Android TV Box

LaNNZ3r

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2002
Messages
1,043
Reaction score
5
Just bought an android tv box and connected to my tv which is connected to a Bose 3 2 1 system. Got image from the android box but no audio. Anyone can advise on what's the issue. Thanks.
 

gregory_choo

Supremacy Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Messages
8,773
Reaction score
1,046
Just bought an android tv box and connected to my tv which is connected to a Bose 3 2 1 system. Got image from the android box but no audio. Anyone can advise on what's the issue. Thanks.


as a start, look like the sound out format - raw, pcm ...... try every options until it works.

if cannot work

then you have to provide sufficient info so that others can help.
 

martinLam

Junior Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2019
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Just trying to use China Tunnel free VPN in my rooted Android TV box and it seems to work fine with Tencent Video (腾讯视频). For non-Paying member, you get only up to 720p quality and limited choices, but 720p is actually pretty good.

So using VPN seems to be a good choice.

China Tunnel is free but can only be installed on rooted box. There are other VPN like Transocks穿梭 (free trial and paid subscription) as well as speedin快帆。

Though it is slightly old comment but want to give a heads up to anyone who is looking forward to go for a Free VPN. As said there is nothing free in this world, if the VPN is free then you are the product.
Free VPNs sell your data to 3rd party advertisers, who then target you with their offerings based on your activity.

Moreover Free VPNs usually leak IP which could end up getting throttled from ISP if you are doing anything illegal in your country such as torrenting or piracy.
 

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,128
Reaction score
2,888
Though it is slightly old comment but want to give a heads up to anyone who is looking forward to go for a Free VPN. As said there is nothing free in this world, if the VPN is free then you are the product.
Free VPNs sell your data to 3rd party advertisers, who then target you with their offerings based on your activity.

Moreover Free VPNs usually leak IP which could end up getting throttled from ISP if you are doing anything illegal in your country such as torrenting or piracy.

Your comments about free VPN is in general correct.

However we are talking about a specific usage which is China geo-blocked content here. Transocks and SpeedIn are the two main choices. Both are not really free. Transocks has an ads supported option with in-app purchase to remove ads, and a pro version which is paid only. SpeedIn has a free line but all the other lines are paid only.

China Tunnel is no more (other than the version bought over by Unblock Tech). The author has developed ChinaTunnel VPN, a paid only app.

All these three solution are only recommended for single purpose -- to access China geo-blocked content, not for other purpose.

All the major more well-known VPN apps are not good at this purpose as far as I know. Transocks and SpeedIn are approved by the Chinese authority to provide this specific service which aims more to overseas Chinese community.
 
Last edited:

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,128
Reaction score
2,888
Chromecast dongles are good alternatives to Android TV boxes if your usage is to cast from phone. Chromecast Ultra is the best Chromecast dongle from Google since it supports 4k and also has Ethernet port built into the power cord.

I have old Chromecast 1st generation which I bought from SingTel Hello Shop for S$35 a few years ago. It is still working fine for 720p/1080p streaming.

Devices running Google Android TV OS, like Mi Box S, Nvidia Shield TV, Starhub Go Streaming Box, Sony Android TV, have Chromecast function built-in. So you may want to consider Mi Box S which offers more function and cost less than Chromecast Ultra.

Still if you are using purely the CAST function, then Chromecast Ultra is better in terms of stability and app compatibility. There are reports of problems with Mi Box S Chromecast implementation for apps like Toggle in this forum.

Ref: Chromecast vs Mi Box S

https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidTV/comments/afexhc/mi_box_s_vs_chromecast_ultra/
 

gregory_choo

Supremacy Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Messages
8,773
Reaction score
1,046
Though it is slightly old comment but want to give a heads up to anyone who is looking forward to go for a Free VPN. As said there is nothing free in this world, if the VPN is free then you are the product.
Free VPNs sell your data to 3rd party advertisers, who then target you with their offerings based on your activity.

Moreover Free VPNs usually leak IP which could end up getting throttled from ISP if you are doing anything illegal in your country such as torrenting or piracy.

VPN or not, it is not advisable to do illegal activities on internet, if you think that paid VPN can do wonders for you, think twice.
 

windwaver

High Supremacy Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2000
Messages
30,768
Reaction score
1,457
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.
Hi Xiaofan, the Android boxes you buy, do they usually come with remote control?
 

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,128
Reaction score
2,888
Hi Xiaofan, the Android boxes you buy, do they usually come with remote control?

All of my boxes came with remote control. Some of my generic boxes actually have the same cheap IR remote control. For example, my X96 Mini, H96 Max Plus and R69 use exactly the same remote. The H96 Pro Plus remote is slightly different. The two Tanix boxes use its own remote which is similar but not exactly compatible with others. All these six boxes can use the same 5V/2A power supply.

The junk China Mobile OTT box has its own 12V 1A power supply and its own remote which does not work well with the mod firmware (power button not working).

So in the end I need two power supply and 4 remotes for the 7 boxes.

I have an air mouse as well but I seldom use it. I like to use a USB Wireless Mouse and Keyboard set from Logitech (one USB receiver only). Then I only need to use the remote occasionally when the mouse does not work.

There are some good remote that you can look at, for example Minix has good remote like the Minix A2 Lite.

Ref: https://wiki.ezvid.com/best-android-tv-remotes

The above is only for reference.
My three types of generic remotes are similar to No 7 entry. My TX3 air mouse is similar to No 3 entry MX3 Pro but not as good. Minix A2 Lite is at No 2.
 
Last edited:

windwaver

High Supremacy Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2000
Messages
30,768
Reaction score
1,457
I see; just noticed that the box I bought doesn't state a remote control (arriving soon).

Just wondering if I can use my phone as a remote control. In the event there's no remote control, you still prefer to use a wireless mouse and keyboard combo right? I suppose a track-pad will be more convenient?
 

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,128
Reaction score
2,888
I see; just noticed that the box I bought doesn't state a remote control (arriving soon).

Just wondering if I can use my phone as a remote control. In the event there's no remote control, you still prefer to use a wireless mouse and keyboard combo right? I suppose a track-pad will be more convenient?

For sure you will get a remote, no worry.

You can install Cetus Play from Google Play Store if you want to use your phone as remote control. I have not tried it myself though. There are some other apps as well.

For device running official Android TV OS like the Mi Box S, Google has the Android TV remote app.

I am just used to the mouse myself. I do not really use the trackpad even for my laptop -- I can not work without a mouse.

I will still need to use the remote occasionally since the mouse can not do everything.
 
Last edited:

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,128
Reaction score
2,888
i've got my new toy the beelink gt1 mini, looking to set up soon :)

Great. Please share your experiences with this unit. I am actually interested to know it the remote and voice control are good or not. That seems to be one of the major HW differences between Beelink GT1 Mini and Tanix TX5 Max I have. The other major HW difference is size.

The FW is of course a bit different as well because of the different launcher used.

As mentioned before, the review is pretty positive. Hopefully you like it as well.
https://hometheatrelife.com/beelink-gt1-mini-review/

One of the missing features of these Android TV boxes is the switch to turn on / off root. Out of my 7 boxes 6 are rooted and can not be switched off. Only the junk China Mobile OTT box is not rooted but it runs old Android 4.4.2 and got no Google play services. Certain app like SingTel Cast and SingTel TV Go will detect rooted box and exit immediately.

It seems to me that Berlink GT1 Mini also miss this feature.
 

windwaver

High Supremacy Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2000
Messages
30,768
Reaction score
1,457
i've got my new toy the beelink gt1 mini, looking to set up soon :)

I just received my TX5 Max late last night. It was really easy to setup and work better than my Starhub Android box, probably due to it's larger RAM.

The only complain is the short power cable. I have to pull and extension cord in order to get power but other than that, it's really worth the money.

Many thanks go to Xiaofan for his recommendation :)
 

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,128
Reaction score
2,888
I just received my TX5 Max late last night. It was really easy to setup and work better than my Starhub Android box, probably due to it's larger RAM.

The only complain is the short power cable. I have to pull and extension cord in order to get power but other than that, it's really worth the money.

Many thanks go to Xiaofan for his recommendation :)

Glad to hear that and thanks for reporting back.
 

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,128
Reaction score
2,888
Hi people, I've found a good site for firmware updates, here is the link.

https://androidpctv.com/firmwares/

There are custom (TWRP) and stock firmwares, feel free to explore which works best for you.

This is a similar site.
https://androidtvbox.eu/category/firmware/

On the other hand, it is debatable whether you need to update the FW or not, especially for no brand generic boxes like H96/X96/etc. My two H96 boxes never prompt for any OTA and I do not want to update either as they are working fine with Android 7.1. For example there are different configuration of H96 Max Plus and I am not positive that the Android 8.1 FW will work on my box.

If you buy boxes from Tanix or better brand like Beelink and Zidoo, they will be able to support OTA update for a while (shorter for Tanix, a bit longer for Berlink, Zidoo still supports X9S from 2015). I myself will go for small OTA updates but I will wait for major OTA updates (Tanix TX6 got Android 7.1 to Android 9.0 update recently -- my box comes with Android 9.0, but if you get Android 7.1, be happy with it and do not upgrade now).

For custom FW, better be careful unless you are tech savvy and got the means to recover. You may need to get a male to male USB cable for the recovery as well.

For advance users, you can get more info about custom ROM from sites like Freaktab Forum and XDA developer forum.

For advance users who are interested to run Linux from the TV boxes, Armbian forum is a good place to go. FYI my first two TV boxes were bought with the specific goal to run Armbian Linux. They are cheaper than Maker boards but lacks the GPIO support.

https://forum.armbian.com/forum/24-tv-boxes/
 
Last edited:

CatLuVer

High Supremacy Member
Deluxe Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2002
Messages
43,600
Reaction score
635
Received the Beelink GT1 Mini

jQ9Lrq1.jpg



Its very small and compact
0sk3eVD.jpg
 

xiaofan

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
18,128
Reaction score
2,888
https://www.cnx-software.com/2019/04/04/mecool-km3-android-tv-9-0-certified-tv-box/

A new “Google certified TV Box” running Android TV OS 9.0, but not Netflix certified, from Mecool.

Good thing — S905X2 CPU, Chromecast Support, Google Voice Assistant, YouTube 4K support.

Bad thing: no Netflix HD, not proven yet about the performance about the Chromecast implementation

Track record of Mecool Google Certified TV Box is not that great, previous one is Mecool KM8 S905X CPU, Chromecast supported, but no Netflix HD support. Performance was not good either.

Mecool KM3 should have good performance similar to Beelink GT1 Mini, Tanix TX5 Max, Mecool KM9 and other S905X2 boxes. Let’s wait for more review.

Still it is probably better to buy Mi Box S as it is certified by both Google and Netflix.
 
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