actually, if describe in detail what you r really looking for, there will be a lot more comments as there are dozens of android boxes available today, various prices.

u mentioned "old movies" - do u mean english or chinese or others? old as in 1960s or 1990s? i think every box has its own in-house specialty firmwares and apps, so some may appeal to u, some not so.

other useful info might be: do u want the box to playback files? want recording? yr tv has hdmi input? want hd audio?

as time goes time, i believe android boxes will become more and more powerful and versatile, likely cheaper with more features. only issue is how local broadband speed will improve or deteriorate, how int'l traffic will become.

for that, i suggest u check out this thread:
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3201002/+100

there is no box in the market that gives everything - chinese, english, korean, old movies, new movies, tv series, livetv stations, games, sports, media playback, hd, dd/dts, dtshdma, ddtruehd, 3d, wireless, smooth, foc, etc...

there are trade offs, i.e. some boxes give you this but not that, others give you that but not this.

read, check, ask questions, set priorities and budget... then only buy.

i will not overspend on any one device but prepare to spend on a new device every 3 years as technology and laws are changing very quickly and will continue to be so.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: May 14 2014, 07:19 PM

wa.... so many!!

which one u refering to?

i dun mind getting another low cost android that purely handles xbmc 720/1080 dts/dd5.1 perfectly.

say <rm200, but not interested to spend more.

there is now a war by large cos. against "internet neutral" now, xbmc and associates may get stifled, we may get less... unless we pay!!

yes, that has been the idea. but over time, some powerful parties aren't happy with profits eroded and grey areas of piracy.

recent events foretell the future net/www might not be all free and unrestricted like now.
https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article...-roll-art-title
http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2013/...y-websites.html

good possibility of broadband tiering, isp new rules or outright ban on certain things - the killing of net neutrality.

as some were saying in the xbmc thread, there is already noticeably less and less 1080 stuff available. dd/dts5.1 stuff becoming rare. most are 720 aac2.0, probably the lowest grade hdrips.

well, until then, we enjoy what we can!

This post has been edited by AVFAN: May 16 2014, 12:37 AM

if u haven't, can read these threads - same or heavily related topic:

https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=3299652&hl=
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2970945/+80
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2855171/+540
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3139601/+600

after reading enough, try to answer these questions, some users n sellers can help better:

.. want to watch cantonese or mandarin or english? with chinese or eng or no subs?
.. want to watch foreign or local live tv channels, live sports or on demand streaming?
.. want 3d, hd audio or just 2d, core audio?
.. budget rm200, 400, 600?
.. willing to pay some monthly fee?
.. do u hv time to customize apps?

the clearer u r about them, the easier it is to find the right device. "i want it all" will lead u nowhere.

lastly, if u know of any fren or neighbor having such a box, best to go take a look, hv an idea. this thing is fairly new and is not plug n play like astro or dvd players.

good luck!

mandarin movies/tv shows with chinese subs, plenty. eng movie/tv shows with eng subs, plenty.
cantonese audio, mandarin/japanese/korean audio with eng subs rare.
popular hongkong/cantonese stuff won't get free, will need to find the right packages that offer such (may not be all legit), pay per month rm100-200 a year?
all hd will be difficult. more so if u r on only 5 or less mbps. a mix of 480/720/mp4 and sd more common.
if no 3d, no need hd audio, some lower end cheaper androids can do the job.
rm600 should get u an average/above average androidtv box.

diff brands n diff models may differ quite a bit in terms of price, in-house apps, firmware upgrades and service support.
some boxes can run this but not that and vice-versa, so u do need to know wat u r buying. and continuous help after that, at least for some time.
now, i think best u spend a bit more time reading and searching in this section and the home electronics section:
https://forum.lowyat.net/HomeElectronics&Wares/+30
think most sellers have threads, photos, specs, q&a there - can check the details.

you may also get some suggestions from other users and sellers...

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Aug 2 2014, 03:27 PM

thanks for sharing. it's good to know the various brands and models of androids in the market now.

for its price, understandable it can't do a few things.

just curious... when running frodo 12.3, what happens when trying to play an hd link? it lags and jerks or simply nothing or hang?

thanks for sharing.

there r probably complex n technical reasons why one android can be very diff from another even if they have the same chipset. will need some expert to explain...

anyway, for newbies looking to buy a new android, i can list some brands mentioned by forummers here that i have come across.

pls feel free to add or advertise!

.. vigica
.. miniand
.. mx
.. himedia
.. minix neo
.. mele
.. modeo
..
..

my experience is pretty consistent with the last two posts.
key words are "live" n "hd". that is not easily obtained consistently.
there r all kinds of sports channels in free or paid apps but one will need to check them all to see if wat u want r there.
e.g. cloudtv channels are mostly sd and disappear n reappear all the time.
navi-x in xbmc offers live sports channels from a-z, azerbaijan to uk to usa.
but they r all sd, n not very reliable.
my experience during last worldcup, i had to use several channels in cloudtv, navi-x, china cctv n astro-on-the-go to watch all of them, mostly sd or 480 which is not hd.

if u r only into live hd soccer, perhaps android tv is not the best choice, maybe links on pc might work better..?
if u r into a mix of movies, tv shows, live or on demand, chinese n english, it is definitely worthwhile getting an android tv box.

keep in mind an android box cost of a few hundred rm is only one time. there r many limitations n constraints. good news is it works pretty well, there is more than enough good stuff to watch.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Aug 9 2014, 02:14 AM

this thread plus the few links posted would have given u a good idea of what an android is. those links were started by people like you, so u shud read them all. a lot has already been discussed...

there is also a short list of brands given, so u can search for them one by one the threads discussing the individual brands, usually handled by sellers, questions n answers. can also google n read more.

once u hv in mind a couple of models, can ask specific questions here so that the actual users can comment. all androids can do usb playback and stream something. but some can handle say more complex files or can get access to certain channels while others can't. So, u need know to know what u really want. also, androids r not plug n play, can be a complicated process to get it to work the way u want.

as already said, there r vast differences, so it is impossible to say this is good n that is bad for everybody. what is impt though, is a buyer should understand fully what he or she is buying so as not to be disappointed later.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Aug 15 2014, 10:51 AM

agree. better not rush but hang to what u hv as long as it does the job.

i have 3 media players (just gave 1 away), 2 androids and 2 bd players, can't buy any new box that soon!

ok, 2 yrs later can la...

by then, we'll see if there is any "ultimate box" or the powerful people have shut down all kinds of good stuuf we now get!

i hv 3 spots to play with these toys, that's why so many players!
2 yrs is possible becos my needs are good now, unlikely to change so quickly.
moreover, need to budget for new pc n maybe 4k tv as existing may kaput anytime now.
the androids do a good job with online stuff incl xbmc and chinese content incl hd.
the bd players are reserved for bds only, limited collection, though.
the media players are dedicated to higher quality media files incl iso/bdmv; ac ryan does a better job than the himedia androids for video and audio quality for my home theaters.

i need to be convinced if the next gen of androids will be better in terms of video/audio output quality and streaming capability. some people say quad core is better than dual core, i hv yet to see that. n will explore if it's the android or router or something else the reason i can't samba iso/bmdv dtshdma via wifi well, while 1080p dts is fine.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Aug 15 2014, 09:34 PM

ya, no need to rush. be it quad core or octo core!

the thing is with so many roadblocks in country laws, copyrights, powerful biz lobbyists, sea cables, isp providers and regulators, i actually fear we may be having the best right now. progress in future technology may be completely negated by regress in new regulations - as far as a user is concerned.

i say that becos i can now get 1080p (called "super hd" in china) streams smoothly from both xbmc and china sites. i'll just be happy if they dun cut me off!

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Aug 17 2014, 06:59 PM

sellers will sell u anything.

users can suggest only if u provide:

.. wat broadband u hv
.. wat u want - movies, tv shows, live tv, news, sports, documentaries, cartoons...
.. wat u want - chinese, english, korean, japanese, malay, french... eng with chinese subs, chinese with eng subs, korean with jap subs...?
.. willing to pay a small monthly subscription?
.. got time to muck around and learn wat the device can and cannot do or need someone to set all for u?
.. want usb playback for hd video, 3d video, dtshdma audio or ok with tv audio?
** hv u read n understood all of this thread n the links given?

** "i want all of it" can't do
** "i want all astro hv" can't do
** "i just want to "click n click" like dvd player or astro decoder - can't do


This post has been edited by AVFAN: Aug 17 2014, 07:54 PM

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Aug 17 2014, 08:45 PM

i'll copy n paste next time.

i am familiar with himedia but nothing about minix.

q6ii or q5ii or q16, pretty much work the same way except memory or color of box.
i use a lot of the built in chinese apps for mandarin movies n tv series.
xbmc was not all smooth but became ok with gotham 13.1.
usb playback is ok, video, audio, subs, formats incl 3d, dtshdma good enough.
samba file sharing thru wifi is easy for android to android or pc to android.
besides q6ii, think u can explore a bit of q16 and the new q5iii quad core.

if u r not going to use mandarin features, himedia may not have anything extra to offer.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Aug 19 2014, 03:20 PM

actually, just trying to tell u that it is not plug n play like dvd player or astro.
if the seller is patient, most of what u want will be properly installed, u get answers when u ask questions.
if not, it can be nightmare to diy all by yrself as a noob.

if u hv a fren who has one of these boxes (better still if same box) and willing to assist, that will be very helpful.

xbmc is an open source code center, foc.
by itself, it is just a shell architecture, not very useful.
u need to do a bit of work to install addons and plugins to get good stuff.
at the least, u get youtube n news like cnn, al jazeera and some others.
at the most, u get hd movies, tv series and live sports.
mostly in english.

read:
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3139601