Related
Hey folks! Some of you may know me from my many, many Android YouTube videos, if not, that's ok, nobodies perfect! hehe j/k
So my super crappy Western Digital media player is starting to kick the bucket, so i've been looking into alternatives. I only learned about Android sticks after i picked up my WD media player ( i don't think there were any available when i bought my media player).
So now i want a great Android stick for my living room TV.
Based on my full day of research, i've come to the conclusion that the MK809 and the iMito MXII are the best of the best at the time of this posting.
So i suppose i'm looking for this awesome communities help in picking one. I just can't seem to be able to tell the real differences between the two.
I wouldn't mind the option of an easy root, but rooting isn't completely needed, considering i spend most of my time in the office on the computer, but my wife spends all her time in the living room...so she won't be in to all of the custom ROMs and such that i would be.
With that all said, which of these two would you fine folks recommend? Or should i start looking into a different model?
I am looking for hopefully the best of the best...i'm ok spending a little more money on something else if it's worth it, but i would like to stick with the whole Android stick concept (pun totally intended )
Cheers!
Jared
Hi Jared!
I'd say the MX1. Just because I'd like to see you put out some videos for it!
I guess the two you have chosen are the best of the rockchip models right now. You have to pay quite a bit more for guaranteed quality. That is : more robust micro USB ports, better WiFi antenna/ placement. WiFi for me has been perfect without modification, and I'm taking extra care of those ports!
Best of luck with your purchase, whatever you end up getting!
fr0d0#2 said:
Hi Jared!
I'd say the MX1. Just because I'd like to see you put out some videos for it!
I guess the two you have chosen are the best of the rockchip models right now. You have to pay quite a bit more for guaranteed quality. That is : more robust micro USB ports, better WiFi antenna/ placement. WiFi for me has been perfect without modification, and I'm taking extra care of those ports!
Best of luck with your purchase, whatever you end up getting!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL, thanks for the input fr0d0.
but it's definitely going to be either the MX2 or the 809...lol you bet i'll be doing videos on that thing, if i can figure out which one to get
cheers =)
J-Roc said:
LOL, thanks for the input fr0d0.
but it's definitely going to be either the MX2 or the 809...lol you bet i'll be doing videos on that thing, if i can figure out which one to get
cheers =)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know your WD media player but do know that those both don't do DTS/AC3 passthrough over HDMI.
These Rockchip dual cores just don't cut it yet.
I'm waiting for mini-pcs that will do multichannel passthrough and i'm waiting for the better quadcore devices that'll be released in a not so distant future, those will cut it and those can replace my massive htpc.
Correct me if i'm wrong (about the DTS/AC3 passthrough).
Frag1le said:
I don't know your WD media player but do know that those both don't do DTS/AC3 passthrough over HDMI.
These Rockchip dual cores just don't cut it yet.
I'm waiting for mini-pcs that will do multichannel passthrough and i'm waiting for the better quadcore devices that'll be released in a not so distant future, those will cut it and those can replace my massive htpc.
Correct me if i'm wrong (about the DTS/AC3 passthrough).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't know that! Thanks for the tip! Maybe i should wait, like you.
Cheers =)
J-Roc said:
I didn't know that! Thanks for the tip! Maybe i should wait, like you.
Cheers =)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perhaps another tip:
Also know that in April this year (ETA, so they say) the Ouya and the Gamestick will be launched.
XBMC already announced it will support the Ouya fully.
The Ouya will have a quadcore tegra 3 (like the HTC One X(+) (fully unlocked and hackable, with active cooling meaning major overclocking)), which is now already faster then any Android mini pc on the market. It will get it's own gamemarket and controllers, ethernet port etc.
Haven't read anything about DTS passthrough tho, but as it's that hackable it'll probably be a short time before that's available.
Really excited about the $99 Ouya
http://xbmc.org/natethomas/2012/08/07/xbmc-and-ouya-oh-yeah/
J-Roc said:
Based on my full day of research, i've come to the conclusion that the MK809 and the iMito MXII are the best of the best at the time of this posting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if youve seen the MK809II
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2083522
Its the 809 with bluetooth. There maybe other improvements too
I've got the MX2 and I like it. It uses the same root method as the mx1 although you have to play with it a little. The last I checked the custom ROM development is pretty stale except for the mk808. I don't know what DTS is so i can't comment on that.
Sent from my ThunderBolt using xda premium
I want to get an Android Stick in the next day or so and wanted to know what you guys would currently recommend?
Seems to be that these 3 are very good ones, have good reviews and are sold on Amazon. I listed them in order of how I was thinking about going.
1. Tronsmart MK908 II
2. Tronsmart T428
3. Tronsmart CX919
Or is there something else out there that is better.
Basically want something for general Android use. Internet, Gaming, light Productivity.
I have an OUYA, Gamestick, Nexus 7' iPads. So that might give you an idea.
I know how to do very basic hacking. Rooting and what not, but would love to have all of it pre done if possible.
Any help and thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
No one has any thoughts? I would like to try and order something today. Leaning towards the MK908 II. Seems fast and responsive. Wifi and Bluetooth are better, comes rooted, and has both a 720p and 1080p kernel.
moviecouple said:
No one has any thoughts? I would like to try and order something today. Leaning towards the MK908 II. Seems fast and responsive. Wifi and Bluetooth are better, comes rooted, and has both a 720p and 1080p kernel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recommend mk908ii too
I've got the 908, very worth the money, i'd recommend it.
Keep'm coming guys, I'm also looking to buy one of these babie.
John Waugh said:
I've got the 908, very worth the money, i'd recommend it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how much are they roughly?
I see the recommendation for the mk908ii but can it play 1080 in XBMC? I would rather a amlogic than a rockchip based one if XBMC is the main purpose.
I would like to know if they support;
VPN
Bluetooth keyboards
Adobe Flash
DLNA
Gamepads usb and bluetooh
Zattoo player
Cameras for Google Hangouts
One more thing how often they upgrade the firmware, is it planned to have android kitkat on them?
Thanks a lot.
tcblues said:
I would like to know if they support;
VPN
Bluetooth keyboards
Adobe Flash
DLNA
Gamepads usb and bluetooh
Zattoo player
Cameras for Google Hangouts
One more thing how often they upgrade the firmware, is it planned to have android kitkat on them?
Thanks a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well yes to all, if not, a custom rom will support it.
I doubt they will get official update to 4.4, no doubt at some point a custom rom will support.
I brought a mk908 v1 for the prospect of running a full linux distro on it and having a far more powerful raspberry pi. While ive got ubuntu running with all the trimmings, still lack hardware acceleration 2d & 3d. Also missing vpu acceleration so only software decoded video, but for reference with this is still powerful enough to soft-decode a 720p bluray smoothly. hwa will be here soon though.
Under android with a custom rom/ kernel i got 20,000 in antutu which blew me away. Defiantly impressed by the rk3188 soc.
Thanks a lot!!!
And what about the MiniX NEOX7 deserves to pay more money for it compare to the normal sticks we talked in here?
http://www.minix.com.hk/Products/MINIX-NEOX7.html
tcblues said:
Thanks a lot!!!
And what about the MiniX NEOX7 deserves to pay more money for it compare to the normal sticks we talked in here?
http://www.minix.com.hk/Products/MINIX-NEOX7.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought a Minix Neo X7 for my parents mainly for Skype. Unfortunately, atleast with the current 006c firmware, Skype or Hangouts doesn't work. Checkout minixforums.com. There seem to be quite a few issues with video playback & camera support. I cannot say anything personally because I couldn't try the device myself (I am not at home). Hopefully, the new firmware that is expected to come out in November will have the issues fixed. Otherwise, I am afraid it will turn into a paper weight for me.
So considering all options... would you think that Tronsmart MK908 II is the best option available?
I want to buy it as a christmas present for a couple of people and me
tcblues said:
So considering all options... would you think that Tronsmart MK908 II is the best option available?
I want to buy it as a christmas present for a couple of people and me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If that questions was meant for me, sorry. I don't have much knowledge about these devices to make a recommendation. SomeCoolTech in YouTube has done reviews for some of these. May be you can check that out. Unfortunately, his review praised Neo X7 as well. So, I would be cautious in making any purchase decisions solely based on those videos. Keep in mind that we (my parents) didn't try any video playback with X7. I was disappointed with it because of the video chat issues. From what I understand, Minix X5 doesn't have those kind of camera issues, so I am hoping it will be fixed in the next firmware update.
I doubt I'm alone in the US in wanting HD Radio (NRSC-5) support on our Android Head Units. I did a little looking as to what would be required to get this running. There is effectively no ready-made solution that is compatible with our Android Head Units.
Over at GitHub, there's a project which you can build on Linux (or Windows under MinGW). When paired with a USB SDR (the cheap ones based on the RTL2832U chipset), this will correctly decode and play the HD radio stream at the specified frequency. Here's the link: https://github.com/theori-io/nrsc5
I think all we'd need to get this working for Android is:
1) Being able to build the binary and libraries for the Android platform.
2) A simple UI. All it would need to do at a minimum is allow us to add station frequencies as bookmarks, and then control launching and stopping the NRSC5 binary. This wouldn't necessarily be as seamless as some would like, but it would be a great start, in my opinion.
3) Eventually, we might want to look into scanning functionalities, integration with standard FM radio (to auto-switch to HD when available), displaying title/artist data, etc.
I'm willing to kick in say $20 or so for this functionality. Perhaps enough of us could pledge some money for a functional delivered APK?
jpreston84 said:
I doubt I'm alone in the US in wanting HD Radio (NRSC-5) support on our Android Head Units. I did a little looking as to what would be required to get this running. There is effectively no ready-made solution that is compatible with our Android Head Units.
Over at GitHub, there's a project which you can build on Linux (or Windows under MinGW). When paired with a USB SDR (the cheap ones based on the RTL2832U chipset), this will correctly decode and play the HD radio stream at the specified frequency. Here's the link: https://github.com/theori-io/nrsc5
I think all we'd need to get this working for Android is:
1) Being able to build the binary and libraries for the Android platform.
2) A simple UI. All it would need to do at a minimum is allow us to add station frequencies as bookmarks, and then control launching and stopping the NRSC5 binary. This wouldn't necessarily be as seamless as some would like, but it would be a great start, in my opinion.
3) Eventually, we might want to look into scanning functionalities, integration with standard FM radio (to auto-switch to HD when available), displaying title/artist data, etc.
I'm willing to kick in say $20 or so for this functionality. Perhaps enough of us could pledge some money for a functional delivered APK?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your best approach would be to write a broadcast radio HAL for it.
Here is one for a DMHD-1000: https://github.com/HiKey960-Car/android_device_linaro_hikey/tree/dmhd1000/broadcastradio
Note that this HAL is for Android 8.1+
If you insist on the sdr route with its inherently non-reception, you would obviously have to import the source for that into the HAL and connect it up.
Thanks for the added info.
I am not personally tied as to which way this is made to work. What I, and I think many others, would prefer to have, is a simple means to add HD Radio capability to their Android Head Units. Most common lately are the PX5 MTCD units (which is what I myself have), meaning we'd want something compatible with Android 6 (though as I understand, Oreo should be available sooner or later). If we can make this work with the built in FM radio chipset already present in these units, that's great. If using an SDR is required, that's fine too, as far as I'm concerned.
jpreston84 said:
Thanks for the added info.
I am not personally tied as to which way this is made to work. What I, and I think many others, would prefer to have, is a simple means to add HD Radio capability to their Android Head Units. Most common lately are the PX5 MTCD units (which is what I myself have), meaning we'd want something compatible with Android 6 (though as I understand, Oreo should be available sooner or later). If we can make this work with the built in FM radio chipset already present in these units, that's great. If using an SDR is required, that's fine too, as far as I'm concerned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The built in fm radio is *not* capable of HD.
And the cheap chinese radios probably won't be too happy working with anything you try to attach to them, its the chinese way to sell you something that is broken as hell and take extraordinary measures to prevent you from fixing it yourself.
Take a peek at the project that that HAL is associated with.
I'm not sure what your particular interest in that project is, but it really is out of scope. What I'm aimed at are the many of us who have MTCD/MTCE units (in my case, of the PX5 variety, which many people have now). We already have these units, and they perform sufficiently for most of our needs. We simply would like to add HD radio capability.
We can already attach the SDR I mentioned to the head unit and use it. We simply lack the software to decode the HD signal (and no compatible hardware product seems to be available, or I'd probably buy that). The decoding software is available for Linux, which gives us at least a possibility of building this for use on Android.
jpreston84 said:
I'm not sure what your particular interest in that project is, but it really is out of scope. What I'm aimed at are the many of us who have MTCD/MTCE units (in my case, of the PX5 variety, which many people have now). We already have these units, and they perform sufficiently for most of our needs. We simply would like to add HD radio capability.
We can already attach the SDR I mentioned to the head unit and use it. We simply lack the software to decode the HD signal (and no compatible hardware product seems to be available, or I'd probably buy that). The decoding software is available for Linux, which gives us at least a possibility of building this for use on Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had those units too, and they don't perform sufficiently for ANYTHING. They are worse than useless.
And I'm not even talking about SPEED when I say performance. They're fundamentally broken, hacked to hell and back, and not one thing works correctly on them. You can't even reliably make a phone call.
I appreciate that you don't like those units. But here's the reality -- a lot of us do. If you don't, that's fine, but it doesn't give you reason to undercut the entire basis of the project, when you don't actually have a better answer. The goal of this particular thread was to find a way to add HD Radio functionality to the MTCD/MTCE units we already own. These units integrate well with our cars (no one else offers a good face plate or buttons that look like they belong in my car). No, they're not perfect (I've replaced the ROM, and the Wifi/Bluetooth on mine, which makes the unit quite usable in my view), but they're the best option I, and many others, have available. The project you've linked isn't nearly as plug-and-play, even with the modifications I've done to my PX5 unit. Use what you like, but don't assume that everyone else must use what you like.
Additionally, the ability to use an SDR for this means you can toss one on your phone as well, which would probably be very interesting to some people.
So, back to where this started please -- is there any developer out there who would be willing to work on porting this code to an Android app? Anyone else willing to put up some money as a reward for whoever that brave developer ends up being?
jpreston84 said:
I appreciate that you don't like those units. But here's the reality -- a lot of us do. If you don't, that's fine, but it doesn't give you reason to undercut the entire basis of the project, when you don't actually have a better answer. The goal of this particular thread was to find a way to add HD Radio functionality to the MTCD/MTCE units we already own. These units integrate well with our cars (no one else offers a good face plate or buttons that look like they belong in my car). No, they're not perfect (I've replaced the ROM, and the Wifi/Bluetooth on mine, which makes the unit quite usable in my view), but they're the best option I, and many others, have available. The project you've linked isn't nearly as plug-and-play, even with the modifications I've done to my PX5 unit. Use what you like, but don't assume that everyone else must use what you like.
Additionally, the ability to use an SDR for this means you can toss one on your phone as well, which would probably be very interesting to some people.
So, back to where this started please -- is there any developer out there who would be willing to work on porting this code to an Android app? Anyone else willing to put up some money as a reward for whoever that brave developer ends up being?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My answer is better. Fact.
And no, you won't find anyone "porting" anything like that to an "app". Won't work, because applications don't have hardware access on Android.
Your answer is literally useless to most people. But hey, if you want to tell me how to get from what you suggested to a working, fully installed unit in my car, complete with appropriately sized bezel and physical buttons, I'm ready to hear it.
On the other hand, what it seems like you're trying to do is garner support for the project you mentioned (which I assume you have some connection to). If that's your goal, you're doing a bad job of it.
If anyone else sees this and shares my interest, please PM me -- I do have contacts with app experience available, and may farm this to them if there's enough interest.
Maybe the problem is that only the US have "HD Radio", and the rest of the world either has already or is starting to adopt DAB. Consequently the Chinese Android suppliers (Head Units or Adapters) are focused on DAB.
Have you looked at the GROM HDR1 ? Maybe this could be adapted to talk to android ?
I definitely agree as to the nature of the problem.
As for the GROM unit, I actually did look at this. Unfortunately the GROM units seem to be geared around a CD changer interface, which isn't supported by these head units.
I wonder if this code could be used to decode the NRSC-5.
Google
"DECODING AND LISTENING TO HD RADIO (NRSC-5) WITH AN RTL-SDR"
Not able to post the URL.
Also look at theori.io
I have also been looking for this for a long time and the only solution I've found it to attach an external hd tuner to the input of the stereo. the one I'm using is Directed Electronics DMHD-1000 HD Radio Tuner. it adds extra hardware but works great and has a huge improvement overall compared to the built in tuner on the head unit.
Agreed - there is a significant gap in functionality here and wish we had a solution for it. I can't speak to the quality of DAB because i've never listened to it, however, i've read that HD Radio is far superior. Still looking for a solution.
I'd like to see a solution for HD Radio on Android as well. I'm currently using an Insignia HD Radio Portable Player NS-HD02 connected to the audio-in jack on my car's radio. The Insignia player has a touchscreen and displays album and station art and the audio quality is much better than what I receive via the analog broadcasts. These units are extremely rare now but once in a while they still pop up on eBay or other auction sites. I was pretty envious when I saw the DAB USB adapters with software for Android and Android head units recently. Love my Insignia radio but a larger screen akin to a head unit or tablet would be very welcome.
In the US it is standard in the meanwhile, but not available in Europe and China.
This is exactly the point in the moment. They have no clue about the existence of HD-Radio.
AFAIK there are only some tests running in Romania and Swiss, but for Europe it would not work:
However, this increases the frequency requirement and could lead to interference from neighboring channels. In Europe, a channel spacing of 100 kHz is common on ultra-short wave (VHF), while in the USA it is 200 kHz.
At least the reason to work with DAB+ in Europe and a lot of other states.
You need to talk with your seller and ask for HD-Radio in special. You won´t get it soon, but someone has to start developing on their side.
Hello everybody,
I'm looking for some suggestions on hardware for a little project of mine.
I recently got my hands on a few Dynalink TV Boxes after discovering the great support of LineageOS on them here in the forum. Sadly, after some testing with the hardware I got, they seem to be off the market - out of stock everywhere since new year...
So, I'm looking for an alternative. Preferably in the same price range (30-40 bucks) and form factor and able to be flashed with Lineage or another clean ROM.
FireTV Stick Lite seemed promising, same price and decent performance out of the box. Sadly Amazon locked those very hard lately so there is currently no use for them.
I got a "Q96 Stick" of AliExpress but that thing is shady, lacks of performance and there seems to be no custom roms available soon.
So is there anything you could suggest?
Small, price around 30-40, Custom Rom available (Android 10+) or has clean stock OS, no need to be Android TV. No need for Netflix and other DRM stuff.
The project is a small digital signage, I just need to figure the hardware since the Dynalink boxes seems decommissioned.
PS: Idk if I got the right section of the forum, please be gentle.
Well I can't recommend one in that price range BUT be very careful, there's a huge thread on here about cheap android boxes that have built-in bot nets so be wary. They might even live in the system after flashing idk just be careful getting cheap android boxes
spart0n said:
be very careful, there's a huge thread on here about cheap android boxes that have built-in bot nets so be wary
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea I've heard that and that's why I'm very suspicious about this q96 Stick, stock OS is rooted, adb is active and don't ask for permission on new connections, it lies about it's specs and so on, so there is definitely something baked in deep.
On the Dynalink Box I don't sense a thread and idk I such would survive the flashing?
FireTV would be the best option, but not with the lockdown...
R1N4x said:
I'm looking for some suggestions on hardware for a little project of mine.
Dynalink TV Boxes after discovering the great support of LineageOS on them here in the forum.
The project is a small digital signage, I just need to figure the hardware since the Dynalink boxes seems decommissioned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The tv box devices for which there are lineage builds are listed in the lineage thread. Most of those devices are dated, eol, or discontinued.
Why is lineage support important for your digital signage project? There are other similar S905Y2 and S905Y4 certified tv box devices that can be bootloader unlocked and rooted, but there are not lineage builds for these devices. Is root not enough? Your digital signage project also requires lineage?
Functioner said:
Why is lineage support important for your digital signage project? There are other similar S905Y2 and S905Y4 certified tv box devices that can be bootloader unlocked and rooted, but there are not lineage builds for these devices. Is root not enough? Your digital signage project also requires lineage?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, Lineage is not required, a clean OS is. It has not to be Lineage. It would be a "nice to have".
If the stock one is clean or can be cleaned I'll be happy.
Clean is maybe the wrong term, more like trustable and somewhat up to date.
Root is also not required but would be nice.
What boxes are you talking about?
R1N4x said:
It has not to be Lineage. It would be a "nice to have".
If the stock one is clean or can be cleaned I'll be happy.
Clean is maybe the wrong term, more like trustable and somewhat up to date.
Root is also not required but would be nice.
What boxes are you talking about?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The way to get a clean build is to stay away from the generic boxes that have hobbled together mobile builds, and instead choose a certified device. In the tv box world, this means a device for which the ultimate oem is one of a few chinese manufacturers; sei, askey, or sdmc.
The nebula 4k streaming dongle (amazon B098BFDB41) has the same specs as the dynalink, but it is 49.99 US. It also uses the s905y2, which is on its way out. The nebula device runs android 10 and is made by sdmc.
The homatics lite 4k (amazon B0BNL1YS7V) has a s905y4 and 16gb storage, but it is 59.99 US. This device runs android 11 and is made by sei. In some ways the s905y4 is not quite as powerful as the s905y2 that it replaces, but the y4 does support av1.
The hako mini (amazon B0BFW3MMKJ) is the sdmc version of the homatics device. It is also 59.99 US.
The above devices often go on sale on amazon.
Okay that's a guideline.
If the SoC are on their way out that could mean there might be a successor for it and therefore for the Dynalink box (wich is made by Askey)
So I'll be patient and look at upcoming devices and also wait for an update on the locked FireTVs.
I still wonder, and don't meant to be rude or offensive, the marked is flooded with those cheap Allwinner based boxes and sticks but there is rarely an interest in this community on them? Why is that? Sure they're probably spiced with malware and what not but the hardware is cheap and available.
I don't know. I think the allwinner 616 is a junky cpu. Some of the others might be better. They aren't all that cheap.
Someone got most of the malware out of the 616 based t95. https://github.com/DesktopECHO/T95-H616-Malware
Functioner said:
Someone got most of the malware out of the 616 based t95. https://github.com/DesktopECHO/T95-H616-Malware
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea I looked into that and was already monitoring the stick I got - nothing weird so far, at least on the network.
But still weird behavior with ADB and the fact it came rooted. Also spoofed specs like ram and storage.
Hello,
I want to experiment with Android as a desktop computer doubling as a streaming device. I understand there are many ways to go about this, but I think the most interesting (and cheapest) way to accomplish this would be to repurpose one of the many unofficial Android TV boxes found on ebay and Amazon. My reasoning for this is that they can generally be flashed with a different ROM quite easily. This is important because I don't trust them out of the box, and want to know they are running a clean ROM. They also use regular Android as opposed to Android TV. In a surprising twist, I actually want regular Android for this project, not Android TV.
I am aware that some apps won't work and that I probably won't have access to the Play Store. I'm ok with this because I use a degoogled Android phone and know how to get by without it. I also understand that there are other solutions. I'm not opposed to considering alternatives, but this project is really just for the fun and potential challenge.
Here are my problems:
Many of these cheap boxes lie about their specs, i.e. they claim to have 4gb of RAM when they only have 2gb of RAM.
All of the Android streaming devices consistently recommended run Android TV. I want to use the regular Android found on a phone or tablet, as close to AOSP as possible.
I have found only one ROM provider for these Android boxes that isn't based on Android TV. SlimboxTV is exactly what I want, but it's not open source and I have some concerns over the fact that it's developed in Russia.
So here are my questions:
Can you recommend me a decent cheap Android box? I would prefer 4gb of RAM but understand that may not exist. 1080p is fine if 4k isn't an option. I don't really care about other specs.
Are there any other ROMs out there that are based on regular Android and not Android TV? If not, is SlimboxTV safe to use? I have found surprisingly little information about this considering it has a presence on XDA.
If this isn't the right place to ask this question, can you point me in the right direction?
Thanks for your help!