hi, nicety.

like to know if this q16 comes with which version of xbmc... 12.2 himedia customised or regular android 12.3?

becos q5ii emmc eng 1.0.6 has 12.2, works well with 1080 but can't handle some popular addons, while using the same advanced settings from customised 12.2, 12.3 can only handle 720 aac2.0 well, can't handle 720 dd5.1 or 1080.

like to know this as this is critical.... me n some frens very interested in this, thanks!

tq for prompt response.
which means can't handle 720 dd5.1/dts5.1 or 1080 in xbmc 12.3, same as q5ii emmc.
no gud, i'll wait for a model or firmware that can handle that becos that is the winner.
thanks again for info.

i see... so himedia's xbmc 12.2 was licensed for dd/dts but not any other version...

it will do a lot of good, incl commanding price incr if it can catch up with xbmc 12.3 or coming gotham 13.0 for 1080 dd5.1 and dts 5.1.

i find that is the only thing missing in my q5ii's. the rest all good enough.

pm'ed u on the addons i meant.

i dun follow this part...

usb playback stored file via native media center with dts has nothing to do with streaming xbmc dts, no?

se,

well said!

i m not user of q16... yet, but q5ii.

it is people like you, nicety and sicheh (another q5ii) user that have shown me the big world of androidtv esp china stuff!

my experience says it is all about one's own effort to try and test, plus input from others who are willing to share and help that makes the device as productive as it should be. there is no other way as technology moves very quickly and users face the wrath of authorities, isp's and the physical well being of the internet.

one thing i find users - if things don't work well, too often and too quick, the fault falls on broadband speed, modem, router or the device. it is not obvious that the problem is often due to wrong settings, obsolete apps, wrong app versions, even bad cables!

i am more than willing to share with any himedia/android user as much as others have shared with me - in the right threads, of course.
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2598907/+1840
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1849024/+980
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3126605/+160

like to check with q16 quad 16gb users...

if u hv tried popcorn time, does 1080p movies work well?

becos smaller memory boxes can only play 720p, message says memory too small for 1080p.

thanks.

this is good!

anyone who haven't tried popcorn time, pls do. new and recent english movies and tv series, quality hd ones.

this q16 quad can play almost any format there is, incl bdmv iso with correct menu, playlist and chapterlist.
pass thru hd audio, which is impt for home theater systems.

trust me, u want good support and service from a seller like nicety more than u want a small discount!



i m a happy user of q5ii dual for a year and now a new user of q16 quad. i will say most of the features are exactly the same as q5ii/q5iii, so do check this older and more active thread for some good info n tips. just about any app on q5ii will work in q16, no problem.
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2598907/+1880

the big difference is q16 with a much larger memory can handle certain apps that require more memory, e.g. popcorn time. q16 can play 1080p files but q5ii can play only 720p. if u havent tried it, u r missing a lot. with this popcorn time, u will use xbmc much less. for same reason, q16 can take a lot more apps as some are pretty large, e.g. xbmc, astro.on.the.go, some chinese apps.

http://popcorn-time.se/

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Oct 24 2014, 10:20 AM

well... i hv no idea what is mkv 3d mvc until u asked the question!

looks like this format is a rip from 3d bd, re-encoded as mvc onto mkv to be played as 3d or 2d, can be dts or dtshdma - am i right?

if ripped and contained in mkv, then i can see it has the 2d-3d option but is not lossless like bdmv/iso/m2ts.

still, it does appear as a good option to collect rips that are 2d/3d rather than just 2d.

but mvc is not popular yet, not much of a selection unless u r planning to rip them yrself, am i right?



as nicety pointed out, q16 has specs to play this 3d mvc, so should be ok.

i will get one of these mvc and test it myself, thanks for heads up!

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Oct 26 2014, 06:14 PM

thank you for comments.

i m skeptical it is lossless for a 20gb file, iso or mkv. becos i have 30-50gb bdmv/iso/m2ts, 2d only - these are truly lossless, i know. 20gb, for 3d lossless...? i hv doubts...

i wud like to try it, but i can't get hold of any of these mvc files. checked torrents, very few of them, few/zero seeds, will take forever, so i just gave up. looks like it will take some time b4 it gets popular, if ever.

i trust the specs of q16, shud be ok but u cant be sure until u try. moreover, such formats being new and not popular yet can be tricky - all sorts of bugs and traps may exist...

sorry, like to help u but can't.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Oct 26 2014, 08:41 PM

Let me share my experience with all users/potential users of Q16 quadcore, especially for those who have used Q5ii dualcore.

My review of Q16 quadcore (vs Q5ii dualcore)

Background
Used Q5ii dual for a year, Q16 quad for a few days.
Unifi VIP10
Asus RT N12HP router, ethernet and wifi
Static IP
1-7 devices used at any one time
Double storey house

Startup/Shutdown
Startup and shutdown is just as fast if not faster than Q5ii (emmc).

Launcher
If you don’t like the original Mango launcher, you can install another launcher like Apex or Nova. If you wish to go back to Mango launcher, just press home. Then, after programming a fast key to access your preferred launcher with the new shortcut app, you can toggle between the 2 launchers.

Flash memory
A big memory is necessary to install and run more and bigger apps. Apps like XBMC and Astro-on-the-Go take up a lot of memory. For Q5ii, it is not possible to play 1080p files in Popcorn Time due to its small memory. In the case where you have little memory left after installing many apps, even 720p files won’t play, so you need to clean cache or remove 1 or 2 apps. With Q16, there is ample memory for many apps such that you need not worry about constantly cleaning cache or removing apps. In numbers, you may have a situation like 300MB available on Q5ii but 3GB on Q16 - for the same apps.

Android 4.4 KitKat/1080p kernel vs 4.2 Jellybean/720p kernel
I do not know if it is due to the android version or the kernel but I can safely say the video output from Q16 is a touch superior to Q5ii. The colors are more vivid, definitely deeper for USB playback, likely due to a new feature called “photo quality setup”. If you find the colors too deep, use menu button to access that function, play around with the options including “user defined” where you can reduce hue and saturation.

China Apps
With same settings, I find streaming from Chinese sites Pudding, VST, PPTV and IMGOTV (my ranking in that order) smoother and with improved chances of getting the highest resolution available (“blue ray” or “super”). Q5ii works well on these too but more likely can only get “standard” or “high” resolution and not “super” most of the time.

XBMC 13.2 Gotham
There is not much difference that I noticed. Except that in system/settings/video, highest resolution setting available is 1080p for Q16 while it is 720p for Q5ii.

Popcorn Time 2.3.2
This is my favourite movies/TV series app. Q5ii can’t play 1080p files due to memory limitations, can play only 720p at best. Q16 can handle nicely all that is available and working.

HD Audio
With audio pass through, BDMV/ISO/m2ts work flawlessly delivering DTSHDMA audio and enabling full menus – same as Q5ii.

Samba
Likely due to improved and bigger resourses of the Q16, the Samba function works much better than in Q5ii. As host, Q16 transmits via wifi BDMV video and DTSHDMA audio smoothly to the Q5ii but not the other way round. Q16 can receive DTSHDMA smoothly from a PC but Q5ii can’t. Q5ii can handle up to DTS only for the most part. I have not tested the Samba 3D, UPNP and NFS functions.
On Q5ii, auto search on LAN does not work. On Q16 quad, it works the way it should - auto detect your PC and other powered on devices on same LAN to seek to access file sharing. Just key in id and pw, save the shortcut when prompted and it’ll get to work.

Not-so-good
At this time, I really have not found any serious flaw or problem that deserves mention here. But I do want to comment on a related item.
Mele F10 airmouse
Not a Himedia product, the Mele F10 airmouse do me no favors. Probably a result of using normal mouse and Himedia remote control for so long, it is hard to adapt to some of the unconventional strokes with this airmouse, the major one being: on an ordinary mouse, there is left click and right click, a roller in the center to scroll up/down.; on Himedia remote control, the 4 arrows up/down/left/right surround the OK/enter button – all that is good and normal. Now, on that Mele airmouse, the center button with 4 arrows around it is not “OK/enter” but is left click! While the left click button is not left click but is “OK/enter” – i.e., the buttons are “reversed”, so you make mistakes all the time, naturally. And that is annoying. A case of poor design not following conventions and intuition found on other common control devices?
To scroll, you must get out of mouse function (pressing another button twice is a pain), to use arrows. Only one function can be used at one time – either as mouse or as remote control.
The keyboard buttons are small – too small for my fat fingers! It also seems too sensitive, need two hands to steady it esp to click a small spot.
This airmouse work with Q16 but not recommended for Q5ii. With Q5ii, the lower functions like arrows, enter and back are fine but using other functions like menu can cause the device to crash and reboot after which the wifi function is turned off - probably an unexpected shutdown security measure.
Unless you have tested and liked this airmouse, my advice: better get a wireless mouse.

My Conclusion
I say it is worth paying a bit more for Q16 quad rather than Q5ii dual (can’t say anything about Q5ii quad). I understand there is the issue of VPN not fixed yet for quads, hopefully it will be resolved soon. And hope that a later firmware version will fix some of the kinks known so far.
Lastly, a whole lotta thanks to Nicety who has continuously proven himself to be a top notch online seller as being patient, conscientious, knowledgeable, quick and helpful to us customers and users.
My comments are based on my own experience; if any user has a different experience and that is always possible given the use of different isp’s, broadband speed, routers, etc., please do not hesitate to share. It is the sharing of experience that allows us to derive maximum benefits for a product we acquire. I have benefitted from many users here and always willing to share with others anytime.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Oct 29 2014, 01:23 AM

the biggest advantages of q16 over q5ii is the larger memory to play all popcorn time and ability to stream wifi bdmv.
4k, uhd, h265... my tv can't cope! or too little stuff out there, no point.

then, it is the first disadvantage compared to q5ii. chances are astro hasn't caught up with 4.4.2, just like it took a while for tm to catch up for hypptv everywhere to work on 4.2.

i did not know becos when i was logging in fresh after installation, i had trouble with mele arimouse, got message i was locked out, need to call to unlock account. so, i thought that was the problem.

anyway, not a big loss, i can still access aotg on the q5ii!

ya, i think if broadboad speed is <5mbps, 1080p may not work well.
with unifi10, i hv good results with 1080p. just watched a 2hr movie 1080p, smooth all the way.
a tip i can suggest is if the movie hangs or lag, exit the movie, go back in - cache is still there but will start to play from beginning.
a drawback of popcorn is it does not resume if u exit and go back in for same movie, will start all over.
the other thing is it is hard to fast forward by using the mouse - it usually hangs or takes a very long time to get there.

vpn on or off - i m not sure becos i tested it many times, seems about the same to me. on or off, for videos with good seeds and peers, i get 500-1000kbps - max available. perhaps it kicks in only when broadband speed is not fast enough? anyway, no harm, i set it to on!

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Oct 31 2014, 01:38 AM

i hv encountered this.

as most are dtshdma, less ddtruehd files, i hv not seen played too many. but... i hv one that plays fine, another does not - need to select dd5.1.

don't really know why but i can only suspect something amiss in the ripping process. note there are ddtruehd files that are re-encoded as dtshdma - these will play fine.

apparently this happens to some other players too.

yes, it is true some of them are single audio, i.e. left or right channel only.

these videos are probably the smallest size compressed mp4 files meant to cater to low speed, low memory devices like handphones and small tablets - single audio will do. even for androids 4gb like q5ii dual core, with many apps installed n little memory left, can't get some 720p to play!

after movie selection, the proposed video is always the one with most no. of seeds and peers (that's how p2p torrent work). click on the file info line, see what else is there; there can be up to 5 files to choose from for same movie. how the nos. work:

case 1. "720p 800mb 2 hrs" video=>111KBps average. 111KBps=>888kbps, so even 1mbps speed will work, theoretically.
case 2. "1080p" 4.7gb 2 hrs" video=>653KBps=>5.2mbps, so even Unifi VIP5 won't stream smoothly, theoretically.

i now know how to select to get the best ones. if decent no. of seeds n peers, with vip10, i can get case 2 easily, assuming no other device is hogging bandwidth. you can see how fast it is streaming. and i actually took a look into one 4.7gb file with the popcorn windows version, found it is an mkv ac3 file, i.e. dolby 5.1. i copied that file on hdd to playback on android in dolby 5.1! but... same video on android comes out lcpm stereo, probably because the android version 2.3 is way behind the much more developed pc version 5.0.

last tip for you - the free vpn may not be useful, may even slow the streaming - test it to confirm.

enjoy!

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Nov 9 2014, 06:58 PM

about popcorn time, i tried a few more shows. the largest file i managed to stream without message "insufficient memory" is 5.5gb.
tried 6.5gb, 7.5gb, insufficient memory. will need q32 to do the job!

----


boyz n girlz...


there is new firmware 1.0.6. i just updated, good. seems to work a little faster and smoother.

a few comments:

.. if u can't find where to update/upgrade via usb in launcher page settings, go to myapps page and click settings there. it will lead you to a simplified page where u can find it.

.. this firmware comes with the simple ui launcher, no more mango launcher. if u prefer other launcher, can do.

.. mangotv see some changes, a few more minor features, some english now used. mouse seems not to work in some parts, need remote control.

.. i m not sure if due to 106 but hitv works now!


nicety, kindly add to above, correct me if i erred, tq!

bro, beside himedia threads, i suggest u read this general androidtv thread.
all new users ask the same questions here!

https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3126605/+200

if u r still on xbmc frodo or xbmc gotham, consider moving to kodi helix. kodi is the new name of the app, xbmc will disappear.
latest version is kodi 14.0 beta2 helix. i m now using it, good for q16, more stable than the predecessors.

find kodi 14.0 beta2 helix here:
http://kodi.tv/download/

a great new app applicable to kodi only is this bbts.
u gotta love >1500 live tv and radio stations!
mostly sd, some 720p 2.0.
best of all, the message of this bbts addon is "this is a free list; if you paid for it, get a full refund from your seller"!!
includes news, entertainment, uk, usa tv, natgeo people, starworld, etc., etc. all live.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDNUm12VgJQ

so, i say:
kodi (formerly xbmc) is the mother of all apps.
mashup is the mother of all addons.
bbts is the mother of all live tv.


This post has been edited by AVFAN: Nov 12 2014, 07:25 PM

xbmc or kodi, q16 with good memory size can give great results with xbmc torrent:
this addon is like popcorn time.
requires good size memory to work.
as the addon on android is no longer supported, it takes a bit of work to make it work.
posts #913-953.
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3139601/+900

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Nov 17 2014, 10:45 AM

there is now kodi 14.0 helix beta3!
i updated today, didn't see any significant change; probably just some bug fixes.

bbts live tv is surely good, enjoying it.

xbmctorrent is tricky. i barely got it to work on q16 but quite happy about it in the end.
but i can't get it to work on q5ii; hope q5iii can work like q16.
the problem is complex. if interested, read my long post#953.
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3139601/+940

will post this in Q5iii thread as well.