2014-02-16, 22:55
pe1dnn hits the nail on the head.
(2014-02-13, 04:57)audiotek Wrote: I bought a MyGica ATV250e box and what a POS it is!!! That's my second one in 2 weeks and have to go back to the store tomorrow for a full refund. The box loses it's settings and I have to do a hard reset so it can be usable again. That means reinstalling all the XBMC plugins which takes for ever.
So I'm still looking for a solid box I don't mind paying extra as long as it's reliable.
The thing is they all seems to be the same, a plastic box with rounded corners 2 USB on the side antenna back left corner, DC then HDMI connector. Are those all made in China and "Print your company name on it"? What's a good box that differs itself from the rest?
I was looking at the Pivos, Gbox, Minix and there's one from Dreamlink that has an aluminum enclosure and that's much wider than the rest. The thing is with those boxes is the online reviews are mixed. It's either a 1 star or 5 star rating.
(2014-02-16, 22:56)Packetcrypt Wrote:(2014-02-13, 04:57)audiotek Wrote: I bought a MyGica ATV250e box and what a POS it is!!! That's my second one in 2 weeks and have to go back to the store tomorrow for a full refund. The box loses it's settings and I have to do a hard reset so it can be usable again. That means reinstalling all the XBMC plugins which takes for ever.
So I'm still looking for a solid box I don't mind paying extra as long as it's reliable.
The thing is they all seems to be the same, a plastic box with rounded corners 2 USB on the side antenna back left corner, DC then HDMI connector. Are those all made in China and "Print your company name on it"? What's a good box that differs itself from the rest?
I was looking at the Pivos, Gbox, Minix and there's one from Dreamlink that has an aluminum enclosure and that's much wider than the rest. The thing is with those boxes is the online reviews are mixed. It's either a 1 star or 5 star rating.
You must just have a bad box. The ATV520E is a great box and works fantastic compared to most boxes available. Airplay works perfect out of the box, Dolby and DTS passthru works great. Plays 1080 awesome in xbmc native player. Many of the boxes you need to flash to custom firmware to get these functions to work properly. I have 5 different boxes and the ATV520E is still the most reliable and trouble free box I have.
(2014-04-25, 18:11)kphammond9 Wrote: I have been waffling on this decision for over a month now. I can't justify the investment in a true htpc per tv. The $100 price point is about the limit of what I can spend, but it seems like there are no real good options. The G-Box downscales the picture to 720p in xbmc. Most of the other android boxes are flaky/sluggish. I've heard mixed reports on Raspberry Pi and it seems like you need to be a bit of a hobbyist and overclock the hardware to get decent performance from it (understandable given the pricepoint). The Ouya controller is a non-starter for my wife. The Roku has no xbmc. The Amazon Fire TV is a closed platform and there is no way to tell if it will do what I want it to do.
So frustrating. An htpc will do what I want, but is there anything out there in the $100 price range that will run xbmc/open elec and provide solid 1080p playback? I plan to serve from my main PC over the network (wired) via either WMC or Plex, whichever one works better.
(2014-04-25, 22:31)helkish Wrote: If your looking for an htpc then maybe wait for the Minnowboard MAX. The dual core Intel Atom 1.33 GHz will go for $129. It will run both Android and Linux. It should do 1080p video fine and has SATA, USB 3.0 , Gigabit LAN.
(2014-02-13, 23:14)audiotek Wrote: I've tried the firmawre upgrade already but I don't see it on the USB key. The unit loses all the settings like date, time, wifi settings etc... As for the XBMC settings it loses the video format settings, audio and whatever I input are preferences. The issue is not with XBMC but the box itself. The firmware upgrade should be online that would make it easier.
(2014-04-26, 00:03)kphammond9 Wrote:(2014-04-25, 22:31)helkish Wrote: If your looking for an htpc then maybe wait for the Minnowboard MAX. The dual core Intel Atom 1.33 GHz will go for $129. It will run both Android and Linux. It should do 1080p video fine and has SATA, USB 3.0 , Gigabit LAN.
Hmm... so it's like a slightly more beefy Raspberry Pi? Looks like it won't be available for a couple of months, but an interesting option. Thanks.
(2014-04-28, 14:15)Rodbrazil Wrote: Ouya beats all of the boxes mentioned here.
It handles 1080P, 720P all with great quality and no hickups whatsoever.
XBMC is an easy install and upgrades are available every time a new improved XBMC version is released.
I've owned many many boxes and I have to say if you want performance and peace of mind as far as not having problems OUYA is the way to go.
One minor thing I will say is that the wifi could be better, so I always recomend ethernet cable connection and you will be flying.
Good luck!
(2014-04-26, 01:53)nickr Wrote: If you want to use plex, why are you here?
roku has plex. Amazon firetv has plex and xbmc