How do you use MediaBrowser??

[Cheesegeezer 3086]

I've been working on that with a little artistic help from the community. Since you talked me into it, a few teasers of what were trying to do. Time will tell how close I can come with the actual android api's

 

 

 

Wow Red, that looks fricken amazing.... Great work geezer!!

[Redshirt 1487]

Thank Shaefurr for those

[Cheesegeezer 3086]

ok, sod you Red  

 

Thanks @@shaefurr

[ebr 14913]

Wow - that is freaking cool.  Nice work, Red.

[bigjohn 655]

I've been working on that with a little artistic help from the community. Since you talked me into it, a few teasers of what were trying to do. Time will tell how close I can come with the actual android api's

 

 

 

 

That looks VERY nice!  If the finished product is even close, it will be fantastic.

[pmac 132]

Would these little Android PC's be able to replace a Roku in terms of performance/usability? I'm new to the whole "Mini-PC" scene, but I really like the looks of these little guys! Plus, your app concept looks amazing @@Redshirt! I'm looking for an extender for another room in our house, was thinking of getting another roku, but with these mini-pc's being around the same price, they've got my interest piqued! I just don't know a whole lot about them.

 

Also, is there any way of using a remote with the Android's?

Edited January 27, 2014 by pmac

[Cheesegeezer 3086]

Would these little Android PC's be able to replace a Roku in terms of performance/usability? I'm new to the whole "Mini-PC" scene, but I really like the looks of these little guys! Plus, your app concept looks amazing @@Redshirt! I'm looking for an extender for another room in our house, was thinking of getting another roku, but with these mini-pc's being around the same price, they've got my interest piqued! I just don't know a whole lot about them.

 

Also, is there any way of using a remote with the Android's?

pmac, I'm in completely the same boat as you, I should have mine tomorrow and plan on doing a small review with it and Red's app. I'm completely new to android and have 2 Roku's myself.  

 

The way I understand it, is these mini pc's are basically a samsung galaxy whatever, but you use it on your big screen rather than a handheld device (and no phoning capabilities) so you have all the functionality of these handheld devices.  

 

I'll let you know how I get on tomorrow.

[pmac 132]

Awesome, thanks @@Cheesegeezer, I'm really interested in getting one of these, I'd love to hear how it works out for you!

[bigjohn 655]

Also, is there any way of using a remote with the Android's?

 

Some have IR receivers, some will let you use your phone as a remote (via bluetooth or WAN), some come with their own remote.  I haven't ordered it yet (have to wait for some funds to come in), but I am going to try one of these little Radxa Rock minis:

http://radxa.com/

It has a built in IR receiver.

Edited January 27, 2014 by bigjohn322

[shaefurr 1337]

Yeah you're right on that geezer. Its basically the same as having a android tablet plugged into your TV. I posted a few screenshots and a quick vid of mine running the android app in this thread

 

Its a cheap dual core so its not as fast as my current phone, but Id say its on par with my old Droid X. Wifi on these little android PC's tend to not be the best though (from my experience and what ive read), so keep that in mind if you plan on placing it on the opposite side of the house from the router.

[Cheesegeezer 3086]

Yeah you're right on that geezer. Its basically the same as having a android tablet plugged into your TV. I posted a few screenshots and a quick vid of mine running the android app in this thread

 

Its a cheap dual core so its not as fast as my current phone, but Id say its on par with my old Droid X. Wifi on these little android PC's tend to not be the best though (from my experience and what ive read), so keep that in mind if you plan on placing it on the opposite side of the house from the router.

Well i did quite a bit of research, the one I ordered came with an antenna for wifi and it's quad core so hopefully should be pretty good. Got pretty good reviews on amazon and I tend to trust reviewers on there.

 

It was your post that got me thinking about one of these for my offshore use.  I tried the Roku but because I have to log into a browser to access the internet with a username and password I didn't have that capability for that.  Now that this has been brought to light, i might just get Mediabrowser going in one of the cinema's on an oil rig for movie night.... every night at 20:00hrs

[pmac 132]

Which unit did you end up ordering?

[Cheesegeezer 3086]

Which unit did you end up ordering?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00GY1B3PU/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[shaefurr 1337]

Well i did quite a bit of research, the one I ordered came with an antenna for wifi and it's quad core so hopefully should be pretty good. Got pretty good reviews on amazon and I tend to trust reviewers on there.

 

It was your post that got me thinking about one of these for my offshore use.  I tried the Roku but because I have to log into a browser to access the internet with a username and password I didn't have that capability for that.  Now that this has been brought to light, i might just get Mediabrowser going in one of the cinema's on an oil rig for movie night.... every night at 20:00hrs

 

Yeah if I get another id get one like that as well. I like the little thing though, didnt plan on using it much when I first got it, but it works so well I ended up replacing my kids HTPC with it, nice since I can just plug it in and stick it behind the TV.

 

One other note, if you plan to power it from the USB port on your TV, make sure you have enough power going to it. I tried from my TV and the mini-pc kept freezing up every 15 minutes, works fine on my other TV though and from wall plugs. I believe the USB port needs to support 5v/2a, maybe im wrong on those numbers though.

 

For comparison, this is what I got. http://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-MK808B-Android-Rockchip-Cortex-A9/dp/B00ALSZNLW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390836365&sr=8-1&keywords=mk808

Edited January 27, 2014 by shaefurr

[Cheesegeezer 3086]

Yeah if I get another id get one like that as well. I like the little thing though, didnt plan on using it much when I first got it, but it works so well I ended up replacing my kids HTPC with it, nice since I can just plug it in and stick it behind the TV.

 

One other note, if you plan to power it from the USB port on your TV, make sure you have enough power going to it. I tried from my TV and the mini-pc kept freezing up every 15 minutes, works fine on my other TV though and from wall plugs. I believe the USB port needs to support 5v/2a, maybe im wrong on those numbers though.

 

For comparison, this is what I got. http://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-MK808B-Android-Rockchip-Cortex-A9/dp/B00ALSZNLW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390836365&sr=8-1&keywords=mk808

Thats the thing I never know what tv i'll be attaching it to, could be an lg, could be a sony, could be a samsung. Those figures sound about right to me, so basically you need a 10W power supply to the device, similar to an iPad (not mini).  I can always test the USB port with my ipad then and if I get the charging symbol, then I'm good to go hahaha lol

[pmac 132]

I really dislike Amazon's Canadian site as far as selection goes. But I've managed to find THIS one, what do you guys think? Seems comparable to the one you ordered @@Cheesegeezer

[Cheesegeezer 3086]

I really dislike Amazon's Canadian site as far as selection goes. But I've managed to find THIS one, what do you guys think? Seems comparable to the one you ordered @@Cheesegeezer

It does look very comparable indeed. From my research quad core is a must and as Shaefurr has pointed out the wifi is a little naff on these so I would probably look for one with an antenna to give it every chance it has.  It seems that the ones with the antennas seem to get better reviews regarding watching streamable content. 

[pmac 132]

Something with an antenna really changes the pricepoint, but I've also found these two units:

 

HERE and HERE

 

The first one is quite a bit more expensive than the smaller units, but the added remote is a nice touch, and it's still cheaper than something like a Zotac ZBox for a mini HTPC

[Cheesegeezer 3086]

Yeah it certainly does,  But what about this one 

[pmac 132]

I didn't notice that one when I was looking. That's certainly a nicer price! Looks like it should have plenty of power as well. Thanks for the link!

[Cheesegeezer 3086]

I didn't notice that one when I was looking. That's certainly a nicer price! Looks like it should have plenty of power as well. Thanks for the link!

The key to this is those types (the apple TV look alikes) are all Android model RK3188.  Yeah defo a nicer price.

[pmac 132]

It seems the USB stick style ones all have the same RK3188 chipset, correct?

[pmac 132]

That Rikomagic definitely looks a lot nicer than the knockoff ones that I found. Would an air mouse/keyboard work well for a media remote? The Rikomagic box lacks the media remote the other one comes with.

Edited January 27, 2014 by pmac

[Cheesegeezer 3086]

That Rikomagic definitely looks a lot nicer than the knockoff ones that I found. Would an air mouse/keyboard work well for a media remote? The Rikomagic box lacks the media remote the other one comes with.

I guess its personal preference when it comes to your mouse keyboard.  I went with the one red suggested

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BX0YKX4/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Rikomagic do some nice mouse keyboards too

[Abobader 2945]

Sorry to say, I do not use MB3 as I used to be.