Android TV Box

valentines

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Fyi, just checked with Starhub and their Go streaming box live channels are only 720p not 1080p as stated earlier.
 

xiaofan

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Fyi, just checked with Starhub and their Go streaming box live channels are only 720p not 1080p as stated earlier.

SingTel TV Box is also 1080i/720p. I set it as 720p and it is good enough for me.

Still you can always buy boxes like Mi Box or other brand to supplement SingTel TV box or the StarHub box. They are cheap enough in terms of one time HW price.
 

Sambuca78

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Looks like my Minix G4 uplorry soon le... :(

Is there any Android box with USB3 and bluetooth? Thanks.
 

xiaofan

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is EVpad good? can the audio output 7.1 format?

You may want to refer to the thread here:
“Unblock TV Discussion Thread II [consolidated]”. Looks like there are a lot of discussion there.

I tend to think there are not worth the money — be it Unblock TV or EVpad. But it is just my personal opinion just based on a quick scan. HW is pretty weak for the price.
 

xiaofan

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Thanks, is RK3328 or S912 better? :)

S912 should be better in terms of HW power (8 core vs 4 core). Still S912 device does not have USB 3.0 like my H96 Pro+. Many RK3328 devices do not have Gigabit Ethernet like my H96 Max+.

RK3399 is the king for TV boxes chips for now other than the NVidia chip used in Shield TV. But they are a bit pricey now.
 

gregory_choo

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Thanks, is RK3328 or S912 better? :)

if you are using it as tv box, i.e. watching video from internet or home server, it is better to use S905.

reasons:
1. much cheaper
2. no heat problem
3. similar performance.

use S912 if you are using the box to play simple 3d games.

rk3328 has lower speed and has compatibility problems with certain apps
 

xiaofan

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if you are using it as tv box, i.e. watching video from internet or home server, it is better to use S905.

reasons:
1. much cheaper
2. no heat problem
3. similar performance.

S905W/S905X device are okay as a TV box. Make sure you buy those with 2GB RAM.

Also better buy those with bigger size and more ventilation hole, my X96 Mini (S905W ) has heat problem — I need to use a small fan for it.
 

Sambuca78

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if you are using it as tv box, i.e. watching video from internet or home server, it is better to use S905.

reasons:
1. much cheaper
2. no heat problem
3. similar performance.

use S912 if you are using the box to play simple 3d games.

rk3328 has lower speed and has compatibility problems with certain apps

Thanks for the tip! This is the cheapest based on my search of S905 + 2gb ram. ($56.26)

https://shopee.sg/T95N-Mini-M8S-Pro...-TV-Box-Android-Mini-PC-i.52762675.1564081891

Or do you have other recommendation? :)

S912 should be better in terms of HW power (8 core vs 4 core). Still S912 device does not have USB 3.0 like my H96 Pro+. Many RK3328 devices do not have Gigabit Ethernet like my H96 Max+.

RK3399 is the king for TV boxes chips for now other than the NVidia chip used in Shield TV. But they are a bit pricey now.

How about this Beelink GS1 with BT and USB 3.0? ($71.40)

https://shopee.sg/Beelink-GS1-6K-TV...AN-USB-3.0-Media-Player-i.19061672.1591947793


It seems to be the Beelink is more wo hwa (+$15) in this case and furthermore it is running Android 7.1 as compare to the Android 5.1 for T95N. :D
 

xiaofan

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S905W based: Tanix TX3 Max seems to be good. My friend just got one and it seems to be better than my X96 Mini. Android 7.1. Taobao price is about S$40 but adding the shipment and tax, Shopee price is very reasonable but I do not use Shopee.

https://shopee.sg/Tanix-TX3-MAX-S90....1-Bluetooth-4.1-TV-Box-i.23421119.1396598581


Beelink GS1 H6 has very good review as well and it seems to tick all the points: USB 3.0, Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth, dual band WiFi. The Shopee price is very competitive since Taobao is S$75 (RMB375) not including shipment and tax to Singapore.
 

xiaofan

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Beelink GS1 H6 has very good review as well and it seems to tick all the points: USB 3.0, Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth, dual band WiFi. The Shopee price is very competitive since Taobao is S$75 (RMB375) not including shipment and tax to Singapore.

Still only Zidoo and Beelink have released Allwinner H6 based product and all the other vendors go with Amlogic and Rockchip for new device. So I myself will stay away.

Ref: http://freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-support/beelink-aa/684168-new-tv-box-from-beelink-gs1

Another thing, Xiaomi Mi Box is based on S905X with 2GB RAM (but only 8GB memory) and probably is the best known S905X/S905W out in the market with best software support. You may want to consider it as well.
 

xiaofan

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S905W based: Tanix TX3 Max seems to be good. My friend just got one and it seems to be better than my X96 Mini. Android 7.1. Taobao price is about S$40 but adding the shipment and tax, Shopee price is very reasonable but I do not use Shopee.

https://shopee.sg/Tanix-TX3-MAX-S90....1-Bluetooth-4.1-TV-Box-i.23421119.1396598581

https://youtu.be/4g0BBm4qRFE

A review of three S905W based cheap Android TV boxes (below US$40): Beelink W95, generic X96 Mini and Tanix TX3 Max. It seems to me Tanix TX3 Max is the best among the three even though I myself bought the X96 Mini since it is more popular and cheaper in Taobao.

TX3 Max also has a slightly cheaper TX3 Mini version but I think the Max version will have less heat problem.
 

Sambuca78

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https://youtu.be/4g0BBm4qRFE

A review of three S905W based cheap Android TV boxes (below US$40): Beelink W95, generic X96 Mini and Tanix TX3 Max. It seems to me Tanix TX3 Max is the best among the three even though I myself bought the X96 Mini since it is more popular and cheaper in Taobao.

TX3 Max also has a slightly cheaper TX3 Mini version but I think the Max version will have less heat problem.

Thanks, i tried to search more on Tanix and found that their FB page is full of complaints.

https://m.facebook.com/tanix.box/

Actually x96 mini looks good also leh, but u mentioned urs having heat issue, right?
 

xiaofan

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Thanks, i tried to search more on Tanix and found that their FB page is full of complaints.

https://m.facebook.com/tanix.box/

Actually x96 mini looks good also leh, but u mentioned urs having heat issue, right?

Yes the X96 Mini is quite popular and value for money— runs Android and Armbian Linux dual boot very well. The only complaint is the heat — the CPU can go to 60-70 degree C which is a bit high to my like. Adding a fan will reduce that to about 50-55 degree C which I like better. So for long term reliability I will say getting a USB fan. I myself used an old DC adapter linked to a DC computer case fan from donkey years ago (was using that with a Western Digital MyBook World NAS last time).
 

xiaofan

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The other thing is that X96 Mini does not have Bluetooth whereas TX3 Max does have. TX3 Max also has a front LCD panel. So TX3 Max is slightly higher-end.

The two are almost compatible since people have used the Tanix Android with the X96 Mini with almost no issues.

X96 Mini has the IR extension which works well for me. And I have a powered USB hub for my Android TV boxes experiments with USB keyboard/Mouse, Bluetooth adapter, thumb drive, USB hard drive, etc, they all work fine. It also comes with rooted Android where I can install different apps to poke around.
 

Sambuca78

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The other thing is that X96 Mini does not have Bluetooth whereas TX3 Max does have. TX3 Max also has a front LCD panel. So TX3 Max is slightly higher-end.

The two are almost compatible since people have used the Tanix Android with the X96 Mini with almost no issues.

X96 Mini has the IR extension which works well for me. And I have a powered USB hub for my Android TV boxes experiments with USB keyboard/Mouse, Bluetooth adapter, thumb drive, USB hard drive, etc, they all work fine. It also comes with rooted Android where I can install different apps to poke around.

Strange, most x96 mini i searched have BT, see this....

https://shopee.sg/X96-Mini-Bluetoot...id-7.1.2-For-Lcd-Old-Tv-i.86446335.1512054109

And the review here.
Awesome little box that was easy to figure out and I was also able to use my Bluetooth mini keyboard.

https://www.lazada.sg/products/ifla...o42.searchlist.list.2.68ee312ekhDgTu&search=1

Seems like there is 2 x96, so confusing. :(
fc8d881e144c1c6c381fc063aea22d4e

4e21aba91bce9661b2488c94d5f591d7
 
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