Android/Dream Box [ Illegal discussion = Ban ]

The Mulk

looking at this one at the moment https://www.geekbuying.com/item/Bundle-MX10-RK3328-4GB-32GB-TV-Box-Tronsmart-TSM01-386683.html but it has Rockchip RK3328. I'm I best off sticking with Amlogic, or is there much difference?

Invincible

The Mulk wrote: »

looking at this one at the moment https://www.geekbuying.com/item/Bundle-MX10-RK3328-4GB-32GB-TV-Box-Tronsmart-TSM01-386683.html but it has Rockchip RK3328. I'm I best off sticking with Amlogic, or is there much difference?

I wouldn't chance Rockchip, for about the same cash you'd get a Mi box(international version), quality kit.

Suckit

The Rockchip chipsets are great. I am not sure exactly what happened after RK3306 for them that they didn't go all out. I know they focused on audio chips for a while (and still do), but somewhere along the way they seemed to dip in sales, and maybe got a bit of bad press.
It may have been their naming and one chipset in particular. The RK3188 and the RK3188T.
Not unlike the S905, S905X, S905D or S905W tbh.
But I think one of the Rockchips didn't offer updates quick enough, and (i think) the T version was a slower chip.
That said, I think they have put that behind them. The RK3328 is great chipset, plays most everything you throw at it and has updated to Oreo. It also has USB3.0.
The Mi Box is decent too.

The RK3328 would be competing against the S912, and they are pretty evenly matched with both only slightly beating each other in different areas.

iggy

Got a A95x Pro box a few days ago. Everything working good apart from home screen is a bit blurry.
I have tried to set resolution to auto and a few other resolutions but still the same.
Also tried a different hdmi cable.
Any ideas?

Suckit

iggy wrote: »

Got a A95x Pro box a few days ago. Everything working good apart from home screen is a bit blurry.
I have tried to set resolution to auto and a few other resolutions but still the same.
Also tried a different hdmi cable.
Any ideas?

If you have tried a different HDMI (and port), then try performing a factory reset with nothing attached (except the HDMI + Power).

jeffk

Got my Mecool yesterday and soon found out no reset button and the fun began

Eventually got Coreelec running with homeplugs as the Wifi doesnt work(no wifi listed in settings), did try stock but hate the android tv interface and only really use Kodi to watch stuff off a hard drive, so plain Jane launcher etc would do me

Good nippy box, the remote with voice search etc is nice and neat and being Bluetooth is good(point anywhere) and bad(lose one of two usb ports)

11 Days overall(not too far outside 2-7 delivery window)

Recommended

Nowso

jeffk wrote: »

Got my Mecool yesterday and soon found out no reset button and the fun began

Eventually got Coreelec running with homeplugs as the Wifi doesnt work(no wifi listed in settings), did try stock but hate the android tv interface and only really use Kodi to watch stuff off a hard drive, so plain Jane launcher etc would do me

Good nippy box, the remote with voice search etc is nice and neat and being Bluetooth is good(point anywhere) and bad(lose one of two usb ports)

11 Days overall(not too far outside 2-7 delivery window)

Recommended

wifi may not work if your running different roms that do not suppport the wifi chip in your box . it will work if you get the right software

jeffk

Nowso wrote:

wifi may not work if your running different roms that do not suppport the wifi chip in your box . it will work if you get the right software

Ah yeah the stock was grand
Core or Libre Elec I love using the sd card method
Messing with IMG etc method for rom messed up last box

Lucky enough dont really use the box much over the net

Shinobollo

Silly question time...
Why does everyone rave about the Mi Box on so many forums when tech has moved on - for example 2gb ddr3 vs 4gb ddr4 in MX10.
I'm not being a smartar$e. I just find it hard to figure out what a decent spec looks like.
Any / all explanations welcome, please and thanks in advance

The high horse brigade

Shinobollo wrote: »

Silly question time...
Why does everyone rave about the Mi Box on so many forums when tech has moved on - for example 2gb ddr3 vs 4gb ddr4 in MX10.
I'm not being a smartar$e. I just find it hard to figure out what a decent spec looks like.
Any / all explanations welcome, please and thanks in advance

Support. Official support for Netflix and YouTube 4k. Runs Android TV, not a hacked version of touchscreen Android designed for a tablet.

Shinobollo

The high horse brigade wrote: »

Support. Official support for Netflix and YouTube 4k. Runs Android TV, not a hacked version of touchscreen Android designed for a tablet.

Thanks THH. Should have said that I'm asking as the owner of an MXQ box who's fed up with buffering and poor downloads.

The high horse brigade

Shinobollo wrote: »

Thanks THH. Should have said that I'm asking as the owner of an MXQ box who's fed up with buffering and poor downloads.

Saying that the Mi Box doesn't handle 4k all that well, if you need 4k get a Shield

jeffk

Ive two things form Xiaomi(USB cigarette thing and powerbank) and great products, so if the box is the same then thats another plus

Suckit

Shinobollo wrote: »

Silly question time...
Why does everyone rave about the Mi Box on so many forums when tech has moved on - for example 2gb ddr3 vs 4gb ddr4 in MX10.
I'm not being a smartar$e. I just find it hard to figure out what a decent spec looks like.
Any / all explanations welcome, please and thanks in advance

As mentioned above also include decent hardware and firmware.
There are a few boxes (mentioned throughout the thread) that are also good.

There was a good write up on an android forum a few months back. It had a list of boxes, their firmwares and hardware. It also mentioned the companies that were trying to put out a decent product and get a name for themselves that they could build on, versus the 'resellers' and factories that were churning out random brandless ones with no particular care for the firmware, and clones.
It had information pulled from all over the place but mainly weibo (Chinese Twitter) showing all sorts of information.

There are plenty of decent boxes available with good firmware and hardware for a decent price. Unfortunately they don't always have a very long run. I can't remember seeing another box with as long a run as the Mi Box. Even the shield was updated. There is a Mi Box 4, but it hasn't seemed to have got anybody talking much yet, I don't think the English Firmware is from the same developers, I think it is a custom firmware.

iba

The high horse brigade wrote: »

Support. Official support for Netflix and YouTube 4k. Runs Android TV, not a hacked version of touchscreen Android designed for a tablet.

Also excellent WiFi and regular OTA updates, Android security updates and os updates. Has HDR. Great remote too.

I love the new home screen after the last update.

iba

jeffk wrote: »

Ive two things form Xiaomi(USB cigarette thing and powerbank) and great products, so if the box is the same then thats another plus

I have about 40 things from Xiaomi from phone to smart home devices to cameras to lights to WiFi extenders to plant monitors. Love them all.

yabadabado

Xiaomi are a good brand,Iv bought some excellent stuff from them.

Shinobollo

Thanks everyone.
Makes sense now.
Cheers

elbyrneo

Hi, anyone using Formuler z7+ box? Running great for me, Mytvonline very quick and fast and EPG issues earlier this year seem to be resolved, loads pretty quick now.

How are others finding it now?

Minor issue though and wondering if just me- when watching on demand media, there is a weird sound vibration or distortion every 5 mins or so..just lasts 2 or 3 seconds but really annoying. Happens whether I use soundbar or just tv speakers. And doesn't happen when I play same media on another box (e.g enigma2 box)

Suckit

elbyrneo wrote: »

Hi, anyone using Formuler z7+ box? Running great for me, Mytvonline very quick and fast and EPG issues earlier this year seem to be resolved, loads pretty quick now.

How are others finding it now?

Minor issue though and wondering if just me- when watching on demand media, there is a weird sound vibration or distortion every 5 mins or so..just lasts 2 or 3 seconds but really annoying. Happens whether I use soundbar or just tv speakers. And doesn't happen when I play same media on another box (e.g enigma2 box)

Could be your audio setting or your provider. Have you tried resetting the box? The last update caused a few different issues for people, a reset fixed them.

Shinobollo

For those thinking of a Mi Box, this may be of interest.
I was going to buy one based on recommendations, but i came across some info regarding the Oreo upgrade. I'll hold off now, for a few weeks, to see what fixes / patches are rolled out...

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.androidheadlines.com/2018/07/xiaomi-mi-box-android-tv-oreo-update-halted-returns-to-beta-status.html/amp

https://xiaomi.eu/community/threads/mi-box-3-master-bug-list.44784/

elbyrneo

Suckit wrote: »

Could be your audio setting or your provider. Have you tried resetting the box? The last update caused a few different issues for people, a reset fixed them.

Ok cool will try a reset of the box. It's def not the provider as the very same content is fine on Smart TV and on an Enigma2 box. Cheers.

Suckit

elbyrneo wrote: »

Ok cool will try a reset of the box. It's def not the provider as the very same content is fine on Smart TV and on an Enigma2 box. Cheers.

Different things can be affected on different devices and apps. Have you tried running their app or Perfect Player or STBemu etc. on the Formuler and checked if the issue is still happening? Although that wouldn't really do anything other than to narrow it down to the box or the MyTVOnline app.

kubjones

So I'm deciding that I'm going to bite the bullet and just get one of these things.

Bought my first smart TV there last christmas and was severely unimpressed with how awful the apps are optimized.

I've heard that an Android Box is the way to go for reliable apps and just overall ease-of-access.

I have a few questions though before I go for it.
- How easy is it to install apps on?
- Do regular updates make a mess of things?
- What kind of a life should I expect to get out of one?
- What kind of money should I be looking at spending for my first? Not looking for anything too high-end, something that could run streaming apps like Twitch or youtube player, Netflix, anything else (legal, obviously) that would make the smart function of my TV obsolete?

Thanks in advance.

Shefwedfan

kubjones wrote: »

So I'm deciding that I'm going to bite the bullet and just get one of these things.

Bought my first smart TV there last christmas and was severely unimpressed with how awful the apps are optimized.

I've heard that an Android Box is the way to go for reliable apps and just overall ease-of-access.

I have a few questions though before I go for it.
- How easy is it to install apps on?
- Do regular updates make a mess of things?
- What kind of a life should I expect to get out of one?
- What kind of money should I be looking at spending for my first? Not looking for anything too high-end, something that could run streaming apps like Twitch or youtube player, Netflix, anything else (legal, obviously) that would make the smart function of my TV obsolete?

Thanks in advance.

Is this your first time ever using a android box?


If so, you have 2 options
Buy cheap but decent box and test it,....then if it really is option going forward invest more money. The Nexbox is decent and I got it cheap for Amazon, comes bundled with remote and I have netflix etc running on it.....no idea what Twitch is?


Go expensive, MiBox or most people on here spend crazy money on Shield thing. I bought the MiBox because I buy a few Xiaomi products and all have been brillant.



It also depends on what position your wireless router is compared to TV?


What I did, was go Nexbox. Got myself back up to speed after not using boxes for a few years. Once I had done that, bought the MiBox and put on primary TV, took the nexbox and put into bedroom. I already have a number of TP-Link around the house due to the size so I just moved it beside them....


Of course another little gem is the Amazon Fire TV Stick. They are highly recommended, a little bit more messing around with getting stuff up and running but loads of online videos......

theteal

Folks, where's the best place to source a Mi box?
Do they usually get hit for customs?
Any links would be appreciated

Suckit

theteal wrote: »

Folks, where's the best place to source a Mi box?
Do they usually get hit for customs?
Any links would be appreciated

Poland seems to be the cheapest, but I did not check the shipping price.
No customs charges when shipped inside the EU.
https://www.geekbuying.com/item/-Official-International-Version--XIAOMI-Mi-Box-4K-H-265-Android-Box-399763.html

Much more expensive on amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Android-2-0GHz-remote-International-Version/dp/B01M3NH9CW

NATLOR

elbyrneo wrote: »

Hi, anyone using Formuler z7+ box? Running great for me, Mytvonline very quick and fast and EPG issues earlier this year seem to be resolved, loads pretty quick now.

How are others finding it now?

Minor issue though and wondering if just me- when watching on demand media, there is a weird sound vibration or distortion every 5 mins or so..just lasts 2 or 3 seconds but really annoying. Happens whether I use soundbar or just tv speakers. And doesn't happen when I play same media on another box (e.g enigma2 box)

I had that problem a couple of months back a factory reset sorted it

BandMember

theteal wrote: »

Folks, where's the best place to source a Mi box?
Do they usually get hit for customs?
Any links would be appreciated

I know that I'll get abuse for saying this, but I really would not recommend that you go for a Mi box. I had so many problems with mine, it could not do anything without having issues....so many, many issues... It never worked right at all and in the end I just threw it in the bin. Never had any of these problems with my old Minix, and ended up going back to using it as a spare box. A complete waste of money in my opinion. Pay the extra and get yourself a decent box - you'll save yourself a lot of frustration in the long run....

Bring it on the hate! :P :pac:

Suckit

BandMember wrote: »

I know that I'll get abuse for saying this, but I really would not recommend that you go for a Mi box. I had so many problems with mine, it could not do anything without having issues....so many, many issues... It never worked right at all and in the end I just threw it in the bin. Never had any of these problems with my old Minix, and ended up going back to using it as a spare box. A complete waste of money in my opinion. Pay the extra and get yourself a decent box - you'll save yourself a lot of frustration in the long run....

Bring it on the hate! :P :pac:

No hate, if you had issues then you have a valid reason for disliking the box. Your setup should be something people are aware of, If they have a similar setup then they could find that they have similar conflicts. You could prevent that.

But..... I would promote a Z7+ over a Minix for many reasons, one being that they are also cheaper.
I was reluctant to go with the Formuler for a lot of reasons (mainly Avov and TVOnline), and I said so (incorrectly) on these forums. But they are decent, and definitely outshine any Minix (which are also good, but overpriced).
They are not the greatest or best, but if you want to pay that much, and it was a choice between the two..
There are versions available with tuners too. Or minimal apps. But if you prefer having play store and markets etc. Then the Z7+.