Hello all. As a prospective HD2 owner I just wanted to pose a question or two in regards to the changes that have occurred to the phone now that you're all happily running the latest and greatest custom versions of 2.2. I have an X10 and sadly for me, i'm still running 1.6 Needless to say the idea of being able to dual boot Win Mobile and Android is pretty cool. And from what i'm reading, you'll all be flashing android directly in the not to distant future.
Anyway, my question is in regards to hardware and apps. The first is the camera. In initial reviews of the HD2 the camera had some issues with funny "hue's" showing up in the photo. Some would look pinkish. And the other question is in regards to video recording. Again, initial reviews state that switching from camera to video was laggy and jumpy and that the video quality itself was choppy, and well, sucked. Has any of this improved with the jump to Android? Will it be possible to record at 720p like so many other phones are doing now?
As far as apps are concerned have there been any issues with media apps like MixZing, or Meridian? Any here using Vignette for the camera? How do games play on the phone now? There are a multitude of multitouch games out there that are currently beyond my reach with the X10 (lets not get started on the multitouch debate). If you hadn't guessed i'm looking to use this phone primarily for multimedia purposes. Just don't want to waste my time with another device that leaves me wanting just a bit more. That being said I can get my hands on one for very little so recouping my $$ via resale shouldn't really be an issue.
Thanks for taking the time to read this novel and any help / suggestions are appreciated.
I can only answer your question about recording in 720p. AFAIK, 720p recording is not yet supported in any kernel tree. I also don't know if hardware-wise it is possible to record in HD. I don't really use my HD2 for multimedia purposes so I really can't tell more at this point.
Okay, so I'm thinking of taking the proverbial 'plunge' and buying a tablet, and the Advent Vega is looking like a good candidate because of its price and decent spec. But I could use a bit of advice.
Firstly, I should say I'm familiar with Android and flashing ROMs etc - I have a HTC desire that I've rooted, SIM unlocked, and re-flashed many times, so the concept of flashing new ROMS is not new to me. I'm really looking for a tablet that can run Honeycomb respectably, but the Motorola Xoom and Asus Transformer are just a bit too pricey for me.
So here's what I want a tablet for. I'd be really, really grateful if someone could advice me whether the Vega will do the job.
- Web browsing and blogging - I need something I can carry around easily and type on fairly easily; I'm pretty good with onscreen keyboards so long as the hardware can keep up with my fingers.
- Gaming. I want to be able to play some of the high-end Android titles - the latest offerings from Gameloft, etc - in decent quality, ideally on Honeycomb. Can the Vega do this (with modified stock OS or VegaComb)?
- TV / Movies - I want to be able to carry films around and use the HDMI output to watch them on a big screen, without the content stuttering and jerking around.
So that's pretty much all I'm after. Will the Vega be capable of this, do you think? Or would I be better off sticking with something a little more well-known like the Samsung Galaxy Tab (which was my original intent).
Thanks for any advice you can give.
I can tell you this..
The screen isn't something to brag about, but the tablet has serious power.
Gaming (like dungeon defender or riptide gp) and browsing is usually fast and fluent. Honeycomb is still in beta for the advent, but works quite well. I havent really used the tv-out Yet, but i've heard that it can only do 720p, which is fine with me.
Sent from my Legend using XDA App
Just as an update: I got my Vega.
And I LOVE it.
Currently using Fuji VEGA ROM, as VegaComb is a bit too choppy for me, but really pleased with how well the tablet performs. Thanks for the help, peeps.
Vegacomb gets better with time, its a brilliant tablet !
You wont regret it.. I got one 5 days ago, and dont know why you would want to pay almost double for some of the other tabs...
I know some people have some gripes (viewing angles and screen being the main ones...), but weigh this up against the cost and its a no brainer IMO
Specs do state 1080p playback is possible, but Ive not tried it yet so cant comment, but not too fussed about this.. I bought it so I can watch SD video when travelling... I did read somewhere it depends on the filetype, i.e., mp4 rather than mkv...
Best £200 Ive spent in a long time!
I wrote some remarks regarding this device in various places so ill condense them here for any users perusing the forums before making a choice.
My once sentence review: dont bother unless you want to watch video.
1. Design
Its great, though im not convinced by the buttons, both being on the back surface and being recessed - this clear design flaw is a mistake made by people who dont actually use tablets of this type, but do talk about them a lot in boardrooms. The lines and build are great, no creaks, no cracks, solid.
2. Firmware
Horrible unless youre a Prime user. The os was built for making maximum use of amazons services. As a result you get none of the nice things about android, but lots of nice pictures of your books. No wallpapers, adverts in the lockscreen (the ads cant be disabled outside the us, and the lockscreen itself cant be disabled anywhere).
No root means your browsing experience is going to be much affected by ads. For me a deal breaker. One of the few reasons to have root on a big screen tablet is getting rid of ads in your browser.
For amazon customers its a boon of course, as all their prime videos can be easily streamed on a very nice screen. But i have no need of that. Doesnt help much that prime video is not available at all outside the us, so unless your only travelling locally and watching these movies on the bus, its a waste of money.
3. Display
The display is gorgeous. Mine has excellent viewing angles, good colors and very little gradation. With the backlight at minimum, a slight shift to grey is noticeable along the portrait vertical. The backlight is weak however, partly because of the pixel density and the display technology (the crystals seem to absorb more light than usual in white mode) i find myself browsing indoors at around 65%.
The video processing is excellent, with sharp rendering of lower-than-native 1080p video playing perfectly at arms length or less. The display is one of the best ive seen. Certainly on a cheap device like this.
4. Battery
The battery life is generally good (on my wifi 8.9 device). Im getting 4 to 5 days use listening to 1 hour of podcasts, doing 1 hour of browsing (65% brightness) and 2 hours reading (20%) per day. Not bad for a large LCD display.
5. XDAness
There is currently no root method and its not likely one will come. Amazons bootloader is locked down, and at the moment of this writing there is no (realistic) way of preventing automatic updates, even with root. Device sales are low, judging by the recent price cuts and general availability, meaning that few are interested in taking up development. What happens remains to be seen, but personally im not optimistic.
Love my 8.9", it's quite responsive and functional. Have a Nexus 10 as well, which I think has a higher build quality, but the lightness of the Kindle Fire HDX is great, makes it much more comfortable for extended use.
The glossy bezel on the rear (where the speaker ports, camera, etc, reside) is my only complaint, as my fingers tend to find where the edge of the glossy bezel meets the rest of the tablet (most noticeable on the edge of the tablet just above the power button), which irks me.
The recessed buttons work fine for me, as they seem intended for someone holding the tablet for reading or watching, for which the recessed buttons are perfect.
I'm a US customer, so the Prime service is available and works great. The ability to store Prime videos offline for later viewing is nice. I also installed VUDU, Plex, Netflix, Hulu, of which I use Plex the most (esp w/ offline media sync), all work great. Excellent devices for media playback. Speakers are of surprising quality for a tablet, and have a good loudness without distortion.
I bought the 64gb variant, so it doesn't strike me as an inexpensive tablet for that reason, but still it was well worth the $$. Do wish we had root on the latest updates though. I don't care to change the interface, but I do want to get Play Store and other Google services installed (without errors) so I can make use of my standard Android application purchases...
I'm sick of Amazon-made gadgets. With absolute zero ability but only a large desire to match up Apple and to maintain a closed-eco system in an open android system. I call them crazy. Wish these things move away from any reach of sight asap. I believe they are the best company to sell a paper book and anything more to expect from them should not be deem realistic. Remember their boss is a book seller.
Kindle Fire HDX 7" Review
hewweii said:
I'm sick of Amazon-made gadgets. With absolute zero ability but only a large desire to match up Apple and to maintain a closed-eco system in an open android system. I call them crazy. Wish these things move away from any reach of sight asap. I believe they are the best company to sell a paper book and anything more to expect from them should not be deem realistic. Remember their boss is a book seller.
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Kindle Fire HDX is perfect for work or play, with the fastest processor on a 7" tablet, the latest graphics engine, world-class Dolby audio, and a highly portable form factor.
ali770 said:
Kindle Fire HDX is perfect for work or play, with the fastest processor on a 7" tablet, the latest graphics engine, world-class Dolby audio, and a highly portable form factor.
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Lol what are you a 1-post amazon bot? That sounds like you copied it right out of the press release...
Lol was thinking the same thing
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk
murso74 said:
Lol was thinking the same thing
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk[/QUOTE
Good point. The hardware is awesome. Fire os is tolerable but I want options, which we currently don't have. Someone will find a root soon
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rootcid said:
Lol what are you a 1-post amazon bot? That sounds like you copied it right out of the press release...
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Yes, I copied that. What's wrong here?
A1) The edge buttons necessitates some sort of trim and flimsy buttons. I have phones like that... lost the trim pieces. I rather like the idea of back buttons. They are not always convenient, but why keep back a blank slate?
A2) There are no Amazon ads in browsing... Unless you're talking about AdBlocker / AdAway? Different problem. You can load Xposed module to block ads, you know.
And yes, there is root. There's just locked bootloader, and latest firmware had not been rooted, but previous version can be flashed... If you get it to ADB. And plenty of folks have contributed to create a dual use... I run BOTH Amazon and Google Play together.
A3) Display is lovely, yes.
A4) Battery life is okay. Just remember to close the cover / shut down the screen as games can prevent the game from timing out.
A5) Don't be so pessimistic.
kschang said:
A1) The edge buttons necessitates some sort of trim and flimsy buttons. I have phones like that... lost the trim pieces. I rather like the idea of back buttons. They are not always convenient, but why keep back a blank slate?
A2) There are no Amazon ads in browsing... Unless you're talking about AdBlocker / AdAway? Different problem. You can load Xposed module to block ads, you know.
And yes, there is root. There's just locked bootloader, and latest firmware had not been rooted, but previous version can be flashed... If you get it to ADB. And plenty of folks have contributed to create a dual use... I run BOTH Amazon and Google Play together.
A3) Display is lovely, yes.
A4) Battery life is okay. Just remember to close the cover / shut down the screen as games can prevent the game from timing out.
A5) Don't be so pessimistic.
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Re the buttons - its just because people actually use tablets lying on tables a lot. Simply prevents the convenience of not picking it up. The unorthodox lack of a 1 min display timeout feature is also typical of boardroom discussions. Possibly in some sort of attempt at shaping content use? Or just for kicks?
Another thing thats become incredibly annoying is the lockscreen ads for mens products and other useless junk, opn a huge display i have to manually unlock. I never really noticed it till i had to reset my kidle and lose the old wallpaper add disabling by freeze of files. Its much worse than my original comments would indicate lol.
I don't know what you bought that brought ads for men's products. I only get ads about TV shows and movies.
kschang said:
I don't know what you bought that brought ads for men's products. I only get ads about TV shows and movies.
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I got the cheap wifi version abroad. I dont have a us address, so im not eligible for the free ad removal service when residing abroad.
Amusingly only us residents, are allowed to remove ads from their kindles when abroad because, of course, people who bought their kindles without a us billing address are likely to buy us products available wherever they are).
Much as i respect the kindle path, i revile the legalism. Books at market price and ads? No way to pay $20 to get rid of them? There are millions all over the world who dont want to steal. Who buy the books. Sometimes more than once because they have three or more devices. And they must open their kindles as they lie in bed... to luxurious toilet paper with their night cap? No thanks. And imagine buying one of these for your kid outside the us, where theres no targeted ads.
A while back i used the help feature and tried to get it done. There was hassle with the management. They seemed to find it amusing. They seemed very nice about it. BTW - they can see your screen, so when you type in your password using most keyboards they will know what it is. Hmm, change it afterwards.
This is why i will never buy another android kindle. Screw them for screwing with me. Ive spent thousands of dollars on amazon. My account is like 10 years old. And ill keep my books. But ill stick to the app.
rootcid said:
I got the cheap wifi version abroad. I dont have a us address, so im not eligible for the free ad removal service when residing abroad.
Amusingly only us residents, are allowed to remove ads from their kindles when abroad because, of course, people who bought their kindles without a us billing address are likely to buy us products available wherever they are).
Much as i respect the kindle path, i revile the legalism. Books at market price and ads? No way to pay $20 to get rid of them? There are millions all over the world who dont want to steal. Who buy the books. Sometimes more than once because they have three or more devices. And they must open their kindles as they lie in bed... to luxurious toilet paper with their night cap? No thanks. And imagine buying one of these for your kid outside the us, where theres no targeted ads.
A while back i used the help feature and tried to get it done. There was hassle with the management. They seemed to find it amusing. They seemed very nice about it. BTW - they can see your screen, so when you type in your password using most keyboards they will know what it is. Hmm, change it afterwards.
This is why i will never buy another android kindle. Screw them for screwing with me. Ive spent thousands of dollars on amazon. My account is like 10 years old. And ill keep my books. But ill stick to the app.
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I know you mentioned using the help feature to try and get it done, but I remember reading someone here who posted about living outside the US and having Amazon remove the ads by just calling them up. Maybe the help feature (I'm assuming you are referring to Mayday) is more tech support whereas the ads could be considered "Sales Support"? Try giving them a call if you haven't already done so. Since you have no option to pay for the removal, they may do it just by asking. Worth a shot.
icedtrip said:
I know you mentioned using the help feature to try and get it done, but I remember reading someone here who posted about living outside the US and having Amazon remove the ads by just calling them up. Maybe the help feature (I'm assuming you are referring to Mayday) is more tech support whereas the ads could be considered "Sales Support"? Try giving them a call if you haven't already done so. Since you have no option to pay for the removal, they may do it just by asking. Worth a shot.
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I guess ill give it a shot, you might be right. But i was surprised when the mayday girl seemed to have no idea why she couldnt see the option to remove them.
Well, I knew exactly what the Kindles HDX was when I bought the 64Gb 8.9" version. I also PAID to have the ads removed, because that was clearly explained on the Amazon website I ordered it from & I have no desire or need to try & rob them of the $15 dollars I agreed was okay when deciding to purchase the device.
Granted, my device is rooted with the latest 2.3.2 framework & apps from the recent OTA (sorry, not releasing anything, no time for troubleshooting or fixing any more bricks right now), but even if it was not rooted, I'd still be okay with it. I am a prime member & Amazon services is EXACTLY what I purchased the thing for.
Frankly, I am nearly 100% certain the device is rootable & while people have lost root, this can be avoided without blocking anything or without sacrificing your data or wifi connection. Why isn't it rooted? Time & numbers. There are so many devices out there & the devs like jcase & beaups are going to spend their time focusing on the devices that generate the most requests, which is clearly not the Kindle family.
As for the build, it is not perfect, but it is preferential to the Nexus 10 for me. I hated the Nexus 10, it's horrible SoC & the terrible GPU. The HDX 8.9 just runs circles around the N10. I like the button placement, which is perfect for most people that use it for reading & watching videos while traveling. I do not ever watch anything with it laying flat on a table, nor does anyone else I know. The only thing that I think was a bit under-thought was the Oragami case, which will not work for volume or power with the device raised into the viewing position, where the speakers are elevated above the case, but that is why Amazon added a volume control to the AVOD app I guess.
One thing to consider is that the era of easy root for every Android device is over. For whatever reason, carriers and manufacturers think it's in their best interest to keep things locked down. It's still possible to root almost every device, but the effort required makes only the most popular devices worthwhile.
I bought my HDX knowing it's limitations but feeling that the hardware was so desirable that it would soon be rooted, and it was. I was one who thought I had updates blocked, but got my root access removed. After a while the limitations started bothering me. So I bought a Nexus 7 to compare. The only things I can't do on the Nexus that I can on the HDX is download videos for later viewing and the Kindle Lending Library. While nice to have, these aren't deal breakers.
The HDX hardware is clearly nicer than the Nexus, the screen, the form factor, even the button placement, but the usability for me is more important. I have since gifted my HDX to someone who loves the heck out of it and uses it as Amazon intended. I keep checking in here every once and a while to see the progress, and when root is achieved and I can easily put GAPPS on, along with some other functions, I will probably buy another one.
Hi,
I currently have a Roku, firetv and raspberry pi for Kodi and emulation and I would like something which I like one device to rule them all - Kodi, prime video, Plex and Netflix all in one. Shield can do that - which is great!
However, I'm struggling to justify the cost. Aside from the 2019 rehashed version putting the price up a bit, I'm starting to feel Nvidia may give up on this platform in a couple of years with stadia and other providers taking the streaming gaming market. £200 is a lot to waste if they dump it in a couple of years.
So my current setup is I use Roku daily, and Kodi for some films at weekends, and I have a second SD card for emulation. Why would I spend £199 on this when I could replace my Roku and RPI with newer 4k models for a cheaper price?
There are also alternatives although I'm struggling to find a similarly CPU powered unit for this money. On the emulation front I would really like to get to GameCube and 1080p N64, let alone Dreamcast. Annoyingly, all this can be emulated on my powerful android phone! But I don't want a phone or a switch like dock - I want something wired in.
So alternatives here are like odroid or other RPI like cards which provide the grunt and power, but more these would be a Kodi box replacement rather than the one device to rule them all. HTPCs are out of the question afaik as they would be too expensive, but is this still the case?
(Please note, this thread is intentionally blunt to drive out conversation)
even if nvidia dumps it in a few years itll still b the best you can buy.. i also have all those devices and none of them even get close to the shield for years running..
heck, the 2017 model still holds its own against the 2019 model..
also i think the game streaming argument is not even an argument lol.. i can almost guarantee any device google or anyone else will put out will still not come close to the shield.. not to mention if its a streaming service.. nvidia is officially supporting android tv os so dont be surprised if the services become available on the shield down the road..
to top it off, nvidia has been streaming games just fine for years now so they definitely have a leg up already in that aspect also..
i alsi think the price argument is not valid.. you get what you pay for lol.. im sure if u went with a shield to start you wouldnt have wasted money on shotty rokus or pis.. the amount of $$$ you already spent on sub par devices probably amounts to more than you wouldve paid for a shield
It depends on what you want to do with it.
For pure movie watching the Shield's PQ is just not very good. I highly recommend picking up a cheap Amlogic based Android box and installing CoreELEC on it. For the money they can't be beat, and the PQ is leaps and bounds ahead of the Shields. I have a $30 S912 generic box with CoreELEC on it and it looks amazing compared to my $200 Shield.
Hi
Wagmans said:
It depends on what you want to do with it.
For pure movie watching the Shield's PQ is just not very good. I highly recommend picking up a cheap Amlogic based Android box and installing CoreELEC on it. For the money they can't be beat, and the PQ is leaps and bounds ahead of the Shields. I have a $30 S912 generic box with CoreELEC on it and it looks amazing compared to my $200 Shield.
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I've not noticed any picture quality differences between Amlogic and Nvidia Shield, besides given it's all digital and decoding is easy and just mathematics, why should the picture quality be different? Something else may be going on with the setup perhaps?
I've really wanted to love Amlogic, but what I have found with Amlogic is bugs, I've not found a box yet that will play video back without some issue (frame's being drop, strange artefacts, issues with HDMI frame rates, or no support for streaming services due to not having the necessary DRM etc), now this isn't so much the fault of Amlogic but the rubbish support of the cheap Chinese manufacturers that don't test or update their software, and third party firmware not having access to the latest codecs and drivers to improve the situation. The S905x2, I tried 2 different boxes and countless different ROMs and couldn't stop it from having issues with decoding certain videos, videos that played without issue everywhere else, including the Amlogic S905 non x2, but that had other issues! In the end I bought an Nvidia Shield and have had no problems at all.
Regards
Phil
PhilipL said:
Hi
I've not noticed any picture quality differences between Amlogic and Nvidia Shield, besides given it's all digital and decoding is easy and just mathematics, why should the picture quality be different? Something else may be going on with the setup perhaps?
I've really wanted to love Amlogic, but what I have found with Amlogic is bugs, I've not found a box yet that will play video back without some issue (frame's being drop, strange artefacts, issues with HDMI frame rates, or no support for streaming services due to not having the necessary DRM etc), now this isn't so much the fault of Amlogic but the rubbish support of the cheap Chinese manufacturers that don't test or update their software, and third party firmware not having access to the latest codecs and drivers to improve the situation. The S905x2, I tried 2 different boxes and countless different ROMs and couldn't stop it from having issues with decoding certain videos, videos that played without issue everywhere else, including the Amlogic S905 non x2, but that had other issues! In the end I bought an Nvidia Shield and have had no problems at all.
Regards
Phil
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The note about HDMI quality - so a couple of things. Believe it or not, a decent cable can make a difference in visual quality, in particular the colour in which with a decent cable you can get much richer and warmer colour along with better looking bitrate image. Hard to believe I know as it's only digital - but if the cable does not deliver a consistent bit rate then you see degradation on the image - particularly on large 4k screens.
However, the thing that makes the most difference is the source. If you have a quality source, then you get quality output. I've heard the shield suffers from bland colourisation, along with some screen tearing. For £200 I would expect it to match the quality of my 4k Blu-ray, which from what I'm hearing it doesn't.
I wasn't quite thinking of the armlogic route but it is something of consideration as they are indeed cheap. The question here - is a £200 device that much better image and does it have that many features to warrant the £200. I'm not sure it does, but it would be good to obtain some objective feedback.
On a side note, if I wanted the most powerful emulation device for the same money, is the Nvidia the answer? Ideally I would like to run GameCube games (as getting out the old box and games is a bit annoying), but I hear dolphin emulation struggles on the Nvidia (mainly down to poor optimization, the hardware should be capable). Is there such a device and ideally one that can run Kodi also.