Android htpc on a stick options
October 4, 2013 9:06 AM Subscribe
The recent post of an android stick htpc on cool tools (out of stock before I even saw it) got me wondering what the best choice would be for a reliable android based stick that could plug into my tv and let me run xbmc with a large file of music and video collection.
I'm not fussed about super duper high end performance - my current setup is a very old and laggy laptop that stutters and pixelates so almost anything is an upgrade. What I want is reliability and minimal fuss - I don't want to mess around too much with firmware upgrades. Streaming from other devices isn't a goal. I'd like this to be the hub.
I'm not fussed about super duper high end performance - my current setup is a very old and laggy laptop that stutters and pixelates so almost anything is an upgrade. What I want is reliability and minimal fuss - I don't want to mess around too much with firmware upgrades. Streaming from other devices isn't a goal. I'd like this to be the hub.
Dell's Project Ophelia, an Android Jelly Bean 4.1.3 PC on a USB stick was touted for a release sometime between August and October of this year... but here it is October and they still only have an email for info signup.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:49 AM on October 4, 2013
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:49 AM on October 4, 2013
GOsingGO has a similar device that is due on the market "any day now."
You're only slightly ahead of the curve, I guess.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:52 AM on October 4, 2013
You're only slightly ahead of the curve, I guess.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:52 AM on October 4, 2013
GearZap has one that's out now for $125.
With any of these, of course, you're going to want to check the XBMC forums to see what luck other people are having getting XBMC Android running on them.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:54 AM on October 4, 2013
With any of these, of course, you're going to want to check the XBMC forums to see what luck other people are having getting XBMC Android running on them.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:54 AM on October 4, 2013
Best answer: Okay, and finally--with apologies for blathering solo all over your AskMe--I also found the forum site freaktab, which focuses heavily on Android on a stick action. They pointed me to Rikomagik devices, which seem to be kinda what you're looking for. (Amazon)
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:11 AM on October 4, 2013
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:11 AM on October 4, 2013
There are a billion variations on these things, but at heir heart they are all using only a handful of different ARM SoCs from an even smaller number of fabless chip companies. There are probably a similar number of firmware versions, though each of these tend to be tailored to a narrower range of hardware.
If you want to run XBMC, i would start by spending a little time looking at their forums.
If you only care about Android (rather than full linux) the choice is simpler. I think the best support right now is for SoCs with ARM CPUs and ARM Mali graphics. Some of those have good support for hardware video decode, others need to rely on the main CPU. I think sticks based on the Allwinner A10 are probably best supported, but a little slow. The Allwinner A20 is basically a drop in replacement though, so support should be decent, and it is faster. The other big one is the rockhip rk3166. Freescale iMX.6 based devices have the advantage of better Linux support and developer-level hardware documentation, but I am not sure that has translated into mature software yet.
posted by Good Brain at 10:44 AM on October 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
If you want to run XBMC, i would start by spending a little time looking at their forums.
If you only care about Android (rather than full linux) the choice is simpler. I think the best support right now is for SoCs with ARM CPUs and ARM Mali graphics. Some of those have good support for hardware video decode, others need to rely on the main CPU. I think sticks based on the Allwinner A10 are probably best supported, but a little slow. The Allwinner A20 is basically a drop in replacement though, so support should be decent, and it is faster. The other big one is the rockhip rk3166. Freescale iMX.6 based devices have the advantage of better Linux support and developer-level hardware documentation, but I am not sure that has translated into mature software yet.
posted by Good Brain at 10:44 AM on October 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
What about the Chromecast? It's really cheap, which means it should flood the market, which mean that lots of apps beyond the basic Hulu/Netflix/Amazon streaming should be developed for it before too long.
posted by whuppy at 1:05 PM on October 4, 2013
posted by whuppy at 1:05 PM on October 4, 2013
Response by poster: I'm not interested in Chromecast because I don't want to stream from another device.
posted by srboisvert at 1:15 PM on October 4, 2013
posted by srboisvert at 1:15 PM on October 4, 2013
I think Good Brain basically captures it -
just about everything in the USD 40-80 price range is allwinner A10 + Mali 400. you'll see a lot touted as A13 A15 etc. which is all mostly fictional, mainly A10 with slightly differing specs. it's not a bad platform. but there's also not a lot of support or OS upgrades.
I have a v1 MK802 and also an Oval Elephant, which are basically the same thing, each with their slight advantages and disadvantages. both are generally fast enough, but can be wonky. one thing that is often not warned about - different TVs/monitors have different power requirements for HDMI inputs (this was news to me!) so not all sticks will be able to drive certain TVs.
j1nx is a developer who often evaluates the latest new sticks or the slightly larger console-type things. apparently has gotten into (re)sales more than dev now, so I trust his reviews a bit less than I used to.
the console-type things seem to be generally more powerful and supported, and also cost a little more. I'd been looking at some, but now decided to wait and see about SteamBOX and/or SteamOS.
also it really depends on what you want to spend and how you plan to use the thing - 40 bucks for a Pi or like a vIII mk802, or 100-200 for a phone or tablet with decent dual or quad cpu, decent gpu, and HDMI output...?
posted by dorian at 2:28 PM on October 4, 2013
just about everything in the USD 40-80 price range is allwinner A10 + Mali 400. you'll see a lot touted as A13 A15 etc. which is all mostly fictional, mainly A10 with slightly differing specs. it's not a bad platform. but there's also not a lot of support or OS upgrades.
I have a v1 MK802 and also an Oval Elephant, which are basically the same thing, each with their slight advantages and disadvantages. both are generally fast enough, but can be wonky. one thing that is often not warned about - different TVs/monitors have different power requirements for HDMI inputs (this was news to me!) so not all sticks will be able to drive certain TVs.
j1nx is a developer who often evaluates the latest new sticks or the slightly larger console-type things. apparently has gotten into (re)sales more than dev now, so I trust his reviews a bit less than I used to.
the console-type things seem to be generally more powerful and supported, and also cost a little more. I'd been looking at some, but now decided to wait and see about SteamBOX and/or SteamOS.
also it really depends on what you want to spend and how you plan to use the thing - 40 bucks for a Pi or like a vIII mk802, or 100-200 for a phone or tablet with decent dual or quad cpu, decent gpu, and HDMI output...?
posted by dorian at 2:28 PM on October 4, 2013
Yep if you don't want the extra Android specific stuff then the Raspberry Pi is the cheapest and easiest option.
posted by trialex at 9:28 PM on October 7, 2013
posted by trialex at 9:28 PM on October 7, 2013
FWIW, Raspberry Pi is a wonderful thing, but that $35 price tag is a bit of a cheat. The board itself is $35, plus shipping. (Closer to $50.) You're going to need an SD card. (Say, $10.) And a power cable ($8-ish, if you go cheap from Monoprice.) And a case $5-20. We won't count the keyboard, mouse, or any other storage, since that's no different than Android on a Stick. But the accessory costs can pile up. Maybe if you have an SD card and a power cable lying around and you DIY your own case out of Legos, you can make it cheap that way.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:22 PM on October 8, 2013
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:22 PM on October 8, 2013
Response by poster: I ended up going with the Smart TV V3 so my wife and I could also use the TV for skyping with overseas friends whilst drinking martinis seated on our comfy couch. I use it with my logitech wireless keyboard as a remote (2 usb ports so that is one gone).
I'm pretty pleased with it. It does what I asked for though there are a few caveats. Netflix is great. Hulu is a bit weak - the android app isn't quite up to snuff which makes navigation painful. Also the android app doesn't have the full Hulu lineup for some weird licensing reason or other. The other caveat is that the power cord is not long enough for me to mount the unit on the top of the TV.
XBMC is excellent on it.
posted by srboisvert at 11:29 AM on November 8, 2013
I'm pretty pleased with it. It does what I asked for though there are a few caveats. Netflix is great. Hulu is a bit weak - the android app isn't quite up to snuff which makes navigation painful. Also the android app doesn't have the full Hulu lineup for some weird licensing reason or other. The other caveat is that the power cord is not long enough for me to mount the unit on the top of the TV.
XBMC is excellent on it.
posted by srboisvert at 11:29 AM on November 8, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
ahem...with a large music and video file collection. Damn you laptop touchpad!
posted by srboisvert at 9:44 AM on October 4, 2013