Android TV Box

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,107
Reaction score
2,885
I have a smart mini tv box (no brand) given by a friend. My Panasonic tv is not a smart tv. After installed the box, i can access chrome, youtube but just cannot access google play. At the sign in page, No matter how I click, just nothing happen. I tried adding account from the setting, also cannot. Anyone can help? Thank you.

I think it is tough to help in this case as apparently the box has issues with Google Play Services. You may want to post the info about the box like the CPU used, the RAM and storage etc.

Low end box may even be more beneficial to just disable Google Play services and use whatever apps suitable to run in the box.

I actually just bought a junk China Mobile OTT TV box from Taobao, S905L CPU, 1GB/8GB configuration, less than RMB100 in Taobao, as my 7th TV box.

It comes with Android 4.4 and no Google services at all. These vendors in Taobao collects these junk boxes (China Telecom IPTV boxes, China Unicom IPTV box and China Mobile OTT box) in bulk and then remove the original IPTV app and install Dangbei Market and/or Shafa market and a few apps to modify them for general usage. The price is between RMB80-120 in Taobao depending on the configuration.

To my surprise, the box actually runs pretty smooth and just adding a few apps from Dangbei market and sideloading a few apps, it is actually usable for Chinese Entertainment.

My previous experience with this type of boxes during my Dec 2018 trip to China was that they can only run the dedicated IPTV app. Just adding Dangbei market already makes them very slow. But apparently by removing the dedicated IPTV app they can even run Dangbei market fine.
 

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,107
Reaction score
2,885
Yeah, after discount it's $56. There's another seller even lower at $53.08 after discount. I ended up not buying anything cos cancelled the purchase but wasn't in time for the cheaper promotion, lol.

Maybe next time.

You are very good at finding deals. There are all types of discount and coupons which I am kind of lazy to find out.

My Taobao purchase of Tanix TX5 Max is at RMB315 or S$63 (now lower at RMB 290 or S$58), then I still need to pay for the 7% GST and the sea shipping and wait for another two to three weeks for it to come.

My Taobao purchase of Tanix TX6 is at RMB240 or S$48 but now it is cheaper at RMB220 or S$44.
 

windwaver

High Supremacy Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2000
Messages
30,768
Reaction score
1,457
Haha, not really, I was just lucky. Anyway, I got my wife to buy the box for me. Think this is really the lowest.

33600982368_aa2f10c7fa_b.jpg
 

CatLuVer

High Supremacy Member
Deluxe Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2002
Messages
43,600
Reaction score
635
Haha good choice for the 4GB/32GB configuration.

https://hometheatrelife.com/beelink-gt1-mini-review/

I actually like the more stylish remote and "old style" interface of Beelink GT1 Mini than the Tanix TX5's generic remote and "more modern" Alice UI.

If one does not need either Chromecast (for apps like Starhub Go or Toggle or Viu Premium) or Netflix HD/4k, then these new generation of S905X2 boxes running Android 8.1 should be pretty good choices, they will run apps like Kodi very well. I will recommend the 4G RAM version.

Among them so far three boxes look good to me, Beelink GT1 Mini, Tanix TX5 Max and to a lesser extent Mecool KM9. Of course the other generic boxes may be a bit cheaper(H96 Max X2, T95Q, X96 Max, etc), but I think I am impressed by the Tanix TX5 Max after 4 generic boxes.
Wow thank you. Nice review.

Can't wait for my box to arrive
 

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,107
Reaction score
2,885
This charts from Chigz Tech review are still useful reference for choosing the box, no need to look too much at the overall ranking but it can serve as a good reference for feature comparison.

Full chart 2019
http://bit.ly/2TpdiWM

Nvidia Shield TV is No 1. Mi Box S is No 6. But in reality No 2,3,7 are RK3399 boxes and not worth the money. No 4,5,9,10 are S905X2 box including the Beelink GT1 Mini. He has not ranked Tanix TX5 Max yet. No 8 is the 3rd gen Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K.

Chart 2019 based on Benchmark for reference only
http://bit.ly/2HqxAy9

Full chart 2018 based on benchmark only, for reference
http://bit.ly/2l5j54G
 
Last edited:

HuatKway

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
Messages
1,198
Reaction score
1
Anyone has any apps or box suggestions that has horse racing (channel 88 of suckhub) ? Dad would like to view it
 

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,107
Reaction score
2,885
Of the two Tanix boxes I got recently, I think Tanix TX5 Max S905X2 Android 8.1 is pretty good, very smooth, with very fast wifi performance and it also does not run into thermal issues.

As for the Tanix TX6, I mention that I will not recommend it because of app compatibility problem of Android 9.0. Now I got one more reason againt it. It has thermal issues -- CPU goes above 90 degree C based on AIDA after playing with some apps, not stressing the box at all.

H6 CPU apparently is not good at power efficiency. s905X2 is much better.

Reviews of Beelink GT1 Mini shows it has no thermal issues despite the small size.

Ref, thermal performance comparison
https://androidpctv.com/review-tanix-tx5-max/
https://androidpctv.com/review-beelink-gt1-mini/
https://androidpctv.com/review-tanix-tx6/

Both Beelink GT1 Mini and Tanix TX5 consume less power than Mi Box S.

Tanix TX6 lost 19% of efficiency at the tests. But I think I encountered worse performance loss because of hot weather in Singapore the previous two days.

Idle power of 4.6W is the main problem. That is even higher than full power of Tanix TX5 Max at 4W. Beelink GT1 Mini is even better at 3.5W full power.

Other than H6 CPU, maybe there are some design issues here since the off power is also high at 3.5W.

Similar report of thermal issues here.

https://forum.freaktab.com/forum/tv...-box-allwinner-h6-4-32gb-dual-wifi-bt4-1-or-5

A9ztfvM.jpg
 
Last edited:

windwaver

High Supremacy Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2000
Messages
30,768
Reaction score
1,457
No issue to install those apps. For these Chinese apps, Beelink GT1 Mini will be better than Mi Box S because of better HW spec and the Gigabit Ethernet. Also you get USB 3.0 port.

I am mostly interested in Chinese Entertainment (no interests in Netflix) and I have Chromecast 1st gen and Apple TV 3rd gen, so I will not buy Mi Box S myself.

It is actually not that hard to use once you get the box and try it out. Pretty similar to an Android phone.

Dangbei market or Shafa market have a lot of Chinese apps for Android TV boxes if you understand Mandarin. Just install one of them and you can try different VOD apps and live TV apps.

https://m.dangbei.com/
http://m.shafa.com/

I am not familiar with other apps but I am very familiar with Chinese Entertainment apps. The following thread can be of some references even though it is for iPhone. You will get much more choices for Android.

https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/...phone-chinese-entertainment-apps-5929935.html

Hi Xiaofan, I'm into Chinese & Korean Entertainment.

I've tried https://m.dangbei.com/ and http://m.shafa.com/ but most apps require VPN or VIP access to watch.

Are there any apps that has access to old movies or dramas which is free? Live TV is pretty straight forward but the VOD apps are challenging.
 

windwaver

High Supremacy Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2000
Messages
30,768
Reaction score
1,457
Hi Xiaofan, I'm into Chinese & Korean Entertainment.

I've tried https://m.dangbei.com/ and http://m.shafa.com/ but most apps require VPN or VIP access to watch.

Are there any apps that has access to old movies or dramas which is free? Live TV is pretty straight forward but the VOD apps are challenging.

This is how I see things.

Right now I'm paying SGD$25 for Starhub Select Family and Select Go.

If I pay for VIP services and/or VPN, will it be cheaper than Starhub's offering?
 

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,107
Reaction score
2,885
This is how I see things.

Right now I'm paying SGD$25 for Starhub Select Family and Select Go.

If I pay for VIP services and/or VPN, will it be cheaper than Starhub's offering?

There are free apps but you may need to try out. lt all depends on your need. You can try Youku/Tencent Video for free with free Transocks VPN to see if you like it or not. Not into Korean entertainment so not sure if the contents suit your needs or not. Youku TV (酷喵影视) is nice because once you pay for VIP,you do not need VPN.

Price is of course cheaper than S$25 per month but you need to be satisfied with the content first.

Browsing the content and may old content are free. Just need to sign in with a WeChat account or use SG mobile number to register.

Tencent Video TV version is better than Youku TV, but it requires VPN even after you pay for the VIP. Free Transocks VPN should be good enough as a start.

iQiyi TV version requires a Chinese mobile phone number so it is more troublesome.

FYI, I am paying for QQ Music VIP myself (RMB120 per year) and Youku VIP (mobile version, not TV version VIP, I got it cheaper through Taobao 88VIP RMB88 per year but that is because my wife spent quite a bit of money in Taobao ). I am not paying for VPN myself. So total spend is only RMB208 or S$42.

Usually you need to spend more. The following two will be a very good combination to enjoy 1080p video, Chinese and also western.
1)Tencent Video TV (云视听极光)VIP RMB488 per year now. Or S$90. Usually RMB 600 per year.

http://tv.qq.com

2) SpeedIn VIP US$36 for two year. US$18 per year or S$25.

Adding the two together will be S$115 per year which will still be much less than S$25 per month of S$300 per year.

Most important thing is whether you are happy with the content or not. If not all bets are off.

There are of course many free VOD apps out there but you need to try.

FYI I am still using SingTel TV because of kids now.
 
Last edited:

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,107
Reaction score
2,885
I can see Youku has quite some Korean entertainment as well.
Zmw5nH3.jpg

jf2nidO.jpg
 
Last edited:

windwaver

High Supremacy Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2000
Messages
30,768
Reaction score
1,457
There are free apps but you may need to try out. lt all depends on your need. You can try Youku/Tencent Video for free with free Transocks VPN to see if you like it or not. Not into Korean entertainment so not sure if the contents suit your needs or not. Youku TV (酷喵影视) is nice because once you pay for VIP,you do not need VPN.

Price is of course cheaper than S$25 per month but you need to be satisfied with the content first.

Browsing the content and may old content are free. Just need to sign in with a WeChat account or use SG mobile number to register.

Tencent Video TV version is better than Youku TV, but it requires VPN even after you pay for the VIP. Free Transocks VPN should be good enough as a start.

iQiyi TV version requires a Chinese mobile phone number so it is more troublesome.

FYI, I am paying for QQ Music VIP myself (RMB120 per year) and Youku VIP (mobile version, not TV version VIP, I got it cheaper through Taobao 88VIP RMB88 per year but that is because my wife spent quite a bit of money in Taobao ). I am not paying for VPN myself. So total spend is only RMB208 or S$42.

Usually you need to spend more. The following two will be a very good combination to enjoy 1080p video, Chinese and also western.
1)Tencent Video TV (云视听极光)VIP RMB488 per year now. Or S$90. Usually RMB 600 per year.

http://tv.qq.com

2) SpeedIn VIP US$36 for two year. US$18 per year or S$25.

Adding the two together will be S$115 per year which will still be much less than S$25 per month of S$300 per year.

Most important thing is whether you are happy with the content or not. If not all bets are off.

There are of course many free VOD apps out there but you need to try.

FYI I am still using SingTel TV because of kids now.


Hmm, I guess you're right, it really seems cheaper than SGD$300 per year if I go the Youku way. Cheapest will be Youku VIP and I can save on VPN as well.

I'll go check out the Korean entertainment they have on Youku and see if that's good. Hopefully my new Tanix TX5 Max works well with everything.
 

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,107
Reaction score
2,885
Hmm, I guess you're right, it really seems cheaper than SGD$300 per year if I go the Youku way. Cheapest will be Youku VIP and I can save on VPN as well.

I'll go check out the Korean entertainment they have on Youku and see if that's good. Hopefully my new Tanix TX5 Max works well with everything.

Tanix TX5 Max will be fine for all these top video on demand apps from mainland China.

Out of the top three Video apps in mainland China, Tencent Video and iQiyi (part of Baidu) are more neck in neck with Youku (part of Alibaba) lagging behind. Then you have followers like 芒果TV which is also pretty strong, and many others. You can always check out Youku first before the others.

BTW, for Music,QQ Music QQ音乐/酷狗/酷我 are the lead (all belongs to Tencent). Xiami Music (part of Alibaba) and then Netease 网易云音乐 are followers. Baidu Taihe 太合 is lagging behind. Xiami Music does not need VPN, free or paid. QQ Music does not need VPN once you pay for VIP.
 
Last edited:

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,107
Reaction score
2,885
Hmm, I guess you're right, it really seems cheaper than SGD$300 per year if I go the Youku way. Cheapest will be Youku VIP and I can save on VPN as well.

I'll go check out the Korean entertainment they have on Youku and see if that's good. Hopefully my new Tanix TX5 Max works well with everything.

Another possibility is to add Viu Premium in the mix for S$5.98 per month. Or S$4.9 using SingTel Cast if you are SingTel customer.

Good reference for various alternative TV subscription service to SingTel TV and Starhub Fibre TV.

https://blog.seedly.sg/netflix-togg...ernative-tv-subscription-plan-guide-platform/

With Youku 酷喵影视 VIP and Viu Premium, you should have loads of Asian Entertainment, more than Go Select you have.

Compared to your current Starhub Go Select (S$9.9 per month) and Go Family (S$14.9 per month) subscription, you do lost out on the 50 Live TV channels provided by Go Family pack. So you need to check if that is okay or not.

BTW, even though Youku 酷喵影视 VIP is RMB399 per year, usually you can get it less. Now it is RMB239 per year or S$48 per year (S$4 per month). Adding Viu Premium it will be S$10 per month.

For those who do not TV, but only using computer or phone/tablet, then normal Youku VIP is even cheaper at RMB118 per year or about S$2 per month now because of promotion. Normal price is at RMB198 per year.

CT7sFU5.jpg
 
Last edited:

littlenini

Member
Joined
May 2, 2009
Messages
190
Reaction score
29
Hi, sorry I am a total idiot on this. I am having a Samsung smart tv. Would like to buy a box which I can watch free Taiwan, china,korea drama, any recommendation, thanks in adv
 

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,107
Reaction score
2,885
Hi, sorry I am a total idiot on this. I am having a Samsung smart tv. Would like to buy a box which I can watch free Taiwan, china,korea drama, any recommendation, thanks in adv

Read the recommendation for the box in page 94. Mi Box S will be a good choice for beginners. And it supports Chromecast which can be useful for quite some apps. Or buy a new generic box based on S905X2, like Beelink GT1 Mini and Tanix TX5 Max.

Ref:
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/tech-show-central-show-2019-394/android-tv-box-5678618-94.html

As for apps there are many apps but you need to Google by yourself for free apps, as a start, install adrama from Google play store to try out.
 

littlenini

Member
Joined
May 2, 2009
Messages
190
Reaction score
29
Thanks a lot.
:)

Read the recommendation for the box in page 94. Mi Box S will be a good choice for beginners. And it supports Chromecast which can be useful for quite some apps. Or buy a new generic box based on S905X2, like Beelink GT1 Mini and Tanix TX5 Max.

Ref:
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/tech-show-central-show-2019-394/android-tv-box-5678618-94.html

As for apps there are many apps but you need to Google by yourself for free apps, as a start, install adrama from Google play store to try out.
 

bumperbee

Member
Joined
Dec 12, 2014
Messages
156
Reaction score
3
Read the recommendation for the box in page 94. Mi Box S will be a good choice for beginners. And it supports Chromecast which can be useful for quite some apps. Or buy a new generic box based on S905X2, like Beelink GT1 Mini and Tanix TX5 Max.

Ref:
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/tech-show-central-show-2019-394/android-tv-box-5678618-94.html

As for apps there are many apps but you need to Google by yourself for free apps, as a start, install adrama from Google play store to try out.

Hi Xiaofan, I think previously I had use the app (my memory was somthing like aDrama or aOpen)and the wifi reception is turn-off all the time and have to manually turn it on on my Samsung mobile. After i uninstall it, it is good again. But not too sure about this because i had also uninstalled other apps.
Please tell me are you also using this app? If you are and didn't have such issue, then my presumption is wrong.
 

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,107
Reaction score
2,885
Hi Xiaofan, I think previously I had use the app (my memory was somthing like aDrama or aOpen)and the wifi reception is turn-off all the time and have to manually turn it on on my Samsung mobile. After i uninstall it, it is good again. But not too sure about this because i had also uninstalled other apps.
Please tell me are you also using this app? If you are and didn't have such issue, then my presumption is wrong.

I do not really use adrama for real usage but I have tested it and there is no such issues on my TV boxes.

It is just an example. There are many other apps out there.

For example, here is the thread for Chinese Entertainment for iPhone which I created. But it is also of some reference value for Android. You can use it as a start. Of course Android has more choices.

https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/...phone-chinese-entertainment-apps-5929935.html

There are both free and paid options, depending on your needs.

For example, for video on demand, I am paying for Youku VIP. For Chinese Live TV, I use free 华文TV and 超级直播. For music, I am paying for QQ VIP.

I am also paying for SingTel TV Family Favorite, mainly for kids.

There are of course free apps out there but you may need to spend more efforts and use Google by yourself.
 
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