#EDIT: My bad. I did a post before this, but because It didn't show up I thought it got deleted. Guess it didn't.
Couple of things that need to be addressed, the box isn't rooted. It is on the first boot but after that you loose it.
Normally this isn't an huge issue as I have very little need for root on these Android TV boxes. The issue is this box hasn't got native PS3 dualshock 3 controller support. If the device was rooted this wouldn't of been an issue as I could of run the Sixaxis Controller: https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...axiscontroller
It would of been nice to been able to use the PS3 controller on this box so I could use it with Android games, but this is out of the question.
The other big issue is the WIFI. It is garbage. I got the 16GB version over the 8GB version because it had dual WIFI. In my house I can easily get 50+MBs over 5GHz, even in the bad spots. With this box I am lucking if I get 10MBs. Actually the 2.4Ghz WIFI runs slightly better on this box then the 5GHz.
So if you are thinking about getting this box don't go for the 16GB/Dual WIFI version. You are going to have to use Ethernet anyway. So get the cheaper 8GB EMMC/2.4GHz WIFI version.
Talking about versions, the NexBox A95X is even cheaper then the A5 and the only difference is the optical S/PDIF. The A95X doesn't have it. Apart from that they are the same.
If the 8GB space isn't enough you can always get a 16GB class 10 SD card and use it as internal memory. This is a new feature with Android 6. I am using a 32GB SanDisk card with mine and it works really well.
The update app doesn't work. If you want to update the box you have to find the firmware online and use the "USB Burning Tool".
The latest version I have found online is this: http://www.tvboxnews.com/android-6-0...x-a5-download/
The burning tool only works on Windows and you need a male-to-male USB cable. The app is also very hit and miss. It can take a few goes to get the firmware flashed. I found loading the image into the app then hitting start, then connecting the USB cable to the box while holding the reset button is the most reliable way to flash the ROM.
HDMI-CEC sucks. Some ROMs have it enabled, others don't.
The ones that have CEC enabled don't have an app to disable language detection. This means that when you have CEC enable on the TV and it kicks in it changes the language to Japanese on the NexBox A5 (well it does on my LG TV).
Having hardware decoding of 4K VP9 is nice and all but it doesn't have the DRM keys. So the NexBox A5 can hardware decode 4k Youtube videos, but doesn't have the DRM to give it permission. So it is a pointless feature unless you have lots of local 4K DRM-Free VP9 encoded videos.
It may seem I hate this Android TV box, but I don't. It handles HEVC really well. It also runs all the on-demand/catchup apps (iPlayer, Netflix ect.)
It also has a working Playstore. Will admit a lot of the apps don't work, but most of the entertainment apps run fine.
Kodi kinda sucks on this. It works, but doesn't work great. First thing I did was remove it and replace it with SPMC: https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...mperpax.spmc16
SPMC does run well and I do recommend it over Kodi.
I also install theses addons:
Ace Stream Media. No need to make a account. Just opening the app makes it work.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...cestream.media
This Android addon is for the Plexus Kodi addon. Without it Plexus won't work on Android.
AutoStart - No root.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...=com.autostart
I add SPMC and Ace Stream so they auto start on boot.
XBMC Launcher
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...n.xbmclauncher
The Launcher defaults to Kodi but you can pick SPMC16 as the default app.
How I have the NexBox A5 setup you don't really need to use a traditional Launcher. All the Android apps can be run within SPMC.
My NexBox A5 setup is like running OpenELEC/LibreELEC on the Raspberry Pi 3 but with the bonus of being able to run Android apps, 4K content and having hardware HEVC decoding.
For the price this TV Box is hard to beat. Just be aware this isn't the Ultimate Android TV Box. It has issues. The big one being the WIFI. If you can except it's limitations and work around them, it isn't a half bad TV box.
Hopefully the NexBox A5 (or Amlogic S905X devices in general) get more popular so more devs jump in and help improve the software. Hardware wise it is a good box. Also pretty much all the Android Boxes using the Amlogic S905X SOC have compatible firmwares. So a firmware made for the Mini M8S II TV Box will work on the NexBox A5, and vise versa.
There is also a working TWRP recovery for it. So the tools to tweak the ROM are available.
Also there are plenty of Leanback apps that you can side load onto the box: http://www.wetekforums.com/v/index.p...egular-android
Couple of things that need to be addressed, the box isn't rooted. It is on the first boot but after that you loose it.
Normally this isn't an huge issue as I have very little need for root on these Android TV boxes. The issue is this box hasn't got native PS3 dualshock 3 controller support. If the device was rooted this wouldn't of been an issue as I could of run the Sixaxis Controller: https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...axiscontroller
It would of been nice to been able to use the PS3 controller on this box so I could use it with Android games, but this is out of the question.
The other big issue is the WIFI. It is garbage. I got the 16GB version over the 8GB version because it had dual WIFI. In my house I can easily get 50+MBs over 5GHz, even in the bad spots. With this box I am lucking if I get 10MBs. Actually the 2.4Ghz WIFI runs slightly better on this box then the 5GHz.
So if you are thinking about getting this box don't go for the 16GB/Dual WIFI version. You are going to have to use Ethernet anyway. So get the cheaper 8GB EMMC/2.4GHz WIFI version.
Talking about versions, the NexBox A95X is even cheaper then the A5 and the only difference is the optical S/PDIF. The A95X doesn't have it. Apart from that they are the same.
If the 8GB space isn't enough you can always get a 16GB class 10 SD card and use it as internal memory. This is a new feature with Android 6. I am using a 32GB SanDisk card with mine and it works really well.
The update app doesn't work. If you want to update the box you have to find the firmware online and use the "USB Burning Tool".
The latest version I have found online is this: http://www.tvboxnews.com/android-6-0...x-a5-download/
The burning tool only works on Windows and you need a male-to-male USB cable. The app is also very hit and miss. It can take a few goes to get the firmware flashed. I found loading the image into the app then hitting start, then connecting the USB cable to the box while holding the reset button is the most reliable way to flash the ROM.
HDMI-CEC sucks. Some ROMs have it enabled, others don't.
The ones that have CEC enabled don't have an app to disable language detection. This means that when you have CEC enable on the TV and it kicks in it changes the language to Japanese on the NexBox A5 (well it does on my LG TV).
Having hardware decoding of 4K VP9 is nice and all but it doesn't have the DRM keys. So the NexBox A5 can hardware decode 4k Youtube videos, but doesn't have the DRM to give it permission. So it is a pointless feature unless you have lots of local 4K DRM-Free VP9 encoded videos.
It may seem I hate this Android TV box, but I don't. It handles HEVC really well. It also runs all the on-demand/catchup apps (iPlayer, Netflix ect.)
It also has a working Playstore. Will admit a lot of the apps don't work, but most of the entertainment apps run fine.
Kodi kinda sucks on this. It works, but doesn't work great. First thing I did was remove it and replace it with SPMC: https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...mperpax.spmc16
SPMC does run well and I do recommend it over Kodi.
I also install theses addons:
Ace Stream Media. No need to make a account. Just opening the app makes it work.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...cestream.media
This Android addon is for the Plexus Kodi addon. Without it Plexus won't work on Android.
AutoStart - No root.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...=com.autostart
I add SPMC and Ace Stream so they auto start on boot.
XBMC Launcher
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...n.xbmclauncher
The Launcher defaults to Kodi but you can pick SPMC16 as the default app.
How I have the NexBox A5 setup you don't really need to use a traditional Launcher. All the Android apps can be run within SPMC.
My NexBox A5 setup is like running OpenELEC/LibreELEC on the Raspberry Pi 3 but with the bonus of being able to run Android apps, 4K content and having hardware HEVC decoding.
For the price this TV Box is hard to beat. Just be aware this isn't the Ultimate Android TV Box. It has issues. The big one being the WIFI. If you can except it's limitations and work around them, it isn't a half bad TV box.
Hopefully the NexBox A5 (or Amlogic S905X devices in general) get more popular so more devs jump in and help improve the software. Hardware wise it is a good box. Also pretty much all the Android Boxes using the Amlogic S905X SOC have compatible firmwares. So a firmware made for the Mini M8S II TV Box will work on the NexBox A5, and vise versa.
There is also a working TWRP recovery for it. So the tools to tweak the ROM are available.
Also there are plenty of Leanback apps that you can side load onto the box: http://www.wetekforums.com/v/index.p...egular-android
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