I watch articles on the site that somehow relate to Smart TVs, and I understand that the topic is more popular than ever. Convenient: turn on the TV - and here is a browser for visiting sites, online videos, games, social networks. It’s unlikely that anyone will argue that Smart TVs have a future. They, of course, will not replace a computer, but they are excellent as an entertainment device.
The ability to watch online videos, play games and visit websites is available in modern Smart TVs. But, if you have already used Smart TV, no matter which manufacturer: LG, Samsung, Sony, or others, then you will agree that the technology is still crude. Something freezes all the time, disconnects from the Internet, online videos do not play, etc. You can use it, but not everything is as smooth as it seems at first glance, and as they might tell you in the store.
Another thing is the functionality of the Android mobile operating system. It would be nice if the Smart TV functionality was made on this system. Is it true? For example, the number of Android programs and games that can be installed from Google Play will never compare with the store that LG Smart TV has. Well, anyone who has an Android phone or tablet understands what I mean.
It didn't make sense to think that all the features of Android couldn't be used on TVs. The companies that develop digital technology probably thought the same thing and created Smart TV set-top boxes. In this article, we will look at one of these consoles from Defender. It's called Defender Smart Android HD2. The article should be of interest primarily to those who have TVs without Smart TV. Or, who is not satisfied with the capabilities and functionality of Smart TV. But you really want to watch a movie on the Internet or from a flash drive, go to social networks, play games - and all this on the TV screen.
What is a Smart TV set-top box on Android?
As a rule, this is a small device that connects to the HDMI connector of the TV and runs on the Android operating system. The set-top box is powered either from an adapter that can be plugged into a power outlet, or from the USB connector of the TV. The set-top box itself, like, for example, a tablet, has a processor, RAM, built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc. It’s quite a tablet, only without a screen. The screen is a TV.
The console can be controlled using a regular keyboard and mouse. You can connect wireless devices, which is much more convenient, or via Bluetooth. For example, I connected a wireless headset. I can say that to control such an Android console, even one mouse is enough. There are also special Air-Mouse remote controls.
There are even models with built-in cameras and microphones for communicating via Skype. For example, Defender Smart Call HD2. By the way, Smart Call HD2 can connect to older TVs that do not have HDMI. And it connects via the so-called “tulip” (composite AV output). The Air-Mouse remote control is included.
What will you need to connect a Smart TV set-top box to your TV?
- The console itself. You can’t go anywhere without her :)
- TV with HDMI connector
- A regular computer mouse and/or keyboard for controlling an Android console (if the kit does not include a remote control).
Review of Defender Smart Android HD2
Let's take a closer look at everything using the Defender Smart Android HD2 as an example.
You can buy the set-top box in the official Defender online store at the link http://www.defender.ru/products/multimedia/smarttvaccessory/smart-android-hd2/. Defender Smart Android HD2 is sold in such a small and beautiful box:
On the box you can see the main features, and on the back are the technical specifications. Here are the main ones:
- Dual Core Rockchip RK3066 processor, which operates at a frequency of 1.6 Ghz
- Mali 400MP graphics accelerator
- Android 4.2
- 1 GB RAM
- 4 GB internal memory
- It is possible to connect microSD up to 32 GB
- WiFi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth
- 2 full USB connectors for connecting flash drives and other peripherals.
Other characteristics can be found on the official website. The console works very quickly, movies and games run without problems. Unfortunately, right now there is no opportunity to test some powerful game like Asphalt 8, but I will definitely try.
Equipment
In the kit you will find the Defender Smart Android HD2 set-top box itself, a power adapter, an HDMI extension cable, small instructions, a warranty and a power cable with an additional USB connector.
As I already wrote, the set-top box is connected to the HDMI connector of the TV. It can be connected either directly or through an extension cord. Also connected to the set-top box is a power cable (microUSB connector), which has another full-fledged USB connector. There is a slot for connecting microSD cards and another full USB (in total, two USB connectors for connecting flash drives, keyboards, mice, external HDDs, etc.). An indicator that lights up while the device is operating is also present.
Everything is assembled well, the cables are of normal length.
Connecting the Defender Smart Android HD2 set-top box
I first connected this TV box to a small 24-inch LG TV. Power was connected to the USB connector of the TV. Let me remind you that if your TV does not have USB, then the set-top box can be plugged into an outlet using the power adapter that is included.
I connected a wireless mouse adapter to one of the USB connectors so that I could control the Android set-top box. And in the second I connected a flash drive to check how the movies were playing.
I sat for a while and realized that a 32-inch TV would be more comfortable. I moved to the LG 32LN575U TV.
We connect everything, turn on the power of the console (if the power is from USB, it will turn on along with the TV). On the TV you need to select HDMI to which you connected the set-top box. Otherwise the image will not appear. On LG TVs this is done by pressing a button INPUT. Next you just need to select active HDMI (if there are several of them on TV).
If the console has already loaded, you will see the main screen. No, this is not a regular Android 4.2 desktop. There is a special shell, which, by the way, is very convenient to use. She looks like this:
Let's look at the functionality and capabilities.
Functionality of Android TV set-top box from Defender
There are 6 tabs on the main screen. I advise you to first go to Setting(settings) to connect to Wi-Fi (if you have a Wi-Fi network), set the time, etc. The settings are no different from those on a tablet or smartphone.
I connected to the wireless network without problems (you can connect according to the instructions). The set-top box maintains the network well and stable.
I noticed only one problem, however, this problem is more likely Android. If the time and date are set incorrectly, the gray Wi-Fi icon will light up (as in my photo above, in the lower right corner), and the Internet will not work on Google Play. This is a popular problem with all Android devices, which I recently wrote about in a separate article:.
Therefore, set the date and time correctly. Set your time zone. And since these parameters, as far as I understand, are reset after completely turning off the power from the set-top box, it is better to install automatic configuration from the network.
In the settings, on the tab Screen, you can select the screen resolution and refresh rate. The rest of the settings are almost the same as on other Android devices.
Let's look at the other 5 sections that you can select from the main screen.
Media
In this section you will find programs with which you can watch movies from the device’s memory, memory card or flash drive, watch photos or listen to music from the Internet.
You can watch the video using the already installed MX Player. I think this is the best player for Android. I used it on my phone all the time. As soon as you connect a flash drive or memory card that has video on it, it will immediately appear in MX Player. No need to search for it in folders.
The films are going great.
TV
If you open the TV folder on the main screen, you will see already installed programs for watching online videos, YouTube and Zoomby, where you will find many films and TV series.
YouTube looks like this:
Go ahead.
Browsers
Here there are programs with which you can access the Internet, surf social networks, download files, etc.
Of course we go to the site :)
If you don't like the standard browser, then in the section Apps there is Google Chrome. For social networks, you can install official applications from the Play Store. VKontakte, Twitter, Facebook, it’s all there.
Game
There you will find two games installed: Angry Birds and Cut the Rop.
Played a little Angry Birds.
Apps
Well, in the last section you will find many installed useful programs, including ES Explorer and Explorer for managing files, as well as programs for working with mail, maps, calendar, Play Store, etc.
Of course, don't forget about the hundreds of thousands of apps and games you can install from the Play Store.
You also need to pay attention to the notification center in the lower right corner. It displays the clock, Wi-Fi connection status and other notifications. For example, about connecting a USB flash drive.
And in the left corner you can see a panel on which there are buttons “back”, “home”, “view running applications”, “volume control”, “turn off the set-top box” (go to standby mode), and a button that allows you to collapse this panel.
As far as I understand, it is impossible to completely turn off Defender Smart Android HD2. Press the power button and put the set-top box into standby mode. It will “wake up” as soon as you move your mouse.
If the set-top box is powered by a USB TV, it will turn off and on with the TV. If it's plugged in, I think it's ok to leave it plugged in.
For example, you are using Defender Smart Android HD2 and want to watch TV: just switch to TV mode by selecting the desired video input on the TV. When you want to switch to the set-top box again, select the desired HDMI.
Afterword
I really liked the Defender Smart Android HD2 console itself. In general, the very opportunity to get all the functionality of Android on a TV is very cool. I can say with confidence that no Smart TV, from any manufacturer, can compare with the capabilities of the Defender Smart Android HD2.
If you are interested in my opinion: it is better to buy a good TV without Smart TV and not overpay for the technology itself, built-in Wi-Fi and other functions, and in addition buy an Android set-top box. Believe me, this way you will get much more opportunities for entertainment and even work. Perhaps something will change over time, and TV manufacturers will improve Smart TV, more applications will appear in their stores, but at the moment, buying a device like Defender Smart Android HD2 seems to me the best option.
Also on the site:
We turn a regular TV into a Smart TV. Review of Smart TV set-top box Defender Smart Android HD2 updated: October 13, 2014 by: admin
What is Android OS on TV? In a nutshell, this is a full-fledged operating system, the interface of which has been completely redesigned for comfortable consumption of digital content: viewing photos and videos, accessing videos on YouTube, watching programs, films and TV series, accessing downloading games and applications through the Google Play Market. However, a completely logical question arises: what are the advantages or disadvantages of such a solution over conventional Smart TVs and TV BOX set-top boxes. Let's try to figure this out.
Google Services
When you turn on Smart TV on Android for the first time, you need to connect to your Google account, just like on any Android device. To connect to your account, you need Internet access - via WiFi, or a wired LAN network. That is, you won’t be able to simply turn it on, set up channels and start watching right away - that’s the first minus.
However, it ceases to matter immediately after logging into your account, since the user gains access to the following services:
- Google Play Movies;
- Google Play Music;
- Google Play Games;
- YouTube (with playlists, subscriptions, recommendations and other user data)
The Play Market itself has also undergone major changes for a better experience on large screens. All content is divided into categories, and it is quite easy to find what you need.
Voice search from anywhere
The OS uses voice search (like Google Now on smartphones and tablets), but is focused on video content and applications. After the user makes a voice request, the information sought will be found in the Google search engine, and YouTube videos that are somehow related to this request will be presented on the screen. The function can also recommend thematic selections of films if the user makes a corresponding request.
Games
Full-fledged toys that are available on tablets and smartphones can be downloaded to your TV. Not enough memory? You can use an external drive. Asphalt 8, Dead Trigger 2 and many other titles can be launched without having to connect the console to the screen. For comfortable control, you can use various controllers, both wired and wireless.
Chromecast
Thanks to this technology, you can select digital content on your smartphone or other mobile device and cast it on the big screen using Chromecast. 
Main advantages
This solution will be very useful for those who are accustomed to using multimedia capabilities from Google (download Android games, access Google music and movies). And all this without the need to connect a TV-Box to your TV. On a Smart TV with any other OS, there is no way to play full-fledged Android games, or buy a movie in the app store and watch it right away.
Main disadvantages
The main disadvantage in comparison with TV BOX is that the functionality of the operating system is greatly reduced, leaving only the multimedia part. That is, users who want to use a TV with a “green robot” as a computer will be disappointed.
Google Play has also been cut down: only those games and applications that are officially supported are available for download. That is, you won’t be able to download absolutely any application.
Does it make sense to buy an Android TV?
And no, if there is no need for such additions. In this case, it is better to choose a good and inexpensive smart TV, because there is no point in overpaying for unused functionality. Any smart TV can handle playing movies, TV series, videos and music.
The future of Android OS on TVs
Since we are talking about a system for which a lot of software is developed, you can come up with many scenarios for its use on the big screen. However, there are already concepts, the essence of which is to turn Android TV into a control center for a smart home. The display displays various data, including video from surveillance cameras, room temperature readings and more. Using the control center, you can control climate control, control lighting, water supply to the lawn or door locking.
A modern smart TV set-top box has the same functionality as any Smart TV. With its help, you can watch movies in any format (even 4K with Dolby Atmos) and even without prior downloading. Watch IP television (more than 200 channels) for very little money - say, 60 rubles per month. Watch Youtube or the version for children Youtube Kids, make video calls via Skype or any messenger, play games on a wireless joystick, listen to music and radio and much, much more. The main thing is to buy the right set-top box, and in this article we will tell you which one. Together we will select a console that suits your capabilities and budget. Let’s immediately note all the unsuccessful options, a huge number of which are sold on the Internet, and focus only on the main thing - your future pleasure from the purchase.
What can an Android TV set-top box do?
Sometimes it is very difficult to describe in text what you need to see. Therefore, we recorded a special video demonstrating the capabilities of a typical set-top box on Android:
So, the key features:
- View video files in any format from any source in resolutions up to 4K. As a rule, such set-top boxes already have the Kodi media processor installed, which allows you to watch and catalog video content in a very convenient way;
- Searching and viewing video content from torrent trackers immediately, without prior downloading. I need to write specifically about this point, because the work of the HD VideoBox program is just some kind of holiday. You enter the name of the film in the search, after which you simply select the one you want and start watching. In total, from the moment “I want” to “I’m watching in excellent quality”, 5 seconds pass. If you choose a series or a multi-part cartoon, then you will be asked to choose a season and an episode. After which you will immediately start watching it.
- View Youtube(which essentially became a new television) again in resolution up to 4K;
- View Youtube Kids, a special version of Youtube for children, devoid of any adult and potentially dangerous content with carefully selected programs and channels;
- Watching a huge number of broadcast channels via the Internet(sometimes free, but often for a nominal fee of $1-2) in a package similar to or greater than standard cable packages. An additional feature is viewing the so-called archive for 5 days, when you can turn on any program of any channel from yesterday or the day before yesterday. For example, watch a missed football match or news broadcast.
- Working in game console mode: games are launched, both originally made for Android, and all kinds of simulators of game consoles, such as the legendary tanks from Dandy and games of the first PlayStation);
- Video calls from TV via Skype, with the connection of most common cameras and other instant messengers;
- Listen to high-quality music online with a direct connection to the receiver. At the moment, there are many services that allow you to connect to a huge music database for a small fee, and the tracks offered to you can be selected based on your musical preferences. No matter how stupid it may sound, over the years it becomes more and more difficult to find new and interesting music, and services like Google Play Music or Spotify do an excellent job (at least that’s how I’ve been listening to music for a long time). Therefore, if you have an Android set-top box and a receiver that has been tested over the years and that completely suits you in terms of sound, you can perfectly upgrade it.
- Listening to thousands of radio stations: similar to the previous point, you can select any radio station to your liking by launching it using a special application;
- Listening to audio books while doing housework.
What is a typical Smart set-top box?
Most “Smart TV set-top boxes” are made in China and are, in fact, an ordinary Android tablet with powerful hardware, to which many USB inputs have been added and a display has been removed. Set-top boxes not made in China are practically no different functionally, but they are more expensive. However, it is far from a fact that they are made of better quality.
As with Android tablets, progress does not stand still, and manufacturers rivet 2-3 models per year on different processors. Since there are many manufacturers, there are also a huge number of these models, which leads to terrible confusion. The funny thing is that most consoles are based on the same hardware and differ only in the quality of workmanship, the tendency to overheat and, most importantly, the degree of buggyness of the firmware.
Choosing a TV set-top box for yourself
As in any business, there are several objective leaders among manufacturers of Android set-top boxes (aka Android boxes). These are the companies Minix and Zidoo and Ugoos (I do not mention the famous Xiaomi, because the set-top box from this famous company has very strong limitations, which I will talk about). The first two companies produce high-quality TV boxes, distinguished not only by flagship functionality, powerful hardware and good build quality, but also by very high-quality firmware, which are released even several years after the product is released for sale. This, believe me, is extremely important and I will explain why below. The third, Ugoos, is also trying to take the lead and is doing quite well.
Minix's flagship model is the Minix Neo U9-H, which costs about 8.5 thousand. Until recently, Zidoo had an interesting model, the Zidoo X8, costing about 6 - 6.5 thousand rubles, however, a couple of months ago it disappeared from sale, and where it remained, it costs at the Minix level, which makes its purchase pointless. There is a wonderful, but expensive older model X9s, distinguished by a beautiful metal case and the presence of a SATA3 port for connecting an external drive, costing 9..10 thousand, and a more recent budget Zidoo X7, which, alas, is simply terrible. Therefore, if your budget is limited to 5..5.5 thousand rubles, then the best option for such a set-top box is .
Thus, the most venerable manufacturer is Minix. The boxes produced by this company are noticeably more expensive than their hardware counterparts, and the point here is really high-quality firmware, which no one else on the market can boast of. The fact is that Minix is the only company that can afford to maintain a large staff of programmers who literally “lick” every function of the TV box. Because of this, where other manufacturers simply set the price of hardware and give up support for the console within a month or two after release, Minix continues to correct errors.
Until recently, I recommended buying an old Minix Neo U1 set-top box with an A Lite remote control, costing about 7 thousand rubles.
Despite the fact that it was based on a slightly outdated, but still quite powerful Amlogic S905 processor and twice the old Android 5.0, it was the most trouble-free set-top box with well-debugged firmware and excellent functionality - it’s not for nothing that most users of set-top boxes from other companies tried to install the firmware on their devices exactly from Minix.
The new Minix Neo U9-H, released at the beginning of 2017, was based on the new Amlogic S912 chip and was somewhat buggy at first. However, over the past time, Minix programmers have released several updates and the console has become simply magnificent. Therefore, Minix Neo U9-H can be safely recommended for purchase to those who want to buy a box and use it with a minimum of body movements and settings.
Externally, Neo U9-H is very similar to U1, so the side and back sides of the box are shown as an illustration
The main feature of most Minix consoles is problem-free (or almost problem-free, but with readily available information on how to solve these problems) operation out of the box. Plus, Minix should be especially interesting to users with good TVs and high-quality acoustics. Because it immediately supports many codecs like Digital, DTS, DTS-HD, stable Wi-Fi in two bands (the main scourge of most second-tier set-top boxes is poor or regularly dropping Wi-Fi), support for autoframe rate, which is responsible for very smooth display of images due to synchronizing movie frames to the TV refresh rate. A simple example, a movie is shown at a refresh rate of 24 karas per second, and the screen is refreshed 60 times per second. Because of this discrepancy, some frames are shown longer, some less. As a result, we see twitching in slow scenes, which is perfectly read by the brain. Set-top boxes with autoframe distribute frames evenly. Well, and a bunch of little things that make life a little more pleasant and are completely unavailable on cheaper consoles.
Add to this regular updates, high-quality support from the manufacturer and a very active community of users on the 4Pda forum who can help with a tricky task.
Is there something similar, but cheaper?
There is a good set-top box in the world based on the same Amlogic S912, called . It costs 5.5 thousand rubles, which previously, if Zidoo X8 was available on the market, made its purchase pointless. However, the situation has changed and Zidoo is no longer available at an adequate price at the moment. Therefore, Ugoos AM3 is the most adequate choice.
Alas, Ugoos programmers are still far from being comparable to their colleagues from Minix, but at the moment this is the most polished firmware of the second-tier set-top boxes, and it is thanks to Ugoos that many even cheaper set-top boxes have been able to get normal firmware. Therefore, you can buy Ugoos and enjoy using it out of the box, or you can try to buy a set-top box for another thousand cheaper and try to reflash it with a copy of the Ugoos or Minix firmware.
An example of such a set-top box is the X98 Pro model for 4,200 rubles. It is better to buy a set-top box with 2 gigabytes of memory (2Gb/16Gb), because most set-top boxes from which firmware is ported have exactly this configuration.
This console works well with the Minix firmware version (although you will have to tinker with Wi-Fi) and it is possible to configure the auto frame rate. The set-top box has a dual-band Wi-Fi module, is spacious enough to install additional cooling (it’s quite simple there) and has good support on the forums. In addition, after the latest updates, your own firmware has become more or less normal and you may not want to change it. However, I repeat, if you don’t want to sew anything and configure cooling and so on, it’s better to take a closer look at Ugoos.
What's wrong with Xiaomi and the new Zidoo
Let's start with Zidoo - their new H6 Pro and X7 consoles were simply abandoned by the manufacturer. New firmware is not released, glitches are not corrected. It seems that the manufacturer has transferred all its efforts to its new flagships, which are sold at completely inhumane prices.
As for the Xiaomi Mi Box, it has a number of very strong disadvantages:
- Data transfer only via Wi-Fi (not the most critical, but one of them. If you have network storage at home, then sometimes it’s easier to connect the set-top box with a wire to watch some heavy Blu-ray rip)
- It runs on Android-TV - a stripped-down version of Android, for which there are fewer applications or they are more difficult to install.
- You need to reflash it to add the same Google Play for installation.
- Specific, but very important: there is no auto frame rate and the picture jerks a little in slow scenes.
There are still many minor shortcomings, which together do not allow us to recommend this set-top box for purchase.
Is there all the same, but with satellite channels, code sharing and DVB-T2/S2?
As mentioned above, through any Android TV set-top box you can watch broadcast channels in very acceptable quality. The only problem: since viewing is carried out over the Internet, the quality of the video stream has traces of compression. In other words, watching TV over the Internet is always worse than when you watch it directly, receiving a signal from broadcast sources.
Therefore, if watching TV programs is an important component of your life, you can use a special hybrid Android set-top box capable of receiving broadcasts in DVB-C and DVB-T2/S2 formats, and while receiving a signal from a satellite, you can use the so-called “code sharing” ”, which allows you to watch closed channels for free.
The most interesting models with this functionality are the Mecool KIII Pro hybrids for 8 thousand rubles and for 6 thousand.
KIII is more powerful and more expensive, but it is based on the same long-suffering Amlogic S912. In contrast, KI Pro is based on a modification of the old Amlogic S905 processor, which received an additional index D, thanks to which the set-top box has all the advantages of the proven S905, plus receiving a gigabit wired network port and fast dual-band Wi-Fi. However, users periodically complain about the quality of WiFi, just like KIII users. Thank God, this issue can be solved by connecting via wire directly to the router.
These were the advantages. And now the disadvantages and the first of them: without installing third-party firmware, it is almost impossible to use the set-top boxes. The included firmware is so poor that it's just a nightmare. For example, it was not possible to run Youtube Kids on the factory firmware; the bundled Kodi media processor was renamed and cropped, which is why it lost a significant part of its functionality. And so it is in most programs.
In addition, the “desktop” of the console itself is so illogical and inconvenient, and the box’s memory is littered with unnecessary programs that you simply wonder how it can be used at all. Therefore, if you chose this set-top box because of the ability to watch TV, you have only one way - go to the 4pda forum and install the so-called “custom firmware” you like. Those. In the case of the Mini M8S, firmware on Minix is desirable, but not required, but here it is simply mandatory.
I, as the owner of KI Pro, chose the firmware from the user Malaysk (by the way, you can always thank the author by sending a small reward to one of the wallets specified in the Readme file located in the root of the firmware). Firmware from this author is available for both KI Pro and KIII Pro, so no matter which console you choose, you should install it.
This is what the desktop looked like on the factory firmware:
and here's what it looks like for me now:
As a result of the flashing, the stability of operation and the loading speed of the set-top box increased, Kodi installed and works 100% flawlessly. All the functions described at the beginning of the article work in the same way and allow you to turn the set-top box into a very, very sophisticated smart device for any, even the most “stupid” TV. Well, watching television itself has become very, very convenient, much better than through regular IPTV.
Convenient control of the set-top box
I immediately want to apologize to the readers, but this section is not completely ready yet. The fact is that the remote control that comes with most set-top boxes has only basic functionality. Whereas a good remote control can significantly expand the ease of control.
What properties should an ideal remote control for a smart console have:
- Have an air mouse function. Those. you twist your wrist in the air, and the cursor moves as if you were controlling a regular mouse.
- Have a microphone so you can use voice search.
- Long battery life.
- Have programmable keys so that this remote control can replace remote controls for the TV and, possibly, the receiver.
- It is optional to have a Russian keyboard for typing tricky names of videos and films that are not determined by voice typing. The option is nice, but especially critical - because voice search closes 90% of dialing cases.
Based on these data, a Rii i25A remote control was purchased with a Russian keyboard, a microphone (there is a simple version of the Rii i25 without the “A” index, it does not have a microphone), 5 programmable keys and similar pleasant additions. The cost of the remote control was 1600 rubles. In fact, almost a third of the cost of a normal set-top box. However, after receiving the package, I encountered a number of common problems.
First, in order to teach the console commands from other remote controls, the Rii i25a had to be disassembled. Those. When assembled, the LED of the set-top box was stupidly unable to see the commands through the dark glass. The cover had to be removed and the remote control diode had to be bent so that it was exactly opposite the “slot” in the window.
Second: for the first two months, the remote control worked on battery power for two weeks without turning off. And after the next firmware update, it suddenly began to “die” after a day or two. It was experimentally determined that the problem was the always-on microphone, which monitored the “OK, Google” command. It was quite difficult to guess that this was the reason. I’m already silent about a very non-trivial way to configure the console to switch the language from Russian to English using the keyboard. This again doesn't work by default. You need to install the Russian Keyboard program and set the correct settings, which periodically fail.
In other words, for one and a half thousand rubles, you get a very crude device that needs to be “finished” very much. On the other hand, I didn’t find anything as functional (with an air mouse, programmable keys and a microphone). Judging by the reviews, there is a better quality Mele F10 Pro remote control, namely the Pro version, because... it has a microphone. However, a) it does not have programmable buttons; b) it is difficult to find on sale; c) it does not have a Russian keyboard. At the moment I am trying to purchase it and form my own opinion.
If you know any convenient remote control model, please share your opinion in the comments.
Extending the life of the console
As a rule, the consoles described above are unpretentious. Especially if you took Minix or Zidoo. However, there are two important nuances that beginners are not aware of. This knowledge, as a rule, comes with experience, but consoles may not live to gain this experience.
First: If you watch torrents through a set-top box, set up the save directory on an external drive. The user described the problem most succinctly ferz channel in the comments to the title video:
For those who are not familiar with TV boxes, I advise you not to overuse data overwriting to the internal memory of the device. For example, when watching TV channels in HD via TorrentStreamController + AceStream. Torrents, with their huge number of write cycles, quickly exhaust Flash memory resources. The solution is to specify an SD card or external HDD in the settings to save the torrent cache. For me and 4 other people, a $50 set-top box with an S912 processor died in less than half a year. And re-soldering the chip itself will cost a pretty penny.
We completely agree with the comment and also suggest using an inexpensive flash drive or hard drive connected via USB. The flash drive is easy to replace, and the hard drive was originally designed for such a load.
Second: If you bought a set-top box from manufacturers in the second price range, you will most likely encounter overheating of the set-top box. As a rule, when the processor temperature is reached, so-called “throttling” occurs - in this case, to escape overheating, the processor resets the frequency and the set-top box begins to “slow down and glitch.”
Even if the temperature stays just below 80 and the processor does not throttle, this is still bad. Constant operating temperatures above 70 lead to gradual damage to other components of the motherboard. In other words, constant overheating does not necessarily affect the console right now, but it will definitely affect it in the future. The forums are full of messages from users whose console dies after six months.
To understand whether your set-top box is susceptible to overheating problems, install the Cpu Temperature application on it. On average, the temperature of the console should not rise above 70°. In some complex applications, such as games or watching 4K video, the temperature may rise higher, but this should not be the constant operating mode of the console.
If, nevertheless, the problem of overheating is relevant for you, I advise you to go to the profile thread of the 4Pda forum and see how other users solve it. It is important to understand that this will not always be a so-called “collective farm” - i.e. visually scary, but a working solution. Almost always, someone manages to find an elegant way out. For example, for set-top boxes that have ventilation holes located at the bottom, you can buy a stand with a built-in fan, the power for which is supplied from the USB port of the set-top box itself.
Those. you buy such a stand, plug the power cord into a free USB port of the set-top box, and the “cooling” works automatically the entire time the set-top box is turned on.
Due to the large diameter, the fan operates quite quietly. The only unpleasant nuance that may arise is that the dimensions of the stand will be larger or much smaller than the dimensions of the console. In this case, the dimensions of the stand are 16x10 centimeters, which makes it suitable for a large number of portable consoles.
In Lifehacker’s office there hangs the most ordinary “brainless” widescreen TV with an HDMI connector. Previously, it had the Google Chromecast whistle, which, although it allows you to broadcast content from mobile devices and from the browser to the big screen, is not an independent media center, and therefore we began to look for an advanced replacement for it.
On AliExpress you can find hundreds of budget (and not so budget) TV set-top boxes. We wanted one that would work on full-fledged Android, that is, with access to Google Play, applications, games, and so on.
After looking at reviews and doing a little research on the topic on the Internet, we settled on the MK809IV model. Chinese budget technology can be quite difficult to understand. The same product is produced by several companies, in different boxes, with different versions of the operating system and shell. In our case, the manufacturer turned out to be Transpeed, but in general there will not be much difference when choosing another manufacturer.
MK809IV is, in fact, an Android computer without peripherals, a small system unit. If there is a discount from the seller, you can purchase it at a price in the region of 1,700–1,800 rubles.
For simplicity and convenience of managing the media center, we have added a wireless keyboard to the purchase for just over 500 rubles. It's even more difficult with the keyboard manufacturer. We couldn’t figure out who exactly made it, so we’ll call it what it says on the packaging: MINI Keyboard.
If you buy as a set, you will get approximately 2,400 rubles (depending on the size of the current discount).
When ordering on AliExpress, you need to be prepared for surprises, including a month-long wait for your order to arrive. Pay attention to information about sellers. Choose those who have been trading for a long time and have a high percentage of positive reviews.
What MK809IV can do
MK809IV is a keychain with dimensions of 102 × 40 × 9 mm and a weight of 35 g.
The red part on the front panel is actually a retractable Wi-Fi antenna.
The MK809IV connects to the TV via an HDMI connector statically fixed on the device body.
The kit includes a 20cm HDMI extender, which is useful in cases where the design of the TV or adjacent wires do not allow you to connect the MK809IV directly.
With its help, you can place the keychain on the back of the TV at your discretion or simply leave it dangling as in our photographs.
The MK809IV case has one USB port for connecting peripherals (flash drive, wired mouse or keyboard, Bluetooth adapter for a wireless mouse or keyboard), a slot for microSD memory cards (supports up to 32 GB inclusive), as well as two microUSB ports.
One microUSB (choose any) will be used to power the key fob. For power supply, you can use the free USB of the TV (USB - microUSB male-to-male cable included) or connect it to an outlet via a 2 A adapter (also included).
The peculiarity of USB is that the current strength in it can be different. If you powered the MK809IV from the TV via USB, but the key fob does not turn on, it means that there is not enough current and you will have to connect it to an outlet. In our case, the current in the TV was enough.
The second microUSB slot is also used to connect USB peripherals via the included microUSB - USB male-to-female adapter.
Inside the MK809IV there is a quad-core Rockchip RK3188T with a frequency of 1.4 GHz and Mali 400 graphics, 2 GB of RAM and 8 GB of storage for installing applications and storing data, of which 1 GB is occupied by a system with pre-installed applications. The key fob supports Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and has built-in Bluetooth 4.0.
The performance of the MK809IV is enough to broadcast content in Full HD quality at 60 frames per second, but by default the keychain operates in 720p@60fps mode.
The operating system in the MK809IV is the old but stable Android 4.4.2 KitKat with an MBOX-like shell, support for Miracast and AirPlay.
The AnTuTu test showed 16,000 points, which is quite acceptable for such a cheap thing, but clearly not enough for heavy 3D games.
There aren't many pre-installed apps, but most of them are useful.
- Google Play (when you first launch it, it will update itself to the current version, and then allow you to update the rest of the pre-installed applications and download the missing ones).
- Kodi (formerly XBMC).
- YouTube.
- Netflix.
- Socials.
- A file manager, a media gallery, default players, a browser that you don’t have to open at all and just install Chrome, and even a separate utility for installing apk files.
The MK809IV's tiled interface may seem unfamiliar at first, but it's very easy to use when using the remote control with arrow buttons. In our case, control is taken over by the wireless MINI Keyboard.
The shape and feel of the device in the hands resembles a gamepad.
It is powered by two AAA batteries (not included), which are located under the cover on the back panel. A wireless adapter for connecting to a computer is also stored here.
In addition to the wireless interface, the keyboard can be connected via microUSB, but we are not at all interested in this option.
The buttons are rubber, there is a Russian layout (pay attention to this when ordering, there are many similar keyboards on AliExpress with only English letters).
The joystick on the left is responsible for controlling sound and playback, and on the right - navigation. There's a small touchpad in the middle on top, and it's downright bad.
Despite its rather modest size, it has extremely low sensitivity. It also happens: you move the cursor, remove your finger, the cursor jumps back to the point from which it started moving. Sometimes false taps occur. This is terribly infuriating.
The only reason we haven't thrown this device away is because it's easy to enter text information. Once you get used to the device a little, typing messages and entering search queries is really fast. The process is accelerated by additional keys (for example, search), which Android correctly recognizes.
The full potential of the keyboard can only be fully realized on a desktop operating system, in particular Windows. All additional keys and combinations were created specifically for this system.
Total
We spent 2,400 rubles. Did we manage to turn a regular TV into a Smart TV? Yes. Is it convenient for them to operate the keyboard we have chosen? Yes and no. There are no problems with text input, but to comfortably replace the mouse you need to look for something else or get used to navigating with arrows.
Can you recommend something better for the same or comparable money? Let's discuss this in the comments.
Today we decided to make a small rating of the best TV set-top boxes on Android, which look the most interesting in the spring of 2017. A modern TV ceases to be a means of watching TV shows, turning into a full-fledged entertainment center with a lot of possibilities. It is TV Boxes that allow you to get entertainment for every taste, from watching any movies to playing games. We tried to select the most diverse popular models, because there are many consoles on the market that repeat each other. Read in the rating which Android TV set-top box is suitable for your home and which one is worth buying in the near future.
NEXBOX A 95X - the most popular Android TV set-top box
Android TV set-top box TV-Box NEXBOX A95XThe A95X joined the shelves of online stores relatively recently, when Amlogic introduced its cheap and powerful chip. The success of Android TV from a little-known Chinese company came instantly.
To date, the TV set-top box has been ordered by almost 15,000 people on AliExpress alone, making it the best-selling product in this category. High popularity was ensured by the ideal price/quality ratio, in which for 1800-3000 rubles (depending on the amount of memory) we get a high-quality build, a set of ports for all occasions, the current version of the operating system, as well as 4K support.
Regarding memory volumes, the manufacturer invites the user to choose how much he needs:
- 1+8 GB,
- 2+8 GB,
- 1+16 GB.
So, if you don’t play modern games, then you can safely order an Android TV set-top box with a minimum amount of RAM and permanent memory - the system will work smoothly. Its whole appearance speaks of its origin: cheap materials, typical shapes. However, it’s difficult to find fault with the assembly; what’s more, the matte plastic on the top is pleasing, eliminating the task of constantly scrubbing off your own fingerprints. The processor, as already mentioned, here the S905X from Amlogic is the golden mean. It is very productive and inexpensive, which directly affects the price of Android consoles.
NEXBOX A95X falls into the category of set-top boxes that have been updated to the latest version. In addition, you can count on further updates to the device, given its popularity. The set-top box supports a lot of video and audio formats, works with 4K content, and copes with this task honestly, without trying to use software enhancement.
NEXBOX A95X is an ideal solution for those who don’t want to bother with searching, reading reviews and reviews. Do you want to try out all the delights of Android TV for an inexpensive price? Your choice is A95X.
Xiaomi MI BOX – stylish, high quality, modern
Photo: Android TV set-top box Xiaomi BOX 3 MI BOX is one of the best-selling products of the Chinese company, not counting smartphones and fitness bracelets. When creating its Android TV set-top boxes, Xiaomi was clearly inspired by similar devices from , so we have a laconic and stylish design for little money. The set-top box turned out to be very compact and ideally complements the TV without disturbing the interior of the room. MI BOX is assembled with very high quality: matte plastic is pleasant to the touch, perfectly fitted parts and not a single squeak.
Like most modern set-top boxes on Android, it is equipped with fairly powerful hardware, which, coupled with good optimization, ensures fast operation and launch of any content. The processor is from Amlogic, but the exact model is not disclosed by the company, runs on four computing cores with a clock frequency of 2 GHz. The chip is complemented by 2 GB of RAM, which is more than enough. Well, for files – 8 GB. Only the most demanding users will be dissatisfied with the “filling”.
Operating system – Android 6.0. On top of it, the manufacturer rolled a proprietary shell, which will make using the “green robot” on a TV set-top box a more comfortable and exciting process. The most necessary applications are already pre-installed, and the manufacturer regularly provides fresh updates, taking care of its users. In addition, the set-top box is compatible with other Xiaomi devices, which allows, for example, to quickly display photos from a smartphone on a large TV.
As befits a high-quality set-top box from a well-known company, MI BOX allows you to watch movies in , and supports all popular formats. The branded remote control deserves special attention (its twin brother is similar to the remote control of Apple set-top boxes, but Android TV manufacturers have not yet presented a similar one). The remote control is really very good, and not only in design and ergonomics. It allows you to conveniently control the MI BOX interface and enjoy playing games.
MI BOX is an Android TV set-top box for users who care about quality and design, for which they are willing to overpay and give up the most powerful hardware. Today, the average cost of a set-top box in Russia is 7,000-8,000 rubles. The most popular seller on (more than 9,000 orders and about 2,000 5-point ratings) offers a model for about 4,500 rubles.
X 92 – best performance at low cost
Relatively recently, Amlogic introduced a new powerful processor S912, which is aimed at the multimedia player segment. Naturally, it also interested manufacturers of cheap Android set-top boxes, who were able to make the most of it thanks to the chip. One of the first consoles that I received was a model with a simple name.
Android TV box X 92 does not stand out with any sophisticated design; we can only note the glowing company logo on the top of the device. It is presented in a typical form for TV Boxes. But it was well assembled, received an antenna to strengthen the Wi-Fi signal and a small display that displays useful information.
The set-top box is strewn with various ports, which contain a huge number of peripheral devices. The X92 is well built using quality plastic.
However, the most interesting thing lies inside it. As already noted, this is a new S 912 chip, which received 8 Cortex-A53 cores operating at a clock frequency of 2 GHz. So that you understand, these are really excellent characteristics that will be relevant in the next two to three years. In addition, the chip is supplemented with an updated Mali-T820MP3 graphics core, which is capable of running any modern game. But the manufacturer did not stop with a powerful processor, equipping the console with a decent amount of memory.
Options available to choose from:
- 2+16 GB;
- 3+16 GB,
- 2+32 GB;
- 3+32 GB.
As you can imagine, there is plenty to choose from. All characteristics are seasoned with modern wireless interfaces, for example there is Wi-Fi so that you do not miss the new episode of your favorite series.
It is clear that the Android TV set-top box X 92 with such and such a processor can easily play video with any resolution up to . The set-top box is omnivorous in terms of formats, supports a lot of applications and runs Android 6.0, which receives regular updates. It is difficult to identify any serious disadvantages of the X 92 - today it is one of the best on the market.
X 92 is the choice of users who demand speed, high performance and the ability to connect a lot of additional devices. The cost of the set-top box ranges from 3,000 to 5,000 rubles, depending on the amount of memory and the scope of delivery (for an additional fee you can get a miniature wireless keyboard).
T95Z Plus – powerful can be beautiful
Photo: Android TV set-top box Sunvell T95Z plus |
Updated: 06/02/2019. Prices are provided by online stores for information purposes. Differences in price may be due to different configurations. Sometimes higher cost means more RAM and ROM. Carefully look at the product characteristics on the online store page! |
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