Anyone tried the MK908 Android Stick?

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Anyone tried the MK908 Android Stick?

HamiltonJack

41 posts

Geek

#124541 11-Jul-2013 11:21

I'm thinking of buying this from www.geekbuyer.com
http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Tronsmart-MK908-Google-Android-4-1-Mini-PC-TV-Box-RK3188-Quad-Core-2G-8G-BT-Black-315155.html

Anyone have any experience of it? Seems a good price and decent specs - this is my first foray into android on the TV !

Also looking for recommendations of a decent proxy IP provider - or should I just go with unblock-us ?

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4086 posts

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#854071 11-Jul-2013 20:18

I didn't spot it in the specs... but does it have an ethernet port?
That's pretty much one of the keys to these bad boys, what with the amount of streaming you'd typically do with a TV based Android stick.

richms

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#854110 11-Jul-2013 21:56

Ive tried 3 sticks, and all 3 have had underscanning on the HDMI output, so they rendered a 1080px high image, mangled it down to about 950 px high, then added massive black bars all around. So photos etc get strange stair stepping artifacts on any diagonals, and you have 2" of screen all around you cant use. Video playback will go to a true fullscreen when playback is made fullscreen however.

It seems to be a limitation that none of the makers are giving a damn about solving. That and having the output rate match the media you are playing. The android TV sticks are as bad as a windows PC for video play back with dropped/dupelicated frames happening at least a 3-4 a minute even when playing a 60FPS source file.

Richard rich.ms

michaelmurfy

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#854120 11-Jul-2013 22:16

I've tried one before, was planning on building an in car computer around it but had underscanning issues, in the end I've found Raspberry Pi's are king when it comes to streaming media on the cheap.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
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HamiltonJack

41 posts

Geek

#854924 13-Jul-2013 12:29

Well, my MK908 has arrived !

I plugged it in and off we go.... very nice.
The only issue is that Flash player is not supported in Chrome or the android browser, so have to download Firefox to watch TVNZ on demand etc.

Overall, it's pretty good turning my 40" HDTV into a "tablet" lol. No camera, no voice to text (no mic) and a few other silly things like google maps wanting to track my movements lol...

A couple of things I notice:
1) browsing the web etc is cumbersome using android on the tv (as it is using on a tablet really) What I mean is, it's not terribly easy to navigate around with an air mouse. It's "fidgety" but hey, decent when you can have the patience and finally get what you want. I pity the wife who will have to work out how to access and use all this stuff. Maybe the Smart TV would have been a better choice! lol.

2) I am nt sure what the issue is, but occassionaly there is a major lag between clicks and activity on the screen. It's running 4.2 ICS - I am not sure if this is the issue. It's a fresh install (factory default) so we shall see....

Yes, ethernet is supported, you just need a usb - RJ45 connector or similar? I'm using wifi - works fine but my router is like 1 meter away from the TV!

I haven't tried any other similar products, so I can't compare. Work in progress !

richms

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#854951 13-Jul-2013 15:14

How is your one for not having under scan and do you even have an option to manually set the HDMI refresh rate?

Richard rich.ms

Dunnersfella

4086 posts

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#855036 13-Jul-2013 19:01

Are you running a powered USB hub? If so, plug in a 2.4Ghz wireless keyboard / mouse combo + another HDD to hold media.

HamiltonJack

41 posts

Geek

#857411 16-Jul-2013 13:55

Update on this little beast is that it is totally unstable. It keeps restarting and crashing.
Looking further into the issue, it seems the kernal may need to be flashed with a new update, which I've never done before, so that will be fun!

So far, I do not recommend it. The reasons will become apparent if you read here:
http://www.freaktab.com/showthread.php?5153-NEW-Tronsmart-MK908-Android-4-2-2-quot-Official-quot-Finless-ROM-1-5

Samsung

Shop now on Samsung phones, tablets, TVs and more (affiliate link).

HamiltonJack

41 posts

Geek

#857412 16-Jul-2013 13:56

There appears to be settings available for changing the screen resolution, but I am not sure about the refresh rate, sorry.

>> Are you running a powered USB hub? If so, plug in a 2.4Ghz
wireless keyboard / mouse combo + another HDD to hold media.

I am not using a wireless hub no, I am using the logitech k400 which is much better than an air mouse!

HamiltonJack

41 posts

Geek

#857415 16-Jul-2013 13:59

Dunnersfella: Are you running a powered USB hub? If so, plug in a 2.4Ghz wireless keyboard / mouse combo + another HDD to hold media.

I should also say there are 2 USB ports - so, one for k400 and one for HDD?
Haven't yet tried the HDD!

prevaljo

175 posts

Master Geek

#857505 16-Jul-2013 16:51

Not sure about the brand/name but I've just got a "Google Android 4.2,support external 3G,with Bluetooth CPU: Quad Core RK3188 ARM Cortex-A9 process.UP to 1.6GHZ,Mali-400MP4 Quad-core GPU" android TV stick.

Doesn't have an Ethernet port so I'm using Wi-Fi and have only been playing with it for less than a day but fairly impressed. Still trying to get TVNZ on demand to run, haven't tried Firefox yet. My experience of Firefox on Android is not good but I will try it. Still need to resolve a mouse/keyboard solution for it.

LesF

176 posts

Master Geek

#866955 27-Jul-2013 03:27

I have purchased this: Chuang Zhuo V919 US Quad Core Android 4.1.1 Google TV Player w/ 2GB RAM / 8GB ROM / Air Mouse / Hub
from [dealextreme]

So far I am very pleased with it. I am using wifi access. The stick is plugged straight into a HDMI port on the TV and the power lead is plugged into the TV USB port, which so far has provided sufficient power, also when I turn off the TV the stick is powered off.

It came with a reasonably good set of pre-installed media apps and had root as well. Apart from changing the language there was not much else I needed to do.

My Samsung was able to access my PC via DLNA but its interface was crap - so was the Media Player interface I was using to serve DLNA from the PC. Now I can set up decent playlists for my music and access the media on my PC easily, using any of the many many file manager apps available for Android.

Now I need to start the search for decent streaming content from the net... heavy sci fi habit to be provided for.

kiwijunglist

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#866957 27-Jul-2013 03:30

can it play high bitrate 1080p. eg. 10gb to 30gb files.what abput 5gb 1080p

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

LesF

176 posts

Master Geek

#866958 27-Jul-2013 03:38

It seems to. I have played videos recorded on my HD camcorder, which are HD 1080 video in .m2ts format.

HamiltonJack

41 posts

Geek

#956031 22-Dec-2013 01:25

Here's my latest update: I dumped the MK908 as it was too unstable - kept crashing and I even tried updating firmware to no avail.
Not sure if it was just this unit, but decided to switch it out for a newly bought MK808 - which has performed very well, so I'm pleased with the latter. Now, what to do with a a duff US$80 908 stick

Mattmannz

471 posts

Ultimate Geek

#956074 22-Dec-2013 10:12

Where did you get the 808 from? Are you running the stock ROM that it came with?

Cheers
Matt.

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