Android TV box for XBMC

Reece_Bullers · 29-08-2014, 10:12

Hey guys,

I'm looking into buying a Droid box to use primarily for XBMC - has anyone got one or tried one that they could recommend?

Ideally I'd like to buy one that is running a quad-core CPU.

Any help would be appreciated.

Steve_Whelan · 31-08-2014, 00:35

I have the MINIX neo X8 which is brilliant for XBMC the X7 also gets good reviews, the Gbox Midnight also gets good reviews. The X8 I paid £105 the Gbox is around £90 and the X7 is still available and can be found for around £75. Stay away from the cheap android boxes they say XBMC comparable but struggle to play anything even with a basic skin with everything set to minimum. Another thing to bare in mind is these boxes are pretty useless for anything other than XBMC, they are more than capable of running Netflix IPlayer Amazon prime Etc. But DRM and lack of touch screen makes them unusable.

Mr Madras · 31-08-2014, 11:37

I'd echo some of what SW says (and will check out the boxes he mentions). I bought a pre-loaded RK3188-based box from Amazon. The main attraction was XBMC with all the best add-ons pre-installed. This is the model I bought:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Generic-1080...ref=pd_cp_ce_0

You can get it from a host of different suppliers for £35-£45. I paid a little more for one shipped by Amazon with its no-hassle returns process. I'm glad I did. I would not recommend buying one. The box had major flaws, the worst of which was stuttering playback of every vid I threw at it. I tried every free app out there, to no avail. It was as if the box was dropping frames. Drove me mad. In less than a week the thing was on its way back to Amazon. I'm still looking for a solution.

1andrew1 · 04-09-2014, 12:52

Amazon Fire launches in the UK next month and XBMC can be loaded onto it. It has a very positive review on the XBMC Wiki page "Amazon Fire TV is an Android-based (Fire OS) set-top-box that contains a very powerful ARM processor (that can even handle some of the more heavy XBMC skins). Fire TV stands above some of the other Android-based offerings due to Amazon's strong product support and because it contains more remote friendly versions of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and other video service clients, making it a good pairing with XBMC. "
http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Amazon_Fire_TV

29-08-2014, 10:12	#1
Reece_Bullers Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Posts: 9	Android TV box for XBMC Hey guys, I'm looking into buying a Droid box to use primarily for XBMC - has anyone got one or tried one that they could recommend? Ideally I'd like to buy one that is running a quad-core CPU. Any help would be appreciated.

31-08-2014, 00:35	#2
Steve_Whelan Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 1,849	I have the MINIX neo X8 which is brilliant for XBMC the X7 also gets good reviews, the Gbox Midnight also gets good reviews. The X8 I paid £105 the Gbox is around £90 and the X7 is still available and can be found for around £75. Stay away from the cheap android boxes they say XBMC comparable but struggle to play anything even with a basic skin with everything set to minimum. Another thing to bare in mind is these boxes are pretty useless for anything other than XBMC, they are more than capable of running Netflix IPlayer Amazon prime Etc. But DRM and lack of touch screen makes them unusable.

31-08-2014, 11:37	#3
Mr Madras Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: England Posts: 663	I'd echo some of what SW says (and will check out the boxes he mentions). I bought a pre-loaded RK3188-based box from Amazon. The main attraction was XBMC with all the best add-ons pre-installed. This is the model I bought: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Generic-1080...ref=pd_cp_ce_0 You can get it from a host of different suppliers for £35-£45. I paid a little more for one shipped by Amazon with its no-hassle returns process. I'm glad I did. I would not recommend buying one. The box had major flaws, the worst of which was stuttering playback of every vid I threw at it. I tried every free app out there, to no avail. It was as if the box was dropping frames. Drove me mad. In less than a week the thing was on its way back to Amazon. I'm still looking for a solution.

04-09-2014, 12:52	#4
1andrew1 Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 3,981	Amazon Fire launches in the UK next month and XBMC can be loaded onto it. It has a very positive review on the XBMC Wiki page "Amazon Fire TV is an Android-based (Fire OS) set-top-box that contains a very powerful ARM processor (that can even handle some of the more heavy XBMC skins). Fire TV stands above some of the other Android-based offerings due to Amazon's strong product support and because it contains more remote friendly versions of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and other video service clients, making it a good pairing with XBMC. " http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Amazon_Fire_TV

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Android TV box for XBMC