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I am in the market to buy a new tablet but I have been looking between archos and a viewsonic. I want to stick with a 10 inch screen but I would like to get the most bang for my buck right now my spending limit about 400 dollars.
I am aware that the g tablet has a nvidia dual core processor which is fairly appealing. However I wanted to get some input from people that have had hands on experience with those tablets. Are there any new tablets I should hold out for or what would you people suggest thank you for your help.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
I own both and will probably sell one of them. I'm still deciding, but leaning in favor of the Gtablet. I plan to post a full comparison on my blog (http://www.blendblog.net) where I reviewed the Archos 101 already.
A quick summary though is as follows:
GTablet performs much better. I've not had to worry about memory whereas on the Archos I've often had to manually kill apps to get the device to stay responsive.
The Gtablet is built better. The screen is slightly better, viewing angles are bad on both but the Archos screen feels like you are tapping on cheap plastic wheras the Gtablet feels like solid glass. The tradeoff is that the Gtablet is MUCH heavier, and bigger.
Both of them have very good speakers.
The fiddle factor with the Gtablet is much higher, but if you are here you probably know that. You must root and rom the device, although that is not a tough thing to do. However, I have spent countless hours with mine trying to get it to wake from sleep correctly, an issue many have. I finally figured out a workaround that fixes the issue at the expense of battery life. It seems that some units just have issues waking from sleep, I may still exchange mine because of this.
Build consistency seems to be a bit sketchy on both fronts. The aforementioned sleep issue has bitten me on the GTablet and my Archos has been RMA'd (their support was excellent though) due to a huge stuck blue pixel in the display that was horrible looking.
Archos has one big leg up on the Gtablet and that's video support. It will play anything I throw at it (I did have to buy a $15 AC3/MPEG2 codec package though). The stock video player is much sleeker as well integrating movie descriptions etc. With the Gtablet you are left with the usual hodgepodge of Android video players that don't work with everything etc.
Google was somewhat right in saying Android wasn't ready for "primetime" but I have to say, I find these devices very fun to play with and use on a day to day basis.
I am definitely leaning towards keeping the Gtablet and selling the Archos when I get it back from RMA. The speed advantage of Gtablet is noticeable and with this excellent hacking community in place I feel like there is a much better chance of it being relevant (Honeycomb?) going forward than with the Archos.
I hope this helps!
Sean
Grabbing VitalPlayer pretty much cleared up the problem of the G-Tab not supporting MPEG-2 or AC3, and it's free. YMMV.
VitalPlayer on Appbrain
Where are the codecs for g tablet to match Archos ???
This lack is confusing given the fact that we know tetra 2 is superior. It would seem that xoom will support many popular video codecs when it comes out in Feb!
Archos vs
I own both tablets, and can say without reservation that the G tablet is superior in many ways. It is a much more solid build ( although about 8 oz heavier)
The G tablet is much faster with the Custom Roms. I have had a number of Archos devices, and have been pleased with them, but after owning the G tablet, with its open nature and ability to modify, I will never opt for such a closed off device like the Archos again. Don't get me wrong- it is a good device, but it lacks the potential of the G tablet.
I have the gtablet running Vegan 5
I have no problems playing videos at all using vplayer, rock player and even es explorer has a pretty good player. I played with 101 archos not bad but looks cheap next to the g tab, also as a long time fan of NVIDIA I knew it was going to fast!
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
I haven't used the Archos, but I was in your exact position a little over a month ago, ultimately I choose to check out the G-Tab because I could pick one up locally and return it in 30 days if I didn't like it. I have to say that at first I wasn't pleased with it overall, but that changed as soon as I started flashing some of the amazing ROMs available here on XDA. I'm not new to flashing my devices, but even if this had been a first time experience for me I doubt I'd have had any problems. Follow steps carefully and you can't go wrong, if you have a question it's most likely already been asked by someone before you, so just search the forums and you'll find the answer quick enough. Long story short the G-Tab would be a real dog of a product if it weren't for this amazing community of developers, but because of them I think it's got a future, a fairly bright one at that. I love my G-Tab more and more everyday, and as of now I do not regret purchasing it.
snipestech said:
I have the gtablet running Vegan 5
I have no problems playing videos at all using vplayer, rock player and even es explorer has a pretty good player. I played with 101 archos not bad but looks cheap next to the g tab, also as a long time fan of NVIDIA I knew it was going to fast!
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine's running the same configuration. Do you have anything with audio encoded in AC-3 Dolby Digital? I ripped all my DVD's to my media server using h.264 for video but leaving the original surround sound audio in place. On the Archos I could play those files with the $15 MPEG2/AC-3 plug-in. I have not been able to find a video player yet that does this for my Gtablet (tried ES and Rock amongst others) but I haven't tried the VitalPlayer that theindependent recommended. I'll post back when I get a chance to try that player, it may solve this issue somewhat.
Sean
Same here... Once I did a little more research I found that the Archos 101 had the exact same viewing angle issues with a crappier plastic feeling screen. When you couple that with 256 meg ram and Single Core design it was a simple decision for me.. I figured if I couldnt have an iPAD equivilant screen then I would go with what is future proof. The only real option is the 7inch which every states viewing angles are good - but was still concerned with the future use of the hardware and resale value (at that time). Dual core Tegra's in about 6 - 12 months will hold their value significantly higher than a 256 meg / single core device. By then I see better screens coming out and will upgrade then.
Till then... Im loving the decision - I also agree I was very upset the first few hours until I got the custom rom, kernel, launcher and other apps all up and running..
geoffreywolter said:
I haven't used the Archos, but I was in your exact position a little over a month ago, ultimately I choose to check out the G-Tab because I could pick one up locally and return it in 30 days if I didn't like it. I have to say that at first I wasn't pleased with it overall, but that changed as soon as I started flashing some of the amazing ROMs available here on XDA. I'm not new to flashing my devices, but even if this had been a first time experience for me I doubt I'd have had any problems. Follow steps carefully and you can't go wrong, if you have a question it's most likely already been asked by someone before you, so just search the forums and you'll find the answer quick enough. Long story short the G-Tab would be a real dog of a product if it weren't for this amazing community of developers, but because of them I think it's got a future, a fairly bright one at that. I love my G-Tab more and more everyday, and as of now I do not regret purchasing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
stiphy said:
I own both and will probably sell one of them. I'm still deciding, but leaning in favor of the Gtablet. I plan to post a full comparison on my blog (http://www.blendblog.net) where I reviewed the Archos 101 already.
A quick summary though is as follows:
GTablet performs much better. I've not had to worry about memory whereas on the Archos I've often had to manually kill apps to get the device to stay responsive.
The Gtablet is built better. The screen is slightly better, viewing angles are bad on both but the Archos screen feels like you are tapping on cheap plastic wheras the Gtablet feels like solid glass. The tradeoff is that the Gtablet is MUCH heavier, and bigger.
Both of them have very good speakers.
The fiddle factor with the Gtablet is much higher, but if you are here you probably know that. You must root and rom the device, although that is not a tough thing to do. However, I have spent countless hours with mine trying to get it to wake from sleep correctly, an issue many have. I finally figured out a workaround that fixes the issue at the expense of battery life. It seems that some units just have issues waking from sleep, I may still exchange mine because of this.
Build consistency seems to be a bit sketchy on both fronts. The aforementioned sleep issue has bitten me on the GTablet and my Archos has been RMA'd (their support was excellent though) due to a huge stuck blue pixel in the display that was horrible looking.
Archos has one big leg up on the Gtablet and that's video support. It will play anything I throw at it (I did have to buy a $15 AC3/MPEG2 codec package though). The stock video player is much sleeker as well integrating movie descriptions etc. With the Gtablet you are left with the usual hodgepodge of Android video players that don't work with everything etc.
Google was somewhat right in saying Android wasn't ready for "primetime" but I have to say, I find these devices very fun to play with and use on a day to day basis.
I am definitely leaning towards keeping the Gtablet and selling the Archos when I get it back from RMA. The speed advantage of Gtablet is noticeable and with this excellent hacking community in place I feel like there is a much better chance of it being relevant (Honeycomb?) going forward than with the Archos.
I hope this helps!
Sean
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Click to collapse
Great summary! I expect video support to get a lot better once Nvidia finally releases final drivers. Kind of have too, with all the T2's coming out soon.
In a nutshell, if higher def video is not 90% of the reason you are getting a tablet, the Gtablet is a FAR better choice than the Archos 101. Also, the Archos 101 has a few glaring problems besides a much slower chipset:
1. 230mb of device app space. Gtablet has eight times more space
2. 256mb ram (contant performance battle unless just using for video)
Have both Archos is light and thin, a little bit flimsy, but is a great pmp/ereader especially when on the road. Gtablet is a beast though runs circles around the Archos in regard to performance and flexibility. As a long time Archos supporter I think this my last device from them.
I just installed VitalPlayer from the market, thanks theindependent for the pointer.
It does play AC-3 so my ripped DVD's are fine. I have a 720p video though and it can't keep up, it stutters. The Archos 101 played it just fine.
Hopefully as rushless said, there will be updates to the driver so that hardware acceleration for hidef video can be added.
There are 2 other features the GTablet are missing that I forgot about:
1) No mini-hdmi output port, instead it has a docking station port. I would get more use out of mini-hdmi although the UI on the Archos is very bad when plugged into a monitor as I menitioned in the review on my blog.
2) The kickstand, while somewhat cheesy, is a nice feature on the Archos device.
One plus for the Gtablet (for me at least) is it uses the more standard mini-usb type plug instead of the micro usb plug of the archos. Most of my other devices are miniusb so I prefer this.
I think to sum things up I'd say that if you want a video player and e-reader that can do a nice amount of computer like things I'd go Archos. If you want a computer that is an ok e-reader (just a bit heavier) and can do some video go Gtablet!
Sean
I was seriously considering the 101 until I found this device. I think so far (only 1 day) it is a win.
As far as kick stand I am using a Garmin GPS suction mount for a windscreen on the back it works well.
Stuggy said:
I was seriously considering the 101 until I found this device. I think so far (only 1 day) it is a win.
As far as kick stand I am using a Garmin GPS suction mount for a windscreen on the back it works well.
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Click to collapse
Can you show some pictures of that? I have a Garmin Widescreen GPS, I ould like to see how you have it setup with the g-tablet.
Sm0k3d 0uT said:
Can you show some pictures of that? I have a Garmin Widescreen GPS, I ould like to see how you have it setup with the g-tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I get home I'll do it. It is basically the mount on the back of the g-tab (choose a location to determine tilt) and then the ball rests on the surface of desk or you can hold it using that.
How were you able to get Vplayer to run?
I've been able to install fine but when I run it I am unable to open any videos, same from a file explorer with the open with menu. Thanks!
snipestech said:
I have the gtablet running Vegan 5
I have no problems playing videos at all using vplayer, rock player and even es explorer has a pretty good player. I played with 101 archos not bad but looks cheap next to the g tab, also as a long time fan of NVIDIA I knew it was going to fast!
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
You should also consider what you will want in the future their are many new tegra 2 powered devices coming out soon for a reason, the g tablet already has the same hardware but the developement is ahead of all other tablets on the market. I have the g tablet and wouldn't consider any other device thanks to the devs on the forum making it the best tablet available right now.
Sm0k3d 0uT said:
Can you show some pictures of that? I have a Garmin Widescreen GPS, I ould like to see how you have it setup with the g-tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have some pictures here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10099907&postcount=10
RojasTKD said:
I have some pictures here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10099907&postcount=10
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine looks just like that - same suction mount. Sorry I didn't upload. And I think I got the idea from that post although I probably would have tried it in looking for a stand method.
I just got my Archos 101 back from RMA.
One thing I noticed that is a big plus for the Archos, at least in my setup is that when it is powered down it "sleeps properly." After 20 hours of sitting on my desk powered down it still has 95% battery life. My GTablet on the other hand won't wake up from sleep properly. You can follow the travails I and others are having on this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=855821. If I leave my GTablet on for 20 hours it will be down to around 15% battery life. That's without my workaround to keep the CPU on when the screen is off that fixes the broken wake from sleep (but does slightly increase this battery drain).
Now maybe I have a defective unit, and I am contemplating returning it still. Can anyone else comment on what they see battery life wise with their GTablet when its sleeping. Preferably someone without the wake up problem my unit has. To test just charge it up, leave it "sleeping" overnight with the screen off and when you wake up the next morning report what the battery life is. The Archos only loses about 1% every 4 hours, the GTablet is losing 4% every hour!
FWIW, Archos support was awesome, I live in the US Virgin Islands and they at first tried to send it UPS which is "international" for us and a cluster to deal with. Because of this the UPS tag that was generated had it going to Pennsylvania (yes this is a common occurrence with UPS and the USVI). I called them immediately and they halted the shipment, then sent it to me USPS Express mail so I had it in 2 days! The replacement unit was in perfect shape.
Sean
Yesterday I tried to record videos with the TF for the 1st time. I chose the YouTube HD setting video looks great when uploaded to YouTube but the sound is off sync. It starts out fine but after 4 min or so the sound is going ahead of the video. Anyone else having this problem?
has no one else here tried to record video with the TF? If so please let me know if this is common to all TFs before I return it to Amazon
I've recorded a couple of short videos with both cameras and they seems OK. As I said, they were short - under your 4 minute problem point.
I'd suggest trying other video players before returning your TF. If quality video recording is important to you, I'd suggest a real camera or camcorder. It would be cheaper, smaller and produce a much better product.
Bye.
well ive recorded over 180 videos with my evo4g and they all, within the limitations of the camera ofcourse the videos look great in terms of audio video sync. And the video player is not the problem because I have played back the videos on my computer, youtube other pc etc, the delay happens during the recording of the video. I 'm trying to see if enough users are experiencing this issue to just assume that is some kind of general software bug that everyone has in which case I probably would just wait it out since its likely that it would be fixed in a future software update. However if it is a problem that only IM HAVING then I should return and exchange.
So if its not too much trouble I would really appreciated it if maybe a couple of people on their spare time could take a few short videos (pass 4 min) and check to see if their video audio is out of sync
thanks to all
not only that, but if this is an issue across the board for TFs maybe we can make the right people aware of it in case that ASUS hasnt come up with a solution I'm sure the devs here can figure something out. As well future buyers might like to know if the camera on their 400 or 500 dollars new toy, which asus advertises can record 720p video, can actually deliver on that promise, pass 4 min anyway
I was going to get my Girlfriend a 10” tablet for Christmas. Was looking at the Nexus 10 until I saw the price. All she’ll really be using it for is simple gaming and streaming TV via Wifi and watching 720p MKV on the screen or output via HDMI. I’ve seen the TF101 for £220 with the keyboard dock. If I Root and install the latest CM10 do you think this will be a sufficient and cheaper option to the Nexus 10 for her needs?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Get a Nexus 10. The TF101 sucks for watching 720p MKV unless you like to spend all your spare time re-encoding files to a bitrate the weaksauce Tegra2 is capable of playing.
years, rtyllmem
raduque said:
Get a Nexus 10. The TF101 sucks for watching 720p MKV unless you like to spend all your spare time re-encoding files to a bitrate the weaksauce Tegra2 is capable of playing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would agree with this statement. The tf101 can play them mind you, but not very well. I use MX player for mkvs, which generally works, but there is usually lag. The Nexus 10 is a really nice, and will likely have no issue playing 720p. I'd like to see more about it as people get theirs from Google, but for now, you might as well go with a newer tablet. Maybe even on of the newer Transformers, like tf200, or tf300, maybe even tf700. Unless you don't want a keyboard.
Had my little beauty for a couple of months... bought mainly for a Google TV & Movies streamer as I'm trying to move away from sky (though i'll probs end up spending more per month!! lol!) and realised it's More than powerful enough to stream steam games to it.
I have been able to stream to my windows surface pro.... which suprised me...
I thought about using the Nvidia geforce experience thing with Limellight but my gfx card isn't supported... and i don't really need another one... and as the surface pro doesn't have nvidia gfx there must be a way to do it?
Any Ideas? I'm thinking of looking for better firmware so if there's one out there that'll support it i'm willing (and kind of able!!) to root it etc... was contemplating setting up a dual boot with linux but sounds like too much hassle...
either way any help will be muchly appreciated!!
I bought a Fire TV Stick for $19 when they offered it to Prime members for $19 because, well, it was $19.
The Stick works a lot like the Nexus Player. It's very snappy and navigates menus quickly. The Fire TV stick plays movies and TV shows instantly. No hesitation, no buffering, no determining download speed. And it's hidef quality. Instantly.
When playing music on the Amazon music player it shows the words of the song while playing automatically.
But the compelling point is content price. I have a Prime account so a lot of content is included in the price. I was able to play Hunger Games: Catching Fire immediately and for free. On Nexus Player it would have cost $20. I was able to play an episode of the Good Wife for free. It would have been $2 on Nexus.
Yes, it doesn't have cast. But I have a Chromecast to take care of that.
I think my Nexus Player will become a gift for one of my kids.
TabGuy said:
I bought a Fire TV Stick for $19 when they offered it to Prime members for $19 because, well, it was $19.
The Stick works a lot like the Nexus Player. It's very snappy and navigates menus quickly. The Fire TV stick plays movies and TV shows instantly. No hesitation, no buffering, no determining download speed. And it's hidef quality. Instantly.
When playing music on the Amazon music player it shows the words of the song while playing automatically.
But the compelling point is content price. I have a Prime account so a lot of content is included in the price. I was able to play Hunger Games: Catching Fire immediately and for free. On Nexus Player it would have cost $20. I was able to play an episode of the Good Wife for free. It would have been $2 on Nexus.
Yes, it doesn't have cast. But I have a Chromecast to take care of that.
I think my Nexus Player will become a gift for one of my kids.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you hate to say it, then dont.
If you want the Amazon ecosystem then nexus player isn't the best bet yet. I got a stick as well, and it's remote seems better, but it feels lagging to me
I purchases a fire stick as well but I don't think it has 802.11ac support which is a must for me since it doesnt have an Ethernet port. I streams tons of 15GB content using xbmc. But I'm glad its working for you, how do you consume content if you don't mind me asking? Plex, xbmc with addons like genesis?
TabGuy said:
I bought a Fire TV Stick for $19 when they offered it to Prime members for $19 because, well, it was $19.
The Stick works a lot like the Nexus Player. It's very snappy and navigates menus quickly. The Fire TV stick plays movies and TV shows instantly. No hesitation, no buffering, no determining download speed. And it's hidef quality. Instantly.
When playing music on the Amazon music player it shows the words of the song while playing automatically.
But the compelling point is content price. I have a Prime account so a lot of content is included in the price. I was able to play Hunger Games: Catching Fire immediately and for free. On Nexus Player it would have cost $20. I was able to play an episode of the Good Wife for free. It would have been $2 on Nexus.
Yes, it doesn't have cast. But I have a Chromecast to take care of that.
I think my Nexus Player will become a gift for one of my kids.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire has been on Netflix for a little while now. So, that's not a particularly good example.
Can the Fire TV Stick run XBMC/KODI and play high bitrate 1080p files with DTS smoothly?
I personally don't care about premium content beyond Netflix. I have Amazon Prime and never even watch it.
I actually do have kodi loaded on my stick, and have tested some files with no issues. It's nice. It's not as powerful as the nexus player and more locked down
Returning
I agree completely with the OP. I have a ouya, chromecast, fire tv stick and fire tv all running and I have put more time trying to get xbmc to run smoothly on the NP than any other device put together. I have tried every build possible with zero to no luck resolving constant force closes during streaming from sources like genesis, freezing, not being able to use it yet as a launcher, lack of apps and netflix on it is the worst. The only thing I have found to work good on it is google play content. Mines being returned and ill take the cash loss from the shipping just to get this thing gone since I have it on kijiji at cost price with zero response. Worst device of the year imho
I think that's a bit hard. Especially when you think that this device is out since merely two weeks..
ks2hot4u said:
I agree completely with the OP. I have a ouya, chromecast, fire tv stick and fire tv all running and I have put more time trying to get xbmc to run smoothly on the NP than any other device put together. I have tried every build possible with zero to no luck resolving constant force closes during streaming from sources like genesis, freezing, not being able to use it yet as a launcher, lack of apps and netflix on it is the worst. The only thing I have found to work good on it is google play content. Mines being returned and ill take the cash loss from the shipping just to get this thing gone since I have it on kijiji at cost price with zero response. Worst device of the year imho
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. I've been using WDTV Live boxes and you don't know the meaning of pain. Lots and lots of issues...
If I were you you, I'd RMA the unit back to Google. Google will send you a brand new one. Don't open it! You'll have a much better chance of selling it on Kijiji as new un-opened.
ks2hot4u said:
I agree completely with the OP. I have a ouya, chromecast, fire tv stick and fire tv all running and I have put more time trying to get xbmc to run smoothly on the NP than any other device put together. I have tried every build possible with zero to no luck resolving constant force closes during streaming from sources like genesis, freezing, not being able to use it yet as a launcher, lack of apps and netflix on it is the worst. The only thing I have found to work good on it is google play content. Mines being returned and ill take the cash loss from the shipping just to get this thing gone since I have it on kijiji at cost price with zero response. Worst device of the year imho
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its early days for android l and think you are jumping the gun. The np has just been rooted and expect to see good things develop in the near future. Performance wise it is faster than most of the devices you own. I installed xbmc 13.2 on it with advanced settings and it works ok, not rock solid but reasonable. I will admit Navi-X is rocky, but does work sometimes.
Worst device of the year is a bit far of a reach especially when you are looking at it for XBMC use. On that end it may be a simple thing of its too new of a product.
For the value the fire stick could be a better buy if you are in the US. In canada Prime instant video means nothing, you could probably tinker with your router and work through that but sometimes you just want to be go the simple non hacking route.
Personally i am enjoying the nexus player very much. but if you are looking for xmbc streaming or the amazon eco system then yeah go for the fire tv stick. grab a chrome cast as well for good measure.
ks2hot4u said:
I agree completely with the OP. I have a ouya, chromecast, fire tv stick and fire tv all running and I have put more time trying to get xbmc to run smoothly on the NP than any other device put together. I have tried every build possible with zero to no luck resolving constant force closes during streaming from sources like genesis, freezing, not being able to use it yet as a launcher, lack of apps and netflix on it is the worst. The only thing I have found to work good on it is google play content. Mines being returned and ill take the cash loss from the shipping just to get this thing gone since I have it on kijiji at cost price with zero response. Worst device of the year imho
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? This is worrying, I have an ouya and xbmc works great on it, was going to buy a nexus player for downstairs though as fancy one and Wifi is bit flaky on ouya.
Does xbmc not run great on it?
A device with a locked bootloader, it will never be better than one with bootloader open. Because you will always be forced to do only what the manufacturer wants. If they want to remove XBMC they will do it in a second, like many other things. Thanks to Google Nexus Player is a true Nexus device with an open bootloader and the potential is a million times greater than the Fire TV. Specially with a new and modern OS like Android 5.
Sorry for the intervention and i suggest to vote with your wallet. Do not buy a device with a locked bootloader if you like Android.
Will get better
Not only is it new hardware, but it's new software also. I'm sure kodi will eventually run perfect on it and google will patch up android L...
zulu99 said:
A device with a locked bootloader, it will never be better than one with bootloader open. Because you will always be forced to do only what the manufacturer wants. If they want to remove XBMC they will do it in a second, like many other things. Thanks to Google Nexus Player is a true Nexus device with an open bootloader and the potential is a million times greater than the Fire TV. Specially with a new and modern OS like Android 5.
Sorry for the intervention and i suggest to vote with your wallet. Do not buy a device with a locked bootloader if you like Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. It's the community of developers, small and large that makes this OS so great. I don't see much progress in the Fire TV forum and its been out for months.
I think my point was missed. I ordered the NP first day. Love my nexus 5, have a nexus 7 flo installed in my dash which replaced the nexus 7 2012 that was there before it. I run xbmc on all my nexus products without a hitch. Received the NP last Wednesday, as soon as I plugged it in I sideloaded Chainfires tool, installed es explorer and used the official xbmc x86. Right off the get go it seems slow and laggy, it has a few hiccups using addons but no biggy. The biggest issue for me in xbmc is streaming content from 1channel, icefilms and genesis during a 22 minute episode xbmc crashed 4 times and returned me to the launcher. I tried spmc, tvmc, fired tv xbmc, Kodi alpha 1,2,3,4, and now 5 all with multiple configurations they all crash frequently. The remote is cheap and lacks a menu button, 1gb ??,no spdif, no ethernet, no full size usb (although I had no issues with OTG and a hub), Netflix broke so hard I had to do a factory reset, and the chromecast integration is laggy and bug ridden. Might have good potential in the future but as of right now I would much rather use the 25 dollar fire stick. Only tested one game asphalt 8 and the fire tv blew it out of the water. This isnt a debate of the potential of the device or what it might do in the future with roms its about out of box usage with current methods and mods. The ouya lacks in areas but out of the box ran 10x better and especially after with cyanogen. The reality is I received my firetv rooted it loaded xbmc and backups 20 minutes later up and has ran with no issues, received the fire tv stick a bit slower than the box but still set up and running in 20 minutes and no issues. To me thats enough, I have a rma and hate that I waited anxiously for over a month to have the thing ship and destroy any conceived expectations of a good working fire tv contender.
I'm running Kodi on mine streaming even 3D content at high bitrates no problem. I recommend the Helix Beta. Downloadable as an APK at: kodi.tv/download (choose the android beta x86 version).
I agree with ks2hot. I have issues with xbmc/kodi 14 beta 1,2, &4 on the NP. For whatever reason I am getting FCs. My firestick has had beta2 on it and is rock solid. I am sure they will figure out the issue and fix. The NP is a better box in most every other way though, but if I am playing a movie via xbmc I will choose the stick for now
volwrath said:
I agree with ks2hot. I have issues with xbmc/kodi 14 beta 1,2, &4 on the NP. For whatever reason I am getting FCs. My firestick has had beta2 on it and is rock solid. I am sure they will figure out the issue and fix. The NP is a better box in most every other way though, but if I am playing a movie via xbmc I will choose the stick for now
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I too have had issues with XBMC 13.2, kodi betas 1-5 and now the nightlies - but only if I enable addons. Straight kodi has had no problem streaming hours of a random sampling of my 600+ blu-ray rips, 100+ television shows and my music collection from my synology nas. Once I start adding addons, the thing gets unstable pretty quickly - I haven't narrowed down which addons to date.
The Nexus Player is the first production lollipop set top and devs haven't had much time updating for it. Google also has some clear bugs to deal with on the box. Even with those caveats, however, I love the NP. That its easily rooted, has simple support for a ton of peripherals (such as any of my bluetooth ps3 controllers), hard drives, extended storage for games, etc... the list goes on. The ability to sideload and use hundreds of thousands of apps with ease is also a huge bonus while we wait for devs to code leanback interfaces and games.
A relatively open system will *always* be preferable to a closes system in my mind. The Nexus Player is a keeper, even as it is right now for me.
Elrondolio said:
I too have had issues with XBMC 13.2, kodi betas 1-5 and now the nightlies - but only if I enable addons. Straight kodi has had no problem streaming hours of a random sampling of my 600+ blu-ray rips, 100+ television shows and my music collection from my synology nas. .
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Thanks good to know..I will get rid of all my addons and see if that helps. Once we get the expanded storage thing figured out the NP is going to be a beast.. Its already a phenomenal device