Been on the look out for an Android TV Box recently. Received an email from Gearbest this morning.
According to the website the box with EU Plug is discounted @ 28%. US & UK Plugs are normal price.
2 GB RAM + Android 6.0 sounds good at this price to me; especially when compared to some of the boxes I've seen on eBay.
Moderators please update/fix if anything looks wrong
In my opinion I would still prefer GearBest. They offer the security of PayPal and are quicker to deliver to Australia over AliExpress.
are quicker to deliver to Australia over AliExpress.
You do realize that Aliexpress is not one store but a collection of vendors (a marketplace), like eBay right? Shipping times will depend on what service the vendor has chosen for you.
I understand what you are saying but I'm talking from my personal experience having purchased a number of items from both methods.
What I have found is that Aliexpress normally takes 3 to 4 weeks to deliver (unless you are paying extra for expedited delivery) where as Gearbest takes about two weeks with standard delivery.
@Tezzasta: Everyone's experience varies. Eg. I purchased this box from Gearbest @ 15th of Sep and I still haven't received it yet. Others would also argue that Alipay is better than PayPal in a dispute.
On the other hand, price is absolute and that $6 (15%) saving is real.
Do these Android boxes have any advantage over chromecast?
yes plenty of advantages. you can install plex and kodi on these boxes plus most other android apps. All depends what your actually wanting to do. Just want to watch netflix? then stick with the chromecast
Advantages would be that you can run any app and not just Chromecast compatible Apps.
Thoughts off the top of my head would be:
There are probably ways to do the above on Chromecast but it is not just straightforward or as fit for purpose.
P.S. I have both. Chromecast is cool and easy to hideaway behind the TV and its good to be able to use your mobile to control. With the Android Box you'd need to get a USB Mouse / Keyboard to operate.
I have a similar box. attached a $3 MS wireless USB keyboard & mouse.USB extension cable for attaching portable HDD. Box is attached to the back of the last TV so its nice a discrete.
Just in my experienece, The android box is easier to use and direct stream. Easier to download apps and tailor to my wants.
I have a much more basic question. Which is best to wirelessly project from my laptop on to my slighty old (~4 years) TV? Or should I already know how to do that without any gadgets? Currently use HDMI cable. Thanks in advance.
If you want to just watch Netflix/Youtube/other things Chromecast supports, get a chromecast.
If you wanted to mirror your laptop then the android box would allow you to do that (using the right apps like Splashtop or Teamviewer etc).
I bought one of these android (not this brand/model) from ebay at around $55. It had terrible stutter with the audio/video when playing bluray rips.
Is this player any good in playing 2k and 4k content ? I have heaps of 4k content from the gopro. or is the beelink minimxiii better ?
Thanks in advance !
What programs have you tried to play bluray rips with?
sorry to mention that. I tried it on Kodi
have you tried Plex?
Embey, MediaPortal, OSMC , Universal Media Server are some others that may be an option
if you're trying to play them over wireless, it will never work (from my experience) - you will need to use a network cable
Its coming up as AU 53.87 for me
Just to give everyone some additional unbiased info. I recently purchased a T95x which is very similar to this (s905x, 2g ram, android 6) in the hope that it would be better than my useless r-box.
It is better. The video is smoother. However: 1) there are sometimes playstore issues. 2) if you power it down completely it seems to forget all settings. 3) playing videos in kodi, the picture is too dark and detail appears missing. I've yet to test whether or not this is a kodi issue or an s905x issue.
Like the r-box, my t95x sits under my tv, unused.
These boxes are cheap for a reason. I won't be buying anymore…two is enough!
I brought a Tronsmart - dodgy as they released a hardware refresh with about a month later with Gig ethernet and basically abandoned the 10/100M version!
I have since brought BeeLink MXIII for wifes son - no complaints from him - just works
I've brought 3 Mini M8S II (1 for us, 2 for others) and they are fantastic - 905X with 2G Ram / 8G storage. Very well supported as they seem to be a reference design for a few of these boxes. I stream wirelessly off Server downstairs with no issues.
Yep, I got caught with the Tronsmart too! Stutters like hell on video, games and even music. I think it's down to the lousy firmware as the hardware seems capable. Haven't used it in ages (waiting in vain for better firmware).
basically abandoned the 10/100M version!
Was actually Rockchip that stopped support, but the same none the less ;)
Just buy a Shield TV next time it's on sale, I spent so much time messing around with cheap crap media players/htpc's and it's not worth the effort or time.
I am one amongst the many who are waiting for the 16GB shield to come back in stock at a reasonable price.
Hoping that happens soon closer to the holiday period in US.
What's a reasonable price, in your opinion? And…what's a real bargain price?
used to be 199USD $ + shipping in Amazon for the 16 gb version.
As per this link, I expect this to be a great bargain price. Not sure if its going to happen this time around.
Also just noticed it has Bluetooth too…Does this mean it can be connected to a Bluetooth speaker?
I got 3 of these a few weeks ago from Gearbest for AUD43 each. They arrived in only a few days without paying extra for expedited delivery.
I used 1 of them to replace the Acer Iconia W3 Windows tablet that I used as a TV box. The Nexbox is much faster. The tablet used to stutter when streaming video even on a 25Mbps FTTN connection. The Nexbox is as smooth as silk.
The launcher / home screen is a bit restricted in the number of apps it can display because it only has 4 pages so I am looking for an alternative but I haven't found one that I like yet.
I haven't got the remote to work but I didn't really try because I use a Logitech K400 keyboard.
I am very satisfied with my purchase.
I on sold at cost the other 2 devices to friends. I supplied them with MS Media keyboards which were a bit cheaper than the Logitech ones. This was a mistake as the MS keyboards don't have HOME, END, right click menu keys.
Here is the User Manual I wrote for them:
Android TV Box (ATB)
Standard Android Keys
Android devices have 3 buttons:
Home button - Returns to the main home screen.
On the ATB this is the House key above the touchpad.
Back button - Takes you back a level in an app, or back a page in a browser, etc.
On the ATB this is the ESC key in the top left corner of the keyboard.
Menu button - Displays list of recent apps used.
I haven’t been able to find out which key this is on your keyboard. It may be the Windows Menu key that is usually to the right of of the right hand Windows Flag key but this key isn’t on your keyboard, even though this is a standard Windows key and the keyboard is made by Microsoft.
Home Screens
The Home Screens consist of 4 screens of 10 icons, except for the first screen that has 8 icons on it. The icons are links to the most commonly used apps installed on the device.
You move through the screens using the LEFT and RIGHT ARROW keys.
You can run an app by left clicking on its icon and pressing ENTER or by double left clicking on the icon.
The icon in the bottom right corner of every screen is Apps that takes you to a screen that shows every app installed on the device.
You can change which apps are displayed by single clicking on any icon, including the + icons on the last screen and then pressing and holding the ENTER key. You can then choose which app to display from the list shown on the popup screen.
Settings Screen
The rightmost screen of the Home Screens gives access to the Android Settings pages.
Play Store
The Play Store icon on the first Home Screens page allows you to select apps that you wish to install. They can then be run from the Apps screen.
Installed Apps
The ATB came with 18 pre-installed apps displayed on the Home Screens. They were mainly apps that allow you to play Internet videos, music or radio such as:
Kodi
YouTube
Netflix
Crackle
Cloud TV
Mobdro
HGTV Watch
FilmOn Live TV
Pandora
Plex
Vevo
Vudu
Some of them require you to create an account to use them so I haven’t tried them. Others don’t work at all or parts of them don’t work. You will have to try them and if they don’t work move on.
In Kodi particularly when you click on some movies they don’t work.
I have installed the following apps:
Chrome
SBS OnDemand
ABC Iview
Plus7
9Now
TenPlay
Stan
Google Docs + Sheets
BOM
Chrome
In Chrome I have created a folder under the Bookmarks Bar called CloudTV that has links to various web TV sites. It is accessed by clicking on the 3 vertical dots menu in the top right corner of the screen.
The TV folder has links to websites that display Free To Air TV program guides.
You can cycle through open tabs by pressing CTRL+TAB. Sometimes the tabs are hidden. You can make them visible by pressing CTRL+TAB.
Gmail
I installed the Gmail app but it won’t download your email. You will have to access your email through Chrome.
You scroll the left pane using the UP and DOWN ARROW keys. You move the right hand pane with the PAGE UP and DOWN keys.
When you are creating an email you cannot move the cursor using the LEFT and RIGHT ARROWS. You have to use the mouse to place the cursor at the required location.
You can scroll the screen using the PAGE UP and DOWN keys, left click and drag the screen or 2 fingered movement on the mouse pad.
Google Docs Word Processor
Use have to use the techniques described in the Gmail section to move the cursor.
The following key combinations work:
CTRL+B = Bold
CTRL+I = Italic
CTRL+U = Underline
CTRL+C = Copy
CTRL+X = Cut
CTRL+V = Paste
CTRL+Z = Undo
CTRL+] = Indent
CTRL+[ = Outdent
The Android 6 OS was upgraded OTA a few days ago. I'm not sure what it did but at least it indicates that they are being supported.
If your boxes came with Android 5.1 then it was a different model - A95X with S905 (not S905X).
No. It went from 6 something to 6 something else.
Gets up from desk. Walks to lounge. Turns on TV.
Android version: 6.0.1
Build number: NEXBOX-A95X-AP6330-6.0.1-201609240946
These boxes i believe have problems passing through DTS and Dolby Digital audio.
I have the Sunvell T95M which has some issues with a slight glitch every 8 seconds or so using Kodi. PCM works perfectly. Same file plays perfectly on my Minix Neo X-8H Plus. Some people with this box have the audio problems, others don't. But for $50 it is an amazing little gadget! The Nvidia will cost you up $300 now but has been as low as $200 but very very infrequently at this low price.
yes it's a common issue with Android boxes, not properly supporting audio pass-thru to surround sound processors / AVRS.
I have a mini M8S S905 based box and pass-thru works using optical under Android 5.1, but frame rates can not change dynamically depending on the video source (ie: 50 Hz for PAL video, 60Hz for NTSC video and approx. 24Hz for movies).
So I use libreelec on my Mini M8S and run KODI 16.1 - that allows me to perform audio pass-thru successfully and have adaptive frame rates. I'm very happy with my $55 box (what I paid when I bought it a few months back).
Did you use the libreelec off Freaktab and are you just running it off MicroSD card or installed on internal ?
I have RPi2 using OpenElec and it is good but like having the full OS when I need to.
Can you attach a USB dual tuner and use this as a PVR?
nah I dont think you can. However as mentioned above by werdnanostaw you can download SBS on Demand etc. form the Playstore.
Has anyone bought for that price? I keep getting AU $53.87
maybe expired?
Good work on the first post OP.
Unfortunately this is quite the regular price on Aliexpress. With occasional 10% cashreward Aliexpress got it around the $38 mark.