[wrxtasy]

There are now two flavours of Android TV out in the market. Android TV OS and Android TV operator tier (OT).
Android TV OT allows pay TV companies to customise the Launcher main screen to prioritise their own streaming content first.

There are quite a lot of these types of ATV OT devices now on the market worldwide, click HERE for a complete list.
The trouble is with Google allowing ATV OT customisation - operators can now block specific Apps installation completely.
We see this in Australia with the ATV OT - Foxtel Now Box blocking Kodi installs, plus there is no Netflix on that device.

Anyway enough of that, this device is the start of what I predict will be a flood of similar cheap Google Certified - DVB capable - Android TV streaming devices. It runs the full monty Android TV OS and has no App install restrictions.

2018 Vodafone TV (click)

• Cost - AUD$120 $72
  
• Google Certified & 4K Netflix Approved device
  
• Running Android TV OS 7.1.1 Nougat
  
• Includes a single FTA DVB-T Tuner, which uses Android TV - Live Channels
  
• Manufacturer – Technicolor (Pearl model)
  
• Kodi Krypton HD Audio passthrough inc. Atmos and DTS:X should work. (untested)
  

Tech Specs:

• SoC: AMLogic S905D
  
• CPU: Quad-core 1.5GHz
  
• GPU: Penta-core ARM Mali-450 (4K HDR Capable)
  
• RAM: 2GB
  
• Storage: 8GB
  
• Inbuilt DVB-T Tuner for Australia
  
• Dual Band AC WiFi
  
• Ethernet: 100M may possibly be Gigabit
  
• Bluetooth 4.2 LE
  
• USB2 port x 1

Known Issues so far:

• Just like the AMLogic S905X Xiaomi Mi Box there is no Kodi refresh rate switching.
  

[b-rett]

Does anyone here have this box, and run Kodi, and are able to watch 720p h264 media files in MKV containers, located on a NAS, using ethernet, and it not look & sound terrible?

Please bear in mind when asking that question I had to look up to try and use the correct terminology for the media files.

Basically I have the VTV, and have installed Plex (both the app on the VTV box, and the media server on my Seagate Personal Cloud NAS). Watching TV epsiodes in this format using Plex is OK - a bit stuttery to begin with, slight bit of motion stutter when things are panning across the screen. But overall the picture quality is great for someone who's only recently converted from watching live TV in SD. The audio is coming through in Dolby Digital and sounds great. However, if I try to watch movies - or longer episode shows (like, 1 hour) in this media format (h264, 720p, MKV) the Plex media server seems to tell me my NAS doesn't have the ballz to transcode the file (after a bit of reading, this makes sense).

Another user with a similar setup recommended Kodi, telling me the app running on the VTV box should do the grunt work that the NAS drive is incapable of doing in these cases.

But ... try as I might, following all the Kodi Wiki information and trying many different configurations, I can't Dolby Digital audio to come through. I've tried turning on 'passthrough' in the audio section but the sound is jittered and terrible. This is for all such files - not just longer ones.

One other thing I noticed: The Kodi interface kinda stretches past the edges of my TV, no probably 90% of the interface pages.

Thx in advance for any suggestions.

[wrxtasy]

You could try hard selecting HDMI in Android settings > Sounds > Digital Sounds > ...

I don't have this box but I bet Technicolor have not bothered to add compatible Kodi Krypton IEC61937 audio passthrough code into Android Firmware.

You will have to use one of the Krypton (audio) shitty versions from here if that is the case:
http://mirrors.kodi.tv/test-builds/android/arm/

[kostaman]

 
Known Issues so far:

• Just like the AMLogic S905X Xiaomi Mi Box there is no Kodi refresh rate switching.
  

 

 Failure of Refresh rate switching killed my appetite for this box.
Doesn't work even after the latest firmware.
Very fast and fluid through the UI . 
Excellent remote. Voice remote works great.
Using my Miui A1 Android phone to set up the box was a No Brainer.
Playback via the the internal free to air player was pretty smooth.
Playback of my free to air recordings done on my Libreelec server box are average using any Android Player on this box.
Playback via Kodi using TVHeadend Client is crap 25 fps.
Using 1080 50 HZ resolution in settings is really juddery playing my 23.976 fps movies over home network.
Using 1080 60HZ smooths it out a lot but nowhere near as smooth as Libreelec frame rate switching on cheap boxes i use.
Now for the really bad news.
I tried to boot an image of Libreelec Krypton via the USB port.
Powered on with reset button pressed and USB of image inserted.
WIPED THE BOX BACK TO FACTORY RESET. 
That's the end of that.
If they could get this refresh rate switching fixed it would be a really nice box for the $70 
My rock64 using Android TV image by Ayufan is able to refresh rate switch on Kodi and every other player i use on it.
Anyway i just wanted to report the failed USB Libreelec attempt but posted whatever else i tried. Cheers.

[flashman1207]

I have Kodi 17.6 loaded and I cannot get Pass-Through to work (or any DTS type settings) with my Yamaha 683 receiver. I lose sound altogether, no speakers show up on the Receiver screen except the occasional flicker. I've had lots of Kodi boxes before and so am fully aware of how to set them up, this is the first box I have had issues with. I have a Mi Box running the same Kodi 17.6 with Yamaha 683 receiver and no probs..... settings are the same !!!!

Netflix passes through OK (well I get 5.1 on the receiver anyway)

Very annoying

[omarko]

hi everyone, I am hoping someone can help.

I have the Vodafone TV box and its been fine. I have installed a USB stick for extra storage and installed Kodi on it. 

the problem is, Kodi seems to be still storing all application data in the internal storage, not the USB stick which is eating up all storage space now and none other apps work with no free space.

Is there a way to tell Kodi to use the USB stick for storage of its data ?

please help !!!!

[N3MIS15]

This box got an update to android 9 (security patch 5 Dec 2019). Fixed a few issues I had with it previously, most notably apps that wouldn't work with older versions of android like Twitch. A new issue has been introduced for me however. Bluetooth devices do not auto re-connect. I have to unpair and repair every time I turn a bluetooth device back on. 

If anyone has a solution to this I am all ears as it is quite frustrating.

Cheers.

[OBrother]

• 
  
   
  
• Running Android TV OS 7.1.1 Nougat
  
• Kodi Krypton HD Audio passthrough inc. Atmos and DTS:X should work. (untested)
  
• Ethernet: 100M may possibly be Gigabit

Hi, I know it's an old thread but this should be updated .... it now runs TVOS v9 with the update, Atmos only works in Dolby Digital Plus (no full TrueHD or DTS:X passthrough) & the ethernet is 100M (not gigabit).