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Member
Jan 19, 2013
332 posts
313 upvotes

xbmc box

Hi all, can you please recommend me an xbmc box .. I have a budget of max 150 $ ..

I had been following the various RFD posts and saw these 2 has been mentioned ->

http://www.amazon.ca/MXIII-Android-Quad ... B00R0BS56S

http://www.amazon.ca/Matricom-x24C7-G-B ... +core+xbmc

Other option is to create a system myself , I have configured kodi in my pc and use it , however I have never assembled a machine before ( so I have to rely on youtube videos and blogs for the same ) ->

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/zot ... 6a3458en02 ( there is no wireless for this )

Or lastly configure one with raspberry pi2, I was thinking of this -> http://www.canakit.com/raspberry-pi-starter-kit.html


Which should be the best option of all these .. Any other suggestions ?
19 replies
Deal Addict
Sep 17, 2002
1091 posts
477 upvotes
we use ouya and pretty happy with it - price was $70 from amazon.ca so can't complain
Deal Addict
Feb 5, 2008
1190 posts
501 upvotes
Abbotsford
I would highly recommend the Amazon Fire TV
Member
Jan 19, 2013
332 posts
313 upvotes
thanks for the responses .. I had seen people recommending fire tv before , however the problem is I do not have a US shipping address to ship it to ( and neither use vpn, not sure if you need it though ) .. I checked for Fire Tv boxes in kijiji but they were pretty expensive ( people has been reselling them for a much higher price ) ..
Sr. Member
Dec 31, 2007
520 posts
181 upvotes
i was looking at this ad on kijiji for the tronsmart vega S89.

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-electronics/mark ... nFlag=true

this looks better in terms of pricing and selling for $150, but they are including the air mouse worth $30.

with local GTA pickup and no waiting and shipping and handling fees, you may want to check it out. the reviews looks pretty good and it's all based on android, so it should be just as good as the boxes selling through amazon.
Deal Addict
Jul 28, 2014
1251 posts
120 upvotes
Toronto, ON
I would say Raspberry Pi. I considered other boxes as well, before I found the Pi. Can't beat the price at under $100. Plus you can do other things with it if you choose to later on, who knows right. I recently got one myself for Kodi, and will get Pi2 later on.
Member
Jan 19, 2013
332 posts
313 upvotes
milhouse611 wrote: I would say Raspberry Pi. I considered other boxes as well, before I found the Pi. Can't beat the price at under $100. Plus you can do other things with it if you choose to later on, who knows right. I recently got one myself for Kodi, and will get Pi2 later on.
I was considering this http://www.canakit.com/raspberry-pi-starter-kit.html .. however any idea if the wireless is fast enough to stream hd videos -> http://www.canakit.com/raspberry-pi-wifi.html .. also is there anything else I need to consider to use a raspberry pi 2 as a media centre ..
Deal Guru
User avatar
Nov 21, 2002
12014 posts
4368 upvotes
Winnipeg
anindyabecs wrote: thanks for the responses .. I had seen people recommending fire tv before , however the problem is I do not have a US shipping address to ship it to ( and neither use vpn, not sure if you need it though ) .. I checked for Fire Tv boxes in kijiji but they were pretty expensive ( people has been reselling them for a much higher price ) ..
www.mymallbox.com use buyforme option buy a refurb from amazon for 74 usd bucks if you google mymallbox and coupon you can get aound 15 usd in credits. raspberry is argueably the best bang for buck when its being sold at its price properly but alot of people are nickle and diming the buyer for a few extra bucks so you may want to sit it out till supply catches up and things normalize. Its pretty good easy to set up with long term support. Good time to buy cheap raspberry pi 2 ebay/aliexpress cases, and say ir tsops($.13 cents) for its own flirc capability since it takes a month to arrive

For you grab a firetv and thro in the firestick too for your bedroom. Combine both in 1 order. If you decide you want us netfix super hd or amazon prime your set as well. only amazon and win 8 and maybe nexus player (wifi only not as many streaming apps as firetv) get it all. Plus its a quality build control. the firestick is the only stick i ever used where the wifi actually worked stable.

After those I would only recommend the soon to be released forgetv or an intel baytrail with actual working dual bios capability that comes with win 8.

If your running OTA tv with guide then your best choice is the raspberry pi 2 nothing android based is good for ota.
Sr. Member
Aug 21, 2012
824 posts
104 upvotes
The Odroid XU3 lite seems to be the fastest mini-pc available, might take a bit more configuration though. The whole thing can be had for around 150$, with the board, the case, the cord, and a wireless card.

Out of the box I think any board with an Amlogic S802/S802-H is good for being fast and open source. Tronsmart Vega S89 is a good bet and sells for 110$ on Aliexpress, or the Minix x8-h is really popular.

1) S802 no Dolby-Digital(AC3) or DTS hardware decoding
2) S802-B (S802D) with Dolby-Digital(AC3) but not DTS hardware decoding
3) S802-H (S802DD) with Dolby-Digital(AC3) and DTS hardware decoding
Deal Addict
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Apr 24, 2006
1396 posts
1058 upvotes
GTA
dscott01 wrote: I would highly recommend the Amazon Fire TV
+1
"Just because something is on sale doesn't mean a) you can afford it, b) you should buy it, c) you need it, d) you're not spending far more buying it than not buying it at all"
Deal Addict
Jul 28, 2014
1251 posts
120 upvotes
Toronto, ON
anindyabecs wrote: I was considering this http://www.canakit.com/raspberry-pi-starter-kit.html .. however any idea if the wireless is fast enough to stream hd videos -> http://www.canakit.com/raspberry-pi-wifi.html .. also is there anything else I need to consider to use a raspberry pi 2 as a media centre ..
Thats the same kit I got for the previous model. Don't know about wifi as I try to use cable for anything other than phone/tablets. I don't have any experience with any other android boxes mentioned, so don't know how what they are like. I was in the same boat as you were in, but the price was definitely a factor and also being able to use the Pi for other things was very intriguing to me. I am still pretty new to it, but IMO, the value of the Pi was worth more than the others.
Deal Fanatic
Jan 15, 2004
7631 posts
2175 upvotes
I have the Minix X8H and it's great as XBMC is already installed out of the box. There are new Minix Android and Windows box out there now.
Member
Jan 19, 2013
332 posts
313 upvotes
milhouse611 wrote: Thats the same kit I got for the previous model. Don't know about wifi as I try to use cable for anything other than phone/tablets. I don't have any experience with any other android boxes mentioned, so don't know how what they are like. I was in the same boat as you were in, but the price was definitely a factor and also being able to use the Pi for other things was very intriguing to me. I am still pretty new to it, but IMO, the value of the Pi was worth more than the others.
how is the sound and overall performance with the kit ( In understand pi 2 will be much faster but just wanted to get an idea about the same ) ...
Member
Jan 19, 2013
332 posts
313 upvotes
thanks all for your responses :) really great to have a forum like rfd ..
Deal Addict
Jul 28, 2014
1251 posts
120 upvotes
Toronto, ON
anindyabecs wrote: how is the sound and overall performance with the kit (In understand pi 2 will be much faster but just wanted to get an idea about the same ) ...
I never had any problems with sound. Seems fine, just like anything else coming out the TV. The first time, you should give it some time for updating before you start browsing around. I was trying to do everything all at once and it was lagging very badly, until I posted on here and someone mentioned it. After that though, it was fine. Went home the next day, turned it on and left it for a bit before I touched it.

At the start, I felt it was a bit slow compared to using a PC, but now I feel it has gotten a lot better. You will probably want to overclock it, and try different settings. Think I am currently at 900mhz, and it seems fine.

There is more on overclocking on another recent thread, if you need more info on that. Plenty on net as well.
Deal Guru
Dec 10, 2004
13194 posts
7650 upvotes
Kanata
Just note that for mpeg2 (DVD) and VC-1, pi2 doesn't offer hardware acceleration without purchasing the mpg2 license. That's only a few bucks but it all adds up. Something to note if you require to decode Mpeg2/vc-1 in hardware.
I have pi1 and pi2 using kodi and very happy. the biggest thing to make it good for the family was for me to organize my media.
I only use them wired at the moment, though going to test the pi1 with wifi on 2nd floor (router on main) to see performance streaming.
Member
Feb 15, 2013
208 posts
25 upvotes
I got all types of android xbmc boxes and sticks from mk808b to minix x8-h however, if it's mostly to use xbmc or kodi ect., to stream videos, get the MXQ S85 box made by Beelink, I got one last time from ******** for around 45 bucks with coupon, with free shipping. The thing outputs in true 1080p and is rock solid, works great. Why spend 150 when you can have all the benefits for around 50 bucks. Also, Kodi is just a name change for XBMC, it's a newer version (helix) of XBMC, what matters is what addons you have installed. I just use the stock one included in the latest firmware for MXQ which is version 109k4.
Deal Guru
User avatar
Nov 21, 2002
12014 posts
4368 upvotes
Winnipeg
khanj665 wrote: I got all types of android xbmc boxes and sticks from mk808b to minix x8-h however, if it's mostly to use xbmc or kodi ect., to stream videos, get the MXQ S85 box made by Beelink, I got one last time from ******** for around 45 bucks with coupon, with free shipping. The thing outputs in true 1080p and is rock solid, works great. Why spend 150 when you can have all the benefits for around 50 bucks. Also, Kodi is just a name change for XBMC, it's a newer version (helix) of XBMC, what matters is what addons you have installed. I just use the stock one included in the latest firmware for MXQ which is version 109k4.
I wouldn't recommend that one. Has poor quality control lots of reports of dying or doa. You sound ok but don't mislead people in thinking it can just run kodi fine when in fact it hasn't. For some time now this box has been around since fall last year and only till jan or feb has had better kodi experiences.

When i was reading around on boxes this seemed quite affordable. But the common theme you read is "it came with a version of gotham and ran fine", but when upgraded to helix and or helix fix or helix 14.1 it doesn't run kodi helix well.

No hardware acceleration and or iptv overscan or 720p res vs 1080p etc etc. It was the firmware and kodi . Koying made a fix for hardware accel found in a helix test build. But it was working for some boxes and not others. Because firmware needs updating its a "super user/permissions issue to work in helix. Argueably another firmware upgrade to work for 14.1.

This has been a re-occuring scenario with amlogic since m1/m3 and rockchip. Each new xbmc build needs a new firmware to run. Or if a fix happens on kodi's end android needs a fix as well. Read like a very frustrating kodi experience for many especially those who bought non popular devices with same hardware and argueably why its never recommended as a goto box at kodi. It has alot of potential but its so relative to firmware support of android. Basically if you run amlogic or rockchip or even allwinner and realtek make sure the company selling the box has been around to offer proven support or your playing a waiting game or hunting down 3rd party firmware, or gather dust in a drawer. Which is why people are always running or mentioning a 3rd party rom like "finless" or stane1983 etc. To run later builds you will need to hope they are still making firmwares to support the later builds and haven't moved on to newer tech android etc and that ultimately becomes expensive.

My personal experience on chipsets like nivida or qualcom or broadcom. I Never had these issues with hunting firmwares. Firetv never needed a tweaked firmware to run xbmc/kodi. Give amazon some credit there. of course the same could be said for ouya too I guess always just worked off the firmware it had and apple as well. Perhaps its also how well the brand gets support from the chipset manufacturer and how forth coming they are. I bet if millions get sold there quite ready to look at issues. It doesn't hurt raspberry that Upton works for broadcom either. It doesn't hurt that everyones efforts profit a charity vs a few either.
Deal Guru
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Jan 6, 2005
12251 posts
3582 upvotes
I am using the Dual Core MX box, labelled as INL3D INBOX... paid $150 for it... Then ordered the quad core S85 MX box from ******** and set up XBMC the way I liked and it's been working flawlessly. Less than $60 shipped... Very happy with it, not a single issue. The INBOX one has 4 USB ports, so I can put a jump drive, hard drive, external keyboard remote, etc... the quad one I bought only has 2, but still much faster for running apps and XBMC than the dual core.
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The second rule of RFD is, you DO NOT talk about RFD.

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