yr requirements are not box/brand/model specific. many boxes can do that.

some sellers can install and package what u want but they r mthly/yrly fee payable, not free, ya? can either search in home elect/wares section or maybe some seller will contact you.

also, take note "past n current" can be tricky. paid iptv can give u streams as they are aired, i.e. u get what and when they r transmitted. if u mean on demand, i wud think it will be limited. more limited for hk canto stuff as they r not worldwide popular, unlike mandarin stuff watched all over china, hk, taiwan and se asia.

yr condo has unifi or streamyx 4/8mb?

really, if u want tv1-9 plus other local channels incl parliament, capital tv, u can get all of them in reasonable good quality, very stable and foc with hypptv stb. the box comes with unifi or streamyx.

other channels/packs, may be foc or payable depending on what broadband category u sign up.
https://www.tm.com.my/hypptv/pages/About.aspx

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Sep 10 2014, 03:53 PM

update... pls add more!

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Sep 11 2014, 04:34 PM

hope some user(s) of this model can comment for u.

in general, i suggest u not look at specs only.
while specs are impt, firmware upgrades and service support shud not be ignored.
without constant support, hard to deal with issues like inhouse/external app upgrades, restrictions by certain parties, warranty issues...

potential buyers of androids and similar primarily accessing china sites be warned:

.. unifi residential is having trouble since 12 sep 2014 - can't access or very slow
.. no info when it will be restored
.. all related china sites incl cloudtv dead or dead slow
.. xbmc not affected
.. others like unifi biz, streamyx, maxis fiber, time fiber, vpn's no problem, it seems
.. not the first time, it happened in june 2013

https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3225769/+1360
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3348602

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Sep 17 2014, 10:46 AM

i would think aotg works on most if not all newer androids and tablets. they r indeed stable.
hypptv everywhere works the same as aotg, also very smooth.
however, the video quality is surely no as good as via the decoders.
after worldcup, i ignored aotg altogether, never use hypptv everywhere alto both r on my android and ipad.

it is obvious that without restrictions, it is not difficult to stream video and audio, incl hd as demonstrated by many apps incl xbmc.
but.... as we know it, there r vested parties wanting control - the power to restrict, the power to set rules, the power to make money.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Sep 17 2014, 06:09 PM

mele is not new and is among the more popular brands. if new model with new features, please share as much as u can - from a user's perspective. website, links to ads, video demo, etc. r useful. just don't do hard hard sell in this user thread as it is mainly meant for user comments; sellers have their own threads!

i started with zero knowledge 9 months ago. read a bit at lyn, initial help from seller, more help from a user-fren. then, tens of hours of experimenting and trying...!! not only the android, but closely related like unifi, router, hypptv, media players. i try to share as much as i can - more so when i see some users struggle like i did before. but only for the brands/models i know and use.

i think the main reason for some sellers not showing up after a sale is the price and profit of the machine. at rm300-400, the profit is probably rm50-60 per unit. unlikely a seller can justify spending more time and effort in aftersales, except those who believe in repeat purchases or word of mouth advertising - to whom i salute and say .

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Sep 18 2014, 10:20 AM

thanks to alexlim, azdrama need not be watched from browser!
i just tried csplayer. it is bigger than i initially thought; it is better than i expected.
bigger than cloudtv, easier to handle than xbmc.
it's leaned towards asian stuff but can find many western sites and tv channels.
video is mostly 240/360 flv or mp4, with a minority in 480/720.

not just azdrama, there r other similar asian domains - some with choice of chinese/eng subs, choice of mandarin/canto/eng audio
not all of them work, as u can expect but much easier to navigate.
i watched this 2014 movie last night, seems 720 video to me, smooth:

i think it is true that some devices, be it android or other based, are built with xbmc in mind, chipsets supported by xbmc, so should be smoother n less troublesome. xbmc is a non profit org, free for all to use, add, build, modify, whatever.

but justinlo i think is talking about his iptv package via some vpn for any android, nothing to do with xbmc.
paid iptv packages r expected to be via vpn for stability n smooth streaming, if not why pay?
the only thing besides cost is whether it will stay that way over time, how legit issues will affect performance, etc.

www has involved into such a monster that sometimes, nobody knows what is where, where it comes from, etc...!
nicko, disney, cnn, discovery, bbc, etc. - each one has a hundred or a thousand versions, peculiar to each country or langauge or resolution or paid/free.
what "xyz" iptv like cloudtv do is to somehow tap into whatever is available and workable, then package them for sale via vpn. stability or legit over time, who can guarantee? then again, given how fast tech change and the price u pay, they may be worth it for the individual - for as long as it works well.

you surely need to find the right box that can do the right things that u want. if mandarin is not wanted, a lot is eliminated. if canto stuff is wanted, i suppose there r only these options or a combination:

.. astro wahlaitoi - pay or foc with aotg
.. hypptv scm, red - ruby pack foc with unifi10
.. azdrama browser - foc
.. azdrama via xbmc - foc
.. csplayer - asian domains incl azdrama, koreandrama, japanesedrama, chinesedrama, drama.se, other vod, p2ptv - foc (?)
.. paid iptv packages - how good, how big library, how good for live and vod...

the canto-eng subs combo is in demand in malaysia and malaysia only, i think. elsewhere, mandarin/jap/kor-eng subs are far more popular.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Sep 18 2014, 02:27 PM

can be a long story....
u can read my story at the hypptv thread.
in short, ruby and platinum pack = megapack, rm50 pm.
new vip10 users get megapack or sports pack foc.
old vip10 users like me paying same price need to call, yell n scold for 2 months, then get it.

but... ruby stuff is kinda old. if ur looking for new young pretty boys n girls in canto, it's not there.
jackie chan, maggie cheung, chow yun fatt, et al are there.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Sep 18 2014, 07:18 PM

write in, they'll bury it in the drawer. u need to call, 5 times in my case. and they will taichi with all kinds of funny stories like "we called twice, nobody picked up" or "approved but...".

like i said in that thread, the norm for local biz is spend zero for loyal customers, spend more n more to get new disloyal ones. banks behave same way for credit cards and fd rates.

they have become either very clever or very stupid... becos i was trained to remember "it cost 5 times to get new customer than keep existing one".!

for androidtv, entertainment apps like xbmc and cloudtv are popular, need no intro.

i recently tried these 3 apps, work reasonably well, should work on all androids. shared by generous members, discussed elsewhere but i tot will be useful to consolidate them here under androidtv thread to share with all. try them if they interest you.

http://androidcsplayer.weebly.com/
this is a "mini asian xbmc". Simple, easy to navigate. mostly asian (particularly chinese) content, many with eng subs. azdrama and drama.se are there. english stuff not so good. has live tv channels from many countries incl uk, canada, thailand, korea.

http://www.time4popcorn.eu/
this is a nice english hd movies app. simple to use, very updated. only thing is it needs >1gb (i think) memory to stream 1080p video. <500mb will get u only 720p ones. all english, no subs. audio is either 2.0/1.0 only.

http://down.znds.com/apk/live/2014/0125/138.html
this is a good china live tv stations app. a thousand channels, some in hd, many smooth and stable. incl some user made sets. china mainland ones r good, taiwan/hongkong/macau ones limited. english ones are far and few between, not so good.

before they disappear like they always do, enjoy!

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Sep 23 2014, 11:10 AM

most androidtv boxes are from china. usd100 for the specs u mentioned is very good.
my experience is not all boxes are created the same given the same tech specs.
a lot has to do with hardware reliability, firmwares, inhouse apps and on-going service support.
if u post more details about this box like brand, model no., link, people might be able to comment further.


i will not say a box can "replace astro"... astro is astro with some inhouse programs that u cant find elsewhere.
"an alternative to astro" is a more accurate description, imo.

i dunno if tronsmart is famous or not, have not come across a thread for it.

cs has been mentioned a couple of times in this thread, but nobody commented so far, i think.

anyway, updated list of brands:

.. vigica
.. miniand
.. mx
.. himedia
.. minix
.. mele
.. modeo
.. xiaomi mibox
.. techgear
.. CS918/928
.. tronsmart

ah... welcome to the club!

i had so much fun with acryan for 3yrs, thoroughly enjoyed it for media playback. but i did not like it when they stopped paying license for youtube. i was thinking of a way to stream youtube when I read about android tv boxes. after getting one, I realized the power of it, the need to dwnld became much less, just stream, watch n forget the casual ones.

XBMC is the biggie, have fun.

if u r used to Realtek like acryan, u will find realtek video softer but smoother, good for the eyes. U may find androids deliver harder but more colorful video. audio, I like acryan a little more, cleaner sound, than my Himedia android for dts n dtshdma.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Oct 2 2014, 05:02 PM

I read minix is a good one, very good for XBMC. but I think it does not pass thru hd audio, will downgrade dtshdma to core dts only. If so, not so good if u hv a good ht system.

China clampdown is on non legit ipTV or those abusing radio license. u can still get some "more legit" ones. I do not see more sites being taken down, so that may be it for now.

I mean my android playback video is hard in that it is sharper, so sharp that my eyes dun like it in the beginning. After awhile n adjusting the TV, it's fine. It also depends on what files u play mostly. I am referring to 1080p n bdmv files. Low grade files will not matter much, little difference.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Oct 2 2014, 06:03 PM

i dun hv minix... but actual users incl voncrane will be able to help u out.


audio delay... u mean video n audio do not sync during media playback? i hv not experienced this on both my old acryans and newer himedias.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Oct 2 2014, 09:42 PM