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  1. Hey all. I was wondering if anyone could help suggest an upgrade for my home theater box.

    I'm currently using a WD TV Streaming box but am wanting something new.

    The WD has all the functionality I need, but it's incredibly slow and unstable and I am tired of dealing with it.

    My needs are essentially...your typical media streamer with access to Netflix, Youtube, etc. etc. as well as:

    Being able to stream my MKV files from my desktop PC upstairs to the box. I currently don't have any SAMBA or anything like that set up, my WD box streams simply through the LAN once I plug my PC's internal IP and login credentials to the box's setup.

    I'm assuming any old Android box I could find on say, Fasttech and install Kodi on would do what I need?

    Are there any caveats or advice you guys can give?
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  2. A lot of people are using a Raspberry Pi + Kodi/XBMC. I don't know how fast it is though.
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  3. Will Kodi/XBMC allow me to stream MKV from the PC to the set top box where it's installed through simple file sharing / LAN without needing a Samba server or whatever?

    BTW, thank you for the response
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  4. Yes, you can run Kodi you use SD card with image that has Kodi on it. Using Kodi means hat things just work, but you need to purchase mpeg2 licence ($3) to make that player decode mpeg2 using hardware, (If you have mpeg2 videos). Then you need some instructions. Not sure about Netflix though.

    Android boxes, be careful, only latest models, those that can handle HEVC, UHD 60fps, that means they are powerful enough. I will test soon Tronsmart Vega S95 model, that has Kodi on it already, Netflix app as well, but just waiting for mini keybord to make handling comfortable.
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  5. I assume there would just be an app I could sideload into Kodi for Netflix, am I wrong on that?

    I need to start researching these boxes with Kodi already on them hehe
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  6. Wow Al, that Vega S95 looks to be the ticket. 60 bucks on amazon. Being able to use ES File manager on the TV has me excited too lol
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  7. Originally Posted by javyn View Post
    Will Kodi/XBMC allow me to stream MKV from the PC to the set top box where it's installed through simple file sharing / LAN without needing a Samba server or whatever?
    Windows' simple file sharing is SMB, aka Samba.
    Last edited by jagabo; 27th Dec 2015 at 18:20.
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  8. Ah, thanks. Pardon my ignorance.
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  9. There is three models for that unit,
    Vega S95 Telos, 2G/16G
    Vega S95 Meta $80, less memory 2G/8G, different wi-fi and no SATA, I have that one, I do not use wi-fi
    Vega S95 Pro, that $60 model, even more less memory (1G/8G), and even further difference for wi-fi (no 5G), no SATA,

    so marketers choose term "PRO" for the cheapest model ... but again, no real performance previews, on amazon etc., I took a risk, it just finaly seams to be powerful enough and to test or view HEVC as well ...
    Last edited by _Al_; 27th Dec 2015 at 19:03.
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  10. Yeah, I was looking at the Pro and Meta. But now I'm looking at the Wetek Core and that may be a better option. I can't decide LOL
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  11. I've seen many media players that look great on paper but are so full of bugs they're useless. Especially in the first several months. I'd wait until there were some reviews from people who know what they're doing.
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  12. Yeah why I'm leaning towards the Wetek Core, seems more popular.
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  13. Member
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    I have been reading about the NVIDIA Shield Android TV Box. It seems interesting. It runs Kodi as an app and allows access to Netflix.
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  14. Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    NVIDIA Shield Android TV Box
    Too expensive unless you're looking for a gaming console -- with no games.
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  15. Interesting concept. Cloud gaming seems like a cool idea. But pass nonetheless

    Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
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  16. I received the Wetek Core today, I'm loving it so far!
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  17. Give it couple of weeks , yes those Androids are starting to be interesting toys now ... not sure like your model, but major difference with those Androids is, one can choose lots of applications to play a video with Kodi , VidonXBMC , BSPlayer, MXplayer .. that is what I tried so far, and if one app fails to play something other would play it etc. , this is major difference, with firmware machines you depend fully on just firmware that was written. I think it would be rare for developers trying to hire code writers to write new codes if they can just pickup OS that already exists and is quite known. Also For Android miniUSB with touchpad is needed though. The remote that came with Tronsmart Vega S95 is useless.

    so far one negative, I could not make full Blu-Ray copy of movie stored in MKV, in VC1 to play smoothly, perhaps my Android or its processor or SoC cannot hardware support VC1, all other formats and containers, mp4, mkv, Dvavi (only MXplayer plays it smoothly and deinterlaces at the same time), HDV, Blu-Ray copies in MKV seem to work
    Last edited by _Al_; 5th Jan 2016 at 13:14.
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  18. Oh yes, I just left a firmware machine (Western Digital Streaming box). It was awful because of the closed proprietary firmware and instability, but at the time, it was the only box that would play all my different file formats as well as stream Netflix.

    This Wetek Core comes with Netflix and Kodi pre-installed and OMG it works like a dream.

    And yeah, I can use ES File Explorer + MXPlayer as a backup too. What's Vidon and BSPlayer? Any good?
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  19. Vidon XBMC Gui looks exactly like Kodi, Kodi used to be named XBMC while ago, it is just a different version, looks the same, might behave a bit differently with a bit different settings
    BSPlayer is good player, it can play almost everything and it can find devices on Network, so it can play content directly from Network
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  20. Thanks. Actually pretty happy with MXPlayer on Android devices and VLC on Windows though. I usually use ES File Explorer + MXPlayer to play network files, but I'm liking Kodi much better right now on a set top box!
    Last edited by javyn; 5th Jan 2016 at 17:45.
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  21. Originally Posted by javyn View Post
    Oh yes, I just left a firmware machine (Western Digital Streaming box). It was awful because of the closed proprietary firmware and instability
    If I may respond to it, I have couple of WDTV Live Plus, latest WDTV Live (not last model, without Netflix, but that one issued just before) and some earlier version of WDTV Live.

    The only model that is/was any good is WDTV Live PLUS. It is stable and better than any other model WDTV Live issued. That new Android is actually replacing that late WDTV Live mode but those WDTV Live Plus models are used and handy, no need to get rid of them. The only time they go if HEVC/H.265/4k content is needed to play. I always recomended WDTV Live models not even realizing that those latest models could be worse than earlier versions I used without any problems.
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  22. Ahhh wow. Years ago I used the original WD TV. It served me well but after a while it felt limiting not being networked, and with the whole 1 TB max for HDDs plugged into it.

    I then got the WD SMP (I believe this was the last WD unit to support Nflix). OMG how awful it is. I'm still keeping it though, as well as my original as I see they cost hundreds of dollars on Amazon now for some odd reason.
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