Hi, does the hicontrol app works as advertised, any issues/bugs with it? I watched a youtube video of it and it seems like an easy way to control tv box. Can you for example use it to launch a video in browser then you press home button/turn off your phone screen while the video keeps playing on your tv? Do you still need airmouse with this app? Does it affect battery life on your phone badly?

Works as advertised. I launch music apps, then lock screen. No problem with phone battery. Air mouse replaces remote...up to individual. Must connect to same ip/subnet.

Any other brand have something like this?  can't find one yet

Is the h8 lite enough for just streaming video? Any other options below q5?  Should be OK if you don't overload memory/storage.

Edit: Hmm seems like they are not advertising hicontrol for h8 lite, it doesn't work on this model? Also it says the remote is "Remote with mouse function for use by all Android apps" meaning air mouse?  Ask vendor.

if u r into the highest video and audio quality playback, u will be pleased with Q10pro performance.

i hv been playing with it in the last week on my 5.1.

with 4k AVR and 4k TV; no HDR, no atmos, no dtsx.

all the files i have played are good, haven't noticed any problem.

the most challenging file i tried so far is a 66gb uhd4k hevc265 10bit dtshdma one.

all good - great video clarity, brilliant colors, excellent audio.

Size isn't everything (not me, she said)... Bitrate is... How high can it go? 

bit rate... dunno.

i just know this 66gb file is BETTER than the corresponding 45gb BDMV.

the good news is whatever i hv in my possession is taken care off.

u may want to check this thread:
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/4180770/+20#bottom

the guys are talking 9.1, 4k projectors, etc.... probably >100gb files.

i'm not in that league.

not sure, but i think genuine uhd4k bluray discs come in 50, 66 and 100gb capacity.

bit rate... dunno.

i just know this 66gb file is BETTER than the corresponding 45gb BDMV.

the good news is whatever i hv in my possession is taken care off.

u may want to check this thread:
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/4180770/+20#bottom

the guys are talking 9.1, 4k projectors, etc.... probably >100gb files.

i'm not in that league.

not sure, but i think genuine uhd4k bluray discs come in 50, 66 and 100gb capacity.

I have seen people playing 4K file over 116 Gb without any issue. But rather slow in jumping one to the other time frame while doing fast forward/backward play.

Should be a notch lower than Shield but still a premium box

Will the Q10 Pro able to play video files, via LAN, off a HDD in a Win10 desktop?

Size isn't everything (not me, she said)... Bitrate is... How high can it go? 

Will the Q10 Pro able to play video files, via LAN, off a HDD in a Win10 desktop?

Q10 Pro can play up to 400 Mbps Jellyfish video. 

the box has high specs for such functions.

but the rest of the chain must be in order.

depends on the wired/wifi, your router and file.

if basic router, wifi, simple samba/windows file sharing can stream files around 10gb w/o problem.

bigger complex files will require other setups.

Q10 Pro can play up to 400 Mbps Jellyfish video. 

Wired cat6e, 8Gb file in shared folder in Windows 10.

*Update: Just saw another firmware update available at HiMedia webpage. Hopefully the dev teams solved the issue. Will report back once I get it updated again.

for comments, u need to post more info - h8 plus... what firmware version u r on, what version is this new one?

I acquired a Himedia Q10pro!

Q16 and Q5ii still in good use.

This Q10pro works with 4K AVR and 4K TV.

My first findings with Q10pro, 2/16gb, android 7, firmware 2.0.1.

GENERAL
.. solid box, stays cool unlike q16 which gets quite hot if w/o mini fan.
.. new launcher is simple and functional, good.
.. connectivity, wifi, just the same as q16, q5ii.
.. HDD slot is simple - I put a 7 yr old old unit in there, works good.
.. playback with native media center or file manager as usual, as promised - 2160p 60fps, HD audio, hevc265, 10bit, BDMV - all good. Yet to test DD Atmos, DTSX.
.. "china" apps, "wind-goat7-goat10" apps work fine; AOTG does not work - just like Q16.
.. mele f10 airmouse works fine.
.. one thing i don't like - the usb ports are on the left side of the box and not on the usual right. this is not good for righthanded users.

Himedia Q10pro->Denon 4K AVR 5.1->Sharp UHD4k TV setup
.. video display set to auto does not seem to detect 2160p files after it has played 1080p/50hz or 1080i/60hz (most apps), not sure if this is due to my AVR or TV. i always set to 2160p 60hz for local usb playback, best results.
.. the best video setting with deepest colors for my eyes is YCbCR 4:2:0 10 bit; find it under box settings, advanced options.
.. the most challenging file i tried so far is a 66gb uhd4k hevc265 10bit dtshdma one - excellent results.

KODI 17.0
.. I installed kodi 17.0 krypton official in there, used org.xbmc.kodi from q16, then installed relevant krypton repos. works good. By the way, Kodi 17 is very nice looking!
.. 4k, hevc265, 10 bit streams from Quasar, OK.
.. wrapper app - this can be confusing due to poor choice of words displayed. "set to kodi" means wrapper is not in use, kodi player used. this setting will only give 2.0 and not dd/dts/5.1 audio from some addons which is incorrect - supposedly a Kodi 17 (not with kodi 16.1) issue with some androids. We hope himedia will come up with a fix for this kodi 17 dd/dts/hd audio stream issues.
.. wrapper app - "set to wrapper player" is meant to "wrap" a kodi stream to play via native player and not kodi player but is not working well. with that setting. usb playback via kodi is fine, audio passthrough incl hd audio works (but this should not be the choice for local usb playback as the native player via media center or file manager is far superior). however, this "wrapper player" setting does not work with kodi online streams; when attempting to play, wrapper stops, need to exit kodi and set the wrapper to "set to kodi".
.. if u find video judders, go to player settings, video to disable mediacodec (surface) acceleration.

Perhaps because I already know quite a bit about himedia Q series boxes, I expected nothing less. It will be a shock for me if I encounter funny problems!

One thing I am aware is that the pleasant experience with the box right from the start is not something to be taken for granted.

Q16 users looking for an upgrade, take note - Q10pro can do the following that Q16 cannot:
.. Android 5, 6 or 7
.. HDR, DTSX (according to specs)
.. Kodi 17 (requires android 5 and above)
.. stream kodi 4k, hevc265, 10 bit videos

Q10pro is a “serious” android box. Certainly a great choice for those looking to great playback of UHD4K and HD AUDIO files besides all the usuals.

FYI. iPerf3 result shows that Q10 Pro Wi-Fi AC performance indeed improved in Android 2.0.1 firmware although still not yet reach 200 Mbps but more than double based on previous result. Android 5 1.0.9 firmware should get same improvement too I believe. 

u r tempting me to change my router!