Hello, I bought a month ago two phones Changhong Z-Me, which are very cheap (I bought two for 160€, about 80€ each). The brief specs are:
4" 854x480 TFT LCD screen
Gingerbread 2.3.7 with chinese & english languages
Snapdragon S2 MSM8255 @1Ghz (only one core despite some sites say)
Adreno 205
512MB RAM (about 350 for user)
4GB ROM (2.9 for user)
microHDMI out 720p support (at least my TV says so, movies are shown very decent)
Well, I received them yesterday and they work very good, but I have got a problem, I can't find a way to change the rom, because there is no forum talking about it. I don't know why, because it is a great and cheap phone. The only thing I have done is to root the phone with the tool Unlock Root 2.42, and it seems it worked (the mobile is in the list of compatible devices).
I want to change the rom because there are many programs in chinese which I can't delete, and there is no google play, instead a changhong store which is impossible to do anything since its server is from china and here in Spain is a pain to suft through chinese sites because they're way slow, and usually the changhong store gives me connection errors because of that.
I have read that I can use other sites like getjar to download apps but I would want to use the official google one. In fact I installed the google play APK but it gives me the error about creating account, and that's because my Gingerbread has no google account settings inside the menus as it is a heavy modifyed rom it seems.
I hope someone aims some interesting about this very nice phone and we all start a little community about it because I find this phone powerful enough to do most of the daily tasks, even play ^^.
Thank you so much!
nobitakun said:
Hello, I bought a month ago two phones Changhong Z-Me, which are very cheap (I bought two for 160€, about 80€ each). The brief specs are:
4" 854x480 TFT LCD screen
Gingerbread 2.3.7 with chinese & english languages
Snapdragon S2 MSM8255 @1Ghz (only one core despite some sites say)
Adreno 205
512MB RAM (about 350 for user)
4GB ROM (2.9 for user)
microHDMI out 720p support (at least my TV says so, movies are shown very decent)
Well, I received them yesterday and they work very good, but I have got a problem, I can't find a way to change the rom, because there is no forum talking about it. I don't know why, because it is a great and cheap phone. The only thing I have done is to root the phone with the tool Unlock Root 2.42, and it seems it worked (the mobile is in the list of compatible devices).
I want to change the rom because there are many programs in chinese which I can't delete, and there is no google play, instead a changhong store which is impossible to do anything since its server is from china and here in Spain is a pain to suft through chinese sites because they're way slow, and usually the changhong store gives me connection errors because of that.
I have read that I can use other sites like getjar to download apps but I would want to use the official google one. In fact I installed the google play APK but it gives me the error about creating account, and that's because my Gingerbread has no google account settings inside the menus as it is a heavy modifyed rom it seems.
I hope someone aims some interesting about this very nice phone and we all start a little community about it because I find this phone powerful enough to do most of the daily tasks, even play ^^.
Thank you so much!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have rooted the and got google Play Store working!! Searching chinese forums for the recovery I could do it but is not my phone if for my friend so he'll collect it from me!!:laugh:
Any suggestions? I bought a Fire TV stick a little while back because it was so cheap and after messing around with it.. side loading apps and such I think I'd like to get something more capable and open that can play 1080p content from more internet video sources, use Plex without having to rely on a decent modern PC to transcode a lot of 1080p HD video files, mount external storage so the box can be used without an internet connection at times when traveling and more without having to deal with Amazon's BS.
Closer to $50 would be ideal, but if it's really worth it I could go up to around $100. 4k and gaming are of no importance to me for this box. There seem to be a lot of options out there to investigate, I'm not really sure where to start. I've been looking at these Android TV boxes (and sticks) over the years on and off but coming to a purchase decision seems a bit difficult due to the wide array of choices out there currently. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
EDIT: Is this the right forum to be posting in? I'm not necessarily looking for a "stick" form factor, it could be a box or a stick - doesn't really matter.
No one?
salils said:
No one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try ODROID - They have some interesting and powerful stuff.
Also have a active Community.
maybe these ones?
Ugoos UM2 ( 50 - 100 euro )
specs:
www ugoos net/ugoos-um2/
MK802IIIS ( 50 - 70 euro )
specs:
www rikomagic com/en/product/showpro_id_32_pid_19.html
PS: The wifi on the MK802IIIS is very bad, I can tell because i've got one myself.
but the operating system is very smooth.
to see the specs replace the space after WWW en before COM with a dot
Razor Forge TV is $99 Snapdragon 805 2GB RAM really for the price you can't beat it.
Sent from my GT-I9505G using XDA Free mobile app
I bought a VidOn Box a few months back and all in all it is a pretty good device. It costs about 75USD and may be what you're looking for.
Odroid!
Hey there guys, I was wondering if anyone could tell me what the best Android TV device is on the market. Only catch, it has to be rootable. I do not really care if it is a dongle or some other kind of unit. As long as it is rootable, and runts 4.2 + android.
Any suggestions or ideas?
Thanks in advance.
Anyone?
Best Android TV
Hi. The best on my opinion is the Razer Forge, if you plan to play games on top hardware developed for Android and enjoy 4k streaming(full HD). About rooting possibility, don't know yet but almost all devices like these allow it if not now, early will.
Forgetting my advise you won't fail buying a Minix X8 H Plus... Its 4k even.
Best regards!
nicaroxo said:
Hi. The best on my opinion is the Razer Forge, if you plan to play games on top hardware developed for Android and enjoy 4k streaming(full HD). About rooting possibility, don't know yet but almost all devices like these allow it if not now, early will.
Forgetting my advise you won't fail buying a Minix X8 H Plus... Its 4k even.
Best regards!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What about a gbox q?
G Box Q
Awesome specs, but not available in my country yet! Better price either. Some reviews gave outstanding performance on 4k. Why not?
nicaroxo said:
Awesome specs, but not available in my country yet! Better price either. Some reviews gave outstanding performance on 4k. Why not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks dude.... I appreciate it
I bought a Tronfy MX-IV, looking at some of the other boxes it has the same design as the Beelink. Quite satisfied with it. Runs 4.4.2 with Kodi 14.2, 4k support. But i do recommend buying an airmouse. Most of these boxes come with a simple IR remote.
kidjolly said:
What about a gbox q?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The G Box Q is an older MX2 Dual Core System.
Depending on what you need I'd go with the following in this order.
Google Nexus ADT-1 <- GET THIS
nVidia Shield TV <- Or that
If you want to Game! since these both have the nVida Tegra 4 GPU, and you can hack the ADT-1 to use the nVidia Service to play Half-Life 2 in it
On the Chinese side....
Minix Neo x8-H Plus <- Probably the BEST DEVICE you can get for ~150.00€ GigE, 802.11ac, Hardware decode of h.265 >2160p*
Beelink S82 Plus (Or any other Generic S82 Plus [2G/16G] Device you can find. Amlogic S812 SoC) <- Again these should be slightly cheaper though they are S812 SoCs they lack a number of features such as GigE 802.11ac and Hardware decode.
Slightly cheaper still are the current dead-end products such as the MXIII, S82 / S89 - S802 SoC Boxes. The "Trick" here is to miss the 1G/8G Units and, go straight on for the better 2G/8G, which have 802.11 a/b/g/n, and Bluetooth. These all have Arm Mali GPUs which are great, but not really in the same league with nVidia. If your just want a cheap efficient replacement for that HTPC then these are the right Boxes for you.
*NOTE You have to make sure your getting the *-H Plus version the lower Plus version with out the "H" only does Software decode >720p.
You'll note it in the slight price difference. In the end its about what you're willing to pay up font for!
If you're waiting for an Android TV Device, wait for the Nvidia Shield Android TV. It will be the most powerful device there, and it will also be able to output 4k and 7.1 surround sound. I have the Razer Forge TV, and while it's nice, I don't have Netflix Support.
Sgt.JimmyRustles said:
If you're waiting for an Android TV Device, wait for the Nvidia Shield Android TV. It will be the most powerful device there, and it will also be able to output 4k and 7.1 surround sound. I have the Razer Forge TV, and while it's nice, I don't have Netflix Support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
specs look awesome for that, but you think it would be rootable? and run Kodi? (not a big fan of Plex)
snoozy said:
specs look awesome for that, but you think it would be rootable? and run Kodi? (not a big fan of Plex)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Forge can run Kodi, as well as the Nexus Player, so I'd assume the Shield TV can as well. Though I'm returning my Forge TV, as the No Netflix has really gotten to me.
Ichijoe said:
The G Box Q is an older MX2 Dual Core System.
Depending on what you need I'd go with the following in this order.
Google Nexus ADT-1 <- GET THIS
nVidia Shield TV <- Or that
If you want to Game! since these both have the nVida Tegra 4 GPU, and you can hack the ADT-1 to use the nVidia Service to play Half-Life 2 in it
On the Chinese side....
Minix Neo x8-H Plus <- Probably the BEST DEVICE you can get for ~150.00€ GigE, 802.11ac, Hardware decode of h.265 >2160p*
Beelink S82 Plus (Or any other Generic S82 Plus [2G/16G] Device you can find. Amlogic S812 SoC) <- Again these should be slightly cheaper though they are S812 SoCs they lack a number of features such as GigE 802.11ac and Hardware decode.
Slightly cheaper still are the current dead-end products such as the MXIII, S82 / S89 - S802 SoC Boxes. The "Trick" here is to miss the 1G/8G Units and, go straight on for the better 2G/8G, which have 802.11 a/b/g/n, and Bluetooth. These all have Arm Mali GPUs which are great, but not really in the same league with nVidia. If your just want a cheap efficient replacement for that HTPC then these are the right Boxes for you.
*NOTE You have to make sure your getting the *-H Plus version the lower Plus version with out the "H" only does Software decode >720p.
You'll note it in the slight price difference. In the end its about what you're willing to pay up font for!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This guy is giving sound advice and seems to know what he is talking about.
I have bought several devices and have come to find that MINIX has the best boxes and makes the most progress with them. Plus it seems to have the biggest development community pumping out ROMS and early releases of firmware.
I currently have both and MINIX x8-h and a MINIX x8-h plus. I normally keep them rooted and on the latest FinlessBob ROM. They play everything I throw at them, from locally stored videos, to YouTube, to Amazon Prime or Netflix, or other less talked about streaming apps.
KjK89 said:
This guy is giving sound advice and seems to know what he is talking about.
I have bought several devices and have come to find that MINIX has the best boxes and makes the most progress with them. Plus it seems to have the biggest development community pumping out ROMS and early releases of firmware.
I currently have both and MINIX x8-h and a MINIX x8-h plus. I normally keep them rooted and on the latest FinlessBob ROM. They play everything I throw at them, from locally stored videos, to YouTube, to Amazon Prime or Netflix, or other less talked about streaming apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you play Netflix in HD on those Boxes? What about Google Play Movies?
I don't think I've ever seen a build.prop from a Minix Box yet. But, for the rest of those Amalogic Boxes... Including the newer k200 (S812 SoC's). The Line:
media.amplayer.widevineenable= has been set to false. The upshot here is that Google Play Movies WILL NOT WORK, until you flip that bit to true, and reboot.
As to Amazon Prime... I wasn't able to get it working on my MXIII... A case of to many inter-operating Apps.. Install this, to install that so that App A) can call upon App b) (The Player), to work... Oddly enough the Kodi add-on just WORKS! Even with HD stuff... As for Netflix though? I'm not a customer of theres just yet.
Ichijoe said:
Can you play Netflix in HD on those Boxes? What about Google Play Movies?
I don't think I've ever seen a build.prop from a Minix Box yet. But, for the rest of those Amalogic Boxes... Including the newer k200 (S812 SoC's). The Line:
media.amplayer.widevineenable= has been set to false. The upshot here is that Google Play Movies WILL NOT WORK, until you flip that bit to true, and reboot.
As to Amazon Prime... I wasn't able to get it working on my MXIII... A case of to many inter-operating Apps.. Install this, to install that so that App A) can call upon App b) (The Player), to work... Oddly enough the Kodi add-on just WORKS! Even with HD stuff... As for Netflix though? I'm not a customer of theres just yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good questions, but my answers my not be the most fulfilling. When I first tried Netflix, I was using a friends account and did not specifically test HD playback. I do not use Netflix at the moment, so I'm not able to test again.
As for Amazon Prime i followed the app (a) to app (b) stuff and I think the way it works now is when I click on the app icon it actually takes me into the browser and allows me to select the movie I want to play and then it opens in MX Player.
KjK89 said:
Good questions, but my answers my not be the most fulfilling. When I first tried Netflix, I was using a friends account and did not specifically test HD playback. I do not use Netflix at the moment, so I'm not able to test again.
As for Amazon Prime i followed the app (a) to app (b) stuff and I think the way it works now is when I click on the app icon it actually takes me into the browser and allows me to select the movie I want to play and then it opens in MX Player.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah this to me seems wrong on soo many levels... I shouldn't have to jump though hoops just to watch something. It also doesn't do much to help when the stuff they have (Amazon Germany), is third-rate junk at best, and isn't even worth the One off payment of 50€ per annum at worst. Thankfully my two-week cooling off period is about to close soon ( I think tomorrow, or Thursday IIRC)... I shall definitely be making sure to cancel my 30 Day Trial ASAP!
Ichijoe said:
Yeah this to me seems wrong on soo many levels... I shouldn't have to jump though hoops just to watch something. It also doesn't do much to help when the stuff they have (Amazon Germany), is third-rate junk at best, and isn't even worth the One off payment of 50€ per annum at worst. Thankfully my two-week cooling off period is about to close soon ( I think tomorrow, or Thursday IIRC)... I shall definitely be making sure to cancel my 30 Day Trial ASAP!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hear you! I think its important to note, that this is a problem caused by Amazon tho, not the device manufacturer. Amazon does not have a very effective way of accessing prime videos on Android. I use prime because I do a lot of shopping on Amazon, so to me the movies are a bonus and now that I have it set up the right way, it really isn't too hard to use.
KjK89 said:
I hear you! I think its important to note, that this is a problem caused by Amazon tho, not the device manufacturer. Amazon does not have a very effective way of accessing prime videos on Android. I use prime because I do a lot of shopping on Amazon, so to me the movies are a bonus and now that I have it set up the right way, it really isn't too hard to use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But, it is Amazons problem... The world is moving the hell away from MicroSoft's Silverlight as fast, as it can... Perhaps you might have heard that Goggle finally started removing NPAPI from Chrome... The bit that made Silverlight work on it? And, we're talking about PC's here now, NOT Android!
Besides I have to ask myself... If I must use something as bad as the MX Player (As more in what it devolved into, then what it used to be!), to render Amazon Prime in the first place.... Why even bother with any DRM in the first place? And, IF I needed such a Renderer, to, get this working... (Something that truly escapes me!), This might explain to my why I'm otherwise unable to use it outside of XBMC/Kodi. Which does work.
But, I suspect the "Difference" between you, and I is that you're using Amazon.com (US) - With the best Content going... While I'm on Amazon.de (Germany), - Which only has utter CRAP on it! As to the other "freebees" I don't own a Kindle, and I don't need any Free Shipping from them either. I joined this "venture" from the other-side as a VOD Provider with other goodies tossed in. Perhaps that was my failing here...
I have two MXQ android tv boxes in the house and they're working great, I also have rooted firmware installed on them which also includes gamepad support but I haven't tested that as I brought the mxq solely for using kodi.
snoozy said:
I bought a Tronfy MX-IV, looking at some of the other boxes it has the same design as the Beelink. Quite satisfied with it. Runs 4.4.2 with Kodi 14.2, 4k support. But i do recommend buying an airmouse. Most of these boxes come with a simple IR remote.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes this device is not bad. Tronfy is also a tv box brand not that hot. Mind if i ask where did you offer it?
As i see a thread about Minix Neo X8-H. The tv box comes with an M1 air mouse. Many uses for the air mouse. Light and with great material.
So if MX-IV comes with one, that's perfect
The Tronfy MXIV doesn't come with an air mouse, but those are pretty cheap. Aside from that, it's a great box. Just waiting for Lollipop firmware and it will be perfect (as the Android TV Play Store and a lot of the apps are 5.x only).
I'm looking for Android TV Box as gift for my dad. Basically what his requirement would be like:
1. Mostly watching Youtube and should play videos upto 1080p/h.264 smoothly with subtitles. No as such requirement for h.265 or 4k
2. Light Gaming (like angry birds, no 3d games, etc)
3. Should be stable out of box (though I can upgrade the firmware, but would prefer if its stable out of box). If its pre-rooted, its better. This is most important, as they are not tech savvy and I'm not around always..
4. Good WiFi connection
5. Ethernet connection (only till 100mbps, no gigabit requirement)
6. Support for external speaker (if possible?)
Does Beelink X2 a good fit for above requirements ? or should i go for more expensive boxes like Tronsmart MXIII / Plus, etc ? I looking to keep the budget to less than < $60
Regards
I just stumbled across your post and noticed that it has had 119 views, but no responses ....
in my view there is a simple reason for that my friend - try a bit of Googling!!!
I have always been a fan of XDA, and appreciate the knowledgeable help I have had on here when I have had a problem,
but XDA is not really the place for your question -
if you are too idle to do some basic product research to help you decide, then don't expect others to do it for you