we mean playing same file on various players...

can't comment on q3ii as i dun hv...

but i can say on q5ii, the volume output is not lower than ac ryan which uses realtek chipset.

when playing same file via usb in bd players, there can also be a diff - i find pioneer players deliver higher base volume than jvc.

probably not always about the chipset but also the player software, codecs, etc.

will need audio expert to explain...!

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Jul 27 2014, 04:06 PM

"library" as in hdd playback via usb on xbmc?
that, i hv yet to see any clear procedure, perhaps need to root, null warranty, complicated things...??
most people just play with native player, all good.


but if u mean xbmc streaming (not use of usb/hdd), 13.1 gotham works well - but u must disable the mediacodec acceleration (under expert settings) in system->settings->video->acceleration.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Aug 18 2014, 03:41 PM

but i dun follow...

if using native player, why the need for any xml file?
just plug in the hdd into the usb port, play using media center or file manager, both are using same native player, all files will play smoothly.
or u mean some other player?

u haven't use xbmc to stream online movies and tv shows?
xbmc's main attraction is online streaming with addons like mashup, icefilms, 1channel, etc.
xbmc thread:
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3139601

thanks for clarification.

from what i understand, the problem is due to himedia chipset not fully supported by xbmc, hence the hiccup for wat u want...?

also, unifi even at lowest 5mbps is fine for online xbmc streaming via ethernet or wifi, more so if u use a better router than unifi original.

no. justseries.tv only on browser.

no need for any special app.

the native player is very good.

just plug in hdd into usb, play it with either media center->video or file manager, both use same native player.

tip: if u turn on samba in settings, under media center->lan, u can wifi stream hd video n audio pc/android, android/android. no need to copy files on hdd and plug in usb.

dts is not difficult for this box. some model handle dtshdma just as good.

btw, what model is yours?

for unifi vip5/10 users, just to share...

i watch mangotv and hitv quite a bit besides xbmc.
i used to find many shows in mangotv lagging and couldn't get hitv hd stuff smoothly consistently even on ethernet.
recently i changed from orig dlink router to this asus rt n12hp router (rm199):
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2764213/+100

result has been excellent. ethernet and wifi both improve a lot, very pleased.
on ethernet, i can get most stuff on mangtov smoothly, incl hd stuff.
on hitv, u can select from 3 options: "clear", "high", "super" definition. i can now get them in "super hd" (=1080, i think) smoothly. can see from the yellow buffer bar it is good. nice!
on wifi, results quite close to that on ethernet.

while we discuss and agonize a lot over chipsets, firmwares, app versions, dns, proxies, nominal broadband speed, etc., don't overlook this router issue. i am convinced the orig unifi router is very poor. good news is a rm200 replacement router giving stronger and more stable signal connection will change all that to deliver much superior results.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Sep 1 2014, 12:31 PM

new routers... best to read some threads to get an idea which one suits u best, price, what other users say:
https://forum.lowyat.net/BroadbandUser-2-User
as replacement to unifi router, asus and tplink seem most popular.
which model, u need look into the details like what how many users, what devices, highrise or house, etc.
both are unifi ready, i.e. only simple steps required to configure for use.
the asus i bought, diy takes only 5 min after watching a youtube video.
if buying from shop, can ask shop people to preset as much as possible.
unifi password is required (not same as wifi pw) - u call unifi, they give to you after verification.

mangto tv or hitv, vast majority are in mandarin as they are china sites, not hongkong.
if a show is in mandarin, it is only mandarin, no dual language.
in mangotv/tv series or movies/hongkong, there is a limited selection of hongkong-canto shows. some of them are actually dubbed into mandarin too.
in hitv, canto is just as rare. if it is in canto, u see the title displayed with 粤语.
e.g. hitv/pptv/tv series/ancient costume, three kingdoms 2010 in page 15 is displayed as 三國粤语 which is a canto version.
三國 in page 26 is in mandarin. incidentally, the canto version can be viewed in hd/superhd, excellent, while the mandarin version is in sd only.

if one enjoy mandarin stuff, himedia's mangotv-hitv-livetv combo is excellent, probably the best around, can't ask for more.
if one wants canto stuff, answers include other paid iptv apps like cloudtv. or if on unifi, get the ruby pack which has several canto channels for hypptv but these are mainly live, not on-demand.
fyi, both hypptv everywhere and astro-on-the-go apks can also be installed on himedia. they work but the video quality no doubt is not as good as direct with the astro decoder or hypptv stb.

on livetv, lagging has always been an issue whether vip5 or vip10. my experience is with the right ip/dns, ethernet connection and a good router, the lagging is minimised. there are 4xx channels in livetv, i think. i only watch some of them. i find cctv channels, eastern, beijing, shenzhen, zhejiang and guangdong channels quite reliable. i don't get too much lag anymore. one trick u can try is if lagging, just exit, wait a few seconds, go back in. also, i find the time of the day n night matters. 7-10pm is usually poorer, probably peak hours, traffic congestion.


** all of the above applies to my experience with q5ii, may or may not apply to all himedia models (?).

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Sep 2 2014, 11:13 AM

for 1.0.7 eng version:
emmc model has it.
non-emmc, u need additional patch file to get playstore.

this is the eternal headache for users...

if u bought from responsible sellers, you can get correct firmware updates and patches from them.
others, may not be able to get or risk getting wrong or virus infected ones from xyz sites.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Sep 2 2014, 06:45 PM

livetv is no longer part of mangotv (imgotv).

you need separate apk for it.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Sep 2 2014, 09:25 PM

what are these apks?

what u experience is not abnormal but i believe it can be improved. unless there is something uniquely superior in q5ii compared to q6 which i don't think so, you shud be able to get better than what u described.

it is probably true that i have played with my q5ii's a bit more than other uers and managed to get a couple things to work better - which is why i keep posting my experience - so as to share with other users to enjoy the same.

i will not claim to say every app, channel, addon, plug in or link works perfectly all the time. far from it! however, if most of the stuff i watch works well most of the time, i hv more than enough. so, that makes it all worthwhile. .

i struggled a lot with q5ii on previous firmware and xbmc frodo versions. with firmware 1.0.7 and gotham 13.1, it got a lot better. then with replacement asus rt n12hp router, it improved further, much to me delight.

yes, if can make a video to highlight yr issues, maybe some of us can comment.

meanwhile, in relation to yr issues, let me describe a bit more of my experience with some apps, see if it helps:

my stuff:
.. unifi vip10
.. orig unifi (alcatel-lucent) modem, asus rt n12hp router
.. q5ii emmc (ethernet) and non-emmc (wifi)
.. ip - static
.. dns - open (one of the dozens listed on websites)
.. i rate wifi experience/performance 90% of ethernet

cloudtv
.. foc channels only
.. not so reliable to me (maybe paid package better)
.. other than a few "available everywhere" channels which work ok, the rest are either poor in video or don't work at all
.. soft or hard or hybrid decoder setting makes little difference
.. i stopped using this app as i now got unifi to grant me foc the megapack on hypptv which has all the channels i used to watch on cloudtv - bloomberg, channel news asia, natgeo people hd. and syfy hd, warnertv hd, a few chinese channels. hypptv/megapack is not a bad product - get it if u r on unifi vip10.

xbmc
.. gotham 13.1
.. mediacodec acceleration disabled
.. main addons - 1channel, istream, icefilms, mashup, kissanime
.. 80% of the time: mashup-> tv latest or hd movies-> newmyvideolinks-> 720 hdtv hugefiles or movreel-> usually smooth
.. 720, 1080, dd5.1 work well; sometimes still get lag - depends on the movie

hitv tv
.. pptv is #1, my fav; reasonable library, just about all of it work
.. vqq is #2; smaller library, works well
.. with new router, i can now get some shows in youku (never worked with orig unifi router)
.. with new router, pptv and vqq can view with "super" definition smoothly ("super" lags with orig unifi router)

mango/imgo tv
.. old router not so good, frequent lagging
.. new router, can get most of them, usually smooth
.. i don't watch english stuff here; watch mostly movies and tv series in mandarin
.. some shows offer choice of "clear" and "high" definition, slight difference only, best to stay in "clear" for good buffer
.. lagging and messages still occur intermittently, depends on time of day/night

livetv
.. i view only a few channels
.. shenzhen, zhejiang, guangdong usually fine
.. eastern, beijing, sometimes lag
.. performance varies during time of day/night

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Sep 3 2014, 12:03 PM

live tv as in china livetv?
vod as in paid iptv chinese, cantonese stuff?

it a free entertainment apk for any android, i suppose.

becos u replied to my post about chinese/canto stuff, i thought that's what it is...

anyway, the links do no contain any info about anything, how to trust?

won't dwnld to try... many malware/viruses around...

maybe u can describe in details what you got, name of app, site names, what shows, what's good, etc.

then other users who hv it can comment too.

for those who watch china livetv..., remember livetv was part of imgotv before? but no more now. standalone livetv now still works good but has no more hd channels.

this apk is a simple, good and fast app - china livetv with a few hd channels, plus a few taiwan live tv chanels. work very well.

enjoy... and thanks to our fellow forumer and himedia user sicheh:
http://down.znds.com/apk/live/2014/0125/138.html

what broadband r u using?
what do u find slow - xbmc, chinese apps, browser, youtube...?
is it slow too for other devices incl like pc gaming, youtube on tablets, etc?

there has been many reports of unifi problems since sep 12 due to undersea cable damage affecting usa and chine sites, mostly.
supposedly will return to normal only by oct 6.
however, it varies from area to area, it seems, some areas, some isp's unaffected at all..?

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Sep 25 2014, 01:45 AM

q5ii... i just updated from xbmc gotham 13.1 to 13.2.
http://xbmc.org/

straightforward, no problems.

seems smoother, less buffering.

just remember to do this step if not done yet:

xbmc->settings (expert level)->system->video->acceleration->disable mediacodec

yep, i know wat u mean.

solution is to power up the himedia first until u see the time display (ready), then put on the tv.

how old is yr tv? my old tv has same issue, new tv doesn't!

there are reasonable alternatives.... for now!
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2598907/+1820

i think q16 quad processor is the same (?) as q5ii, q6ii n q16 dual core.

for streaming, I doubt quad gives better video than dual. same with playback of media.
compared to Realtek players like acryan, u may find the android video is a little harder n more colorful but after a while, u get use to it, maybe like it more.

q16 quad is superior to the rest for ability to handle 4k or UHD files, handles 1080p in XBMC rather than 720p, n has a much larger flash memory to cope with newer apps that require much large buffers to work.

i m considering it but will wait a bit longer for firmware to stabilize, see if any other upgrades will happen in the next few months.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Oct 2 2014, 05:51 PM