Reddit reviews Minix Neo X8H Plus XBMC/Kodi Android TV Box, Mini-PC, Media Hub Quad A9/Octo Mali
We found 3 Reddit comments about Minix Neo X8H Plus XBMC/Kodi Android TV Box, Mini-PC, Media Hub Quad A9/Octo Mali. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Quad-Core Cortex A9r4 Processor with Octo-Core Mali 450 GPU. Dual-Band Wi-Fi 802.11ac 16GB eMMC. Android 4.4 Kit Kat. 4K2K UHD Video Playback Media Hub for World's First 4K XBMC Kodi Android device.A top Diamond Sponsor for Kodi / XBMC: Helping provide resources critical to the development and maintenance of Kodi / XBMC software and it's award-winning media experience. Developing the best hardware for the best user experience.Unlike Roku, Apple TV, or Google Chrome, the Minix Neo is not just a simple media streamer. You are free to install your own applications and save media files right inside it's 16GB internal storage.Would be ideal for Digital Signage (as a media player), Smart Conference room, or even as mini Personal Computer.1 year warranty available for players purchased from Amazon.com from Minix. Not available for other sellers.
Hi, fellow Canadian here. I can only give you the opinion on the only Android Box I have experience with: my own.
I bought a Minix Neo X8-H Plus (X8H Plus) Smart TV Box Mini PC and Media Streaming Player from Amazon back in March and I am really really happy with it. I bought one that was capable of playing 4K content and this Christmas I got a 4K TV. I think I'll copy the review I did back in April on Amazon and at the end I'll add a few more comments:
>>"I have had this device for almost a week now so I have tinkered with it a bit and I think I have a pretty good feel for its capabilities.
The only drawbacks I find with this device isn't really device specific, it's more due to the OS. Unrooted Android devices won't let you run samba servers so you can share the content of the attached hard drives with the rest of your network (I don't have any macs btw, I think they are an exception).
>>It's a minor gripe really. It still allows me to transfer files from the hard drives to my other network devices with ES File Explorer.
>>I prefer to use my minix via ethernet connection rather than wifi but some apps assume I am not connected to the internet when no wifi connection is established. A minor inconvenience.
>>Overall this is a HUGE improvement over my last device, a WDTV Live. The Minix Neo X8-H Plus is a beast of a machine, I really really like it and it has been totally worth every penny."
Ok, so since my early review I have rooted it (quite simple really) and I have shared the contents of my connected HDDs to my network. I ditched the minix specific kodi version that came with the device and I installed kodi from google play. I also have played plenty of games with my PS3 wireless controller which is fun. Having Nova Launcher installed makes a big difference, the native UI/UX sucks but you can change it without rooting. For some reason the device is still on Kitkat but I don't really care, it's fine with me.
Any questions you care to ask and I'll be more than happy to answer.
Personally, I use a Minix - it's essentially a 4K-enabled $150 full-fledged Android tablet (screen removed, HDMI output added). Nearly anything Android can do, these can do. They're about the size of two decks of playing cards side-by-side, come with USB ports, an SD card slot, and built-in wi-fi so you don't have to worry about an ethernet cable, and you can get a wi-fi remote that has a full QWERTY keyboard on the back for around $30. I primarily watch TV in one room, so this solution works for me - for $180, I couldn't find anything with this much flexibility.
In all, the setup is very much like your run-of-the-mill Android phone or tablet - plug it in, turn it on, set up your Google account, go to Google Play, download the Plex app, sign into Plex, and start streaming. I had the 1080p version and upgraded to the 4K version (linked below) when I got a new TV last year and absolutely love it. It came with Kodi (formerly XBMC) pre-installed so all I had to do was install the Genesis addon, Plex, and a couple other streaming apps (namely Netflix and Youtube, as the version of Youtube it shipped with was no longer on Google Play) and I was up and running within an hour. There's not a ton of 4K content right now (Youtube has some, and Netflix will let you stream it for a few bucks more than their "8 bucks a month" plan) but that will come with time.
As far as what you mentioned regarding speed, I've had absolutely no problems streaming on my local network over wi-fi. Even with close to 6-8 wireless devices (and probably a dozen wired devices) on the network at any given time, there's no connection drops or random buffering. Just 4K goodness.
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I have this one. Only suggestion I can give you is get a wireless keyboard Http://www.amazon.com/MINIX-Streaming-Processor-Airmouse-included/dp/B00Q4NEUS0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1422153049&sr=8-2&keywords=minix&pebp=1422153077229&peasin=B00Q4NEUS0