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Client Hardware - Cable Box Replacement (updated 11-04-2018)


pir8radio

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The missing part I'm referring to, is the header section. The app doesn't seem to like being left running for long periods. This morning I discovered the guide doesn't automatically move forward. I had to advance it myself, and then it asked if I wanted to load the next 9 hours.

Last night was the first night my wife played with the mibox. She ended up falling asleep with the TV on. When I came to bed I did notice that the guide didn't automatically advance the same way that ET does.

 

 

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Edited by Tur0k
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Guest asrequested

Last night was the first night my wife played with the mibox. She ended up falling asleep with the TV on. When I came to bed I did notice that the guide didn't automatically advance the same way that ET does.

 

 

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Yeah, that's a sizeable issue, for me. I'll have to see how frustrated I get with it. Comparing it to the comcast box, it doesn't even come close in user experience. I want to be able to turn the TV on and watch. I'm having to jump through hoops and then wait for it to start, then wait longer for it get through its fits, and calm down. I shall endure because I like messing with stuff lol. I still have the comcast box, hooked up.

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Setting it to downmix audio in the app, makes the server transcode the audio and direct stream. That's what's happening on mine, but I can't get around it. You could try the same setting in the Mi Box settings, instead of the app. That might solve your issue.

I will give this a whirl when I get home.

 

 

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Jdiesel

Yeah, that's a sizeable issue, for me. I'll have to see how frustrated I get with it. Comparing it to the comcast box, it doesn't even come close in user experience. I want to be able to turn the TV on and watch. I'm having to jump through hoops and then wait for it to start, then wait longer for it get through its fits, and calm down. I shall endure because I like messing with stuff lol. I still have the comcast box, hooked up.

Do you have any Roku devices? They are about as simple as it gets. I jump between a Shield TV and a Roku Premiere+ and often prefer the Roku over Android TV. They have had some buggy firmware recently but things appear to be getting sorted out.

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Guest asrequested

Do you have any Roku devices? They are about as simple as it gets. I jump between a Shield TV and a Roku Premiere+ and often prefer the Roku over Android TV. They have had some buggy firmware recently but things appear to be getting sorted out.

 

No, other than a chromecast, this the first device I've tried. Id heard good things about the android tv app, so I liked this option. But it isn't good. I'll most likely use it for the occasional movie... My main player is my HTPC and Atmos setup, so it's not a huge deal. Just disappointing.

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Jdiesel

No, other than a chromecast, this the first device I've tried. Id heard good things about the android tv app, so I liked this option. But it isn't good. I'll most likely use it for the occasional movie... My main player is my HTPC and Atmos setup, so it's not a huge deal. Just disappointing.

Unfortunately the Shield TV is the only ATV box that really gets it right. The ATV on my Sony TV is pretty much unusable and I have heard mixed messages about the Mi Box, mainly on the Kodi fourms, but is a much more affordable ATV option. The market is really in need of a new Nexus Player with a sub $100 price point.

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Guest asrequested

Unfortunately the Shield TV is the only ATV box that really gets it right. The ATV on my Sony TV is pretty much unusable and I have heard mixed messages about the Mi Box, mainly on the Kodi fourms, but is a much more affordable ATV option. The market is really in need of a new Nexus Player with a sub $100 price point.

 

I just read a post with someone using a shield, they have a similar complaint. 

 

For Live TV, the bar is set. The Comcast box. If the user experience doesn't at least come near to that, it's a fail. I feel like many people are making allowances because it's an app. Live TV needs to be Power On and there's TV, or at least a functioning guide. The guide doesn't even advance. I mean, come on! The basics aren't even there! I was expecting something like how it is in Theater, but it's not even close.

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casminkey

I just read a post with someone using a shield, they have a similar complaint.

 

For Live TV, the bar is set. The Comcast box. If the user experience doesn't at least come near to that, it's a fail. I feel like many people are making allowances because it's an app. Live TV needs to be Power On and there's TV, or at least a functioning guide. The guide doesn't even advance. I mean, come on! The basics aren't even there! I was expecting something like how it is in Theater, but it's not even close.

Good info. I am very happy with running ET as a replacement for my cable box and looking for a replacement, just so I can repurpose those PC's but sounds like it's the best option for now.

 

I have my HTPC's reboot a few times a week, auto login to Windows and ET launches at start up so it works very much like a cable box and I don't have to switch TV inputs to go between Live TV and my media library. And with the reboots, ET stays up to date.

 

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Guest asrequested

OK, so I've been testing all kinds of configurations and ways to play the audio directly. I've succeeded in Direct Playing Live TV. You need to have VLC installed and choose direct stream Live TV in the settings. It still takes 6 seconds to start. It still won't direct play my movies, it converts the audio to AAC. This is less of an issue, as it starts pretty quickly. But I shall further investigate. 

 

UPDATE:

 

Ok, so as far as audio playback is concerned, the server is behaving correctly. With VLC installed, and the mibox plugged into my AVR, direct play of Live TV is achieved. When connecting to my TV, it's correctly reading PCM Stereo, as it's the tv speakers. Apparently it's defaulted to that on my tv. I thought that the TV or the MI Box would handle the downmixing, but the server beats them to the punch. Maybe that could be addressed? I still couldn't get my movies to bitstream to the Mi Box when connected to the AVR, the server would always transcode the audio. I'm thinking that's an app/server issue. @@ebr?

Edited by Doofus
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pir8radio

I just read a post with someone using a shield, they have a similar complaint. 

 

For Live TV, the bar is set. The Comcast box. If the user experience doesn't at least come near to that, it's a fail. I feel like many people are making allowances because it's an app. Live TV needs to be Power On and there's TV, or at least a functioning guide. The guide doesn't even advance. I mean, come on! The basics aren't even there! I was expecting something like how it is in Theater, but it's not even close.

 

Keep in mind these are emby android tv client issues, this is how the app is unfortunately, and I rated the hardware based on how the different devices function between devices, compared to my Nvidia Shield the MiBox functions the same, some of the issues you are seeing are APP related and I think emby will iron those out over time.  

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PrincessClevage

I just read a post with someone using a shield, they have a similar complaint.

 

For Live TV, the bar is set. The Comcast box. If the user experience doesn't at least come near to that, it's a fail. I feel like many people are making allowances because it's an app. Live TV needs to be Power On and there's TV, or at least a functioning guide. The guide doesn't even advance. I mean, come on! The basics aren't even there! I was expecting something like how it is in Theater, but it's not even close.

I find the Xbox one similar experience to ET desktop on htpc you just don't get the audio bitstream in every situation and transcoding but this is fine for me in second location as usually only tv is watched, but guide etc is fluid
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Guest asrequested

Keep in mind these are emby android tv client issues, this is how the app is unfortunately, and I rated the hardware based on how the different devices function between devices, compared to my Nvidia Shield the MiBox functions the same, some of the issues you are seeing are APP related and I think emby will iron those out over time.  

 

You'd think the basics would be taken care of by now. Well, if this is how it works on the Shield, too, I really don't know how anyone finds it usable as their main player. It's a frustrating, hair pulling out, experience. I may return it, it needs so much work. The android mobile app, works well. But then it does function like the rest of emby. We need a better android app other than Android TV. It would appear that I still need the comcast box.

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Guest asrequested

I find the Xbox one similar experience to ET desktop on htpc you just don't get the audio bitstream in every situation and transcoding but this is fine for me in second location as usually only tv is watched, but guide etc is fluid

 

I don't play games, so that would be a very expensive way to go, for me. Android TV is a bust. 

Edited by Doofus
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PrincessClevage

I don't lay games, so that would be a very expensive way to go, for me. Android TV is a bust.

Well I am glad we get different viewpoints on this forum:-) so I didn't waste time and money on one of these. Edited by PrincessClevage
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  • 2 weeks later...
pir8radio

I just wanted to add some additional info.     As I started replacing boxes in my home I discovered some additional things.   I still have not completely converted over to emby for all of my TV, there are still recording management issues that won't allow my family to use the recording properly at the moment.   That said, in my original post one of my requirements were CEC support so I only needed one remote.  Well It worked on my test TV in my office, however different TV manufacturers support different CEC features, as @ found on his tv when his original TV remote didn't power/wake his MiBox unit up, yet it worked for me on my test tv.  I found some similar CEC issues as I started to put more MiBoxes around my home.    I ended up ditching CEC due to inconsistency, and instead purchased a FLIRC usb dongle for each MiBox.   Now that bumps the cost of each MiBox to about $90.00 US.  Still less expensive than some of the alternatives.     The FLIRC IR receiver is pretty cool in that you can use ANY remote with it and control the MiBox (or any android/PC).  In my instance I'm using my original DirecTV remotes. The family was already familiar with them and they seamlessly control the TV.   More Info on that here.  But if you have a cable box or ANY other IR remote, you can map its keys to Emby functions using one of these.  Or use your favorite JP1 remote. 

 

Now with the addition of the FLIRC to every one of my TV's they all act the same.   I hit a single power button, the tv turns on, emby fires up, TV starts, volume works with my TV, back to happy woman, happy me.   

 

Here is a VIDEO of it working.

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Guest asrequested

Nice! I actually prefer leaving mine on. It just goes to the screen saver, you press a button and you're right where you left it. The emby is app is running the whole time. The CEC seems to work for everything else. I did notice in your video, that if you press guide while watching, the guide comes up without stopping the show. I haven't tried that. Live TV was too frustrating, but I'm going to test it. I do want to say that the MiBox is a nice unit. It's pretty stable. My frustrations are with the Emby app, specifically the TV functionality. 

 

UPDATE:

 

Well, apparently the unit eventually turns itself off. I can't find any kind of setting for this, or even figure out how long before it does. That's a bad thing. The remote is Bluetooth, so I don't get instant on, because it has to reconnect (a second or two). My TV remote doesn't have a guide button, but the app UI has the option. That's a nice feature. 

Edited by Doofus
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pir8radio

Well, apparently the unit eventually turns itself off. I can't find any kind of setting for this, or even figure out how long before it does. That's a bad thing. The remote is Bluetooth, so I don't get instant on, because it has to reconnect (a second or two). My TV remote doesn't have a guide button, but the app UI has the option. That's a nice feature. 

 

Settings/Daydream

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Guest asrequested

Settings/Daydream

 

Ha! There it is. It was set to never sleep. I think I remember messing with that. So either it's not working, or I accidentally pressed the off button. A side note: Daydream? Really? I think the guy who came up with that must have been sampling some herbal delights  :blink:

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  • 4 weeks later...
Guest asrequested

A little update. It appears the Android TV app is improving. Live TV now takes 7 seconds to start. Still a ways to go, but it's getting there. 

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iamspartacus

Where can one buy the lastest Mi Box?  I see it available at Wallmart but is this the latest (3?) version?

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Jdiesel

I believe Walmart only sells one version of the Mi Box, the US version, and it is the version you want to get. It when you order online from places like Alibaba or Gearbest that you have to be careful about which version you are getting.

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pir8radio

Where can one buy the lastest Mi Box?  I see it available at Wallmart but is this the latest (3?) version?

 

Yep, I just picked up a few more from walmart to finish off my house!

 

59dc2e5b65a76_FullSizeRender.jpg

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SikSlayer

Yes it is. I got mine from Walmart.

 

I also bought mine at Walmart.

They are easily the best 'bang for your buck' box around.

Edited by SikSlayer
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