Android Cheap Android boxes
#1
Hello all.

I don't use my old Xbox anymore (It can't playback HD videos), and my actual setup is quite complicated for my parents.
So, I was wondering : How do these cheap android box perform? : http://www.chinavasion.com/pqdo/ and http://www.chinavasion.com/httq/ and http://www.chinavasion.com/qxed/
The third one seems almost perfect to me.

Has anyone already experienced XBMC on one of these (or similar)?
Is hardware decoding possible on these boxes, or is there only software decoding?

And more importantly (for me) : Is this kind of setup Wake-on-lan capable? (I am not asking specifically about these cheap android setups, this time).


Thank you for your answers,

M@yeulC
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#2
There are alot of thread about cheap chinese boxes. Don't be fooled into thinking they would run XBMC descent enough. I would suggest you look into one of the following hardware:

1. Raspberry Pi : Cheap, easy to use and highly supported by a big community.
http://www.raspberrypi.org/
2. Ouya : Good hardware and runs on android. Future product.
http://www.ouya.tv/
3. The little black box : Product supported by a good member of the XBMC forum. (j1nx)
http://www.thelittleblackbox.nl/en/
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#3
http://www.pivosgroup.com
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#4
I already tried the Raspi : I feel it too laggy in the menus, and some big HD Videos (~12Gio) are taking a very long time to play.

I've also heard about OUYA (on Kickstarter), but I always thought about it as game console (the Xbox1 was a game console too), so I will look forward into this direction.

I've never heard of this little black box befor, it sounds interresting to me (I didn't really looked at the website yet, but it may exactly fit my needs)

Thanks a lot Wink

EDIT : the pivos looks interesting, too, and really looks like a cheap android box I've already seen. Maybe a counterfeit product?
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#5
pivos is XBMC sponsor and pivos sponsored Android port, everything else is counterfeit comparing to Pivos
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#6
(2013-05-04, 20:28)M@yeulC Wrote: EDIT : the pivos looks interesting, too, and really looks like a cheap android box I've already seen. Maybe a counterfeit product?

Must be one of the funniest reactions I ever read Tongue.

Yes it's cheap, but so are all the other Android boxes. Except this one has decent XBMC support (and hardware acceleration).
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#7
Sorry, my English isn't perfect (yet?)

I meant : Look at my first link. Some of the products I've seen on some Chinese websites must be some counterfeit versions of the Pivos, which is the Original one.
Last time I checked, their website, It wasn't available yet. Neither was the Android port of XBMC. I had no information about its pricing. But I just checked Amazon.com, and it's really cheap (compared to what it can offer). The G-Box Midnight looks interesting too.

But I have a question that hasn't been answered : can I wake one of those android boxes from my LAN?
EDIT : I meant, especially the PIVOS one, since it loks more and more interesting to me : pre-rooted, and linux build with XBMC.

EDIT 2 Oh, and I answer myself : http://www.pivosforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=2112
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#8
...
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#9
It was the first version with 256MiB of RAM, and the first version of OpenElec (before the first raspberry stable build), so I guess it has become better.

I think it has an off state : there is a power on button on the rear view (I think it's a power on button), and I saw some posts that clearly state that there is a power off mode.

But you're right, the power consumption is minimal. I just feel a bit culprit when I let a device on 24/7.

EDIT : is this site official : http://www.pivos-europe.com ? It sells the XIOS for € 120, while amazon.com sells it for $90... I can buy one of they wireless motion remote for less than the difference... | Yes. It is...
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#10
If your considering the xios the remote is pretty crappy, it cant power off without unplugging the power cord and it cant do 1080p output properly at the moment other than that its a desent product for its hardware specs.
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#11
So, do you suggest me an other device which can handle 1080p, XBMC on top of a linux OS, wake on LAN, and 3.5" storage, since that's all I want. (with HDMI output of course).
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#12
If you already own a PI, check out the latest builds op Openelec. http://www.openelec.tv/ The menu's will still be somewhat choppy, but have improved alot and so has the playback since first releases.
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#13
(2013-05-04, 19:49)Nu7s Wrote: There are alot of thread about cheap chinese boxes. Don't be fooled into thinking they would run XBMC descent enough. I would suggest you look into one of the following hardware:

1. Raspberry Pi : Cheap, easy to use and highly supported by a big community.
http://www.raspberrypi.org/
2. Ouya : Good hardware and runs on android. Future product.
http://www.ouya.tv/
3. The little black box : Product supported by a good member of the XBMC forum. (j1nx)
http://www.thelittleblackbox.nl/en/

Can you tell me anything about this "Little Black Box". I checked out their site but am curious if this will only be partially open or how it will work...

The OUYA is very intriguing for me to use in my living room and bedroom. I have been running XBMC on a custom-built HTPC for a number of years now but that is in my main entertainment room. I have not expanded to the rest of the house and now I am interested in the available options.
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#14
On cnx-software.com it says:
There will be two versions TLBB, specific to this set-top box, and a community build. The source code of both version is available via github.
http://www.cnx-software.com/2013/04/25/1...bmc-linux/

The only person who could tell you more about the "Little Black Box" is j1nx, maybe send him a PM and refer to this thread?

I made a thread about this box a while ago, so it can be discussed there:
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid...+black+box
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#15
why no Gigabit? (chipset limitation?)
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