Author Archives: atvboxreview
Author Archives: atvboxreview
Hey Rik here. You landed on this page because you are looking for a good netgear router that is both a top quality and affordable.
Netgear has a plenty of routers and so much similarity in the names that it could be challenging at times to spot the differences between them. They have ranges from AC, R and N series.
To cut through the chase and help you pick the right device for your needs,
I have done the hard work with this comparison between three popular routers from netgear: the R6400, R6700, and R7000.
Here is my Netgear R6400 Vs R6700 Vs R7000 detailed findings.
The following table will clearly highlight their differences and also their
Commonalities.
Router | Speed/ Range | #USB Ports | Processors |
---|---|---|---|
#1. Netgear R7000 My Top Pick Check Price | AC1900 (600 + 1300) | 1x USB2.0, 1x USB3.0 | 1GHz dual-core |
#2. Netgear R6700 Check Price | AC1750 (450 + 1300) | 1x USB 3.0 | 1GHz dual-core |
#3. Netgear R6400 Check Price | AC1750 (450 + 1300) | 1x USB2.0, 1x USB3.0 | 800MHz dual-core |
As you can see in the above table all these three routers have many similarities with the main differences evolving around the processor for the R6400, the USB ports for the R6700 and the speed for the R7000.
Hereunder a detailed review of their commonalities.
The 802.11ac wifi standard arrived in stages, in 2013 it was the first wave of devices equipped with this standard that emerged, a few years later the second wave equips smartphones and exceeds the first generation.
This new Wifi standard only uses the 5Ghz frequency on bandwidths of 20, 40, 80 or 160 Mhz (160 Mhz only on wave 2).
While the 802.11ac standard has been fitted to our connected devices since 2013, it is only recently that we have seen the arrival of the second wave of products equipped with 802.11 ac wave 2.
The main differences between these two waves of Wifi are:
Support for Mu-MIMO
An additional 160 MHz channel width
Whatever the 802.11ac wave, it is now possible to connect 4 MIMO 2 × 2 antennas. To understand the difference between these two standards I offer a small table created by Cisco, a network company that uses and helps to develop the new Wifi standards.
The speed available with these devices is 433 Mbit / s on the 80 Mhz band with an antenna. We can go at a maximum speed of 1300 Mbit / s with wave 1 using the 3 spatial streams and we can even go at a maximum speed of 3470 Mbit / s with wave 2 by installing 4 antennas.
To realize the power of this new standard, we can compare the speed with the 802.11 g standard of 2003, we notice that a mobile phone connected with 1 spatial flow reaches 433 Mbit / s is almost 10x more than the 54 Mbit / s of the old standard.
In addition to all this, devices that use the 802.11 ac standard are capable of using Beamforming technology as explained below.
It is a revolutionary process which makes it possible to concentrate the signal emitted towards the target to reinforce it and to avoid signal losses as much as possible.
Before the appearance of this technology the signal was emitted in all directions at full power in the hope that the receiving device would receive the signal well.
Netgear’s Beamforming+ technology provides better signal range performance.
Each device has 5 Gigabit Ethernet ports: 1 WAN and 4 LAN.
The WAN port is usually not utilized in a home setting environment whereas the LAN ports are used to connect directly to the router.
It’s worth mentioning that there is a built-in guess network on each router for additional security.
This means that you could create or enable the guess network in such a way that your guests or visitors could access your home internet without entering your wifi password.
You can turn on and off the guest wifi as you wish.
With such an increasing number of devices connected to the internet, it’s becoming crucial to have a router with streaming optimization capability.
Luckily Netgear’s routers have this ability of optimizing your internet bandwidth depending based on content.
The perfect solution for streaming your favorite shows in HD while performing additional tasks on your computer, such as downloading other media files.
In such a case the netgear router will optimize the network traffic for a smooth experience with your HD show while throttling down a bit your downloads.
The additional bandwidth will be automatically allocated to the downloads once you are done streaming.
I shared with you details about commonalities between the R6400, R6700 and R7000. In the following sections, I will discussing their big differences and they could impact how you use the internet.
The R6400 has a slower processor than the R6700 and R7000. Indeed the R6400 processor’s is a dual-core that clocks at 800MHz as opposed to 1GHz dual-core for the R6700 and R7000.
This implies that the R6400 will ultimately process information much slower. The beamforming+ and streaming optimization features won’t help much here.
The R6700 does not have any USB port compared to the other two routers. This is not a big deal for most people, especially if you are not planning on using multiple USB devices
One of the biggest difference between these 3 routers if their speed and coverage range. The R7000 is an AC1900 whereas the R6400 and R6700 are both AC1750.
This means in theory an AC1900 has more coverage than a standard AC1750 device bandwidth wise. Indeed both the R6400 and R6700 can potentially transmit at 450 Mbps whilst the R7000 can transmit at 1300Mbps.
These theoretical maximum bandwidth mean they only operate at these top speeds under certain optimal conditions.
There are difference price ranges out there depending on the manufacturer of the routers. Based on my experience, the Netgear routers R6400, R6700 and R7000 are priced reasonably for such high performing mid-tier devices.
All three routers have similar price with the R7000 being slightly higher, very marginally.
I have shared with you the major differences and commonalities between the R6400, R6700 and R7000. Now the big question is to know which one would you buy?
To be honest, picking one or the other of these routers is purely dependent on what your needs are.
From my experience though, I would highlihy recommend the Netgear R7000.
The R7000 Nighthawk model which I mentioned before is a router available for a very reasonable price and allowing to enjoy very correct performance.
The R7000 is AC-1900 with 1300 Mbps of bandwidth on the 5 GHz band and 600 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band.
I personally prefer the R7000 to the other two models i presented because it is available at a more affordable price and it is easier to install.
During my tests, it came out that the Netgear R7000 was more balanced and was one of the best Netgear routers I have tested so far.
The connection on the two bands of 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz is very good and very stable, I had no slowdown during all my tests with this router.
To sum up, the Netgear Nighthawk R7000 AC1900 is an impressive router with excellent performance for the price at which it is available!
Admittedly it is a bit bulky and the 2.4 GHz band is limited to 600 Mbps. But the price / performance ratio is the best you can find today.
What I Liked
what i didn't like
You Also Like:
Choosing a streaming box may be a difficult choice to make. There are hundreds of them today and the manufacturers are all there to tell us why we should buy their product rather than another ...
I answer the question what is the best android tv box to buy in this very detailed article.
I do not work for any of the manufacturers and I was able to test many android TVs myself, that's why I suggest you discover on this site the Android boxes that I decided to test without sales pitch!
If you are looking for your first Android TV box, if you are just curious or if your streaming box is outdated today, this page is for you!
To start, let me clarify an important point: The best Android tv box depends on the broadcast service you want to use.
If you just want to use it as a Kodi box, the possibilities are endless and you have a lot of product choices. However, if you want to use your Android box to watch Netflix or Amazon Prime, you're going to be more limited.
Indeed Netflix has a small list of devices capable of broadcasting in 4K and Amazon Prime requires you to use their hardware to get the best image quality.
Without the right equipment, you will never reach the standard video quality offered by suppliers (too bad, because you pay for it anyway).
There are some essential features that you should watch for to find the best Android TV box, I suggest you list them to make your search easier.
Each device that I will present below will have this same list of features where I will have colored in black those present and in red those absent.
This allows you to use this “checklist” to make your purchase more serenely. Missing features appear in red.
Here are the features you should check on your Android TV box:
All the devices that I describe below do not have all these characteristics. It would be way too simple… In fact none of the devices that I present to you below has ALL these functionalities, I myself had to make a choice to keep only those which seem to be the most important to me.
To begin with, I offer a comparative table to give you an idea of each Android box:
Test PG Text
Box | Comment | Video | System | Price |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Amazon Fire Tv Stick | Best Android TV Stick | 1080p | Fire OS | Check Amazon |
![]() Nvidia Shield TV | Best Box for Gamers | 4K | Nougat 7 | Check Amazon |
![]() Xbox One X | Overkill for Gamers | 4K | Xbox | Check Amazon |
![]() Xiaomi Mi Box S | Excellent Quality/Price | 4K | Oreo 8.1 | Check Amazon |
![]() Minix Neo U9 | To Die For | 4K | Lollipop 5.1 | Check Amazon |
![]() Qbox | Best on Amazon | 4K | Marshmallow 6.0 | Check Amazon |
![]() T95Z Plus | Good Quality/Price | 4K | Android 7.1.2 | Check Amazon |
![]() Roku Ultra | Excellent Quality/Price | 4K | Roku OS | Check Amazon |
![]() HK1 Max | Easy to use | 4K | Android 9.0 | Check Amazon |
![]() Yagala | Excellent Quality/Price | 4K | Android 9.0 | Check Amazon |
If you are looking for a compact device and not too expensive to watch Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and other content delivery platforms of this kind, then the Amazon Fire TV is made for you!
Almost no storage medium or complicated interface: you plug in, connect and it works, it's as simple as that!
If I placed the Amazon Fire TV at the top of my ranking this year, it is for its ease of use! The installation is really as simple as the process described above (come on, we add a step to connect to the WiFi at home) and the remote control allows you to move easily in very clear menus.
This bundle comes with the Amazon Echo 3rd Generation. You can pair the stick with Alexa voice remote and echo dot to have complete hands-free voice control.
This small key offered by Amazon runs on “Fire OS”, it is a version of Android reworked by Amazon.
The storage of 8GB can seem very limited compared to competing Android boxes with 60GB and more, however this is still more than enough to store all the applications and games you want.
The strong points
.
The week spots
No 4K for this basic version.
Technical Characteristics
The Amazon Fire TV Stick reached the top of my ranking this year because it is the perfect product for a neophyte who just wants to access Streaming applications like Netflix or Youtube on his TV. If you want a powerful, cheap and easy to use device, I recommend the Fire TV stick.
NVidia, the manufacturer of graphics cards behind the most powerful gaming computers today, made its big appearance on the Android TV box market in May 2015 with the NVidia Shield, a device between the Android TV box and the game console. which has taken a few steps ahead ...
Unlike the Razer Forge TV (End 2015) which never really took off, the NVidia Shield has a community of supporters, often Kodi enthusiasts, developers or occasional players who made it extremely popular.
Today redesigned to suit the expectations of the public, the Streaming Shield box is aimed at users who want more power and storage for their broadcasting devices than on G-Box or Fire TV (By Amazon) but not either almost professional racing machine like the Cyrus Stream Xa.
The NVidia Shield incorporates a high-end Tegra X1 processor, 3 Gb of RAM and a 256-core graphics processor!
The user interface of NVidia's Android TV box is one of the most fluid I have tested. It is the official Android TV interface of Google running Nougat 7.0+ - It is the only Android box to use the latest Android version.
The strong points
The weak points
Technical Characteristics
NVidia's Android tv box isn't cheap, but it's well worth the price. It is not yet the perfect streaming box that we are all waiting for, but it is what you will find most efficient today. Two versions are available on the internet: a 16 GB version and a 500 GB version.
Although it is not strictly speaking an Android TV box, I had to mention the Xbox One X for the die hard gamers among you.
And yes ! It was a surprise when it came out, Microsoft's Xbox One X ships Kodi 18 Leia. This makes it a media broadcasting platform.
It is undoubtedly the best support for Kodi in this ranking but its main use as a game console pushed me to position it lower in my ranking. The console is indeed much more expensive than the competition Android boxes and if you are not a console player, this product should not interest you.
The strong points
.
The weak points
Technical Characteristics
The Xbox One X is what is called an “OverKill” in the language of Shakespeare, understand “overkill”. If you want an Xbox AND an Android box this may be a good compromise to avoid multiplying the devices at home, but if you are just looking for a good Android box, you should rather be interested in the other models that I share here.
Xiaomi may be a Chinese manufacturer, but they have made a name for themselves in the high-tech industry in recent years… And their Android Boxes are on the move with very interesting performance available at a relatively low price.
With 4K support, the use of Android 8.0 and the bluetooth remote control included, this Android box is reminiscent of Amazon Fire TVs.
Users are very satisfied with very good ratings on Amazon and the mention “best selling Amazon” on the US platform.
The strong points
The weak spots
An Ethernet port is missing.
Technical Characteristics
Although it is Chinese, this Android box is very powerful and recommendable. After my tests I even adopted it at home thanks to its practical and handy remote control. I recommend this Android box to everyone who wants a good compromise between quality and price.
The Minix brand arrived on the podium in my ranking of the best Android Boxes two years ago and only the NVidia Shield has prevented it from reaching first place since. It does not have the same “Potato” as the NVidia Shield, but the devices based on AmLogic S905 were able to pass my tests hands down, even passing the NEO X8-H yet more expensive.
As mentioned above, the Minix Neo U9 is equipped with the latest AmLogic S905 card as well as a 5-core processor and 2 GB of RAM. The available flash storage is 16 GB, as it has become the standard on this kind of device, so provide an external medium (USB key, external hard drive or SD card) to store your media files.
Like all Minix TV boxes, the Neo U9 has a personalized interface that allows quick access to the tools most used by users. The interface is built as folders where you can drag your favorite apps to access them in an instant. Unfortunately, the files cannot be changed. So if you don't want to use the “Games” file, you will still have the shortcut on your menu.
The fact that this box runs a full version of Android means that you can install just about any application from the Google Play Store on the Minix Neo U9.
However, applications are not often made with the TV boxes and the size of the TV screen in mind (Most applications are made for smarphones and their small screen). Some applications could appear in portrait format if they were not designed to appear on TV.
Minix also includes a custom version of Kodi / XBMC which is optimized for their devices. You can always download the latest version of Kodi if you want, but it will not be installed as standard and performance may drop.
One of the notable options of Minix custom Kodi is the integrated 5.1 media center. This allows you to enjoy HD sound in 5.1 without compatibility problems.
The strong points
The weak spots
Technical Characteristics
.
The Qbox is a more upscale box.This one has a better design and is more powerful. Just like the Minix Neo U9 that I presented above, the chip in this box is the Amlogic S905X, a powerful chip that allows you to use your box with confidence without worrying about lags and slowdowns.
Why is this Android case not placed higher if it has such impressive features? In fact its many inventory shortages pushed me to place it in 6th so as not to frustrate visitors too much…
Let's talk a bit about what it has in his stomach, with his AmLogic S905X chip we find a 64-bit 4-core processor that allows the box to run without lags and a 5-core GPU to allow reaching 4K in 60 fps with certain applications.
The 2 GB of RAM allow a fast processing speed which does not cause any slowdown while the 16 GB of storage allow to install some apps and some media files.
However, I recommend that you have a USB key, an SD card or an external hard drive to significantly increase the available storage space.
We find with this Android tv box a somewhat special remote control: A mini-keyboard for browsing the internet. This is used to type text but also to use the mouse as on a real PC thanks to the small touch pad above the letters.
It is very practical to go to navigate on sites like Youtube where navigation is much simpler with a keyboard and a mouse.
Check its availability on Amazon and if it is, I recommend this case with an interesting quality / price ratio.
The strong points
The weak spots
Amazon Prime video is incompatible like most Android TV boxes.
Technical Characteristics
On the 7th place of this rating we find the T95Z Plus. This box will easily fit into your living room. No external antenna unlike the Minix Neo U9, this limits its wifi range a little more and prevents its use in a house with thick walls.
The T95Z is equipped with the S912 chip, it is a powerful chip which allows the Android tv box to run without slowdowns. This chip is made up of a 8-core processor and a cortex-A53 CPU 64 bits up to 2Ghz for a smooth and fast user experience.
The box also has 16 GB of storage memory, it is little for multimedia files and I advise you to supplement this storage space with a USB key, an SD card or an external hard drive. Finally the box embeds 2GB of RAM as the standard for this kind of device.
We find on this box one of the last Android versions, it is Android 7.1.2 which allows to reach a very correct navigation speed and a professional capacity of image processing.
The interface of the box is personalized but it has a general structure very similar to the other models. I used this streaming box for several months to watch Netflix and Youtube directly on my TV.
Little more of this box: The remote control which works in radio frequency and not in infrared like the others.This type of remote control is much more efficient with an improved range and a larger viewing angle.
The video output can support all SD, HD and even 4K standards (depending on the applications).
It is possible to install a Kodi application on this Android tv box which will add all the additional features you need.
The strong points
The weak spots
Technical Characteristics
The next in the selection is the Roku Ultra, a small streaming box that is very popular and easy to use.
The box slides easily next to the TV and connections are made in less than 5 minutes. Once plugged in and turned on the Android tv box is immediately functional.
This case is equipped for full HD 4K compatibility, this means that the H.265 decoding technology is installed to save half the bandwidth resources with the best possible image quality.
Unfortunately Amazon Prime video cannot run in 4K due to distributor usage restrictions.
I was able to test the behavior of the box in play and it managed to run correctly all the applications I installed there. The menu of this box is fairly classic and takes up the classic layout of the elements of a classic Android tv box.
The Roku Ultra is powerful: 4-core 64-bit processor, advanced Wi-Fi chip, bluetooth 4.0… In addition, the X1 also has 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of ROM to simplify use. Regarding these last two elements it is half of the RAM and ROM usually available on competing models.
The Roku Ultra is efficient and stylish. I recommend it to families who want a functional streaming box to enjoy free TV.
Strong points
The weak spots
Technical Characteristics
Characteristics techniques:
The KH1 Max is a fast, secure and energy efficient Android box that I recommend for people who pay attention to their electricity bill.
The streaming box runs on Android 9.0 like the majority of Android boxes today.
No manufacturer's application is installed as standard on this device to leave you as much space as possible to install your applications and files.
The available storage space is only 64 GB as often with this kind of device but you can always add a USB key, a memory card or an external hard drive to benefit from more space.
Regarding the basic components of the product, there is an RK3318 chip (One of the most balanced between price and performance) equipped with a Penta-core Mali-450 graphics processor (GPU).
Two USB ports are available, you can use one for storage and another to install a small wireless keyboard / mouse on the case.
The Android Box HK1 Max is very small so that it can be easily installed on the TV stand. I installed mine standing next to the TV, it is discreet and rather classy.
Automatic updates by OTA are done all by themselves if they are properly configured which allows you to enjoy your Android box without having to manage updates.
The strong points
The weak spots
Technical Characteristics
The Yagala Smart Box was designed for people on a budget. The case is available for less than $50 at this time on Amazon and it is often on promotion on this site, take advantage!
The android box is relatively small and it can easily be slipped on a TV stand. Its use and installation are very simple, once connected to the sector and to the internet, you just need to turn on the box to configure the last details of the box.
We find the RK3318 chip in this case, it is powerful chip that allows you to run an Android box without slowdowns. The box also has a powerful processor clocked at 2.4 Ghz, 4 GB of RAM (More than other more expensive models) and 64 GB of storage.
The storage space being even more limited than on the other models I strongly advise you to also acquire a USB key or a consequent memory card for your applications and your media files.
Regarding the operating system, this small box manages to run Android 9.0, it is one of the latest versions of Android which allows to run almost any application available on the Google play store .
The menu is relatively classic, we find the same tabs as on many other Android boxes: Play store, settings, my applications, browser or TV Store.
It is possible to install on this box the latest version of Kodi to make the most of your streaming box. Basic on the other hand it is a slightly wobbly version of Kodi which is installed and I advise you to change it as soon as you receive your case!
The strong points
The weak points
Technical Characteristics
Technical characteristics :
In the wireless era, old-school wired boxes are becoming less popular. The boxes themselves have changed a lot, going from the complicated and buggy box to a high-performance box, small and easy to use. Today android boxes are becoming more and more popular and watching streaming on TV is a common practice.
Despite the simplicity of use and the growing popularity of high-end devices such as Roku or Apple TV, Android boxes continue to appear on the market. The demand is understandable, these higher-end TV boxes are provided on a closed platform (iOs or Roku OS) while the Android boxes allow you to do almost what you want (Android).
It's a bit the equivalent of the endless debate between Android smartphone users and IOS: Certainly IOS is prettier and easier to use but if you really want to use all the capabilities of your phone you will need an Android.
One of the definite advantages of Android TV boxes is the possibility of installing Kodi directly from the Google play store, even with limited technical knowledge. Obviously you can also install Kodi on Roku or Apple tv, but the installation process is much more complicated and you will need a step by step guide online to get there.
And even when installed correctly, these boxes are often slower and less efficient than their Android counterparts. With all the Android devices that I present to you on this site, you will have no problem installing Kodi in a few minutes from the Google play store.
If you are not yet used to using such a device you should be wondering what this Kodi is and why this simple program should direct you to an Android product rather than Roku or Apple.
The reason is simple: Kodi is the most used streaming application today (and therefore the most successful and efficient). This application allows you to access multi-media files (Even under license) directly on your television.
For the less gifted with technology, it's not worth buying a product on a closed platform like Apple because you will not be able to install Kodi correctly and will have to watch the streaming on the streams tolerated by your platform.
In addition to an impressive number of films and series to watch Kodi also has a large library of add-ons to customize its performances. You can install game add-ons to transform your Android box into a retro console, weather add-ons to keep up with the weather in your region or even a photo add-on to transform your screen into an interactive photo frame on demand. The possibilities are almost endless!
Last little advantage of Android boxes: they can be used as a web browser directly on your television, with a wireless keyboard / mouse it really feels like being on a conventional computer. This means that your Facebook account, your Twitch and Youtube subscriptions will be available directly on your TV. Some boxes also allow you to install Skype and use your TV to make calls over the Internet.
For beginners and people not used to technical terms I suggest you discover in more detail all the technical characteristics of which I spoke to you above. To find your Android TV box that will meet your needs, I advise you to read these few lines…
If you understand all the technical concepts that I present here, you should start to understand the important differences between each model of case, like their processor or the version of Android used by the Android box.
Many Android tv boxes still use yesterday's processors to be able to keep a low price, being a single-task device (They only perform one task at a time) this is often not a problem. However 4K requires a lot of resources and a case cut to broadcast 1080p smoothly will be obsolete to manage 4K.
In addition to the ability to handle 4K, there are other features to watch out for at the time of purchase. If you plan to use it with a home theater system for example, then you should be careful that 5.1 sound is supported. This allows you to pass the sound from the media source directly to your TV or home cinema without subjecting it to the slightest alteration and thus enjoy the best audio quality possible.
Hardware H.265 decoding (sometimes called HEVC) will become essential over the years because of the media files which are getting bigger and bigger. The H.265 codec is very technical to explain in more detail, but what you need to remember is that it allows your device to play large media files to obtain the best possible image quality and little or no of lags. It will also allow your device to support 8K as it makes its appearance in our living rooms.
The “Over The Air” or OTA update is also one of the key elements to watch for when buying an Android TV box. Basically, this is an application that will allow your Android TV box to regularly check for new updates for its applications and components, if they are available the app will download and install them to avoid you to have to do the manipulation.
It is often convenient to have a mouse to navigate the user interface of the Android box - or better, a keyboard with integrated touchpad - this allows you to click easily or you want in an instant like on a computer rather than to go through the far less convenient remote control. When looking at the price of the different boxes ask yourself the question of whether you are going to need an external device to use it and if it will have to buy it separately.
Finally, some of you give greater importance to the design of the product for those who await you in your living room. Obviously the design should not be taken into account in the important characteristics of the product, I know that it can be an important factor to decide between two fairly similar products.
This is a quick review for the C120 Air Mouse. It’s an excellent remote controller for your Android Tv Box. If you are in a hurry you can see the device here or jump to my recommendation.
Indeed, I came across this portable mini wireless remote keyboard mouse and thought I would write a quick review for you. As you may already know by now, I am a big fan of Android Tv Boxes. In one of my previous article, I shared that the native remote that comes with the box is not good. I also recommended the Rii8 remote as a replacement.
I have since tested several air mouses and I must admit the C120 is one of my favorites.
The C120 is a mini keyword wireless remote mouse designed to replace all your keyboard and remote controller needs.
This air mouse operates smoothly up to 10 meters and have some advanced technology built in such as gyroscope and professional anti-shake algorithms.
In case you are wondering what the heck is gyroscope and accelerometers, they allow the device to be moved around and select any menu item with ease. This makes our movie viewing experience on the android box and any other device more enjoyable.
In other word, is this a mouse or a keyboard? The answer is: both! Yes the C120 is a versatile unit you can use as mouse as well as keyboard. Actually it has 4 functions namely: a full qwerty keyboard, a remote controller, an air mouse and a multimedia android remote handle.
Here are the technical specifications:
– 6-Axis gyroscope technology
– 2.4 Ghz Wireless Technology with Nano USB Receiver
– USB 2.0
– Air Mouse With Anti-Vibration Technology
– Built-in rechargeable lithium battery
– LED indicator light for working status
– Compatible with Android, Windows, Linux and Mac OS
– Product Weight 0.65 kg
– Product Size (LxWxH) 5.94×0.57×0.55 inches
Although I keep on mentioning the Android Tv box, note that the C120 Air Mouse is compatible with Windows, Linux and Mac Os as well.
The gyroscopic technology allows you to move the unit in any direction and still get a good response from you clicks or input provided. After 20 seconds or so the device will go on standby just to save on power. A USB cable is also provided for your to recharge the air mouse when the battery is low.
In my opinion, the C120 Air Mouse is an excellent tool to have for your multimedia needs. If you are looking for a stylish remote controller to replace those bulky remotes then the C120 is a good choice.
You can now take control of all your multimedia devices and connect to your favorite units via wireless. No more struggling to compose emails, while browsing the web, or playing video games.
The icing on the cake if the fact that you can also use this device to control your professional presentations, for teaching, and lecturing with larger screens.
Hey Rik here
The other day I finally decided to visit a buddy of mine to check out his smart tv box he’s been bragging about for a while now. It’s the cs918 android tv box.
If you are not sure what an Android tv box is, then you should probably read this article that I wrote about these small devices not long ago. My passion for smart tv boxes started with my own matricom g-box q.
As you can imagine I am a big fan of android boxes, so I could not help but playing around with his device to figure out what set it apart from other boxes.
I was actually surprised to see how tiny the cs918 is. It can easily fit in your hand, cost less than $60 and more importantly boots so many great features.
Loads of applications such as Skype, Facebook, Gmail, Youtube and unlimited games you can download directly from Google Store.
I also noticed that the device comes with hdmi and av cables. The av cable can come in handy if you have one of those old tvs without hdmi connection. You can still enjoy unlimited entertainment with your android box.
As additional features, it’s based on the ARM cortex-A9 processor with quad core Mali-400MP4 GPU and the latest Android OS. It has a 1GB DDR3 ram, 8GB rom and supports micro SD card up to 32GB. If this is not enough you can also connect an external hard drive via USB, or use a NAS.
The cs918 android tv box comes with built-in Bluetooth, supports XBMC/kodi and a full HD 1080P video decoding. There is also an external wi-fi antenna and a standard LAN 10/100mbps Ethernet port.
What I really like about this Android tv box
I like the fact that you can enjoy Youtube and other movie applications directly on the TV screen. The external antenna gives a robust signal to the wi-fi connection. You can connect to other devices within the same network and share contents such as videos, music and photos.
What is not so great about the cs918?
Without surprise the remote control is an issue like in other devices of this type.
As I pointed out before, you can get a replacement remote here or use any wireless keyword.
I had to clear the cache after test driving a full HD movie for the device to continue playing without buffering. I suspect that the version with 2GB of RAM would not have such an issue.
There is no internal microphone on the device therefore to use skype you would need a Bluetooth microphone and/or webcam connected.
I found that there is another version of the cs918 that actually has the integrated microphone. It’s the cs918s. You can read more about the cs918s here. I would not recommend you go for this version if you are not tech savy as the reviews have been mixed about it.
I would recommend the cs918 Android TV Box for the TV fan that is looking for an under $100 device to enjoy unlimited entertainment. The standard box comes with 1GB Ram which could be a bit limiting if you are used to watching movies in full HD 1080. I would instead go for the enhanced option with 2GB of memory. If you would also like to skype from your TV using and integrated microphone and camera then try out the cs918s. Please bear in mind that this one had some mixed reviews so you may want to play it safe and buy an skype headphone.
You can read more reviews about the cs918 Android TV box by clicking here.
An Android TV box is a small device which, once connected to your TV, will turn it into a smart TV powered by Android.
No need to buy a new TV set, simply connect an HDMI or AV cables to fire up the smart tv box. Pretty simple installation and cheap too: less than $100 bucks as opposed to $1000+ for a new smart tv.
Once connected, your TV experience will never be the same again. YouTube, Facebook, apps, games, music, movies and more will all be available for you to access straight from the comfort of your sofa.
Nothing to watch on TV? Have a look at what YouTube is suggesting you or download a movie from the Google play store. The possibilities are endless!
In this step by step guide, I will show how you can setup your own android tv box to watch unlimited free tv content.
There are two approaches for you to enjoy the magic of an android smart tv:
Here you simply buy an already setup android unit preinstalled with Kodi/xbmc.
Read my detailed review here for some solid recommendations on which tv box to pick.
In this particular case you will buy the tv box, generally loaded with the android operating system version 4.xxx. You would then install kodi/xbmc and its addons/pugins allowing you to watch unlimited multimedia content.
This tutorial is geared toward the second approach e.g DIY so here is How to setup kodi xbmc :
As I will be discussing the DIY approach, one of the prerequisite is to get your own android tv unit that you will load with Kodi (xbmc) in order to watch unlimited multimedia content.
You can grab a device here for as low as $40. It comes preloaded with the Android operating system.
Kodi is a media center (formerly XBMC) originally developed for the first-generation Xbox game console. It is open source.
Kodi is available for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, iOS and Android. You can use Kodi to play movies, TV shows, home videos, PVR & live TV, music, pictures, and games.
[sociallocker]Click Here To Download the PDF File[/sociallocker]
Kodi is now officially available through the Google Play store. I recommend this method of installation as opposed to the sideloading.
Kodi is finally available for easy installation to Android through the Google Play store. This means that you don’t have to go through the tedious task of sideloading anything, you can just install it as you would any other normal Android app.
Step 1: Launch the “Play Store” from your Android device.
Note: You need to login to your Google account at this point if you haven’t already done so.
Step 2: Search for the “Kodi” app.
Step 3: Click on the green “INSTALL” button.
Step 4: Wait a few minutes for the application to download and install.
Step 5: Once the installation is complete, click on the “OPEN” button to launch Kodi for the first time.
Step 6: Wait a few seconds while Kodi prepares for first launch.
Step 7: You’ll probably want to go ahead and configure your Kodi setup with all the amazing add-ons and goodies available at this point.
Step 8: Exit Kodi by clicking the little power button looking icon in the lower left hand corner of your screen.
Step 9: If prompted, click on the “Exit” button at this point.
Congratulations! It can’t really get any easier than that.
You’ll want to use the “ARM” version unless you’re on a very old device.
Congratulations! You’ve now managed to install Kodi to your Android device, at least I hope so.
[sociallocker]Click Here To Download the PDF File[/sociallocker]
Once you’ve installed Kodi, you’ll need to enable third party Kodi addons in order to gain access to all that endless content you want to watch. There are a few different ways to install unofficial Kodi addons to your setup, but first you’ll need to configure some repositories.
Repositories are where all the Add-ons which give kodi it amazing abilities are.
There are basically where all the software (Add-ons) for Kodi are.
You need to add Repositories, in order to access the zip files containing the Add-ons!
There are many unofficial Kodi repositories but the one that I recommend is Super Repo (SR). It has most of the programs that every Kodi user will want.
Repositories are added as sources in Kodi.
The SuperRepo is now on your Kodi device.
To access the wide range of repos and add-ons that are available through this just do the following.
You now have the Super Repo installed on your device. Whenever you want to get an add-on from the repo you would do the following
Select SYSTEM > Add-Ons > Get Add-Ons (or Install from Repository on Isengard) > Super Repo All [version name]
You can then scroll through to find the add-on you want : Music add-ons, Videos add-ons and so forth.
Let me show you how to enable the 1Channel Video add-on for instance:
You would do the same for any other add-on you want to enable.
Stream All The Sources
1Channel – The most reliable source for new movies and TV shows with the list being updated on a regular basis.
Genesis – for Movies and TV Shows.
IceFilms – A MUST HAVE! – Lots of Movies, TV, and Music
MoviesHD – Nice interface, and pulls down good quality content.
Additional Video add-ons you could use for movies (note these additional 7 add-ons, may causes Search interface issues, rendering the Search feature un-usable – You would NOT be able to search for Movies or TV Shows):
Movies 4K – Lots of movie content
The Mutts Nuts – Seems decent
Phoenix – Lots of Good Content – International Content
Xmovies8 – Decent Movie Content, nice interface – The Cinema Movies option is nice to watch what came out about a week ago in the theater
YouTube – There are movies on YouTube, as well as educational content, and all the user videos people are used to.
Navi-X gets lots of content
Apple iTunes
icecast.org
iHeartRadio (Requires an account, and account configuration)
Metalvideo (If you like Heavy Metal Music)
Pandora
Radio
VEVO TV
XBMC MP3 addon
Youtube Music
flickr
PicasaWeb
Facebook Media – This is a Service, but can be added under Pictures
Windows Wallpaper – This could plausibly be used to download backgrounds for Kodi, once the download path is configured in the Add-on.
.Xunity Maintenance
TR Total Installer
1Channel Theme Pack
Addon Installer
Axel Downloader
Facebook Media
Maintenance Tool
Navi-X
RSS Editor
[sociallocker]Click Here To Download the PDF File[/sociallocker]
http://mymediaexperience.com/xbmc-guide/
http://www.tvaddons.ag/install-kodi-android/
http://www.bestyoucanget.com/kodi.htm
I am glad you asked what is an android TV box
Android is the operating system that powers more than one billion devices (smartphones, tablets and alike).
Android is open source thus making it popular with technology companies that require a ready-made, low-cost and customizable operating system for high-tech devices. This has led to the popularity of devices using android as operating system and running some proprietary software or add-ons to stream multimedia content.
Some of these proprietary software include Kodi (formerly xbmc) which powers some add-ons and plugins allowing the viewing of TV shows, movies, cartoons etc…
Although there is no hard definition for what is an Android TV Box, we can argue that it is a device running an android operating system with any additional software allowing the user to watch multimedia content (in this case TV content).
I can only guess that they are called boxes because of their small size and shapes. Actually you will find android mini-pc sticks as well as android tv boxes. They are all the same type of units running of the same hardware. The sticks are way smaller in size though.
There is plethora of tv boxes running of android and I share below some of their common features:
Powerful Chip Quad Core
Most of android tv boxes will have an android compatible hardware inside with a dual or quad-core processors based off the Cortex A series core (A9, A7, A5 etc…). The clock speed is up to 1.6Ghz+ thus allowing for a smooth running of your applications.
Graphic Card
The GPU (Graphical Processing Unit) is often the Mali-400 (or Mali-450), a standard GPU from ARM Company which goes with their Cortex processors. The GPU can handle 1080p video and decode a wide variety of video formats (avi, mp4, mpeg, mkv, mov, dat etc…). Some will even support the 4K resolution.
Memory
Most of android devices will offer 1-2 GB of RAM DDR3 and anywhere between 4-8 GB of ROM storage. Additional storage if powered through a micro SD card which goes up to 32GB. You can also connect one or multiple external hard drives via USB ports on the device.
The units boost the android OS version 4.xx, support wi-fi and Bluetooth connectivity coupled with the standard RJ45 wired capability.
Some devices such as the Q7S even offer a 2.0MP camera for visual communication such as Skype.
Ports
The Q7S features two USB 2.0 ports and one micro USB OTG port. Support webcams and microphones to external hard drives and USB sticks. Furthermore, this box supports HDMI 1.4b connector, AV out, SPDIF to connect a home cinema, a Micro SD card slot and a jack for Ethernet, giving you the best possible connection. Also, there is an on / off button available
The device will have access to all the applications and functions found on any other android unit. It’s a pc in itself with the capability of running android applications, surfing the web and playing plenty of games. You can also access Google Play Store for downloads, Facebook, YouTube and so forth. You could also connect to your other devices within the same network and share contents such as videos, music and photos.
Motion-sensing Games
You can enjoy 2d/3D motion sensing games using air mouse.
Multi-screen interaction
You can stream online video or local media contents like music, picture, and video on your smart phone or tablet PC to big screen of a HDTV or projector through DLNA or Airplay protocol (on some models).
Media Center
Most of the devices will come with Kodi (formerly xbmc) pre-installed. If not, you could easily install Kodi and watch your favourite tv shows and movies.
Kodi is an award-winning free and open source software media center for playing videos, music, pictures, games, and more. It features a 10-foot user interface for use with televisions and remote controls.
You also have the option of downloading the streaming application of your favourite content provider such as Netflix. All of these can be done with a wireless keyboard and/or touchpad.
One of the key features that I like about the android tv boxes is the fact that you can turn your old tv into a smart tv. Indeed you can use a standard RGB cable to connect to old tv thus enjoying surfing and your favourites games on the big screen.