Help with buying decision

[pawnslinger]

If you have your XBMC configured properly you don't need HULU at all. I have no problem finding 95% of the content I want to watch.

Yeah, if it was my decision, I would agree with you... but I got a wife and four children... who don't like messing around with XBMC, they say it is too complicated. So they need Netflix and Hulu. Otherwise, I gotta go with something else. The Ouya or the Fire TV both run XBMC, and the other apps too, but I can't tinker with them. So I buy the Minix for me to play with and something else for the other people in the house.

[pmerritt]

Ahh, I see, understandable. There is one more app that comes to mind that may help you out. Showbox download it, try it out. Very user friendly. If you can't find it, pm me and I can get you going.

[titooo7]

Ahh, I see, understandable. There is one more app that comes to mind that may help you out. Showbox download it, try it out. Very user friendly. If you can't find it, pm me and I can get you going.

This one would be easy to use even for a little children http://www.time4popcorn.eu/popcorntime.apk

but unfortunately the vides are played with lot of frame drops due to amlogic or minix softwaere issue

[NikAmi]

Get an amazon tv or wait for Android tv. Personally, if time isn't a big you, I'd wait for the Android TV.

[titooo7]

Re: Help with buying decision

Get an amazon tv or wait for Android tv. Personally, if time isn't a big you, I'd wait for the Android TV.

+100
If you are after android device to use as media center I honestly think the best options are FireTV or wait for the realease of the Android TV from Google.

Not even with powerful hardware the Chinese boxes can deliver what they promise without lot of issues.
Maybe they will in the future thanks to some software update but I don't see the reason to keep waiting for it....It might never happend

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[pawnslinger]

+100
If you are after android device to use as media center I honestly think the best options are FireTV or wait for the realease of the Android TV from Google.

Not even with powerful hardware the Chinese boxes can deliver what they promise without lot of issues.
Maybe they will in the future thanks to some software update but I don't see the reason to keep waiting for it....It might never happend

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My thanks to all that contributed to this thread. I have made my decision... last week I purchased a Fire TV. It has a locked bootloader, so customizing is a bit tougher than on Minix, but not totally impossible., I have already hacked it pretty good. I've got it rooted and lots of neat apps sideloaded. It is working pretty well, all the normal stuff, i.e. Netflix, Hulu, XBMC, etc, run very well. But no Google Play Store, so it makes getting some stuff a challange. I had a hard time getting SuperSU Pro, but finally got it, and now I am trying to figure out how to register FolderMount. I guess I can "pull" the apk from my Minix box.

Anyhow, thanks to everyone who chipped into this thread!! The Minix is going into "my play room" and the FireTV into the Family Room. And everybody is happy.

I have found the biggest drawback to the FireTV is lack of internal space on the /sdcard and limited ways to expand. I very nearly maxed it out when I loaded GTA San Andreas... that is a big game for one of these small boxes. It plays great, by the way. So anyhow, I have installed a 32gb thumb drive into a 7 port usb hub, plugged into the only usb port. Luckily the hub allows keyboard, mouse, and thumb drive to all be plugged in. The stock configuration of the FireTV does not allow usb expansion, but after rooting you can install StickMount and FolderMount... and move all the big bag games to the thumb drive. And it plays great, I don't notice any slow down in game play at all.

I have also disabled OTA updates, as they would ruin my setup. I am not sure if I will ever allow an OTA update, as all the exploits I am using might be easily closed.

This box, FireTV, is looking sweet, FreakTab needs an area for it!!

[tommix]

for people in USA fireTV is good option, good hardware and cost nothing. For rest -it very limited. I myself was thinking about FireTV instead of X-8.. and then i got blessed with vision of Intel celeron HTPC and now for 5 years i will have no problems and headache for HTPC, no stupid beta firmwares or dependency on hardware producers who every 6 months produce new player and leave older ones without support.

[pawnslinger]

for people in USA fireTV is good option, good hardware and cost nothing. For rest -it very limited. I myself was thinking about FireTV instead of X-8.. and then i got blessed with vision of Intel celeron HTPC and now for 5 years i will have no problems and headache for HTPC, no stupid beta firmwares or dependency on hardware producers who every 6 months produce new player and leave older ones without support.

I think you are correct about the USA being the primary market (only) for the FireTV. I think that will change, as Amazon is in other markets. Even with that, I have read about people outside of the USA purchasing the FireTV, and most seem happy with it despite obvious limitations.

For myself, I live in Arizona, sometimes an unlikely part of the USA <grin>. Thanks to the somewhat coerced Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

[no_spam_for_me]

... I think that will change, as Amazon is in other markets...

But e.g. at Germany the problem is, that amazon only use Silverlight for there DRM and Silverlight isn't available at ARM and/or Android... So I don't know if FireTV will be able at amazon.de (no idea how they will handle it at Germany)...

[pawnslinger]

But e.g. at Germany the problem is, that amazon only use Silverlight for there DRM and Silverlight isn't available at ARM and/or Android... So I don't know if FireTV will be able at amazon.de (no idea how they will handle it at Germany)...

I confess, I am totally unfamiliar with Amazon's market position outside of the USA. So let me ask a few questions... are Amazon's e-readers available in the German market? Such as the Kindle Fire HD?? Can German customers buy a Prime membership? Are Amazon Instant Videos available in Germany on any platform other than the PC?

I really have no idea.

But things can change, of that there is no question. It is my belief that for the longest time Netflix used only Silverlight... but that changed in a big way a long time ago.

[no_spam_for_me]

... Kindle Fire HD?? Can German customers buy a Prime membership? Are Amazon Instant Videos available in Germany on any platform other than the PC?...

Kindle Fire HD?? => YES

http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00CTV13Z4?tag=googhydr08-21&hvadid=34016981262&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1958587808265242086&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_4j3nfnmrv0_b

Can German customers buy a Prime membership? => YES

http://www.amazon.de/Prime-Instant-Video/b?node=3279204031

Are Amazon Instant Videos available in Germany on any platform other than the PC?
=> Not android because of the Silverlight

http://praxistipps.chip.de/amazon-prime-instant-video-unter-android-nutzen-geht-das_29450

[pawnslinger]

Kindle Fire HD?? => YES

http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00CTV13Z4?tag=googhydr08-21&hvadid=34016981262&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1958587808265242086&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_4j3nfnmrv0_b

Can German customers buy a Prime membership? => YES

http://www.amazon.de/Prime-Instant-Video/b?node=3279204031

Are Amazon Instant Videos available in Germany on any platform other than the PC?
=> Not android because of the Silverlight
http://praxistipps.chip.de/amazon-pr...geht-das_29450

Okay, but there are other platforms besides Android... do any of them offer Amazon Instant Video? I don't know what is available in Germany, but here in the US, Amazon Instant Video is available on such platforms as Blu-ray players and HDTVs... is this true for Germany also? At the moment, in the USA, I think many of these devices either run some proprietary OS or some form of Linux, besides Android. Here in the USA, Amazon Instant Video is also available on the PS3, I am not sure about the Xbox or PS4. And then there is the Roku -- is it available in Germany? It has Amazon Instant Video too... and I think it runs a flavor of Linux, and I am pretty sure Roku can support Silverlight also - because Roku started with Netflix back in the old days when Netflix required Silverlight too.

Anyhow, the point I am getting at is this, things can change. At some point, Silverlight may become available under Android, or Amazon could offer some other form of DRM. Nothing is written in stone. At the moment, the FireTV may not be the best choice for someone living in Germany. But when compared to other Android boxes, the FireTV has the same limitations, so it does not suffer by comparison.

After several days of using the FireTV, the biggest drawback is the lack of storage space. It has only 1 usb port, so adding a usb hub is almost mandatory, and there is no SD card slot. And the internal memory is very cramped. I have overcome these problems, but with some degree of difficulty, because of the closed nature of the system. I believe the Minix systems are much better hardware platforms, with ample storage capabilities. But for me, I just couldn't quite get there with the apps I wanted to run. So my Minix remains a project in the works, and the FireTV goes to the Living Room.

[titooo7]

Re: Help with buying decision

Kindle Fire HD?? => YES

http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00CTV13Z4?tag=googhydr08-21&hvadid=34016981262&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1958587808265242086&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_4j3nfnmrv0_b

Can German customers buy a Prime membership? => YES

http://www.amazon.de/Prime-Instant-Video/b?node=3279204031

Are Amazon Instant Videos available in Germany on any platform other than the PC?
=> Not android because of the Silverlight
http://praxistipps.chip.de/amazon-pr...geht-das_29450

As far as I know and I also would swear the Fire TV can play amazon instant video, so Silverlight isn't really needed to play amazon videos in android. They have an app for Google TV devices in the play store that myself tested in the x8 (the app worked but the videos weren't played because some files, bootloader or kernel settings missing in the x8)

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