The Droid TV thread

HorusZA said:
Hi Everyone,

Crossposting this from the mbox forum as this place seems to have more traffic... hope that's not a problem.

I've got a DroidTV MXIII (2GB) on order. While I'm waiting for the stock to arrive I have a few questions I'm hoping someone can answer:

1.) What speed in the wi-fi running at? The info on the S802 chipset indicates it only has a 100Mps NIC. Does that mean the wi-fi has similar limitations? I'm assuming it's at least 802.11n... hoping for 802.11ac :-)

2.) My planned setup is as follows: DroidTV gets content from NAS (via wi-fi using NFS or SMB) which is sent (preferably at the video's original resolution) to an Onkyo 608 Receiver which will do the upscaling (it rather good at that) before putting it on my TV.
Will this work as intended?

3.) Will my user experience be superior to using a traditional media player (WD TV, Mede8er, etc.)?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Answered on mbox :)
 
@HorusZA: Here are some pics of the inside of the MXIII 2GB version. AFAIK it is still using the AP6330 WiFi module. I know that the Realtek RTL8188 module on mine has been replaced. The AP6330 is capable of a top speed of ~70Mbps but you may not be able to reach this maximum depending on the distance from your router and other interference etc. I believe it does support dual band WiFi as well as Bluetooth. The ethernet hardware on the MXIII is limited to 100Mbps.
http://www.freaktab.com/showthread....FOR-MXIII-AMLOGIC-S802-QUAD-CORE-TV-BOX/page2
http://www.freaktab.com/showthread.php?18806-Measy-B4S-Wifi-Speeds-AP6330&p=247077


If you are unhappy with the WiFi performance for streaming HD content you could use two powerline ethernet modules to increase the speed and stability which will avoid having to run a network cable between the MXIII and your router.
http://www.avsupply.co.za/product_info.php/200m-powerline-ethernet-bridge-p-92

You should get better networking performance from this machine than a WD or a Mede8er as the processor is probably around 10 times faster. The major benefits over one of the older generation of media players are the streaming capabilities and the full web browser and android software compatibility. I am currently using mine to watch Netflix, free Hulu for android, Hulu Plus, YouTube, VEVO etc. I also regularly stream HD content via the web browser from www.shush.se and www.usdrama.net. I also watch several of the IPTV streams (BBC 1,2,3,4 ITV 1,2,3,4 Channel 4,5 etc.) using the FTV add-on in XBMC. There is so much streaming content available that you will not have sufficient time to watch a fraction of it. The machine comes preloaded with the 1channel, IceFilms, Navi-X, Mashup, iPlayer, vdubt25 IPTV XBMC add-ons etc. so you will always have something to watch.

In addition to the media features I am also investigating connecting a few IP security cameras to my network and using the MXIII as a DVR to record the streams when I am not at home. This software appears to work quite well with my cameras.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alexvas.dvr.pro&hl=en

I am not sure about using the Onkyo 608 to upscale the video. I assume it should be possible if it has an HDMI connection. The picture quality of the S802 looks very good to me although I am no expert! This also seems to be the general view of these two YouTube reviews.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg1WScgdRLQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtGrudXE03I
 
I can add the following:

Wifi is pretty decent and its dual band last time I checked.Wired over wireless is always better for streaming those 25 Gig Bluray rips for the "hobbyist" :whistle: Quality wise the S802 chipset blows any other out of the water with video quality. There are no frame drops that I can see. I am referring to to RK chipsets and Allwinner chipsets in Android land thats also making an appearance on the scene.

PS: I'm keeping my posts short tonite as I have internet trouble :wtf:
 
JvanD said:
I can add the following:

Wifi is pretty decent and its dual band last time I checked.Wired over wireless is always better for streaming those 25 Gig Bluray rips for the "hobbyist" :whistle: Quality wise the S802 chipset blows any other out of the water with video quality. There are no frame drops that I can see. I am referring to to RK chipsets and Allwinner chipsets in Android land thats also making an appearance on the scene.

PS: I'm keeping my posts short tonite as I have internet trouble :wtf:
Click to expand...
The All Winner chipsets are not so bad, just like Huawei using the HiSilicon Kirin chipsets. Depending on the device, most chipsets should be okay. The Nvidia Tegra chips seemed to have come and go, but now Nvidia look like going at it again.

Wonder how nicely the Tegra chipsst would fare in a Droid box
 
Amlogic blows Rockchip and Allwinner out of the water saturation wise. I got a 55 inch tv ... trust me i can see the difference on 1080P HD. Tegra has limited support on XBMC. Only Tegra 3 now has support but it would be interesting.
 
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J baby lol, not saying All Winner is great. It's a chipset that will do okay in a handset or tablet for the requirements that's needed. Where do you think All Winner in 55 inch would do well. Probably end in more tears than me crying for a Droid box ;)
 
@Icemanbrfc I dont trust Allwinner they usually end up abandoning their products are dependant on ROM developers to fill the gap.
I hate that about China, and the industry as a whole. No after sales support, they put the "con" in consumer :mad:

Glad I got my MXIII man - we can count on @AVSupply to assist us and like minded individuals on this forum :)
 
Why must you be so JV? Lol I know you love your mx3, but be considerate to the Droidless peeps lol. We are sensitive you know . :D
 
Yeh, Jaque did say I can collect and have cake and tea with him. Although his cakes I think are of a different kind to what I'm use to lol
 
Why Is Jaque not replying? Who said he can rest? Lol btw JVan your internet sucks, you should be like me, get a 1GB MTN bundle. ;) lol
 
Yup ill go far with that 1 gb ... lol. Peace out bro. Its Hulu time
 
Yotch said:
@HorusZA: Lots of useful info snipped
Click to expand...

Many thanks for the comprehensive response :)

Regarding upscaling: One reason why I rage-quit on the normal media players is that their picture quality is generally shockingly bad, especially with non-1080 content. I have a few SD TV shows, and they're almost unwatchable. The culprit is the lazy upscaling algorithms used which just seems to multiply pixels. The result is a jaggy/blocky mess that looks like 1990's MPEG2 M-NET on a big-screen TV.
My AV receiver has a hardware based upscaler (Faroudja DCDi Cinema) which is really good at what it does. The problem is that with both the WD TV, Mede8er and others, they output the video already "scaled" to 1080p so there's nothing more the receiver can do.

Anyways, I'll report back with my experience once the box arrives :)
 
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