[hpka]

Previous threads for my antics:

• The first (has an longer explanation and gives some context): http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=267019
  
• Two more boxes, from a couple of days ago: http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=275940
  

Presented for your consideration:
Amazon.ca:
Telmu MiNi MXQ Android TV Box RK3229 Quad Core 1GB RAM 8GB ROM Android 4.4 with Full Loaded KODI and Add-ons 4K Streaming Media Player H.265 HEVC with Dual-Band and Dual-Antenna Wi-Fi HDMI Cable
by Telmu
Permalink: http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01DKFTLAQ

Amazon.com:
Telmu MINI MXQ Tv Box Android4.4.4 Quad Core 1G+ROM8G WiFi Rj45 SPDIF+HDMI (Black)
Telmu
Link: http://amzn.com/B01EMYGB2A

My YouTube review + calling out (with an essay in the text description):


And the reviews:

• Amazon.ca: https://www.amazon.ca/review/R3VTAFN2FD810B
  
• Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/review/RVG1H8R3BZWVI
  

EDIT: Here's the full review:

Title for review on Amazon.ca: Good hardware but goes against the wishes of the makers of Kodi with regard to selling it with addons
Title for review on Amazon.com: Good hardware but laden with addons for Kodi that will break eventually

When I got this TV Box I was surprised just how many logos there were on the packaging. HBO, Netflix, Sling, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, PayPal, Skype, Yahoo, Facebook, YuppTV, Google+, Tumblr, Pintrest were all there. One whole side of the packaging had Kodi's logo in white on a red background!

I opened it up and found a nice and slim Android box with an HDMI cable, Power Supply, Remote (needed AAA batteries) and a very brief small manual. I hooked it all up and it worked first time on my Ethernet. I browsed around a bit, saw the Play Store was there and a few other apps like GMail and such. I then went to Kodi... after all, the name was right on the side of the box on a red background, it had caught my attention.

Sure enough, I went in there and saw it was Kodi version 15.2 RC (Release Candidate)... for reference, a release candidate is intended for release but is not yet a stable version (although it may be if no bugs are found, either way you cannot assume that yet). Kind of expecting this by now, I went into the addons list and sure enough found loads and loads of Free Movies and TV addons... sigh... again...

This unit describes itself as "Full Loaded" Android TV box, near enough to the term "fully loaded" that any intelligent person would recognise that association. I note that it does not dare do this on Amazon.com, but does on Amazon.ca... and its the same seller on both with the same product, and the user would get the same experience, so this review applies. The developers of Kodi, the XBMC Foundation, made a blog post on 14th February 2016, titled "The Piracy Box Sellers and Youtube Promoters Are Killing Kodi". In the post, the developers clearly inform the public that boxes such as this, which sell themselves as having Kodi and providing "free movies and TV" or saying they are "fully loaded", have absolutely nothing to do with the XBMC Foundation are in fact hurting them and Kodi itself. For context, Kodi is a free and open source media centre, designed for playing your media files on various devices. It can be downloaded by anyone at no charge and has nothing to do with piracy. Products such as the this sell themselves with Kodi clearly indicated as being included, and load it with addons. Those users then wonder why the addons that make this happen break or just don't work as intended or desired, and believe Kodi or the XBMC Foundation are somehow to blame (they are not). Kodi clearly asked for the practice of selling "fully loaded" Kodi boxes to stop, and suggested that they sell their box with unmodified Kodi (among other ideas). They did this before I was offered this device for review, and this post remains at the time of writing. From examining this TV box, I believe it to be exactly the kind of problem device the XBMC Foundation is concerned about.

I don't like seeing good hardware making such a huge mistake as to sell itself as a "full loaded" device that's intended to circumvent paying for good content. The hardware would make a mighty fine device, but this just lets it down. You cannot rely on addons of this nature to provide long term service, and pay for a device with that expectation.

Honestly, all it would take is NOT putting those addons in and I'd be happily recommending this product. But, that's just not what it's doing, and you'll find yourself with broken addons and a cleanup job in no time at all.

Pros:
* Good and quick hardware
* Good remote
* Small

Cons (severe):
* Directly goes against the express wishes of the XBMC Foundation regarding the use of Kodi in products which claim to be "fully loaded" (or "full loaded" as the product title puts it), and give you a copy of Kodi with loads of addons.
* It should be noted that the addons in this device are not produced by the XMBC Foundation (the developers of Kodi)

To the sellers of this device, who are selling it using the Kodi logo on the packaging and calling it "full loaded" in places, and loading it with addons, please stop.

I was given a sample for an honest review.

[hpka]

And they think the term "full loaded" is literally the problem...

Not the concept behind it, literally that phrase... i.e. those letters in that order...

See this email I received after posting that review.

[feathers]

Not exactly the point but at the 5 minute mark when you went to the "addons list" you in fact jumped straight back to the "Get More" page which was showing only (as far as I could see) legitimate addons available from the Kodi repo. eg Channel 31, DanishTV Live, ESPN3.

[hpka]

Not exactly the point but at the 5 minute mark when you went to the "addons list" you in fact jumped straight back to the "Get More" page which was showing only (as far as I could see) legitimate addons available from the Kodi repo. eg Channel 31, DanishTV Live, ESPN3.

It's true I ham fingered the keys, I exited out and thought I had cleared that. It seems I may well have done that... Thank god the camera ran out of space before I talked myself into a pit...

However, no fully loaded box has ever been fully loaded with only illegitimate addons. Although I agree this was a mistake, I still think the presence of some dodgy addons (shown earlier in the video), and the way it was being sold at the time of review all call down the fire on it. Also, I doubt that the kodi team expected the old wordmark logo to be on a red background on the side of the box...

[feathers]

Keep fighting the good fight sir.