Amiko Alien A3 opinion please

Hootanany

Are they any good has anyone got one?
I have a avia 150 at the moment not great TBH.
WAS THINKING OF GETTING ONE.
I have android tv box and apple tv am i mad?

Ronan Raver77

Also interested in this..believe some people are trialing them if not shipped already

Hootanany

A few website have them for sale but would like someones honest opinion before I pull the trigger.

Nowso

one the lads sad they were triallling it . id wait as of yet

Hootanany

Bump:rolleyes:

Ronan Raver77

Anyone??

Irreverent

Interesting looking box. I see on a US website they are advertising XBMC compatibility. Pity there is no terrestrial tuner on board. I wonder if it is possible to add one even by USB and play through XBMC frontend. Would love to hear a review too if anyone has pulled the trigger.

I wish the Amiko A2 had XBMC , I really love XBMC, though switching channels can be slow I think this is more to do with the plugin.

Irreverent

Just ordered one of these today. I'll update with some impressions when I've had a chance to play with it.

hallo dare

The fact that it's only a single tuner put me off straight away. The Alien 2 has turned into a beast of a box over the last few months.

Irreverent

hallo dare wrote: »

The fact that it's only a single tuner put me off straight away. The Alien 2 has turned into a beast of a box over the last few months.

I think you're right. I have an Alien 2 also so the A3 will be a spare room job until I get to know it inside out. I like the XBMC and other android app abilities though and it plays an impressive range of video formats from NAS also. E2 is coming soon to it so we'll see how that goes. You would have to ask how hard it would have been to incorporate a 2nd sat tuner or maybe even a terrestrial tuner.

Mayo Yid

Irreverent wrote:

I think you're right. I have an Alien 2 also so the A3 will be a spare room job until I get to know it inside out. I like the XBMC and other android app abilities though and it plays an impressive range of video formats from NAS also. E2 is coming soon to it so we'll see how that goes. You would have to ask how hard it would have been to incorporate a 2nd sat tuner or maybe even a terrestrial tuner.

The Alien 3 is Spark ported to Android. It has an Arm CPU and Arm has full Android support which brings lots of goodies, apps, games etc. Not sure you'll ever see proper enigma development for it and even if it does get it it can never offer all the goodness and stability Android offers out of the box. There will be dual tuners once they've tested the waters.

Irreverent

So I got this on Friday and was playing with it over the weekend. For anybody interested my initial thoughts are:

Pros:
Looks great. Its small with an aluminium chassis. I bought from Satworld who were out of stock in silver so I got the red receiver. Some people might not like that but I think it looks good.
The HDD installation is very easy. It's as easy as changing a battery in a remote control. Just click out the cover on the base of the unit and slot in a 2.5 hdd. I installed a 500gb drive and formatted it very easily.
Picture quality is excellent. I tuned in Astra 2 using Spark 2 and it was very easy to choose the satellite. The blind scan was comprehensive and much quicker than on the Amiko Alien 2 which I also use. I couldn't find Eutelsat 9E on the box but I am told it is easy enough to add satellites. I've emailed Amiko for a how-to guide.
The remote control is fantastic for a €200 box. The air mouse works great and was just the right sensitivity on unpacking. The headphone jack on the remote works fine. The scroll wheel works well for scrolling though live tv channels or through apps in Spark 2 / Android.
The onboard media player doesn't look pretty but plays just about anything I have stored on either my NAS or on local storage.
XBMC works very well. The version that comes installed is Frodo and I have left it at that for now following advise on another forum. My media library indexed in no time at all and I have installed 1channel, mashup and all usual goodies in no time.
The fact that this one box can do all that is a great selling point. If I can get rid of the Now TV box and my WD Live Streaming Player that is a benefit in my book.
Picons are automatically downloaded which is handy. Some did not download however but I haven't had a chance to investigate further.


Cons:
EPG is now and next only. I am told by a seller of this box in Ireland that some system like Crossepg will roll out soon. It remains to be seen.
I downloaded an Amiko channel editor which did not work. It is not a big deal editing the channels manually but it can take time naturally.
Obviously there is only one tuner. This needs to be borne in mind by people who like to record. I don't record frequently and it is clearly advertised as single tuner so this is not really a con.
Some apps are clearly just Android tablet apps and don't look optimised for this box (because they are not). I successfully installed Netflix and Now TV which worked fine but I had to use the air mouse rather than arrow buttons. That being said the video streams played well.
I'm not sure if it was just my wifi but the box performed much better via ethernet. Wifi streams cut off and dropped however this did not happen over ethernet.

That is all I can think of for now but I'll update again when I get a chance.

roadrunnermick

Irreverent wrote: »

So I got this on Friday and was playing with it over the weekend. For anybody interested my initial thoughts are:

Pros:
Looks great. Its small with an aluminium chassis. I bought from Satworld who were out of stock in silver so I got the red receiver. Some people might not like that but I think it looks good.
The HDD installation is very easy. It's as easy as changing a battery in a remote control. Just click out the cover on the base of the unit and slot in a 2.5 hdd. I installed a 500gb drive and formatted it very easily.
Picture quality is excellent. I tuned in Astra 2 using Spark 2 and it was very easy to choose the satellite. The blind scan was comprehensive and much quicker than on the Amiko Alien 2 which I also use. I couldn't find Eutelsat 9E on the box but I am told it is easy enough to add satellites. I've emailed Amiko for a how-to guide.
The remote control is fantastic for a €200 box. The air mouse works great and was just the right sensitivity on unpacking. The headphone jack on the remote works fine. The scroll wheel works well for scrolling though live tv channels or through apps in Spark 2 / Android.
The onboard media player doesn't look pretty but plays just about anything I have stored on either my NAS or on local storage.
XBMC works very well. The version that comes installed is Frodo and I have left it at that for now following advise on another forum. My media library indexed in no time at all and I have installed 1channel, mashup and all usual goodies in no time.
The fact that this one box can do all that is a great selling point. If I can get rid of the Now TV box and my WD Live Streaming Player that is a benefit in my book.
Picons are automatically downloaded which is handy. Some did not download however but I haven't had a chance to investigate further.


Cons:
EPG is now and next only. I am told by a seller of this box in Ireland that some system like Crossepg will roll out soon. It remains to be seen.
I downloaded an Amiko channel editor which did not work. It is not a big deal editing the channels manually but it can take time naturally.
Obviously there is only one tuner. This needs to be borne in mind by people who like to record. I don't record frequently and it is clearly advertised as single tuner so this is not really a con.
Some apps are clearly just Android tablet apps and don't look optimised for this box (because they are not). I successfully installed Netflix and Now TV which worked fine but I had to use the air mouse rather than arrow buttons. That being said the video streams played well.
I'm not sure if it was just my wifi but the box performed much better via ethernet. Wifi streams cut off and dropped however this did not happen over ethernet.

That is all I can think of for now but I'll update again when I get a chance.

Hi can an external tuner for Saiorview be added ?

Thanks

roadrunnermick

Bump

Any help would be appreciated , , About to pull the trigger and buy it if I can get RTE saiorview

Mayo Yid

roadrunnermick wrote: »

Bump

Any help would be appreciated , , About to pull the trigger and buy it if I can get RTE saiorview

Doubtful, unlike the older boxes and enigma it's early days for this box, there is little development for it yet. It's got a Arm CPU and Android, nothing like it has been released before

roadrunnermick

Thank you , Much appreciated

brill will stick with Amiko 2 triple tuner box so

Irreverent

None of the literature or manuals suggest that a dvb-t tuner can be added. There is also no option to tune terrestrial channels in the settings of the box, just satellite. Even then, channels are displayed only as now/next. I emailed Amiko and they suggested (vaguely) that an enhanced EPG will roll out in an upcoming version of the firmware.

I have this box in the spare room and it is a good solution for that with its XBMC, android and FTA capabilities. I would stick to the Alien 2 for now however until this box is improved upon. Just my two-cents worth.

An Cigire

I understand you can record one channel only.

Question is can you access other features like XBMC while recording the satellite feed?

Cheers

Cig

Irreverent

An Cigire wrote: »

I understand you can record one channel only.

Question is can you access other features like XBMC while recording the satellite feed?

Cheers

Cig

Yes you switch between satellite and XBMC when you are recording. I have only tried it once but it seemed to work fine on that occasion.

An Cigire

Irreverent wrote: »

Yes you switch between satellite and XBMC when you are recording. I have only tried it once but it seemed to work fine on that occasion.

Cheers

patmcd

New modified firmware now available and new Oscam version working.
Just an occasional audio glitch.

Irreverent

patmcd wrote: »

New modified firmware now available and new Oscam version working.
Just an occasional audio glitch.

Nice one. Fair play to you. Just set it up too. This changes things a bit.

Hootanany

Irreverent wrote: »

Nice one. Fair play to you. Just set it up too. This changes things a bit.

For good or bad:D

Hootanany

Hootanany wrote: »

For good or bad:D

Just got one will set it up in the morning any tips or tricks I need to know?

Hootanany

Hootanany wrote: »

Just got one will set it up in the morning any tips or tricks I need to know?

Probably the No. 1 tip.

Don't have the Amiko as your main source of TV if you have a Wife/Gf etc or it will end up broken off your head.

Seriously, this is a geeks decoder and the Enigma 2 is full of bugs.

The one really cool feature is the fact it's dual bootable and very handy if the E2 image goes tits up, you can revert back to Spark.

mass_debater

Deleted User wrote: »

Probably the No. 1 tip.

Don't have the Amiko as your main source of TV if you have a Wife/Gf etc or it will end up broken off your head.

Seriously, this is a geeks decoder and the Enigma 2 is full of bugs.

The one really cool feature is the fact it's dual bootable and very handy if the E2 image goes tits up, you can revert back to Spark.

Eh, this is the Alien 3 thread, it's not dual boot and does not run Enigma 2, it runs Spark 2 on Android

mass_debater

mass_debater wrote: »

Eh, this is the Alien 3 thread, it's not dual boot and does not run Enigma 2

Oh crap, you're right, sorry !

Didn't think I had subscribed to the A3 Thread.

I would hope the Android A3 is a lot more stable ?

mass_debater

Deleted User wrote: »

Oh crap, you're right, sorry !

Didn't think I had subscribed to the A3 Thread.

I would hope the Android A3 is a lot more stable ?

Stability comes as OS's mature, it's very early days for this.

BTW, I'm running an Alien2 for months on the same image (Fresh Pots Hyperion 4, removed the Sky skin), no bugs, just works. You're doing something wrong

mass_debater

mass_debater wrote: »

Stability comes as OS's mature, it's very early days for this.

BTW, I'm running an Alien2 for months on the same image (Fresh Pots Hyperion 4, removed the Sky skin), no bugs, just works. You're doing something wrong

I'm Running (or was until today on both recievers) fresh Pots latest and it's decent but it's not perfect and it's running on 2 different receivers.

I'm not doing anything wrong, the forums are full of problems with E2 images. Doesn't stop me playing around with it though !

I just installed Hyperion 4.5 today uploaded by djrobijay on linuxsat but didn't get much time to play with it but it looks good at least.

Hootanany

Hi playing with it now what satellites should I scan for ?

mass_debater

Hootanany wrote: »

Hi playing with it now what satellites should I scan for ?

What satellites is your dish pointing at? The Sky UK/Freesat satellite is 28.2e

Hootanany

Not to sure I'm in Stoneybatter if that helps. Can't see astra eurbird on the list.

Nowso

astra 2 28.2

Hootanany

Thanks for that

Hootanany

Anyone got a Chanel list I can download many thanks in advance.

Hootanany

Bump

Nowso

Hootanany wrote: »

Bump

http://www.lavatronicsdownloadcentre.com/freedownloads/index.php?dir=Amiko/Amiko%20A3/Spark2%20Lavatronics%2028.2E%20Channel%20List/

Irreverent

Hootanany wrote: »

Anyone got a Chanel list I can download many thanks in advance.

There is also a beta version of Crossepg working for this box, hopefully giving us a 7 day epg for Freesat channels. Some providers use the 'media highway' form of Crossepg which can't yet be accessed by this version of crossepg.

More info at sat-support forum. A search for Amiko A3 crossepg sat-support should bring it up.

Sorry cant post links.

WealthyB

How's this box working for everyone now? I'm a complete noob at this stuff, would anyone recommend this, or another box to someone like me?

Ultimate aim is
- getting a media centre up and running for playing avi, mkv files etc
- stream sports etc in HD (if possible)
- avail of sat channels (HD again)
- decent epg

I've got one spare feed from my Sky Dish to utilise) but don't mind not being able to record/watch different Sat channels)

Thanks for any help in advance!

Irreverent

To answer your questions:

-This box is very good as a media centre. It will play most formats including avi and mkv from either local storage or NAS.
-This is possible if you know what you are doing. I'm not going to discuss that here though.
-Sat channels can be tuned in HD and the quality of the broadcast is excellent.
-The EPG at present is rubbish. Now and Next only. As I mentioned above, some devs are working on a version of Crossepg (an Enigma 2 EPG 'app' which works very well on the previous Amiko Alien 2). Limitations on installing this on Android have been the stumbling block so far but it won't be long until it is come about I would say.

In summary, this box is a lovely 2nd box in a house. Installing XBMC, which runs very smoothly is well worth it. You can only either watch one channel or record one channel at a time, not simultaneously. When the EPG is sorted out it will be an excellent box. Hopefully later on Amiko will release a dual or triple tuner version which will really be the bees knees.

lsjmhar

If aTV has a soar view receiver installed can the hdd I this box be used to record a terrestrial while watching Freeview UK on the other.

Hootanany

Im having terrible trouble with Time shift screen keeps going green and pixelating,
Also when you pause it it keeps jumping forward and have to rewind it back, anyone else have these problems and if not who could i contact for support?

Many thanks in advance

Hootanany

Bump also if I'm on xbmc when I go back to TV its saying scrambled any tips for solving this?

Hootanany

Help I'm going crazy

Irreverent

Are your channels encrypted or free to air? They should not be scrambled if they are the latter when you return from XBMC. If they are not free to air then I can't really help you.

Hootanany

No free to air Time shift is useless as well

Irreverent

There is a new beta firmware on Lavatronics download site. It includes Crossepg as an Android app. Once configured it will give the box 7 day epg for all channels. Remember to just pick one provider (28.2). Multiple providers tend to confuse Crossepg.

Irreverent

Hootanany wrote: »

No free to air Time shift is useless as well

Sorry buddy, my timeshift is working grand and I am not getting the scrambled message when coming back from XBMC. Could you be having trouble with your satellite alignment or have you tried any other sat box to rule that out? Don't know what to suggest to you after that. Maybe try a re-tune if you can rule out a satellite problem.

RW77

I have been playing around with the Amiko A3 for a week now, and I have to say I'm very impressed with the results.
I use PLEX instead of Kodi (XBMC) which relies on local and external(social sharing) networking. Considering the A3 only has a 1.5 dual core A9 processor, it handles Plex flawlessly in TV mode(Android) over wireless at 72mpbs. If you connect via ethernet cable, signal loss and buffering is not an issue, the processor can handle any file format you throw at it.
I have also tested Kodi(XBMC) and the Amiko is very smooth and user friendly, I have to say the picture quality is amazing!

The single satellite receiver on Spark 2 is very nice, the quality is especially good in HD. You can install an internal HDD for "Timeshift" and recording so no external hard drive is needed. I have experienced one issue with "time shift" were the audio went out of sync (only happened once in a week of testing).
I have tested CrossEPG and Picon and the results are good most channel's appear (pointing at Astra 28.2).

IPTV is very good, the Air mouse really shines once you get the hang of it, navigating through Netflix, Showbox and NowTV is a dream.
I have even installed Microsoft Remote Desktop and the its as good as a laptop when it comes down to speed (within reason).

The Airplay function seems to be limited to ITUNES only, I have tried using Spotify and Qubus but had no luck. I was very surprised that it works with iTunes considering how strict Apple can be... I'm using this device as a DAC now and the results through my Rotel amp are outstanding.

The one major drawback is the single tuner compared to its predecessor Alien 2 which has a Triple tuner, one being capable of Soarview.
If you are not bothered about recording two channels I highly recommend this set top box. Using IPTV functions is very easy and appears to be future proof considering its now using a Android/Spark platform.

limp2010

RW77 wrote: »

I have been playing around with the Amiko A3 for a week now, and I have to say I'm very impressed with the results.
I use PLEX instead of Kodi (XBMC) which relies on local and external(social sharing) networking. Considering the A3 only has a 1.5 dual core A9 processor, it handles Plex flawlessly in TV mode(Android) over wireless at 72mpbs. If you connect via ethernet cable, signal loss and buffering is not an issue, the processor can handle any file format you throw at it.
I have also tested Kodi(XBMC) and the Amiko is very smooth and user friendly, I have to say the picture quality is amazing!

The single satellite receiver on Spark 2 is very nice, the quality is especially good in HD. You can install an internal HDD for "Timeshift" and recording so no external hard drive is needed. I have experienced one issue with "time shift" were the audio went out of sync (only happened once in a week of testing).
I have tested CrossEPG and Picon and the results are good most channel's appear (pointing at Astra 28.2).

IPTV is very good, the Air mouse really shines once you get the hang of it, navigating through Netflix, Showbox and NowTV is a dream.
I have even installed Microsoft Remote Desktop and the its as good as a laptop when it comes down to speed (within reason).

The Airplay function seems to be limited to ITUNES only, I have tried using Spotify and Qubus but had no luck. I was very surprised that it works with iTunes considering how strict Apple can be... I'm using this device as a DAC now and the results through my Rotel amp are outstanding.

The one major drawback is the single tuner compared to its predecessor Alien 2 which has a Triple tuner, one being capable of Soarview.
If you are not bothered about recording two channels I highly recommend this set top box. Using IPTV functions is very easy and appears to be future proof considering its now using a Android/Spark platform.

Good review. I got the AirPlay to work with photos but would only play the audio of a video. The spark 2 app is brilliant on the iPhone cinnected to this box.
Have you any idea how to delete duplicate channels. I've 20 differnt bbc channels.
I'm running xbmc Gotham and its running well. I will check out plex but I only have 24 mb Internet.
Also have you found any way of getting the full program listings rather than just now and next. Thanks.