MINIX NEO X5 Dual Core Media Hub

[Heath Ledger]

Anyone else have one of these? I just picked one up and it kicks some major ass. I have access to just about every movie and tv show ever made. It's an android 4.1.1 based box that functions like a tablet but on your tv. You can download any movie or game from the play store. If you look at reviews online some of them are bad but i think they were from older previous roms and this thing is constantly being updated by the Android community. Streams movies flawlessly. You can pick them up for $100-$120. It runs XBMC which has exploded in development since I last played with it a couple of years ago. You literally can watch every UFC ppv event, movie, tv show I have been unable to stump this box yet.

[TDMVPDPOY]

is the movies free?

[Heath Ledger]

hells to the yes they are free...

[Heath Ledger]

watching Red Dawn 3 in Hi-Def right now

[leemajors]

It can even play movies that haven't been made!

[vander]

tempting, does it play nice with network tuners? I have the HDHomerun

[Heath Ledger]

it streams from the pc in my bedroom really well via wifi

[Viva Las Espuelas]

I was about to order this but saw some new models are coming out. Are these able or do they need rooting?

[Heath Ledger]

keep in mind the new models may be quad core but xbmc in its current state is optimised for only a single core so while the rest of the device may be snappier its not necessary to run and have a good xbmc experience, also some newer models are having some issues with xbmc but those will be addressed in further firmware updates as well as xbmc updates. right now neo x5 i think would be fine and its about $50 cheaper.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Cool. What about rooting? Can it be rooted? Is it needed?

[Heath Ledger]

it can be but its not needed

[Viva Las Espuelas]

OK, well I ordered it yesterday. Should get it tomorrow.

[Heath Ledger]

when you get it let me know if you need help i can help through skype if need be.
you will need to install xbmc and a few other things to have the best experience. and ill tell you which version, you will also need to update the firmware .

[Drachen]

when you get it let me know if you need help i can help through skype if need be.
you will need to install xbmc and a few other things to have the best experience. and ill tell you which version, you will also need to update the firmware .

which repositories/add ons do you use to get movies?

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Yes, please let me know what those are. I know you posted a few in that other thread so I'll start with those.

[Heath Ledger]

First install xbmc Xaf edition for neon set top boxes it will pre install most of what you need
Top apps
Navi x
Ice films
1channel
Mash2k
Sports devil
Video devil

[Heath Ledger]

Also install mx player non pro edition free on the same site as the Xaf download

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Thanks, man. I can't wait to get home and fire this up.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Ok. Overall its a cool little box but I haven't checked it all out. Xbmc is a little frustrating. Im finally understanding the addons , repositories, etc but the "external player is active" is annoying. Does that mean the link is dead or something? I'm mainly checking out the live streams. I had no luck at all with them. Also Sports devil and video devil didn't add and I cant find them but I'm still messing with it.

[Heath Ledger]

you can change your video player in the settings this should fix your external player is active message.

[DarrinS]

I regret not spending a tad bit more and getting the NEO. The wifi on the smaller units is a little flaky -- keeps dropping, etc.

[Heath Ledger]

Ive had no drops on the g4 minix and its a stick.

[Drachen]

Ok. Overall its a cool little box but I haven't checked it all out. Xbmc is a little frustrating. Im finally understanding the addons , repositories, etc but the "external player is active" is annoying. Does that mean the link is dead or something? I'm mainly checking out the live streams. I had no luck at all with them. Also Sports devil and video devil didn't add and I cant find them but I'm still messing with it.

not sure about video devil, but you can find sports devil in the MaxMustermann repository. Install that, and the Sports devil add-on should appear in your video add on list.

I am really digging XBMC, but on my touchpad especially. The live streams just look better on that screen than on my TV (Plus I can take it around with me and continue watching the spurs while taking a dump or whatever).

I thought about building a Raspberry Pi XBMC box, but it seems that you still have to connect with a laptop or computer to stream netflix/hulu/Amazon VOD which completely defeats the purpose for me (unless I was reading everything wrong and it is a full version of XBMC). I may just wait until the end of the month to get a new box because either these quad cores will be great, or the current gens will drop in price.

Lastly DarrinS, where did you get yours from... can you return it?

[Drachen]

Ok, I just realized that I need miracast in a set top box... when one of these android boxes or sticks does miracast, I am sold.

[DarrinS]

I thought about building a Raspberry Pi XBMC box, but it seems that you still have to connect with a laptop or computer to stream netflix/hulu/Amazon VOD which completely defeats the purpose for me (unless I was reading everything wrong and it is a full version of XBMC). I may just wait until the end of the month to get a new box because either these quad cores will be great, or the current gens will drop in price.

Lastly DarrinS, where did you get yours from... can you return it?


Would the Rasp Pi have enough power to do that?


As for your last question, I think I was just using it in a dead spot in the house, a bit too far from my wireless router.

[Drachen]

Would the Rasp Pi have enough power to do that?


As for your last question, I think I was just using it in a dead spot in the house, a bit too far from my wireless router.

Yes, apparently it works pretty well, but it is a mixture of being the workhorse for certain applications and a thin client for "premium channels" (netflix, hulu and amazon instant video were mentioned).

That defeats the whole purpose for me. If I want to leave a computer (or laptop) on and active, I might as well just use THAT for my xbmc box.

[Heath Ledger]

miracast coming soon.

[Drachen]

On what?

[Heath Ledger]

minix is working on it as well as some other

[Heath Ledger]

ill have one of the new quad core units sometime this weekend. will post a review.

[Drachen]

ill have one of the new quad core units sometime this weekend. will post a review.

Which one?

[Heath Ledger]

tronsmart q2

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Its a stick.

[Drachen]

but I have read that that stick doesn't play xbmc very well... Please let us know what your experience is.

[Drachen]

I think I may wait for the ouya (though it doesn't have miracast).. we will see.

[DarrinS]

I can't figure out how to turn it off using the UI. I've just been unplugging the damned thing.

[Heath Ledger]

darrin you can set it to turn off/sleep in the settings after x amount of minutes. i set mine to 30 minutes. ouya blows goats.

[Heath Ledger]

and the stick runs xbmc just fine but go with a minix and update firmware your all set.

[Drachen]

wuyahat blows goats about the ouya

[DarrinS]

darrin you can set it to turn off/sleep in the settings after x amount of minutes. i set mine to 30 minutes. ouya blows goats.

Thanks.


A cool thing I've been able to do with this Andoid mini -- stream media from my dedicated HTPC running XMBC. Set up the HTPC to share its media library with the home network and there's an app on the Android mini that allows me to browse to these folders. Pretty cool.

[Drachen]

Thanks.


A cool thing I've been able to do with this Andoid mini -- stream media from my dedicated HTPC running XMBC. Set up the HTPC to share its media library with the home network and there's an app on the Android mini that allows me to browse to these folders. Pretty cool.

Can't you just run XBMC directly from the android mini?

[leemajors]

Can't you just run XBMC directly from the android mini?

I don't think it would be ideal to run the server from, but that's just a guess.

[Drachen]

I don't think it would be ideal to run the server from, but that's just a guess.

Maybe I am misunderstanding, but the android version of xbmc, as of a several months ago is the full version of xbmc. I have been running it on my phone and my Touchpad without my laptop.

[leemajors]

Maybe I am misunderstanding, but the android version of xbmc, as of a several months ago is the full version of xbmc. I have been running it on my phone and my Touchpad without my laptop.

I was just going by him having an HTPC with hosted files, no reason not to run it from there.

[Drachen]

I was just going by him having an HTPC with hosted files, no reason not to run it from there.

I guess the reason that I protested is that he said that "there's an app" that allows him to browse those files. I was thinking something like ES file explorer or something so then I thought, why use a file explorer when you could just as easily use the (imo) excellent ui of xbmc directly

[DarrinS]

I guess the reason that I protested is that he said that "there's an app" that allows him to browse those files. I was thinking something like ES file explorer or something so then I thought, why use a file explorer when you could just as easily use the (imo) excellent ui of xbmc directly


I haven't tried to install XBMC yet. But, the Android mini doesn't have much storage -- hence using the 2TB disk on my HTPC to host the movies, etc.

I'm going to install XBMC on it at some point -- just haven't gotten around to it.

[Drachen]

I haven't tried to install XBMC yet. But, the Android mini doesn't have much storage -- hence using the 2TB disk on my HTPC to host the movies, etc.

I'm going to install XBMC on it at some point -- just haven't gotten around to it.

The xbmc app is only 151 MB and it can scan your network for shared media.

For example, I have a 2TB NAS (WD worldbook)and I can play videos through xbmc on my phone or tablet.

[Heath Ledger]

his stick has 8 gigs of ram but you can put an sd up to 32 gigs and or install a usb hard drive but you will need a powered usb hub for that as the stick only has one usb port and you pretty much need that for a good wireless keyboard/mouse

[DarrinS]

his stick has 8 gigs of ram but you can put an sd up to 32 gigs and or install a usb hard drive but you will need a powered usb hub for that as the stick only has one usb port and you pretty much need that for a good wireless keyboard/mouse

I can see the microSD coming in handy if I wanted to take it on the road.

[DarrinS]

Thing gets kinda warm after a while, btw

[Heath Ledger]

Yeah i've already mentioned that thats why you want to setup a sleep setting and also why i would recommend the bigger box versus the stick. (x5)

[Viva Las Espuelas]

The xbmc app is only 151 MB and it can scan your network for shared media.

where can you do that? i've been looking at all the settings for this and i guess i'm missing it.

[Drachen]

Videos > files >add videos > source

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Thanks. I found this earlier though. Xbmc got a lot more cooler.

[Drachen]

I'm mad that I haven't been using it until now

[DarrinS]

Thanks. I found this earlier though. Xbmc got a lot more cooler.

It's really cool once you setup programs like Couchpotato, Sickbeard, icefilms, etc

[Heath Ledger]

Best xbmc adons
Navi x
1channel
Icefilms
Sportsdevil
Mash2k

I also love how you can browse youtube on your phone or tablet and have it play on yourtv

[DarrinS]

Best xbmc adons
Navi x
1channel
Icefilms
Sportsdevil
Mash2k

I also love how you can browse youtube on your phone or tablet and have it play on yourtv

I guess I need to check out 1channel, Sportsdevil, and Mash2k

Thanks

[Drachen]

I guess I need to check out 1channel, Sportsdevil, and Mash2k

Thanks

Sportsdevil is how I watch the spurs... not great, but it works.

[Drachen]

Best xbmc adons
Navi x
1channel
Icefilms
Sportsdevil
Mash2k

I also love how you can browse youtube on your phone or tablet and have it play on yourtv

so what happened with that quad core that you were testing?

[Heath Ledger]

i didnt get it the guy flaked out on me.