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Help me choose a player strictly for XBMC

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    Help me choose a player strictly for XBMC

    Hey fellas. I'm in the market to buy an Android tv box with specific reasons for XBMC playback and to be able to hook this thing up to my Pioneer amp via optical or coaxial connection. (why not enjoy a movie in DTS or DD right?)

    I've been doing ALOT of research online and I have to say that I'm quite overwhelmed with the amount of boxes out there. What kind of things should I be looking for (except for audio) in an android box? The most important thing is smooth 720p playback. I don't necessarily need 1080p because my set can't do it anyways (have a 32" Sony).

    Alot of people are pointing towards an OUYA. I don't really want another gaming console and I've taken a look at some of the games and they don't really interest me. I already have a modded Xbox with Coinops 5 on it. MORE than anyone could ever want! Yet lots of people SWEAR by the OUYA's ability to stream XBMC very smoothly. Your thoughts?

    I've read online that many people are complaining that they are getting lots of buffering, choppy video playback and even boxes that boot them out back to the dashboard. I DO NOT want these types of problems people!

    My budget is around $100 bucks. Don't know if that's going to be enough or not. Do I really have to seek out a quad core box or is that not really necessary to get smooth video playback? Please help me understand what is important for video to play without any hiccups. I just want to be able to stream tv shows, movies and watch documentaries smoothly. I've seen online that there's alot of people offering "xbmc mods" and they claim that your box will run buttery smooth and have quick response (linux).

    In your opinion, is this something anyone can do or is it best to bring your box to a "professional" and avoid bricking it? Can you really mess your android box up if you do something incorrectly? My guess is that you can always save your settings to a micro sd card right and start over?

    Thanks!

    #2
    Have you thought about the Amazon Fire TV, have a look might work out well in your neck of the woods.

    Amazon Fire TV & Fire TV Stick News, Guides, and Deals


    Amazon Fire TV is a digital media player and game microconsole developed by Amazon.com. It is designed to stream audio and video content to high definition televisions. The system also allows users to play a range of video games. Fire TV runs on Fire OS 3.0 (Mojito), which is based on Android...


    and have a good look around FreakTab plenty to give you ideas.

    Beelink

    Tronsmart

    Cheers
    treboR
    Please consider
    Donating to Freaktab

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      #3
      Originally posted by trebor View Post
      Have you thought about the Amazon Fire TV, have a look might work out well in your neck of the woods.

      Amazon Fire TV & Fire TV Stick News, Guides, and Deals


      Amazon Fire TV is a digital media player and game microconsole developed by Amazon.com. It is designed to stream audio and video content to high definition televisions. The system also allows users to play a range of video games. Fire TV runs on Fire OS 3.0 (Mojito), which is based on Android...


      and have a good look around FreakTab plenty to give you ideas.

      Beelink

      Tronsmart

      Cheers
      Thanks for the reply. I looked into the Amazon Fire box and the majority of reviews online have said to stay away if you're from Canada. 80% of the apps don't work north of the border and even though it has really good specs, I've also read that Netflix won't work either. I have lots of devices that already stream Netflix (so that's not really the deal breaker) but I also don't want to buy something that is ONLY for XBMC either. I said that was my major reason but not the only reason.

      If I buy this unit I feel like I'm not getting 100% out of this purchase and hence, I'll look at other boxes.

      Can someone tell me if quad core is recommended for 720p or is dual core enough? What exactly should I be looking for in terms of hardware for smooth playback? I don't really want another game console (OUYA) and would rather buy a conventional android tv box. Are certain chips (manufactures) better than other makes? What important specs should I not be turning a blind eye to? Is GPU the most important thing? Should the device have hardware acceleration? Do I really need to spend $150?

      Please answer with as much detail as possible. I'm new to all this.

      Thank you.

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        #4
        The minix neo 8 is on sale on Newegg, take a look!

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