I wanted to talk about my software and hardware project to share it. I started with a Parrot Asteroid Smart running Android 2.x and when that was disappointing moved on to the Chinese units. I started early on with added circuitry/apps. Now I have a PCB connected to the HU by USB, with an ESP32 and an Arduino Micro. I do software updates to the ESP32 over a Zigbee.
The purpose of all this is to add on HD and XM. For HD I am using the (obsolete) Directed tuner, which connects via a mini-din plug, 12v power, and RCA audio jacks. I also support connection to SiriusXM over a mini-din cable. Unfortunately I am not on the very latest version of XM as the protocol is not publicly known. I'm using a docking station with a Starmate, which is advanced enough to support rewind/replay on the current channel. One could argue this is pointless since XM has an app now, my main arguments are that the app does not have an API and it does have data charges..
I programmed the ESP32 with the NanoFramework o/s in C#. The Arduino's purpose is to emulate an HID keyboard.
Besides the HD and XM I implemented advanced steering wheel button features which are vehicle specific.
I also interfaced a compass module. My code has an anti-jamming feature; if the magnetic field is out of range it switches to gyroscope (6 DOF).
I don't know if I want to open-source this and/or sell it. I could not have developed it without XDA.
The xm app also does not work without a data connection either. On real satellite you can get it anywhere, anytime.
I ran XM for a while with a simple external tuner connected to the head unit's rca inputs. Worked fine and did not need a data connection.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
I have my own gui for the tuner. Nothing fancy, and I tune by the steering wheel buttons. It cuts out sometimes on mountain roads. My car came with a satellite antenna. I think the latest xm tuners sound better.
Here's a better picture.
I am trying to upload the screenshot one more time.
I have to Hd radio to play with, the directed version and the zoom one, i wanted to know if there is an gui for android ... car radio or not, like trying them on android platforms ???
thks
xdamember2 said:
I wanted to talk about my software and hardware project to share it. I started with a Parrot Asteroid Smart running Android 2.x and when that was disappointing moved on to the Chinese units. I started early on with added circuitry/apps. Now I have a PCB connected to the HU by USB, with an ESP32 and an Arduino Micro. I do software updates to the ESP32 over a Zigbee.
The purpose of all this is to add on HD and XM. For HD I am using the (obsolete) Directed tuner, which connects via a mini-din plug, 12v power, and RCA audio jacks. I also support connection to SiriusXM over a mini-din cable. Unfortunately I am not on the very latest version of XM as the protocol is not publicly known. I'm using a docking station with a Starmate, which is advanced enough to support rewind/replay on the current channel. One could argue this is pointless since XM has an app now, my main arguments are that the app does not have an API and it does have data charges..
I programmed the ESP32 with the NanoFramework o/s in C#. The Arduino's purpose is to emulate an HID keyboard.
Besides the HD and XM I implemented advanced steering wheel button features which are vehicle specific.
I also interfaced a compass module. My code has an anti-jamming feature; if the magnetic field is out of range it switches to gyroscope (6 DOF).
I don't know if I want to open-source this and/or sell it. I could not have developed it without XDA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds amazing. Any chance you can share with us how exactly you did it. A DIY thread would be very much appreciated
AlexViean said:
Sounds amazing. Any chance you can share with us how exactly you did it. A DIY thread would be very much appreciated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will happily answer any questions. No time to explain everything, and it depends on the specific HU and car. I could share my pcb schematic and code I'm running on the ESP32, Arduino Micro Pro, and Android HU. The ESP32 code includes interfaces for the Directed HD and Sirius XM plus a Wit- Motion compass sensor, in C# running in NanoFramework. The HU code is one package in C# (Xamarin). Currently I'm not using the steering wheel inputs of the HU, I found the calls for volume control functions. And I am now using Automate instead of Tasker for miscellaneous purposes. I added a db-15 connector to the HU's harness for all my needs. I learned SMD assembly on this project.
xdamember2 said:
I will happily answer any questions. No time to explain everything, and it depends on the specific HU and car. I could share my pcb schematic and code I'm running on the ESP32, Arduino Micro Pro, and Android HU. The ESP32 code includes interfaces for the Directed HD and Sirius XM plus a Wit- Motion compass sensor, in C# running in NanoFramework. The HU code is one package in C# (Xamarin). Currently I'm not using the steering wheel inputs of the HU, I found the calls for volume control functions. And I am now using Automate instead of Tasker for miscellaneous purposes. I added a db-15 connector to the HU's harness for all my needs. I learned SMD assembly on this project.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure if using a single din radio would be technically easier to get SiriusXM but it's significantly big for a sedan dash if there's an existing android head unit. Have you considered modifying one of those portable tuners like an Onyx Plus instead?
AlexViean said:
I'm not sure if using a single din radio would be technically easier to get SiriusXM but it's significantly big for a sedan dash if there's an existing android head unit. Have you considered modifying one of those portable tuners like an Onyx Plus instead?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes actually I'm already doing something like that now. I got tired of the extra radio just for Satellite. Now I have one of the small SiriusXM units in a docking station. It connects to my PCB with a 9-pin mini-din. The nice thing about it is the tuner unit supports replay.
xdamember2 said:
Yes actually I'm already doing something like that now. I got tired of the extra radio just for Satellite. Now I have one of the small SiriusXM units in a docking station. It connects to my PCB with a 9-pin mini-din. The nice thing about it is the tuner unit supports replay.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would you mind sharing some pictures of your setup and a video showing how things work would be really informative
AlexViean said:
Would you mind sharing some pictures of your setup and a video showing how things work would be really informative
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's a simplistic block diagram of my setup. Does not show the power connections.
xdamember2 said:
Here's a simplistic block diagram of my setup. Does not show the power connections.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is a brief video of my audio sources. My HD tuner is not plugged in today.
This is really cool. I want to replicate what you have for my Joying Android head unit, but I don't have the needed skillset unfortunately. Are you interested in making and selling your interface? You can order a small run from company like https://www.pcbway.com/b (no affiliation, just some company I found on internet). I will buy one from you!
xdamember2 said:
Here is a brief video of my audio sources. My HD tuner is not plugged in today.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd love something like this for my linkswell gen 4. The one thing I really really miss is the HD radio from the oem unit. For sirius xm I've been more than happy with the app. But HD radio is another story and apps like Audacy are garbage and don't have all the HD stations in my area.
xdamember2 said:
Here is a brief video of my audio sources. My HD tuner is not plugged in today.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For sure I'd pay you for this interface. In the meantime trying to pickup one of those old directed hd car tuners as I have an aux input. Obviously I'd prefer what you're doing, a complete interface controlled by the radio screen, not the controller that comes with these things.
AlexViean said:
I'm not sure if using a single din radio would be technically easier to get SiriusXM but it's significantly big for a sedan dash if there's an existing android head unit. Have you considered modifying one of those portable tuners like an Onyx Plus instead?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm now running a Sirius Commander Touch as the satellite tuner. But I'm stuck on the graphics. I see the PNG data but it's split at about 1000 bytes.
Still running the added functions on an ESP32 but I switched from nanoframework c# to Arduino c++.
Update: now my difficulty is identifying which image goes with which channel.
If anyone is interested I am going to sell the new old stock HD tuner I bought on ebay and the cable I bought from xdamember2. Indeed it works perfectly but I'm getting rid of the radio so I no longer need these parts. I actually had this running on a linkswell gen 4.
xdamember2 said:
I'm now running a Sirius Commander Touch as the satellite tuner. But I'm stuck on the graphics. I see the PNG data but it's split at about 1000 bytes.
Still running the added functions on an ESP32 but I switched from nanoframework c# to Arduino c++.
Update: now my difficulty is identifying which image goes with which channel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Things are mostly working now. Some problem with the jpeg album artwork and jpeg repair tools have been no help.
Hey there! Did you ever happen to get information on the protocol used by the SXV series of sXM tuners? Does the Commander use one of the siriusxm control protocols?
I have an older Sirius Stratus tuner with a lifetime subscription on it that works with mini din 8 / sirius connect control, and my head unit (a newer kenwood android auto thing) has the 10-pin interface.
I've ordered a used SXV100 to experiment with, and to steal the custom cable from, but as you mentioned the protocol, and even the pinout, is proprietary and unpublished, so for the moment i'll be flying blind.
I'm hoping that at least I can identify the pins and will ideally find a +5v power, ground, audio left, right, audio ground, control rx/tx as is there for the old 8pin sirius interface, and that i'll just need to build a translation circuit from sirius connect to sxm control...
Related
Is Archos G9 ICS still compliant with USB DAC?
http://update.archos.com/9/gen9/changes_firmware_archos_android_gen9it4.htm
"Version 3.2.77 - December 6th, 2011
Accessories: external USB audio cards (DAC) support has been added"
. Archos G9 & USB speaker Logitech
http://forum.archosfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=84&t=60183
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
. Archos G9 & USB DAC/amp FiiO E17
http://www.jbmm.fr/2012/01/utiliser-le-dac-fiio-e17-avec-son-archos/
About external USB DAC
A higher dimensions music!
Impressions of a guy upgrading his PC rig
from
PC > PC sound card Creative XFI Xtreme Music (i.e. not a stock PC card!) > headphone Audio-Technica ATH-AD700
to
PC > USB DAC/amp FiiO E17 > headphone Audio- Technica ATH-AD700:
"Anyway, I got on to a lot of forums and found HeadFi (Yes, say goodbye to your wallet!). Never fully understood the world of Dac's and Amp's I started my research!
I searched the forum's and felt there was a few people in the same position as me who were feeling unsure about an alternative to PC sound card's, so I decide to the plunge!
Yes I could have grabbed an Asus ST/STX or Creative Tit HD but I wanted to go a different direction, so I went with the Fiio E17.
Conclusion: Done the whole unboxing and setup that everyone has probably seen, plugged her in to the computer and ran it through her paces!
I listen to various music from Classical, Rock, Pop, electronic, using mainly FLAC files.
Sound quality compared to the Xtreme Music was overall a big improvement!
The sound was full and warm! I immediately felt like I was listening to (what I describe as) a high end Hifi system!
It's very reassuring as I come from a Creative product to something totally different as in the Fiio and be in awe about what I'm hearing.
The Fiio sounds like a professional athlete compared to say an amateur running a marathon, well paced full of energy and doing what it loves doing, where as the Creative was more like a weekend warrior!"
http://www.head-fi.org/t/587912/fiio-e17-alpen-first-impression-final-thought/1800#post_8175638
About digital audio
A digital audio system is composed of:
. A storage module: Music is stored in file as a series of bits 0 & 1 with different encoding formats (MP3, WAV, FLAC…).
. A player: The player decodes the bits 0 & 1 to PCM digital audio signals.
. A DAC (Digital to Analog Converter): The DAC converts the PCM digital audio signals to the original analog audio signals.
. An amplifier: The amplifier amplifies the analog audio signals.
. A speaker: The speaker restitutes the music.
Like a PC or a Mac, an Android device is a digital audio system.
An Android device running on a kernel with a USB audio driver, like a PC or a Mac, can output the PCM digital audio stream to an external standard USB DAC & amplifier & headphone, much more efficient than the internal DAC & amplifier & speakerphone.
extracted from the official request to Google for enabling USB audio:
http://code.google.com/p/android/is...rs&colspec=ID Type Status Owner Summary Stars
"Here is an update for all audiophiles who are interested in this topic:
The Android 4.0.4 update fixed the USB DAC issue with the 101 G9. The USB DAC is now available, and audio playback goes to the external DAC when connected.
Please note the following restrictions:
(1) USB audio playback shows some glitches (for example, during network access, harddisk access, high CPU load). I even observed some pitching under CPU load. But it generally works, best performance is with local file access. As expected, audio quality via external DAC is a lot better than the internal headphone connector (which - to my ears - sounds remarkably bad, even my old Nokia phone sounds significantly better).
(2) The USB DAC works at the USB host connector only. It does not work at the 3G USB port - while a harddisk does work at the 3G port. This means that you can listen to the USB DAC only for as long as the battery is up. You need to disconnect the DAC while charging.
Alternatively, you need to get the 101 version with internal harddisk - as this is supposed to have a dedicated power supply connector."
http://forum.archosfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=85&p=393834
I should try it, it looks fun.
I have a FiiO E10 and Sennheiser HD600.
Super, these photos came from my website
http://www.jbmm.fr
it is very great to use the DAC Fiio !
I tried it yesterday, and it doesn't work for me with the E10.
The first time I plug it, the E10's LED turns blue (looking good). But either I get no sound at all from the speaker and the headphones either the tablet just freezes.
I'm using 4.0.4 with a 80G9 ES2.3.
What is your setup Cajl ?
Ok i see that this night or tomorrow
what is your output ?
benoitb85 said:
I tried it yesterday, and it doesn't work for me with the E10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know, the FiiO E10 is USB bus-powered, like the Creative X-Fi USB.
"(3) Creative X-Fi USB:
This is USB bus powered, and does not work when directly connected to the tablet.
You need to connected via self-powered USB hub, then the USB link is established, and playback changes to the external DAC."
http://forum.archosfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=85&p=393834
"Why do some devices REQUIRE an external hub?
The maximum current the Nook [and likely the Archos G9] can supply is 100mA
If your usb device require more than 100mA , External hub is REQUIRED"
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1459892
i have no problem with the FiiO17 on the Archos gen9
see those photos !
I'm using 4.0.5 with a 80G9 ES2.1 and 101G9 ES2.2
cajl said:
i have no problem with the FiiO17 on the Archos gen9
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, you don’t have crackles and glitches as related by Earlgrey in the forum.archosfans.
http://forum.archosfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=85&p=393834
In the iPod/iPhone & USB audio world, some weird clicks and pops while listening to music are gone after an iPod/iPhone restore/reboot.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/542062/cypher-labs-impressions-thread/315#post_7452849
on Archos 8" 16go No
on Archos 10" 16go No
but this morning, i use on the Archos 10" 250 go yes
Trying with my E17 tonight, having just got my G9 Turbo (8inch, 8GB OMAP 4460 @ 1.5Ghz version on ICS). It's not pretty. I'm getting lots of artifacts and garbled sounds, it's frankly much worse than just via the headphone jack.
What is your exact setup cajl?
Ok i view that this afternoon
I'm on 4.0.5 by the way.
Are you still on 4.0.4 Cajl? I wonder whether I should downgrade to that update...
I downgraded to 4.0.4 and USB audio is working well, seems Archos broke this in the 4.0.5 update...
A method to remove "pops" and "clicks":
http://www.head-fi.org/t/592076/iba...ssions-apps-imgs-video-pg-1/4335#post_8294313
"OK listen up folks.......the pops and clicks on the [Android powered iBasso] DX100 has continuously bugged me and experimenting for the last couple of hours I have managed to totally eliminate them even on shutting down and switching the screen on!!!
This will only work for people who have installed the GO Launcher EX, hurry up and install it!!!
On this launcher when you press the apps page, it has three menus on the top....ALL - RECENT - RUNNING.
Swipe to the RUNNING page on the right and you will see a list of running apps. All these apps are utilizing memory and battery which is better served for the music player especially playing 24/96 and 26/192 whose memory utilization is huge.
On each individual app, press and hold, and 4 options come up........press LOCK. This will lock up the app. indefinitely until you need the app. in which case you unlock it and use it normally. When you have locked the apps. up, even after reboot they are still locked - so not necessary to repeat this process.
Make doubly sure that apps. like google play is locked and anything related is a major culprit! Once you have locked all the apps besides the stock music player, the DX100 will be pop free!!!.
If you do hear a pop again, go to the Running page and you should see a new app. that has just opened itself.......LOCK it. After you have performed the above, look forward to enjoying a pop free musical experience!!!
The difference between locking and closing the app. is after you have closed the app. it will open itself again after a period of time and therefore the pops and clicks appearing again. The stock browser does not allow you to lock apps. hence, the necessity to install the GO Launcher EX
As a side note, once every app. is locked, the quality of the player seems to have improved as well with even better separation and soundstaging!
Have fun all and here's to no more clicks and pops"
cajl said:
Ok i view that this afternoon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
connect by USB
Archos 10" 1.5 ghz 16 go
fmw 4.0.5
Fiio :48k 16b gain 6 or 12 ok
cajl said:
connect by USB
Archos 10" 1.5 ghz 16 go
fmw 4.0.5
Fiio :48k 16b gain 6 or 12 ok
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmmn, that's interesting. I'll do a manual wipe-reinstall of 4.0.5 and see if it works here (the WiFi disconnects on 4.0.4 are annoying, but USB DAC is more important).
Don't have an archos yet, but buying one as soon as the 250gb turbo 8" one's are available. Do you guys think it's worthwhile to get a USB DAC if i'm plugging it into my car stereo as opposed to headphones?
Any issue with plugging and unplugging an EAC each time, as I'll be disconnecting it every time I park my car?
Did a wipe install of 4.0.5, USB audio still broken here on ICS (8inch 1.5Ghz turbo). Back to honeycomb for me until Archos sort this.
New R-Box Pro Amlogic 912
Two flavours 2/16Gb or 3/16gb
Amlogic S912
R-BOX Pro comes with S912 CPU 64bit chipset.
Android Marshmallow
DDR3 2GB or 3GB RAM, eMMC 16GB Flash
Dual Band WIFI
2.4Ghz and 5Ghz band
Gigabit LAN
4K Resolution
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Operating System Android 6.0
CPU Amlogic S912 Octa core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU up to 2GHz (DVFS)
GPU ARM Mali-T820MP3 GPU up to 750MHz (DVFS)
RAM 2GB DDRIII
ROM 16GB EMMC
Extended Storage TF CARD Support 1~32GB
AP6330 2.4GHZ/5.8GHZ 802.11a/b/g/n, Lan 10/100/1000M and BT 4.0
Built-in HDMI 2.0a transmitter including both controller and PHY with HDR, CEC and HDCP 2,2, [email protected] max
HDMI Port HDMI 2.0
2*USB host + 1*USB OTG
1*SPDIF
1*AV
1*Micro SD card (TF card) reader
1*RJ45 LAN Port
1*DC
Power 5V/2A
The Look...
R-Box's least ubiquitous looking entry yet. Hope there is a way to control that light strip. 3GB RAM should add some breathing room to the GPU. Looking forward to seeing opinions develop on this and other S912 devices.
R. D. said:
R-Box's least ubiquitous looking entry yet. Hope there is a way to control that light strip. 3GB RAM should add some breathing room to the GPU. Looking forward to seeing opinions develop on this and other S912 devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Other s912 device,I think the mecool bb2 is better.It's cheaper than r box from some online store such as geekbuying
Mine just arrived. From Geekbuying. The top side was scratched I assume this is duo the fact that they probably opened it to fix the issues at the factory. EDIT: Lol apparently it's a protector thingie. Kinda strange that it didn't peel off when I first tried<.<
It has 11GB free from the 16GB
No setup page.
The menu is kinda retarded, you have the default android settings menu and you have an "mediabox menu" that has the same settings but just show less.
2.7GB RAM available according the settings.
You can uninstall the ****ty apps that are included (beside system apps)
It has by default root.
Looks like the light is blue while booted and red while suspended.
And for the love of god some one link me to a proper wifi remote<.< so I can use my phone instead of the default app that doesn't even have qwerty in it.
My R-box pro do not work with BT gamepad ipega pg-9025. It's connects well, but pressing buttons do nothing. Media buttons (vol +\-) too.
Dualshock 4 not pair to device.
I'm too stupid to understand what's wrong. Can someone help?
Is this box support OTA? H96 pro does support OTA.
SteveS5 said:
Is this box support OTA? H96 pro does support OTA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They're technically identical I think. The differences just in the firmware
H96 has same 6.0 firmware.
Regme2009 said:
My R-box pro do not work with BT gamepad ipega pg-9025. It's connects well, but pressing buttons do nothing. Media buttons (vol +\-) too.
Dualshock 4 not pair to device.
I'm too stupid to understand what's wrong. Can someone help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dualshock 4 should be compatible by default.
My R-Box has currently a ROM issue. My R-Box froze up so I had to power cycle it down and up again but that apperently broke it. Waiting for their support to respond on how to solve it.
Programming the Remote
Did anyone figure out how to program the 4 "TV Control" buttons on the remote?
---------- Post added at 11:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:46 AM ----------
I have configured the Kodi player to use the pre-installed TVHeadend PVR plugin to access free to air TV channels, but the play back is pretty poor - I cannot even view the HD channels due to buffering issues, and SD channels are very stuttery.
The unit is connected with a 1000-BaseT GBit wired network. Using a Raspberry Pi 3 running the same version of Kodi under LibreElec gives a much better response - HD and SD work flawlessly.
I'm not sure if this is a hardware issue or an Android one - does anyone have any ideas?
BTW MPEG-TS is the Transport-Stream version of MPEG4, and is the underlying standard used by DVB-T and DVB-S for free to air TV.
R-box pro 3gb faulty 1 day old
yesterday i received my R BOX 3gb and i have problems with it already
1 ) i noticed the boot up animation is jerky and audio stutters and does not play smooth
2) the RJ45 ethernet socket is a poor fit you have to be gentle pluging the cable in because you can push it too far into the socket then you will lose internet connection i have tried numerous other cables with the same results
3) The lighting effect when red (standby) the light is very dim and flickers it is obvious that there is somthing wrong with the box i have been sent
prety poor start my other much cheaper boxes have never given me any problems
[email protected] said:
Did anyone figure out how to program the 4 "TV Control" buttons on the remote?
---------- Post added at 11:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:46 AM ----------
I have configured the Kodi player to use the pre-installed TVHeadend PVR plugin to access free to air TV channels, but the play back is pretty poor - I cannot even view the HD channels due to buffering issues, and SD channels are very stuttery.
The unit is connected with a 1000-BaseT GBit wired network. Using a Raspberry Pi 3 running the same version of Kodi under LibreElec gives a much better response - HD and SD work flawlessly.
I'm not sure if this is a hardware issue or an Android one - does anyone have any ideas?
BTW MPEG-TS is the Transport-Stream version of MPEG4, and is the underlying standard used by DVB-T and DVB-S for free to air TV.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take a look here it worked for me and i have found update for my r-box so i didnt get kicked off kodi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUNzTHOpiY8
---------- Post added at 03:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:53 PM ----------
[email protected] said:
Did anyone figure out how to program the 4 "TV Control" buttons on the remote?
grapegodbox said:
yesterday i received my R BOX 3gb and i have problems with it already
1 ) i noticed the boot up animation is jerky and audio stutters and does not play smooth
2) the RJ45 ethernet socket is a poor fit you have to be gentle pluging the cable in because you can push it too far into the socket then you will lose internet connection i have tried numerous other cables with the same results
3) The lighting effect when red (standby) the light is very dim and flickers it is obvious that there is somthing wrong with the box i have been sent
prety poor start my other much cheaper boxes have never given me any problems
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi can you see which firmware you have becoz there is lot of trouble with firmware ,the ota didnt work either but i found new firmware for sdcard and a prg for burning it as boot i have it in my dropbox if you want it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got my r box pro 3g/16g couple days ago and I'm very satisfied, but that is my first android tv box and have nothing to compare with.
Bought it from Aliexpress, paid around 71euro with shipping, arrived in Serbia in 30 days.
First thing I've done is factory reset, then replaced kodi 17 alpha with 16.1 stable version, my opinion is that 16.1 working better then 17 alpha.
Didn't try everything that this little thing can do, but what I've tried worked ok. I tried chrome, youtube, kodi, installed couple apps from playstore (not games), wireless transfer from pc to box, box to pc, from/to phone, connect wireless mouse... Kodi works good, no buffering issues like with some people.
Blue led stripe around box can be turned off, on navbar there is light bulb icon so you can turn off/on the light.
When the box is suspended, the light is red, but there is no light when it's shut down. In settings there is option what power button do, suspend or shut down. I choose shut down, the box need around 45 seconds to fully boot up, so that's ok.
In settings there is an option Backup&Update, but OTA not working, it cannot connect to OTA server, known bug for everyone. But, there is another option, WirelessUpdate, I'm not sure what that option update, apps or firmware. I click on it, it say "update detected" and I confirmed that I want to update now. It download and execute update. Version of the firmware is 20161018, but unfortunately I didn't remember version before update, so can't say if it changed.
About firmware, I found yesterday on the net new version, 20161118 (flashable with pc), but didn't try it yet. Be aware, there is two different boards inside r box pro, q6330 and q9377, if you mix up the firmware the wifi and bluetooth won't work or the box won't boot. I have q9377. Install Cpu-z from playstore to see version of the board.
One strange thing, I wanted to check the price on Ali yesterday, but surprise, there is no sellers who sell r box pro, and there was 10-15 at least one month ago... Why, I don't know.
One thing that didn't work for me, I try to connect box to tv without hdmi port. The box have tv out, the cable didn't came in the package but I have it, from some old camcorder. The cable have 4-pin 3,5mm jack on one side and 3 chinch connectors (white, red, yellow) on the other. When I plug it there is no picture, just mono sound. I think that is not box fault, but the cable, wrong pinout.
This is my review of the R-box PRO 3G/16G, if someone want to share their experience, it would be nice. Cheers!
My R-Box with Q6330 with updated firmware is running smoothly with krypton 17 kodi no problems i have the latest firmware and the prg to burn the sdcard for update if someone want it its 13/10-2016 firmware (latest for q6330)
Has anyone had problems with the latest netflix app on these devices. Mine stopped working completely, always giving me a network error. Even if I use the new download feature, I cannot play the file as it reports a file error. The same account running the same app version on my phone works just fine. I've had to factory reset and not upgrade the netflix.
Blue led stripe around box can be turned off, on navbar there is light bulb icon so you can turn off/on the light.
Where did you see that ? Can you make a screenshot for me please
Of course, no problem.
Here is a picture of navbar, first icon is small lightbulb.
When you click on it, blue light is turned off, when click again, blue light turn on.
snebojsa said:
Of course, no problem.
Here is a picture of navbar, first icon is small lightbulb.
Thanks i didnt have this icon thats why i couldnt find it lol
My box is S912 q6330 maybe thats why i didnt have it
:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After update firmware that icon is missing
http://www.cnx-software.com/2016/11...id-tv-box-review-part-2-android-6-0-firmware/ here you can find more news
Bit of a show and tell on the KIII PRO Amlogic 912, 3/16GB Dual WiFi, Gig Lan, BT4, DVB S2/T2
Brand: MECOOL
Model: KIII PRO
Type: TV Box
GPU: ARM Mali-T820MP3
System: Android 6.0
CPU: Amlogic S912
Core: Octa Core
RAM: 3GB
RAM Type: DDR3
ROM: 16G
Max. Extended Capacity: 128G
Color: Black
Decoder Format: H.265
Bluetooth: Bluetooth4.0
Power Supply: Charge Adapter
Interface: AV,DVB-S2,DVB-T2,HDMI,RJ45,SPDIF,TF card,USB2.0
Language: Multi-language
HDMI Version: 2.0
Other Functions: 3D Games,3D Video,DLNA,Miracast,NTSC,PAL
External Subtitle Supported: No
HDMI Function: CEC
Power Consumption: 8W
RJ45 Port Speed: 1000M
WiFi Chip: BCM4335
Power Type: External Power Adapter Mode
Remote Controller Battery: 2 x AAA ( not included )
Product weight: 0.260 kg
Package weight: 0.820 kg
Product size (L x W x H): 13.00 x 12.00 x 3.20 cm / 5.12 x 4.72 x 1.26 inches
Package size (L x W x H): 22.90 x 15.60 x 6.80 cm / 9.02 x 6.14 x 2.68 inches
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Loot at what is going on the inside
Topside, Lid, Antenna
Topside PCB
Underside PCB
Base with weight Block
WiFi, eMMC, Ram, Ethernet device
Rear Ports
Side Ports
Look at UI and system much the same as the rest Android 6
Does have Root and option to enable Lower task bar if required.
Simple Mecool UI
DRM
Ram Truth
Storage Truth
SD Card Test
Antutu
CPU-Geekbench 4
http://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/2641945
Compute-Geekbench-4
http://browser.geekbench.com/v4/compute/686447
Bonsai
Vellamo
3DMark
CPU-Z
As mentioned performance on par with other S912 media players so should do most to keep the user happy on the Android side.
Custom Firmware Mecool KIII Pro DVT Box
Let's check out all about the TV side of this box.
A separate app to run called DTV, will check it out to how good it can be for FTA TV.
No Satellite stuff here to check.
Much the same as K1 and KII
Run up the DTV app select Auto scan Hmm nothing...Ok help if we plug the TV antenna in.
Also need to set the Media Player up to Australia in DTV setting Menu
Scanned and all channels found easy.
100% Sig and Quality
Using Log periodic type antenna and about 30k form the TV towers (bit of wet string would prolly do)
Picture Qulaity looks ok and time between channel change 2~3 second
EPG looks ok
and other functions to set up PVR Time Record, Channel Sort, Favorites, Parental Control
Easy as.
I find the Remote is Designed more for the TV/Sat function of the box than Normal Android.
As I normally use the k400 logitech with android it not a problem here, other may find it a problem.
First thing we get greated with when running the DTV app
Menu to Select Country/Region, select DVT Preference
Back to Installation and scan
Easy
EPG from Remote
All features selected are overlayed a top of the TV Image,
Was not able to snap TV Images only overlays at this stage.
All funtions are access from remote.
ON Screen Display (dark room picture)
Edit Channel List
PVR Settings
PVR Storage Device
Favorite Channel to be added
Channel info and Sub titles
And a little music if the FTA gets to much
Here is the just released Custom firmware for those that maybe interested
Clean and Lean.
Changelog V1:
Based on latest stock!
Cleaned lots of stuff...
Added TWRP
General optimization and how the ram is used, should better now.
Permissions fixed.
Added Xposed Framework
Custom Wetek WebOs launcher (Many thks to wetek for let me use it)
- Menu Button is king on this launcher, its used to add remove icons on the main screen, also to remove widgets.
- Long press on the default icons on desktop you can change them to other apps (White Logos...)
- Long press on the icons you add to the desktop and you can rearrange them.
Live Wallpapers, you can control it in "Settings -> Display -> Daydream." ( you guys need to chose "Backdrop" and add a timer, like 5 min etc... )
Working ATV google remote control!
Netflix, youtube Playstore...etc... fully working
4k Youtube support!
Updated DTV App to the latest one. (mentioned above)
FTMC Build 26.
Cast working ( May take a bit to work... )
Added lots of Kl's
Gapps updated!
Proper Root
initd.d support.
Xbox360 wireless Gamepad, original and Chinese clones?!(well it works with my clone adapter...)
PS3/PS4 gamepad support(only with cable...)
Fixed auto frame switch in kodi. It only works on FTMC(included) SPMC 16.6.0, on kodi 16.1 doesn't work because is to old(misses a lot of fixes for the new S9xx devices), Kodi 17 its a it and miss this days!
And other little stuff...
Bugs V1:
Dont Update for the latest Netflix App... it will stop working if you do, you guys need to complain to Netflix for the stuff they are doing....
Freaktab
There is no way to install it without using the PC?.
Have you tried to install Magisk on this box? It's able to hide the box being rooted.
Thank you
Thanks bat DTV-app not work
this is old thread about Mecook Kiii Pro
https://forum.xda-developers.com/an...ogic/rom-kiii-pro-t3579558/page4#post72386027
please try to follow or ask an administrator to merge both threads
thanks
---------- Post added at 10:07 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:06 AM ----------
and thanks for your great work to show and explain this box and your firmware
Does this ROM still have the AirPin Pro app still installed?
Install the ROM using sdcard system and I change the ethernet MAC, why?
How can I restore my original MAC?
tanks.
Sir, I really appreciete your hard work, I tried your rom is simple and very fast
I hope you could ported nougat 7.1 to our beloved KIII Pro as Meecool M8S Pro has nougat firmware
Thank you very much Sir
Hello, can this device handel a 4tb hard disk ?
Sent from my MHA-AL00 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Is there any way to stream the TV tuner across the network?
Sure I saw something about this but cant find it.
Deleted
Hi,
I just bought this device. It has android 7.1 onboard. Unfortunately I face a lot of unexpected restarts in various situations - in the launcher, chrome, during watching DTV, even when recording.
Any idea why and how to fix it?
Second thing is HD channels of DVB-T - I see only 3 on the list while the TV itself sees 6. Even those that are HD aren´t that good quality it should be.
How to use chromecast in KIII pro box
How does “chromecast built in” in the setting menu work in KIII pro mecool setup box?
Remote
How to use remote as a keyboard to type some things like "Jakarta"?
What have I to press to activated alphabet?
Why would Mecool Kii pro lock frequently ?
I have tried two different ROMs in addition to stock. It usually freezes during a cursor move which makes me think maybe it is some kind of interrupt problem. However, it never freezes while watching TV. I'm assuming this is because it basically switches to the TV module, but I have no clue. Temperatures are fine. I have slowed the top clock speed to keep it running cooler, between 50 and 63c, usually around 54.
bobcov said:
It usually freezes during a cursor move
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you try change another power supply?
That's a good suggestion. I have just replaced the stock 12v 1amp power supply with a 12v 4amp designed for use with a WD NAS box. If it is a matter of some kind of lack of current under load, that will no longer be the case. I have a feeling though, this is not the answer because of the correlation with cursor movement. Can't see how that would overload the power supply.
bobcov said:
That's a good suggestion. I have just replaced the stock 12v 1amp power supply with a 12v 4amp designed for use with a WD NAS box. If it is a matter of some kind of lack of current under load, that will no longer be the case. I have a feeling though, this is not the answer because of the correlation with cursor movement. Can't see how that would overload the power supply.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No change. Still freezes.
Today something new and little different
ZIDOO H6 PRO Android 7.0 Allwinner H6 2/16GB AC WiFi Gig Lan BT4
Has been a long while since we have had a Allwinner device.
So lets not beat around the bush and get into.
In typical fashion Zidoo packing and presentation excellent.
The Box
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Look in the box
More Boxes
Finally what's in the Boxes
White Affair by the looks
Back
Side
Other Side
Front and Underside
Under side PCB
Topside PCB
Thanks to Zidoo for the Opportunity to show and tell
Hope you enjoyed the look around of the ZUI interface
4 core CPU, running Android 7.0 32 bit,
Not a power house beast, most should be Good, Videos should be ok
Interesting to see what allwinner of today is with what it has to offer,
Android 7 would should add more smarts hopefully.
Possible incompatible with some testing software unsure.
Antutu sound was not clean, very stuttery. both demos.
Vellamo, onscreen animations frozen thru some of the web-browsing demo's.
3d Benchmark some of the Animation screen did drop out.
All test shown are only a reference or a guide to performance on some sort of a level playing field.
How accurate these results maybe in real terms is always open to conjecture.
If it looks and feels fast, with general operation on how apps run, start up etc
and the scores indicate that in some way, then some justification is plausible.
Temperatures looking good, low 40,s idle to 70c under the pump, (3Dmark)
Blue tooth remote Excellent.
No display on front one would thought with the size of that window.
Small Blue or Red pin hole led next to window for power indication.
Found Both Wifi and ethernet speeds to be good at this location.
Internal Movie Player or Media Centre as its called also good.
Scanned SMB, NFS, playing the majority tested, more testing to be done.
Netflix OK not HD looking pretty good.
No Kodi or equivalent installed as yet
A good looking Media player with a flash looking UI and Interface not to bad at all.
Updated Today to L1 widevine support
Model：ZIDOO_H6 Pro
FW version：v1.0.10 BETA
Updated list:
1.Netflix suppots 1080P playback.
2.Youtube supports 2k、4k playback.
3.Solved the freezing issue on such bbc news、vimeo, etc applications.
4.Solved the issue that can not save when HDMI setting into 4k up to 60p.
5.Solved the issue that some screens display in 4:3 size when TV turn on.
6.Solved the wrong color issue when playback hdr video on kodi
7.Optimized the connection tips of bluetooth remote control
8.Fix the Launcher app open applications ui, the fast press the back button, the ui does not display
9.Optimized the freezing issue when playback turehd、atmos videos via smb network.
10.Solved no sound issue on some ac3 videos
11.support root(just need install suppersu).
12.Solved the issue of individual device that shows tips repeatly with cvbs plug in、cvbs plug out
Download url：
http://www.mediafire.com/file/cd50kx43cov7npx/ZIDOO_H6_Pro_20170930_v1.0.10_ota.zip
MD5: 924ae598ba65d2cb0740c89f271c405b
Update style：OTA
How to upgrade:
http://www.zidoo.tv/Support/guide/g...e_faq/CN6lY0XMyIg=/faq_page/9nCdOWqz+dw=.html
How does it works after a few months usage? I'm planning to buy one of these. Or something similar under 100$.
Sent from my NX569H using Tapatalk
It's one month i am using it and i have mixed opion of this box. Obviously it's a beautiful piece of hardware, but the firmware is limiting its potential. With a fine tuning it works well with kodi and all the common stuff you want to install on an android box. The embedded player works fantastic even if it misses the look and feel of Kodi while navigating the list of movies and other media.
I have choosen it because it's sayd Zidoo supports a lot its products. H6 pro was released, if i am not mistaken, in August 2017 and it received three firmwares so far. Anyway several problems still exist; nothing scary for an experienced user, nevertheless is not the kind of product to unbox, plug and play easily.
il_giank said:
It's one month i am using it and i have mixed opion of this box. Obviously it's a beautiful piece of hardware, but the firmware is limiting its potential. With a fine tuning it works well with kodi and all the common stuff you want to install on an android box. The embedded player works fantastic even if it misses the look and feel of Kodi while navigating the list of movies and other media.
I have choosen it because it's sayd Zidoo supports a lot its products. H6 pro was released, if i am not mistaken, in August 2017 and it received three firmwares so far. Anyway several problems still exist; nothing scary for an experienced user, nevertheless is not the kind of product to unbox, plug and play easily.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Meanwhile I have bought xiaomi mi box 4k. It's very limited on software side but it's doing the job.
Thank you for the review!
Interesting! What do you mean with limited?
thanks in advance
il_giank said:
Interesting! What do you mean with limited?
thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not customizable android, No Ethernet port, when playing 4k video is lagging. But, as I sad, is doing the job. I recommend it only for non exigent user.
o-I-c said:
Download url：
http://www.mediafire.com/file/cd50kx43cov7npx/ZIDOO_H6_Pro_20170930_v1.0.10_ota.zip
MD5: 924ae598ba65d2cb0740c89f271c405b
Update style：OTA
How to upgrade:
http://www.zidoo.tv/Support/guide/g...e_faq/CN6lY0XMyIg=/faq_page/9nCdOWqz+dw=.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a new release:
http://forum.zidoo.tv/index.php?threads/firmware-v1-0-20-for-zidoo-h6pro.7202/
Does it have release-keys or unofficial firmware with test-keys?
I'm wondering because some streaming apps test on it...
Thanks!
Just avoid this box until the Zidoo devs provide a stable working Firmware!
I recently bought it and 4 firmwares are out since its launch and every time its breaking something and fixing something.
No Pre-installed ZDMC (Ziddo's Kodi fork) and they ask you to sideload it.
All the FW updates have problems with Kodi 17.x, no hardware acceleration, low framerate, high cpu even on 1080p, x265 doent play anymore on Kodi on most recent FW Update!
Playstore search doesnt work,
NO OTA updates they boast about. Everytime I have to flash it with USB.
These are the pure basic functionality and if Zidoo can't even provide a stable tested fw addressing these there is no point to buy it. Zidoo is more busy in launching newer devices and supporting their higher end models and not giving proper attention on this one. Not complaining about hardware build , its good.
Visit the Zidoo forums and you will find many users with these issues and lot other issues.
Avoid it!
sunny155 said:
no hardware acceleration,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello.
How did you manage to make sure of this? I'm using VLC and MX player, with hardware acceleration enabled and it's working. The CPU temps and usage also dropped a lot but despite this, I also suspect that there is enough to improve... I'm on fw 1.0.28 http://forum.zidoo.tv/index.php?threads/firmware-v1-0-28-for-zidoo-h6pro.8671/
hpto said:
Hello.
How did you manage to make sure of this? I'm using VLC and MX player, with hardware acceleration enabled and it's working. The CPU temps and usage also dropped a lot but despite this, I also suspect that there is enough to improve... I'm on fw 1.0.28 http://forum.zidoo.tv/index.php?threads/firmware-v1-0-28-for-zidoo-h6pro.8671/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I played a video on Kodi 17 . Also, HEVC playback is broken on latest firmware 1.0.28 on Kodi
I didnt tried any VLC or MX player.
sunny155 said:
I played a video on Kodi 17 . Also, HEVC playback is broken on latest firmware 1.0.28 on Kodi
I didnt tried any VLC or MX player.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kodi is all stormed on Zidoo. Forget it.
Try these apps I told, it's working. I just do not understand how VLC and MX are working with hardware acceleration without the GPU being properly installed.
I run GFX bench and I confirm GPU is not working, it's a shame.
Every chinese box has serious software problems. While there is no model here in XDA or with custom ROMs, it will be this suffering...
hpto said:
Kodi is all stormed on Zidoo. Forget it.
Try these apps I told, it's working. I just do not understand how VLC and MX are working with hardware acceleration without the GPU being properly installed.
I run GFX bench and I confirm GPU is not working, it's a shame.
Every chinese box has serious software problems. While there is no model here in XDA or with custom ROMs, it will be this suffering...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Zidoo has own fork of Kodi called as ZDMC. I am using Zidoo x5 with ZDMC for almost 3 years + but it has limited ram and a slow Wifi so I thought to upgrade and bought this H6 Pro which has better specs and was under my budget.
What I didnt knew it doesn't come with ZDMC and Kodi sideload doesnt work properly! My bad I didnt checked the forums before buying!
The hardware is good but like you said **** software support and they cant even fix it (less efforts or funding?) and instead they keep launching newer box with more powerful hardware! This is how Zidoo screw us! They do release updates but what's the point of buying something you can't use bug free immediately! Instead have to follow forums and hacks and wait till they release new broken updates! Never ever got their hyped OTA update it didnt worked on x5 neither on this H6 Pro. I Should've spent more and bought Minix U9-H which atleast has no serious issues like Zidoo. I am gonna wait for one last update and if it didnt work I will sell it.
Hello to all!
I recently purchased this tv box and I still waiting to receive it. Unfortunately, I did not check the Zidoo forums before complete the purchase. Now, I am very affraid after all the negatives comments that the tv box have. Do you have any advise in order to avoid or not have to much issues with the box? For example, is it recomenbable make the upgrade to the lastest firmware? or make a factory reset?
I have a big issue, and it is that I can not request a refund or change of the box becasue in my country is very complicate to do that.
Thank you for your advises.
New firmware version
Hi, there is a new firmware version, ZIDOO_H6_N_v1.0.36_20180903.
Please consult Zidoo comunity place.
Nice work, thanks Zidoo it solve some problem and is more stable. :good::good:
mop09737 said:
Hi, there is a new firmware version, ZIDOO_H6_N_v1.0.36_20180903.
Please consult Zidoo comunity place.
Nice work, thanks Zidoo it solve some problem and is more stable. :good::good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They did not solve anything, infact they made it worse, Google is crashing every 4-5 seconds and the unit is useless untill you disable all google services.... Moreover they do not reply to any threads in their forum asking for help, since months now...
How can I root the Zidoo H6 Pro?
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Beelink is known for producing some of the best affordable TV boxes and mini PCs on the market, and the A1 is one of their latest inventions. This device, which is much smaller than an average smartphone, packs an RK3328 quad-core processor, 4GB RAM, 16GB eMMc internal storage and lots of useful features. How does it perform in our daily lives, we will try to find out in this review.
Main Specs of the Beelink A1
Operating System: Android 7.1
Processor: RK3328 Quad-Core Processor (4*[email protected], Mali-450MP2 GPU)
RAM: 4GB DDR3
Storage: 16GB eMMc Internal Storage, TF Card support (up to 128GB)
HDMI: HDMI 2.0a output up to [email protected] + HDMI 3D video formats
Display: Digital LED display
Ports: Ethernet port*1, AV Port*1, DC port*1, Micro SD card slot*1, USB 3.0 Port*1, USB 2.0 Port*1, HDMI*1.
Dimension: 77mm*77mm*17mm (L x W x H)
Chassis: White, ABS Plastic
Retail Package: TV box*1, Remote control*1, HDMI cable*1, Power adapter*1, User manual*1
Retail Package
Inside the box, you will find a Beelink A1 TV box, a remote, an HDMI cable, a power adapter, and an English manual.
Design
Measured at 77mm*77mm*17mm, the Beelink A1 is the smallest TV Box we have ever reviewed. It has a much smaller footprint than the Jide Remix IO, the Jide Remix Mini and the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.
While lacking in size, this device still offers a slew of ports and slots. On the back side of the box you will find a 3.5mm AV multi-purpose port, an RJ45 Ethernet jack, an HDMI 2.0 port, and a DC port.
On the right side of the device, you will find two USB Type-A ports, one of USB 3.0 standard and the other of USB 2.0 standard. There’s also a Micro SD card slot which supports cards up to 128GB.
On the front side of the box you will find an IR receiver, and an LED display working as a digital clock.
The tiny casing is made of white ABS plastic, which gives the device an elegant and premium look.
The Beelink logo on the top side of the box is hidden most of the time, and can only be seen while we look at the box in a certain angle, when it reflects the lighting.
There are some vents on the bottom side to keep the box from overheating.
Like all products from Beelink, the build quality of the A1 is pretty good, even though it has a plastic shell, it still feels quite robust in our hands. The supplied remote is also well-built. Although still with a predictably lightweight, plastic finish and limited mouse pointer functionality, the box responds quickly to its commands and the infra-red range are acceptably long and broad.
Setting it up
Setting up the Beelink A1 is as easy as setting up any TV box. Connecting it to a TV via HDMI, plugging in the charger and you are good to go.
You will need to connect the device to the internet the first time you boot it, either via Wi-Fi or a LAN cable.
System & Apps
The Beelink A1 ships with Android 7.1 Nougat, but the user interface is tailor-made for a TV box. The launcher has everything laid out beautifully and is very easy to navigate. The date and time is located at the top left with the temperature widget below. In the center of the screen you have a link to the media center, internet browser and Google Play Store, There are also shortcuts to “clear memory”, app drawer, and settings laying below. To the right is an area where users can pin their most commonly used apps. Finally at the bottom left you have shortcuts to power, volume, at the bottom right you have shortcuts to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth.
The navigation bar at the very bottom is defaulted to be hidden, but you can bring it up with a mouse. It has many virtual keys, including a power key, a hide-bar key, a volume- key, a back key, a home key, a recent apps key, a volume+ key, and a screenshot key.
The A1 doesn’t come loaded with bloatware, but there are some preinstalled apps. Besides the stock Google Play Store, Android Web Browser, Calculator and Gallery, you can also find Beelink’s very own App Store, Bee Files Explorer, Media Center and Bee Music in the app drawer. There are also some third-party apps preinstalled, including the Fishing Joy game app.
As a TV box, the A1 is designed mainly for media consumption, and you can find a great number of media playback apps in Google Play, including YouTube, Netflix, Kodi and Hulu. The A1 has no problem streaming 4K videos smoothly on YouTube, but I did notice some hiccups while playing a few local videos with Kodi.
Another thing I need to mention is that I could not find a way to play local videos in full screen with the Beelink’s Media Center app.
Fortunately I don’t really need to use it that often, other media playback apps such as Kodi, Mobo Player and MX Player all work well with full-screen video playback. Only when I needed to use the PiP (Picture in Picture) function would I open the Beelink Media Center, as it works great if you want to keep your eyes on two things at once.
Another relatively unusual feature of the Beelink A1 is its ability to act as a Networked Attached Storage (NAS) device although that’s only going to be really useful if you’ve an external storage connected. That’s not an area I am particularly interested in but I know there are users desperately wanting it. There’s also settings to activate the A1 as a portable WiFi hotspot, but only at 2.4GHz.
Since it is running on Android 7.1 Nougat, the A1 can also serve other functionalities such as E-Mails, Web-browsing and social networking, but you will need a mouse and a keyboard for those tasks, as it would be too awkward typing texts with a remote and the on-screen keyboard.
Another notable feature of this box is the ability to receive OTA (Over-the-Air) firmware updates. My unit received 3 OTA updates during my two weeks’ testing it.
Performance
The Beelink A1 is powered by a Rockchip RK3328 quad-core processor and 4GB RAM. It wouldn’t really match those flagship Android smartphones when it comes to benchmark scores, but as a TV box, it has a lot of power under the hood.
In Antutu V6 benchmark test, the A1 scored 33,992, ranking above competitions such as the Jide Remix IO (32,981), the Zidoo X9s (33,990) and Jide Remix Mini (23,919).
In Geekbench 4 CPU test, the A1 notched 569 in single-core, 1,470 in multi-core, and 1,128 in computing. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a way to run 3DMark, PCMark for Android and Androbench tests on the A1.
As for the real-world performance, the A1 was pretty smooth when we set the HDMI output at 1080P resolution. At 4K, however, the A1 became less responsive, and there were frequent stutters and delays with different tasks.
The A1 had no problem playing most 1080P videos we threw at it, but it did struggle with some 4K clips. In the Antutu Video Tester Benchmark, the A1 scored 668, compatible with most of the video formats included in the benchmark test.
Thanks to the 4 gigabits of RAM underneath, the A1 could handle a decent amount of multi-tasking. It remained smooth and responsive even though there were quite a number of apps running in the background.
Heavier productivity tasks such as editing a video with VidTrim or making a Presentation with Microsoft PowerPoint might be a little challenging for the A1. But not many people will try those tasks with a TV box, even though it is more capable of handling them than some so-called Android mini PCs. Sorry, Jide!
Generally speaking, the A1 is designed to perform well as a media consuming device, and it does.
Connectivity
The A1 offers many connectivity options. It supports 2.4GHz/5GHz dual band Wi-Fi, and the Wireless connection is very solid. It was able to pick up wireless hotspots at places where the Remix Mini couldn’t. If Wireless connection isn’t enough, there’s an RJ-45 Ethernet jack. There’s also Bluetooth 4.0 on board to take care of local data transfer and connecting with audio and input devices.
The HDMI 2.0 port on the A1 can output videos up to [email protected], and should work well with most TV and projectors. The USB 3.0 port does have problems reading some external USB storages, but the USB 2.0 port worked fine will all external drives I plugged in. The Micro SD card slot had no problem reading my 32GB Samsung card and my 64GB Transcend card.
Verdict
Priced at $69.99, the Beelink A1 is extremely affordable and offers a lot for the money. In fact it is arguably one of the best TV boxes out there. With an elegant design, a slew of outputs and inputs, and a lot of horsepower under the hood. It works fine as a TV box as well as a Home Theatre PC, and there aren’t many similarly priced alternatives out there that offer the same amount of value.
Hello, when you played youtube 4k video, does it really display in 4k or maximum 1080p ? Thank you.
jolymike said:
Hello, when you played youtube 4k video, does it really display in 4k or maximum 1080p ? Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to YouTube reviewers of this product. They're kind of iffy on how well 4K does or doesn't work. This reviewer reviews two Beelink products and so it's not biased against Beelink.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m80-fz1n24s&t=579s
I'm putting this here in case other owners of this or a similar unit can help me with my first Android TV box.
I'm attempting to use this unit kind of like a cheapo Chromebox. I installed Nova Launcher to make this more doable. I believe it will work pretty well for this but I have a few issues/questions.
1. There is a bug with time format. The front of the unit displays 24 hour format. You can adjust in DATE & TIME settings but the fix only works until reboot. Once you reboot it's back to 24 hour format. (That temporary fix is turning 24 hour format on and then off.)
2. There is no easy way to reboot the unit save for unplugging it. The POWER button in the Nav Bar only powers off instead of offering 'sleep' or 'reboot'. As a workaround I installed 'SIMPLE REBOOT' here --
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=simple.reboot.com&hl=en
Since the A1 is already rooted it's a breeze. Unfortunately there's still no 'sleep' mode. Hmm.
3. The Navigation Bar is hidden. With a wireless keyboard it is tricky to make it show. Once up it's transparent and nice but if you reboot it's gone again. Is there a trick to keep it active? I tried a third party nav app and the same thing happens -- gone after reboot..
(UPDATE -- Beelink suggests there's a handy dandy way to activate nav bar with remote. But I don't want that. I want it always activated. Even after reboot. I found an app called Navigation bar --
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kimcy92.navigationbar&hl=en
It boots up each time which is good. What's bad is the bar doesn't hide the way you'd want to sometimes.
4. This unit doesn't want to sleep. If you set it to sleep -- it won't. (UPDATE -- I had activated Developer Options and discovered a NEVER SLEEP function selected. I deselected but still wasn't impressed sleep was working.)
5. Is there a way to turn off virtual keyboard? (UPDATE -- Yeah, another app workaround. Null keyboard. It's a virtual keyboard that isn't actually there. So when attach a real keyboard the virtual is gone.)
The Pool Man said:
I'm putting this here in case other owners of this or a similar unit can help me with my first Android TV box.
I'm attempting to use this unit kind of like a cheapo Chromebox. I installed Nova Launcher to make this more doable. I believe it will work pretty well for this but I have a few issues/questions.
1. There is a bug with time format. The front of the unit displays 24 hour format. You can adjust in DATE & TIME settings but the fix only works until reboot. Once you reboot it's back to 24 hour format. (That temporary fix is turning 24 hour format on and then off.)
2. There is no easy way to reboot the unit save for unplugging it. The POWER button in the Nav Bar only powers off instead of offering 'sleep' or 'reboot'. As a workaround I installed 'SIMPLE REBOOT' here --
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=simple.reboot.com&hl=en
Since the A1 is already rooted it's a breeze. Unfortunately there's still no 'sleep' mode. Hmm.
3. The Navigation Bar is hidden. With a wireless keyboard it is tricky to make it show. Once up it's transparent and nice but if you reboot it's gone again. Is there a trick to keep it active? I tried a third party nav app and the same thing happens -- gone after reboot..
(UPDATE -- Beelink suggests there's a handy dandy way to activate nav bar with remote. But I don't want that. I want it always activated. Even after reboot. I found an app called Navigation bar --
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kimcy92.navigationbar&hl=en
It boots up each time which is good. What's bad is the bar doesn't hide the way you'd want to sometimes.
4. This unit doesn't want to sleep. If you set it to sleep -- it won't. (UPDATE -- I had activated Developer Options and discovered a NEVER SLEEP function selected. I deselected but still wasn't impressed sleep was working.)
5. Is there a way to turn off virtual keyboard? (UPDATE -- Yeah, another app workaround. Null keyboard. It's a virtual keyboard that isn't actually there. So when attach a real keyboard the virtual is gone.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Beelink is awesome. I sent them an email about these items and today, quite by surprise, two of them were fixed.
The time format now remembers the 12 hour format after you reboot... which means that bright clock on the outside stays in the 12 hour format for good!
The Nav Bar disappearing after reboot is fixed as well. I'm using this unit in Nova Launcher as a 'basic' computer for a young friend. And so these are sort of 'tablet' issues more than TV Box issues.
Hi All,
Do you know how to force selinux policy to permissive one?
Thanks
TV Launcher
what TV launcher is used? (wonderful appearance)
Hello,
Did someone know if this this device we can play netflix in FHD or UHD?
Because she's certified L1 Widevine Google.
Thanks
atisoro said:
what TV launcher is used? (wonderful appearance)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
stock Google TV launcher.