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

Big Nelly · 05-03-2015 10:20am

The Th!ng wrote: »

As I said I didn't even bother to upgrade the firmware.

You would get alot better performance and picture quality if you did upgrade the firmware.....

k123456 · 05-03-2015 12:18pm

Mr Rubicon Conundrum wrote: »

Help please? I have an M8 box, We love it, movies are great, TV shows, etc. However 2 issues:
1. when I watch sport it is terrible, so much so that I dont bother, its like a load of lego pieces chasing a block of cheese, i.e. it is very blurry. Can anyone point me in the right direction? this includes using M**dro, vd**tv and xun**ty.
2. I had read about wifi issues with this box so use an ethernet cable instead. However, when I turn off the M8 it 'keeps' the wifi, i.e. I cannot connect to wifi with phone/ ipad, etc. in order to connect I have to disconnect ethernet cable from UPC router and then reboot the router.
Last night I connected the M8 via wifi and it seemed a bit better, i.e. we could connect devices to the wifi when box turned off, but I am not sure if this was because we were actually using our phones and M8 at the same time, and turned off M8 while using devices.

I hope I explained that clearly, if anyone can help, that would be great.

possibly an issue with wireless router
1 reboot it
2 update its firmware

The Black Oil · 05-03-2015 12:34pm

Is this the most up to date firmware for the MX III?

And would this mouse/keyboard work with it, or something similar?

dahat · 05-03-2015 12:45pm

The Black Oil wrote: »

Is this the most up to date firmware for the MX III?

And would this mouse/keyboard work with it, or something similar?

Try this build 112k4. http://www.freaktab.com/showthread.php?14126-Stock-Firmware-Beelink-S82-M8-MXIII-1-2G-Official-FW-Releases-from-Beelink-user-feedback-thread

The Black Oil · 05-03-2015 1:45pm

OK, I've put that on a USB stick and am in the device's menu. It's asking me to 'choose a package to install'. What do I do, what navigate to/select?

dahat · 05-03-2015 1:49pm

The Black Oil wrote: »

OK, I've put that on a USB stick and am in the device's menu. It's asking me to 'choose a package to install'. What do I do, what navigate to/select?

Use an SD card, after d/l the zip and unzipping it put the 3 files onto SD card and flash via recovery using the toothpick method

The Black Oil · 05-03-2015 1:54pm

I extract and I get:

META-INF
recovery
system
boot.img
bootloader.img
file_contexts
logo.img

Which three files? I don't have an SD that small, but have a this, if that'll do?

Allyall · 05-03-2015 4:30pm

The Th!ng wrote: »

My Minix Neo X8-H cost me €150 and hasn't given me an ounce of hassle since the day I got it.

Without trying to drag this out, I wasn't slating it. I was pointing out, that for half the price, you can buy a box that will perform as good, and will not have (as often as the minix) buggy/beta firmware.

The Black Oil wrote: »

I extract and I get:

META-INF
recovery
system
boot.img
bootloader.img
file_contexts
logo.img

Which three files? I don't have an SD that small, but have a this, if that'll do?

Just extract the file named "MBOX_112k4_sdcard.zip"
Sounds like you also extracted the "k200-ota-20150116.zip" file that was inside.
You don't need to do that.

So, when you extract the first file, you should have
factory_update_param.aml
k200-ota-20150116.zip
recovery.img

Place them on your USB/SD Card (Formatted with Fat32).

If your using a USB key:
Update tools by USB: USB_Burning_Tool_v2.0.4_x86

Then

Unplug devices power.
Insert USB with 3 files on it
Using a toothpick or something similar push and hold the reset button (In the hole at back marked AV) and plug in the devices power (You can release when you see Android on it's back).
Select "Install update from EXT"
You're using a USB drive so select "Install from udisk"
Select the Xxxx-xxx-XXXXX.zip and wait while it installs
Once install is complete select "Reboot system now"

The Black Oil · 05-03-2015 5:07pm

Thanks.

Updated and rebooted. That wipes your internet and settings, then?

Allyall · 05-03-2015 5:25pm

The Black Oil wrote: »

Thanks. Updated and rebooted. That wipes your internet and settings, then?

Yes, you can also boot into recovery and wipe cache partition and user data/factory reset.

wilser · 05-03-2015 5:56pm

Allyall wrote: »

Without trying to drag this out, I wasn't slating it. I was pointing out, that for half the price, you can buy a box that will perform as good, and will not have (as often as the minix) buggy/beta firmware.

[*][*][/LIST]

Could you recommend a box for a total noob like myself as I genuinely haven't a clue about any of this stuff but seen a 4ife stick set up in my brothers and thought it was the business.
Is importing from China the best route to take, or maybe adverts?
Thanks for any input/advice

The Black Oil · 05-03-2015 6:14pm

Hmm. No sound from RTE apps and XMBC just goes to a black screen when I go into it...already tried to restart. Will try again.

degsie · 05-03-2015 8:47pm

wilser wrote: »

Could you recommend a box for a total noob like myself as I genuinely haven't a clue about any of this stuff but seen a 4ife stick set up in my brothers and thought it was the business.
Is importing from China the best route to take, or maybe adverts?
Thanks for any input/advice

This seems to be the business. Comes with XBMC pre-installed.

styron · 05-03-2015 9:11pm

degsie wrote: »

This seems to be the business. Comes with XBMC pre-installed.

A dual core Amlogic MX proc from 2012?

degsie · 05-03-2015 9:17pm

styron wrote: »

A dual core Amlogic MX proc from 2012?

Yes, XBMC doesn't need latest tech and this is 'endorsed' by the XBMC/Kodi community. Was responding to request for a non-techie solution.

Big Nelly · 05-03-2015 9:24pm

degsie wrote: »

This seems to be the business. Comes with XBMC pre-installed.

WeTek have sponsored OpenElec which runs XBMC/Kodi so you will see them on alot of website from XBMC/Kodi.

WeTek are a certified platform now for OpenElec. This is not to say there is loads of non-certified version of OpenElec which run perfect on other platform, this is more of a who is paying who cash I would guess

The Th!ng · 05-03-2015 10:24pm

Big Nelly wrote: »

You would get alot better performance and picture quality if you did upgrade the firmware.....

I accept the fact that I might get better performance out of the box with a newer firmware, but how would the picture quality be improved? When I play a file XBMC tells me it's 1080p, 720p or whatever. As I understand it the version of XMBC on the box was optimized specifically for the hardware.

corwill · 05-03-2015 10:40pm

Big Nelly wrote: »

I would agree 100%, I got caught up in all the sales talk about the MInix X8-H and didn't do enough research, I bought the box and spent over 6 months with dodgy firmware running on it. Finally got it to non-Beta about a month ago .....

It is a good box now but it was annoying to have to reload the box 9-10 times from start everytime they released a new firmware

Also not impressed with the answers alot of the time on forum, if you complain you are more or less told to "f**k off" because you have already bought the box:eek:

Just took delivery of a Minix X8-H Plus from gearbest, mightn't have went with it had I read yourself and Allyall first!

Ah well, will give it a lash at the weekend with a decent night's sleep on board and I've picked up a hdmi splitter and a LAN cable.

The Black Oil · 05-03-2015 11:42pm

XMBC still a no go, firmware update mustn't have agreed with it. Will try a factory reset tomorrow.

Big Nelly · 06-03-2015 10:56am

corwill wrote: »

Just took delivery of a Minix X8-H Plus from gearbest, mightn't have went with it had I read yourself and Allyall first!

Ah well, will give it a lash at the weekend with a decent night's sleep on board and I've picked up a hdmi splitter and a LAN cable.

Your ok now, they have fixed the firmware and it can upgrade OTA, but it took them nearly a year to do that....I would rather if they release a box with decent firmware, not release a box and use everyone as test dummies and then when you complain they get all snotty

Check which version of firmware is on the box before loading it up, might save you a lot of hassle longer term

Big Nelly · 06-03-2015 10:59am

The Th!ng wrote: »

I accept the fact that I might get better performance out of the box with a newer firmware, but how would the picture quality be improved? When I play a file XBMC tells me it's 1080p, 720p or whatever. As I understand it the version of XMBC on the box was optimized specifically for the hardware.

There is loads of issues in previous versions of the firmware which cause playback problems and performance. The system could not drive the GPU correctly, also was not able to drive the CPU's correctly, so playback quality suffered

Believe me after upgrading to firmware released just before Xmas and going with the new version of XBMC for Minix my wife was even impressed with the picture quality.....and she would hardly notice half the time if the picture was black or white or colour.....

The Black Oil · 06-03-2015 12:01pm

Factory reset hasn't helped with XMBC.

Settings - Apps - uninstall, maybe?

corwill · 06-03-2015 12:09pm

Big Nelly wrote: »

Check which version of firmware is on the box before loading it up, might save you a lot of hassle longer term

Is there an optimal version, other than the most recent, that I should be looking out for?

Big Nelly · 06-03-2015 1:16pm

corwill wrote: »

Is there an optimal version, other than the most recent, that I should be looking out for?

Anything around december last year, tell me which version is on box....

Big Nelly · 06-03-2015 1:18pm

Quick one

ANy idea's what alternatives to Minix would be? would like someone who release there own boxes and also dev there own firmware, not for me but for my brother, he will be running it on a 10MB sat link so just want something stable and can have its own firmware dev team.....just need ideas

I like the Minix now the firmware is fixed but the price tag is big....which others are there out and about? tronsmart?

Allyall · 06-03-2015 4:17pm

degsie wrote: »

This seems to be the business. Comes with XBMC pre-installed.

It is a decent box, does everything it's supposed to, has good firmware (Except out of box, registration doesn't work properly, requires registering via website.)
If installing standalone Apps for movies/TV shows, the 4GB fills up pretty quickly (So you would definitely need cache cleaner). Updates come with Kodi and Wetek Services. They also have good support and help in their forums.
It is really an MX (with a decent ROM) with a tuner. Takes a Dual tuner too, but Wetek don't sell it.
Similar to the EM6T2 box.

The Black Oil wrote: »

Factory reset hasn't helped with XMBC.

Settings - Apps - uninstall, maybe?

Yes, and try a different build of XBMC. This one (Gotham 13.2 is decent on some Amlogic) - Gotham 13.2

corwill wrote: »

Just took delivery of a Minix X8-H Plus from gearbest, mightn't have went with it had I read yourself and Allyall first!

Sorry,

Didn't mean to be slating it. It's still a good box, but I find it a bit on the expensive side. Still a good box.

Big Nelly wrote: »

Quick one

ANy idea's what alternatives to Minix would be? would like someone who release there own boxes and also dev there own firmware, not for me but for my brother, he will be running it on a 10MB sat link so just want something stable and can have its own firmware dev team.....just need ideas

I like the Minix now the firmware is fixed but the price tag is big....which others are there out and about? tronsmart?

Pricewise? The Tronsmart Draco?
That's crazy money (Great firmware though), but you can install Windows/Linux on it also. Geekbuying are the official Tronsmart shop, so It may be difficult to beat their price.
But then you can also install those on these (for example)
DN2820FYK or ZBOX NANO ID18

Russian forums (and maybe freaktab) for a developer that can do what you ask for in a decent time, and not too expensive.
Many boxs are in Russia are being developed on existing hardware (like the Freakbox or Wetek Play) and some look excellent.
They have some great ideas too.

corwill · 06-03-2015 6:54pm

Big Nelly wrote: »

Anything around december last year, tell me which version is on box....

Nice one, will let you know once I get a moment's peace to play with it.

Cantona's Collars · 06-03-2015 7:27pm

Should I upgrade? My MX is doing the job grand but a bit slow compared to some of the boxes I set up for friends.Every time I click on this thread the temptation becomes stronger.

aaronm13 · 06-03-2015 8:17pm

Allyall wrote: »

It is a decent box, does everything it's supposed to, has good firmware (Except out of box, registration doesn't work properly, requires registering via website.)
If installing standalone Apps for movies/TV shows, the 4GB fills up pretty quickly (So you would definitely need cache cleaner). Updates come with Kodi and Wetek Services. They also have good support and help in their forums.
It is really an MX (with a decent ROM) with a tuner. Takes a Dual tuner too, but Wetek don't sell it.
Similar to the EM6T2 box.

Yes, and try a different build of XBMC. This one (Gotham 13.2 is decent on some Amlogic) - Gotham 13.2

Sorry, Didn't mean to be slating it. It's still a good box, but I find it a bit on the expensive side. Still a good box.

Pricewise? The Tronsmart Draco?
That's crazy money (Great firmware though), but you can install Windows/Linux on it also. Geekbuying are the official Tronsmart shop, so It may be difficult to beat their price.
But then you can also install those on these (for example)
DN2820FYK or ZBOX NANO ID18

Russian forums (and maybe freaktab) for a developer that can do what you ask for in a decent time, and not too expensive.
Many boxs are in Russia are being developed on existing hardware (like the Freakbox or Wetek Play) and some look excellent.
They have some great ideas too.

Hey Allyall don't mean to piggy back on big nellys post but looking for alternatives myself. Have the minix too and its an good box but the firmware issues are bugging me. Not interested in these android boxes anymore as the don't run xbmc great at all. Thinking of going down the htpc route and was looking at some of the intel NUC barebone pcs. Would these be a good idea. The Celeron processer is in my price range but would hold off and save a bit more for the i3 if the performance boost and future proof justified it. Sick of all the issues with Android and constant buffering. Looking for something with rock solid ethernet as I will be just streaming with the usual add ons and maybe a bit from my pc.

Cantona's Collars · 06-03-2015 9:53pm

aaronm13 wrote: »

Hey Allyall don't mean to piggy back on big nellys post but looking for alternatives myself. Have the minix too and its an good box but the firmware issues are bugging me. Not interested in these android boxes anymore as the don't run xbmc great at all. Thinking of going down the htpc route and was looking at some of the intel NUC barebone pcs. Would these be a good idea. The Celeron processer is in my price range but would hold off and save a bit more for the i3 if the performance boost and future proof justified it. Sick of all the issues with Android and constant buffering. Looking for something with rock solid ethernet as I will be just streaming with the usual add ons and maybe a bit from my pc.

This might be of interest: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2864353/hp-takes-on-chromeboxes-with-180-windows-based-stream-mini-pc.html

The Stream Mini is essentially a NUC-sized micro PC with a Celeron 2957U, 2GB of DDR3L/1600 and a 32GB M.2 SSD. In addition to the unit, you also get 200GB of Microsoft OneDrive storage free for two years as well as a $25 gift card to the Windows Store that can be used to buy apps, music, and even Xbox one games. And to further sweeten the deal, HP is even throwing in a keyboard and mouse too for the Stream Mini PC's $180 asking price.
No corners cut, since it's actually rounded

There don't seem to be too many corners cut either. The unit has Gigabit ethernet, four USB 3.0 ports, integrated 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0, an SD card reader, combo audio jack for headphone and microphone and DisplayPort 1.2 and an HDMI 1.4 port. Windows 8.1 with Bing is thrown in too.

That's not bad when you consider HP's own Chrome OS-based Chromebox, announced last February, sells for $160 to $190 on the street—and that's usually without a mouse and keyboard. When you factor in that the Stream Mini also gives you a full-service OS instead of the light-weight Chrome OS

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

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