Skyworth Binge TV Android media box - Tips/Tricks/Apps thread

Just received mine, super impressed with the build quality. The box that it comes in looks exactly like the android box (made me smile).

Will test and post pics tonight.
 
https://youtu.be/vKQ7eVTXf28

The box should and will be all of this - only Netflix will not be preloaded due to lack of certification and will have to be side loaded from somewhere other than the Playstore.

Looking forward to see if it is on Oreo or on 7.1.2.
 
Koosie said:
Just received mine, super impressed with the build quality. The box that it comes in looks exactly like the android box (made me smile).

Will test and post pics tonight.
Click to expand...

Does it have Android Chrome in the Play Store?
 
[quote name=&quot;Damac10&quot; post=21751605]Lol..thats skelm. They buy box from cheap Chinese and put skyworth brand. There s no company making boxes in SA. They just putting ROM on most likely[/QUOTE]<br />
<br />
The company that's doing this is owned by Skyworth. Boxes come from China, not sure if this surprises anyone.<br />
<br />
Anyhow - I was lucky enough to get my hands on a field test unit. My unit did not come with Oreo but is still an amazing piece of kit for the quoted price.<br />
<br />
Takealot started shipping these on Wednesday already, ahead of schedule. They pulled back launch as their was a issue with Google services that needed to be dealt with first (All Google certified boxes were affected).<br />
<br />
When that was resolved stock was delivered and shipped. <br />
<br />
I also tested the Mi TV - I honestly saw no difference. MI TV Vudu apps crashes all the time though. Its also a lot more expensive.<br />
<br />
For those that have ordered and got theirs let me know what you think please. <br />
<br />
Lastly - I never tried Netflix app as I cant be bothered :)
 
Just recieved the Skyworth Android TV box from takealot.com ..... plugged it in and got only blue screen!!! *frown* Rebooting does nothing!!

Checked cables and TV ports - all working.... xbox one and DSTV decoder work on the same HDMI cable.

Pressing on/off on remote does nothing. Tried to re pair remote.... held down keys as in manual does not put it in pairing mode (flashing LED)...*frown*

On S9+ downloaded Android TV App and tried to pair .... found box but won't connect!!

Anybody got any advice before I send it back!!!
 
Picked mine up a bit earlier.

For R900 this thing is very impressive but has some deal breaking issues for anyone with a more high-end setup.

The quality of the packaging and device and remote are very impressive for a R900 device, I prefer using this remote to the POS remote that comes with the Nvidia Shield. It's running Android 8.0 and the interface is very smooth and haven't really noticed any issues with responsiveness. The set up experience was also very easy.

The biggest issue I have is that audio passthrough doesn't seem to work, at least over HDMI (I haven't tried SPDIF), enabling it in Plex results in garbled audio and in Kodi it seems to just ignore pass through even when enabled.

The box will output HDR just fine too and it has settings in the options for various HDR<->SDR conversions. When playing an HDR video through Plex it gets stuck in HDR and you have to restart the box to return it to normal, still have to play with it more to figure out what's going on.

Another big issue is that it cannot do 4K in Youtube at all.

For people with 1080p screens and no surround set ups this things is awesome for everyone else I'd probably spend more and get a Shield if you want a properly supported Android TV box.

I've only had a few minutes with it so I'll fiddle with it tonight and see what else I can find (will try and side load Netflix).
 
DrJohnZoidberg said:
Picked mine up a bit earlier.

For R900 this thing is very impressive but has some deal breaking issues for anyone with a more high-end setup.

The quality of the packaging and device and remote are very impressive for a R900 device, I prefer using this remote to the POS remote that comes with the Nvidia Shield. It's running Android 8.0 and the interface is very smooth and haven't really noticed any issues with responsiveness. The set up experience was also very easy.

The biggest issue I have is that audio passthrough doesn't seem to work, at least over HDMI (I haven't tried SPDIF), enabling it in Plex results in garbled audio and in Kodi it seems to just ignore pass through even when enabled.

The box will output HDR just fine too and it has settings in the options for various HDR<->SDR conversions. When playing an HDR video through Plex it gets stuck in HDR and you have to restart the box to return it to normal, still have to play with it more to figure out what's going on.

Another big issue is that it cannot do 4K in Youtube at all.

For people with 1080p screens and no surround set ups this things is awesome for everyone else I'd probably spend more and get a Shield if you want a properly supported Android TV box.

I've only had a few minutes with it so I'll fiddle with it tonight and see what else I can find (will try and side load Netflix).
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback man! Great news on 8.0

Luckily only on a 1080P setup, according to Isch they have great technical support structures so maybe this is something to advise them on.
 
I just picked one up today - And it runs Netflix fine? Just me?

Scratch that, it doesn't boot, just installs
 
[quote name="sirbluepants" post=21805055]Thanks for the feedback. Just a question... the ones shipping from Takealot now, are they Oreo and no certification issues?[/QUOTE]

Correct. All units shipped are now Oreo and the Google services issue was resolved - was on Googles side which is why all Google certified devices were affected (Mygica/Xiaomi/Skyworth).

As for the comment about DStv/Showmax sponsoring them. They are simply allowing them to use their logos on their packaging and marketing material.

There is also a strong support structure in place for those worried about that.

https://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?p=21805163
 
Also refresh rate switching doesn't work either, you can set the display mode manually but that would be a bit of a drag every time and browsing the interface doesn't feel nice at 24p.
 
DrJohnZoidberg said:
The Shield does, and I guess a bunch of other Android boxes. Plex and Kodi have a setting to enable this but doesn't help if it doesn't work on the underlying device.
Click to expand...
No. Very few android boxes can. Even Shield cannot properly.

Im looking for box that can. Will pay for this as juddering is very annoying to me.
 
DrJohnZoidberg said:
The Shield works like it should in my setup. What TV do you have?
Click to expand...
Old samsung plasma which can do 24, 50 and 60 hz. Need a box that can output in either of these according to source.

Apparently the latest high end tvs can detect if e.g 25p is being played at 60p and resample accordingly. Mine not.

I just need the box to output at the source framerate. Boxes like Lit etc output all at 60hz , so 24p and 25p has judder.
 
Got mine yesterday.
Good build quality. No venting holes.....? Where does the heat go....? Dstv plays excellent quality.
They definitely had a hand in this box. Comes preloaded with dstvnow, showmax and a app where you can buy or rent movies....
Didn't dstv have that....
Where does that money go? And there is some new releases on there.......
Don't know about sideloading. ...
But you can't turn on unknown sources......
 
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