the other boxes it has the same design as the Beelink. Quite satisfied with it. Runs 4.4.2 with Kodi 14.2, 4k support. But i do recommend buying an airmouse. Most of these boxes come with a simple IR remote.
kidjolly said:
What about a gbox q?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The G Box Q is an older MX2 Dual Core System.
Depending on what you need I'd go with the following in this order.
Google Nexus ADT-1 <- GET THIS
nVidia Shield TV <- Or that
If you want to Game! since these both have the nVida Tegra 4 GPU, and you can hack the ADT-1 to use the nVidia Service to play Half-Life 2 in it
On the Chinese side....
Minix Neo x8-H Plus <- Probably the BEST DEVICE you can get for ~150.00€ GigE, 802.11ac, Hardware decode of h.265 >2160p*
Beelink S82 Plus (Or any other Generic S82 Plus [2G/16G] Device you can find. Amlogic S812 SoC) <- Again these should be slightly cheaper though they are S812 SoCs they lack a number of features such as GigE 802.11ac and Hardware decode.
Slightly cheaper still are the current dead-end products such as the MXIII, S82 / S89 - S802 SoC Boxes. The "Trick" here is to miss the 1G/8G Units and, go straight on for the better 2G/8G, which have 802.11 a/b/g/n, and Bluetooth. These all have Arm Mali GPUs which are great, but not really in the same league with nVidia. If your just want a cheap efficient replacement for that HTPC then these are the right Boxes for you.
*NOTE You have to make sure your getting the *-H Plus version the lower Plus version with out the "H" only does Software decode >720p.
You'll note it in the slight price difference. In the end its about what you're willing to pay up font for!
If you're waiting for an Android TV Device, wait for the Nvidia Shield Android TV. It will be the most powerful device there, and it will also be able to output 4k and 7.1 surround sound. I have the Razer Forge TV, and while it's nice, I don't have Netflix Support.
Sgt.JimmyRustles said:
If you're waiting for an Android TV Device, wait for the Nvidia Shield Android TV. It will be the most powerful device there, and it will also be able to output 4k and 7.1 surround sound. I have the Razer Forge TV, and while it's nice, I don't have Netflix Support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
specs look awesome for that, but you think it would be rootable? and run Kodi? (not a big fan of Plex)
snoozy said:
specs look awesome for that, but you think it would be rootable? and run Kodi? (not a big fan of Plex)
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Forge can run Kodi, as well as the Nexus Player, so I'd assume the Shield TV can as well. Though I'm returning my Forge TV, as the No Netflix has really gotten to me.
Ichijoe said:
The G Box Q is an older MX2 Dual Core System.
Depending on what you need I'd go with the following in this order.
Google Nexus ADT-1 <- GET THIS
nVidia Shield TV <- Or that
If you want to Game! since these both have the nVida Tegra 4 GPU, and you can hack the ADT-1 to use the nVidia Service to play Half-Life 2 in it
On the Chinese side....
Minix Neo x8-H Plus <- Probably the BEST DEVICE you can get for ~150.00€ GigE, 802.11ac, Hardware decode of h.265 >2160p*
Beelink S82 Plus (Or any other Generic S82 Plus [2G/16G] Device you can find. Amlogic S812 SoC) <- Again these should be slightly cheaper though they are S812 SoCs they lack a number of features such as GigE 802.11ac and Hardware decode.
Slightly cheaper still are the current dead-end products such as the MXIII, S82 / S89 - S802 SoC Boxes. The "Trick" here is to miss the 1G/8G Units and, go straight on for the better 2G/8G, which have 802.11 a/b/g/n, and Bluetooth. These all have Arm Mali GPUs which are great, but not really in the same league with nVidia. If your just want a cheap efficient replacement for that HTPC then these are the right Boxes for you.
*NOTE You have to make sure your getting the *-H Plus version the lower Plus version with out the "H" only does Software decode >720p.
You'll note it in the slight price difference. In the end its about what you're willing to pay up font for!
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This guy is giving sound advice and seems to know what he is talking about.
I have bought several devices and have come to find that MINIX has the best boxes and makes the most progress with them. Plus it seems to have the biggest development community pumping out ROMS and early releases of firmware.
I currently have both and MINIX x8-h and a MINIX x8-h plus. I normally keep them rooted and on the latest FinlessBob ROM. They play everything I throw at them, from locally stored videos, to YouTube, to Amazon Prime or Netflix, or other less talked about streaming apps.
KjK89 said:
This guy is giving sound advice and seems to know what he is talking about.
I have bought several devices and have come to find that MINIX has the best boxes and makes the most progress with them. Plus it seems to have the biggest development community pumping out ROMS and early releases of firmware.
I currently have both and MINIX x8-h and a MINIX x8-h plus. I normally keep them rooted and on the latest FinlessBob ROM. They play everything I throw at them, from locally stored videos, to YouTube, to Amazon Prime or Netflix, or other less talked about streaming apps.
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Can you play Netflix in HD on those Boxes? What about Google Play Movies?
I don't think I've ever seen a build.prop from a Minix Box yet. But, for the rest of those Amalogic Boxes... Including the newer k200 (S812 SoC's). The Line:
media.amplayer.widevineenable= has been set to false. The upshot here is that Google Play Movies WILL NOT WORK, until you flip that bit to true, and reboot.
As to Amazon Prime... I wasn't able to get it working on my MXIII... A case of to many inter-operating Apps.. Install this, to install that so that App A) can call upon App b) (The Player), to work... Oddly enough the Kodi add-on just WORKS! Even with HD stuff... As for Netflix though? I'm not a customer of theres just yet.
Ichijoe said:
Can you play Netflix in HD on those Boxes? What about Google Play Movies?
I don't think I've ever seen a build.prop from a Minix Box yet. But, for the rest of those Amalogic Boxes... Including the newer k200 (S812 SoC's). The Line:
media.amplayer.widevineenable= has been set to false. The upshot here is that Google Play Movies WILL NOT WORK, until you flip that bit to true, and reboot.
As to Amazon Prime... I wasn't able to get it working on my MXIII... A case of to many inter-operating Apps.. Install this, to install that so that App A) can call upon App b) (The Player), to work... Oddly enough the Kodi add-on just WORKS! Even with HD stuff... As for Netflix though? I'm not a customer of theres just yet.
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Good questions, but my answers my not be the most fulfilling. When I first tried Netflix, I was using a friends account and did not specifically test HD playback. I do not use Netflix at the moment, so I'm not able to test again.
As for Amazon Prime i followed the app (a) to app (b) stuff and I think the way it works now is when I click on the app icon it actually takes me into the browser and allows me to select the movie I want to play and then it opens in MX Player.
KjK89 said:
Good questions, but my answers my not be the most fulfilling. When I first tried Netflix, I was using a friends account and did not specifically test HD playback. I do not use Netflix at the moment, so I'm not able to test again.
As for Amazon Prime i followed the app (a) to app (b) stuff and I think the way it works now is when I click on the app icon it actually takes me into the browser and allows me to select the movie I want to play and then it opens in MX Player.
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Yeah this to me seems wrong on soo many levels... I shouldn't have to jump though hoops just to watch something. It also doesn't do much to help when the stuff they have (Amazon Germany), is third-rate junk at best, and isn't even worth the One off payment of 50€ per annum at worst. Thankfully my two-week cooling off period is about to close soon ( I think tomorrow, or Thursday IIRC)... I shall definitely be making sure to cancel my 30 Day Trial ASAP!
Ichijoe said:
Yeah this to me seems wrong on soo many levels... I shouldn't have to jump though hoops just to watch something. It also doesn't do much to help when the stuff they have (Amazon Germany), is third-rate junk at best, and isn't even worth the One off payment of 50€ per annum at worst. Thankfully my two-week cooling off period is about to close soon ( I think tomorrow, or Thursday IIRC)... I shall definitely be making sure to cancel my 30 Day Trial ASAP!
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I hear you! I think its important to note, that this is a problem caused by Amazon tho, not the device manufacturer. Amazon does not have a very effective way of accessing prime videos on Android. I use prime because I do a lot of shopping on Amazon, so to me the movies are a bonus and now that I have it set up the right way, it really isn't too hard to use.
KjK89 said:
I hear you! I think its important to note, that this is a problem caused by Amazon tho, not the device manufacturer. Amazon does not have a very effective way of accessing prime videos on Android. I use prime because I do a lot of shopping on Amazon, so to me the movies are a bonus and now that I have it set up the right way, it really isn't too hard to use.
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But, it is Amazons problem... The world is moving the hell away from MicroSoft's Silverlight as fast, as it can... Perhaps you might have heard that Goggle finally started removing NPAPI from Chrome... The bit that made Silverlight work on it? And, we're talking about PC's here now, NOT Android!
Besides I have to ask myself... If I must use something as bad as the MX Player (As more in what it devolved into, then what it used to be!), to render Amazon Prime in the first place.... Why even bother with any DRM in the first place? And, IF I needed such a Renderer, to, get this working... (Something that truly escapes me!), This might explain to my why I'm otherwise unable to use it outside of XBMC/Kodi. Which does work.
But, I suspect the "Difference" between you, and I is that you're using Amazon.com (US) - With the best Content going... While I'm on Amazon.de (Germany), - Which only has utter CRAP on it! As to the other "freebees" I don't own a Kindle, and I don't need any Free Shipping from them either. I joined this "venture" from the other-side as a VOD Provider with other goodies tossed in. Perhaps that was my failing here...
I have two MXQ android tv boxes in the house and they're working great, I also have rooted firmware installed on them which also includes gamepad support but I haven't tested that as I brought the mxq solely for using kodi.
snoozy said:
I bought a Tronfy MX-IV, looking at some of the other boxes it has the same design as the Beelink. Quite satisfied with it. Runs 4.4.2 with Kodi 14.2, 4k support. But i do recommend buying an airmouse. Most of these boxes come with a simple IR remote.
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Yes this device is not bad. Tronfy is also a tv box brand not that hot. Mind if i ask where did you offer it?
As i see a thread about Minix Neo X8-H. The tv box comes with an M1 air mouse. Many uses for the air mouse. Light and with great material.
So if MX-IV comes with one, that's perfect
The Tronfy MXIV doesn't come with an air mouse, but those are pretty cheap. Aside from that, it's a great box. Just waiting for Lollipop firmware and it will be perfect (as the Android TV Play Store and a lot of the apps are 5.x only).