Android T.V. boxes (hardware and software) for "dummies"

[thaiflyer1]

2 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

This is a somewhat off-topic post, but OP indicated that the thread was meant for 'non-tech geeks' with questions on how to use an Android TV box.

My wife fully meets that description as she does not understand and is not interested in techie stuff.  A separate Android TV box and thus having one remote for the TV and another for the TV Box would already be 'too difficult'.

So when her old TV broke down, we went to buy a new one, and I persuaded her to take the SMART Android model (5.900 THB) rather than the regular one (4.300 THB).  And that turns out to be the perfect solution for her, because super-simple.

Only one remote to operate the Android TV, and it has a large button to switch from regular TV channel to Netflix, and one to switch to Youtube and one to switch to all other Android options.

Perfect for her!  And also for me, because otherwise she would always want me to help her out with the 'infinite' possibilities of modern tech-stuff. ????

I used my smartphone with dTac 4 MBps unlimited data package as WifiHub to make the connection with the TV (once again super-simple) and works perfectly without any buffering.

= = = = = =

Below the specifications of that 5.900 THB Android TV we bought in case someone recognizes his wife (or himself) in my post and wants to go same road.

• SHARP 32" Android TV - 2T-C32BG1X
• LED Blacklight TV Aquos
• NetFlix / YouTube
• Google Play movies & TV / Google Assistant
• Bluetooth / Dolby Audio / HDMI / DV3T2

 

Ive gone away from the smart tvs............last one i had a TCL was busy updating itself when i assume there was a glitch with the internet connection..........bottom line the mainboard became corrupt and the tv got stuck in a bootup loop, kept turning on/off without reaching the menu screen..........ended up having to buy a new mainboard 1400 baht......working again but ive switched the internet off

 

Sorry for going off topic............just something to think about when buying a smart tv

[worgeordie]

I stopped using my Android box,and installed Bluestacks emulator on to

my windows 10 PC, so now have Android and Win 10 on the same PC,

it's easy to install APK's,just download any you want to your Win 10

desktop, scan them,and drag them into Bluestacks.

 

But really,I mostly just use Win 10 for streaming anything i want,I have

about 50 sites,for Movies,Series,News,Documentaries,Sport (not live),next day,

Etc, on my browser's speed dial,one click to site,one click what i want

to watch.

regards worgeordie

 

[robblok]

I use nvidea shield 2019 one of the more expensive android boxes around. I got it wired with a cable to my home network. (good for when i want to watch 4k movies i downloaded). I can use WIFI too but prefer wired as its always faster.

 

For me no millions of channels, I just use netflix and plex for all the movies and TV series that i download and store on my NAS drive. Its great if you know a bit more about computers because it makes it all a bit easier. 

 

My Shield remote has taken over my TV remote totally. So just one remote. It has voice controls so i don't always have to type. 

 

[paddypower]

36 minutes ago, thaiflyer1 said:

Ive gone away from the smart tvs............last one i had a TCL was busy updating itself when i assume there was a glitch with the internet connection..........bottom line the mainboard became corrupt and the tv got stuck in a bootup loop, kept turning on/off without reaching the menu screen..........ended up having to buy a new mainboard 1400 baht......working again but ive switched the internet off

 

Sorry for going off topic............just something to think about when buying a smart tv

a worthwhile post, even if O/T. this is the wrong forum for me. . Is there one for addressing issues with a smart tv with android.(examples: (i) error message 'not connected to internet' and (ii)  it will not open all the movie folders in my 1tb hd) ?

[Jingthing]

2 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Jing, does your box have an icon/tile for accessing the Google Play Store (the same place you'd go on an Android smartphone to find and install apps)?

 

Yes. I understand it's the same method for downloading apps as on my Android phone.

[uncleP]

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

That's interesting but I wouldn't know exactly how to set that up technically. 

Plug a lan cable into the back of your modem. Run the cable to a netgear 4 port hub.  Run a lan cable from your hub to your tv, android box, and computer. The hub is automatic. You are now live. Run a hdmi cable from your android box and computer into the back of your smart tv.  Click source and  re name each port.. youtube and my tuner on the tv. Whatever through the com, and also your android box  . On my box I have livenet tv, mobdro,  megabox HD, mytuner( worldwide radio), potato streams, swift streamz. I also have a thai paid service. PM me for details. All except mytuner you have to search for as they are not on google play and download the latest .api file then open app installer and install. I would delete all references to kodi as it is rubbish nowadays.

[Jingthing]

2 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

OP, you can grab a cheap wireless keyboard/mouse (not bluetooth)

A small transmitter/receiver plugs into USB port, mouse and keyboard both connect via that. Local IT mall will have them for 200-300 baht

 

Good idea. Definitely cheaper than one of those mini thingies. Not sure which option I will choose yet but I'm sure I want to try it with an external mouse and keyboard.

[Jingthing]

2 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

You can usually change font size but its a system wide setting, not for an individual app. 

Aha. Where would that be? I can't see any option for that in any of the settings options.

 

BTW, there is a good chance that I will eventually try a media file organizer like Plex and I assume that it would be possible to make their display readable if it isn't readable by default already

Edited June 28, 2020 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

1 hour ago, paddypower said:

a worthwhile post, even if O/T. this is the wrong forum for me. . Is there one for addressing issues with a smart tv with android.(examples: (i) error message 'not connected to internet' and (ii)  it will not open all the movie folders in my 1tb hd) ?

Thank you for that comment. 

Yes the intended scope here is about using Android TV boxes. 

I think that's more than big enough of a scope. 

[uncleP]

2 hours ago, paddypower said:

a worthwhile post, even if O/T. this is the wrong forum for me. . Is there one for addressing issues with a smart tv with android.(examples: (i) error message 'not connected to internet' and (ii)  it will not open all the movie folders in my 1tb hd) ?

TV systems are generally linux. Your hdd may be the wrong format: needs to be fat32 apparently. Search how to read windows/apple hdd on a tv

[Jai Dee]

9 hours ago, Jingthing said:

The first critical thing that will help a lot is the need for a Bluetooth mini keyboard and mouse so I will order that soon.

 

An alternative you should consider is a Minix NEO A2 Lite USB Wireless AirMouse.

 

It will replace the remote control that came with your Android box and has far superior functions.

 

It also has a full QWERTY keyboard on the other side.

 

[Jai Dee]

2 hours ago, uncleP said:

I would delete all references to kodi as it is rubbish nowadays.

 

I disagree wholeheartedly.

 

As a standalone media player it is one of the best, and it's free, and it is continually evolving and getting updated, and as far as I am concerned it performs better than VLC or MXPlayer.

 

If you are referring to certain video addons that can be added to Kodi to enable it to access streaming sources containing pirated content, well that is another matter. There have been significant actions by anti piracy organisations in recent months forcing closure of many pirate sites. Therefore those video addons stop working. Nothing to do with Kodi.

 

However this is getting off-topic. We're not discussing the subtleties of Kodi here... we're helping Jingthing (and other interested parties) with his Android box.

[Jai Dee]

9 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I got the Magicsee N5 Max at about 1500 baht which seems to be a good box

 

What are the specs on your box? Specifically memory and bluetooth/ethernet?

 

It would seem that there are 3 models available with different configurations:

 

SoC: Amlogic S905X3 Quad Core 4x ARM-A55 @ 1.9GHz (64bit) / GPU Mali-G31 MP2 / 12nm
System: Android 9 Pie (32bit)
Ram, storage and network:
– 4GB RAM DDR3 + 32/64/128GB eMMC / Wifi ac Dual + BT 4.2 / Ethernet Gigabit
– 4GB RAM DDR3 + 32/64/128GB eMMC / Wifi a/b/g/n Dual + BT 4.1 (SP6330) / Ethernet 10/100 (Review)
– 2GB RAM DDR3 + 16GB eMMC / Wifi b/g/n / NO Bluetooth / Ethernet 10/100
Ports: HDMI 2.1 4K@75fps / Jack AV / SPDIF / 1x USB 2.0 / 1x USB 3.0 / MicroSD / Reset
Extras: IR remote / HDMI cable / Manual / DC 5V 2A adapter
Materials and measures: Plastic / Frontal LED panel / 105 x 105 x 23 mm / 200 gr.

 

 

One thing I like about this box are the USB ports... you could plug in an airmouse (or keyboard/mouse) into the USB 2.0 port, and keep the USB 3.0 port for a media library stored on an external 4 GB HDD.

[BigStar]

Never needed a keyboard or mouse w/ my Android media box. After setting up a few apps I was done.

 

Getting your box to see a share on Windows is doable but not much fun, last I looked. Maybe somebody who actually knows and has done it will come along to help. 

 

I find it much easier to use FTP to transfer, rename, and delete files from an external USB drive plugged into the box. I use an SSD for that drive but an HDD will do, have used a 1 TB in the past. This can serve as a backup for files on your PC. Yep, it can.

 

If you wanna go that route, download an FTP server app to your box:

 

https://play.google.com/store/search?q=android ftp server&c=apps&hl=en_US

 

Some (usually paid) can be config'd to start up when you boot the box. Others you have to run when you're ready to transfer files. They don't take up many resources.

 

So then on your PC you could use Windows File Explorer as an FTP client

 

https://www.betterhostreview.com/connect-ftp-site-server-file-explorer-windows-10.html

 

but a dedicated FTP client such as Filezilla or, better, WinSCP will have more features, like queue management. Use it to login to your server and do what's needed. I transfer a bunch at a time, but it's really not inconvenient anytime.

 

The server and client require a little setup but not much and it's very standard.

 

https://itsfoss.com/use-ftp-linux-android/

 

You can also stream files from your PC to the box but then remote control of the player may become in issue in some circumstances and also the display of subtitles. But I haven't tried that in some years, so maybe it's all better now.

 

You have all you need to play vids on that box, and it will play HD just fine. Kodi's good, use it almost daily. It's not perfect but I like how you can figure the sound to stay at a steady volume rather than get too loud during the loud movie parts (many don't know about that), I like the bookmarks system (good backup if it doesn't resume where you left off), and I find it handles subtitles well. I also have VLC. 

 

I used to use one of those WDTV boxes and don't miss it. I keep it as a spare to use if I ever have to wait for the delivery of another Android box. 

Edited June 28, 2020 by BigStar

[uncleP]

7 hours ago, cyril sneer said:

anyone know how to upgrade the android software? my youtube app has stopped working

 

Look for smart youtube tv on the net. The official youtube app has always had issues on android tv boxes.

 

For the original poster

 

To change font size  on the magicsee N5 max click apps >droid settings>more settings >display> font size

Edited June 28, 2020 by uncleP

[sungod]

2 hours ago, Jai Dee said:

 

I disagree wholeheartedly.

 

As a standalone media player it is one of the best, and it's free, and it is continually evolving and getting updated, and as far as I am concerned it performs better than VLC or MXPlayer.

 

If you are referring to certain video addons that can be added to Kodi to enable it to access streaming sources containing pirated content, well that is another matter. There have been significant actions by anti piracy organisations in recent months forcing closure of many pirate sites. Therefore those video addons stop working. Nothing to do with Kodi.

 

However this is getting off-topic. We're not discussing the subtleties of Kodi here... we're helping Jingthing (and other interested parties) with his Android box.

I'd disagree with you, based on his limited knowledge. Kodi is to finicky . VLC or MX would be far more suitable for him . Not disagreeing though that Kodi isnt a bad option, but you need some knowledge to set it up.

[sungod]

There isnt anything I cant do on my box that I cant do without a wireless mouse or the remote that came with it.

 

You may find once you start using some of the TV apps that the remote that came with it actually comes into its own. I've no use for a keyboard, I use it as an entertainment system as opposed to a mini computer.

[bkk6060]

Well, for dummies that is me.

I do not understand all the issues involving this.

So:

Go to Tech mall.

Buy preloaded android box.  Has everything loaded Kodi, Mobdro, Live Net, Swift, etc, etc.

Connect router to your box, then connect box to TV.

Access TV, movies, live sports anything you want.

It all seems so simple from my experience.

Edited June 28, 2020 by bkk6060

[uncleP]

44 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Well, for dummies that is me.

I do not understand all the issues involving this.

So:

Go to Tech mall.

Buy preloaded android box.  Has everything loaded Kodi, Mobdro, Live Net, Swift, etc, etc.

Connect router to your box, then connect box to TV.

Access TV, movies, live sports anything you want.

It all seems so simple from my experience.

Buy from lazada. Better choice ????

[BigStar]

4 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Well, for dummies that is me.

I do not understand all the issues involving this.

So:

Go to Tech mall.

Buy preloaded android box.  Has everything loaded Kodi, Mobdro, Live Net, Swift, etc, etc.

Connect router to your box, then connect box to TV.

Access TV, movies, live sports anything you want.

It all seems so simple from my experience.

The issue isn't about what's preloaded and what isn't. His box is connected. Here's the issue:

 

16 hours ago, Jingthing said:

That was I could access the external USB drive (videos) connected to the box for moving files from the PC and also deleting, renaming files etc.

This is not working with my new box.

 

The "anything he wants" is on an external USB drive. So you should tell him how to access that from his PC, since it's so simple. 

 

[Jingthing]

8 hours ago, Jai Dee said:

 

What are the specs on your box? Specifically memory and bluetooth/ethernet?

 

It would seem that there are 3 models available with different configurations:

 

SoC: Amlogic S905X3 Quad Core 4x ARM-A55 @ 1.9GHz (64bit) / GPU Mali-G31 MP2 / 12nm
System: Android 9 Pie (32bit)
Ram, storage and network:
– 4GB RAM DDR3 + 32/64/128GB eMMC / Wifi ac Dual + BT 4.2 / Ethernet Gigabit
– 4GB RAM DDR3 + 32/64/128GB eMMC / Wifi a/b/g/n Dual + BT 4.1 (SP6330) / Ethernet 10/100 (Review)
– 2GB RAM DDR3 + 16GB eMMC / Wifi b/g/n / NO Bluetooth / Ethernet 10/100
Ports: HDMI 2.1 4K@75fps / Jack AV / SPDIF / 1x USB 2.0 / 1x USB 3.0 / MicroSD / Resetfxtras: IR remote / HDMI cable / Manual / DC 5V 2A adapter
Materials and measures: Plastic / Frontal LED panel / 105 x 105 x 23 mm / 200 gr.

 

 

One thing I like about this box are the USB ports... you could plug in an airmouse (or keyboard/mouse) into the USB 2.0 port, and keep the USB 3.0 port for a media library stored on an external 4 GB HDD.

Yes, it's the Amlogic S905X3

ram 4 GB

rom 64 GB

[stouricks]

16 hours ago, ezzra said:

I'm not sure if this is what the OP is talking about but I have a Mecool M8s Max TV android box that cost to buy from Aliexpress for like $50-60, connected to my LG Tv loaded with streaming IPTV Apps i buy from China for like $20 subscription fee a year and it has like 12,000 channels from all over the world including like zillion of sport channels and i'm very happy with it...

How long does it take you to decide what to watch?

[BigStar]

9 hours ago, Jai Dee said:

keep the USB 3.0 port for a media library stored on an external 4 GB HDD.

Perfect use for those fast 4.3 GB Quantum Fireball STs still lying around since 1996. 'Course, one would need a USB 3.0 <-> UltraATA/33 adapter and small power supply w/ Molex plug but looks like the data transfer rate would be sufficient to go up to 1440p.

[Jai Dee]

16 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Yes, it's the Amlogic S905X3

ram 4 GB

rom 64 GB

 

Good specs and you have bluetooth and Ethernet 10/100. 

 

Does it run hot? I seem to remember someone in another topic forecasting that this particular box would overheat and crash so it would be interesting to get first hand feedback.

How has performance been so far?

What apps are pre-loaded?

Have you tried all of them yet?

Have you connected to your Google Play Store?

Have you used the Play Store to update the apps on your box?

Have you tried playing media files from an external USB drive/stick yet?

What resolution? 720p/1080p/4K?

What about sound? Do you playback (via HDMI) to the TV speakers or do you have an AV receiver with external speakers?

 

and...

 

Have you replaced that useless remote control yet with something better?

[uncleP]

11 minutes ago, Jai Dee said:

 

Good specs and you have bluetooth and Ethernet 10/100. 

 

Does it run hot? I seem to remember someone in another topic forecasting that this particular box would overheat and crash so it would be interesting to get first hand feedback.

How has performance been so far?

What apps are pre-loaded?

Have you tried all of them yet?

Have you connected to your Google Play Store?

Have you used the Play Store to update the apps on your box?

Have you tried playing media files from an external USB drive/stick yet?

What resolution? 720p/1080p/4K?

What about sound? Do you playback (via HDMI) to the TV speakers or do you have an AV receiver with external speakers?

 

and...

 

Have you replaced that useless remote control yet with something better?

Mine never crash from overheating.

Do everything I need but I only use for tv

[Digitalbanana]

On 6/28/2020 at 11:01 AM, uncleP said:

On my box I have livenet tv, mobdro,  megabox HD, mytuner( worldwide radio), potato streams, swift streamz. I also have a thai paid service. PM me for details. All except mytuner you have to search for as they are not on google play and download the latest .api file then open app installer and install. I would delete all references to kodi as it is rubbish nowadays.

I'd not dismiss Kodi as I find it the best way to watch my movie and TV series collections saved to my own drives. I share a NAS around the home to various boxes to watch this way. Third party addons for Kodi are mostly unauthorized and hit and miss and I guess you are referring to those which I never use.

 

I also like Tivimate on an Android box connected to a TV with a premium IPTV provider, best user interface I have seen and my goto app versus likes of Mobdro and the interior LivenetTV for live TV and Sports, but not for VOD so much.

 

IPTVSmarters also a good app to have on Android boxes for those whose IPTV provider supplies VOD.

 

The op will have to test all himself as everyone apparently has their own way of doing things.

[Jai Dee]

3 minutes ago, Digitalbanana said:

I share a NAS around the home to various boxes to watch this way.

 

That is something I'd be interested in doing too, although prefer to share a drive on my PC to the network so the Android box(es) can see the media files stored there. Currently I use a large capacity USB HDD and move it from PC to Android box when needed.

 

This is something the OP also wanted to do... see below:

 

On 6/28/2020 at 4:20 AM, Jingthing said:

Previously I was always able to link my ancient WD box to my PC and could view it by looking at the network devices.

That was I could access the external USB drive (videos) connected to the box for moving files from the PC and also deleting, renaming files etc.

This is not working with my new box.

 

I personally have not tried it, but is it possible to share a Windows drive/directory (even external HDD) to your home network and can the Android boxes connected to the network see it and play media files from it?

 

10 minutes ago, Digitalbanana said:

The op will have to test all himself as everyone apparently has their own way of doing things.

 

That is very true... all of us have our own preferences when it comes to home media entertainment.

[Jai Dee]

22 minutes ago, uncleP said:

Mine never crash from overheating.

 

Thanks for your reply but I was actually asking the OP... @Jingthing 

[Jingthing]

7 hours ago, Jai Dee said:

 

Good specs and you have bluetooth and Ethernet 10/100. 

 

Does it run hot? I seem to remember someone in another topic forecasting that this particular box would overheat and crash so it would be interesting to get first hand feedback.

How has performance been so far?

What apps are pre-loaded?

Have you tried all of them yet?

Have you connected to your Google Play Store?

Have you used the Play Store to update the apps on your box?

Have you tried playing media files from an external USB drive/stick yet?

What resolution? 720p/1080p/4K?

What about sound? Do you playback (via HDMI) to the TV speakers or do you have an AV receiver with external speakers?

 

and...

 

Have you replaced that useless remote control yet with something better?

It's somewhat hot. I don't think it's hot enough to worry about. It did crash during the first few hours. I thought it was defective but stable since then. 

 

Performance? Seems zippy to me. I have no expertise to really judge on that.

 

Apps, etc.? No Kodi.

 

Chrome 

File Browser

Media Player

Mx Player

Youtube

Thai 9420

Airscreen

Dltv

Dootv

Firefox

Gallery

Google

Looxtv

Miracast

Monomax 

Movies HD

Netflix

Playstore

Trueid

 

Tried?

No. I'm focused on the video playing from USB drive and youtube first. Looking to get the functionality I had before first. 

 

Google Play Store?

As I said before I haven't even logged into google on it.

 

Played media files?

Many

 

Resolution? 

I don't even know. The videos do look better than before though. 

 

Audio?

TV speakers

 

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

Remote Control?

Bigger news with that. 

I was having problems doing basic navigation on video files with this remote. As I could have predicted I worked out alot of that. It wasn't the remote. It was me not knowing how it works.

 

As far as the wireless keyboard mouse. I think I won't need a keyboard much but I might still need the mouse. 

 

As a test of that I ordered a 200 baht mini keyboard mouse. Then I'll see whether I really need it, use it a lot, and if that cheap unit isn't OK can always upgrade.

 

[Jingthing]

Some background.

The only reasons I wanted to buy a new box are because my ancient box (not Android) could not play many video formats anymore and also it was so old that watching youtube on it stopped being supported.

I realize the box I have has many more capabilities than that but that's not why I bought it.

So I'm in no rush at all to use all the cool stuff the new box is capable of. I'm sure I'll explore some of that in my own time but I'm not driven to do that.

I've got a PC and phone that serves most of my tech needs already.