Minix X8-H - Playback Issues

[Stelz87]

I have some 8 gig hd files that I encoded myself and they work just fine. That's the reason I say it could be the codecs used. I'm no expert at troubleshooting these boxes but I think the best test would be to have a different vendor with the same chipset and throw everything you can at them with side by side tests.

As much as I would love to, I don't think I'll be wasting my hard earned money anymore on these cheaply made Chinese TV boxes or anything China made for that matter. I've been burnt too many times & if it's one thing I've learned.. if it is too good to be true, it normally is.

Unless it is a well known brand name product, nothing they make is thoroughly tested prior to dispatch.

[Finless]

As much as I would love to, I don't think I'll be wasting my hard earned money anymore on these cheaply made Chinese TV boxes or anything China made for that matter. I've been burnt too many times & if it's one thing I've learned.. if it is too good to be true, it normally is.

Unless it is a well known brand name product, nothing they make is thoroughly tested prior to dispatch.

Yea, and the difference will be..... PRICE you probably wont pay either.

If say Samsung came out with a Galaxy TV box, spent THOUSANDS of man hours developing the ROM to correct that you call China issues (which are not), and then released it...
My bet is it would be $400 US.

Willing to pay that?

Oh and don't count on it working 100% either! WHY?

Android is a phone OS at it's core. You can do your research if you want to see what I am saying.

Gingerbread was a phone OS and did not support tablets. Yet, China made tablets and so did "Brand Names" and they did it by spending a SHIT load of man hours hacking at the ROM to make it work decent on a tablet.

Honeycomb was not officially released by Google. But it had some "tablet" support in it. SO they were moving to a better platform supporting devices larger than a phone.

ICS was the next step from Google. Now you had a OS that is getting more open platform and not just a hacked phone OS.

JellyBean... getting better! Tablets now fully supported with many things.

KitKat, Google was now adding basic structure for TV device support! But like Honeycomb, IT'S NOT FULLY THERE YET!
On top of that to support TV, streaming and things that would be part of a TV stick, they added security and DRM! They must to be compliant with TV and TV based media content! BUT as we all see, this in fact BREAKS other things! It' still a half ass hacked system at this point.

So in closing... China and any other "brand name" has to work with Android at it's core level. Right now TV sticks are not 100% part of that core. ANYONE that makes a TV stick ROM is basically "hacking" Google Android SDK to make it work! This would be true of a brand name too! But a brand name has lots of money to spend MORE MAN HOURS hacking at Android to make it work and THAT my friend will cost you +$200 or more to get.

So, don't blame everything on China! Google's SDK is behind and that's all ANYONE, brand name or not, has to work with.

Bob

[Stelz87]

Yea, and the difference will be..... PRICE you probably wont pay either.

If say Samsung came out with a Galaxy TV box, spent THOUSANDS of man hours developing the ROM to correct that you call China issues (which are not), and then released it...
My bet is it would be $400 US.

Willing to pay that?

Oh and don't count on it working 100% either! WHY?

Android is a phone OS at it's core. You can do your research if you want to see what I am saying.

Gingerbread was a phone OS and did not support tablets. Yet, China made tablets and so did "Brand Names" and they did it by spending a SHIT load of man hours hacking at the ROM to make it work decent on a tablet.

Honeycomb was not officially released by Google. But it had some "tablet" support in it. SO they were moving to a better platform supporting devices larger than a phone.

ICS was the next step from Google. Now you had a OS that is getting more open platform and not just a hacked phone OS.

JellyBean... getting better! Tablets now fully supported with many things.

KitKat, Google was now adding basic structure for TV device support! But like Honeycomb, IT'S NOT FULLY THERE YET!
On top of that to support TV, streaming and things that would be part of a TV stick, they added security and DRM! They must to be compliant with TV and TV based media content! BUT as we all see, this in fact BREAKS other things! It' still a half ass hacked system at this point.

So in closing... China and any other "brand name" has to work with Android at it's core level. Right now TV sticks are not 100% part of that core. ANYONE that makes a TV stick ROM is basically "hacking" Google Android SDK to make it work! This would be true of a brand name too! But a brand name has lots of money to spend MORE MAN HOURS hacking at Android to make it work and THAT my friend will cost you +$200 or more to get.

So, don't blame everything on China! Google's SDK is behind and that's all ANYONE, brand name or not, has to work with.

Bob

I'm willing to pay whatever reasonable amount as long as it has been THOROUGHLY tested prior to release & WORKS rather than purchasing 10 different TV boxes that don't & spending how many hours, if not days in trying to get it to work properly & then have no success in the end. Surely everyone can understand my frustration.

All I can say is, luckily I have some PC knowledge in trying to repair these issues but damn do I feel sorry for the consumers who get suckered in that don't have the know how when something goes wrong.

Anyway back on topic I'm running your ROM atm & I'm still experiencing the same issues. I've watched & read countless reviews of the Minix X8 showing how they can play 4K media no problem yet mine still doesn't.. Any idea's Bob?

[titooo7]

Anyway back on topic I'm running your ROM atm & I'm still experiencing the same issues. I've watched & read countless reviews of the Minix X8 showing how they can play 4K media no problem yet mine still doesn't.. Any idea's Bob?

To me it looks like simple. The box or software doesnt have enough power or hasn't polished properly to play 4k videos and it only cam play some but not the majority.
When you want to promote a product you have to use marketing and when doing so you will show what the product can do but not wheat it can't do

[Stelz87]

To me it looks like simple. The box or software doesnt have enough power or hasn't polished properly to play 4k videos and it only cam play some but not the majority.
When you want to promote a product you have to use marketing and when doing so you will show what the product can do but not wheat it can't do

Couldn't agree with you more. Touché my friend.

[1337techie]

Do you have any issues playing 1080p video also? Or is your problem only with 4K? Any audio or video codecs that give you trouble?

I am not concerned too much about 4K video right now because I have a 1080p TV and I don't plan on buying 4k TV for another 2 years. But I am very interested to know if 1080p playback is smooth, lag-free, stutter-free?

[Stelz87]

Do you have any issues playing 1080p video also? Or is your problem only with 4K? Any audio or video codecs that give you trouble?

I am not concerned too much about 4K video right now because I have a 1080p TV and I don't plan on buying 4k TV for another 2 years. But I am very interested to know if 1080p playback is smooth, lag-free, stutter-free?

Read through the thread to see what I am experiencing. If your concern is not mentioned, it's fine.

[1337techie]

Read through the thread to see what I am experiencing. If your concern is not mentioned, it's fine.

I did read through the thread. And in your first post, you said:

My resolution is set to 1080P (Auto) I'm using a Seagate 2TB 3.5" external HDD. Here is what I'm experiencing.

* HD media sometimes runs slow, fast-forward & picture try's catching up to audio after pressing play.

But in your subsequent posts, you are talking about 4K videos mostly. So, I am not sure how big of a problem 1080p video playback is. I'd appreciate your review of that situation.

In fact, I created a thread earlier (http://www.freaktab.com/showthread.p...h-right-for-me) - maybe you could chime-in that thread? I am sure other newbies, potential customers will also benefit from your answer.

Thanks in advance for your time and help.

[zektor]

Well, I do not have 4K, but I have been playing 1080P bluray rips seemlessly with my X8-H since I received it on Friday. I tried the Beta 002 rom with the included XMBC there, but it randomly reboots the minix when used (although it plays fine before it does reboot!)

I am currently running Finless v1.0 with the ID fix and Xbox controller patch. I am using the Finless edition of XBMC and it works flawlessly. No lockups, no studder, no reboots. I just got done with a two and a half our 1080P movie using it and it was smooth from beginning to end.

If you are looking for perfect 1080P playback, Finless 1.0 and his XBMC is the way to go. MX Player works great with it as well...and Archos player too

[1337techie]

Well, I do not have 4K, but I have been playing 1080P bluray rips seemlessly with my X8-H since I received it on Friday. I tried the Beta 002 rom with the included XMBC there, but it randomly reboots the minix when used (although it plays fine before it does reboot!)

I am currently running Finless v1.0 with the ID fix and Xbox controller patch. I am using the Finless edition of XBMC and it works flawlessly. No lockups, no studder, no reboots. I just got done with a two and a half our 1080P movie using it and it was smooth from beginning to end.

If you are looking for perfect 1080P playback, Finless 1.0 and his XBMC is the way to go. MX Player works great with it as well...and Archos player too

Thanks. This gives me lot of confidence. Can you also provide some review of popular streaming sites:
1. Netflix - how is NetFlix playback? Smooth, HD (atleast 720p)?
2. YouTube - how is YouTube Playback, does it play YouTube in HD resolution when available?
3. Vimeo, Hulu, Pandora, HBO, Crackle - have you tried those? Do they play/stream in HD?

From reviews it sounds like Remote that comes with it is not so functional. Can you recommend some other remote/airmouse that is easy to use and allows you to easily type text for searching or browsing?

[NikAmi]

Once you get used to the remote, it's fine. Not great, but it gets the job done. Depending on how much you will use the box, it may or may not make sense for you to get a different one.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

[zektor]

Thanks. This gives me lot of confidence. Can you also provide some review of popular streaming sites:
1. Netflix - how is NetFlix playback? Smooth, HD (atleast 720p)?
2. YouTube - how is YouTube Playback, does it play YouTube in HD resolution when available?
3. Vimeo, Hulu, Pandora, HBO, Crackle - have you tried those? Do they play/stream in HD?

From reviews it sounds like Remote that comes with it is not so functional. Can you recommend some other remote/airmouse that is easy to use and allows you to easily type text for searching or browsing?

I haven't tested Youtube playback (other than in a window in Dolphin) but it played fine. Netflix plays at full 1080P HD resolution thanks to the Finless device ID patcher (that spoofs it to a Nexus 10). HBO and Xfinity are the only other two I have used and those are fine as well...HD video.

The remote works fine for casual use, but I always use a nice optical mouse that is permanently stationed on the coffee table

[gjs999]

Only just got my unit and impressed so far - if I have a Bluray ISO should it also play the menu etc -- all it does via XBMC is play the movie or have i missed something -- and the M1 is anonying at times but for free can't complain too much.