hi susa,

thanks to your posts, i spent the last couple of hours reading and discovering what this android tv, xbmc, etc. is all about.

very interesting, looks like a whole new world to explore!

i have been using a full media player and astro for some years now. just checking if it is time to dump astro and go android tv.

i have 10mb speed, wifi, can do direct lan cable to a new device.

can i check with you:

1.. i installed xbmc on pc windows form here:
http://xbmc.org/download/
is this different from the xbmc remote u mentioned?

2.. my pc is on wifi. tried a few video stations - some like foodnetwork got file errors, 1 station hanged, others like youtube and al jazeera ok but resolution is poor. one 720p aac site video ok. are more of the available stations of this quality? or if i use an android tv, can get a lot more hd ones? would audio be at best aac or ac3/dts possible?

3.. android tv - himedia models: for 10mb lan connection, which model is best? dun want 3d but would like highest grade video and decent audio.

4.. i forsee getting a model that's great for hollywood/chinese tv series, cartoons/animation for kids, youtube, i.e. forget astro. hd movies, etc. i am happy with my pc and media player method.

5. xbmc looks fine. is netflix and others similar, good for android tv like himedia? where does apple tv come in here?

thank you for your comments in advance.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Nov 11 2013, 11:39 AM

thanks!

been playing around a bit more, got navi-x n a tried a few more things.
first impression, very exciting, a brand new world to explore!
will play with it a few days, if satisfied, wil go buy a q10 n plug into TV.

others interested, suggest follow susa steps.
very impt n useful to watch in full the two utube xbmc helper videos on installation of navi-x n fusion.


susa, can u explain a bit more on how to get those chinese channels u posted with xbmc? something to do with navi-x, apply some "plug in".....?

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Nov 11 2013, 04:08 PM

thanks for the tip, impt. was wondering why chinese the titles dun come up!
somehow i was able to load a repositry and get the addons, can't remember how!

so far, maybe i am used to hd, i find the video not good enough - when it shows sd or 720p.
perhpas i am missing something... any tip to deal with this? will it be better with android tv and not pc?


i am not a noob to av-it but yes, xbmc can be confusing...!
is cloudtv and netflix and other easier or the same?


susa's steps are good, just you follow step by step. since i found his posts very useful, u can this summary below. one thing... i dont know what min speed is reqd but think if <5mb, can't stream properly. 1-2mb, probably nothing...?

for testing xbmc on pc before you buy android tv box for tv:

1.. dwnld the right version for yr pc
http://xbmc.org/download/

2.. watch these videos, 2nd 3rd ones very impt for installation of "search engines" and addons. for testing, i think fusion and then navi-x will do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oJ5aRCa1s0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQy2Zu4kqZA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98eM23VdgoE&app=desktop

3. if happy with the xbmc test on pc, decide which box u wan to get for yr tv:
https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=2593565&hl=

have fun!

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Nov 12 2013, 02:27 PM

tq 4 comments, surely make sense.

how much for netflix a month? single package or choices?
cloudtv cost usd5, is it?

these 2, you buy online and pay by crdeit card every month? any other fee?
unifi 10mb speed ok for netflix and cloudtv hd material?
how's the audio... dts, ac3, aac, mpeg2...?

thanks for help!

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Nov 12 2013, 03:33 PM

tq for comments, appreciate it.

given wat u described, probably no point getting an expensive android box, an average one will do. will check the shop and demo soon.

just thought it'll be good to have streaming for latest tv shows incl chinese/hk, some cartoons, news and sports... eventually dump astro.

yep, for blockbusters on 5.1/7.1, nothing less than br/dtshdma!

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Nov 13 2013, 12:30 AM

tq. u have been very helpful!

i tried some chinese ones. 1channel is good.
think i now got the hang of xbmc. for a free app, it's very good, can't complain. but not good enough for the more demanding enthusiasts...
will have to see demo how good netflix and cloudtv are.

the technology now is still somewhat infant, imo. but good enough for short clips, small displays.
in 5 yrs time, likely most good files can be streamed nicely!
so, dwnlding the old fahsioned way to playback on media player is superior at this time, particularly the huge files.


tq again. will check around a bit and see first.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Nov 13 2013, 11:25 AM

i was able to get 1 channel right but not icefilms and noobroom.
it keeps showing either a blank folder or "error script...".
any advice on how to fix this?

n where do i find mash up?

tq.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Nov 13 2013, 09:51 PM

ok, will try it, thanks.

r u using a himedia? if yes, maybe you can help me with these questions! tq.
https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?act=ST&f...0#entry64553928

i tried it, free trial 1 day...

.. cloudtv is very stable, much more so that the free ones incl xbmc.
.. lots of chinese stuff, possible all the tv stations of china are in there!
.. hd channels... some are quite good, i.e. 480p-720p, some are not hd as stated.
.. if u watch a lot of chinese stuff, well worth it.
.. there are some free channels but are limited, not much.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Nov 15 2013, 05:00 PM

tried it.
yes, lotsa channels.... but...
a lot of them dun work!
still, managed to find a few good ones on music videos and anime.
actually, simply too much to watch... dun need so many channels...
just a few good ones will do, think i have enough for now!

xbmc can be complicated for a new user.
essentially it is a free platform for u to install "add ons" or channels onto adroid tv boxes (or pc for testing).
not easy to explain as it takes a bit of hands-on time to get to know how to do it.
some posts made on it earlier in the thread.
best to search the posts, read google/utube to watch some videos.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Nov 16 2013, 11:19 PM

i can't tell for sure as i m not much into sports channels.

from some of the apps in xbmc and gentv mal, i hv tried and they work - espn, real madrid, nfl, etc...

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Nov 17 2013, 09:24 PM

finally got mash up working.

woo... mash up is good!


bro, can i check with u if u r using xfinity on xbmc?

i tried several times, failed. even after watching all the utube installation videos tips.

http://xfinity.xbmctalk.com

seems dead, can't get it.

just stick to fusion for now...

mash up... i checked a few of things inside and found them betetr than other addons:
live stream ->ilive
anime -> freakanime
hd movies

xfinity...

http:// xfinity.xbmctalk.com
or
http://xfinity.xbmctalk.com
? or same

i did all that, same procedure as with fusion but can't get it.
one utube video said need to remove fusion first, which i did, still can't.
so, re-installed fusion!

actually, u r right, it's no good to have too long an addon list, too many addons.
it just too cumbersome, slows down the machine.

just to share with you, i only frequent xbmc, gentv mal and youtube.
really don't need others.

glad to share, bro. i picked up many tips from yr posts, happy to share with others.

i have spent a lot of money over the years on av, it and related. from cds to bds, from crt to htc, from ps2 to ipads, from astro to androidtv!

this androidtv is telling me the future of av-comms-media storage will change very fast.

i can see much of my old collection of dvds and lower grade media files getting junked since who needs them when they are easily and cheaply accessible online anytime anywhere?!

from now on, i can check online for a few minutes the new stuff. if good and i want them on like blurays, i can get elsewhere. if not worth it, just watch online streaming and be done with it.

and bye-bye soon to cable-satellite tv for sure...

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Nov 19 2013, 02:03 PM

cloudtv...

i only watch a couple of news channels on cloudtv, free stuff.

this morning, found some nice changes.

the free channels - quite a number of new ones appeared for english and chinese languages.

in addition, many of them are now better in video quality, almost 480p which is highly watchable. smooth too.

check them out!

never noticed that! will check it.

however, i did not find much difference between software or hardware+ (the 3rd option on settings menu) as afar as smoothness of video for the channels.

not totally rubbish...

at least u can get some decent channels for free under free content.

i stick to the few consistent good channels incl channelnewsasia, bloomberg, natgeo people hd, discovery world hd. and watched a few live worldcup matches there recently too!

all that is live tv, not on-demand. for on demand, better look for something else....

http://www.tvapp.so/

for some reason, i can get only the one for pc.
the one for android is invalidated, can't click to dwnld.
maybe site down again. will check again tmrw.
that miui link... asks for login, register...?

on the pc, looks good enough, pretty stable.
a sweet compilation of channels available in other popular china apps.

thanks!

yep, that's what i found out after several tries with diff links and direct dl on android browser.

doesn't work with android boxes.

looks like it works with phones and tablets only.

which is interesting... how does it differentiate?

reminds me of hypptv evreywhere that once used to work on android boxes but no longer.

someone got clever!

i tried tvapp.so 1.1.2 and 1.1.3 on android 4.2 and 4.4.

all failed.

it would be nice if it works on the android box.
it comes out good on the pc.

anyway, like i said, many of the channels are available on other apps and/or hyptv.
but will be nice if all that is in a small compact and easy to navigate app.

for news and sports, try this on android. it's reliable, easy to use.
movies/tv shows not so good since all channels are sd.
https://mobdro.com/