[Darkscythe]

Hi all,

I'm love Kodi and am interested in running it on Android devices due to their economical price and low power requirements. I purchased the MK808B Plus and thought I'd share a review of the device with you. Let me know what you all think.

http://hometheatrelife.com/mk808b-plus-review/

It covers benchmarks, physical and user interface reviews and lots of photos.

I’ve also posted an unboxing video here:


I'm pretty impressed with the Mk808B Plus with its excellent media support and capability for some light gaming. It's pretty cool to have a quadcore processor and H.265 support for under $50. Let me know if there is anything else you would like me to test/other benchmarks below and I'll update the review on my site.

[wrxtasy]

Nice comprehensive review.

I've got an old MK808B. The one thing I will say is when I added a Flirc dongle to this device I could control everything on this stick from my Harmony One IR remote, straight out of the box. Android apps, Netflix - the lot.

More testing please:
WiFi performance, this was a problem on some of the old MK808B's ?

Netflix HD performance, specifically flickering when panning ?

More detail on CEC functions ?

Refresh Rates available 24Hz, 50Hz etc ?

Is flickering when camera panning in a video scene, very noticeable when viewing 23.976 (24p) content ?

If only 24p support was built into Android - sigh!

[Darkscythe]

Thanks for the feedback.

I'll do some benchmarking of the wifi but on my site I did note that wifi wasn't super fast but I didn't have any issues streaming.

Netflix is a challenge as no Netflix in my part of the world unfortunately - not until 2015 anyways

CEC work will be looked at tonight - there is a toggle but my Samsung remote wouldn't do anything so hoping its just a case of a reboot required.

[wrxtasy]

If you needed to test Netflix HD you could try downloading the Android app Hola and sign up to Netflix for a free trial.

[Darkscythe]

Hi Wrxtasy,

Just thought I'd give you an update - some people are reporting stuttering with Netflix but streaming over wifi is fine. Suspect it could be something to do with Netflix's stream. It seems Netflix and Android aren't the greatest of friends.

[Hedda]

I believe that the best value for money right now if you want something stable is to get a Amlogic S805 based Android media player in set-top box format, as the ones in HDMI-stick format tend to be just a little more expensive at the beginning.

Maybe I'm wrong as not looking to buy a new box right now.

[bushjasen]

HI Darkscythe,

Thanks for you nice review. But just i find freaktab have a coupon at $29.99..
http://www.freaktab.com/showthread.php?2...only-29-99
I JUST USED COUPON.

[MSummerville]

Hi,

Assuming that the primary purpose will be a Kodi client instance, does anyone have any advice on which is the best ROM/firmware to use for this device?

I assume the following, but any experience people have would be really valuable.
http://blog.geekbuying.com/index.php/201...-tv-stick/

Thanks

EDIT: There also appears to be a custom ROM dated a month later (23-DEC-14 vs 19-NOV-14)
http://blog.geekbuying.com/index.php/201...s-rom-1-0/

[Ned Scott]

There's an unofficial OpenELEC-based firmware if you don't need Android. That runs great on my MK808B Plus. I don't have a link handy, but google will probably find it.

[psysfaction]

Here is the link to the OpenELEC port

https://github.com/kszaq/OpenELEC.tv/releases

I am thinking of getting this since I need a very cheap device with wifi for basic music and picture slideshows.
How is the Wifi performing Ned?

[Huuh]

Does anyone know if the Mk808b plus, while using Android can hardware decode 1080i mpeg-2 video? I've read that the m805 can hardware decode mpeg-2, but I'm worried that there isn't any software support yet. If it does, does deinterlacing work at all?

I'm looking primarily to use it with the mythtv livetv plugin, but would like to still be able to run an android OS, since there's some android apps that I would like to use as well.

Thanks

[PatK]

MK808B Plus Amlogic Quad Core Android 4.4 Mini TV Dongle -- 29.99$ + FS not sure how long this will last, but it worked for me.

Deal Link

Coupon Code: MK808BZZ

Ordered this on a lark, the price was very good, and having no on button makes it perfect with the Measy RC11 Air Mouse. I'm wondering if Open-Elec is the better way to go? I've got a TV M8, on loan so I should be able to contribute a comparison in the next while. One thing I would say off the bat, is a Logitech M700 wireless keyboard + mouse is a much better controller, at least for me it's intuitive.

@ Darkscythe

It was your review that encouraged me into picking one of these up. Good Job.

[wrxtasy]

Bug fixes and development seem to be progressing swiftly on this device. Would be a cheap h.265 stick.

More unofficial Openelec development info on the MK808B Plus over on Freaktab:

http://www.freaktab.com/showthread.php?2...-MXQ/page3

[Ned Scott]

Does anyone know if the Mk808b plus, while using Android can hardware decode 1080i mpeg-2 video? I've read that the m805 can hardware decode mpeg-2, but I'm worried that there isn't any software support yet. If it does, does deinterlacing work at all?

I'm looking primarily to use it with the mythtv livetv plugin, but would like to still be able to run an android OS, since there's some android apps that I would like to use as well.

Thanks

I believe so, but getting the video to the unit is a PITA at that resolution. The wifi isn't great and it's hard to find USB ethernet support in the Android ROMs for this unit.

[droidelec]

Hi Ned,

WeTek recently released gift firmware with many issues fixed for owners of MK808B Plus device, due the fact that WeTek is not interested to make any HW based on AMLogic S805, and that stock firmware provided by MK808B Plus manufacturer is so buggy, and they didn't show interest in solving that problems.

There is two type of WeTek Gift firmware for owners of MK808B Plus:

KitKat 4.4.4 - http://www.freaktab.com/showthread.php?2...WeTek-Gift

and

Lollipop 5.0.2 - http://www.freaktab.com/showthread.php?2...WeTek-Gift

Based on comments from owners of MK808B Plus which use one of this firmware, they are finally happy with performance.