OUYA, the US$99, Android-powered, Kickstarter-funded, hackable game console.

Forums › Gaming › OUYA, the US$99, Android-powered, Kickstarter-funded, hackable game console.

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#654592 12-Jul-2012 14:45

I paid up for the $99 pack yesterday. This had better launch with better hardware than the Tegra 3 though, since by the estimated delivery time of March next year the Tegra 3 will be relatively ancient (it already suffers considerably in comparison to the Exynos quad). Doesn't let me do anything more than my Rooted S3 with a PS3 controller and MHL either (and possible much less), but I like the concept so happy to back it and have a play.

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reven

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#654604 12-Jul-2012 14:55

dontpanic42: The more I think about it though, the more I think it definitely needs an Ethernet port.
Running one through a USB port is all well and good, but it's bound to be not quite as good as a native port. i.e. running through the USB bus, and then through USB to Ethernet converter circuitry is bound to add latency.

Not to mention the fact that there is potential for it become quite a nice Media box (via XBMC etc, similar to raspberry pi). You would want to be able to reliably stream high bit-rate HD stuff. It's possible that Wireless 'n' would do this without any trouble, but having Ethernet to fall back on is always preferable.

plus theres only one USB port :)

dontpanic42

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#654611 12-Jul-2012 15:02

@NZTechFreak

I tend to agree. The Tegra 3 (while still pretty capable) may become a little dated by the time it's ready for release.

The only issue I can see with trying to go with the latest and greatest processor is it might hinder one of the main purposes of the device... the relatively low cost.

In saying that, with the huge demand (I reckon about $1000 per minute at the current rate) it's created, there might be some scope for upping the specs a little bit due to economies of scale. The more buying power they have, the lower the cost might be for a slightly better speced processor.

Here's hoping anyway.

dontpanic42

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#654615 12-Jul-2012 15:04

reven:

plus theres only one USB port :)

Oh wow.
Well then, I must've overlooked that (or assumed otherwise) point.

Another reason for Ethernet to be essential.
There are hubs, of course, but that's just an un-needed hassle IMO.

dontpanic42

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#654629 12-Jul-2012 15:38

According to some of the comments on KickStarter, it seems like an Ethernet port is actually 99.9% GO! I just don't think they have announced it yet.

reven

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#654632 12-Jul-2012 15:51

really hope they dont make it use a power brick. apple got rid of these from mac minis when they redesigned them in 2010. PS3 dont have them, but the xbox has the biggest/massive power brick ive ever seen, hard to hide it because of the size.

no power brick == awesome.

dontpanic42

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#654646 12-Jul-2012 16:04

reven: really hope they dont make it use a power brick. apple got rid of these from mac minis when they redesigned them in 2010. PS3 dont have them, but the xbox has the biggest/massive power brick ive ever seen, hard to hide it because of the size.

no power brick == awesome.

I just posed that very question on the Kickstarter comments section, and someone pointed out that it would actually be best to have an external power brick due to heat issues. I tend to agree TBO.

Not to mention, an integrated power supply might add to the overall cost. It's probably cheaper to source a generic/worldwide voltage power brick and just be done with it.

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stevenz

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#654690 12-Jul-2012 17:09

Given that it's essentially an Android phone without a display, and some I/O port changes, it should be able to happily run with similar power requirements (So, 12V @ 0.5A should be more than enough). Going by the size of their "artists impression" it looks plenty big enough to contain a PSU to cleanly handle this.

@KnightNZ

reven

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#654774 12-Jul-2012 19:44

stevenz: Given that it's essentially an Android phone without a display, and some I/O port changes, it should be able to happily run with similar power requirements (So, 12V @ 0.5A should be more than enough). Going by the size of their "artists impression" it looks plenty big enough to contain a PSU to cleanly handle this.

thats my hope, I would love to strap it to the back of my tv and power on via the tvs usb ports.

thats one feature I love about my raspberrypis, they turn on and off with the TV, and in theory you should be able to make them turn off the tv after a period of inactivity (using hdmi cec).

problem with the pis are, theyre a little under powered. perfectly acceptable for their price, but many people in the HTPC community would be willing to pay 4 times their price for something similar that had a faster processor and supported more codec (eg mpeg2).

so by this being about 3 times the price, it should be very popular. i really hope it takes off.

my ideal living room, is a tv mounted on the wall and nothing else, no units visible anywhere.

dontpanic42

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#655106 13-Jul-2012 14:48

Has anyone else noticed the distinct lack of "official" website from OUYA?
Some comments started flying around on the kickstarter comments section about the fact that there is absolutely no "official" OUYA website.
There is also this reddit thread discussing it.
http://www.reddit.com/r/ouya/comments/wgwcd/ouya_doesnt_have_its_own_website/

I can understand the sentiment that they want the main ouya.tv domain to point to the Kickstarter campaign page (which it currently does), and I'm all for the current approach that seems to be concentrating on 'being out there' on various social media sites (i.e. reddit, FB, twitter), but it strikes me as odd that they don't even have a placeholder page with even basic info about the project. Maybe with a big 'click here' to go to the kickstarter page to pledge.

Yes, the info is essentially all there on the kickstarter page, but it just seems odd there is no main company website.

It has been pointed out on reddit that having an official website doesn't give something any more legitimacy than not having one, which is probably true, but there is a certain odd-ness about not having a main company website for a campaign that is pretty much solely internet based.

What are other people's thoughts on this?
Am I just too expectant of a conventional website, that it's tainting my view of the project by not having one? Is this just a little bit silly? I'm not sure any more.

I think I just feel that a main hub of information (apart from the updates on kickstarter - of which there is only one so far) in the form of the main domain (which, I assume, is the official domain) going to an official website will give it a more credible feel.

Also, here's an article from Penny Arcade that throws a bit of cold water on the whole thing.
http://penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/the-reality-of-the-ouya-console-doesnt-match-the-hype-why-you-should-be-ske

A lesson in PR perhaps?
I still have high hopes for the project, but I think things are going to have to be handled a lot better than they currently are for my confidence in this project to stay positive.

jbard

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#655112 13-Jul-2012 14:56

dontpanic42: Has anyone else noticed the distinct lack of "official" website from OUYA?
Some comments started flying around on the kickstarter comments section about the fact that there is absolutely no "official" OUYA website.
There is also this reddit thread discussing it.
http://www.reddit.com/r/ouya/comments/wgwcd/ouya_doesnt_have_its_own_website/

I can understand the sentiment that they want the main ouya.tv domain to point to the Kickstarter campaign page (which it currently does), and I'm all for the current approach that seems to be concentrating on 'being out there' on various social media sites (i.e. reddit, FB, twitter), but it strikes me as odd that they don't even have a placeholder page with even basic info about the project. Maybe with a big 'click here' to go to the kickstarter page to pledge.

Yes, the info is essentially all there on the kickstarter page, but it just seems odd there is no main company website.

It has been pointed out on reddit that having an official website doesn't give something any more legitimacy than not having one, which is probably true, but there is a certain odd-ness about not having a main company website for a campaign that is pretty much solely internet based.

What are other people's thoughts on this?
Am I just too expectant of a conventional website, that it's tainting my view of the project by not having one? Is this just a little bit silly? I'm not sure any more.

I think I just feel that a main hub of information (apart from the updates on kickstarter - of which there is only one so far) in the form of the main domain (which, I assume, is the official domain) going to an official website will give it a more credible feel.

Also, here's an article from Penny Arcade that throws a bit of cold water on the whole thing.
http://penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/the-reality-of-the-ouya-console-doesnt-match-the-hype-why-you-should-be-ske

A lesson in PR perhaps?
I still have high hopes for the project, but I think things are going to have to be handled a lot better than they currently are for my confidence in this project to stay positive.

Hmm I haven't read the reddit so this might be on their but I think I have found something interesting.
The Amazon payment email said the money was going to Boxer 8 inc. Couldn't find anything about them on Google but just typed in boxer8.com and it links to the wikipedia page for disruptive technology.

Kind of interesting, personally though I am not worried about them not having an official website.

jpwise

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#655124 13-Jul-2012 15:10

There's also another thread about Boxer 8 Inc here:
http://www.theverge.com/2012/7/12/3154812/the-company-behind-the-ouya-has-existed-for-three-months

Apparently registered about 3 months ago.

Edit: The entity number if you decide to search it yourself is: C3454792. Contact listed as: "JULIE UHRMAN" - she's also listed as the founder of Ouya on all the other information. Her linkedin also lists herself as CEO of Ouya since Jan-2012.

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dontpanic42

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#655130 13-Jul-2012 15:21

jbard:
Hmm I haven't read the reddit so this might be on their but I think I have found something interesting.
The Amazon payment email said the money was going to Boxer 8 inc. Couldn't find anything about them on Google but just typed in boxer8.com and it links to the wikipedia page for disruptive technology.

You raise a very good point there. I also noticed the fact that Amazon Payments would be sent to Boxer 8 INC.

No info to be found on Google.

I have just been looking around my Amazon Payments page, and I can't see anything that says I have authorised a pending payment to Boxer 8. This could just be a inadequacy of the Amazon Payments website, though.

Disrespective

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#669962 9-Aug-2012 10:07

There is less than 8 hours left on this now.

After hearing that XBMC and Plex will be supported on the device i've paid up for one and a second controller (because who likes to play games alone...)

At the same price as an AppleTV with better specs it's hard for me to pass up. Plus it looks nice and plays games.

NZtechfreak

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#669971 9-Aug-2012 10:35

Disrespective: There is less than 8 hours left on this now.

After hearing that XBMC and Plex will be supported on the device i've paid up for one and a second controller (because who likes to play games alone...)

At the same price as an AppleTV with better specs it's hard for me to pass up. Plus it looks nice and plays games.

The extra pull their wildly successful and publicised Kickstarter campaign has brought them has certainly allowed them to start talking to some players and services that make the Ouya a much more compelling platform, for sure.

Twitter: @nztechfreak
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