Android TV Box

xiaofan

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Those of us who have some basic understanding of Android Box will know the difference.

Unfortunately, the average man in the street may not and will probably just think that all Android TV boxes are illegal.

The headline scream 'Android TV box seller fined in landmark copyright infringement case'. And so it will be easy for them to conclude that Android TV Box is illegal.

Yes you have a good point here.

Let's wait to see how the law gets implemented and how the enforcement is carried out.

Right now it seems business as usual for the three kiosks selling Android TV boxes in Jurong Point from what I see. Business does not seem to be very good though but they are still surviving. I kind of feel strange that the kiosk selling Geekbox only can still survive. The other two kiosks are selling other mobile accessories along with Android TV boxes.

I think in the end the preloaded boxes will get out of the business and then people will start to buy the bare boxes. Streaming apps like those IPTV subscriptions may get blocked as well. Still the implementation will take time.
 

xiaofan

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Has anyone been using Cartoon HD apk on their phone?

Mine has stopped loading while at home few nights ago,. I'm using Starhub BTW...

I suspect sh has blocked this app.. Any idea how to rectify it?

Thanks

Better not discussing illegal apps in this forum.
 

CPTMiller

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Is the seller give a TV box with the minimum stock android etc.
It is not illegal.
It is the inside software that make the local ISP panic.
Look at how much their revenue lost.
Moreover most ISP belong to government too.
This banned is anticipated sooner or later
 

bumperbee

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Lazada has this box as well at S$127.60 for the 4GB/64GB version whereas Taobao is selling at RMB440. I expect Lazada price to drop a bit to around S$100-110 later.

Gearbest is selling this at US$78.
https://m.gearbest.com/tv-box/pp_009915411114.html

The internal 2.5 inch HDD bay is through USB to SATA converter so do not expect high performance. The video recording is said to be so so from the reviews I watched on YouTube.

As a streaming box or local media consumption device this should be pretty good. For proper video recording, you may want to look at the offerings from Zidoo like the lower end X9S or better models. They come with HDMI IN and HDMI OUT connection.

Hi Xiaofan, previously you recommended Zidoo X9S, it has Ram 2/16Gb, selling @S$170 and Zidoo Z10 Ram2/64Gb @ S$370, very expensive. If I do buy, it will be X9s, but the ram seem to be very small. Is it enough to cover streaming usage and installation of Apps? You are the expert in this, please tell me your opinion? Thanks
 

gregory_choo

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Has anyone been using Cartoon HD apk on their phone?

Mine has stopped loading while at home few nights ago,. I'm using Starhub BTW...

I suspect sh has blocked this app.. Any idea how to rectify it?

Thanks

Not talking about illegal app. Sometimes isp also block legal app, e.g chrome browser.

The isp have a list of banned ip address, if you are using their dns to access the addresss in the list, they will direct you to a special page.

If your app is using ip address in the blocked list, you will not get anything, not even the directed page because the page is meant for browser.

If you are not using isp's dns, then you are not affected by the blocked list.
 
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xiaofan

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Hi Xiaofan, previously you recommended Zidoo X9S, it has Ram 2/16Gb, selling @S$170 and Zidoo Z10 Ram2/64Gb @ S$370, very expensive. If I do buy, it will be X9s, but the ram seem to be very small. Is it enough to cover streaming usage and installation of Apps? You are the expert in this, please tell me your opinion? Thanks

Zidoo device is kind of high end device and the primary use cases are for very for high quality rip of Blu-ray files, therefore they have harddisk interface. They also support the recording feature but this is a secondary feature.

Looking back at your requirement, I am actually not so sure if the recording feature of the Zidoo device actually meets your requirement. I have yet to come across reviews covering this use case in good details. So I have to say I am not sure whether the X9S is a good buy or not.

Ref: you can check out the old review here. But Zidoo keeps updating the FW so it should be better now.
https://www.cnx-software.com/2016/1...ing-video-recording-pip-and-udp-broadcasting/

As for A95X, from what I know from the review, the recording is through screen capture, so do not expect high quality and it may not work with some apps. I will not recommend it for sure.

As for whether Zidoo X9S device is good enough for general streaming application (not Netflix), then the answer should be yes. 2GB/16GB is fine for general streaming application. FYI, Mi Box S is 2GB/8GB and it has a weaker CPU than Zidoo X9S.

Ref: Zidoo X9S review
https://androidpctv.com/review-zidoo-z9s/

Edit : sorry the above review is for better Z9S version but it is also a good reference for X9S.
 
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bumperbee

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Zidoo device is kind of high end device and the primary use cases are for very for high quality rip of Blu-ray files, therefore they have harddisk interface. They also support the recording feature but this is a secondary feature.

Looking back at your requirement, I am actually not so sure if the recording feature of the Zidoo device actually meets your requirement. I have yet to come across reviews covering this use case in good details. So I have to say I am not sure whether the X9S is a good buy or not.

Ref: you can check out the old review here. But Zidoo keeps updating the FW so it should be better now.
https://www.cnx-software.com/2016/1...ing-video-recording-pip-and-udp-broadcasting/

As for A95X, from what I know from the review, the recording is through screen capture, so do not expect high quality and it may not work with some apps. I will not recommend it for sure.

As for whether Zidoo X9S device is good enough for general streaming application (not Netflix), then the answer should be yes. 2GB/16GB is fine for general streaming application. FYI, Mi Box S is 2GB/8GB and it has a weaker CPU than Zidoo X9S.

Ref: Zidoo X9S review
https://androidpctv.com/review-zidoo-z9s/

Thank you for your quick reply, Xiaofan.
You mentioned not Netflix, are you saying Netflix Apps cannot work in X9s?
 

xiaofan

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Thank you for your quick reply, Xiaofan.
You mentioned not Netflix, are you saying Netflix Apps cannot work in X9s?

If you need Netflix HD, then you have very limited choices from Android TV boxes. None of them will support recording by itself.

Read Page 94 of this thread for more details. Basically you can only choose certified device like Mi Box S, Nvidia Shield TV or Amazon Firestick 4K.

Read the review here of Zidoo Z9S as well (similar but better than X9S)-- Netflix will only be up to 480p when used with non-certified box including Zidoo X9S/Z9S. 480p does not make sense if you are paying for Netflix. There are maybe hacks to get 720p but the hacks may not work because Netflix actively blocks the hacks.
https://androidpctv.com/review-zidoo-z9s/

Edit to add: more recent review on X9S including the recording feature.
https://h-m-entertainment.com/zidoo-x9s-review
 
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bolicat

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Hi all expert,

May I know anyone here tested on the tanix tx6 new update version?

Did it resolve the thermal issue?

Thanks in advance!
 

xiaofan

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Hi all expert,

May I know anyone here tested on the tanix tx6 new update version?

Did it resolve the thermal issue?

Thanks in advance!

Not totally but it helps a bit. I have not encountered severe thermal throttle yet. Before the update I encountered a few times of thermal induced severe performance degradation -- the box will become not responsive after overheating.

Notification bar is not working -- not able to click on the notifications so it is rather annoying. Workaround is to disable notification of the offending apps.

Do not buy the box if you have not bought it. If you have bought it, you can upgrade to the latest FW and see if that helps. And use a fan. I believe the thermal issue can not be totally fixed using OTA FW update, there must be some flaws in the thermal/HW design.

Ref: people are using fans to cool down TX6 because the CPU temperature hits 90 degree C.
https://forum.freaktab.com/forum/tv...-box-allwinner-h6-4-32gb-dual-wifi-bt4-1-or-5
 
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bumperbee

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Not talking about illegal app. Sometimes isp also block legal app, e.g chrome browser.

The isp have a list of banned ip address, if you are using their dns to access the addresss in the list, they will direct you to a special page.

If your app is using ip address in the blocked list, you will not get anything, not even the directed page because the page is meant for browser.

If you are not using isp's dns, then you are not affected by the blocked list.

Hi Gregory, can please tell me which Dns is good to change to so that it is not block?
 

bolicat

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Not totally but it helps a bit. I have not encountered severe thermal throttle yet. Before the update I encountered a few times of thermal induced severe performance degradation -- the box will become not responsive after overheating.

Notification bar is not working -- not able to click on the notifications so it is rather annoying. Workaround is to disable notification of the offending apps.

Do not buy the box if you have not bought it. If you have bought it, you can upgrade to the latest FW and see if that helps. And use a fan. I believe the thermal issue can not be totally fixed using OTA FW update, there must be some flaws in the thermal/HW design.

Ref: people are using fans to cool down TX6 because the CPU temperature hits 90 degree C.
https://forum.freaktab.com/forum/tv...-box-allwinner-h6-4-32gb-dual-wifi-bt4-1-or-5
Thank xiaofan for your reviews....I was planning to buy Tanix TX6 but I read some reviews and I thought the updated firmware solve the thermal issue. Now I have to search for other Android box...and recommendation?

Thanks
 

xiaofan

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Thank xiaofan for your reviews....I was planning to buy Tanix TX6 but I read some reviews and I thought the updated firmware solve the thermal issue. Now I have to search for other Android box...and recommendation?

Thanks

Tanix TX5 Max is much better. Very smooth and no thermal issues. Wifi is very fast.

I have it and like it. Reviews from other users are also positive.

Shopee is selling TX5 Max 4GB/32GB at S$74 now.
https://shopee.sg/product/66630778/1870111456?smtt=0.0.9

Lazada price is a bit lower.
https://s.lazada.sg/s.e9ZZ

Not so sure about how good are the two sellers though.
 
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xiaofan

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The Beelink GT1-A is an android box with Android TV OS with Netflix 4K support. Good to have another alternative that supports Netflix 4K.

SOURCE: REVIEW: Beelink GT1-A with Netflix 4K support and Android TV

Beelink GT1-A Netflix Ready Andriod TV Box Review

I will not recommend this box as I have doubts for this box's Netflix certification. It is actually rooted box and how can that be certified (even though there is a setting to disable root)? I believe it is a matter of time that Netflix will block it if the certificate is fake or revoke it if the certificate is real.

If you need Netflix 4k, get a box like Mi Box S, Amazon Fire TV Stick 4k, both are actually cheaper than GT1-A. Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K even supports Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos with Netflix.

In fact the author of the review you quoted has doubts as well.

The author says, "
As we can see Netflix works in 4K quality through some ingenious trick but unfortunately other services such as HBO or Amazon Prime Video can not be played despite having the DRM certifications, Beelink are checking these apps to see if they have a solution.

DRM: Google Widevine L1 / Microsoft Playready
Certification: No".


Quote from the other review here.
https://hometheatrelife.com/beelink-gt1-a-review/

"Netflix

As promised by Beelink’s marketing, the GT1-A supported 4K Netflix playback and has support Google Widevine L1 DRM. You don’t need to install Netflix from the Google Play store as its pre-installed.

However, I suspect that this works via a workaround rather than official Netflix certification so it’s possible it won’t be supported in the future."
 
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bumperbee

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google is very kind to help you.

Hi Gregory, I had found some of the free Dns servers. So do I just make changes in my Asus RT-Ac88U router in Advanced Settings/ WAN,
1. WAN Connection Type: change to Static IP
2. WAN IP Setting:
a. IP Address: 192.168.1.1 (is this correct?)
b. Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
c. Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
3. WAN DNS Setting:
a. DNS Server 1: type-in the free server address
b. DNS Server 2: type-in another free server address
Please advise. Thanks
 

bolicat

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