Which media player?

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Micdew

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Right guys here is the story.

I havent used these devices before but since im getting older and cant play much sport im gona start watching more of it. For now i have a hard drive with years worth of crap i need to catch up with but dvd player doesnt pick up all the formats.

Im looking for a device which will be able to play all my stuff and which would allow me start learning how the wonders of streaming works at the same time.

Was told a android box is the way to go. The two brands i have seen is mygica and minix. Which one is better brand to go for or do you have a better option to go for?

Ps. Not really in the mood to spend more than r1500
 
I bought a secondhand Apple TV 1 for R200. I loaded Openelec and Kodi on it and it is working 100%. Only problem is that it cannot play 1080p movies, else it is great! The graphics can be upgraded for another R200 or so then it can!
 
What TV do you have?

Packed the droidTV away and currently using Samsung Smart TV with external usb hard drive connected , also have plex server installed on a macbook so have the option of using Plex samsung app on smartTV, also works well.

Regarding streaming netflix and hulu, samsung smart TV apps function well so far on my system, I used to use the macbook and connect via hdmi but that was a pain, currently Hulu is playing very well and using TV remote to control everything is a plus.
 
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I am also interested. I have used the Mygica ATV510b for two years now, flashed it a couple of times to stay up to date with the lastest Kodi versions.
Last night it somehow fried, not even a light goes on..
I originally bought it for R499, was totally worth it, but it seems the ball park prices for a box is now between R1000 and R1500..
 
Raspberry Pi2 + OSMC or TVAddons which run Kodi

case2-500x334.jpeg

openelec-vs-osmc-ft.jpg


buy online at RS Components for about R500 for the board, or at PiFactory for about the same price.

Case is about R100, then an 8gb or 16gb micro sd and a charger (USB), altogether should be well within the R1200 range.

Edit: I see the PiFactory has a full media kit (everything included) For R1235.00.
 
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/subscribed

How is 1080p output quality on the new android players nowadays? I wasnt impressed with dualcore mygica120 at all
Chromecast also looks a bit dodgy. Can one expect the same quality from android boxes or other players as if HTPC with discreet graphics card is used to connect via VGA or HDMI?
 
I'd punt the X7 or X8 Minix devices - I have both and other than Netflix issues (stuttering, for the most part caused by the Netflix Android app than anything) it is the way to go. I even game on it via Kinoni's KinoConsole app, streaming games from my Laptop. The X8 can output 4K but given that there aren't that many telly's around accepting 4K, and given the nice X7 price point, I'd rather go for the X7.
 
SirFooK'nG said:
Raspberry Pi2 + OSMC or TVAddons which run Kodi

View attachment 265384

View attachment 265396


buy online at RS Components for about R500 for the board, or at PiFactory for about the same price.

Case is about R100, then an 8gb or 16gb micro sd and a charger (USB), altogether should be well within the R1200 range.

Edit: I see the PiFactory has a full media kit (everything included) For R1235.00.
Click to expand...

This.

The raspberry pi 2 is small - uses hardly any power - and handles Kodi perfectly.
 
The Pi2 plays 1080p nicely, but that is its max, no 4K. And the full kit is ready to go from PiFactory... Not to mention the many "free" streaming sources for just about anything :D

A nice comparison of various Kodi capable media players for 3D playback...

qNEPskh.jpg


but if you want 4k then HiMedia has nice player.. supports H.265
 
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DJ Yoda said:
/subscribed

How is 1080p output quality on the new android players nowadays? I wasnt impressed with dualcore mygica120 at all
Chromecast also looks a bit dodgy. Can one expect the same quality from android boxes or other players as if HTPC with discreet graphics card is used to connect via VGA or HDMI?
Click to expand...

I have both a chromecast as well as a wd tv player, for general tv series use the chromecast and plex. For movies with full 5.1 surround sound use the wd tv player.

Video quality seems the same with both ,1080p. Prefer the chromecast navigation. But couldn't get the chromecast to play the 5.1 surround sound with the plex. My amp is set to automatically detect the sound which it does with the wd tv player.

Also easier to fast fwd a 1080p file with the wd then the chromecast since my chromecast is over wifi and the wd ethernet.
 
Mr Feesh said:
I have both a chromecast as well as a wd tv player, for general tv series use the chromecast and plex. For movies with full 5.1 surround sound use the wd tv player.

Video quality seems the same with both ,1080p. Prefer the chromecast navigation. But couldn't get the chromecast to play the 5.1 surround sound with the plex. My amp is set to automatically detect the sound which it does with the wd tv player.

Also easier to fast fwd a 1080p file with the wd then the chromecast since my chromecast is over wifi and the wd ethernet.
Click to expand...

The WD TV is nicely built but the software is sluggish in my opinion, navigating menus is terrible.
Droid TV I have is nice , took a while to boot when I was on Android 4.2 - never tried streaming using netflix or hulu only used Kodi and it worked well I guess but the device must be left ON 24/7 and mine got hot.
Installed Ember on the DroidTV and that worked very well BUT no streaming options that are reliable.

Been using Samsung Smart TV apps Hulu and Plex and that works very well, plus side is TV is doing more work, Plex Server on my macbook which is connected most of the time anyway if I want to watch a 1080p movie, load plex app on TV switch amp to TV and I'm off in under 1min.
1TB (for when macbook running plex isn't connected) in enclosure connected to TV via USB, also works well and I or wife can load up a show in under 1min, here I mostly have my kids TV/Movies on it.
 
At home, I use a Roku 3, with a Plex server running on my PC. The Roku is good at streaming, but not so much for local content. Plex does solve this very nicely though.

When I travel, I take the WD HD Live with an external hdd. The WD will play anything you throw at it. Yes, the interface is sluggish, but nothing beats the simplicity and amount of codec support that is provided by the WD HD Live.
 
Hemps said:
The WD TV is nicely built but the software is sluggish in my opinion, navigating menus is terrible.
Droid TV I have is nice , took a while to boot when I was on Android 4.2 - never tried streaming using netflix or hulu only used Kodi and it worked well I guess but the device must be left ON 24/7 and mine got hot.
Installed Ember on the DroidTV and that worked very well BUT no streaming options that are reliable.

Been using Samsung Smart TV apps Hulu and Plex and that works very well, plus side is TV is doing more work, Plex Server on my macbook which is connected most of the time anyway if I want to watch a 1080p movie, load plex app on TV switch amp to TV and I'm off in under 1min.
1TB (for when macbook running plex isn't connected) in enclosure connected to TV via USB, also works well and I or wife can load up a show in under 1min, here I mostly have my kids TV/Movies on it.
Click to expand...

I agree the software is not as quick as it could be, tho its not really a deal breaker in my opinion, plex sorts most of my stuff so its usually just a matter of going to the recently added folder.

Had no problem with chromecast streaming, but ya the 5.1 surround sound was the reason i go for the WD.
 
lol, i was raving about my setup and Smart TV, last night pour myself a drink and start smart hub to watch my Hulu shows only to be told some error connecting , restarted router and TV and still same error.

Google the error and apparently it was to do with samsung hub servers being down.
 
I've used a ps3, Droid mx3, roku 3, mygica atv582 (Takealot), Amazon fire TV stick, Windows laptop as a media player and have a Samsung smart TV. My opinion, the roku 3 was the most user friendly but you have to decide whether you want the US apps (Netflix, Hulu) or UK apps (Netflix, BBC iplayer) and it doesn't have dstv now/browser/kodi; the mygica atv582 android box is the most versatile and has been pretty reliable however you do need to purchase an air remote to enjoy the experience and Netflix is limited to 480p, the Samsung smart TV is really good but you need to choose between us and UK apps and has not dstv now or Kodi and can sometimes be a bit clunky.
 
SL1v3R said:
I've used a ps3, Droid mx3, roku 3, mygica atv582 (Takealot), Amazon fire TV stick, Windows laptop as a media player and have a Samsung smart TV. My opinion, the roku 3 was the most user friendly but you have to decide whether you want the US apps (Netflix, Hulu) or UK apps (Netflix, BBC iplayer) and it doesn't have dstv now/browser/kodi; the mygica atv582 android box is the most versatile and has been pretty reliable however you do need to purchase an air remote to enjoy the experience and Netflix is limited to 480p, the Samsung smart TV is really good but you need to choose between us and UK apps and has not dstv now or Kodi and can sometimes be a bit clunky.
Click to expand...

thoughts on a roku vs wd tv player, a) interface, b) can roku handle ex fat flash sticks?
 
Have a MyGica (android) in my bedroom - running EmbER / Kodi and a load of add-ons. On the TV's other HDMI sits the Chromecast.
Have an old EEE-PC in the lounge, running Xubuntu with Kodi on it, less add-ons.

Both Kodi installs can access my Movie Server (which is a Windows7 machine with Plex on top - it shares content to the LAN).
On my production PC I'm running a PlayON media server, with access to my complete video library - but only myGica can access that.

Still need to find a working solution for Hulu and Netflix to play on the Kodi's (for some reason it just does not work, even tho I'm using unoTelly DNS on the routers - cant find a working BlueCop Add-on). But then again, only been playing with this for the last two weeks...
 
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