Android TV boxes...

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Tabby

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

#522057 16-Sep-2011 16:15

Actually i saw a demo of the flexiview at the Auckland home show this year- it was in full 1080 picture quality- i picked one up for $299 and it can be upgraded to higher versions of android..... I plugged a terrbite in the back so i could use all my movies and it works like a dream!!!! the company i got it from are the ones that actually did all the branding etc- they are alot cheaper than Warehouse stationary and they know the product backwards- http://www.ezibuyphones.com/flexiview-android-television-box-xidp340026.html if you are going to buy it see these .

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richms

26388 posts

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#522061 16-Sep-2011 16:21

Hmm, I saw the box there but the UI on it looked all scaled up phone sized - certainly not 1080 native. never thought to ask to see it play anything. At $300 its quite a bit more than an apple tv, but certainly the USB port is useful to have.

Richard rich.ms

Tabby

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

#522064 16-Sep-2011 16:26

You do realise that it has a full andriod sstem and you can download anything frm android market- i looked at apple TV but i couldnt store anything on board.....

i sort of looked at the $299 as cheaper than a pc ....

Linuxluver

5824 posts

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#522128 16-Sep-2011 19:55

nzstory: The Warehouse Stationery will be selling the Flexiview Android Tv for $399.

I've found that there doesn't appear to me much information out there about these devices. I'm interested in having a box that I can plug my portable harddrive into though I'm not sure if they will read NTFS formatted hard drives or not.

Looks like it makes a PC out of your big-screen TV.

Not a bad idea....This video is in French, which I mostly understand, but the images make it clear what you're seeing.

_____________________________________________________________________

I've been on Geekzone over 16 years..... Time flies....

jbard

1377 posts

Uber Geek

#660365 23-Jul-2012 13:30

I noticed the other day this is now on special for $97.

Anyone think it is a good buy at this price?

http://www.warehousestationery.co.nz/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/WSL-B2C-Site/en_NZ/-/NZD/ViewOfferDetail-Product?ProductRef=212737@WSL-B2C

DrStrangelove

368 posts

Ultimate Geek

#660455 23-Jul-2012 16:01

jbard: I noticed the other day this is now on special for $97.

Anyone think it is a good buy at this price?

http://www.warehousestationery.co.nz/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/WSL-B2C-Site/en_NZ/-/NZD/ViewOfferDetail-Product?ProductRef=212737@WSL-B2C

That may be a moot point now, as they appear to be out of stock.

At $97.00 it would be a good buy (in my opinion), HOWEVER.. one needs to consider the GPU in these devices.

The GPU is an SGX540 (circa 2007) which is OK, but won't support 720p videos...very well.

I have one and it's ideal for IMDb, YouTube, games(That don't require tilting a 40" monitor or multi-touch), email, weather(excluding MetService) and easy file transfer for visitors pictures and etc onto a 40" TV screen.
Also a good Internet streaming radio player connected via a HDMI switch to TV speakers or receiver.
Supports USB thumb, SD cards and USB HDD, 10/100 Ethernet and HDMI.

Will support most Unifying Logitech keyboad/mouse and K400 supports a lot of the Android soft and hard keys, even reboot and sleep modes.

Throw the remote it comes with away, it's useless.

Will probably only ever have Android v2.2 and will never be supported... you're on your own.

That said, I can watch 720p mkv videos, with two channel audio using BSPlayer and even though in some high quality video you'll see some lag, it's still watch-able. A purest would fail it though.

I have the latest of most Android Play Store apps and it's all supported...ish.

You'll need to root the device and 'gut' it and then rebuild it to get the best and most up to date software.

Ideal for couch surfing with a mouse on a big screen TV and gets a surprisingly high amount of use.
Quick reply to an email using a keyboard is always a pleasure.

FV-1 Android TV v2.2

AnTuTu Benchmark: 2500
NenaMark2: 16.7
Processor: 1GHz single core
GPU: SGX540
Bluetooth
USBx3
HDMI
SD card
Ethernet 10/100
WiFi: 802.11n 72Mbps (VERY WEAK!!!)
No discrete audio out, only HDMI

------------------------------

Next be VERY wary about any of these Android 'desktop' media players!!!!

Don't think just cause it has Android 2.3, 3.1 or 4.0.4 that it's good.

The hardware is mostly old and in most cases a single core processor and low performance GPU.

The OS is constructed around the hardware, with minimal support for anything much else and this makes updates extremely difficult, if not impossible.

Lack of things like GPS/aGPS/SIM card can restrict the applications that are supported

AND... most of these devices are unknown to Google Play and without some 'engineering' you'll only have a VERY restricted list of applications available to you.

That said, there are still interesting things afoot, one of them being this:

http://www.hardkernel.com/renewal_2011/products/prdt_info.php

This puppy would fly, if one was to take some time building and installing it.

DrStrangelove

368 posts

Ultimate Geek

#660494 23-Jul-2012 16:54

richms: Hmm, I saw the box there but the UI on it looked all scaled up phone sized - certainly not 1080 native. never thought to ask to see it play anything. At $300 its quite a bit more than an apple tv, but certainly the USB port is useful to have.

On the FV-1 Android TV and as default out of the box, the native screen display on a large HD-TV is... rubbish
As you say, it looks really bad as it's designed for a 4" screen and on a 40" it looks quite comical.

HOWEVER, if you root a given device and then decrease the screen density down it becomes almost 'pretty'.

I have my screen density on my FV-1 Android TV set to 145, down from 240, which I think was the default.

Oh and if you see IMDb on a 40" HD-TV at 145 screen density, it's brilliant. It's as if IMDb was designed for a big screen.
Big ups to those developers.

And here's a picture girls and boys. Snap-shot from a 40" HD-TV (sans FUll HD-TV)

Tabby: Actually i saw a demo of the flexiview at the Auckland home show this year- it was in full 1080 picture quality- i picked one up for $299 and it can be upgraded to higher versions of android..... I plugged a terrbite in the back so i could use all my movies and it works like a dream!!!! the company i got it from are the ones that actually did all the branding etc- they are alot cheaper than Warehouse stationary and they know the product backwards- http://www.ezibuyphones.com/flexiview-android-television-box-xidp340026.html if you are going to buy it see these .

If it's possible to upgrade to a higher version of Android on an FV-1 Android TV v2.2, I'm not aware of this being done. There are upgrades to the firmware, but these petered out on OCT-2011. To date no mention of a compatible Android OS update is known to me. Could you provide a link?

The HDMI output is limited 1200 x 600px and the SGX540 struggles with 720p DVD quality playback, so Full-HD quality playback is out of the question, as I understand it.

kiwijunglist

2968 posts

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#660972 24-Jul-2012 13:03

I'd stay away from android set top boxes, I guesstimate they need at least another 6-12 months to mature. XBMC is being ported to android and will be fully functional, although the hardware acceleration currently only works on the android device that sponsored the port.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

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