Android TV Box

floodgate

Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2000
Messages
409
Reaction score
1
Why don't need 4k yet want to play 2160p file? Isn't 4k the same as 2160p?

Chromecast should be good enough. Are you sure you are using it with the correct method ? I suspect that you are using mirrorring, not chromecasting.

4k:
the TV is only 1080p, but movies sometimes come in higher res.
if the player can handle higher res, then don't need to purposely look for 1080p versions to put in this box. :)

chromecast:
i THINK i was doing it as correctly as i could have. definitely not mirroring.
it worked for some files.

movie in gdrive folder > install LocalCast on phone > access gdrive folder from LocalCast > send to chromcast

It's nice when it worked:
- convenience of streaming,
- fine control over what is in the folder

Would have been ideal. I can easily and remotely "pass" movies / episodes to my parents who are not so savvy with devices / computers.

But even when files worked, sometimes LocalCast would stop indicating that the file is playing.

On another set of videos, the file wouldn't play at all. Not sure if it was codec or because it was multi-audio. I also tried AllCast. Can't remember how it wasn't great.

Since i need to give remote tech support, i think i need something idiotproof.
 

gregory_choo

Supremacy Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Messages
8,768
Reaction score
1,045
4k:
the TV is only 1080p, but movies sometimes come in higher res.
if the player can handle higher res, then don't need to purposely look for 1080p versions to put in this box. :)

chromecast:
i THINK i was doing it as correctly as i could have. definitely not mirroring.
it worked for some files.

movie in gdrive folder > install LocalCast on phone > access gdrive folder from LocalCast > send to chromcast

It's nice when it worked:
- convenience of streaming,
- fine control over what is in the folder

Would have been ideal. I can easily and remotely "pass" movies / episodes to my parents who are not so savvy with devices / computers.

But even when files worked, sometimes LocalCast would stop indicating that the file is playing.

On another set of videos, the file wouldn't play at all. Not sure if it was codec or because it was multi-audio. I also tried AllCast. Can't remember how it wasn't great.

Since i need to give remote tech support, i think i need something idiotproof.

Your requirements are easily met by a standard android box. No need for chromecast.

I suggest "mibox s".

You need only 2 apps. Es file explorer to read the files from gdrive or usb hdd. Mx player to play the files.

Mibox s comes with a very good bluetooth remote control.

Most of the modern box can read 4k file and down scale to 1080p. But I dont recommend to stream over internet unless you have very good throughput fron the file server to your house. 4k youtube and netflix are ok for 4k due to use of CDN.
 
Last edited:

floodgate

Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2000
Messages
409
Reaction score
1
actually i was checking out beelink like xiaofan recommended and i thought that was pretty good choice.

You need only 2 apps. Es file explorer to read the files from gdrive or usb hdd. Mx player to play the files.

does this method require downloading the whole file to local storage before you can play it?
so that means an external hdd ($) i guess.
if no external storage, i suppose have to download and open every time you watch something? too demanding for my oldies.

I think i'll go with the beelink (got onboard 64gig)

thanks!
 

gregory_choo

Supremacy Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Messages
8,768
Reaction score
1,045
actually i was checking out beelink like xiaofan recommended and i thought that was pretty good choice.



does this method require downloading the whole file to local storage before you can play it?
so that means an external hdd ($) i guess.
if no external storage, i suppose have to download and open every time you watch something? too demanding for my oldies.

I think i'll go with the beelink (got onboard 64gig)

thanks!

You can stream from gdrive directly, don't have to download.
 

Shawncck

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2003
Messages
70
Reaction score
0
Flash Android box

Hi anyone know how to flash h96 max x2? I understand need image file.. I have not try flashing... anyone done it b4 can guide me in case i failed...
 

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,105
Reaction score
2,878
Hi anyone know how to flash h96 max x2? I understand need image file.. I have not try flashing... anyone done it b4 can guide me in case i failed...

Why do you want to flash new FW? Usually you use OTA if OTA is available. If not just stick to the stock FW for this type of generic boxes.

Unless you are saying the box somehow has broken FW and you need to recover. Or are you trying to use some 3rd party ROM?

The issue with H96 Series generic box is that you may have different HW revisions and the FW may not be compatible between the different revisions even it is from the same manufacturer. In fact it may be from different manufacturers.

The flashing itself may not be difficult. The issue is you need to find the correct stock FW once you failed.

Read the warnings in the following site before proceeding.

https://androidpctv.com/firmware-update-guide-tvbox-soc-amlogic/

For my generic boxes, to be honest, the only time I needed to flash the FW was for the first box and it is because I made a mistake to install SuperSU for the X96 Mini. After that I only do OTA for this box.

For my H96 Pro+ Amlogic S912 box there was no new FW available either from OTA or from various website. Same for the R69 RK3229 box. The stock Android 7.1 FW works well for both boxes anyway.

For my H96 Max+, there are no OTA but there are many newer FW around the web, I chose not to update since the stock Android 7.1 FW works well.

For my Tanix TX6 Android 9 box, there are frequent OTA to sort out various issues and I follow the OTA.

For my Tanix TX5 Max Android 8.1 box, so far no OTA but it works well so I do not bother with one update floating around the web.
 
Last edited:

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,105
Reaction score
2,878

The above site has good warnings.
! ATTENTION !
If the TV Box works well for our needs DO NOT UPDATE

If we don’t know what we are doing DO NOT UPDATE

If our TV-Box don’t work and does’t have reset button DO NOT TRY TO UPDATE , claim to the store.

There are many TV-Boxes especially the cheap ones that are copies called ” clones ” that are incompatible with the official roms of the original models and can leave useless our TV Box or do not work the WIFI. It is impossible to know if we have a clone or not without opening the device and comparing it with another original. We recommend buying devices in the stores we recommend and if possible only known models from trusted brands.

If you do not find firmware for your model you may not have any brand support.
 
Last edited:

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,105
Reaction score
2,878
You can read freaktab forum. Many people flashing, all using firmware from other manufacturer like beelink. They recommend good usb cable

Yes there are many ROM related threads in FreakTab forum.

https://forum.freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-support/amlogic-based-tv-players/s905x2

However if you like Beelink rom, then I will say buy the Beelink GT1 Mini to use Beelink ROM. Often the WiFi/BT chipsets are different and the ROM may not work. Remote may also be a problem if you use other vendor's ROM.

I quickly read through the H96 Max X2 page, there are also quite some stock FW images.
https://forum.freaktab.com/forum/tv...android-8-1-4-32gb-dual-band-wifi-fast-lan-bt

All in all, it is okay for Tech Savvy users to flash images but not really recommended for new users not that tech savvy, unless really required.
 
Last edited:

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,105
Reaction score
2,878
I just factory reset only and my play store is dead, cannot use, cannot uninstall. Now using apkpure, aptoide.

Which box? That is strange and bad. Usually Factory reset should not be like this unless your box is those do not come with Play Store in the first place. Then that is a different story.

If the box comes with Play Store, have you tried to update Google Play Store and Play Services?

If still not working, do they offer FW OTA? If not then you may really want to try to learn to flash the known good FW if there is one.

So far H96 Max + and H96 Max H2 RK3328 boxes have many variants.

H96 Max X2 S905/X2 seems to be relatively new so it is probably safer.
 
Last edited:

mankind66

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2013
Messages
1,181
Reaction score
0
Mine is the s912 tap pro. The playstore is old version. Always show not install when trying to update version. Contacted Google and they tell me that my box is not supported by Google. No firmware available for tap pro in the internet. Never got any ota. Never flash before. Can use better than brick it.
Run like tortoise if many apps are installed. I think it is a fake set with cheap hardware. The rom read\write speed test only get below 10Mb/s. Antutu can get 50k.

Which box? That is strange and bad. Usually Factory reset should not be like this unless your box is those do not come with Play Store in the first place. Then that is a different story.

If the box comes with Play Store, have you tried to update Google Play Store and Play Services?

If still not working, do they offer FW OTA? If not then you may really want to try to learn to flash the known good FW if there is one.

So far H96 Max + and H96 Max H2 RK3328 boxes have many variants.

H96 Max X2 S905/X2 seems to be relatively new so it is probably safer.
 

Shawncck

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2003
Messages
70
Reaction score
0
Hi, the h96 max x 2 came root from box... I wanted to unroot it and run magisk root... I couldnt unroot using magisk.... I want to run bank app which need to be unroot... I couldnt hide the root too... My google store cert is uncertified... Only want is to remove root... By flashing, i can remove the root and install magisk root which can be hide... But i do not know how to flash... but i never done it be... btw what is OTA?
 

Shawncck

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2003
Messages
70
Reaction score
0
Or anyone know how to hide root from h96 max x2? I couldnt find the root type... And anyone know how to pass the safety net test....
 

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,105
Reaction score
2,878
Or anyone know how to hide root from h96 max x2? I couldnt find the root type... And anyone know how to pass the safety net test....

Buy a new box like Mi Box S which is unrooted if you want a unrooted box.

What you want to achieve is an advance topic and may well brick your box.

OTA means Over the Air. Which means you upgrade just like how you normally update your Android phone firmware, not through PC. OTA will not achieve what you want to do though since usually the vendor will keep the FW as rooted.

And in general do not do online banking on your Android TV boxes, especially this type of unknown generic boxes. Even on a unrooted box like Mi Box S, it is not recommended to do online banking on the box. Do it on a trusted PC or mobile phone.

Just for your reference, I want to hide the root from my Tanix TX5 Max to run SingTel Cast and SingTel TV Go, I tried Magisk and it failed. So I did not bother to try again.
 
Last edited:

mankind66

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2013
Messages
1,181
Reaction score
0
Do you have errors or problems with your h96 max x2?
Like launcher close error, box reboot when usb3 was unplug, no wireless update app(saw in YouTube have this app in apps page), unable to copy big files from rom to usb stick.

Hi, the h96 max x 2 came root from box... I wanted to unroot it and run magisk root... I couldnt unroot using magisk.... I want to run bank app which need to be unroot... I couldnt hide the root too... My google store cert is uncertified... Only want is to remove root... By flashing, i can remove the root and install magisk root which can be hide... But i do not know how to flash... but i never done it be... btw what is OTA?
 

Shawncck

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2003
Messages
70
Reaction score
0
Hi fan, I was thinking of mi box s too but it wasnt a high spec box... 70 plus i could have get a better spec box.... i know i might brick it if i did not do it correctly.. that is why til now i havent try flash... not sure anyone know? or u know how to hide root?
 

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,105
Reaction score
2,878
Hi fan, I was thinking of mi box s too but it wasnt a high spec box... 70 plus i could have get a better spec box.... i know i might brick it if i did not do it correctly.. that is why til now i havent try flash... not sure anyone know? or u know how to hide root?

Please refer to my updated reply.

In general do not do online banking on your Android TV boxes, especially this type of unknown generic boxes. Even on a unrooted box like Mi Box S, it is not recommended to do online banking on the box. Do it on a trusted PC or mobile phone.

Just for your reference, I want to hide the root from my Tanix TX5 Max to run SingTel Cast and SingTel TV Go, I tried Magisk and it failed. So I did not bother to try again.
 

Shawncck

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2003
Messages
70
Reaction score
0
Do you have errors or problems with your h96 max x2?
Like launcher close error, box reboot when usb3 was unplug, no wireless update app(saw in YouTube have this app in apps page), unable to copy big files from rom to usb stick.



I have no issue w h96 max x 2... In fact i find it to be gd... wifi is gd, no reboot and viewing 4k is smooth... only problem i want to get my box google to be certify or hide the root.... problem is i do not know how to do it... u have any idea?
 

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,105
Reaction score
2,878
I have no issue w h96 max x 2... In fact i find it to be gd... wifi is gd, no reboot and viewing 4k is smooth... only problem i want to get my box google to be certify or hide the root.... problem is i do not know how to do it... u have any idea?

There are very few Google certified Android TV box, Mi Box S is the cheapest among them. Nvidia Shield TV is of higher spec than Mi Box S but it is much more expensive.

Mecool KM8, KM9 Pro and KM3 are said to be also Google certified but they are not Netflix certified.

As for hiding the root, usually if the vendor provides such function you can try it (older Tanix boxes like Tanix TX3 Mini, TX9 Pro, etc, have the switch). Whether they work for your app is another story.

SuperSU is dangerous. I bricked my first box X96 Mini on my first try, but I know how to recover in that case.

Magisk is said to work for some boxes but it does not work for my boxes.

In fact someone says that he has success with H96 Max X2 with Magisk. That prompted me to try on my Tanix TX6 and TX5 Max and Magisk failed on both boxes.

Magisk is still dangerous as it changes your boot image.

All in all, not recommended.
 
Last edited:
Important Forum Advisory Note
This forum is moderated by volunteer moderators who will react only to members' feedback on posts. Moderators are not employees or representatives of HWZ. Forum members and moderators are responsible for their own posts.

Please refer to our Community Guidelines and Standards, Terms of Service and Member T&Cs for more information.
Top