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The Optimal TV Box - Our wishes for evolving

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    The Optimal TV Box - Our wishes for evolving

    Greets fellas,

    I have to put this question out of me, i am quite interested how the TV Box industry will develop in the coming years. I dont want to deviate this in to an Utopia TV Box, but i just want to gather a few facts regarding the by-product of researching.

    The History

    When the TV sticks arrived in the beginning, it was the time that i had problems with the hardware i had presently at home and was a bit pissed not being able to have a proper Home Entertaining System.
    -Initially had a Hackintosh Laptop without a screen used as a HTPC, which i later accidentally nuked trying to make a custom case for it.
    -Then came my TV upgrade time, and i was stuck on the issue that Smart TV's were not for me.

    Basically i needed a new TV and a new computer, then i thought lets give the Android TV world a research...and found Minix X7. Specs showed a powerful beast and a good looking device that may spare the Smart part of the TV and also exchange my painful Windows era. And it did, painfully but it did it.

    I am a semi-happy owner, and we all know why there is a part that is not Happy about what is going on.

    When one gets in to these tiny devices, it's impossible to let go after. But there is way too much room for improvement, and competition is showing that.

    The Future

    So what does it take to have the best box? What have we learned from the already released products?

    It's a simple question with a strange answer, whatever you want is already out there, but somehow wont suite you.

    I've seen boxes that have/are:
    • Freshly released that have a case which fits a 3.5' disk, giving the box NAS features as well, PERFECT, buuuuut, it has Android 2.3, which leaves you all with question marks up your head.
    • eSATA, USB 3.0, and Gigabit NIC's, all elementary things, and yet they are still above the luxury level, we wont see them as standards for another year at least.
    • Powerful CPU's such as Quad Core 1.8 ghz, but my Galaxy S connected through HDMI performed better.



    You may sense where im heading, and personally an optimal device would be something like this:
    • Have an Open hardware and software platform and Be open to the community while supporting well
    • Have multiple services and be feature rich like the all above noted techs in on device.
      • Have a proper WiFi radio, dual band and at least 3 antennas. (Wireless Router)
      • Have Dual HDMI (2.0 for the future), DisplayPorts, SPDIF (optical & coax), Analogue/Digital Outputs (Semi AV Receiver)
      • Have 4 gig ethernet ports (A Switch)
      • Have option for SATA Drives (a Large 3.5' acting as a NAS, and a SSD for the system maybe)
      • Have at least more then one USB bus channel. lots of devices have 4 ports where in fact it is a single port being shared.



    Having the option to exchange multiple devices with a single all-in-one? It's a good idea, it's actually what we need.It does have enough processing power to do all that. I reckon people wouldnt mind paying a 200-250$ for a device packed with features, i wouldnt at least.

    anyway, i started this thread to see what sort of expectations people have, there is a slight chance that we might be heard, read or even influence someone who might end up releasing something for us, the Devs here have been heard, maybe not credited but their work has been used.

    I am aware of other options, such as NUC or even investing on something as multi-talented as a SteamMachine, but i want an Android world on my TV, it is FUN and ENOUGH for my daily techy needs.

    What are your 2 cents people?

    #2


    My hopes and dreams ( amd a57 a1100 )

    Comment


      #3
      AMD on ARM, now thats news

      look at these:

      Traditionally Qualcomm Application Processor have mostly been found in tablets, smartphones, and in development board such as the company's own Mobile


      Transform your home entertainment with our cutting-edge media player, TV tuner, video capture and streaming devices for an elevated experience.


      Transform your home entertainment with our cutting-edge media player, TV tuner, video capture and streaming devices for an elevated experience.


      and i gotta say this one is really cute



      pack all this in to the size of Samsung's HomeSync, and a monster would be born.

      Comment


        #4
        and another one: http://www.tronsmart.com/Item/72

        i would not buy the 4K sh!t, 4K is limited to 24hz with HDMI 1.4x, nevertheless, that looks like a quite powerful beast to me.

        Comment


          #5
          Indeed.. i ordered this one..

          Off-course.. i dont relaay on the discription being right.. ( just look at the typ0's)
          -like 4k.. dolby/thx.. stuff, but i may get lucky... cant beat the price.. thats for shore

          Note:
          There is more info.. at the 'amlogic section' about these devices

          Cheers

          Comment


            #6
            woaa, does it really have the wavey effect? looks amazing , would make my PS4 look like last decade

            Comment


              #7
              i am really not sure what this is, but Logitech k400 owners are gonna blink for a second...

              Logitech is bringing a new entry to the lineup of Harmony remotes centered around its Hub. At a price of $150 this Harmony Smart Keyboard will retail for only twenty dollars more than the Harmony Smart Control, but trades in the simple and small remote for a keyboard. Like the rest of the Hub compatible line, it controls a long list of devices including the Apple TV, Roku or Xbox One, with support for IR, RF and Bluetooth. This means you can hide the (included) Hub away in a cabinet with your receiver, game consoles and set-top boxes with little regard for where the remote is pointed. The keyboard make quick work of searching for content when connected to a PC or Mac as well as media streamers and game consoles. Like any Harmony remote, it makes controlling up to eight devices in your home theater simple via Activities, and has buttons to control playback as well as volume. While we loved the Hub when we tested it, we have never felt the same way about a keyboard in the living room - and this is especially true now that we can use a smartphone or tablet as a keyboard. If you're willing to give QWERTY on the couch another chance, check it out on the website and look for the device hitting stores later this month.

              Comment


                #8
                Why?
                I have the k400 + mouse combi ( it uses 1 usb port/dongle)
                Its neat..
                But the harmony costs 150 and the k400 combi 79, for the difference you can buy a new android unit

                Usability wise.. on android..
                I find the motorola xoom keyb/mouse combi alot better.. thats if your unit has bluetooth and root
                -as you need to import the keyb layout
                --there is also a version with trackpad
                --only bad is the battery life.. (rechargable batterys are a must have.. ) (amazon price 28 )

                Just my 2cents..

                Comment


                  #9
                  I am a k400 user myself. and together with the X7, it cost me 200 euros

                  notice that its hub has no specs released yet, which looks like either a chromebox or an android box, hence the Thread name .

                  Comment


                    #10
                    I just ordered a Chromebox from Asus through Tiger Direct but they are back ordered until May.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      NUCs could swallow all the potential customers of any ARM based device, at the end of the day, they can be used for desktop level computing.

                      I am jealous to be honest, i use the Minix with a keyboard as a daily machine for browsing, and it seems i wont have much friends in that case since most of the people either just watch movies on them or are unto fancy air mouses.

                      anyhow, it is only a matter of time until Google will merge the two OS's, so you'll end up having some amazing options for it, besides there is an Android x86 already in the world, but it only lacks Apps.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Intel Celeron? Didn't Intel makes those in the late 90's?
                        I had a Celeron 300 OC'ed to 450 saving a ton over the Pentium II 450.
                        This cant be the same chip right?

                        Bob
                        "Pzebacz im, bo nie wiedzą, co czynią"
                        "Прости им, они не ведают, что творят"
                        "Perdona loro perché non sanno quello che fanno"
                        "Vergib ihnen, denn sie wissen nicht, was sie tun"
                        "Vergeef hen want ze weten niet wat ze doen"
                        "Pardonne-leur car ils ne savent pas ce qu'ils font"
                        "Perdónalos porque no saben que lo que hacen"
                        "Oprosti im, jer ne znaju što čine"
                        "Forgive them as they know not what they do"





                        Comment


                          #13
                          Nah, Celeron is more of the name of their basic or weak version CPUs. They switched to Core 2 Solo on the Core 2 times, and i think somewhere the Atom platform took Celerons position, tbh honest i thought even the i3 was the next gen. celeron, loaded on a windows laptop it even feels like one .

                          Introduced in April 1998,[2] the first Celeron branded CPU was based on the Pentium II branded core. Subsequent Celeron branded CPUs were based on the Pentium III,Pentium 4, Pentium M, and Intel Core branded processors. The latest Celeron design (as of July 2011) is based on the second generation Core i3/i5/i7 series (Sandy Bridge). This design features independent processing cores (CPUs), but with only 66% as much cache memory as the comparable Core i3 offering.
                          enough jabber about x86 anyway, i dont see much "sofa entertaintment" future for it (ofc, excluding consoles)

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