[wrxtasy]

Hi wrxtasy, I've always wondered if 2GB DDR3 RAM (Minix Neo T5) is sufficient for streaming purposes on android 9.0 (ultimately the future OS comes with larger size). 
Seeing that we have few boxes out there, e.g. Mecool KM3 that is equipped with 4GB DDR4 RAM, what is your advice/suggestion on this?

Actually the opposite is true.
Each subsequent Android TV OS release is being further optimised to run on low RAM devices.

2GB RAM is just fine for Oreo and especially Pie devices these days.

More important is high quality fast DDR4 RAM and a modern ARM GPU for a graphics intensive snappy Android TV device. 

Thanks for your reply!
Another concern of mine, currently Gearbest is offering Minix Neo T5 at $89.99 (w/ coupon), is it considered overpriced as compared to the cheaper boxes out there w/ better specs and Netflix certified or is it just nice (reasonable)?

What I'm not seeing with the T5 is the usual Wireless voice remote all other similarly priced Google certified Android TV devices like the MECOOL KM3 / KM9 Pro Deluxe, come packaged with these days.

If MINIX are only packaging the really old Infra Red range limited remote that has to be pointed directly at the box to get it to work properly they are having a laugh at potential customers expense.

Maybe they expect customers to pony up extra $$$ for a seperate Wireless voice remote like the new backlit A3 keyboard remote ?
I really dunno. It's probably better to wait for reviews for further details.

However the T5 is the only legit cheapish Android TV device I see on the market with Gigabit LAN and SPDIF included.

[Mount81]

Actually the opposite is true.
Each subsequent Android TV OS release is being further optimised to run on low RAM devices.

2GB RAM is just fine for Oreo and especially Pie devices these days.

More important is high quality fast DDR4 RAM and a modern ARM GPU for a graphics intensive snappy Android TV device. 

Thanks for your reply!
Another concern of mine, currently Gearbest is offering Minix Neo T5 at $89.99 (w/ coupon), is it considered overpriced as compared to the cheaper boxes out there w/ better specs and Netflix certified or is it just nice (reasonable)? 

What I'm not seeing with the T5 is the usual Wireless voice remote all other similarly priced Google certified Android TV devices like the MECOOL KM3 / KM9 Pro Deluxe, come packaged with these days.

If MINIX are only packaging the really old Infra Red range limited remote that has to be pointed directly at the box to get it to work properly they are having a laugh at potential customers expense.

Maybe they expect customers to pony up extra $$$ for a seperate Wireless voice remote like the new backlit A3 keyboard remote ?
I really dunno. It's probably better to wait for reviews for further details.

However the T5 is the only legit cheapish Android TV device I see on the market with Gigabit LAN and SPDIF included. 

So the new T5 Box is out now for a while. Any news on if it can be made dual-booted with CE or not at all? A detailed "media playback" review would also be nice to find somewhere. I'm considering the Beeling GT1-Mini or the GT-mini-a for a little bit cheaper than the T5 as they have quite fair Android and support and CE can be surely Dual-Booted on these, but if the T5 would have the same possibility, I guess I would rather jump over that.

[wrxtasy]

Thanks for your reply!
Another concern of mine, currently Gearbest is offering Minix Neo T5 at $89.99 (w/ coupon), is it considered overpriced as compared to the cheaper boxes out there w/ better specs and Netflix certified or is it just nice (reasonable)? 

What I'm not seeing with the T5 is the usual Wireless voice remote all other similarly priced Google certified Android TV devices like the MECOOL KM3 / KM9 Pro Deluxe, come packaged with these days.

If MINIX are only packaging the really old Infra Red range limited remote that has to be pointed directly at the box to get it to work properly they are having a laugh at potential customers expense.

Maybe they expect customers to pony up extra $$$ for a seperate Wireless voice remote like the new backlit A3 keyboard remote ?
I really dunno. It's probably better to wait for reviews for further details.

However the T5 is the only legit cheapish Android TV device I see on the market with Gigabit LAN and SPDIF included. 

So the new T5 Box is out now for a while.
Any news on if it can be made dual-booted with CE or not at all?
A detailed "media playback" review would also be nice to find somewhere. I'm considering the Beeling GT1-Mini or the GT-mini-a for a little bit cheaper than the T5 as they have quite fair Android and support and CE can be surely Dual-Booted on these, but if the T5 would have the same possibility, I guess I would rather jump over that.

Looks like there is a MINIX T5 review over at - AndroidPCTV (click)

Whilst the MINIX T5 is a properly Google Certified Android TV device with legit DRM & HDCP 2.2 & GigaE LAN - it lacks Netflix Approval.

In summary from that review - missing Android Kodi features:

- No auto Frame Rate Matching / Kodi Refresh switching
- No Kodi HD audio

- There is also No included wireless Voice remote - only the usual poor Infra Red only one.
Which with previous MINIX devices had to be pointer directly at the device to work.

- Untested is CoreELEC Kodi dual boot functionality. Don't automatically assume that will work.

Virtually all Google Certified Android devices with legit Widevine L1 DRM can use the Kodi Leia Netflix Addon to stream 1080p video.

If AMLogic Android devices can be Rooted you can get Kodi auto Frame Rate Matching working by using this hack: https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid...pid2891405

[Mount81]

What I'm not seeing with the T5 is the usual Wireless voice remote all other similarly priced Google certified Android TV devices like the MECOOL KM3 / KM9 Pro Deluxe, come packaged with these days.

If MINIX are only packaging the really old Infra Red range limited remote that has to be pointed directly at the box to get it to work properly they are having a laugh at potential customers expense.

Maybe they expect customers to pony up extra $$$ for a seperate Wireless voice remote like the new backlit A3 keyboard remote ?
I really dunno. It's probably better to wait for reviews for further details.

However the T5 is the only legit cheapish Android TV device I see on the market with Gigabit LAN and SPDIF included. 

So the new T5 Box is out now for a while.
Any news on if it can be made dual-booted with CE or not at all?
A detailed "media playback" review would also be nice to find somewhere. I'm considering the Beeling GT1-Mini or the GT-mini-a for a little bit cheaper than the T5 as they have quite fair Android and support and CE can be surely Dual-Booted on these, but if the T5 would have the same possibility, I guess I would rather jump over that.  

Looks like there is a MINIX T5 review over at - AndroidPCTV (click)

Whilst the MINIX T5 is a properly Google Certified Android TV device with legit DRM & HDCP 2.2 & GigaE LAN - it lacks Netflix Approval.

In summary from that review - missing Android Kodi features:

- No auto Frame Rate Matching / Kodi Refresh switching
- No Kodi HD audio

- There is also No included wireless Voice remote - only the usual poor Infra Red only one.
Which with previous MINIX devices had to be pointer directly at the device to work.

- Untested is CoreELEC Kodi dual boot functionality. Don't automatically assume that will work.

Virtually all Google Certified Android devices with legit Widevine L1 DRM can use the Kodi Leia Netflix Addon to stream 1080p video.

If AMLogic Android devices can be Rooted you can get Kodi auto Frame Rate Matching working by using this hack: https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid...pid2891405  

Well, according the review to me it's a huge disappointment for now. I've awaited an updated, full-feature media player (like the U9-H was) but it turned out to be only some kind of "media hub" or whatever it intended to be... What a waist of possibilities that this new SOC has to offer and so IMO it has not much more to offer (except the presumably a more stable Android FW), than any generic, cheaper Amlogic Box. Any hope that Minix will add these essential video playback features in later firmwares, or that's it that it's ever gonna be?!
-------
And a bit OFF(-ish): I've ordered a Beelink GT1-mini (S905X2) and planning to try Android /KODI playback capabilities with Auto Frame Rate patching. What's the experience so far, how the PQ compares with CE on Android with KODI on these new SOC Amlogic Boxes? I know there aren't any video output setting on these cheap Boxes on Android, only fix RGB available, so that may be a mayor handicap.
Also interested if they have proper and good quality deinterlacing for interlaced videos with Android KODI (or with some other fork).

[Jokerchyld]

Welp I'm sold!  Just bought one, coming in this Friday.  I'm a simple man so this should be just fine.  1080p video + TOSLink audio to Yamaha for DD/DTS 5.1 + GigE for streaming HD video without hiccup.

I have the T95Z customized with Superceleron ROM from freaktabs.  But its running the crappy Android 6.0.1 for tablets so audio passthrough never worked right through Krypton.  I'm still using the "shitty" build to get it to work.

Hopefully this box will be faster and allow me normal passthrough using new Kodi Leia.  It works well on my laptop.

In terms of Netflix does this mean I cant use the Android TV Netflix app?  Or does it mean I won't get HD content?  Also what is the Kodi Netflix app?  Where do i get that?

I'll report my findings this weekend

[Mount81]

According to this thread the mayor drawback could be the Android TV OS: The problem is that Google won't certify a box for Android TV if anything other than standard FW is installed.
Talking about a new HiMedia TV Box, that has no real local media playback support in official firmware level. That could be really the cause? If this statement is true, how general could be this problem currently and could be in the future regarding Boxes with certified Android TV OS, when we talking about as full-feature and updated as possible local media playback capabilities?

[wrxtasy]

Welp I'm sold!  Just bought one, coming in this Friday.  I'm a simple man so this should be just fine.  1080p video + TOSLink audio to Yamaha for DD/DTS 5.1 + GigE for streaming HD video without hiccup.

I have the T95Z customized with Superceleron ROM from freaktabs.  But its running the crappy Android 6.0.1 for tablets so audio passthrough never worked right through Krypton.  I'm still using the "shitty" build to get it to work.

If your T95Z has an AMLogic chipset it will already do what you want, running Kodi Leia, if you run the correct OS on it from a Class 10 U1 Samsung EVO or Sandisk microSDHC. It can even Dual Boot.

That OS being CoreELEC:

https://coreelec.org/

[Jokerchyld]

Welp I'm sold!  Just bought one, coming in this Friday.  I'm a simple man so this should be just fine.  1080p video + TOSLink audio to Yamaha for DD/DTS 5.1 + GigE for streaming HD video without hiccup.

I have the T95Z customized with Superceleron ROM from freaktabs.  But its running the crappy Android 6.0.1 for tablets so audio passthrough never worked right through Krypton.  I'm still using the "shitty" build to get it to work.

If your T95Z has an AMLogic chipset it will already do what you want, running Kodi Leia, if you run the correct OS on it from a Class 10 U1 Samsung EVO or Sandisk microSDHC. It can even Dual Boot.

That OS being CoreELEC:

https://coreelec.org/ 

Thanks Wrxtasy,

I'll try that on my T95Z.  Its the S912 AMLogic though, are there still problems with that and CoreELEC?

But outside of that setup my Neo T5 last night and its the bomb. It was literal plug and play.  Unplugged my T95Z, put the ports in on my T5, ran through setup and I was off.  It asks if you want to preinstall certain software - I selected KODI, X-Plore, and Plex.

KODI passthrough works perfectly with no change in options (other than selecting passthrough and AC3-/DTS-capable reciever).  The GigE allows me to stream my 2160P sources like butter.  Definitely a faster more powerful box than my T95Z.

Netflix didnt exist in the store, and I couldn't side load it.  when it started it said "This device doesnt support Netflix".  Amazon wasn't there as well but funny enough Disney+ was prominent.

Navigating was a bit rough for me on my Rii+ since I'm used to using the BACK/ESC buttons to return and those didnt work on AndroidTV. Ended up being one of the assigned mouse-buttons so I'm good!

Might even try some games since some emulators were pre-installed as well (FPSE and Drastic)

Loving it so far.

When I get my new Yamaha Aventage 2080 then I'll switch everything to HDMI (no more optical!) and get an NVidia Shield since all I really run on these things is Youtube and KODI.

[wrxtasy]

[quote="Jokerchyld" pid='2905391' dateline='1575473187']Welp I'm sold!  Just bought one, coming in this Friday.  I'm a simple man so this should be just fine.  1080p video + TOSLink audio to Yamaha for DD/DTS 5.1 + GigE for streaming HD video without hiccup.

I have the T95Z customized with Superceleron ROM from freaktabs.  But its running the crappy Android 6.0.1 for tablets so audio passthrough never worked right through Krypton.  I'm still using the "shitty" build to get it to work.

If your T95Z has an AMLogic chipset it will already do what you want, running Kodi Leia, if you run the correct OS on it from a Class 10 U1 Samsung EVO or Sandisk microSDHC. It can even Dual Boot.

That OS being CoreELEC:

https://coreelec.org/ 

Thanks Wrxtasy,

I'll try that on my T95Z.  Its the S912 AMLogic though, are there still problems with that and CoreELEC?[/quote)

LIbreELEC / CoreELEC has been working fine on S912’s for a couple of years now.
Better vs Android Kodi in fact due to the reliable auto refresh, resolution and colorspace switching.
And deinterlacing works properly, plus MultiCH LPCM & HD audio passthrough.

If a user has a decent 4K TV that has very good AI picture upscaling with no limitations, such as the Premium 2019 Samsung’s, Sony’s, LG C9’s and Panasonic GZ’s.
Then auto resolution switching comes in real handy.

[Mount81]

So according the post above the T5 looks fine for FHD and UHD and SD multi channel audio in some ways with KODI. But a more in depth test and review is still required (AFR, HDR, HD audio, deinterlacing, general PQ). I know that the review linked before states it fails in most of these parts, but maybe there are some changes happened since?

And any news on the U22-XJ model regarding?

[The Brain]

I'm yet to see any AMLogic Chipset device running anything Android support a Dolby Audio Licence properly - in the same way you can get FireTV and Apple TV devices remixing / downmixing all audio into highly compatible 5.1 DD to support older DD only audio equiptment. Even copy protected Apps streaming and 5.1 SPDIF audio output is non existant.

Proper Dolby Audio support on ALL Android TV media player platforms is pathetic.

Mi Box S does it for Netflix since it's got updated to Android Pie.

Doesn't it do it for Kodi as well?

[wrxtasy]

So according the post above the T5 looks fine for FHD and UHD and SD multi channel audio in some ways with KODI.
But a more in depth test and review is still required (AFR, HDR, HD audio, deinterlacing, general PQ). I know that the review linked before states it fails in most of these parts, but maybe there are some changes happened since?

And any news on the U22-XJ model regarding?

U22-XJ Bug Tracking is found over HERE onwards (click)

And MINIX T5 bugs are scattered in threads over HERE (click)

You would be far better off using the near bug free CoreELEC Kodi on these devices if you can using a Dual Boot setup.