Android TV Box

[gregory_choo]

bought mx10pro for $47 at lazada. has android 9, 4gb ram, 64gb space, play store.


i wish the cpu is faster, doesnt feel as responsive when opening program and scrolling

why put the box in plastic bag?

remove the plastic, most likely you don't need fan after that

 

[bumperbee]

How to select, Mi TV Stick 1080p or Mi Box S 4K?
https://www.dignited.com/66593/mi-tv-stick-vs-mi-box-s-4k-whats-right-for-you/

Personally I will stick to my Mi Box S. But both have its advantage. For example, it is possible you have a big 4k TV in the living room and a small 1080p TV in the bedroom, then you can probably choose the Mi TV Stick for the small size TV in the bedroom.

Hi Xiaofan, recently you had recommended a review on MiTv Stick/MiboxS at ‘https://www.dignited.com/66593/mi-tv-stick-vs-mi-box-s-4k-whats-right-for-you/’ on 14th Aug 20. It stated MiboxS video decoder has H264 and did not mention H265 or Hevc. Does this mean MiboxS could not play video format on H265/Hevc? Thank you

 

[xiaofan]

Hi Xiaofan, recently you had recommended a review on MiTv Stick/MiboxS at ‘https://www.dignited.com/66593/mi-tv-stick-vs-mi-box-s-4k-whats-right-for-you/’ on 14th Aug 20. It stated MiboxS video decoder has H264 and did not mention H265 or Hevc. Does this mean MiboxS could not play video format on H265/Hevc? Thank you

Mi Box S is able to play H265 video.
Read the detailed review here.
https://androidpctv.com/review-xiaomi-mi-box-s/

Take note the CPU is still a bit weak so better to set the UI as 1080p or 4k 30fps.

The dignited review is a quick overview of the two devices but you are right that the author should add H265 to the table for Mi Box S.
https://www.dignited.com/66593/mi-tv-stick-vs-mi-box-s-4k-whats-right-for-you/

 

[yusoffb01]

armbian runs quite well without configuring anything. cheaper than buying sbc with 4gb ram

https://forum.armbian.com/topic/12162-single-armbian-image-for-rk-aml-aw-aarch64-armv8/

 

[xiaofan]

FYI my first few boxes purchase back in 2018 were to run Armbian.

So far I have good success in X96 Mini S905W box (2GB/16GB) and H96 Pro Plus S912 box (3GB/32GB with Gigabit Ethernet).

Armbian forum TV box section
https://forum.armbian.com/forum/24-tv-boxes/

But then if you need GPIO, Raspberry Pi is better. Raspbian is also more smooth than Armbian. Orange Pi and other cheaper alternative are compatible with Armbian also easier if you need GPIO.

BTW, you can use those maker boards as Android TV boxes as well but the cost us higher.

 

[vickyboi]

Hey Guys, I'm getting a second hand Nvidia Shield TV Pro and am intending to use it primarily for sports, football especially.

Does anyone know of a good iptv provider for sports? And also I keep reading articles that say VPN is a must when using iptv. Does this mean I got to install the VPN APK on the device itself?

Any advice is appreciated!

Sent from OnePlus ONEPLUS A6010 using GAGT

 

[xiaofan]

Hey Guys, I'm getting a second hand Nvidia Shield TV Pro and am intending to use it primarily for sports, football especially.

Does anyone know of a good iptv provider for sports? And also I keep reading articles that say VPN is a must when using iptv. Does this mean I got to install the VPN APK on the device itself?

Any advice is appreciated!

Sent from OnePlus ONEPLUS A6010 using GAGT

The main legitimate sports related VOD service is SingTel Cast Sports plus, not cheap, no VPN needed.

There are other IPTV packages which claim the support of Sports, they are not really legitimate so you do not know when they will stop working.

Then you can use VPN to use services not meant for Singapore.

Eg: English apps
https://www.techradar.com/news/how-...am-every-201920-restart-fixture-from-anywhere

Eg: if you are okay with Chinese apps, you need to pay for VIP and use China VPN.
PPTV Sports -- Soccer
Tencent Sports -- NBA

 

[yusoffb01]

FYI my first few boxes purchase back in 2018 were to run Armbian.

So far I have good success in X96 Mini S905W box (2GB/16GB) and H96 Pro Plus S912 box (3GB/32GB with Gigabit Ethernet).

Armbian forum TV box section
https://forum.armbian.com/forum/24-tv-boxes/

But then if you need GPIO, Raspberry Pi is better. Raspbian is also more smooth than Armbian. Orange Pi and other cheaper alternative are compatible with Armbian also easier if you need GPIO.

BTW, you can use those maker boards as Android TV boxes as well but the cost us higher.

above $80, getting a second hand pc makes more sense than buying sbc to play with armbian. Hope they put in more cores into the $50 price point in the future, tho quad core seems more than sufficient for 4k hevc playback

 

[gregory_choo]

Hey Guys, I'm getting a second hand Nvidia Shield TV Pro and am intending to use it primarily for sports, football especially.

Does anyone know of a good iptv provider for sports? And also I keep reading articles that say VPN is a must when using iptv. Does this mean I got to install the VPN APK on the device itself?

Any advice is appreciated!

Sent from OnePlus ONEPLUS A6010 using GAGT

you don't need a shield tv pro to play iptv.

a new $40 box will do, even brand new $20 box will do if you are only interested only in running iptv.

don't need vpn to run iptv. most likely you got this info from blogs that are sponsored by vpn provider.

 

[gregory_choo]

Hi Xiaofan, recently you had recommended a review on MiTv Stick/MiboxS at ‘https://www.dignited.com/66593/mi-tv-stick-vs-mi-box-s-4k-whats-right-for-you/’ on 14th Aug 20. It stated MiboxS video decoder has H264 and did not mention H265 or Hevc. Does this mean MiboxS could not play video format on H265/Hevc? Thank you

h265 decoder is already a common feature since 6 years ago, nowadays even the cheapest chipset come with it.

 

[vickyboi]

you don't need a shield tv pro to play iptv.

a new $40 box will do, even brand new $20 box will do if you are only interested only in running iptv.

don't need vpn to run iptv. most likely you got this info from blogs that are sponsored by vpn provider.

Getting it for games for my kids as well.

And you're right about reading from blogs.

So if I subscribe to a iptv I only need to sideload the app and I am good to go?

Sent from OnePlus ONEPLUS A6010 using GAGT

 

[gregory_choo]

Getting it for games for my kids as well.

And you're right about reading from blogs.

So if I subscribe to a iptv I only need to sideload the app and I am good to go?

Sent from OnePlus ONEPLUS A6010 using GAGT

in general, yes.

but it is better to ask for trial if you need to pay.

some iptv apps are not designed for android tv os, so you might have problem showing it on the home screen, and you need the icon generaor "tv app repo" to make the icon appear on home page.

 

[DELTAFORCE]

Just got myself a A95X F3 Air android box after my Ubox Gen 3 dies on me. Can recommend any apps to block those pesky ads while watching movies and Youtube ?
Thanks and take care !

 

[xiaofan]

Just got myself a A95X F3 Air android box after my Ubox Gen 3 dies on me. Can recommend any apps to block those pesky ads while watching movies and Youtube ?
Thanks and take care !

YouTube ads are not too bad and I will just leave it. For some apps I like I will pay for the VIP to avoid ads. Then I will avoid apps with intrusive ads.

IMHO there may be no good solution with ads blocking on the box itself.

You can try Pi-hole instead, say on a Raspberry Pi.
https://pi-hole.net/

Of you can try some URL filtering on your router.

Adguard DNS can be an option as well.
https://forum.adguard.com/index.php?threads/adguard-for-android-tv.31375/

 

[DELTAFORCE]

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated !

 

[gregory_choo]

Just got myself a A95X F3 Air android box after my Ubox Gen 3 dies on me. Can recommend any apps to block those pesky ads while watching movies and Youtube ?
Thanks and take care !

the ads are from the box itself?

or you installed the wrong app?

or the box come installed with viruses?


for youtube, use smartyoutubetv then you won't see the ads.

 

[Byfrost]

Hi all

I'm looking for a budget TV Box (Does not need to be Android) that can play H265 /x265 videos. Must be able to support subtitles .srt files as well.

Videos that will be played are in 720p, 1080p, no need 4K. Should come with USB to plug in flash drive or HDD for the videos.

I'm currently looking at Mi Box S, but read some articles that it does not support .srt subtitles. Can I download VLC on it to play the videos?

Any shop and product recommendations and? Prefer to buy in a retail shop locally, than online.

 

[xiaofan]

Hi all

I'm looking for a budget TV Box (Does not need to be Android) that can play H265 /x265 videos. Must be able to support subtitles .srt files as well.

Videos that will be played are in 720p, 1080p, no need 4K. Should come with USB to plug in flash drive or HDD for the videos.

I'm currently looking at Mi Box S, but read some articles that it does not support .srt subtitles. Can I download VLC on it to play the videos?

Any shop and product recommendations and? Prefer to buy in a retail shop locally, than online.

Mi Box S should be okay, you can Install Kodi or VLC player. If you are buying Mi Box S, you can buy from Mi Stores, like in JEM, Vivo City, Funan and Bedok Mall, usually at S$99 and occasionally on offer at S$89. Online shops may be cheaper though down to S$70.

Review
https://androidpctv.com/review-xiaomi-mi-box-s/

But if you are purely playing local media files and do not need Netflix HD, then Minix NEO T5 may be a better choice as it has a faster CPU, gigabit Ethernet and USB 3.0 port. Probably online only to get the good price of S$99.
Ref: https://shopee.sg/product/2015845/5637539?smtt=0.0.9

Review
https://androidpctv.com/review-minix-neo-t5-opinion/

 

[gregory_choo]

Hi all

I'm looking for a budget TV Box (Does not need to be Android) that can play H265 /x265 videos. Must be able to support subtitles .srt files as well.

Videos that will be played are in 720p, 1080p, no need 4K. Should come with USB to plug in flash drive or HDD for the videos.

I'm currently looking at Mi Box S, but read some articles that it does not support .srt subtitles. Can I download VLC on it to play the videos?

Any shop and product recommendations and? Prefer to buy in a retail shop locally, than online.

mibox s is not budget box

it is a very capable box.

surprised to hear that some articles said it doesn't support srt substitle. -- these must be **** articles -- all andriod boxes, even the cheap $20 box, can support srt subtitle.

 

[yusoffb01]

youtube ads can be blocked using vanced.app

all free app ads or video ads can be blocked using dns. 3 ways
1) Set private dns under settings of android 9 to be dns.adguard.com
2) using nextdns.io (free pihole for first 300k requests a month)
300k is sufficient for only 1~2 devices
3) use adguard dns (set on router)
176.103.130.130
176.103.130.131