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MXQ 4K RK3229 Quad-Core Android TV Box $29.99 US (~$42.79 AU) Shipped @ Geekbuying

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MXQ 4K RK3229 Quad-Core Android TV Box $29.99 US (~$42.79 AU) Shipped @ GeekbuyingAffiliate
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MarketingClear on 22/01/2016 - 21:06 geekbuying.com (3238 clicks)
Last edited 28/01/2016 - 21:26
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Tonight we have the newest Android TV Box from MXQ powered by Rockchip's new RK3229 processor. This device is designed to be hooked up to a TV to make it "smart" and makes a great media player due to the codecs supported and Kodi 16 preloaded.

At an introductry price of $29.99 USD (~$42.79 AU) with free shipping this is possibly the cheapest Android TV Box out there.

Please note: This is currently on presale until the 27th of January.

Specifications:

  • OS: Android 4.4
  • CPU: Rockchip RK3229 Quad Core ARM Cortex A7 @ 1.5GHz
  • Graphics: Mali-400MP2
  • RAM: 1GB DDR3
  • Storage: 8GB NAND Flash (Supports SD Card up to 32GB))
  • Video Output: HDMI 2.0 up to 4Kx2K @ 60 fps; 3.5mm AV Output (Composite)
  • Audio Output: HDMI; AV; Coaxial S/PDIF
  • Connectivity: 10/100 Ethernet; 802.11 b/g/n WiFi
  • Other: 4x USB Ports
  • Dimensions: 118x11x25mm

Package includes: TV Box, IR Remote, HDMI Cable, Power Adapter, User Manual

This TV Box supports 10-bit H.264/H.265, VP8, VP9 and others.

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closed Comments

    • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 22/01/2016 - 21:30
      +3

      Around ~$40 US.

      Unfortunately we can't price match Tinydeal as they're not actually using the original packaging as seen on their page.

        • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 22/01/2016 - 21:36
          +2

          The image of their simple box is a lot smaller than the original, so they would be saving more on shipping. Their original packaging is $26.99 US.

        • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 22/01/2016 - 21:51
          +3

          @tyler.durden: Hard to say how much they're saving. Depends on the carrier they're using, if they're sending them individually to the carrier or together in a crate.

          There are a lot of reasons why simple packing isn't usually done. A lot of people like receiving original packaging, there are fakes out there for some products (like the band itself in this case) and having to get a large amount of smaller boxes which cost at the end of the day.

        • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 22/01/2016 - 22:06
          +2

          @tyler.durden: Probably not, but you never know. I just think they're using simple packaging to save on freight.

        • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 22/01/2016 - 22:27
          +2

          @tyler.durden: There are 2 versions of the original Mi Band. One with different coloured lights (discontinued and hard to find) and the one with white lights. The newest Mi Band is 1S and some sites call it the "Light sensitive version", but there is no difference. All 3 are stocked at Geekbuying.

          I own the Xiaomi Mi Band 1S.

  • supnigs super skids on 22/01/2016 - 21:22

    Huh? Hardware 10bit h.264 Decode? Wow.

    • tyler.durden on 22/01/2016 - 21:26
      +2

      more interested in h265

    • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 22/01/2016 - 21:28
      +4

      According to Rockchip the RK3229 is capable of…

      4K*2K 10-bit H.265 @ 60fps (Up to 200Mbps), 4K 10-bit H.264 @ 30fps (Up to 250Mbps) and 4K 8-bit VP9 @ 30fps (Up to 200Mbps)

      • supnigs super skids on 22/01/2016 - 21:33

        Oh. So tempted.. Never played with 10bit h. 264 hw Decode before. Didn't know it existed. Will do more research later. Thanks for the info

        • gizmomelb on 22/01/2016 - 21:47
          +2

          yup.. so all those 10bit anime videos should work

        • plague69 on 22/01/2016 - 23:17

          @gizmomelb: lol, there should really be more 10bit. Not many out there, and the ones that are, die much too quickly

        • Morien on 22/01/2016 - 23:59

          @gizmomelb:

          10 bit h.264 anime is the only reason I need to upgrade from my WDTV Live.
          This is priced in that territory that I think "too good to be true" and "if it isn't I've spent $50 on something I'm not going to use"

        • thereisriceandcurry on 23/01/2016 - 00:34

          @Morien: I'm trying to suss out how this box ranks up with other boxes. I'm finding it hard to make an assessment from the specs, aside from lack of gigabit ethernet and ac wifi. When you say too good to be true, do you imply that overall its an impressive box? Or do you mean just from the decoding 10bit 264 pov

        • Morien on 23/01/2016 - 01:20
          +1

          @thereisriceandcurry: I mean $50 for a player that can smoothly decode a format that up until now has required an Intel cpu seems too good to be true…. But I hope it is.

      • tyler.durden on 23/01/2016 - 00:26
        -5

        so this does hardware decoding of 10bit h265?

        • jonathonsunshine on 23/01/2016 - 05:03

          I got a beelink mini mx based os the s905 and I can vouch for it playing 1080p 10bit x265. Don't have any 4k stuff to treat work. Supposedly does hd audio but reports are hit-and-miss and I don't have a valuable receiver to test myself

  • nerd1 on 22/01/2016 - 21:45

    how is the remote on this? More interested in setting up chinese Tv in Kodi or Android (if available) for the in-laws. need to be as simple as possilbe… they have been using a TVPad 2

    • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 22/01/2016 - 21:59
      +1

      It's got the standard remote found in a lot of MXQ TV Boxes as you can see in this image. It can be programmed for TV control with those buttons in the box and the others include arrows for navigation, buttons to go home, back, options etc.

      I can't comment how it is in comparison to the TVPad 2 as I've never used any of those devices.

      • vlahka on 23/01/2016 - 00:05
        +2

        I've got the original MX so this would be a good upgrade. You mentioned programming the remote. I've had to buy different remotes in the past and I've noticed simple things like the Stop button never work with kodi etc. How do you program these and is there a list of options to choose from?

        • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 23/01/2016 - 00:50

          This is what I was talking about.

          http://forum.androidgadget.co.uk/showthread.php?tid=30782

        • vlahka on 23/01/2016 - 01:04

          Thanks. Not something for me then. Is there a way to program the controllers for the boxes like I mentioned?

        • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 23/01/2016 - 01:16

          @vlahka: Kore is the official app that let's you use your phone ass the remote.

        • vlahka on 23/01/2016 - 01:37

          @Clear: Thanks. I guess thats the only way of doing it then.

        • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 23/01/2016 - 08:11

          @vlahka: There would be more ways I'm sure. Some googling of asking on the kodi forums would be best.

    • plague69 on 22/01/2016 - 23:14
      +4

      As with all android TV boxes, it's not going to be as simple as the TV Pad to setup and use for the older people.

      As for the remote, consider a all in one remote to make it even easier for your in-laws.

      Better yet, set them up with a proper TV box from China and buy a reliable VPN service so you can get all the TV channels, because even PV Pad gets service downtimes.

    • [Deactivated] on 23/01/2016 - 08:02
      +3

      I bought a similar box a month ago. The remote in android has 2 modes :

      1. Use the arrow buttons to move around selecting icons/links and middle button to select

      2. Press the mouse mode button and a mouse cursor pops up and use the arrow keys to move the mouse icon.

      Some apps you can't use mode 1, like the youtube app, so you have to switch to mode 2. In mode 2, the mouse moves a couple centimetres every arrow press, so some apps you can't click small buttons because it keeps moving too far to hit something. On screen keyboard is a nightmare using mode 2.

      I use a wireless logitec wheel mouse w/usb receiver instead and it works great. Downloaded an app to bind the extra mouse buttons to home, running apps, and volume.

      The box will take pretty much any usb mouse/keyboard, which you will need if you want to do anything other than just use plex /kodi.

      Performance wise it plays all my 1080 movies with various codecs fine. Youtube and Netflix runs ok. Browsing in chrome is slow though, especially when JavaScript functionality is clicked.

      It has auto updated a couple times since purchase.

      Good buy. Only thing maybe worth spending more on is getting an android 5.1 box instead of 4.4, there are boxes out there.

      Also have no idea how to get youtube running at more than 720p resolution.

      • zeckem on 23/01/2016 - 13:20

        can you tell us what brand/model you bought?

      • RocketSwitch on 23/01/2016 - 16:44

        Can you upgrade to Android 5.1?

        • [Deactivated] on 23/01/2016 - 21:24

          Havnt checked for downloadable updates. Not sure if an image exists for this hardware

        • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 23/01/2016 - 22:25
          +2

          @TurtleMaster: Allwinner are not developer friendly and rarely release any code or SDKs so updates and custom ROMs are rare. Fortunately Rockchip always release the SDK for each SoC and custom ROMs usually follow.

    • Kaboda on 23/01/2016 - 10:29

      This is just my two cents but with my Tronsmart R68 Logitech amazingly had it on the list. So I've programmed it on my Logitech Harmony. Works much better than the original remote.

  • gizmomelb on 22/01/2016 - 21:49

    http://www.cnx-software.com/2016/01/15/mxq-4k-rk3229-android…

    does it come with Aus power plug adapter please? thnak you.

    EDIT: ANtutu benchmark is 21,000 something. not bad.

    • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 22/01/2016 - 21:54
      +1

      The plug itself would be US, but an AU adapter is included. A travel adapter would be better if you have one, but I personally use the Xiaomi power strip as it takes AU/CN/US/EU plugs in each socket.

      • plague69 on 22/01/2016 - 23:20

        Ah crap… nice plug, another thing I 'need'.

        Can we use this in AU? http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Xiaomi-Mi-Power-Strip-Patch-B…

        • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 22/01/2016 - 23:22
          +1

          Yes. I use this one myself. It has a Chinese plug that is almost exactly the same as an AU plug except that you'll be putting it in upside down.

        • zeckem on 23/01/2016 - 13:29

          it has some quality features which is expected from Xiaomi, too bad no surge protection

  • andy2 on 22/01/2016 - 22:00

    Is Google play store pre installed on the device? If not can it be done manually??

    • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 22/01/2016 - 22:09

      Yes. If for whatever reason it doesn't It can be sideloaded easily like any other app. I found plenty of guides after a quick Google search

  • effgee on 22/01/2016 - 22:11

    Does it support CEC so I can use my standard TV remote and it will receive commands over the HDMI cable ?

    • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 22/01/2016 - 22:15

      I can't see any mention of it anywhere. I can ask to make sure.

      • effgee on 22/01/2016 - 22:54

        thanks

      • GooseHoward on 03/02/2016 - 00:08

        Did you find out anything with regard to CEC?

        • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 03/02/2016 - 08:37

          It doesn't support it.

  • pensionday on 22/01/2016 - 22:19
    +1

    How would this handle live tv from wmc server or tvheadend… Ok, or laggy like raspberry Pi?

    • ravzter on 22/01/2016 - 22:23

      I would like to know too !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • joannatan on 22/01/2016 - 22:28

    any one know if this box can be utilize similar like tvpad 2? so we can see iptv channels from many countries?

    • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 22/01/2016 - 22:38

      There are IPTV apps on the Play Store that can be used to make it similar.

      • joannatan on 22/01/2016 - 22:49

        can you give me some of the name apps, i would like to have a look first thanks

        • plague69 on 22/01/2016 - 22:53
          +5

          You won't get the same support as the TV Pad because they are not public streams. Besides, a lot of TV Pad apps are now blocked by mainland anyway.

          If you watch mostly TV from China/HK/TW, still get the TV Pad or it's imitations. This is more for media you have on hand or readily available on the net

          Start with these apps, you should already know of them: Qiyi, PPStream, Sohu HD
          Live TV was available at least a year ago on: I meant TVU, I know there was a 'U' in it…

        • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 22/01/2016 - 22:55

          I just searched for IPTV in Google Play. You can always try searching for specifics like "China TV" or something.

        • RedHab on 23/01/2016 - 14:56
          +1

          Thanks, I'm also looking for China TV, as TV Pad stopped working.

          They got sued and shutdown in October.
          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TVpad#Lawsuit

    • coprocessor8087 on 23/01/2016 - 08:33
      +2

      They are struggling to support even TV Pad 4. Server is down most of the time.
      TV Pad 2, I read somewhere, is NOT supported anymore.
      TV Pad 3, people are google-searching all the time for any system update that will allow them to watch….

  • hashtagbargain on 22/01/2016 - 22:36

    The specs say this can do airplay… My question is how?! Can anyone confirm this?

    • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 22/01/2016 - 22:44
      +2

      Airplay would be done through a third-party app on the Play Store. Allcast is able to turn your Android device into a receiver. There are other apps out there that do the same, but Allcast is the most well known.

  • djsa on 22/01/2016 - 22:39

    Can you use a Bluetooth keyboard with this?

    • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 22/01/2016 - 22:46
      +1

      This doesn't have Bluetooth.

      • tyler.durden on 23/01/2016 - 00:29
        -1

        ah that sucks…

        need bluetooth keybd to search kodi quicker

        • Maverick-au on 23/01/2016 - 00:52
          -4

          ah that sucks…

          What is wrong with you?

        • tariqsaleem on 25/01/2016 - 23:14

          I have a logitech k400 that I use with nexus TV.

          Works well… Should work with this too.

          On the plus side that also has a track pad for mouse compared to standard Bluetooth keyboard

    • plague69 on 22/01/2016 - 22:51
      +2

      Android unit with 4 USB ports. You can use a USB dongle. Or wifi remote from your phone

      • djsa on 22/01/2016 - 23:02

        So you could connect a mouse and keyboard and use it to type emails, Web browsing etc?

        Does this price seem too cheap to be any good?

        • plague69 on 22/01/2016 - 23:05

          100% do-able. Maybe need to install drivers yourself?

          Having said that: 1 GB ram.
          Don't let the buzz words 'quad core' and '1.5GHz' fool you. Wouldn't hold it's own pitted against a single core 1.5GHz Intel chip for normal workstation use.
          Wouldn't do much on this unit if I where you. Optimized to play media, and I do bet it does it well. Main reason to buy this. If you don't need a media player, even a cheap android phone would be better I would imagine. Correct me if I'm wrong.

        • djsa on 22/01/2016 - 23:07

          @plague69:
          Main use for me would be streaming basketball on nba app and a bit of Web browsing and email typing. Could it handle that?

        • plague69 on 22/01/2016 - 23:08

          @djsa: If your NBA app is on android, you won't go wrong with this unit. These specs normally do go for $40USD mark

      • doperst on 22/01/2016 - 23:36

        I have a similar tv box - MXQ S85.
        There is no bluetooth and you can't add it with a USB dongle, as it's not supported by the firmware.
        I'm using a small wireless keyboard with touchpad, works great.

        • plague69 on 22/01/2016 - 23:48
          +1

          Although for keyboard and mouse support, if you have a proprietary 2.4GHz adapter (eg. from Logitech) it should work 95% of the time due to it falls back to mimicking a native USB mouse and keyboard. And you are correct, drivers are not straight forward in Android if the build has removed the prerequisites. 50/50 for plug and go on a Bluetooth dongle, depends on how they built the version of Android.

          Try this: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Hot-Rii-mini-i8-Black-Wireless-Ke…

  • thereisriceandcurry on 23/01/2016 - 00:18
    +1

    Can this bitstream DTS-HDMA and Dolby True HD over HDMI?

    • DrDollar on 23/01/2016 - 04:59

      Also wanting to know the same. The RPi2 doesn't quite have the bandwidth. OP?

  • Darkscythe on 23/01/2016 - 00:21
    +1

    Excited to see how this handles 10-bit videos as that trips pretty much every box up. Will hopefully be reviewing one in the next week or so

    • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 23/01/2016 - 00:24

      If you've got the MXQ Amlogic S805 it would be interesting to see a comparison.

    • thereisriceandcurry on 23/01/2016 - 00:35

      Would be keen to read your review and assessment. Let us know your thoughts

    • Darkscythe on 24/01/2016 - 00:01

      Keep posted and I'll try to do some benchmark comparisons around various SOCs

  • kctt on 23/01/2016 - 01:14

    How is this compared with Beelink X2 TV box? It looks like both have similar specs quad core 1GB Ram 8GB Rom.

    • plague69 on 23/01/2016 - 02:07
      -1

      Not all Quad cores are made equal. Never look at the GHz either, this is no longer an indication of the true speed of a processing unit.

      Unfortunately, these days for these types of devices, we can only look at real world reactions. For this processor, we might still need to wait a few months. Sale might end, you might need to pay $10 more. But you get piece of mind. If your Beelink X2 TV Box still does what you need it to do, don't replace it. In the mean time, buy Pizza for the family.

      Otherwise, only a small amount of money, so trying won't cost that much, even if you fail to see a improvement (or an excuse to buy another TV, lol)

      • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 23/01/2016 - 08:04
        +2

        You'd be better off looking at the ARM Cortex instead of the GHz. Both this and the H3 are using A7 compared to A5 found in S805.

        • plague69 on 23/01/2016 - 18:05

          Newer architecture right? Any stats on what it means percentage gain clock for clock?

  • Dariush78 on 23/01/2016 - 01:25
    -2

    I had a better model with mali 450 and 2gig ram and it was so laggy. This one is not going to be any good. Just keep your 40$

    • plague69 on 23/01/2016 - 02:04

      :/ None of the Mali's ever did the video decoding. The SoC itself has a VPU to do the video decode so this unit might just be able to pull something out of it's hat.

      Although this is still early days for this chip as I don't see any conclusive evidence of it working or not as stated on the spec sheet. This one I believe is even newer than the S905 chip which came along a few months ago.

      I do agree though. 2GB of ram would have been the killer WIN for this unit. $50~ android/linux micro server, yes please!

      • wildwild on 24/01/2016 - 12:26

        My CS968 box with the Mali 400 chip even has problems playing 720p. Just a piece of cr*p :(

        • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 24/01/2016 - 13:58

          The Mali GPUs are not responsible for the decoding. It's the CPU itself.

  • trustnoone on 23/01/2016 - 07:36

    Anyone reckon I'd have any problems running plex on this? I'd imagine most of the transcoding would be done through the server so simply running video should be easy?

  • bagabargain on 23/01/2016 - 07:38

    Hey OP or anyone else. Does this unit support "side load" android apk files?

    • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 23/01/2016 - 07:54

      Yep.

  • chicken lover on 23/01/2016 - 08:32

    Clear, how does this compare against the m8s?

    Chipset

    Amlogic S812 Quad core Cortex A9r4 2GHz

    GPU

    Octa-core Mali-450MP GPU @ 600MHz

    ROM

    8GB NAND FLASH

    RAM

    2GB DDR3

    • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 23/01/2016 - 11:19

      In terms of power the Amlogic S812 is better. It's ARM Cortex A9r4 while the RK3229 is using ARM Cortex A7. The clock speed of the Amlogic is higher at 2GHz.

      This box is using the Mali-400 GPU, so the Amlogic wins with the Mali-450.

      Storage is the same. They're both 8GB NAND Flash.

      This box has 1GB which is good enough for media playback, but 2GB is better for more intensive apps and games.

  • D3m3ntia on 23/01/2016 - 09:40

    How does this compare to the s905 deal posted earlier? I guess on the software front a glaring difference is this is dull stick on kitkat? ?

    • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 23/01/2016 - 11:23

      Amlogic S905 is more powerful than the RK3229, but that doesn't necessarily mean the media playback will be better. MXQ Pro has a better GPU, Android 5.1 and HDMI 2.0 to name a few.

  • Ramrunner on 23/01/2016 - 10:16
    -1

    Can I just ask why is it these TV boxes only ever ship with 10/100 ethernet? It is far too close to the limit of some of my high bandwidth Full HD mkv's causing stuttering.

    I have mkv's with as much as 14Mbps sustained rate or more and 10/100 peaks at about 11.

    Why don't the manufacturers ever design these things with more headroom? Gigabit gives up to 100Mbps or more on my network giving plenty of room for even 35Mbps 4K video.

    • aous on 23/01/2016 - 10:29

      The unit supports 10Mbps and 100Mbps, depending on the connection of the other side (that is if your switch support 100Mbps, you should get 100Mbps). 100Mbps (megaBITS/s) is equivalent to around 11.5MBps (megaBYTES/s).

      100 Mbps should be enough for you, it is more than all the examples you have given.

      Edit: some punctuation and grammer, there might be others.

      • Ramrunner on 23/01/2016 - 10:42

        Yep, sorry I used a small b instead of the big B. Typo.

        I need speeds of at least 14 MBps not Mbps, which 10/100 does not afford at a peak of 11.5MBps.

        Sorry I'm in WA and when I posted I only just got up. My bad.

        But I think you already know it was a typo looking at the rest of your comment and I think if I could fit Full HD MKV into 14 Mbps I would not be complaining in the first place right????

        Even so thanks for the correction.

        • D3m3ntia on 23/01/2016 - 10:57
          +1

          I assume these are software edited videos (only reason I can see for such a high bitrate is lossless, but then if you're in the movie making business then 'these aren't the droids you're looking for')

          Bluray has a maximum of 40Mbps, so if you rip the stream you've still got a lot of headroom. If you're editing videos I'd suggest that you try and compare the difference between a lossless format (such as full quality AVI) vs. compressing it into H.264/265 - you'll notice very little difference.

          just for comparison sake - at your bitrate, we're talking about a 2 hour movie occupying 100GB of space

        • aous on 23/01/2016 - 22:42

          These rates a pretty high; Netflix, for example, uses around 20Mbps for 4K.

          In any case, if these rates are correct, I think this unit is not for you even if it had 1Gbps, because I doubt that the chip inside can decode videos at such rates.

          Edit: I might be wrong.
          I found the maximum video rates:
          Video Codec – 4K2K 10-bit H.265 @ 60 fps (Up to 200 Mbps = 25MBps), 4K 10-bit H.264 @ 30 fps (Up to 250 Mbps = 31.25) and 4K 8-bit VP9 @ 30 fps (Up to 200 Mbps = 25MBps)

    • MarketingClear @ Geekbuying on 23/01/2016 - 10:30
      +1

      For this box specifically it would be to keep costs down. As for other more high end boxes… I wonder myself too.

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