LibreELEC (OpenELEC Fork) v7.0.0 Released with Kodi 16.1

It’s not always easy to get along in life, and recently this has been true in Kodi developer community and related project, with Koying leaving his role as the main Kodi Android developer, possibly meaning Kodi 17 won’t get an Android port, and more recently several OpenELEC developers, not satisfied with some of the current project developments, decided to fork it, and create LibreELEC. The team of 25 or so members has now released LibreELEC v7.0.0 based on Kodi 16.1 which had also  been released a few days ago. The changelog only reads: The 7.0.0 release contains Kodi Jarvis 16.1 (final) and a fix for Verisign SSL certificate changes that impacted Pandora add-on users. It also addresses a bluez crash, a firmware update for Intel Skylake users, and a fix for an Amlogic CEC issue on WeTek Play/Core. Most importantly it also contains our new logo branding. The images are […]

MXQ Pro Amlogic S905 Android TV Box Sells for $30 (Promo)

MXQ Pro TV box based on Amlogic S905 64-bit processor was launched at the end of last year for about $48. The price has come down after a few months, and GearBest is now selling NEXBOX MXQ Pro for as low as $28.99 (price will show when you add it to the cart), and if it goes back to $35, you should be able to use GBNB coupon to get it for $30.50 shipped. NEXBOX MXQ Pro specifications: SoC –  Amlogic S905 quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 2.0GHz with  penta-core Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB NAND flash + SD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0, AV Video Codec – 10-bit H.265 up to 4K @ 60 fps, H.264 up to 4K @ 30 fps Audio – HDMI, AV, coaxial S/PDIF Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, dual band 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi (No Bluetooth) USB […]

MK808B Pro Android TV Stick Mini Review

MK808B PRO is the first Amlogic S905 TV stick readily available for sale, and GeekBuying sent me a sample for review. I’ve already checked out the hardware, and the lack of heatsink is a worry, so we’ll see how it performs in this mini review, where I’ll focus mainly on potential pitfalls, rather than do a throrough review as usual, since I’ve already tested so many Android TV boxes powered by Amlogic S905 processor First Boot, Settings, and First Impressions I’ve connected MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse RF dongle to the USB port, and Tronsmart Mars G01 wireless gamepad dongle to the mini USB port via the provided USB OTG adapter, and the provided HDMI cable to the AUX port of my AV receiver and nothing else, except the power adapter to the other mini USB port. Boot time typically takes about one minute that it’s not a speed […]

What’s the Best Android TV Box?

[Update December 26, 2017: I’ve posted a new version of this post entitled “What’s the Best Android TV Box (2017/2018 Edition)?“. I’ll leave the post below to have an historical perspective] I often get asked which TV box to buy, or what the best Android TV box is, and the answer is the TV box that fits your needs for the lowest price point possible. Considering there are around 2 millions apps for Android, they are multitudes of use cases, and you can’t provide a single answer for everybody. So I’ll provide a list of things to look for beside the processor, and three TV boxes that I think are worth considering, before providing alternatives for people who want cheaper devices. Things to Look for There are still a few things you may want to specifically look for before purchasing an Android TV box: History of regular firmware updates – […]

Mini Review of Doogee Smart Cube P1 Android Projector

Doogee Smart Cube P1, or just Doogee P1, is an Android projector powered by a quad core Amlogic processor. I’ve already taken some pictures of the device, and gave it a quick try, so today, I’ll write a little more about my experience using it in standalone mode with an air mouse, as well as with an Android phone using both Miracast and DLNA. The device also supports Airplay, but I don’t think I have any compatible device, so I have not tried this mode. Doogee P1 in Standalone Mode with an Air mouse (or other wireless/USB input device) After connecting MINIX NEO A2 lite air mouse’s RF dongle to the only USB port on the device, I pressed the power button for 5 seconds to start it up, and boot is pretty fast in around 30 seconds. You’ll need to adjust the focus with the wheel button on the […]

NEXBOX A5 Android 6.0 TV Box Powered by Amlogic S905X Processor Supports HDR & 4K VP9 Videos

Amlogic S905X is a low cost version of Amlogic S905 with a lower operating frequency, built-in stereo DAC, integrated Ethernet PHY, 4K VP9 and HDR10 & HLG support, and NEXBOX A5 TV box will be one of the first devices with the processor. NEXBOX A5 (preliminary) specifications: SoC –  Amlogic S905X quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.5GHz with penta-core Mali-450MP GPU @ 750 MHz System Memory – 2GB DDR3 (Option: 1GB) Storage – 16GB flash (8GB option) + micro SD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz, and AV port (composite) Audio Output – HDMI, optical S/PDIF, AV port (stereo audio) Video Codecs – 4K VP9 @ 60 fps, 4K 10-bit H.265 @ 60 fps Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports Misc – Power button and LED. Power Supply –  5V/2A Dimensions […]

Matricom G-Box Q2 Android TV Box Review

Another guest review from Karl, this time, with Matricom G-Box Q2 Android 5.1 TV box based on Amlogic S812 processor. First Impressions Today I will be reviewing the G-Box Q2 by Matricom. This is a follow up device to the popular G-Box Q. The first day I plugged it in and did some basic first impressions I thought it was laggy…..but after using it and setting up the way I am accustomed to using it…I found it very fast and responsive. From the time power is applied to launcher is loaded is about 33 seconds. The software seems solid and I ran into only minor issues. It got very respectable scores between 38000 and 42000 on Antutu. The box does have a lot of software that I am not a fan of, but these can be easily uninstalled. The launcher that comes with it is ok but I prefer a […]

Android and Linux Benchmarks on MiQi Development Board

MiQi is an upcoming low cost development board powered by Rockchip RK3288 SoC that will sell for $35 with 1GB RAM and 8GB storage, and $69 for the version with a  2GB / 32GB combination. Since Rockchip RK3288 was launched in 2014, most available benchmarks were made on Android 4.4, and since MiQi is the first low cost board based on the processor, other RK3288 based board such as FireFly have not been that popular. So I’ve decided to run updated benchmarks in MiQi both in Android 5.1 and Linux (Lubuntu 14.04), which was easy since a dual boot image is pre-installed. But since I received an early sample without heatsink, I found a spare heatsink added some thermal paste and placed it on top of the processor and partially on RAM and eMMC flash. MiQi Board Android 5.1 Benchmarks I ran Antutu both using 1080p60 and 2160p30 video output, […]

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