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[Q] Ouya or GBox Midnight MX2?

OUYA Console by Ouya
Permalink: http://amzn.com/B0050SZD18
VS
G-Box Midnight MX2 Android 4.2 Jelly Bean Dual Core XBMC Streaming Mini HTPC TV Box Player by Matricom
Permalink: http://amzn.com/B00CH643A8
Which one should I go for guys, especially in terms of hardware. Tegra 3 vs A9+Mali400, apparently both have no issues with XBMC or 1080P playback. I do not plan to use either for games, mostly media and music and dowload box. If it doesn't matter, I might go for the MX2 as there are more connectivity options there.

I think that, in terms of brute force, Tegra 3 overhelms A9+Mali400. OUYA bears the last Tegra3 revision and, theoretically, NVIDIA works with OUYA Team to boost it up.
If you buy OUYA, you gain a Bluetooth controller for the same prize which can be used as remote.
At, the end, nobody knows if OUYA nor G-Box thing will have support from the scene, which, for me, is a key value.

I'd say if you're not interested in gaming, I'd go with the G-box. The ouya is marketed as a game console, and while they may add support for some media features in the future, for right now we're busting our tails trying to get better compatibility with the play store apps. the G-box is designed as a media player, and it already supports XBMC with some great reviews. It also includes the play store, so you can easily download the latest versions of netflix, hulu, etc.

Cool, I think that settles it for me, I wasn't aware that the regular playstore apps wouldn't work on the ouya. I will get an MX2 and post a review soon. Also it helps that I can connect a few spare portable hard drives and use this as a streaming box to other TVs in the house.

Didn't mean to mislead, because some play store apps will work. However, a lot don't, or are glitchy or crash occasionally, and they all have to be sideloaded because there is no play store access at all yet...

The gbox is pretty good. I have had it for a few days now and use my Logitech keyboard that also has a touch pad. It works great. Honestly, I would probably hate it if I didn't have the keyboard. The play store works perfectly. I haven't had a problem installing any apps. It is fully rooted. There has been a few times when it has restarted but it is android, it isn't perfect. Especially for 100 bucks. External hard drive works great but sometimes loses power. I don't think the gbox puts off enough juice. A powered hub would fix this issue. I wish there was development for the gbox but metronix or however you spell it won't release source.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

ouya vs mx2
plasmafire said:
OUYA Console by Ouya
Permalink: http://amzn.com/B0050SZD18
VS
G-Box Midnight MX2 Android 4.2 Jelly Bean Dual Core XBMC Streaming Mini HTPC TV Box Player by Matricom
Permalink: http://amzn.com/B00CH643A8
Which one should I go for guys, especially in terms of hardware. Tegra 3 vs A9+Mali400, apparently both have no issues with XBMC or 1080P playback. I do not plan to use either for games, mostly media and music and dowload box. If it doesn't matter, I might go for the MX2 as there are more connectivity options there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well i have the G-Box MX2 i love it but it died on me. Wont boot up, stuck on the Matricom Screen. I love all the usb it has, was even able to use my Logitech Revue K700 Kb and add a 2TB WD Passport to it with an SDcard. But i think it needs a Quadcore to be a lil more fluid for video. I will return it to get the ouya. Dont like the fact that the Ouya has only one USB port but you cant have everything i guess. i hope the Ouya gets the same XBMC support as the G-box. Only had it for 17 days died on day 14 . Tried the reset option but that didnt work. Maybe it was my box. But when it worked it was awsome.

I'm actually going to be doing a review on the MX2 today and uploading it tonight, I'll be comparing it's gaming features to the Ouya and stuff.
Spoiler alert, the Ouya is way ****ing better.
EDIT: Vid's up, see the Ouya destroy the MX2 for yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miTst6QE-34

Interesting topic. I was also looking at the Gbox before I pre-ordered the Ouya. I think the Tegra 3 on the Ouya would do a better job on graphics than the dual core Gbox Midnight. It's not just processor speed and number of cores, but also graphics processor. Plus, the bluetooth on the Ouya means one less USB dongle to plug in.
I went with the Ouya, hoping the hard working people on XDA will get a pure Android ROM for the Ouya soon. If I'm stuck with the Ouya's Android skin, it'd probably be an even split which way I'd go.

I saw the "XIOS DS Media Play" and considered it against the Ouya. I think these box with out of the box rooted + Play Store compatibility is better for the majority, especially non-geeks who don't want to fiddle flashing/etc. Not having PlayStore is still a big flaw for the Ouya in term of satisfying a wider audience imo.
For me the Ouya is the clear choice, it have a dedicated XDA forum section for a reason, it will get more community development and for sure the Ouya will likely get CyanogenMod and other roms, while its less likely with these other Android boxes.
For hardware performance the Tegra3 will be faster than these dual core 1.5GHz A9 with Mali-400 gpu.
If you are looking for a lot of gaming then the Ouya is the way to go, otherwise get one of these Cortex A9 boxes if you only need video playback. There will be some of these boxes that will exceed the Ouya in term of performance in no time, but the Ouya have XDA community that's the key for me. This is the case for all Android devices that I buy.

Went for the gbox for now as a no hassle xbmc box. What you mentioned is absolutely right that the ouya will overtake all these boxes as soon as a rom gets out. I will just wait for that to happen and maybe a tegra 4 device will happen too by then.
Thanks for all the insight guys.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Axelben said:
Well i have the G-Box MX2 i love it but it died on me. Wont boot up, stuck on the Matricom Screen. I love all the usb it has, was even able to use my Logitech Revue K700 Kb and add a 2TB WD Passport to it with an SDcard. But i think it needs a Quadcore to be a lil more fluid for video. I will return it to get the ouya. Dont like the fact that the Ouya has only one USB port but you cant have everything i guess. i hope the Ouya gets the same XBMC support as the G-box. Only had it for 17 days died on day 14 . Tried the reset option but that didnt work. Maybe it was my box. But when it worked it was awsome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just ordered the Gbox MX 2 and have a Logitech Revue KB - how do I get the two to talk?

plasmafire said:
Went for the gbox for now as a no hassle xbmc box. What you mentioned is absolutely right that the ouya will overtake all these boxes as soon as a rom gets out. I will just wait for that to happen and maybe a tegra 4 device will happen too by then.
Thanks for all the insight guys.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is an interesting direct comparison between Ouya and the G-box Midnight MX2.
http://www.amazon.com/review/R35SEI3ONB5SCK/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#R35SEI3ONB5SCK
It didn't make the Midnight look very good. The Ouya emulator games seem to work really well in the video. The Midnight had issues with games and 1080P videos, and the emulator games on the Midnight ran slow. The reviewer also couldn't get bluetooth adapters to work, so could use a PS2 wireless controller. Granted, this is just one person's attempt to use the Midnight box, maybe other people have overcome these issues with some setting changes.

Yep the guy is playing games and using plex..both of which the mx2 doesn't do well. I am just going to have it boot into xbmc launcher. Run utorrent with rss feeds from showrss in the background. And maybe run droidnas on it. I have seen logitech mini keyboards work so that is what I'll get.

coachclass said:
This is an interesting direct comparison between Ouya and the G-box Midnight MX2.
http://www.amazon.com/review/R35SEI3ONB5SCK/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#R35SEI3ONB5SCK
It didn't make the Midnight look very good. The Ouya emulator games seem to work really well in the video. The Midnight had issues with games and 1080P videos, and the emulator games on the Midnight ran slow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, I keep getting torn one way or the other every day when I see a review that is posted.
My primary use for either device will not be for games at all. 100% streaming media playback from either my local nas or sites like youtube, amazon vod, etc...
I also won't be using Plex and instead be going with XBMC.
As for Plex... the above video review showed some really bad stuttering while playing 1080p video. On Android, is Plex using its own decoder for playback or does it offload it to MX Player? I ask because when streaming any of my local 1080i content (wirelessly) to my Xoom tablet, it plays back in MX Player flawlessly.
So is the MX2 video stuttering in the video review a fault of the hardware or Plex software?

SamsungBlue said:
Just ordered the Gbox MX 2 and have a Logitech Revue KB - how do I get the two to talk?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you can use the Revue KB. Just buy the Unity USB. You will be able to use it anywhere.

mkhopper said:
Yea, I keep getting torn one way or the other every day when I see a review that is posted.
My primary use for either device will not be for games at all. 100% streaming media playback from either my local nas or sites like youtube, amazon vod, etc...
I also won't be using Plex and instead be going with XBMC.
As for Plex... the above video review showed some really bad stuttering while playing 1080p video. On Android, is Plex using its own decoder for playback or does it offload it to MX Player? I ask because when streaming any of my local 1080i content (wirelessly) to my Xoom tablet, it plays back in MX Player flawlessly.
So is the MX2 video stuttering in the video review a fault of the hardware or Plex software?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was my video. The settings I was using in Plex on both devices was to use the hardware to decode and playback the videos. The MX2's hardware just simply isnt nearly good enough to rely on for high resolution video playback, and on top of that there's some really annoying kinks with it like no bluetooth support at all and a very fussy keyboard input system that really sucks compared to stock android and what the Ouya uses.There's also a higher res version of the review on youtube, I linked to it on the first page of this thread towards the bottom.

Just got my MX2 today. I was quite apprehensive after reading some of the comments, but I must say that after using it for a while.. it is exactly what I needed. I am not saying it is better than ouya, but I have XBMC setup with all my local media and video plugins. It works like a charm. I will not play any games on it so I don't really care about the gaming performance.
All programs installed from Play store work
Full 1080p videos play no issues on xbmc.
Torrents are download via showrss to my xbmc monitored directory.
USB hard drive 1TB western digital is powered via the usb ports and shared via droid nas
Quick video 1080p: http://youtu.be/vQ6FvGtKbEw

mkhopper said:
Yea, I keep getting torn one way or the other every day when I see a review that is posted.
My primary use for either device will not be for games at all. 100% streaming media playback from either my local nas or sites like youtube, amazon vod, etc...
I also won't be using Plex and instead be going with XBMC.
As for Plex... the above video review showed some really bad stuttering while playing 1080p video. On Android, is Plex using its own decoder for playback or does it offload it to MX Player? I ask because when streaming any of my local 1080i content (wirelessly) to my Xoom tablet, it plays back in MX Player flawlessly.
So is the MX2 video stuttering in the video review a fault of the hardware or Plex software?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not sure if plex has the issue xbmc for ouya has at the moment but after the new firmware update last week most of my videos have stuttering seems like a framerate issue I reported it to ouya and they got back to me saying they are aware of the issue and are working on it. Before that update my videos were playing smooth.

plasmafire said:
Yes you can use the Revue KB. Just buy the Unity USB. You will be able to use it anywhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. There seems to be quite a few "Unity" USB recovers from Logitech. I couldn't find one that listed the Revue KB as a compatible device. Would any of those Unity receivers that work with other Logitech KBs or mice work? Seems like there are several in the $10-15 range. I appreciate your help.

My Quest for the Ultimate Retro Gaming system and Media player.

Hello everyone! Seems like this is the only place on the web to discuss the mojo.
I've been trying to build a flawless XBMC/Emulation machine for quite some time now. I had previously been using a very powerful windows pc running xbmc with advanced launcher. However I found that there were just too many things that could go wrong. Too many scripts to write to combat the misshaps and overall it wasn't the best solution.
So I ordered an ouya. Now I have my Ouya hooked up to the tv and it runs xbmc fairly well. It also runs most standalone emulators quite well, such as the broglia ones. But when compared to my Nvidia shield the video output doesn't look as good for some reason, retroarch doesn't work nearly as well, theres no play store, no sd card slot. Now I got it for 79.99 with free shipping so I'm not complaining, it does much more than I ever expected it would for that price. But I wanted an experience to rival my shield, but permanently connected to my tv. So I ordered a Mojo when they announced ouya app support and the price drop.
It hasn't arrived yet but I'm getting anxious.
Current plans are to run TvLauncher as the main launcher. Or create a custom setup using something like zooper widget and nova launcher.
The main screen will feature XBMC, the ouya app (whenever its available) Gamestream (whenever it is available also), as well as Nostalgia (an ouya app) or some other emulator front end.
Possibly I will add youtube and netflix (if an hd version becomes available) to the launcher.
I've order a 1tb WD Passport to connect to the USB 3.0 port. This will be a rom and save location mostly. As all media playback will be done from my home server.
Also going to be using retroarch with crt shaders as the main emulator.
Roms as well as game saves will be synced between my shield and mojo via dropsync, so that when I exit the game on my shield I can resume where I left off seemlessly on the mojo and vice versa.
I will likely be making some videos of how it all works if I can get it working the way I want.
My question is, does anybody see anything glaringly wrong with my approach? Is there anything I'm missing? Any app that might work better than the ones I plan to use. Or any tweaks or hacks that I'm going to have to do to the mojo to do this kind of thing. Anything specific I need to figure out regarding the 1tb hdd I plan to use? Any input or interest would be greatly appreciated.

Hi and welcome to the MOJO side :silly:
SeeThruHead said:
.. But when compared to my Nvidia shield the video output doesn't look as good for some reason ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:laugh::laugh: the shield is a Tegra 4 with 2GB ram like the MOJO, ouya is only Tegra3 and 1GB ram:laugh::laugh:
SeeThruHead said:
Current plans are to run TvLauncher as the main launcher. Or create a custom setup using something like zooper widget and nova launcher.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You sound like a launcher fan, but it's really not essential, you might want to try MOJO without it just to see.
Experiment with the CTRLR in gamesmart mode (so you don't have to switch in/out of mouse mode).
the start button = mouse click
SeeThruHead said:
I've order a 1tb WD Passport to connect to the USB 3.0 port.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The USB 3.0 port is recommended for the BT4 dongle (which is need to use the CTRLR until kitkat comes out).
And MOJO has readonly access to NTFS and no access to exFat.
But rooting it and install (don't know the name) app fixes this, just go through the threads here, you'll find it (not many).
SeeThruHead said:
Roms as well as game saves will be synced between my shield and mojo via dropsync, so that when I exit the game on my shield I can resume where I left off seemlessly on the mojo and vice versa.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice! what a great idea!
The broglia emulators for ouya work fine, just need to remap the controls.
The official XBMC apk works well with CTRLR.
Ouya games don't map to the CTRLR very well.. some let you configure the controller, but most don't (find the thread).
So I wonder how ouya is going to fix that? I bet they wont and make the poor devs fix it :crying:
I recommend rooting it for full access to google play, and it's easy.
I can't see you having issues doing what you want, it'll work more or less like your shield only with a better controller and no setting up
Let us know how you go and looking forward to your videos :good:

gwaldo said:
Hi and welcome to the MOJO side :silly:
:laugh::laugh: the shield is a Tegra 4 with 2GB ram like the MOJO, ouya is only Tegra3 and 1GB ram:laugh::laugh:
The USB 3.0 port is recommended for the BT4 dongle (which is need to use the CTRLR until kitkat comes out).
And MOJO has readonly access to NTFS and no access to exFat.
But rooting it and install (don't know the name) app fixes this, just go through the threads here, you'll find it (not many).
Nice! what a great idea!
The broglia emulators for ouya work fine, just need to remap the controls.
The official XBMC apk works well with CTRLR.
Ouya games don't map to the CTRLR very well.. some let you configure the controller, but most dont (find thread).
So I wonder how ouya is going to fix that? I bet they wont and make the devs fix it :crying:
I recommend rooting it for sure, and it's easy.
I can't see you having issues doing what you want, it'll work more or less like your shield only with a better controller and no setting up
Let us know how you go and looking forward to your videos :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's an app to enable rw to ntfs or to exfat?
I'm hoping to run retroarch with custom borders and shaders (not graphically intensive ones, just crt style.) but retroarch has been giving me nothing but problems on my shield while i've been trying to get it working with dropsync. It was working fine just syncing the saves but now I'm having it sync roms as well and its causing all sorts of havoc.
As for ouya games, honesly i haven't played any but ittle dew. and that one i played for only 30 minutes. I've been using it entirely for .emu emulators and xbmc. Thats the kind of experience I'd like to bring across to the mojo but I will need a proper front end for the emulators. Is there anything resembling the ouya app "Nostalgia" currently available for the Mojo? The author of that app has mentioned a play store version but I fear it will be some time before that materializes.
EDIT:
Ok I think I've found it. The paragon app.
Will definitely pick that up when my mojo arrives.
So I've configured my shield with a folder called "dropsync" on the sd card. Everything in that folder is instantly synced to my dropbox and other android devices. I had retroarch synced but it's been giving me problems. The snes works fine but the core for GBC is a dog. So I decided to also sync all the saves from my other emulation apps. They're actually working better than retroarch so far. Going to load up dropsync onto the ouya tmrw to see how well save file syncing works between those two.

Drop sync is amazing. Also check out the thread here for folder mount. It is a great little app that will help with big games.
I too like gaming. Had the ouya and dunno what I'll end up using that for now since I have the mojo and like it more since it has play store access. Might just be a paperweight or travel companion tho honestly that's what I got the mojo for too.
I'm going to have to check out that launcher you mentioned too. Been looking for a cool launcher for the mojo to coincide with a console feel.
Also I use a moga controller with the mojo too. Works real well with games that support it better than the mojo controller.
Anyway I'm rambling lol
Sent from my SM-N900P using xda app-developers app

jbuggydroid said:
Drop sync is amazing. Also check out the thread here for folder mount. It is a great little app that will help with big games.
I too like gaming. Had the ouya and dunno what I'll end up using that for now since I have the mojo and like it more since it has play store access. Might just be a paperweight or travel companion tho honestly that's what I got the mojo for too.
I'm going to have to check out that launcher you mentioned too. Been looking for a cool launcher for the mojo to coincide with a console feel.
Also I use a moga controller with the mojo too. Works real well with games that support it better than the mojo controller.
Anyway I'm rambling lol
Sent from my SM-N900P using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I've tested the ouya is the premiere low cost xbmc device on the market. I've tried the pivos and its horrible compare to the ouya and has no extra features. The black box costs more than an ouya and has terrible reviews.
My ouya will likely go to my mothers hdtv for xbmc purposes. She currently has a boxee box which is absolute garbage compared to the ouya and cost my more than twice as much.

I guess I need to do some more reading and possibly some YouTube watching to fully understand that xbmc is all about. Maybe then I'll be like using that app all the time
Sent from my SM-N900P using xda app-developers app

jbuggydroid said:
I guess I need to do some more reading and possibly some YouTube watching to fully understand that xbmc is all about. Maybe then I'll be like using that app all the time
Sent from my SM-N900P using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You and me both. I've downloaded the app to my MOJO and use it sparingly to watch the limited content I'm able to get to (all available elsewhere btw) using it. Most of the add-ons I've tried don't work. I've found it easier to download specific apps and/or bookmark network websites (then create a desktop shortcut) for content I'm interested in. Perhaps you intend use xbmc to watch content you already have stored locally? Maybe I need to study up on it myself to fully understand its utility.

Domomojo said:
You and me both. I've downloaded the app to my MOJO and use it sparingly to watch the limited content I'm able to get to (all available elsewhere btw) using it. Most of the add-ons I've tried don't work. I've found it easier to download specific apps and/or bookmark network websites (then create a desktop shortcut) for content I'm interested in. Perhaps you intend use xbmc to watch content you already have stored locally? Maybe I need to study up on it myself to fully understand its utility.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Watching content stored locally is the point of XBMC. I have a 14tb home server with sickbeard (automatic tv show downloader) and couchpotato (same thing for movies.) It organizes all my files with a wonderful interface with posters and cover art and episode synopsis. It's how I watch all my television content. I don't stream (terrible quality usually) and I don't pay for cable or satellite service.

SeeThruHead said:
Watching content stored locally is the point of XBMC. I have a 14tb home server with sickbeard (automatic tv show downloader) and couchpotato (same thing for movies.) It organizes all my files with a wonderful interface with posters and cover art and episode synopsis. It's how I watch all my television content. I don't stream (terrible quality usually) and I don't pay for cable or satellite service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! A few years ago I used to do the same thing manually with Agent, but I have long since let my 3rd party Usenet server subscription lapse (ATT is my ISP now, I have no idea if they even provide access to Usenet anymore). It just became more trouble than it was worth. I don't have cable anymore either, and other than a few shows on AMC and Discovery Channel, I'm able to find everything I'm interested in watching. Hopefully I'll find a source for programming on those two networks.

I guess I'll have to check it out more tho don't really need to use it much since my pc is hooked up to my big screen anyway. Will Def use it when I am out of town for work tho. Thanks for the insight
Sent from my SM-N900P using xda app-developers app

jbuggydroid said:
I guess I'll have to check it out more tho don't really need to use it much since my pc is hooked up to my big screen anyway. Will Def use it when I am out of town for work tho. Thanks for the insight
Sent from my SM-N900P using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Up until I bought the MOJO, I've had a PC connected to my TV since around 2001. I far prefer the MOJO for a multitude of reasons including its small size, no noisy fan, no spinning hard drive, near instantaneous boot, no bloated OS requiring constant update, availability of a huge amount of no/low cost software and excellent graphics capability. The fact that it is also a powerful gaming console with a BT4 controller is just an added bonus. Worth every penny of the $249 I paid for mine.

Wow
SeeThruHead said:
Watching content stored locally is the point of XBMC. I have a 14tb home server with sickbeard (automatic tv show downloader) and couchpotato (same thing for movies.) It organizes all my files with a wonderful interface with posters and cover art and episode synopsis. It's how I watch all my television content. I don't stream (terrible quality usually) and I don't pay for cable or satellite service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude you sound a lot like me and if you are be prepared to be disappointed. XBMC works great on the OUYA but I wanted a smoother experience from my movie collection. I have a synology 1812+ with (6 3Tb and 2 2TB HHDs) with my entire movie collection with files ranging from 5GB+ for 720p to 10GB+ 1080p DTS files and the ouya did a good job, especially with hardware decoding on xbmc v13, even the ouya xbmc version did a great job but they lost DTS support so I had to use an older version for most of my movies to play audio. The biggest problem is that on the Mojo xbmc doesn’t hide the navigation soft keys so that means you watch those three buttons on the bottom of the screen the entire time you’re supposed to be enjoying a movie, the only way to remove it right now is by rooting your madcatz mojo but that requires a USB a to a cable that most people don’t just have laying around. You can also cross your fingers and hope that the mojo gets 4.4 kitkat soon since that adds immersive mode which xbmc just recently added that allows the application to take on the whole screen without the navigation soft keys appearing. The improvements that I thought I would see are just not there to justify paying twice the amount of an OUYA. Don’t get me wrong I think the Mojo is a great box but it’s not worth twice the price for performance that, at least to me is not noticeable.
P.S. the mojo is quite when compared to the Ouya (Loud Fan)

The thing will be rooted before I do anything else. I'm sure it will be easy enough to remove the navigation buttons. Also Xbmc Gotham nightlies should have support for dts (though I don't have many dts files). Xbmc runs flawlessly on my shield so km expecting it will perform similarly.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk

SeeThruHead said:
The thing will be rooted before I do anything else. I'm sure it will be easy enough to remove the navigation buttons. Also Xbmc Gotham nightlies should have support for dts (though I don't have many dts files). Xbmc runs flawlessly on my shield so km expecting it will perform similarly.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I find it sad that Mad Catz M.O.J.O. has no DTS working in XBMC, when that is working on other Android TV Boxes (MeLE, VidON, and MINIX) for many mounts now, and also do not have the navigation buttons on the bottom of the screen.

AmigaWolf said:
I find it sad that Mad Catz M.O.J.O. has no DTS working in XBMC, when that is working on other Android TV Boxes (MeLE, VidON, and MINIX) for many mounts now, and also do not have the navigation buttons on the bottom of the screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
XBMC v13 does have DTS support, what i meant was the latest version of ouya xbmc lost their dts license so i had to sideload xbmc v13 or use an easrlier version of ouay xbmc to have DTS support. i own an Ouya and a Mojo and both have DTS support with XBMC v13 BETA 2.

mejdam said:
XBMC v13 does have DTS support, what i meant was the latest version of ouya xbmc lost their dts license so i had to sideload xbmc v13 or use an easrlier version of ouay xbmc to have DTS support. i own an Ouya and a Mojo and both have DTS support with XBMC v13 BETA 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats likely the xbmc version I'll be using when I get my mojo. Anyone have an emulation front end for android? I like nostalgia for ouya but it's ouya only for now.

mejdam said:
XBMC v13 does have DTS support, what i meant was the latest version of ouya xbmc lost their dts license so i had to sideload xbmc v13 or use an easrlier version of ouay xbmc to have DTS support. i own an Ouya and a Mojo and both have DTS support with XBMC v13 BETA 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you have Dolby Digital and DTS and more (Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master) with XBMC 13.0 Gotham – Beta 2 on the Mad Catz M.O.J.O?
Because that means it is now a real Android TV BOX, and that is great news.

AmigaWolf said:
So you have Dolby Digital and DTS and more (Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master) with XBMC 13.0 Gotham – Beta 2 on the Mad Catz M.O.J.O?
Because that means it is now a real Android TV BOX, and that is great news.
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I think what he was trying to say is that it has always had it. Not having it would be because you were using the wrong XBMC version. Though I think that only applies to the ouya and isn't even relevant when referring to the MOJO.

SeeThruHead said:
I think what he was trying to say is that it has always had it. Not having it would be because you were using the wrong XBMC version. Though I think that only applies to the ouya and isn't even relevant when referring to the MOJO.
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That is correct, dtshd and truehd files play fine.

Do they pass through 5.1 surround properly?

Thinking of buying and need help.

I currently have multiple Chromecasts, a laptop, and rotate between Androids and iPhones.
What can this do that I cannot do with the above?
I see this is on sale for 69 bucks at best buy, and I believe it is rootable, many of the reviews say its ok but literally just a chrome cast with a few more limited apps.
IS it worth the buy or is this another Google item that we are just Beta Testers for?

I just got one and will be keeping it. Here's what it has over just using Chromecast with phones:
1) You can play games from the Nexus Player. You can't really enjoy a game like NBA Jam from your phone while trying to cast the screen. But Nexus Player can play NBA Jam and many other games natively. So you get to play possibly some of your Android Game library on the big screen easily. The only other way I've been able to do this, is hooking a cable into the TV from a device. So Nexus Player makes playing some games much easier.
2) Suggestions from apps on the Player Home screen. The more content you play on the Nexus Player, the better the suggestions on the Home Screen get. For content you may want to see. The suggestions can be disabled per app.
3) Easier to have other people use than your phone/table, when they want to watch something on your TV. And Nexus Player supports Restricted Profiles.
Far as streamers go, I use my Roku more because it has way more channels. But the Nexus Player has better games than Roku. And the channel apps that are supported on the Nexus Player, look nicer than their Roku equivalents. The only thing Nexus Player needs to be make it better than Roku, is more channels. Especially since Roku has nothing such as Restricted Profiles.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk

Darnell_Chat_TN said:
I just got one and will be keeping it. Here's what it has over just using Chromecast with phones:
1) You can play games from the Nexus Player. You can't really enjoy a game like NBA Jam from your phone while trying to cast the screen. But Nexus Player can play NBA Jam and many other games natively. So you get to play possibly some of your Android Game library on the big screen easily. The only other way I've been able to do this, is hooking a cable into the TV from a device. So Nexus Player makes playing some games much easier.
2) Suggestions from apps on the Player Home screen. The more content you play on the Nexus Player, the better the suggestions on the Home Screen get. For content you may want to see. The suggestions can be disabled per app.
3) Easier to have other people use than your phone/table, when they want to watch something on your TV. And Nexus Player supports Restricted Profiles.
Far as streamers go, I use my Roku more because it has way more channels. But the Nexus Player has better games than Roku. And the channel apps that are supported on the Nexus Player, look nicer than their Roku equivalents. The only thing Nexus Player needs to be make it better than Roku, is more channels. Especially since Roku has nothing such as Restricted Profiles.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk
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Are you referring to side loading games and playing them via emulators you side loaded, or games actually made for/compatible with the nexus player via the dedicated app store?

CashmereEsquire said:
Are you referring to side loading games and playing them via emulators you side loaded, or games actually made for/compatible with the nexus player via the dedicated app store?
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Games actually made for the Nexus Player/Android TV, and are in its play store. There are emulators there too, but I don't use them.
Be sure you get the Game Controller when buying a Nexus Player. Or you won't be able to enjoy many games.
---------- Post added at 03:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:50 PM ----------
Games for Android TV/Nexus Player

I bought a Nexus Player to cut the cord. I installed Kodi on it, and enjoy it mostly for streaming of video through that, Plex, and Netflix.
I think it brings everything together nicely and easier to navigate than say a PC.

MaesterB said:
I bought a Nexus Player to cut the cord. I installed Kodi on it, and enjoy it mostly for streaming of video through that, Plex, and Netflix.
I think it brings everything together nicely and easier to navigate than say a PC.
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Yea, I use things like Popcorn time and stuff via chrome cast from my Mac, never used Kodi, but I hear its set up where you have "live channels" and such.

I use Kodi(XBMC) on mine as well. There's a Kodi add-on called US TV VOD which basically lets you easily stream shows off of the TV Stations' websites. It's pretty slick. So with the NP, I have a single box that does everything we need (Netflix, Hulu, youtube, chromecast, games, music, and Kodi for local streaming and current TV episodes). If you have a backend DVR like MythTV, Kodi will also stream live TV and any shows that you've DVR'd. The only thing missing is Amazon Prime, but we don't use it very often.

bakaz said:
I use Kodi(XBMC) on mine as well. There's a Kodi add-on called US TV VOD which basically lets you easily stream shows off of the TV Stations' websites. It's pretty slick. So with the NP, I have a single box that does everything we need (Netflix, Hulu, youtube, chromecast, games, music, and Kodi for local streaming and current TV episodes). If you have a backend DVR like MythTV, Kodi will also stream live TV and any shows that you've DVR'd. The only thing missing is Amazon Prime, but we don't use it very often.
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Do you run your games via emulators? Outside of Casting, netflix, and Kodi I would like to be able to run emulators and games (Reicast for Dreamcast stuff would be the biggest thing I`d want along with other stuff). From what I understand the Nexus Player only has 5 or so gb out of 8gb total of free space, and you CANT expand the storage, is this true? That would be a deal breaker compared to me just getting a tablet to use as a Nexus Player type device.

CashmereEsquire said:
Do you run your games via emulators? Outside of Casting, netflix, and Kodi I would like to be able to run emulators and games (Reicast for Dreamcast stuff would be the biggest thing I`d want along with other stuff). From what I understand the Nexus Player only has 5 or so gb out of 8gb total of free space, and you CANT expand the storage, is this true? That would be a deal breaker compared to me just getting a tablet to use as a Nexus Player type device.
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I don't use emulators on my NP. Can the storage be expanded via and external drive or thumb drive on the USB port? I know the NP will recognize a USB hub, but I've only used that for network adapters and keyboards/mice.

bakaz said:
I don't use emulators on my NP. Can the storage be expanded via and external drive or thumb drive on the USB port? I know the NP will recognize a USB hub, but I've only used that for network adapters and keyboards/mice.
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AFAIK, you can't expand the storage. I've read plenty of attempts, but nothing I've read is reliably successful. Storage is the one matter to keep in mind with the NP. Although it's a 8GB drive, only 5GB is supposedly usable. But I just got another new NP yesterday. Soon as I did the initial setup, I checked storage and only 4GB was free, since 1GB of that "5GB usable" had already been consumed by auto-downloaded stuff. And I didn't want to remove the auto-downloaded stuff, it was stuff I wanted. So pretty much out the gate, 4GB for me for other software.
Imagine a phone or tablet with just 4-5GB of space. How much can you get on it? You won't have some of the big apps you may use on a phone or tablet, like GPS navigation map apps. But there are some games, that can consume half or nearly all of the available space. Especially since some games in the Play Store may claim to use maybe 500MB, but after startup, they take up over 1GB additional.
Having said all that. I've read that Android M may bring some reliable expandable storage support. But there's no telling for certain.
It's good enough for me and the kids ,so I'll be getting more. I already have plenty of Rokus. But the Roku can't do what the NP does. And I doubt channels like Haystack TV will ever be implemented on Roku. So I'll have to enjoy the best of both NP and Roku and have both.

If you have extra money, and you want the Nexus Player Experience and then some, go with the Nvidia Shield Android TV. It's got everything the Nexus Player has and then some.

Sgt.JimmyRustles said:
If you have extra money, and you want the Nexus Player Experience and then some, go with the Nvidia Shield Android TV. It's got everything the Nexus Player has and then some.
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Sure does, and there are games such as Sonic, which appear from advertising to play on the Shield, but not NP.

I went ahead and bought 2 nexus players, since Best buy has them for 69, and I had a 10 dollar coupon. Signed up for Sling TV which seemed cool, will look more into the Hacks too

CashmereEsquire said:
I went ahead and bought 2 nexus players, since Best buy has them for 69, and I had a 10 dollar coupon. Signed up for Sling TV which seemed cool, will look more into the Hacks too
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Amazon has them for $66.83 and Best Buy does price match. Maybe you could get a little of your money back ?

[Q] General Question - Opinions Wanted

I currently have the FireTV (have a few days left before 30 day window is up) and just purchased the Nexus Player to see how it compares. I much prefer the Nexus Player UI and love android, but trying to see if all the extra work is worth having the Nexus Player. I haven't had a chance to mess around with it too much, but did notice a severely limited number of apps available through play store. I knew this was going to be an issue - but still surprised me. First I will outline what type of user I am and then I am curious your thoughts on Fire vs NP
User:
Pretty basic user. I will use my box for Kodi and then a few apps such as HBO, Showtime, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Youtube, etc. I do like the idea of this being android and another option for casting from my phone. I am a entrenched with the google suite of products so I see this as a plus as well. I am able to do some basic operations such as sideloading and such, but typically have to follow a step-by-step process. I loaded Kodi.TV just fine on my FireTV.
I am looking for a somewhat simple solution, but am willing do a small amount of work if the UX/UI is definitely better. I guess I am starting to wonder if a NP is going to be a constant fight and worth it to considering I won't be gaming, or other things that may be great on the NP.
What is everyone's thoughts? Feel free to ask me questions as well and thank you in advance for your help.

I own and use both(different rooms) and the firetv does amazon instant where the nexus player doesn't(kodi addon is hit or miss). I have also had less issues with kodi on the firetv. I had to disable sleep to get kodi to work right on the nexus. I have not seen an hbogo app on the nexus player where the firetv has that. The plus side to the player is it is easy to do what u want on it.
With as much as I like the firetv once my prime is up I'm getting rid of it for another nexus player as amazon has **** customer service when it comes to the firetv devices. I had a tv stick I used that died and after fighting with their cs for a few hours I hung up and went and bought the nexus. Also the fire devices are Android they are just not stock. Sideloading on both devices is the same process(adb or a file explorer).

With HBO and Amazon Prime aren't I able to sideload those apps on the the Nexus Player? If so how do most popular side loaded apps perform?

u can use the normal amazon prime app but u need a mouse to nav it, same with the habogo. there was an androidtv amazon app from a sony tv but amazon blocked it from working on anything but the sony tv. if the app doesnt work well with the remote(most dont) u need a mouse

Worth the purchase coming from a Nexus Player

A little background. I am looking at the black Friday deals and asking myself is this a irrational purchase worth making. I have a shield tablet with no controller, or to be honest my son does. I have used grid on free trial over the last year but to be honest it was fun but not worth a monthly subscription to me, the game choices I felt were somewhat limited. I realize I would get 3 months if I get a Shield TV for free.
I am a big user of Kodi, my main box is a HP Chromebox hooked up in my living room. I also have a recently purchased Nexus Player in my bedroom that I picked up for $49.99. In the grand scope of things I have no need for the shield tv other than a want for the shiniest new toy. I have owned an Ouya before with thoughts that emulation would lead to hours of fun but to be honest never played much. If purchased this would likely replace my chromebox which would move to my bedroom and I would likely give my nexus player to a family member or friend. I am not sure this would out perform the chromebox running Kodi as a standalone using openelec as android although fully functional is not as good in my experience as a linux based distro.
$149 is not allot of money but I struggle with am I buying something that will perform on par with my current setup and add some gaming which in theory I already have with my shield tablet, or am I underselling the capabilities of this box.
so I reach out to the community for opinions

I am interested in this as well. I too have a Nexus Player. I debated on getting the Shield but I decided against it at the time, especially being I picked up the Nexus Player for only $49.00. I like the Nexus Player, I just don't game on it at all. I only use it for Netflix, HBO GO, and to play MP4 movies via Kodi mainly.
The Black Friday deal on the Shield is awesome in my opinion. $150 and you get the $50 remote for free! I really like the looks of the shield remote as well. The headphone jack is a nice touch. The shield would be replacing my Nexus Player, which is hooked up to my 32" 1080P T.V wall mounted in my bedroom. The 4K capabilities kind of make it feel like overkill, but I think it would be perfect for my situation. Provide all my streaming needs and some moderate gaming as well. Also, my cable modem and router are in my bedroom right by my TV. So it would be nothing to snake an ethernet cable up inside the wall with the existing power cord and hdmi. ( I have heard that wired net connection is hands down better for the Shield vs WiFi) I am sure my 60mbps net, wired would be fine for the game streaming.
I personally think it is worth it, and I am strongly considering it as well. There are only two issues for me if I do it. One, I know I will end up buying a 4K TV and selling my existing. lol. Two, the sale price is a pretty steep discount, making me kind of wonder if a Shield Console 2 is going to pop up in a month or two. What do you think?

A few weeks ago, I began my search for a streaming device that I could use to run Kodi on my main TV. During that time, I've gone from a Fire Stick (received as a gift last year) to a Nexus Player and finally to a Nvidia Shield TV. I was generally pleased with the Nexus Player, but the frequent buffering issues when playing HD movies started to annoy me. My internet ISP is not the issue, as my TWC plan has great speeds (300MB/20MB). Really wish the Nexus player had a ethernet port.
While I was looking for a USB/ethernet hub for the Nexus Player, I saw that a few retailers were selling the Shield TV for $174.99 w/ the free remote. I decided to pull the trigger and have been 100% happy with my purchase. The Nexus Player isn't slow, but the Shield TV absolutely flies. No lag anywhere and no more buffering issues.
For $150, the Shield TV is a great buy.

Well I bit the bullet. Should pick up my shield tomorrow. Little early Christmas present I guess.

mcord11758 said:
Well I bit the bullet. Should pick up my shield tomorrow. Little early Christmas present I guess.
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I want to get it, I think it is an awesome device, and the sale is on point. However, I decided to stick with my Nexus Player. At the end of the day, the Shield is overkill for my needs. The more I thought about it the more I realized how I would rarely use it, especially for gaming. Which is another thing, after 3 months the $8 a month would be a complete waste for me.
So I decided to just stick with my Nexus Player. It more than does what I need. I literally use 4 apps on it. Netflix, HBOGO, YouTube, Kodi.
Still though, congrats to you and good choice! If I had more use for one I would so be buying one as well.

Site ate my post, but I'm sticking with my Nexus too.
I wish NVIDIA promoted its native talents over streaming. And also by blocking exclusive titles like Half-Life (and possibly Borderlands, TBD) from other Android devices - it hurts high performance Android from getting traction. I have an XPS 12 running the ancient Console OS KitKat builds - and it out benchmarks Shield. Probably would play Borderlands 2 great too... but I can't sync my purchase? No, thanks... really.
Original post was much more eloquent, not worth the carpal tunnel to rewrite.

I just made the upgrade from the Nexus Player to the Shield TV this weekend with the $150 deal. I am very happy with it so far. Main highlights:
- 8GB of storage was very tight. 16GB gives you a good amount of breathing room and the MicroSD + full-sized USB ports for expandable storage is great.
- There are a number of Android games that work on the Shield TV but not the Nexus Player. Not just due to specs, but simply compatibility.
- The controller is much better. Much more responsive, better overall feel to it.
- In addition to the gaming-focused improvements, I've had a much better streaming experience as well. I'm still using Wireless-AC for my connection like I was with the Nexus Player but I'm no longer running into streaming issues. With my Nexus Player I had problems with Youtube become pixelated, Hulu freezing while moving from an ad to the show or vice versa, video "stuttering." I'm not running into any of these with the Shield TV.