Zoomtak M6 Android TV Box (Dual Core Amlogic A9)
#1
Hi guys.

I ordered this Zoomtak M6 box as my XBMC solution and just wanted to see if anyone else knows about this box? Still waiting for it to arrive.

http://www.zoomtak.net/en/pro_detail.asp...=21&type=2

http://imgur.com/a/tfrdB#0

I'll post some more pictures and run some tests if anyone is interested.

Hopefully this box can use the hardware accelerated version of XBMC and maybe even Geniatech firmware (same chipset), but I'm not sure yet.

Also I'm not sure if Zoomtak (www.zoomtak.net) is the original OEM or they are just a reseller. Would help to know so I can get updated firmware. Anyone have any idea?

Thanks.
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#2
i could be wrong but, i dont think its a real popular model in here.

actually, i've never heard of it.

can't say if its stable or not.
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#3
(2013-03-27, 22:53)eskro Wrote: i could be wrong but, i dont think its a real popular model in here.

actually, i've never heard of it.

can't say if its stable or not.

Well, there's one way to find out... Wink

I'll let you know how it goes. My guess is the firmware will be "raw" like any other Amlogic reference board until I find a more customized and refined firmware for it. I have a ROM developer willing to do some ROM work for me. So I'll see if I can get the sources from the manufacturer and we'll be off to the races. Wish me luck, lol.

Thanks.
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#4
good luck, however, Rockchip SoC is way better in terms of performance,
if i go with android, i'll get a uHOST2.

also, soon enough, the quadcores will hit the market!
can't wait for those!!
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#5
(2013-03-27, 23:03)eskro Wrote: good luck, however, Rockchip SoC is way better in terms of performance,
if i go with android, i'll get a uHOST2.

also, soon enough, the quadcores will hit the market!
can't wait for those!!

Do you have any example Rockchip boxes that work well with XBMC? All I've seen with the Rockchip SOC are those HDMI dongles and they don't seem adequate as a media center.

Thanks.
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#6
xbmc's default built-in player doesn't work well like you say on ANDROID
because there's no hardware accel (DXVA2).
so 1080P movies play choppy... even some 720P...

however, there's an XBMC version called XAF that uses MX PLAYER to playback movies so,
as we know, mx player on android plays everything since it uses hardware accel so, thats a good workaround.
its works as thats what i do on my android cell phone.

and also, there's no hardware accel yet with amlogic M6 chip.
only with amlogic M3 chip like the pivos xios box uses...
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#7
(2013-03-27, 21:55)avirex Wrote: Hi guys.

I ordered this Zoomtak M6 box as my XBMC solution and just wanted to see if anyone else knows about this box? Still waiting for it to arrive.

http://www.zoomtak.net/en/pro_detail.asp...=21&type=2

http://imgur.com/a/tfrdB#0

I'll post some more pictures and run some tests if anyone is interested.

Hopefully this box can use the hardware accelerated version of XBMC and maybe even Geniatech firmware (same chipset), but I'm not sure yet.

Also I'm not sure if Zoomtak (www.zoomtak.net) is the original OEM or they are just a reseller. Would help to know so I can get updated firmware. Anyone have any idea?

Thanks.

Hey any luck with the zoomtak, m6, I am interested in this unit? I am interested to know if can handle mkv without any problems. I currently use ps3 media server for my current setup and I've been looking at alternatives but would like to know if the m6 is worth a try and the money.
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#8
a bit late, but I just received one of these. it seems to work quite well. the manufacturer has tweaked frodo and included external players. the addon list is extensive, and playback is smooth. it has a mali 400, so it is not a hardware mystery. after an afternoon of playing around and setting up accounts I'm happy with it. I thought I shouod chime in with some definitive feedback, even 2 seasons after the original post.
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#9
(2013-12-04, 10:12)adfour Wrote: a bit late, but I just received one of these. it seems to work quite well. the manufacturer has tweaked frodo and included external players. the addon list is extensive, and playback is smooth. it has a mali 400, so it is not a hardware mystery. after an afternoon of playing around and setting up accounts I'm happy with it. I thought I shouod chime in with some definitive feedback, even 2 seasons after the original post.

Uses external players? oh, so it's a pile of shit. Thanks for the update.
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#10
To clarify: I inferred it was using external players because I have never xbmc play so smoothly on an arm device without resorting to them ( I own a few and have tried the accelerated versions from the repos). It could as easily be that the manufacterer tweaked the playback. The thing is arm 9 / mali 400 1 gig ram, for 60 bucks. it is far from shit: plex app, netflix, hulu all work beautifully, as does xbmc. I have seen recent hardware accelerated xbmc work imperfectly on a 2 gig quad core note 10.1 ( not shit either) and since I saw mx player installed I suspected that it might be employed where xbmc still requires polish (I realize hardware acceleration is a work in progress, not trying to give the folks working on it crap.). Saying something is shit because it might be working around unfinished code is really irrational, especially in the context of a low cost set top that is demonstrably viable with other similar software.

Maybe this forum is for people who make set tops out of i7 16 gig ram intel boxes? Those sure outclass the hell out of a sub $100 set top- though hulu looks about the same- I added to the thread thinking people looking for low cost, low power consumption media boxes that run xbmc might like to know that this is quite useable. I was unable to find much information when I was looking. I'm sorry to find my sole post here was met with some snot nosed version of "my mommy bought me shinier one."

I see ned scott is listed as team-xbmc. Is this sort of attitude typical of the people on the project?
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#11
(2013-12-04, 10:12)adfour Wrote: a bit late, but I just received one of these. it seems to work quite well. the manufacturer has tweaked frodo and included external players. the addon list is extensive, and playback is smooth. it has a mali 400, so it is not a hardware mystery. after an afternoon of playing around and setting up accounts I'm happy with it. I thought I shouod chime in with some definitive feedback, even 2 seasons after the original post.

Just a note - Mali 400 is the GPU. This handles display tasks like GUI rendering etc. - however unlike PCs it isn't responsible for hardware acceleration of video decoding. On most SoCs you also need to know what the VPU (sometimes called an MFC or something else) is as well, as that will handle video decoding NOT the GPU. Lots of SoCs have MALI - but the VPUs vary.

There aren't many Android solutions out there with full hardware acceleration handled fully within XBMC. There are two approaches in use. One uses LibStagefright (which is an Android library that handles H264 hardware acceleration) - which is good for H264 and uses an XBMC internal player (so the UI all feels XBMCy) but is no use for MPEG2 hardware acceleration (though some SoCs are fast enough for software decode) or external player (where MX Player or similar is called and XBMC becomes effectively just a library front-end for MX Player)

MX Player is not open-source, so can implement hardware acceleration by licensed means or by signing NDAs. Not something open to XBMC developers. It's OK for basic video playback - but AIUI you don't get the great experience of the in-house XBMC player (particularly with deinterlacing, selecting scaling algorithms and subtitles?)
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#12
(2013-03-27, 21:55)avirex Wrote: I ordered this Zoomtak M6 box as my XBMC solution and just wanted to see if anyone else knows about this box? Still waiting for it to arrive.

Also I'm not sure if Zoomtak (www.zoomtak.net) is the original OEM or they are just a reseller. Would help to know so I can get updated firmware. Anyone have any idea?

Thanks.

I have the Zoomtak T8 for two weeks and its realy nice build with it's metal case and its faster than the rest. The software and app's onboard needs some tuning and I still dont know how to activate the alfabet on the remote. Its realy new and there is no support or comunitty yet but if they can sell enough we will be alright.
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#13
(2013-03-27, 21:55)avirex Wrote: Hi guys.

I ordered this Zoomtak M6 box as my XBMC solution and just wanted to see if anyone else knows about this box? Still waiting for it to arrive.

http://www.zoomtak.net/en/pro_detail.asp...=21&type=2

http://imgur.com/a/tfrdB#0

I'll post some more pictures and run some tests if anyone is interested.

Hopefully this box can use the hardware accelerated version of XBMC and maybe even Geniatech firmware (same chipset), but I'm not sure yet.

Also I'm not sure if Zoomtak (www.zoomtak.net) is the original OEM or they are just a reseller. Would help to know so I can get updated firmware. Anyone have any idea?

Thanks.

zoomtak.net is the actual manufacturer. They do have a US distributor www.zoomtak.org. I use their zoomtak T8 Plus it is runs pretty smooth. I have tested many other boxes but honestly i prefer this one.
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Zoomtak M6 Android TV Box (Dual Core Amlogic A9)0