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Budget AMLogic S9xx Media Player Options
(2017-01-10, 13:40)gsmtech Wrote:
(2017-01-09, 19:05)efegue Wrote: haha, this china bois!

"World's best android tv", right.

Not android TV ,but maybe worlds most capable kodi media devices in the 50 dollar and below category... unless of course you need DRM conent like netflix etc..

On a serious note there are limitations to budget devices and compromises which can be expected for the price your paying like:

- WiFi is not very good on some devices due to poor internal antennas, some cheaper devices also only support single band 2.4ghz WiFi, I know some people have soldered small external antennas to the boards and worked around this issues. Hard wired ethernet is always better option than WiFi anyway.

- Android buids from the manufacturers are generally pretty basic and crap, especally the Android 6 builds, Android 5.1 builds are more stable. You may be able to use a custom ROM like xannytech or a ported. Minix ROM though,

- Dont expect ongoing support after 2 or 3 OTA updates when the box is relatively new to market, manufacturers will drop support and move on to the next models off box meaning you once again need to rely on custom ROM support if you need android, or maybe your build will be stable by then... Generally android is stable on 5.1.on my Mini MX and on my M8S II I run the xannytech ROM.

- Of course if you dont need android and want a Kodi only device go with Kazaqs excellent LibreElec builds...and negate all android issues Wink

In short, do your research first, find out which budget devices are the good ones to go for, dont buy blindly based on price/spec alone. Most of the common cheap devices will all run LibreElec quite well...nexbox, beelink, MBox etc... with the exception of some WiFI/Bluetooth drivers which is why you need to do some reading on the LibreElec forums... Pleanty of fantastic bargains out there.

I wonder where all the more expensive "premium" branded devices are made ?? The same factories in China of course...with a 500 % markup

Yup, I already setup like 5 of this s905x boxes for my friends and family, they're impressive with LibreELEC, with the Android that they come, it simply sucks, no other word to describe it.

With libreELEC I would say the performance is similary if not the same to my ChromeBox, good stuff Smile
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(2017-01-09, 14:57)gsmtech Wrote: You don't even need to eject the Micro SD card to dual boot into Andorid from LibreElec on a generic Chna box, just select "reboot from NAND" on the the LibreElec reboot option and your done, without moving from your couch......

Now I know why I completely missed this - I use Black Glass Nova skin on my systems and update to that as soon as I install new OS;
that option is not in the BGN shutdown menu as-is!
But of course I now see it in the std LibreELEC skin shutdown menu
Thanks for pointing this out!
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(2017-01-11, 20:56)DEcosse Wrote:
(2017-01-09, 14:57)gsmtech Wrote: You don't even need to eject the Micro SD card to dual boot into Andorid from LibreElec on a generic Chna box, just select "reboot from NAND" on the the LibreElec reboot option and your done, without moving from your couch......

Now I know why I completely missed this - I use Black Glass Nova skin on my systems and update to that as soon as I install new OS;
that option is not in the BGN shutdown menu as-is!
But of course I now see it in the std LibreELEC skin shutdown menu
Thanks for pointing this out!

And you have reboot apk in android if you want to go to libreelec (Reboot) .....becouse that i say no need to eject....but maybe you dont see that post (Post: #897,Post: #904)
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(2017-01-11, 22:27)Bajann Wrote: ... And you have reboot apk in android if you want to go to libreelec (Reboot) .....becouse that i say no need to eject....but maybe you dont see that post (Post: #897,Post: #904)
I guess you mean a reboot app for Android (when already in Android) - if in Android and you select reboot, it will already boot to LE anyway if the card is installed.
(or maybe that's just what you're saying?)
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(2017-01-12, 09:21)DEcosse Wrote:
(2017-01-11, 22:27)Bajann Wrote: ... And you have reboot apk in android if you want to go to libreelec (Reboot) .....becouse that i say no need to eject....but maybe you dont see that post (Post: #897,Post: #904)
I guess you mean a reboot app for Android (when already in Android) - if in Android and you select reboot, it will already boot to LE anyway if the card is installed.
(or maybe that's just what you're saying?)

Sry on my eng ...Yes go to playstore download reboot apk for Android on Android if u want to go to libreelec(SD card with libreelec must be in SD slot)just select reboot .....
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Sorry to everyone for belabouring this:

(2017-01-12, 10:24)Bajann Wrote: .. go to playstore download reboot apk for Android on Android if u want to go to libreelec .....
? ?? ?
But no special reboot apk is required if you want to reboot to LibreElec - at least certainly not with the kszaq builds.
If in Android - and the SD Card is inserted - reboot will already boot directly to the LibreElec in the SD Card - no additional .spk required.
That's the way it is with Marshmallow and kszaq-LibreElec anyway.
I really thought you were talking about how to make it NOT boot to LibreElec when the SD Card is installed, and instead reboot back to Android.

Currently - no special .apk in Android and SD Card left inserted:

In Android:
select Reboot - will reboot to SD Card LibreElec (kszaq) - no option to reboot to Android

In LibreElec (kszaq):
Select Reboot - will reboot to LibreElec
Select Reboot to NAND - will reboot to Android.
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(2017-01-12, 19:59)DEcosse Wrote: Sorry to everyone for belabouring this:

(2017-01-12, 10:24)Bajann Wrote: .. go to playstore download reboot apk for Android on Android if u want to go to libreelec .....
? ?? ?
But no special reboot apk is required if you want to reboot to LibreElec - at least certainly not with the kszaq builds.
If in Android - and the SD Card is inserted - reboot will already boot directly to the LibreElec in the SD Card - no additional .spk required.
That's the way it is with Marshmallow and kszaq-LibreElec anyway.
I really thought you were talking about how to make it NOT boot to LibreElec when the SD Card is installed, and instead reboot back to Android.

Currently - no special .apk in Android and SD Card left inserted:

In Android:
select Reboot - will reboot to SD Card LibreElec (kszaq) - no option to reboot to Android

In LibreElec (kszaq):
Select Reboot - will reboot to LibreElec
Select Reboot to NAND - will reboot to Android.

Hahahah OK nvm
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Does the Mini M8S II allow booting LE from USB stick? I'm running out of microSD cards right now.
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(2017-01-13, 07:29)sivaptw Wrote: Does the Mini M8S II allow booting LE from USB stick? ...

Can't say specifically for that box, but MOST of these will boot from at least one of the USB's - try one & if not, try the other.
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(2017-01-13, 07:29)sivaptw Wrote: Does the Mini M8S II allow booting LE from USB stick? I'm running out of microSD cards right now.

Yes it works. In the USB port in the back if possible
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Hello everyone,

I need to purchase something for converting a non-smart TV into something smart ;-)

I would like to watch Netflix, YouTube and probably use Kodi with some add-ons like TedTalk and similars.

The "problem" is that I need to use only Wi-Fi connection.

First I was thinking in purchasing a Chromecast:
- Pros: Power over TV USB. Easy to setup. Wi-Fi seems to work pretty well. Can sent Netflix, YouTube, etc. from smartphone
- Cons: No Kodi :-(

Next I thinked in RPi3 and setup Kodi (OpenElec, LibreElec, ...) on it
- Pros: Wi-Fi. Easy to setup. Wi-Fi also works.
- Cons: Need power but I can get one from wall behind TV. NetflixHuh

And finally I thinked in one of those cheap S905X (I've read that S912 is not the way to go) like Nexbox A95X
- Pros: Price?? Kodi??
- Cons: Need power too. Wi-Fi seems to be very weak

So, my question is what do you think? Is there any S905X box that has a very good Wi-Fi chip?
Or is better the RPi3/Chromecast way?

Thanks.
Desktop & HTPC System:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 @ 2.66GHz || 4 x 2GB DDR2-1066 Kingston @ 1066MHz
Sapphire HD 6450 1GB || Dell UltraSharp 2009W @ 1680x1050 (using DVI) || Philips LCD 42PFL8404H @ 1920x1080 (using HDMI through Yamaha SR-301)
Yamaha YHT-S401 (SR-301 Receiver + NS-BR301 Speaker)
Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-4000
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Netflix won't work on most of cheap Chinese boxes.

What do you mean by "very good wifi chip"? If you mean good as cable, then NO, there is no such a device.

Xiaomi Mi Box has decent wifi and can play Netflix:
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=275083

I wouldn't go with RPi3 since it can't play 10bit H265 very well.
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@serieofilo,

All these cheap unsupported Android Boxes will not give you what you want. None will do 720/1080p Netflix. The RPi3 will not do Netflix full stop.
The RPi3 also has very weak 2.4GHz only WiFi - prone to interference in a crowded RF environment.

The S905X Mi Box has very good AC WiFi and runs proper Android TV, that is very easy to use on a big screen TV with its Voice, Bluetooth Wireless remote.

And because you are in Spain, you can get the International Mi Box version (exact same as USA version) from here:

International Mi Box - Ships from Spain

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Yeah, it looks like Mi Box is the one you would need. I have also read that WiFi is quite good on it and can do Netflix properly (not to mention Kodi).

Sent from my LG-H815
Gadget enthusiast
Kodi player on an oDroid N2 4 GB with latest stable CoreElec
Sony Bravia KD-55XF9005
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two thumbs up for the mi box 3, great wifi signal, plus it's got AndroidTV and a voice remote and netflix support, so ticks all the boxes. Smile
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