Amazon Fire TV, cool idea

[TriniXaeno]

yeah, lots of mixed reviews.

Plenty concerns with quality control as well. They aren't exactly "premium" devices.

Another reason why I want it cheap....so if it melts in a few months, my wallet and sensibilities won't shed too many tears. lol

The Android TV Exoon Pro is relatively new...not seeing much in the way of reviews for that particular device yet.....if its falls in price, I'll grab one and test.

Actually, after a little more digging, I've seen two new options on the radar...

http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Tronsmart-Vega-S89-Amlogic-S802-2-0GHz-Quad-Core-Android-TV-BOX-2G-16G-Dual-Band-WIFI-2-4G-5G-Bluetooth4-0-XBMC---Black-324676.html

and

http://cubox-i.com/



but more importantly, I also came across this absolute recommendation for the OUYA

http://www.xbmchub.com/blog/ouya-the-best-hardware-option-for-running-xbmc/

All things considered, I think that the Ouya is the smart, hassle free money right now for a mini HTPC setup.

The cubox could supplant it when released later this year.

Keeping a sharp eye on that.

[woodyear99]

Hmm from what I read even the Ouya as a mini htpc has gotten some mixed reviews. What I didn't like was Ouya pulling the official XBMC app. This means you will either have to run SPMC (http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=HOW-TO:Install_XBMC_on_OUYA) or run a crippled xbmc version (AC3 & DTS removed due to licensing issues)

If it wasn't for that I would have one on the way to Caribox already :p I might bite the bullet and order one, since it does have alot of developer support and custom roms.

[TriniXaeno]

Mixed reviews compared to a full blown PC as an HTPC.

When compared to the other cheap android black boxes on the market, the Ouya comes out smelling like a rose, and I quote:

"The one thing that was quite clear in all of our tests: the OUYA gaming console is far superior to any Android based hardware device on the market, hardware and software-wise. Definitely the only device that we’ll recommend to anyone right now."

This section from the article confirms what I've been reading pretty much all over the internet

We tested the Pivos XIOS DS, OUYA gaming console, Jynxbox Android HD, G-Box Midnight MX2, The Little Black Box, as well as several other Geniatech models and random Android boxes. Most of the devices failed our general consumer satisfaction tests quite miserably

Even the official xbmc.org forums are littered with endorsements for the ouya. Thread after Thread.

so it is tried and true by the htpc crowd.

Adding the SPMC version to the Ouya is really simple:

1 - Go to the make section on your OUYA and open the browser.
2 - From there, press y and type Koying SPMC then tap the go button. The first link is the one posted above.
3 - Enter it and click the link labeled APK. Wait for at least 2 minutes.
4 - Return to the home screen and download filepwn from the discover store. Open it and navigate to the Downloads folder.
5 - click on the SPMC file and install.

It will now be in the play menu.

For $99, can't go wrong.


In this forward looking thread, the developers are saying the yet to be released Cubox (already mentioned above) is the one to watch for 2014.

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=187049

Note, it will require considerably more tech skills to get xbmc going on that....similar to the raspberry pi....whereas the Ouya is childsplay to setup due to its console roots.

[woodyear99]

This is the latest iteration of the Cubox-i
http://cubox-i.com/

It's basically a more powerful version of the Raspberry Pi, I assume similar Linux setup etc. will be necessary making this less user friendly. There are different models and at least it comes in a case already...
http://cubox-i.com/table/

I know adding SPMC is easy but I was looking for an out of box solution. That SPMC apk will have to be manually updated when new versions come out, I want this to auto update damnit lol. I might still pickup one.
What also annoys me about the Ouya is the mandatory credit card info, yes you can use a fake credit card but that doesn't sit right with me.

[woodyear99]

Hmm looks like it's possible to run xbmc on the fire TV, interesting.... http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=191109&page=59

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

[TriniXaeno]

Seems the xbmc for ouya is working well on it too

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2703716



Fantastic

Though I see they still haven't gotten a way to attach an external hard drive, which would be great for downloading using the device itself.

No need for a separate PC on to do downloads nor a NAS

FireTV + External 2 TB HDD + Auto RSS would be epic

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[Arcmanov]

In case allyuh forget nah..... 

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/ps3-set-top-box,news-18585.html





SM-N900 | VN ROM v10.2 (KitKat 4.4.2) | SwiftKey | Tapatalk Pro

[TriniXaeno]

17 Can I install XBMC on a PS3?

No.

The required reverse engineering (to get access to the video acceleration hardware, among other things) has not happened on any of these game consoles. Further more, no one on Team XBMC feels that it is worth the effort to port XBMC to any of them, as it would be a huge undertaking.

[woodyear99]

If xbmc on the fire tv can stream 1080P from dlna shares well I might buy one to stream from the pi.

[Arcmanov]

Why is this XBMC such a big deal?

I tried setting up Ubuntu on my HTPC to run it, and found it laboriously frustrating to do even that.  Of course I gave up and went right back to Windows 8.

The rest is history.   

Sell me on XBMC.

What can it do that's so special that Windows can't?
Why should I even care about it in the first place?





SM-N900 | VN ROM v10.2 (KitKat 4.4.2) | SwiftKey | Tapatalk Pro

[TriniXaeno]

Xbmc is the android of htpc apps

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[woodyear99]

I am looking for something that can take all my movie files and download proper posters/show descriptions for them in an easy to use TV interface. XBMC does that quite well, it is mainly for my parents to use...

[Arcmanov]

Xbmc is the android of htpc apps

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

THAT'S your sales-pitch?   

Tell me you've got more to say later.


Sell me dammit.





SM-N900 | VN ROM v10.2 (KitKat 4.4.2) | SwiftKey | Tapatalk Pro

[woodyear99]

I'm sold! Ordered a Fire TV off Amazon. Will try out XBMC when I get it. This could be the ultimate low cost, low powered device for streaming content from my Raspberry Pi *fingers crossed*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHL42krl7IA

XDA Fire TV Dev Thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2703716

[TriniXaeno]

nah woody, yuh doing it for spite now man!

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2703716

XDA Fire TV Dev Thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2703716

lol

Can't wait to see it in the flesh....Fire TV iwmc

@ Arc.....the better question is what doesn't XBMC do? Being opensource, this thing has plugins galore. Ergo the comparison to Android. There are so many options, dizzying really. You can even use it as a video game console, I kid you not.

I've been a big HTPC fan from since Xbox Media Center days (when it ran on the actual original xbox)

Tried pretty much every front end option out there before settling on the current day XBMC, now divorced from its xbox roots, as the software of choice for my living room.

MythTV (still gives me nightmares) Plex (xbmc fork), boxee (xbmc fork), Windows Media Center, the works...

XBMC beat them all.

No, it isn't perfect but damn, it feels like home.

Serving up movies and TV episodes with aplomb. The interface is snappy and responsive. It handles pretty much every format out there. Does surround sound to my Logitech z5500 via optical. Downloads subtitles on demand (absolutely LOVE this feature), it is highly customizable and skinnable, also as stated before, has tons of plugins.

Did I mention opensource??

$Free 95

Has very modest hardware requirements. (I have the full XBMC app running on my android phone)

Of course it plays nice with Ubuntu and they even have distros built around XBMC (xbmcbuntu and openelec) which will boot straight into the interface out of the box.

* TriniSpartacus ....takes deep breath.....exhales......

It is the swiss army knife of HTPC software.

There you have it. My best attempt to sell XBMC, lol

[woodyear99]

^Wyatt that XDA Fire TV Forum thread so epic it deserves a double posting

I want to get XBMC running on a low powered set top box for its simplicity, easy enough for the non tech people to use. I am just hoping it runs stable, it will be a nice addition to Netflix, Amazon Instant Video and Hulu Plus already on the box.
Seeing how fast technology is going I can really see these boxes as viable HTPC alternatives.

If this Fire TV works as well as reports indicate, I might get a second one to replace the Roku box...
 

[Arcmanov]

...but you still can't access Amazon Instant Video without a VPN.

That's the deal-breaker for me.  All that other capability I already have with a plethora of Android devices.

[woodyear99]

Hulu does not work without a VPN either, I always use Unblock-Us.

It's the first Android media player I've bought.

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[TriniXaeno]

It would be a deal breaker if the device was priced around the amazon instant video service.

At us$99 it is a deal. The hardware alone for a comparable solution would cost more.

Did you see the specs I posted? This is no slouch. Solid little box AND remote for $99

Once it can run xbmc and in so doing avoid the walled garden of amazon...it is worth the price.

There is one problem that will prevent my purchase for now and that is the inability to connect an external HD to the box.

As soon as they find away around that restriction is gg no re.

SOLD

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[TriniXaeno]

Also something to watch, which I came across on the xbmc forums earlier....the intel NUC is coming down dangerously low in price

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Next-Computing-Black-BOXDCCP847DYE/dp/B00B7I8HZ4/

US$149 and even less

It is vastly more capable than any of the other set top boxes on the market.

If you have some parts laying around (a flash drive and a 2gb sodimm from an old laptop) this will blow all challengers to the HTPC throne out of the water. It can run full windows and linux, no problem.