Quad core android XBMC players?

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flarkit

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Has anyone seen or know of stock for the Amlogic S802 based android tv boxes? Apparently these puppies finally have hardware acceleration for XBMC, with full 1920x1080p playback. That seems like the way to go for someone wanting XBMC playing media from a local DLNA server
 
There are a number of Android sticks with quad-cores which work quite well. I use the http://www.xtreamer.net/ultra2/ which runs XBMC and streams content directly of a NAS.

I think you need to look at the whole experience (i.e. can you upgrade the device and XBMC, what type of remote can you use, will it have the necessary drivers for your sound system - optical vs HDMI etc). In the long run you might find that a device running OpenElec with XBMC connecting straight to your TV will be a better choice.
 
flarkit said:
Has anyone seen or know of stock for the Amlogic S802 based android tv boxes? Apparently these puppies finally have hardware acceleration for XBMC, with full 1920x1080p playback. That seems like the way to go for someone wanting XBMC playing media from a local DLNA server
Click to expand...

I have 2 demo units on order. We should have had them last month already but our supplier isn't happy with the firmware and XBMC support.

If you in the market for a quad core Android player, our CS918 supports a 1080p XBMC interface with DTS playback via SPDIF Optical or HDMI. Customer feedback has been very positive
 
MagicDude4Eva said:
There are a number of Android sticks with quad-cores which work quite well. I use the http://www.xtreamer.net/ultra2/ which runs XBMC and streams content directly of a NAS.

I think you need to look at the whole experience (i.e. can you upgrade the device and XBMC, what type of remote can you use, will it have the necessary drivers for your sound system - optical vs HDMI etc). In the long run you might find that a device running OpenElec with XBMC connecting straight to your TV will be a better choice.
Click to expand...

I agree on the Openelec point, as I had a ITX-based HTPC running Openelec from a flashdrive that worked awesomely for 2 years, until the motherboard died. Rather than repeating such an expensive exercise, I'm very attracted to the idea of a small box that runs XBMC (or Openelec), at less than half of the PC's cost. So far, it seems that Amlogic M8 (or S802, or M802 apparently) is the chipset that delivers all of this, for under R2,000. Yes please

AVSupply said:
I have 2 demo units on order. We should have had them last month already but our supplier isn't happy with the firmware and XBMC support.

If you in the market for a quad core Android player, our CS918 supports a 1080p XBMC interface with DTS playback via SPDIF Optical or HDMI. Customer feedback has been very positive
Click to expand...

I've seen some reports of people with CS918 based devices that gave various issues with XBMC, which leads me to try for something newer, which has been in the pipeline for months. Hopefully the official release runs stably. :)
 
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flarkit said:
I agree on the Openelec point, as I had a ITX-based HTPC running Openelec from a flashdrive that worked awesomely for 2 years, until the motherboard died. Rather than repeating such an expensive exercise, I'm very attracted to the idea of a small box that runs XBMC (or Openelec), at less than half of the PC's cost. So far, it seems that Amlogic M8 (or S802, or M802 apparently) is the chipset that delivers all of this, for under R2,000. Yes please



I've seen some reports of people with CS918 based devices that gave various issues with XBMC, which leads me to try for something newer, which has been in the pipeline for months. Hopefully the official release runs stably. :)
Click to expand...

The official firmware was terrible, so for the last 3 months we've been working with a developer and have created a much faster and more stable firmware, and it runs beautifully
 
Fudzy said:
Who are the local reps for Xtreamer now? I see Scoops no longer stock them.
Click to expand...

I bought the Ultra2 Deluxe directly from Xtreamer - was at a time when the Euro/Rand was good and back then including shipping and duties it was just over R3500 (included the 32GB SSD, extra 4GB RAM, mini wireless keyboard) - rock solid device. I used a Popcorn Hour and Med8er before and I can tell you that both are crap in comparison.
 
The Minix Neo X8-H looks really interesting but it costs more than an Intel NUC or a Gigabyte Brix! The Chinese manufacturers are really asking a bit much for these devices. You could probably find a tablet using the same Amlogic processor for around the same price.
 
Yotch said:
The Minix Neo X8-H looks really interesting but it costs more than an Intel NUC or a Gigabyte Brix! The Chinese manufacturers are really asking a bit much for these devices. You could probably find a tablet using the same Amlogic processor for around the same price.
Click to expand...

Where can one purchase a NUC a better price, including RAM and 16Gb of storage? I'd consider this for installing XBMCbuntu or Openelec, if possible
 
flarkit said:
Where can one purchase a NUC a better price, including RAM and 16Gb of storage? I'd consider this for installing XBMCbuntu or Openelec, if possible
Click to expand...

Yip. Cheapest Intel NUC (dealer price) + RAM and HDD / SSD is gonna cost you way more. And then if you get the Atom based N2820 one you're stuck with a redundant CPU as well.
 
Take a look at what is currently available ...
http://liliputing.com/2014/06/gigabyte-brix-tiny-low-power-pc-now-available-130.html
http://liliputing.com/2014/06/12-intel-powered-mini-pcs-for-300-or-less.html
http://liliputing.com/2014/06/sonys-playstation-tv-media-streaming-box-coming-america-99.html

Apparently you can boot the NUC off a cheap 8GB flash drive and many customers appear to be doing this. You will need to buy a stick of RAM. The cheapest NUC costs around $130 versus $150 for the Minix.
 
Yotch said:
Take a look at what is currently available ...
http://liliputing.com/2014/06/gigabyte-brix-tiny-low-power-pc-now-available-130.html
http://liliputing.com/2014/06/12-intel-powered-mini-pcs-for-300-or-less.html
http://liliputing.com/2014/06/sonys-playstation-tv-media-streaming-box-coming-america-99.html

Apparently you can boot the NUC off a cheap 8GB flash drive and many customers appear to be doing this. You will need to buy a stick of RAM. The cheapest NUC costs around $130 versus $150 for the Minix.
Click to expand...

Would love to get my hands on the board in the ECS LIVA!

Decided my next goal is the Minix X8-H :)
 
dualmeister said:
Would love to get my hands on the board in the ECS LIVA!

Decided my next goal is the Minix X8-H :)
Click to expand...

I'm also hoping the local importers can make them available for a very good price, I am itching for one!
 
you guys ever heard of/tried a rasberry pi with openelec ?
i'm very happy with mine
 
jones123 said:
you guys ever heard of/tried a rasberry pi with openelec ?
i'm very happy with mine
Click to expand...

I ran Openelec for 2 years on my HTPC and enjoyed it. The Rasberry Pi seems to be a bit underpowered for streaming 1080p movies, so I'm hoping these X8-H will do the job
 
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