Is it worth the extra for the New fire TV? Are these MXiii boxes well supported? Thanks
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There are a number of differences between the two devices. If your main concern is to stream from commercial services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon etc. then the Fire TV is a better option as it can stream content at up to 4K resolutions. Most of the current android devices can only stream from Netflix, Hulu at resolutions up to 480p due to DRM issues. I do stream a lot of Hulu Plus on my MXIII as it performs better than my Roku which often stops to buffer during a show.
On the other hand Amazon make it difficult for you to load your own apps onto the Fire TV so you may need to go to quite a lot of trouble to get everything working. This could become very frustrating if you regularly install new apps and games etc. The MXIII-G also supports older analog TVs via the A/V output and has two USB ports and one OTG port.
I'm not sure what the current situation is regarding playback of different video formats on the new Fire TV but the MXIII-G will probably support more formats. The MT8173 processor in the new FTV is faster than the S812 which should help with gaming but you may need to purchase games and the game controller hardware from Amazon. You should be able to play most of the popular games in the Play Store on the MXIII-G without any problems. You can also choose from a wide range of affordable game controllers or airmice to improve your experience. I am using a $9 AF106 airmouse to control my MXIII and I have also configured the accelerometer/gyroscope so that I can play a variety of 3D type games like Riptide GP 2, Beach Buggy Racing and various balancing type games such as Rolling Seed and Labyrinth 2 Lite etc. by twisting the mouse left/right/up/down like a phone or tablet.
You can choose between loading KitKat, Lollipop or OpenELEC firmware on the MXIII-G. I don't think that there is a version of OpenELEC for the Fire TV. Beelink, Tronsmart and Tronfy all use the same or very similar circuit board in their MXIII-G/MXIII Plus/MXIV Telos machines so there are a number of different compatible firmwares available unlike most of the lower quality Amazon/****/Aliexpress machines.I think that the MXIII-G offers good value at the current price of ~$47 for the 1GB version and $57 for the 2GB version from Gearbest. -
Thank you so much for your detailed replyOriginally posted by Lurker View PostThere are a number of differences between the two devices. If your main concern is to stream from commercial services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon etc. then the Fire TV is a better option as it can stream content at up to 4K resolutions. Most of the current android devices can only stream from Netflix, Hulu at resolutions up to 480p due to DRM issues. I do stream a lot of Hulu Plus on my MXIII as it performs better than my Roku which often stops to buffer during a show.
On the other hand Amazon make it difficult for you to load your own apps onto the Fire TV so you may need to go to quite a lot of trouble to get everything working. This could become very frustrating if you regularly install new apps and games etc. The MXIII-G also supports older analog TVs via the A/V output and has two USB ports and one OTG port.
I'm not sure what the current situation is regarding playback of different video formats on the new Fire TV but the MXIII-G will probably support more formats. The MT8173 processor in the new FTV is faster than the S812 which should help with gaming but you may need to purchase games and the game controller hardware from Amazon. You should be able to play most of the popular games in the Play Store on the MXIII-G without any problems. You can also choose from a wide range of affordable game controllers or airmice to improve your experience. I am using a $9 AF106 airmouse to control my MXIII and I have also configured the accelerometer/gyroscope so that I can play a variety of 3D type games like Riptide GP 2, Beach Buggy Racing and various balancing type games such as Rolling Seed and Labyrinth 2 Lite etc. by twisting the mouse left/right/up/down like a phone or tablet.
You can choose between loading KitKat, Lollipop or OpenELEC firmware on the MXIII-G. I don't think that there is a version of OpenELEC for the Fire TV. Beelink, Tronsmart and Tronfy all use the same or very similar circuit board in their MXIII-G/MXIII Plus/MXIV Telos machines so there are a number of different compatible firmwares available unlike most of the lower quality Amazon/****/Aliexpress machines.I think that the MXIII-G offers good value at the current price of ~$47 for the 1GB version and $57 for the 2GB version from Gearbest.
I've never used OpenELEC is that what you use and is it a better OS?
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@makavelio: What are you wanting to do with your box? How much is a Fire TV going to cost?
OpenELEC (Open Embedded Linux Entertainment Center) is a version of Linux specially designed for media applications like Kodi. I have android installed on my box as I also use the Netflix and Hulu Plus apps which are not available on OE. You should get better performance from Kodi running on OE rather than android.
I am currently also using android apps like Showbox, MovieHD, Mobdro and Kodi on my MXIII in addition to Netflix and Hulu Plus.Comment
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Just want to use Kodi really at the moment and to be easily launched on start up for kids . Will snes emulator's work fine and will ps3 controller work as it has Bluetooth? The mxiii g is £38 and fire TV is £65. ThanksOriginally posted by Lurker View PostLast edited by makavelio; 12-03-2015, 20:58.Comment
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That's quite a good price for the Fire TV - normally around £80!
I think you might now be able to use a ps3 controller on the MXIII-G via BT - more details in the links below. It appears that you should also be able to run MAME and SNES emulators.
http://www.minixforum.com/threads/si...ntrollers.465/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/andr...eview-t3184824
The older MXIII M82 is also currently on promotion for ~£26. This is what I have been using for the last year. Performance wise there isn't much of a difference between the S802 and the S812 although the S802 lacks Gigabit ethernet, H.265 playback and Lollipop support. If you just want something cheap for the kids to use to stream Kodi this is a very affordable option. It does not have Bluetooth so the 2GB MXIII-G would be a much better choice for gaming.
Most of the machines on Aliexpress/Amazon/**** are not original so I would strongly recommend that you purchase from Gearbest otherwise you may struggle to upgrade the firmware or to get some features to work. Unfortunately all of the Gearbest EU warehouse stock seems to be sold out! You can also try the 7% promoproGB discount coupon code at checkout - probably won't work on already discounted items.Comment
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Yes its on offer in the UK from £80 to £65. I wish they had more stock in there EU warehouse for the MXIII-G. I doubt it will come before Christmas if I order today. Thanks :-)Comment
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I hope that things work out with your Christmas shopping! Let us know if you have any problems.
If you have any interest in using your new TV box to watch 3D content on your current TV you could order a few red/cyan glasses in the meantime. You can find most of the LG Cinema 3D TV demo videos on YouTube and there isn't a huge difference between how they look on a standard TV using those 15c glasses versus on an expensive 3D active or passive set.
Here are a few of my current favourites that you can test on a PC with Chrome browser (Chrome should convert from SBS to red/cyan anaglyph).
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