Android TV Stick - new addiction! Any advice/tips?

[gegs]

Well it was the Android stick I was thinking of buying - but the Humax sounds nice too!

[gegs]

As soon as anyone starts selling XBMC on a half decent Android TV stick which supports USB Freeview I'm in!

Just a thought - if an Android TV stick is converted to a linux XBMC device, won't it support DVB-T through a USB port? I'm sure there's much more support for DVB-T in linux than on Android (although it would require the purchase of two devices; the TV stick and the DVB-T device).

[dwl99]

As soon as anyone starts selling XBMC on a half decent Android TV stick which supports USB Freeview I'm in!

Just a thought - if an Android TV stick is converted to a linux XBMC device, won't it support DVB-T through a USB port? I'm sure there's much more support for DVB-T in linux than on Android (although it would require the purchase of two devices; the TV stick and the DVB-T device).

I had a quick look & it appears that the problem is Android-compatible drivers. Also there is no TVHeadend for Android. I'm already in enough trouble for my gadget-tinkering activities so unless there's a ready-made solution I'm out

[gegs]

That's why I suggested perhaps an Android stick converted to linux. People are doing the switch to get better remote share capability and of course the stuff that linux has that Android doesn't (like TVHeadend). It's a pity there's not a dual boot solution because it would be a shame to lose all the Android apps when switching to linux.

[gegs]

I may have been too hasty in condemning the latest iteration of Raspbmc. I tweeted Sam Nazarko to ask if there had been changes to omxplayer because video streams on all addons are choppy and then eventually bomb out. This led me to believe that the problems were not addon-specific but a fault with the underlying system.

Sam confirmed that there had been changes and that a new build would be pushed out for testing, maybe tonight. I'll report back.

[dwl99]

Cool, I wouldn't mind a copy of the test build when you get it

[gegs]

I'll post the link when Sam tweets it.

Getting back on topic - I still want one of the Android TV sticks though. The one you mentioned has a dual core A9 whereas the Apple TV2 has a single core A9 (confusingly referred to as the Apple A5). The ATV2 plays XBMC beautifully so I'm hoping an Android stick with similar or better specification will too.

[dwl99]

Will be interested to hear how the Android TV stick works out. Did you manage to get yourself a Humax?

[gegs]

Couldn't get to store for the Humax last night (the wife and IKEA beckoned) but I phoned at lunchtime and the guy on the other end was a bit clueless. He couldn't tell me if they had it or not. I'll take that as a cosmic sign to concentrate my limited purchasing power on the Android stick.

I probably won't buy the stick right away though, I'll give Sam Nazarko and Raspbmc the benefit of the doubt and concentrate my tinkering efforts there for the time being. The Android stick would only be a distraction. I also need more sleep.

[castalla]

I've had no video problems with Raspbmc on an early 256 Pi and wifi ...

[gegs]

Neither did I until I had to update. I think the USB stick I was running it on was corrupt (it suddenly stopped working), so I installed the most recent version on an SD card. Unfortunately, I think there are problems with omxplayer in the newest release. Sam Nazarko has promised a testing version shortly, which may solve the problems (choppy video, player eventually crashes). If your system is running well, my advice would be to switch off automatic updates in Raspbmc settings or you'll get the latest version when you reboot.

[castalla]

I'm using the latest version (August update) - runs without problems. BBC iPlayer, Filmon, Hellenic TV, World News, ITV player. I've also tried a nightly (from August also) - this runs just a bit snappier than the 'official' release.

Strange that some Pi's work okay, and others have issues. Similar reports for using squeezelite on Pi's - some have no audio issues, others need a lot of 'fixing'.

[gegs]

I've tried nightlies too and they've all had the same problems - as have Xbian and Openelec - that's what made me think it was a new omxplayer problem. I've been able to run TVcatchup without crashes but only in 'mobile' quality, which is rubbish.

Maybe it's not the software installation but the hardware that's at fault. Some fault with the GPU perhaps. I have another Pi that runs as a headless LMS server / Squeezelite player. I could swap them over to see if my present Squeezeplug Pi works OK with Raspbmc. I don't need graphics output on the music server Pi, so a faulty graphics processor wouldn't be a problem. I'll give it a bash tonight.

[castalla]

Worth a shot ... strangely my xbmc Pi is the earliest version.

Do you use ethernet or wifi for the xbmc Pi?

[gegs]

I've tried both ... same results.

[castalla]

I'm currently watching the election coverage on ABC Australia via the World News plugin - no problems with stuttering.

[offbeatdave]

It really just turned into a time-sink. Wife unimpressed.

I think this applies to most gadgets mentioned across this forum!

[dwl99]

It really just turned into a time-sink. Wife unimpressed.

I think this applies to most gadgets mentioned across this forum!

Ain't that the truth! Lolz

[gegs]

I think my video problems are less to do with the official release of Raspbmc and more to do with the addition of repos/addons from XBMC Hub. I re-installed Raspbmc yesterday and installed the iPlayer addon only (not the repo - just the addon itself). I was then able to watch an hour of Formula 1 action without a hitch or stutter. Later I added http://fusion.xbmchub.com as a data source and added a couple of addons and repos, after which my video problems returned.

The evidence that one of the addons/repos from XBMC Hub has screwed something up is a bit anecdotal at present*, but I'll reinstall Raspbmc and try again to load addons individually from sources other than XBMC Hub. I'll let you know how I get on.

Back on topic - who else is using an Android stick for XBMC? Is the general experience satisfying, or nail-bitingly frustrating? Do other Android apps, eg Netflix, perform well?

* I have XBMC Hub addons and their Maintenance Tool installed on my Apple TV without any problems. In fact, several of the fixes/tweaks in the Maintenance Tool have been very beneficial on the ATV2.

[castalla]

Can't you just selectively uninstall addons until it works without stutter?