It's a Minix Neo X8-H. Cost me MYR500 new.

On my apple TV I just changed the DNS settings in the ATV itself.

I read many good review on minix, is it good for non tech savvy user?

I think the hardware is quite good. The only difficult aspect of it is setting up XBMC to work the way you want it to. I would recommend downloading it on your PC and trying to set it up there. If you can follow the youtube tutorials and get that working, then maybe its worth buying a minix and setting up XBMC on there too. Better to do it that way round than buying an android box and giving up because it is too fiddly to set up.

That is unless you just want to use the cloud tv app on the minix. I don't use it so no idea if it is reliable or worth the money.

If you have any more questions just give me a shout

GuysHelp. Why my 1channel speed just around 400kbps.
If watching youtube, or iTrailer no problem getting 4.5Mbps

Must be on 1channel side.

u using wat setup on ur XBMC.
wat ad on u using ?

No longer using XBMC, I resort to apple tv for better control. XBMC are not very friendly for my wife.

Just to chime in on media streamers.

I have used the Amazon Fire TV (it's at a ridiculously cheap $70 on Amazon today btw), the Roku 3, Apple TV and the Chromecast (though this is more dependent on a tablet/smartphone).

Amazon Fire TV
First up, the Fire TV is the fastest amongst the media streamers I have used. Its stream ASAP feature really works, pretty close to how you would change to a different channel on a traditional satellite/cable TV. Love the speed, but the Fire TV comes with a rather big caveat - it only works well with the Amazon ecosystem.

App support on the Fire TV has been rather spotty, it may have all major channels like Netflix, Hulu, and has support for PLEX. Problem is, these apps aren't that well updated and Netflix especially still hasn't been extremely stable. Often times, streaming in Full HD does not automatically work where as it does on my Roku 3, Apple TV, PC and even my tablet.

Otherwise, nothing comes close to matching the Fire TV's speed save for except a console or PC. The Roku 3 was quick, the Fire TV is at a whole other level when it comes to streaming movies on Amazon Instant Video.


Roku 3
Was my favourite streamer, still is my favourite streamer and is the all-rounder media streamer I'd recommend to anybody if only it is easier to get worldwide (things might have changed, I'm not sure) and not just in the US/UK.

The Roku 3 is still speedy enough today and its media support is still arguably the best and most robust. Obviously the Apple TV has Airplay and the FireTV has PLEX support, but in terms of out of the box content, the Roku 3 is still king. Video quality can be a little spotty at times, but generally that happens rare enough that I don't see it as a big issue and it could be down to server issues instead of the Roku 3 itself.

Love the Roku 3 still, get it if you can get it.


Apple TV

The old favourite and it's easy to understand why: simplicity and a strong ecosystem. There isn't much to say about the Apple TV that has been said already, AirPlay is wonderful as it is even easier to setup than PLEX (which is already easy enough). It's near foolproof and I'd recommend the Apple TV for the users who wants the absolutel minimum in fuss.

Pick a channel, pick a program, press play. The Apple TV does just that.


Chromecast

Now, the Chromecast is an odd one. I know a lot of people have been interested in it ($25 on Black Friday and Cyber Monday!) but many still don't know how it actually works. The CC primarily streams what you would stream ON YOUR SMARTPHONE or TABLET.

Let me get that clear, it seems a lot of people are still confused about the fact that the Chromecast is a media streamer on its own like the Fire TV/ Roku 3 or Apple TV. It isn't.

You do need a very strong and stable wifi setup for the CC to work at its optimal state though. Bad wifi will hinder streaming performance, so while the CC is dirt cheap, do consider that you have an adequete wifi setup before purchasing it.

So who's the Chromecast for? People who loves taking their content on the go (though it counters my opinion on how you'd need a stable wifi connection) and for people who just wants something... small and most definitely, very cheap.


----

I hope that gives everyone an idea on the most popular media streamers out there. This isn't a review but just a quick look at them.

For those who already has a gaming console (PS3/PS4/Xbox 360/One) and you don't see yourself needing any of the other channels besides the main ones (Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Vudu, Crackle), then don't bother getting a media streamer unless you need one for another room.
Obviously if you have a HTPC, use XBMC or PLEX (if you don't like the setup process of XBMC).

Me personally, I still use a Roku 3 for the living room. But my bedroom, I've gone the old school way of just connecting everything up into a mancave like setup and run everything from my main PC.

This post has been edited by SSJBen: Dec 2 2014, 12:13 PM

I'm a bit skeptical over Fire TV ASAP features. I would guess most of the time, Fire TV couldnt guess what movie are we gonna hit next and thus fail to pre-cache that movie. But based on your review, I maybe wrong, gonna get one of this Fire TV.

It works fairly well on Amazon Instant Video especially after a fair few movies you've had in your watched list. There was an update not too long ago that improved ASAP.
But really, the Fire TV isn't compelling enough to get at $99 IMO. $70? That's a very good look but the Roku 3 is at $85 and has significantly more channels to stream from.

From what I know, if you are not Amazon Prime subscriber and seldom purchase or rent movies from Amazon, Fire Tv is not the best choice.

I agree.

Getting the Fire TV for Netflix, Hulu or other channels is sort of dumb given the fact that many of the features that works with Amazon's apps does not work with the others.

Unfortunately Amazon Instant Video library is rather empty with movies from the past, there's not a lot of movies that are pre-2007 even. They're usually o~kay in getting the latest releases and their video quality is usually quite good.

But the fact that Prime membership is another $99, making the whole deal to come around $200 (not including tax btw), that's quite difficult to recommend. More so when in Malaysia you cannot enjoy the free 2-day shipping from the Prime membership.

For now, it's still Roku 3 or Apple TV as my recommended media streamers.

You can consider Google Nexus Player. Runs Netflix, Hulu, Plex, XBMC/Kodi and more. More open than Fire TV so you can install and run most Android apps, some even has launcher support like XBMC/Kodi.

And it has Chromecast function as well.

XBMC/Kodi, I find it quite hard for a non-tech savvy to use them. Nexus Player pretty new, it's quite pricey and lack of apps.

This post has been edited by therion: Dec 10 2014, 01:35 PM

Yeah, setting it up can be tricky, but once it's setup it's fairly easy to use.

My issues with Nexus Player at the moment, no ethernet port. Had to go and find a USB ethernet adapter instead.

My setup:

Netflix
Xbmc Gotham
UnoTelly
On minix x5 mini

The problem now is quality of Netflix. Since i had to upgrade my minix to the latest fw, the Netflix no longer stream quality videos. Had to use Netflix 2.0.2, but it's still watchable. Any minix user also has this problem?

This post has been edited by jihmie: Dec 10 2014, 07:14 PM

You'll only be able to stream Netflix up to 480P quality on the Minix.

i watched Supernatural S10E9 & The Flash S01E9 just now, few hours if not the same hour or earlier than they were showing in the US on Kodi. (Airplay/HDMI to HDTV from Mac/i-Devices)

meanwhile people with netflix paying to watch last season episodes and old movies. Some of HBO exclusive like Silicon Valley was not even shown on Netflix.

I watch live, on xfinity apps and Silicon Valley? Watch on HboGo yes with Xfinity too.

Anyway, sir, how hard it is to configure XBMC to get live stream like you did?