Andriod TV Box

[ShopBoy]

any shops specialise in this here in Chiang Mai ?

i need one to set up for my mom on her big LCD so she can watch better.

is the stream reliable via wifi just for youtube , Skype ?

[iancnx]

Each box is 3999 at expat TV + their subscription. Works a treat for me.

[ShopBoy]

I hope to purchase one from a physical shop so she can get it serviced if she needs it.

dose not need any subscriptions for channels just basic net stuff to use on lcd

[zippydedodah]

upstairs at Panthip...they have several models, several price ranges, available... i bought one there and have several friends who have purchased them also... everyone is very happy with their purchase... mine allows the kid to use our TV for youtube, playing minecraft, etc.. and whenever i want, i play games and also watch tv/movies from USA... great bargain IMHO.

BTW, our first purchase (bought at sister store in Panthip BKK) was defective and the shop here in CM replaced without any problem..

you might want to make sure they install XBMC for you... many models do not come with it...

[haybilly]

What exactly are you talking about? A set top box that has HDMI output, that sends signal from a typical Android OS system unit to the TV? Sounds interesting?? What firmware do they use? 4.2 ? Can you root, etc?

[schondie]

TOT have the little Android box with all the Thai channels for 100 baht a month. It works well for the low cost.

If you're a TOT customer, it takes a few minutes to sort out.

[zippydedodah]

What exactly are you talking about? A set top box that has HDMI output, that sends signal from a typical Android OS system unit to the TV? Sounds interesting?? What firmware do they use? 4.2 ? Can you root, etc?

well, not exactly sure what you mean by a set top box, the one i bought is the size of a large dongle/usb stick... others (more cost) have multiple USB ports and LAN connection.. mine has HDMI out, wireless internet connection, and only one USB out, which i attach a powered hub to. That way i can run skype camera, additional harddrive with stored movies, wireless keyboard and mouse, etc...

not sure which version of android it is running... 4.x for sure... can it be rooted? well, that is a question for forums...

considering the cost (think it was like 2200 baht for mine), it substitutes for a laptop quite well...

[haybilly]

What exactly are you talking about? A set top box that has HDMI output, that sends signal from a typical Android OS system unit to the TV? Sounds interesting?? What firmware do they use? 4.2 ? Can you root, etc?

well, not exactly sure what you mean by a set top box, the one i bought is the size of a large dongle/usb stick... others (more cost) have multiple USB ports and LAN connection.. mine has HDMI out, wireless internet connection, and only one USB out, which i attach a powered hub to. That way i can run skype camera, additional harddrive with stored movies, wireless keyboard and mouse, etc...

not sure which version of android it is running... 4.x for sure... can it be rooted? well, that is a question for forums...

considering the cost (think it was like 2200 baht for mine), it substitutes for a laptop quite well...

Interesting, indeed--I must investigate--you say upstairs at Pantip Plaza has similar-and the shop that you bought from has a subsidiary in PP--any name? I presume it attaches via USB to a flat Screen TV or similar?

[zippydedodah]

What exactly are you talking about? A set top box that has HDMI output, that sends signal from a typical Android OS system unit to the TV? Sounds interesting?? What firmware do they use? 4.2 ? Can you root, etc?

well, not exactly sure what you mean by a set top box, the one i bought is the size of a large dongle/usb stick... others (more cost) have multiple USB ports and LAN connection.. mine has HDMI out, wireless internet connection, and only one USB out, which i attach a powered hub to. That way i can run skype camera, additional harddrive with stored movies, wireless keyboard and mouse, etc...

not sure which version of android it is running... 4.x for sure... can it be rooted? well, that is a question for forums...

considering the cost (think it was like 2200 baht for mine), it substitutes for a laptop quite well...

Interesting, indeed--I must investigate--you say upstairs at Pantip Plaza has similar-and the shop that you bought from has a subsidiary in PP--any name? I presume it attaches via USB to a flat Screen TV or similar?

i forgot the name of the company.. it is the only one with them on display upstairs and yes, they have a sister company in BKK... attaches to flat screen via HDMI...

[haybilly]

Thanks for that--I will go take a look.

[Chicog]

Much of the stuff that shop in Panthip sells is Egreat, and frankly it's not that great.

[zippydedodah]

i did not buy the egreat... i agree...overpriced and not that great... simple android dongle was the way i went and i have no complaints. The next step up is a small 3 X 3 in (approx) box, which has the LAN and multiple ports.. again, 2 friends who bought it have no problems

[Chicog]

i did not buy the egreat... i agree...overpriced and not that great... simple android dongle was the way i went and i have no complaints. The next step up is a small 3 X 3 in (approx) box, which has the LAN and multiple ports.. again, 2 friends who bought it have no problems

What brand is that?

[northernjohn]

If I may ask . I do not do well with electronics. Is this machine or dongle replacing a computer with using a TV for a monitor?

[zippydedodah]

first off, there are at least 2 or 3 cost effective brands there and i don't remember the names.. my "dongle" is M-tec, i believe and onscreen comes up R-box or something.... that is the cheapest/leanest one they have...

to answer the other question... it hooks up to TV, yes... does it replace a computer? depends on what you use a computer for... cannot put MS office on it, do spreadsheets or video and photo editing... can browse the net, watch youtube, access googleplay store, play games, etc... all the ordinary simple things that a computer might do for someone, yes, that is why i bought it... to give my kid another "computer" without having the size and cost of a real laptop

[NBD]

Ordered one from Hong Kong, and while it's OK for Youtube and basic web browsing I've never got a mic that works for Skype, it's very clunky and slow and prone to crashing.

Given that you can get a decent smart TV for under 15,000 I'd probably do that rather than spending 3-4,000 on a smart box that isn't properly supported and won't do much of what you want.

[Chicog]

Ordered one from Hong Kong, and while it's OK for Youtube and basic web browsing I've never got a mic that works for Skype, it's very clunky and slow and prone to crashing.

Given that you can get a decent smart TV for under 15,000 I'd probably do that rather than spending 3-4,000 on a smart box that isn't properly supported and won't do much of what you want.

(1) TV's aren't good at covering all the formats.

(2) You can get a very decent box for Bt4,000, but I buy it as a media player, not for Skype. However, have you tried a bluetooth or USB headset?

[NBD]

Tried a couple of mic/camera combos and none of them seem to work with my box. It also has a few annoying issues what with thinking it's a touchscreen phone, like occasionally getting a locking pattern up on the screen and playing videos in odd sizes.

Android boxes aren't that great at playing all formats either - lots of embedded videos won't play, and it doesn't recognise my external hard drive full of films etc.

Another alternative would be a laptop for not much more along with a wireless mouse and keyboard.

[heybruce]

I'm confused, I can't stream video on my computer without freezes to frequent to be endured. Do these things download and save programs for viewing at your convenience? Or do you actually have an internet connection fast and reliable enough to allow you to stream video?

[ShopBoy]

first off, there are at least 2 or 3 cost effective brands there and i don't remember the names.. my "dongle" is M-tec, i believe and onscreen comes up R-box or something.... that is the cheapest/leanest one they have...

to answer the other question... it hooks up to TV, yes... does it replace a computer? depends on what you use a computer for... cannot put MS office on it, do spreadsheets or video and photo editing... can browse the net, watch youtube, access googleplay store, play games, etc... all the ordinary simple things that a computer might do for someone, yes, that is why i bought it... to give my kid another "computer" without having the size and cost of a real laptop

do you know the brand of the 3x3 box yr friends have bought ?

Thanks for the feedback.

[zippydedodah]

first off, there are at least 2 or 3 cost effective brands there and i don't remember the names.. my "dongle" is M-tec, i believe and onscreen comes up R-box or something.... that is the cheapest/leanest one they have...

to answer the other question... it hooks up to TV, yes... does it replace a computer? depends on what you use a computer for... cannot put MS office on it, do spreadsheets or video and photo editing... can browse the net, watch youtube, access googleplay store, play games, etc... all the ordinary simple things that a computer might do for someone, yes, that is why i bought it... to give my kid another "computer" without having the size and cost of a real laptop

do you know the brand of the 3x3 box yr friends have bought ?

Thanks for the feedback.

nope, don't remember... but it is the one they are using for the display at the shop in Panthip... if you know Rob (sausageking) give him a call... he was one of my pals that i took down there and he bought the droid box, wireless mouse and keyboard, 500gig external, etc...

BTW.. my dongle and robs box both play everything and anything we have throw at it (including showing subs)... sometimes i get a bit of buffering on some channels (via XBMC), but most often, the device buffers a bit first, before starting play...

they have utorrent for android, so i imagine you could install that and download and play as needed.

personally, with this newer dongle (4core graphics and dual core processor and a few gigs of memory), i have no problems watching anything or with skype.. have a usb camera/mic combo from Logitech and it works seamlessly