Login at Kodi Home

bencVc · 2014-02-09, 20:51

I am building a new Android TV Box with XBMC, and I am looking for help and suggestions from YOU, the XMBC Community and Android / XMBC Developers.

This box must be similar size as the GBox MX2 and Roku, and preferably smaller than the Ouya.

Questions:
1) How would you make a TV box that is better than the GBox MX2 and other Android TV boxes (in terms of hardware and firmware / software)?
2) How would you create a TV box that is faster and more stable?
3) How would you create a TV box that is more user friendly?
4) How do you backup your TV box?

Thank you in advance for your help.

**Starstream** · (This post was last modified: 2014-02-10, 10:33 by Starstream.)

1) Better build quality of box,
- custom remote simple but useful e.g. Roku remote is a good ballpark.
- include HDMI and optical audio output with the proper licensing for bitstreaming Dolby/DTS (already done by many boxes) HD audio bitstreaming would also be nice but could bump the cost.
- include 802.11n 5Ghz wireless (very rarely done by other boxes).
- over the air updates to the box, no manual firmware installs.
- support for running XBMC full screen in the ROM.
- support for NTFS, FAT32 and exFAT on USB hard drives, also test 3-4TB drives, exFAT is common between Windows and OSX and can be supported under Android.

2) Not a lot of choice here, Amlogic is most stable of Android platforms for XBMC which a lot of boxes use so your not really any different, the Amlogic M6/MX is to be replaced by the M8 later this year but all those units are likely to jump on that too. Perhaps an Nvidia Tegra 4 might be a viable option considering the work done on the Ouya (Tegra 3), the Tegra 4 is much faster than the Amlogic M6 (maybe M8 too) but might cost a lot more.

There are two [well one] Tegra 4 boxes out there, the Mad Catz Mojo which is terrible (just stock Android) and another one called the Nuvola NP-1 which costs $300 because it does 4K output which is ridiculous and is almost vaporware as it's been coming soon for a few months now. Another T4 box was at CES an Ouya like console but it is China only.

Anyway the main draw of the Tegra 4 is it's processing power so it can run XBMC faster then the other boxes.

3) If using Android tablet OS then skin it making it fully usable by the d-pad remote breaking it down to a simple menu (old AppleTV1 horizontal dashboard layout is a good idea) also hide Android system bar the one at the bottom of the screen, that should only appear again when in Android apps/area or simply not at al.
XBMC
- Run XBMC
- Get XBMC (doubles as check for updates), this gets the official XBMC release.

Settings
- Video resolution output along with overscan, zoom options
- Audio output with bitstreaming options
- Network settings, controls for connecting to wireless and ethernet
- System Update/Restore

Android (stock Android UI could be used going into any of these areas)
- apps
- store
- android settings

4) I personally don't, factory restore option would be useful puts everything back to the way it ships out of the box.

The main point is that this is really just for XBMC and the Android bit is a side show, I think a Tegra 4 box provided you can keep it under say $160 might be interesting to some.

Hedda · 2014-02-12, 16:33

You must post much more information to get feedback from the XBMC community, see these similar threads for ideas on what to post and what not to post
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=182171
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=183989
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=184033
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=177399
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=180251

BORIStheBLADE · 2014-02-13, 02:32

(2014-02-12, 16:33)Hedda Wrote: You must post much more information to get feedback from the XBMC community, see these similar threads for ideas on what to post and what not to post
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=182171
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=183989
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=184033
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=177399
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=180251

I agree! I was gonna post the same threads..

bencVc · 2014-02-27, 05:27

Starstream - AWESOME feedback!!!! Smile

1) Better build quality of box,
- include HDMI and optical audio output with the proper licensing for bitstreaming Dolby/DTS (already done by many boxes) HD audio bitstreaming would also be nice but could bump the cost.
--> How much does licensing cost?

- over the air updates to the box, no manual firmware installs.
--> I think G-Box is doing this now? If firmware updates are automatic, would this cause problems for XBMC, add-ons and other issues?

- support for running XBMC full screen in the ROM.
--> isn't this default?

2) Not a lot of choice here, Amlogic is most stable of Android platforms for XBMC which a lot of boxes use so your not really any different, the Amlogic M6/MX is to be replaced by the M8 later this year but all those units are likely to jump on that too. Perhaps an Nvidia Tegra 4 might be a viable option considering the work done on the Ouya (Tegra 3), the Tegra 4 is much faster than the Amlogic M6 (maybe M8 too) but might cost a lot more.
There are two [well one] Tegra 4 boxes out there, the Mad Catz Mojo which is terrible (just stock Android) and another one called the Nuvola NP-1 which costs $300 because it does 4K output which is ridiculous and is almost vaporware as it's been coming soon for a few months now. Another T4 box was at CES an Ouya like console but it is China only.
Anyway the main draw of the Tegra 4 is it's processing power so it can run XBMC faster then the other boxes.
--> which is the best choice if I want to keep my retail price at under $130?

4) I personally don't, factory restore option would be useful puts everything back to the way it ships out of the box.
The main point is that this is really just for XBMC and the Android bit is a side show, I think a Tegra 4 box provided you can keep it under say $160 might be interesting to some.
--> The restore feature could have 2 options: 1) put everything back to the way it was when shipped out of the box, and 2) puts everything back to a certain date eg. before a firmware / XBMC / add-on update. Do you think this will be useful?

Tegra 4 sounds promising, but $160 seems high considering the competition.

**Starstream** · 2014-02-27, 10:33

You would have to talk to Dolby/DTS about that, they have license applications on their website.

Over the air updates to Android if done right shouldn't cause problems.

No it is not default running full screen, Android tablet OS displays the system bar at the bottom. Android 4.4 allows running apps full screen no system bar visible but don't know if XBMC supports that.

The 160 price was just a ball park you would have to talk to your hardware suppliers about mass production prices then what price you want to set at retail.

Try to not take this the wrong way but you don't sound like you have a lot of experience with this, you should have at least a few software and hardware guys if you want it done right, you sound like a one man operation who wants to throw another Amlogic clone out there, no-one stopping you from doing that but there are a ton of generic Amlogic boxes out there already.