Rockchip vs AMLogic

[FoneFreak]

dont worry about the 4gb etc.

it is amlogic and plays better than MOST rockchip devices all day long, dont forgeth it also has 4 usb, on/off button etc, also its own xbmc version.

dont let the 4gb worry you this or the mx2 is excellent for the price!!

[john3voltas]

Are you sure? For example Miniand CS868 with a Allwinner is supposed to come with XBMC?

A quick look in the wiki and I found this:

http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Android_hardware

Avoid hardware that uses the Allwinner series of chips (such as the Allwinner A10). Development is not going well for these devices.

It might be an old wiki entry that simply hasn't been updated but most people talking on the forums simply skips Allwinners and just talk about Rockchips vs AMLogics.

EDIT:
According to Ned Scott from XBMC forum http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php...708#pid1518708 latest Allwinner chips seem to have HW decoding working fine. He just don't know which chips are the latest.

[Knobhound]

Here is some more info to help you buy the best device.

http://www.iboum.com/artkill/xbmc.php

[mitchell4you]

My thoughts..
I have allwinner A31s unit.. and rk3066 and rk3188 and amlogic
The have all one thing in common.. the official xbmc build doesn't run smooth (or not at all)

Every unit has it own niche.. (my prefer)
amlogic Meson - Mygica build feb 23 2013 v12
A31s - vidon.me tv v13 alpha 4 or spmc and you need alot of tweaking (xaf&off xbmc -just crash on any link )
rk3188 - v13 alpha 8 wololo or spmc (alpha = bugs ) these unit also need alot of tweaking (fw+xbmc)
rk3066 - xaf or spmc or wololo (max 720kernel)
--the all support external players (if you make the playercorefactory.xml)
Using internal player.. the all should do 720p.. (with some tweaking a31/3188)
1080.. you are better-off trying a external-player (like : ctv / 4k / mx )

My advice.. you should not buy these units..... thinking the can run 1080 (smoothly) out of the box using xbmc
- because most have a 720kernel and most need some/alot of tweaking

I can say.. amlogic runs xbmc stabile.. and all units do 1080 using MX (if mx supports the format/file/codec)
-my amlogic is the only unit still running stock (no root)
-smooth depens on ext-things (fw used- enough temp space - player used -wifi or lan speed -codec -bitrade -source and abit of luck)
-from all of my units.. xbmc vids looks the best on amlogic, but its slower at webpage loading/apps
-you should not buy a allwinner unit.. no community support.. not many roms.. most have 720kernel and do not run xbmc realy well
-allwinner a31 has about the same performents as a rk3066 (see cpu mhz or see benchmarks)
-1080 might be more possibe.. if you used a 'buildroot version of xmbc' on amlogic (never tried it myself)
If you are looking for best of all worlds fast -browsing -gaming -xbmc -app then go for a cheap rk3188
Or wait for the next gen : quadcore amlogic or big.little with Hw/openmax support or the new rk32xx ?

[jellywobbles]

For what is worth my first Android TV box was a Mini Neo X7, which initially I was delighted with.

It is very fast -browsing - playing games & has good support .. BUT and it is a BIG BUT -- it is totally useless when using XBMC. 1080p video playback is just awful - check out the Mini forums to see just how many disgruntled users there are complaining about this.

This seems to be an issue with RK3188 devices.

Since buying the X7 I bought a G-Box MX2 clone (g18ref board) and the difference is jaw dropping! Put simply - it works 100% & XBMC is totally amazing.

I know of others who also jumped ship from RK3188 device to AMLogic who are equally happy.

The MX2 clones may not be as fast with browsing / games but for XBMC use they are fantastic!

Hope this helps

[Knobhound]

I am with you Jellywobbles on this one, i got my 1st MX2 7 months ago and i was very impressed with its peformance , it has had the odd hiccup (as i am always trying new things out) but so do all PCs, since then i have kitted out the family all which have never failed .
I cannot knock rockchip as i have not tried one but the G-box MX2 dose everything i want it to do and dose it well. So i would 100% recommend them.
I did try an early version of Linux from xda developers site but it went pe-tong and had to reflash it but for the 2 weeks while it was up and running it flew, It was early days for Linux so i will try a updated Rom at some point.
All in all worth every penny.

[vipersvcd]

There are spo many amlogic devices can any one send me some PM , what to buy and from where for best quality and rom compatibility ? Thanks .

[Knobhound]

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/XBMC-preinstalled-Android-4-2-2-TV-set-top-box-Google-Amlogic-8726-MX-Cortex-A9/613059048.html

[noosk]

Hello.
This is probably not the place to ask. Sorry but I couldn't find a better place.
I've been looking to buy a set-top-box android device (no sticks) which can fluidly play 1080p without upscaling/downscaling or whatever it is called.
I would love to run XBMC on it so it should have hardware decoding. I would really like to have optical 5.1 but it is not mandatory.
My budget is very limited. Not much more than 50€.
Should I buy Rockchip based or AMLogic based?
What are my options? Please name me a couple of players even if they go over the 50€ line.
Thanks a bunch in advance.
Cheers

First time poster, I might have something of value to share with you. I own a few M3 G Boxes and an MX2 box. If you are after a solid platform to run an XBMC-only device, you should consider the M3 box running Linux XBMC. They are cheap (you can purchase them on Aliexpress for US$50 with free shipping) and are easy to load firmware (all you need is an SD Card). I have had mine in constant service April and with the latest Linux firmware from sttv5, have no trouble streaming a 1080p 3D movie through a 3rd party add-on (I'm not sure if i can say the name of it on these forums). Even though these boxes are quite out dated, the development has matured and you will have yourself a great XBMC media Centre/streamer.

The MX2 is not really used as Matricom take an absolute lifetime to release their firmware. There are still many bugs but it is quite usable if you really did want the Android interface and don't mind if it's only 720p resolution. Matricom say the next firmware is meant to bring 1080p XBMC and many other improvements but what they say and what they actually deliver are two very different things.

[john3voltas]

Hi noosk.
Thanks for your reply.
I am the happy owner of a AMLogic Tronsmart "Prometheus" VS-ATV-106 for about 3 weeks now.
This box is based on the [email protected] dualcore with Android 4.2.2 and it is playing 1080p content smoothly.
It's got some (shall I call them) issues:
- doesn't come with a remote control and I am not even sure if at least it has an embedded IR receiver because otherwise I would like to use an old/unused RC with it.
- don't really know if it is outputting in 1080p or if it is upscaling/downscaling or whatever it's called. You see, my Asus O!Play which outputs in true 1080p seems to have slightly better image quality...
- can't find a way to shut it down gracefully. There are apps that can shutdown/restart android devices but none seem to work on this gadget.
- can't find a way to reset the box without flashing the ROM on it again. Apparently the reset button doesn't do it's job nor does the menu>settings>reset/backup>reset.
This 8GB device cost me 47€+customs charges with free shipping included and overall I am very happy with it.
Cheers

PS-Would there be a Linux build for this player?

[dankec]

I heard that K-R42 (T-R42) based on Rockchip 3188 is really great performer when changing firmware with the one from lewy.

Anyone with this device together with MX2 to make comparison?

[john3voltas]

A dualcore (MX) versus a quadcore (3188) is not a fair comparison.
The 3188 will easily outperform the MX.
On the other hand the MX has native hardware decoding support. It should make it a lot better than the 3188 for a media center at least until libstagefright development is finished.

[dankec]

A dualcore (MX) versus a quadcore (3188) is not a fair comparison.
The 3188 will easily outperform the MX.
On the other hand the MX has native hardware decoding support. It should make it a lot better than the 3188 for a media center at least until libstagefright development is finished.

So, if I understood right, MX is better media player (something we all need), even with a customized 3188 firmware?

[john3voltas]

MX is AMLogic. 3188 is Rockchip.
As we speak, AMLogic has full hardware video decoding working in XBMC whereas Rockchip still doesn't.
The XBMC community is working on 2 viable ways of working around that problem (libstagefright is one of them) but it is still far from the smoothness that AMLogic can deliver.
But this can all change in the very near future since XBMC community is now very committed to make Rockchip work as good as AMLogic.
On the other hand AMLogic still has a small flaw: you can't install any XBMC build. You have to use a build made for AMLogic-only and made for the Android version that you're running.
All-in-all I am very happy with my box but right now I am stuck on XBMC 12.0 (there's already 12.2) just because of that.
Cheers

[Finless]

Can I also add that the AML MX boxes I have (2) all have better color on the TV. I think RockChip is using a crappy HDMI implementation with low color count where AML is not. The difference in color output is quite noticeable!

Bob