Android on a stick

Joe · May 09, 2013, 05:20:05 PM

Picked up one of these off of Amazon for under $50. Running 4.1.1. There is a good chance your USB port on the TV won't supply enough power to run it without issues but it works fine through the AC adapter. I've installed XBMC on it and setup my video sources to my Netgear NAS. The networking is via wireless. It streams OK but I had to root it and put on a custom ROM to get full 1080p video as contrary to what it says on the box it won't do 1080p with the ROM supplied with the unit.

Installed Yatse on my tablet so I can control the TV/Android with the tablet and then put the XBMC app on the tablet to use as my remote within XBMC. It works fine for playing my in home videos. But a lot of the plugins for XBMC like Hulu and Netflix won't play. Netflix because there is not a version of Silverlight for Android and Hulu has some kind of issue to do with a Libertmp file or some such non-sense. If you want to stream video from the internet do not get this device but if you just want a way to watch your video library it's pretty fricking neat.

I give it a 6 on a scale of 10.

gnubler · May 09, 2013, 09:50:09 PM

Quote from: Joe on May 09, 2013, 05:20:05 PMnon-sense.

Is that a new word?

Joe · May 09, 2013, 10:05:04 PM

Yes. I make them up quite often. Someday I might even publish my own personal dictionary. :tongue:

delooch · May 10, 2013, 09:51:51 AM

i picked up something similar to that a while back. surprisingly, it worked quite well. the only issue i had was the wifi reception, but since i mounted the tv on the wall, the higher location seems to have better reception.

the thing worked solid, but now it just hangs on the boot screen.

t-pat · May 10, 2013, 10:06:00 AM

coworker got one of these, same drill, root, custom rom. He's liking it so far, coming from hacked AppleTVs.

Joe · May 10, 2013, 10:16:24 AM

Quote from: delooch on May 10, 2013, 09:51:51 AMi picked up something similar to that a while back. surprisingly, it worked quite well. the only issue i had was the wifi reception, but since i mounted the tv on the wall, the higher location seems to have better reception.

the thing worked solid, but now it just hangs on the boot screen.

Are you powering it from the USB port on the TV? All USB ports on TV's are not created equal. My LG powered it fine. My Philips would power it up but every time I launched XBMC it would shut down. Also using the USB port for power means every time you turn the TV off it shuts off the device and it's not good to do improper shut downs with Android devices...or so I've read on some of the forums. Also I've read some of the adapters that ship with these things are not up to standards either though mine seems to be working OK. Many people have better luck buying a better adapter.

delooch · May 10, 2013, 10:47:52 AM

yeah, the thing doesnt have an on/off switch, so i use the USB port on the TV for power.. it was working without issue for a few months, then its stuck on the boot screen. i guess it could be from improper shutdowns when the tv powers off, but that shouldnt hose the device.

i just added another samsung dvd player to the setup, as with the other samsung blu-ray, it streams pretty much everything off the network.

my only real issue now is finding a single remote thats somewhat easily programmable that controls everything. the TV in the bedroom is an APEX, (black friday special) the pic is good, but universal remotes dont work with it. I have a learning one now, but i cant assign all the funcitons

Joe · May 10, 2013, 11:09:12 AM

According to what I've read, insufficient power is the number one issue with these devices followed by improper shutdowns. Improper shutdowns can corrupt files making the device un-bootable. It shouldn't be much of an issue to reset it to factory defaults though I wouldn't think.

Joe · May 10, 2013, 11:10:24 AM

I got an $8 RCA remote from Walmart and it works with everything I've tried on it. YMMV though.

delooch · May 10, 2013, 11:34:07 AM

Quote from: Joe on May 10, 2013, 11:09:12 AMAccording to what I've read, insufficient power is the number one issue with these devices followed by improper shutdowns. Improper shutdowns can corrupt files making the device un-bootable. It shouldn't be much of an issue to reset it to factory defaults though I wouldn't think.

i may screw with it to try to bring it back to life, but lately, my tolerance and patience for almost anything anymore is ZERO.

Tracy · May 10, 2013, 04:13:51 PM

Quote from: Joe on May 10, 2013, 11:10:24 AMI got an $8 RCA remote from Walmart and it works with everything I've tried on it. YMMV though.

I picture you being really excited about this :laugh:

Joe · May 10, 2013, 04:16:40 PM

Pretty excited that it only cost 8 bucks. :laugh:

Tracy · May 10, 2013, 04:22:21 PM

that it works on everything!! :laugh:

Joe · May 10, 2013, 04:43:14 PM

Yeah that too. :wink:

frailer · May 10, 2013, 06:31:37 PM

Quote from: gnubler on May 09, 2013, 09:50:09 PM
Quote from: Joe on May 09, 2013, 05:20:05 PMnon-sense.

Is that a new word?

Yeah, am thinking there's a subtle difference.
~ nonsense = shit that people talk sometimes.
~ non-sense = blurb on a just-bought device's box that is misleading, either due to nonsense thinking, or deliberately misleading for marketing purposes.

As Bryan Cranston once said to Malcolm's younger brother: "I think the idea has come merit".

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Android on a stick