I know it says it RRP's at stupid amounts, but I paid £64.99 over christmas for this box and haven't seen it cheaper on Amazon. I would recommend it to anyone. Was looking at prices, as was recommending to a friend and figured I would post it here.
This is 8-cores, hence the price jump as the standard for these boxes tend to be 4-cores. The S912 processor is the best one you can get at the moment, the next down is the S905 and S905X. There have been mixed reviews about the speed difference between 4 and 8 cores, which is due to the firmware not yet being optimized for the S912 (yet). There STILL is a speed difference though, I have this box and you have 8 cores working instead of 4.
The 2GB RAM, is good much better than 1GB. You can get 3GB RAM boxes, but they seem to cost alot more. I personally don't believe the RAM is bottlenecked at much 2GB, even with alot of add-ons open I've never seen it rise above 1.5GB. Whether it utilizes the RAM better, because it has more available (similar to Windows 10) I can't say for certain, but would imaging dropping down to 1GB would mean a big performance drop in these boxes. I know I picked up a ProBox about 4 years ago, and its currently in the loft because of how slow it is compared to todays.
Just to compare with the current trends, the Q-Boxes range from £40-£50 but they are all Quad core. They are still VERY good boxes. S905 is great, and its the one I have in another room. The linked box has a better spec, with a lower price. Haven't really tried the others. I know you can get a quad core for £20 if you wait long enough, but it doesn't tend to tick ALL the boxes and usually either has older firmware, 1GB Ram, no Gigabit ethernet, or less video encoding options.
The spec seems exactly the same, but I don't own this box. If you wish to save the £2 you can get this. I know it has Kodi 17, but personally I prefer the look of the one I linked because its been on the market for a while (and fulfilled by Amazon).
There is a performance tweak recommended by another user: Start kodi, Go to Settings or System, then Video, scroll down to Acceleration,there will be 3 options enabled on the right, the top one that says, Allow hardware acceleration-amcodec, UNCHECK THAT OPTION. then just restart Kodi.
I didn't actually need to perform this on mine over christmas, but just making you aware incase it doesn't have the latest update installed out the box. I don't think this is needed anymore though.
Even if you don't agree this is a deal, its still good for the HotDeals library that Oct-Core S912 boxes were at a low on Amazon at this point in February 2017.
It's money off RRP, its a deal. But just because its cheap doesn't mean you need to buy it. :wink:
Happy hunting!
Top comments
zoso1313
16 Feb 1711#14
get over it, you think KODI is some exclusive little club just for you
Krinkle
16 Feb 177#24
...no, never said that at all...try reading the post again! What I'm saying is that Kodi used to be great but is now so popular it's not so great...just pointing out the inevitability really :wink:
...although I do think 'fully loaded' boxes for sale and nationally published mags printing guides on how to get illegal streams should be prosecuted...that's just taking the p155!!! :disappointed:
tek-monkey
16 Feb 175#21
Kodi has been well known since before it was kodi, they have been selling android boxes specifically for piracy openly on amazon for years. The recent publicity is just it filtering to the last level of less technical people, the movie studio's etc. were already well aware of it.
What is killing it is greed, now that people are trying to charge for better access to streams etc. things have changed. Same with a lot of things, like private plex servers. When people are making money off piracy that's when the cops start appearing and things start clamping down.
MrScotchBonnet
16 Feb 174#15
So let's see, basically you are streaming pirated content and are annoyed others are too meaning yours may get taken away from you?
Latest comments (89)
domo_v2
21 Feb 17#89
it appears they are no longer accepting sign-ups. Did you need to contact them directly or did you sign up no problem?
Henlans
18 Feb 17#88
I been looking at ip1tv.com and joined today.. about £5 a month.. hell of a lot of content..
dcx_badass
18 Feb 17#87
If you're getting this for Kodi then don't, multiple members of Team Kodi (and many android forums) recommend against any S912 box.
and
Just two posts by people on Team Kodi, plenty more about if you search.
Stevie.Badman
18 Feb 17#86
this box will never see an update so will be obsolete in a year or so. buy a xaiomi mi box or a fire tv box instead.
vishaljh
18 Feb 171#84
Guys. Just received mine and not very impressed due to apps using mobile interface. Any chance that we can install Android tv versions of Amazon, Netflix and plex app
ElGato to vishaljh
18 Feb 17#85
You know what KODI is right?
None of this has affected my use & enjoyment of KODI and never will.
plewis00
17 Feb 17#83
You could always use a private VPN but anything like this is a risk like BitTorrent. Even if you get a letter it depends if they want to make an example of you or not, and then you would be incredibly unlucky.
Mandroid578
17 Feb 17#82
I read that Internet providers are cracking on the on Kodi users. Sending letter and sh*t. Correct me if it's bogus.
alphaomega16
17 Feb 17#81
How is it the end of Kodi, I don't know what addons people are referring to as I use Kodi as a streaming platform for my home network but it sounds like just the addons may vanish not kodi itself.and it sounds a lot more hassle than its worth trying to set it up and paying out for subs, despite it being a cheaper option it comes with a lot more hassle than just going with Sky or VM.
mbd
17 Feb 17#80
Tried your suggestion however it is located slightly differently with the new version of Kodi but made little difference.
Another issue is the remote, hardly responsive!
I may return this for a replacement and hope it is a one off...
Burnz0
17 Feb 17#79
You think this is about last words? It's 3pm on a Friday afternoon! I have 2 more hours trapped in this cage, don't leave me hanging "dude"! xD
zoso1313
17 Feb 17#78
lol I'm getting impression you're one of those have to have last word types buddy, so have it!
Burnz0
17 Feb 17#77
You always say that? Nice, makes complete sense. You'll have to teach me more with you being so smart, and me being as dumb as a Gnat. The unrelated judgements are so accurate, maybe I can pickup on this and become more fun at parties! :wink:
zoso1313
17 Feb 17#76
Dude, 'Gnat' is spelt with one T.
Like I always say, Grammar, the difference between knowing your s*** and knowing you're s*** :wink:
Burnz0
17 Feb 17#75
Can't argue with that punctuation. Damn, I don't think my Gnatt brain can handle this anymore! :wink:
zoso1313
17 Feb 17#74
i can't be bothered to anyone that has the intelligence of a gnat
agaveworm
17 Feb 17#73
There are plenty of sites that can answer all these questions....
We need to get back on subject as to whether this is a good deal or not? It's a good deal to me...
Heat.
Burnz0
17 Feb 17#72
Thats really strange, you might have a faulty box then. Did you try the suggestion in my edit? I know on the Amazon comments some users were having problems and had to perform that fix. There are no comments from anyone saying the box doesn't work properly though, so I would get it returned.
EDIT: If the suggestion I mentioned worked, then that means people may still need to perform that fix, so it would be worth knowing if it did work if you don't mind! Thanks. :smiley:
mbd
17 Feb 17#71
You have misunderstood me or/and I was unclear.
I have been using Kodi for over 3 years, so I assume I know the basics.
Out of the box - I tried to use Exodus for searching/loading movies and more times than none, it simply crashed while searching...
I then attempted to add some sources to get some more addons and even at the point of adding a source it crashed a couple of times.
I managed to download a few addons after the 3rd attempt from 2 different sources and then I had the same issue with searching/loading apps.
I have since updated kodi through the app store which has resolved the crashing although it still is a little laggy between mainly between once a movie/video finishes playing and returning back to results screen....
billybear
17 Feb 17#70
If it's any help, I have downloaded both Mobdro and UK TVnow onto a Kindle HDX and the 2015 'cheap' basic Kindle with no modification required, just need to enable unknown sources in settings and download them from the websites in the browser onto the Kindle, both work fine, might get the very occasional pop-up on UK TV saying it's not an Android-based system, but just dismiss, great for on the go!
When thats on you can install the add-ons you need. Just FYI Exodus comes preinstalled and it will work out the box, just make sure you open it through Video > Addons.
EDIT: Try this. Start kodi, Go to Settings or System, then Video, scroll down to Acceleration,there will be 3 options enabled on the right, the top one that says, Allow hardware acceleration-amcodec, UNCHECK THAT OPTION. then just restart Kodi.
Burnz0
17 Feb 17#68
I guess if you can't think of a reply that relates, a personal attack will do the job? Real smarts right there. :wink:
Received this Android TV Box S912 Octa Core 6.0 EgoIggo today and Kodi is struggling to load addon's properly!
I have simply tried to download some addons and go through exodus, however it gets stuck on working and then crashes...
Any ideas?
I bought a NPET S905X last week and that had no issues from unboxing to today, so not sure why a far superior box is struggling with the most simplest of tasks at present...
Henlans
16 Feb 17#64
Im sure them cases will be dropped.
Henlans
16 Feb 17#63
I have been using ultimatemania (part of sportsmania) and its great!
gavin1
16 Feb 17#62
Aside from the fact Wikipedia can't really be relied on , the case is not proven yet, and currently in the UK courts. The EU does not make laws, but issues rulings, and guidelines that then need to be enacted into any given countries national law.
The issue is its NOT illegal to sell these boxes, even fully loaded, it only becomes legal *if* they are used to watch content you do not own/subscribe to. What most of the cases that are going though the UK courts have been based on the fact the sellers are being charged with "aiding and abetting" by assisting in allowing someone to circumvent copyright. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38769045
Now realistically anyone buying such a "fully loaded" box is unlikely to want wipe it back to the factory defaults to stream content they already own, but the fact remains selling it preconfigured isn't yet illegal as at that point there is only the intent to commit a crime not the actual crime.
That may change, be we have to wait till May and that court case to see the result (and no it wont be available early as a feed from the US on Kodi :smirk: )
Towelie
16 Feb 17#61
Was much better when it was XBMC. :sunglasses:
zoso1313
16 Feb 171#60
i bet you're fun at parties
the.porter
16 Feb 17#59
Ot did I read somewhere that kodi is coming to Xbox soon ?
beastman
16 Feb 17#58
Any chance of some more info on this, such as why its the best and info on the hack?
zx636r
16 Feb 17#57
Ay?
Krinkle
16 Feb 17#56
So you think the content streamed from these add-ons is perfectly legal? Look, we all do it and we all know that what we're doing, for the majority of content, is not strictly legal. The reason we still do it is because there's very, very little chance of being prosecuted for it... ...that may change in the future. Let's face it, Sky, BT and the major film companies have a massive amount of clout and cannot possibly be happy with what's going on so I would expect them to try and clamp down on this...I dare say they've lost a lot of subscribers because of Kodi :confused:
...kinda serves 'em right though for being so bloody greedy with their pricing structure :smirk:
-=blootoon=-
16 Feb 17#55
never said you did say Android boxes were illegal what you did state was this
"Exodus, SALTS & Specto etc, which are 100% illegal streaming add-ons"
These addons are not illegal to install or use but yes it is illegal (EU Law) to sell a box with these addons already installed.some more info here
stephmcd
16 Feb 17#54
Is it possible to stream with an iphone to one of these? Only ever had the apple tv. Thanks
Burnz0
16 Feb 17#53
I've never had a firestick, but I've had a Kindle before. I was limited to the Kindle app store, so it wasn't "full" android. Is that how it is with the firestick?
On another note to everyone else (I completely forgot about this), another advantage of having a box over a FireStick would be retro gaming.
There may be better alternatives available to do this now, but you wouldn't be able to do this anywhere near as well on a FireStick. Not too sure what processing power would be needed, but this could be another reason for a better spec trumping an older/weaker spec'd box. S905's could probably handle it fine though.
Mandroid578
16 Feb 17#52
Not entirely. The major differences are that the boxes have better specs, better cooling and open operating system. Granted the Firestick is android it's still very limited. And the boxes allow USB peripheral connections such as sticks, mice, keyboard, webcam and headset. I know because I connected all them to one port.
gavin1
16 Feb 17#51
That's not clear yet, there are a few cases going through the courts most notably Tommos Cut Price TV's Link to BBC article
Buying an y box to watch content you have a right to is fine. Installing add ons is fine.
However using an add on to then watch content you don't own/subscribe to becomes content theft, although chances of a anything happening are petty much non existent.
The TV content rights holders only grant transmission right to set companies for any given area. Rightly or wrongly that's how the TV rights currently work, most of the subscription services you see selling cheap films or sports are nothing more than a pirate feed in the sense they don't have the rights to legally show what they are offering.
Mandroid578
16 Feb 17#50
Cuts out the middle man.
Burnz0
16 Feb 17#49
To be honest, I didn't realise Sportsmania recasted Sky channels. Even if I knew this, (for example) you have people go round to a house with one of these boxes. A common question from somebody who doesn't know anything about technology would be "is this legal?". By asking the question I improved the knowledge for those that didn't know the answer. You used the word "initiative", I assessed the situation independently and decided to ask the question for the benefit of others. Arguably, in this case I did use my initiative. :smiley:
zoso1313
16 Feb 17#48
no it's not, but you could just use your initiative really.....
Burnz0
16 Feb 17#47
Netflix do it. They buy all the licenses then restream it themselves. I even said in my post, I didn't think so but was it the end of the world just asking the question? :wink:
zoso1313
16 Feb 172#46
seriously man, what do you think? if a non Sky organisation is streaming Sky Sports for a tenth of the price.....you don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to work out the legality do you lol jeez
Krinkle
16 Feb 17#45
...maybe you should get your facts right...when did I say Android boxes were illegal? What I said is illegal is the selling of 'fully loaded' android boxes which come pre-installed with a whole gamut of add-ons for viewing of illegal content...we all know the illegalities of what we all do, but for people to actually profit from it on amazon FFS is really asking for trouble...and it seems a few of them have actually been arrested now!
...you can buy the box perfectly legally and then, what you do with it, legal or otherwise, is down to your conscience. :smiley:
Burnz0
16 Feb 17#44
Mine came loaded. They all tend to these days, as each provider has an image they use. I tend to spend more time removing the ones I don't need though, as opposed to setting it up myself.
Baba12
16 Feb 17#43
Does this box come with fully loaded applications or does the buyer need them to install?
-=blootoon=-
16 Feb 17#42
Please get your facts right, yes it is illegal for a seller to offer for sale a box loaded with your named kodi extras, it is not however illegal to buy one with kodi installed then install and use the addons yourself, provided you are using it to view a stream.
Burnz0
16 Feb 171#41
Glad I could be of help. All I mentioned was to the best of my knowledge, as I went through the research process over christmas! Even if you bought a different box, its just good for people to know the important differences in the spec and why you pay extra money. Some people don't care about spec and buy the £20 box, but I do what I do with my PC and buy the better/newer tech at the time to get more years out of it (replacing it less often). Probably works out about the same in cost doing it either way (over time).
Sancho
16 Feb 17#38
When playing films from a hard drive does Dts pass through work on this box? I have a problems with other boxes, sound drop outs, etc.
Burnz0 to Sancho
16 Feb 17#40
How old is your box? I never play movies through HDD so I don't know the answer, but I found a few forums discussing it working for some boxes and not others. These forums were back in 2015, so 2 years later I would hope so?
Krinkle
16 Feb 171#39
Thanks for the info...I think I'm going to give SportsNation a go for 3 months, if I leave it 'til the end of this month it should take me to the end of the season. Cheers :smile:
Burnz0
16 Feb 17#37
The friend I'm buying the box for is after cancelling SkySports because its too expensive. This would probably be something I would recommend to him, are these services as legal as Netflix (out of pure curiousity)? I know its illegal to "use" majority of the Kodi apps, I would imagine they are the same you just pay for convenience?
vivski123
16 Feb 171#36
I am a well travelled elderly man interested in this electronic product. Would this be suitable for watching possibly not legal broadcasts of professional Armenian carpet bowls? And would 320x144 dots at 12bpm be doable on my penny dialup connection? The gentlemen at my local bowling club have suggested so but have lied on other issues recently. A little expert knowledge before investing would be greatly appreciated. Good day sirs.
Krinkle
16 Feb 171#35
I use Kodi for the same reasons most others do...never said I didn't :neutral_face: Making money from enabling people to break the law should be prosecutable...as in the example of WebUser and the sellers of 'fully loaded' boxes. What an individual does with their android box is up to them and their conscience...and most probably at some time in the future, the law courts :smirk:
...it's not my Kodi club, it certainly ain't little and I'm pretty sure you're not my friend :smiley:
WheresMeNuts
16 Feb 17#33
Still expensive when your only wanting it for Kodi.
Burnz0 to WheresMeNuts
16 Feb 17#34
Yeah it can be for some, it boils down to how much value it would have in your house. You can't exactly hook your PC to the TV in the living room for example. There are some great deals on Kodi boxes that are around £20 if you don't want the best tech though. I believe somebody mentioned the S1pro, and weren't complaining about the speed. :smiley:
Sampson
16 Feb 17#23
I'm a bit cautious of the legality of these, but was given a "trongle s1pro" for Christmas and have used kodi and "Wookiee" to give me "exodus" which lets me stream many things neither my Netflix or Amazon accounts have, so that's nice. Not quite as good quality though, and considerably worse sound (seems to be only stereo) but I'm a 4K user with fancy surround sound so am used to a different level of experience, and I appreciate this isn't to be expected to be as good as a paid experience.
Anyway, is there any reason to get this box instead? I can't say the s1pro has ever felt slow. The only slow bit is a "waiting" message when looking for streams, but that's surely internet searching not box speed dependant.
Burnz0 to Sampson
16 Feb 171#32
If you're happy with the speed, there is no need to upgrade. :smiley:
Burnz0
16 Feb 171#31
If you're after sports, this sounds like a really good suggestion. :smiley:
zoso1313
16 Feb 17#30
ofc you don't use KODI for that do you, you just use it for its media streaming capabilities lol
let's get real here, who would buy an Android box just to.use stick KODI, about 0.000001% of buyers.
no.use saying they should prosecute mags, but not people using it, that's called hypocrisy. Again, you are inferring magazines shouldn't advertise so that it doesn't ruin your exclusive little KODI club.
can't have it both ways my friend......
rd3d2
16 Feb 17#29
Note:If Android TV Box often crashes, it is often related to Amlogic Chips and Android 6.0. Go to Settings or System, then Video, scroll down to Acceleration, there will be 3 options enabled on the right, the top one that says, Allow hardware acceleration-amcodec, UNCHECK THAT OPTION. Then just restart the box
Krinkle
16 Feb 17#28
That's very interesting, I'll check that out as I don't mind paying...just not the obscene amounts Sky & BT want! :sunglasses:
Krinkle
16 Feb 171#27
...zzzzzzzzz ...and what's Adobe got to do with anything?
MrScotchBonnet
16 Feb 17#26
Didn't need to say it!
Krinkle
16 Feb 172#25
...nope, never said that either :neutral_face:
Krinkle
16 Feb 177#24
...no, never said that at all...try reading the post again! What I'm saying is that Kodi used to be great but is now so popular it's not so great...just pointing out the inevitability really :wink:
...although I do think 'fully loaded' boxes for sale and nationally published mags printing guides on how to get illegal streams should be prosecuted...that's just taking the p155!!! :disappointed:
jcluk
16 Feb 171#22
Could always pay for content rather than stealing? Legitimate sources will give you a perfect picture.
tek-monkey
16 Feb 175#21
Kodi has been well known since before it was kodi, they have been selling android boxes specifically for piracy openly on amazon for years. The recent publicity is just it filtering to the last level of less technical people, the movie studio's etc. were already well aware of it.
What is killing it is greed, now that people are trying to charge for better access to streams etc. things have changed. Same with a lot of things, like private plex servers. When people are making money off piracy that's when the cops start appearing and things start clamping down.
Fast.Eddie
16 Feb 17#20
Is it easy to get my PIA vpn set up on this?
LOUGHBORO.GUY
15 Feb 17#5
Is the sky sports bt sports and sky movies perfect picture ? My router is 3 feet from tv do I need high speed fibre boadband ?
Burnz0 to LOUGHBORO.GUY
15 Feb 17#8
The pictures for these now are HD quality, dependable on your internet connection. This, and the sources are the main bottleneck now (but the sources have been really good the past year). I've ALWAYS had Fibre, so I wouldn't know what speed you would need exactly but it doesn't NEED to be Fibre I know that much. A good connection definately helps, if you get 5-10MB down you should be fine.
Krinkle to LOUGHBORO.GUY
15 Feb 17#9
To be honest, if you are looking for live football and expect a perfect rock solid and HD picture you'll be disappointed. You can get HD occasionally but very rarely for the whole match without buffering...usually, you may get 2 or 3 minutes before it throws a wobbly! You are better off looking for reasonably good quality SD sources and being happy that you can actually watch the match...as for 4K, forget it! :laughing:
jasperpea to LOUGHBORO.GUY
16 Feb 173#19
I would reccomend a I would recommend a subscription service for sports, I use Sportsmania.eu and I get every sporting event in HD with no buffering, works out about £4 a month. Had this for about 4 months now and would never go back to the days of buffering and trying numerous sources over and over.
solid
16 Feb 171#18
That's not what is being said.
All this publicity simply means that this is the beginning of the end of Kodi as we know it. I doubt it's worth investigating £40 anymore. Go for a cheaper box..
micpwelsh
16 Feb 17#17
Will the prison service let you take this to prison with you :stuck_out_tongue:
willyvwade
16 Feb 17#16
Ahahaha... Oh wait, you're serious.
Awww, are you upset that other people have found out about your super secret free films? Has your experience been "ruined" because Adobe other people also having free films? Get a grip.
MrScotchBonnet
16 Feb 174#15
So let's see, basically you are streaming pirated content and are annoyed others are too meaning yours may get taken away from you?
zoso1313
16 Feb 1711#14
get over it, you think KODI is some exclusive little club just for you
Vegeta
15 Feb 17#13
Best boxes to get at the moment are the Beelink GT1 or Alfawise S92 and then flash this custom firmware on them:
Voted hot anyway, for all the detail and effort you've put into the OP :-)
Savo
15 Feb 171#11
Just ordered this and a wireless mini keyboard to replace my Amazon Fire TV Stick. without doing the usual three weeks of review reading. :-)
Burnz0
15 Feb 17#10
It is dependant on the match/channel you watch, I know Mobdro sources for the popular channels are really good. If you watch the sports on the internet, it will be as good as what you can get on there. I have seen a match in FullHD though, or at least it was close enough that I didn't notice the difference.
I will probably go against what I said earlier, because I've only ever really watched popular matches when I have people round.The ones on foreign channels (I would imagine) are a bunch of shart, maybe some of the popular channels are too. The movie/series sources are much better, Exodus or Zem are good for that. I can say that for certain.
menzah
15 Feb 172#4
I recently bought a firestick, any reason to get this?
Burnz0 to menzah
15 Feb 17#7
To be honest, I've never owned a Firestick. I know you need to sideload apps on, because it isn't "full" android but I don't know if the features are limited compared to the TV box. If it does what you need it to do, then no.
This device will be more powerful and faster, and there are a few extra features you can get with any android TV box (connecting your phone for MobDro or plugging a HDD in for recording/videos) but if you don't need those then you will probably be fine. Alot of people swear by firesticks, but I swear by boxes. FireSticks are better because they take up less "physical" space, but the TV box would offer a few more features. I would imagine they're the only differences, so if the features are worth it to you then go for it. Otherwise, no need. :smiley:
Krinkle
15 Feb 171#6
The whole Kodi experience has been spoiled by massive over-subscription in the last 6 months or so...ever since the FireStick/Box deals were on here. Now I see there is even a big 'guide to Kodi' in the latest WebUser mag...I honestly don't know how they have the cheek to publish it whilst giving advice on how to install Exodus, SALTS & Specto etc, which are 100% illegal streaming add-ons. I'm not saying people shouldn't use Kodi for this reason but it's far too out in the open now, and it's only a matter of time before the Movie studios and pay broadcasters start clamping down heavily on something that was great...illegal, but great! :disappointed:
...sounds a decent price for the spec though, so heat :sunglasses:
zx636r
15 Feb 17#2
I use Movie HD and Mobdro etc and cast it from my phone to TV.....does this offer anything different?
Burnz0 to zx636r
15 Feb 17#3
Nope, its the same. The only difference will be the spec. If you bought a QuadCore one, you don't really need to upgrade. They pretty much do all they're going to do now, but if you don't have one already I would recommend picking up this one.
![Fresh Breakfast Meat Box (Using code) @ Campbells Meat [Haggis / Lorne Sausage / Bacon / Black Pudding & More]](/images/topics/208684_1.jpg)
![[Xbox One] Q. u. b. e: Director's Cut on Deals with Gold](/images/topics/208716_1.jpg)
Opening post
This is 8-cores, hence the price jump as the standard for these boxes tend to be 4-cores. The S912 processor is the best one you can get at the moment, the next down is the S905 and S905X. There have been mixed reviews about the speed difference between 4 and 8 cores, which is due to the firmware not yet being optimized for the S912 (yet). There STILL is a speed difference though, I have this box and you have 8 cores working instead of 4.
The 2GB RAM, is good much better than 1GB. You can get 3GB RAM boxes, but they seem to cost alot more. I personally don't believe the RAM is bottlenecked at much 2GB, even with alot of add-ons open I've never seen it rise above 1.5GB. Whether it utilizes the RAM better, because it has more available (similar to Windows 10) I can't say for certain, but would imaging dropping down to 1GB would mean a big performance drop in these boxes. I know I picked up a ProBox about 4 years ago, and its currently in the loft because of how slow it is compared to todays.
Just to compare with the current trends, the Q-Boxes range from £40-£50 but they are all Quad core. They are still VERY good boxes. S905 is great, and its the one I have in another room. The linked box has a better spec, with a lower price. Haven't really tried the others. I know you can get a quad core for £20 if you wait long enough, but it doesn't tend to tick ALL the boxes and usually either has older firmware, 1GB Ram, no Gigabit ethernet, or less video encoding options.
Here is another box that is £2 cheaper:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wechip-Android-Amlogic-S912-Octa/dp/B01N3YTD4R/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487162688&sr=8-1&keywords=Wechip+H96
The spec seems exactly the same, but I don't own this box. If you wish to save the £2 you can get this. I know it has Kodi 17, but personally I prefer the look of the one I linked because its been on the market for a while (and fulfilled by Amazon).
There is a performance tweak recommended by another user: Start kodi, Go to Settings or System, then Video, scroll down to Acceleration,there will be 3 options enabled on the right, the top one that says, Allow hardware acceleration-amcodec, UNCHECK THAT OPTION. then just restart Kodi.
I didn't actually need to perform this on mine over christmas, but just making you aware incase it doesn't have the latest update installed out the box. I don't think this is needed anymore though.
Even if you don't agree this is a deal, its still good for the HotDeals library that Oct-Core S912 boxes were at a low on Amazon at this point in February 2017.
It's money off RRP, its a deal. But just because its cheap doesn't mean you need to buy it. :wink:
Happy hunting!
Top comments
...although I do think 'fully loaded' boxes for sale and nationally published mags printing guides on how to get illegal streams should be prosecuted...that's just taking the p155!!! :disappointed:
What is killing it is greed, now that people are trying to charge for better access to streams etc. things have changed. Same with a lot of things, like private plex servers. When people are making money off piracy that's when the cops start appearing and things start clamping down.
Latest comments (89)
and
Just two posts by people on Team Kodi, plenty more about if you search.
None of this has affected my use & enjoyment of KODI and never will.
Another issue is the remote, hardly responsive!
I may return this for a replacement and hope it is a one off...
Like I always say, Grammar, the difference between knowing your s*** and knowing you're s*** :wink:
We need to get back on subject as to whether this is a good deal or not? It's a good deal to me...
Heat.
EDIT: If the suggestion I mentioned worked, then that means people may still need to perform that fix, so it would be worth knowing if it did work if you don't mind! Thanks. :smiley:
I have been using Kodi for over 3 years, so I assume I know the basics.
Out of the box - I tried to use Exodus for searching/loading movies and more times than none, it simply crashed while searching...
I then attempted to add some sources to get some more addons and even at the point of adding a source it crashed a couple of times.
I managed to download a few addons after the 3rd attempt from 2 different sources and then I had the same issue with searching/loading apps.
I have since updated kodi through the app store which has resolved the crashing although it still is a little laggy between mainly between once a movie/video finishes playing and returning back to results screen....
When thats on you can install the add-ons you need. Just FYI Exodus comes preinstalled and it will work out the box, just make sure you open it through Video > Addons.
EDIT: Try this. Start kodi, Go to Settings or System, then Video, scroll down to Acceleration,there will be 3 options enabled on the right, the top one that says, Allow hardware acceleration-amcodec, UNCHECK THAT OPTION. then just restart Kodi.
I have simply tried to download some addons and go through exodus, however it gets stuck on working and then crashes...
Any ideas?
I bought a NPET S905X last week and that had no issues from unboxing to today, so not sure why a far superior box is struggling with the most simplest of tasks at present...
The issue is its NOT illegal to sell these boxes, even fully loaded, it only becomes legal *if* they are used to watch content you do not own/subscribe to. What most of the cases that are going though the UK courts have been based on the fact the sellers are being charged with "aiding and abetting" by assisting in allowing someone to circumvent copyright. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38769045
Now realistically anyone buying such a "fully loaded" box is unlikely to want wipe it back to the factory defaults to stream content they already own, but the fact remains selling it preconfigured isn't yet illegal as at that point there is only the intent to commit a crime not the actual crime.
That may change, be we have to wait till May and that court case to see the result (and no it wont be available early as a feed from the US on Kodi :smirk: )
...kinda serves 'em right though for being so bloody greedy with their pricing structure :smirk:
"Exodus, SALTS & Specto etc, which are 100% illegal streaming add-ons"
These addons are not illegal to install or use but yes it is illegal (EU Law) to sell a box with these addons already installed.some more info here
On another note to everyone else (I completely forgot about this), another advantage of having a box over a FireStick would be retro gaming.
https://www.howtogeek.com/261169/how-to-browse-and-play-terabytes-of-retro-games-from-your-couch-with-kodi/
There may be better alternatives available to do this now, but you wouldn't be able to do this anywhere near as well on a FireStick. Not too sure what processing power would be needed, but this could be another reason for a better spec trumping an older/weaker spec'd box. S905's could probably handle it fine though.
Link to BBC article
Buying an y box to watch content you have a right to is fine. Installing add ons is fine.
However using an add on to then watch content you don't own/subscribe to becomes content theft, although chances of a anything happening are petty much non existent.
The TV content rights holders only grant transmission right to set companies for any given area. Rightly or wrongly that's how the TV rights currently work, most of the subscription services you see selling cheap films or sports are nothing more than a pirate feed in the sense they don't have the rights to legally show what they are offering.
...you can buy the box perfectly legally and then, what you do with it, legal or otherwise, is down to your conscience. :smiley:
...it's not my Kodi club, it certainly ain't little and I'm pretty sure you're not my friend :smiley:
Anyway, is there any reason to get this box instead? I can't say the s1pro has ever felt slow. The only slow bit is a "waiting" message when looking for streams, but that's surely internet searching not box speed dependant.
let's get real here, who would buy an Android box just to.use stick KODI, about 0.000001% of buyers.
no.use saying they should prosecute mags, but not people using it, that's called hypocrisy. Again, you are inferring magazines shouldn't advertise so that it doesn't ruin your exclusive little KODI club.
can't have it both ways my friend......
...although I do think 'fully loaded' boxes for sale and nationally published mags printing guides on how to get illegal streams should be prosecuted...that's just taking the p155!!! :disappointed:
What is killing it is greed, now that people are trying to charge for better access to streams etc. things have changed. Same with a lot of things, like private plex servers. When people are making money off piracy that's when the cops start appearing and things start clamping down.
I would recommend a subscription service for sports, I use Sportsmania.eu and I get every sporting event in HD with no buffering, works out about £4 a month. Had this for about 4 months now and would never go back to the days of buffering and trying numerous sources over and over.
All this publicity simply means that this is the beginning of the end of Kodi as we know it. I doubt it's worth investigating £40 anymore. Go for a cheaper box..
Awww, are you upset that other people have found out about your super secret free films? Has your experience been "ruined" because Adobe other people also having free films? Get a grip.
http://freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-support/amlogic-based-tv-players/s912/others-aml-s912/firmware-roms-tools-by/611261-rom-beelink-gt1-alfawise-s92-superceleron-v8b-rom
Voted hot anyway, for all the detail and effort you've put into the OP :-)
I will probably go against what I said earlier, because I've only ever really watched popular matches when I have people round.The ones on foreign channels (I would imagine) are a bunch of shart, maybe some of the popular channels are too. The movie/series sources are much better, Exodus or Zem are good for that. I can say that for certain.
This device will be more powerful and faster, and there are a few extra features you can get with any android TV box (connecting your phone for MobDro or plugging a HDD in for recording/videos) but if you don't need those then you will probably be fine. Alot of people swear by firesticks, but I swear by boxes. FireSticks are better because they take up less "physical" space, but the TV box would offer a few more features. I would imagine they're the only differences, so if the features are worth it to you then go for it. Otherwise, no need. :smiley:
...sounds a decent price for the spec though, so heat :sunglasses: