At that price range, perhaps post a couple of boxes you are already interested in.. Easier to give recommendations.. Most boxes can handle items 1, 3 and 4. Watching Asxxx really depends on source, find the source, then yes. A decent quad core equipped box should be okay. Finally, there's a difference between 1GB & 2GB RAM, cuz most apps like KODI prefer caching to RAM storage which allows for a smoother playback. With 2GB RAM, one has more workspace for apps to run & can increase buffering cache size. Ultimately, decent hardware with poor software & support will result in poorer performance.

My neighbour bought the M8S, I've tested them, run smoothly, didn't hear any complaint from him since buying a week ago

Yup the X8-H Plus is out of budget.. IMO, between the M8S+ & the Xiaomi box, better go with the Xiaomi brand cuz there's better support for it despite packing only 1GB RAM & 4GB eMMC ROM. The M8S+ specs-wise is sufficient as long as after sales support isn't at the top of your list. Also I think the the M8S+ has an 8GB NAND storage.. eMMC > NAND.

True.... Optimum recommendation is at least a Quad-core CPU, 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM, if within your budget. Actually should, cuz its probably a difference of about RM200 (+/- some RM depending on box). Highly recommended to stretch one's budget to avoid future headaches. Some people don't mind having lesser specs. Up to your requirements + technical know-how.

it is true that if too new, it won't support certain things. kodi, should not be a problem.
the problem will be astro-on-the-go, hypptv everywhere, and some local iptv.
becos they can't catchup with the newer hardware and android versions.

took a look at the specs of this U1.
quad 2gb/16gb lollipop 5.1.1; 4k uhd - good.

@voncrane - do you know why minix simply will not have hd audio pass thru?
i want to try a minix at next chance but this "no hd audio" puts me off - i have lots of hd audio stuff to play with my home theater.

True.. true... true... Specs-wise, its a solid box. For now, this is as much as I know. It supports 7.1 and 5.1 surround sound, DD+/DTS/Dolby TrueHD pass-through via HDMI.... Possibly not for DTSHD-MA and over SPDIF. The latter being unlikely, I mean its SPDIF connection.. . I'm still following the development. Its quite possible that most of these will be rectified or confirmed after a firmware update or in-depth review.
As to why the Minix folks refuse to fully support all main formats...Well, CPU & GPU drivers support (Core drivers being handled by the manufacturers) and or licensing costs I guess. Heard its quite expensive.


It handles HD audio decoding bro... No worries... Should be fine for live TV streaming... Besides, most if not all live TV streams carry just stereo 2.0 signals.

kodi is very much a western app.

a big app, can have 1-2gb of addons.

but limited asian stuff.

a couple of cctv channels can be found if u look hard enough - they are not popular in kodi.

becos tons of china channels can be found with other apps.

cctv - you can get all of them, most of them in HD.

and live china provincial and city tv stations.

and movies, tv shows.

all in mandarin.

hong kong and taiwan tv channels are less easy to get.

some of these apps are proprietory to the box manufacturer, they don't work on other boxes.

some of them work only in china as they are geoblocked, need subscription too.

i cannot reveal the details as too much publicity will get these apps being blocked very quickly.

i m sure that device will fit yr needs.

router... best to use ethernet as wifi is dependent on many factors.

ethernet or wifi, junk that old orange crap, get an ASUS.

20m... is actual distance 20m/66ft? that's far...

wifi - if u live in a house and not cluttered with visible or hidden metal, a low end asus router can handle well up to 50' on 2.4ghz. if >60 ft, u will need a higher end one.

if u live in a highrise congested with wifi users, u will probably need a more costly dual band one with 5ghz as well. but 5ghz will not work very well for >60ft.

so, u may need to do some cable job to get the best performance.

powerline adaptor... sd content maybe ok... i am skeptical for hd content.

just don't end up spending more money!

can't do.

orig router 1 yr warranty only. you buy yrself or from them after that.

same with hypptv stb.

only modem is life warranty - as long as u use unifi.

i upgraded a few months ago.

no new router, no new stb.

other than modem, u diy, pay yrself.

voncrane can advise u better on minix for specifics.

but androids being androids, i will say it is not that difficult but...

be ready to spend time to learn and play with it.

it is not like an astro decoder or dvd player.

it needs work!

if u r using an android phone, it helps as it is much the same - as far as the streaming features go.

then i have good news for you!

after playing with androidbox for a few months, it'll be a piece of cake to buy and use an android phone.

As AVFAN already suggested... Ditch the stock TM router if you can. Not mandatory, if you don't have much interference from other WiFi networks around (My router is the only one on the channel I chose) or plan on using Ethernet cabling. I used the stock router + Ethernet + 10Mbps and faced no issues. So, that's highly recommended.

As for the Minix Neo-X8-H Plus, It really depends on your current geek level and ability to learn more. Setting the box up, KODI addons, Android apk installations, etc is a breeze. The Minix devs have already included an intuitive first time start-up program, which guides you through the initial setup process... The Google Play store comes pre-installed and will auto update itself to the latest version, KODI can be downloaded from the Play Store.

For a fresh box, My recommendation is to join the official minix forum, grab the latest firmware update and manually flash the box using a PC... You can also use the OTA update app included in the box, but for that first time and for major updates, I strongly recommend you manually flash the firmware using a PC (not the USB/SD Card method), as a precaution.

Astrxxxx on the other hand, as we tell all.... Find the source, Play the source. Its that simple, nothing more. If unwilling to seek out sources, better stick to an Astro Subscription.

Powerline works for HD as well. Even my old AV200 limited by its 100 mbps lan port can play all HD / bluray files perfectly - even the very high bitrate ones.

But of course powerline tech depends on a lot of other factors as well such as how old your wiring is and whether all your power sockets are on the same electrical phase.

Now with even higher level AV1200 and gigabit ports, can easily get 300+mbps. Can easily stream 4K content (if you have any)

If you only want to stream HD/Bluray, just get the cheaper older models and test it out. Can always sell them if it doesn't work. You will lose a bit money but believe me, if it works for you, it will be just wonderful - No more wifi issues!

Like I said in my post, it may or may not work for you depending on your electrical wiring. If you don't know the history of the wiring in your house, it will be trial & error. IMO, the risk is quite low in your case as it is most probably single phase so powerline will likely work but depending on the circuitry, it may be faster or slower.

Yup.

Is there any delay to wakeup when its in sleep mode?

And also, if its powered off (I off power switch every nite when sleep) must have to press the button on the box to power on? as i tried the remote power button doesnt work either.

Btw also, i didnt quite exactly know which is the "front" of the box... the power button on the box is on the right-side now.
The wifi antenna on the left side (iinm coz i didnt plug antenna using LAN)

for light use, there is no big need, ethernet or wifi.

but, i find a better router also does good to ethernet - it is more stable, get max speed more often. better hardware surely improve things all round.

keep in mind the router is YOUR property, you will need to replace when it fails. so, if it quite old, not a bad idea to change.

i have little knowledge about nas, only that it is a storage server networked to stream to any device u wish in a lan.

i play most of my stuff via local usb/hdd.

wifi streaming used mainly for online material.

i have thought a nas for some time now, but then i felt no big need.

that day has yet to come.
samba is a generic term, windows call it file sharing.

to get samba to work, u need to allow the pc to be accessed by yr device.

once u set that, accessing from the device is just using the usual pc id and pw.

it is simple and effective for home lan use, incl bluray and 4k material.

Yes..

the samba function on the android is normally on. if not, turn it on.

then set on yr pc to allow other devices in the lan to access the drives (u can specify which drives).

when that is done, u just log in at yr android device at the right place with usual pc id/pw .

u can then see all the folders and files like u r at the pc.