[Hedda]

It is tough as we see this as "THE" product everyone has been waiting for...

Not trying to offend your idea or concept with the Qubi, but I honestly wonder why you would think it stands out as "THE" product everyone has been waiting for?

Backlit remote alone does not make it of a unique enough product when there are so many cheap Android and non-Android based media players out there.

Fast SoC (CPU/GPU) alone also does not make it a unique product; and XBMC itself does not need that fast SoC for all its features, so that is only needed if you would also market it as a game console as well.

Custom XBMC GUI / skin is not either something that makes it a unique product, as anyone can sell a XBMC box that uses a custom skin as default.


You can either compete with a lower price / better value or you can compete with more / better features that make it unique for the price.


Again I believe that technical convergence is the key for adding more value as to make it stands out as a unique product on the market, even if the might just be gimmicks that many users will not use.

- Sell optional Gamepad(s) yourself with your own brand and also market the Qubi as a Android game console like Ouya and GameStick

- Sell optional Web Camera yourself with your own brand and also market the Qubi with video conference features, for Skype, etc.

- Add support for optional (USB) TV-tuner and package a PVR backend such as TVheadend on Android and client for XBMC

- Add support for internal harddrive with NAS (SMB/NFS server) features with storage functions such as background BitTorrent client and more with web interface

- Add Home Cloud (OwnCloud) features to allow remote access to your media over the internet via a web browser and Smart Phone apps


You of course also need much more active and aggressive marketing strategy, as you can not solely rely on social marketing and word of mouth if you are new to the scene.

[Hedda]

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/qubi...sts/665686

If we exceed our targets here is what each and every Qubi Console will receive

$600,000 will get every console Gigabit Ethernet
$750,000 will get every console 1 x USB 3 port (3 x USB 2)
$1,000,000 will get every console AC Wifi
$1,250,000 will get every console HDMI Passthrough

Those "Stretch Goals" you just announced today are just crazy for adding them now!

Crazy both in the sense that many of those should today be standard features anyway, and crazy because it is very unlikely that any of those goal sums are reached when toy set the initial project goal to $500,000 and half way through the pledge period and so far you have less than $23,000 pledged.

I mean, seriously $250,000 for "HDMI Passthrough"? Audio pass-through support is just a software feature that an ok developer code in less than a couple of days, isn't it?

Audio pass-through, a.k.a. audio bit-streaming, means letting your external digital audio receiver decode the DTS, Dolby Digital, etc. audio stream without the media player hardware/software decoding it first.

That shouldn't require any licenses, since only your digital audio receiver that decodes the audio needs to be licensed, or is it me who misunderstood that?

I would think that you should only need DTS, DTS-MA, Dolby Digital, Dolby TrueHD, etc. licenses if you are decoding the audio on the media player hardware/software first. or?

[speedway]

Why always using Android as underlying OS? Why don't you go for an OpenElec box

[artrafael]

Why always using Android as underlying OS? Why don't you go for an OpenElec box

Among other things, access to Google Play store perhaps?

[DocG]

It is tough as we see this as "THE" product everyone has been waiting for...

Not trying to offend your idea or concept with the Qubi, but I honestly wonder why you would think it stands out as "THE" product everyone has been waiting for?

I wasn't going to say anything, but I've been wondering too. If this really were "THE" product everyone has been waiting for, I most certainly wouldn't be a part of "everyone".

That said, if you should happen to be a single pledge short with only a few minutes to go, ping me, but it'll have to be local pickup!

[Sam@Qubi]

hi all, with 19 days to go, i think this project wont see the day unfortunately...

Problem is, there's so many Android TV box's right now, i mean,
you'd really have to create something that could example, compete with the OUYA for instance...

at $99 for an OUYA, that uses a quadcore tegra3 chip,
and that has a stable XBMC version with Hardware Accel working.

its going to be more and more difficult to compete against the OUYA...
thats my 2 cents...

Thing is, you do have a nice remote idea,
which XBMC doesn't really have yet,
A true dedicated remote (not taking remote control apps into account here)....

I would gear towards creating just remote if i were you.

Partner with FLIRC.TV
and make a backlit remote
with all the functionalities XBMC needs!

good luck

We really hope our project will make it this time however if it is unsuccessful we have learnt alot and are in a better position than we were two weeks ago.
Our device is just under twice the speed of Ouya and has access to Google Play so off the shelf you will have access to alot more premium games and streaming apps.
As I have said previously we initially looked at a remote and this would work on windows or open elec systems it is impossible to release for Android due to the fragmentation.
Hope this all makes sense...

[Sam@Qubi]

It is tough as we see this as "THE" product everyone has been waiting for...

Not trying to offend your idea or concept with the Qubi, but I honestly wonder why you would think it stands out as "THE" product everyone has been waiting for?

Backlit remote alone does not make it of a unique enough product when there are so many cheap Android and non-Android based media players out there.

Fast SoC (CPU/GPU) alone also does not make it a unique product; and XBMC itself does not need that fast SoC for all its features, so that is only needed if you would also market it as a game console as well.

Custom XBMC GUI / skin is not either something that makes it a unique product, as anyone can sell a XBMC box that uses a custom skin as default.


You can either compete with a lower price / better value or you can compete with more / better features that make it unique for the price.


Again I believe that technical convergence is the key for adding more value as to make it stands out as a unique product on the market, even if the might just be gimmicks that many users will not use.

- Sell optional Gamepad(s) yourself with your own brand and also market the Qubi as a Android game console like Ouya and GameStick

- Sell optional Web Camera yourself with your own brand and also market the Qubi with video conference features, for Skype, etc.

- Add support for optional (USB) TV-tuner and package a PVR backend such as TVheadend on Android and client for XBMC

- Add support for internal harddrive with NAS (SMB/NFS server) features with storage functions such as background BitTorrent client and more with web interface

- Add Home Cloud (OwnCloud) features to allow remote access to your media over the internet via a web browser and Smart Phone apps


You of course also need much more active and aggressive marketing strategy, as you can not solely rely on social marketing and word of mouth if you are new to the scene.

When I refer to this as "THE" product everyone has been waiting for I am referring to those that are wanting an all in one device.
One of the coolest things about the original XBMC for Xbox was that it seamlessly integrated games and media, the variation of XBMC I am building will do this using Android games and Apps with scraping and metadata adding for Android apps happening automatically.
Using android opens up the options of background bittorrent/nzb downloading as well as streaming service and cheap casual gaming.
Instead of developing my own remote I would recommend people buy a Moga remote as they already have all the top games developers optimizing games for there remote and it also doubles as a HID remote.
I have added HDMI passthrough (not to be confused with Audio passthrough) and will be building a backend for this.

---

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/qubi...sts/665686

If we exceed our targets here is what each and every Qubi Console will receive

$600,000 will get every console Gigabit Ethernet
$750,000 will get every console 1 x USB 3 port (3 x USB 2)
$1,000,000 will get every console AC Wifi
$1,250,000 will get every console HDMI Passthrough

Those "Stretch Goals" you just announced today are just crazy for adding them now!

Crazy both in the sense that many of those should today be standard features anyway, and crazy because it is very unlikely that any of those goal sums are reached when toy set the initial project goal to $500,000 and half way through the pledge period and so far you have less than $23,000 pledged.

I mean, seriously $250,000 for "HDMI Passthrough"? Audio pass-through support is just a software feature that an ok developer code in less than a couple of days, isn't it?

Audio pass-through, a.k.a. audio bit-streaming, means letting your external digital audio receiver decode the DTS, Dolby Digital, etc. audio stream without the media player hardware/software decoding it first.

That shouldn't require any licenses, since only your digital audio receiver that decodes the audio needs to be licensed, or is it me who misunderstood that?

I would think that you should only need DTS, DTS-MA, Dolby Digital, Dolby TrueHD, etc. licenses if you are decoding the audio on the media player hardware/software first. or?

I have added the stretch goals buy default now. HDMI passthrough refers to "HDMI in" not Audio pass through. This will be expensive to develop however $250K is not the amount I would receive it is more about the number of units or pledges I have.

---

Why always using Android as underlying OS? Why don't you go for an OpenElec box

Among other things, access to Google Play store perhaps?

Yep Google Play Store which will get access to streaming apps, games not to mention all the other possibilities.

---

These are the new specs
Snapdragon 600 Chipset (APQ8064)
1.7 GHz Quad Core Krait CPU
Adreno 320 GPU Full
1080p HD video decoding
HDME-CEC
1.4 HDMI Connection
HDMI Passthrough
16 GB storage
2 GB Ram
Micro SD Expansion Slot
Dual Band WiFi b/g/n/ac
Miracast Capability
Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 Port
Optical Audio
1 x USB 3 Port
3 x USB 2 Ports
Bluetooth 4.0
iR Receiver
HD Audio Support Dolby & DTS

[eskro]

Also note though that the OUYA is ment to be hacked so,
as off today, you can easily root it with just 1 click
and you can install the google playstore on it and access everything.

on top of that, there's also the MELE F10 remote that is made compatible with it
thanks to a user named umouch at xbmchub, see the vid here --> http://goo.gl/PYTgqf
super easy

[Sam@Qubi]

Also note though that the OUYA is ment to be hacked so,
as off today, you can easily root it with just 1 click
and you can install the google playstore on it and access everything.

on top of that, there's also the MELE F10 remote that is made compatible with it
thanks to a user named umouch at xbmchub, see the vid here --> http://goo.gl/PYTgqf
super easy

Thats great news!!
Only issue I had with the Mele F10 was that the centre button was a mouse click and last time I checked this couldnt be changed

[eskro]

The middle button of the new MELE F10 PRO can now be used as a keyboard press said umouch...
The normal MELE F10 could not...

[oldpoem]

I think that the logic of selection of Snapdragon 600 is quite weird. You wouldn't exactly want chipset build for TV. Right now the chipset you want would be the one with least problems with XBMC especially HW accelerate part. Or the one that has most power to do all task in software mode.

With all past experiences on android devices, even the specs on papers look capable. The real thing has different results. Especially with variety of firmware / android builds on those devices. Even on same chipset , different device / firmware made huge affect on XBMC though. It's not just having best looking specs but you certainly need lot of support on firmware / drivers side as well.

[eskro]

we've been saying all over the web that support is the main thing here....

thats why all those chinese android sticks and no name box's die quickly,,,,
no real dedicated support,,,
and your stuck with your issues lol

thats why i like OUYA, still new,
but insanely supported!

[oldpoem]

The more you differences your device from the development platform developers had, the more problems arise and much harder to fix. There's the reason most working android devices is a clone or subtle changes of PIVOS. Because it can based on open source xbmc developed on PIVOS and took minimal effort to fix things specific to certain hardware differences.

Something like 1080p / HDMI Passthrough / Refresh rates change can't be fixed / corrected solely by XBMC devs. Most of the time it needs fixes in firmware level or in Android build. Unlike Windows/Linux which when you had stable base XBMC just sit on top of that working. Android is still far from that level. So in android you need certain firmware / android support to take this project flying , If not there will be an overwhelming negative feedback.

Even with OUYA , there are some limitations that still now cripple XBMC experience like refresh rate lock at 60fps, HDMI passthrough is half-working. Having capable hardware is one thing, making it works is whole different matters.

[Sam@Qubi]

I think that the logic of selection of Snapdragon 600 is quite weird. You wouldn't exactly want chipset build for TV. Right now the chipset you want would be the one with least problems with XBMC especially HW accelerate part. Or the one that has most power to do all task in software mode.

With all past experiences on android devices, even the specs on papers look capable. The real thing has different results. Especially with variety of firmware / android builds on those devices. Even on same chipset , different device / firmware made huge affect on XBMC though. It's not just having best looking specs but you certainly need lot of support on firmware / drivers side as well.

Hi Old poem,

The only logically chip to use is Snapdragon 600 the mpq8064 now known as the apq8064m is the most powerful chipset that has been designed for media/set top box not modified or changed to suit google mpq8064 to see what it's capable of or look at the xiaomi mitv...

[Sam@Qubi]

The more you differences your device from the development platform developers had, the more problems arise and much harder to fix. There's the reason most working android devices is a clone or subtle changes of PIVOS. Because it can based on open source xbmc developed on PIVOS and took minimal effort to fix things specific to certain hardware differences.

Something like 1080p / HDMI Passthrough / Refresh rates change can't be fixed / corrected solely by XBMC devs. Most of the time it needs fixes in firmware level or in Android build. Unlike Windows/Linux which when you had stable base XBMC just sit on top of that working. Android is still far from that level. So in android you need certain firmware / android support to take this project flying , If not there will be an overwhelming negative feedback.

Even with OUYA , there are some limitations that still now cripple XBMC experience like refresh rate lock at 60fps, HDMI passthrough is half-working. Having capable hardware is one thing, making it works is whole different matters.

The pivos is now not support by the official xbmc as the amlogic chipset has no libstagefright. They are releasing there own version called Tofu. We will be supporting our version of XBMC and have a team dedicated to it.
Just to confirm our box has "Hdmi passthrough" which is a Hdmi in on the unit this does not exist on the Ouya you are referring to audio pass through...
We completely agree it isn't enough to have good hardware which is why we are ensuring it all works and this is the ONLY focus of our team

---

The more you differences your device from the development platform developers had, the more problems arise and much harder to fix. There's the reason most working android devices is a clone or subtle changes of PIVOS. Because it can based on open source xbmc developed on PIVOS and took minimal effort to fix things specific to certain hardware differences.

Something like 1080p / HDMI Passthrough / Refresh rates change can't be fixed / corrected solely by XBMC devs. Most of the time it needs fixes in firmware level or in Android build. Unlike Windows/Linux which when you had stable base XBMC just sit on top of that working. Android is still far from that level. So in android you need certain firmware / android support to take this project flying , If not there will be an overwhelming negative feedback.

Even with OUYA , there are some limitations that still now cripple XBMC experience like refresh rate lock at 60fps, HDMI passthrough is half-working. Having capable hardware is one thing, making it works is whole different matters.

The pivos is now not support by the official xbmc as the amlogic chipset has no libstagefright. They are releasing there own version called Tofu. We will be supporting our version of XBMC and have a team dedicated to it.
Just to confirm our box has "Hdmi passthrough" which is a Hdmi in on the unit this does not exist on the Ouya you are referring to audio pass through...
We completely agree it isn't enough to have good hardware which is why we are ensuring it all works and this is the ONLY focus of our team