View Full Version : Review: Amiko A3 and other Android boxes
Summary:
The software is buggy but I love it and wouldn’t give it back if you paid me!
Hardware:
The box is solid feels well built. Quite small and gets quite warm after a fair bit of use. The hardware spec seems quite low but you wouldn’t know when using the box. It responds well and doesn’t have any lag. The remote control is brilliant, lots of features and I especially love the “air mouse” feature it works really well.
Software:
I don’t know about you but I have a projector, an AMP a VU UNO, a NUC computer, Xbox one and a Roku stick. I have a server in the garage that has all my TV shows and films on and updates through Sickbeard. I have always had problems with the UNO and the AMP they seem to loose each other if I don’t turn them all on in a set sequence and then if I put the Xbox on I lose the Uno, not good.
When I saw the Amiko A3 I thought, Kodi, Plex, Satellite all in one simple android box. This is like heaven. The reality is a little further from that though. The Kodi and Plex side are great. The voice recognition is a bit hit and miss. the Satellite side needs work, a lot of work. I really believe that Android OS is the future for our Hobby and can see a lot of them appearing on the market place in the next 12 months. I pray that the VIX team start to create images for these android boxes, I have already replaced 2 of my VIX boxes and I am certain that as they get better more of you will be moving to Android based boxes. The future is bright!
Rob van der Does
10-07-15, 13:11
I consider my A3 box as a very poor satellite receiver, and I never ever use it anymore.
Only disadvantages compared to any E2-box.
Even Fulan, the manufacturer, must have realised this, as they have stopped the development shortly after the box hit the market.
Rest assured: ViX has no plans whatsoever to support thes poor little things.
like pretty much all of the android based receivers the dvb side of things is not up to the standards of enigma2- but there's plenty of development going in to them. But the multimedia side is much better than the enigma2 receivers, and generally the android based receivers are much better spec'd than equivalent based receivers so they will always out-do enigma2 boxes for multimedia uses (Kodi etc).
I like the A3 because it's got (provisions for) an internal HDD, as I've always found USB2.0 to be a limiting factor for HDD performance- so it's nice to have everything stored on there.
Putting enigma2 on them (at this stage) would cripple their multimedia capabilities- and unless there was plenty of development on the enigma2 side- would probably make the dvb side of things worse.
But like Steve1998 (OP) I think my A3's great- and haven't yet found a box to replace it- easy to setup, performs well and looks good, and the remotes very nice in everyday use.
DaMacFunkin
10-07-15, 15:26
My Vu+ boxes run xbmc for multimedia, I don't think it is going to get any better than that anytime soon.
Rob van der Does
10-07-15, 16:06
like pretty much all of the android based receivers the dvb side of things is not up to the standards of enigma2- but there's plenty of development going in to them. But the multimedia side is much better than the enigma2 receivers, and generally the android based receivers are much better spec'd than equivalent based receivers so they will always out-do enigma2 boxes for multimedia uses (Kodi etc).
1) DVB is indeed far below (any) standard; that's my main reason for not using the A3-box anymore.
2) There may be development, but not for the A3 (because Fulan has pulled the plug, as I stated above).
3) Indeed: MM is better then in E2. But it's DVB I have a satellite receiver for, not for playing around with all kinds of files.
PS: Indeed XMBC runs (as a plugin) to some degree on some VU's, but that MM-playground is not integrated in the DVB-side of E2.
So my conclusion so far: DVB & MM don't mix very well together (yet???). that means that for optimal use one needs a satellite receiver (E2 for me) and a MM-box.
And this has always been the case; so much for 'development'...
Question: why is the DVB side not as good? technically?
Rob van der Does
10-07-15, 21:00
Not sure, but I presume because E2 has had
1- the time to mature, and very important
2- the strength of a large Open Source community.
So technically there is no reason why this box can't be as good in the future as any other e2 box. All that it needs a good community because it has a sound foundation on android which we know will be continued to be developed for many years to come. E2 hasn't changed in at least three years as far as I'm aware every update is exactly the same as the last with the exception of a few bug fixes (no disrespect to the Vix team who do a fantastic job and are clearly the market leaders in e2 operating systems).
If my view if e2 boxes were not updated ever again it wouldn't be the end of the world because they are so good now that I am completely happy to never update them again, and very rarely do! There is a huge market for these android TV sticks and dvb boxes, it's the future like it or not.
In this game we are all innovators we don't use the easy option such as Sky, we choose Something different because we are all the same type of people. We enjoy new technology and messing around with hardware and software. In order to evolve into the next generation of hardware the Vix team. And all teams need to be open-minded as to what they're going to be developing not just tomorrow but the next five or 10 years to come.
I just hope that the Vix team are the android tv innovators.
E2 hasn't changed in at least three years as far as I'm aware every update is exactly the same as the last with the exception of a few bug fixes (no disrespect to the Vix team who do a fantastic job and are clearly the market leaders in e2 operating systems)
If you think that you're not using new features or are using them & expecting them as standard?
Andy_Hazza
11-07-15, 05:57
If you think that you're not using new features or are using them & expecting them as standard?
I had to bite my lip last night when I saw this post......... [emoji57]
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Rob van der Does
11-07-15, 06:23
So technically there is no reason why this box can't be as good in the future as any other e2 box.
I'm not sure where your 'so' stems from, but it certainly can't be distilled from my posting.
I have no idea if Android could be as good as E2 is now.
E2 hasn't changed in at least three years as far as I'm aware every update is exactly the same as the last with the exception of a few bug fixes (no disrespect to the Vix team who do a fantastic job and are clearly the market leaders in e2 operating systems).
Well, your awareness is either not very good or you have only used DM-based images. There has been a lot of development, and although the basis remains the same E2 cannot possibly be compared with a 3 years old version.
Anyway: I'm not sure where you're heading to in this post. atm E2 can't be beaten and none of us knows what the future will bring us.
i feel like steve... e2 might have changed a lot under the hood but for the user it looks the same like 10 years ago when i started to use e2.
the time seems right for something new.
tvs already come with webos, android, etc. so stbs can't stand still.
i think wetek etc. are good starts in the right direction. hope to see more with more powerful (solo 4k like) hardware.
Rob van der Does
11-07-15, 09:01
Really, how can your memory be so short?
Please try a ten year old E2 and be surprised about the lack of functionality.
And not sure what 'more power' you see in the Solo 4k? Of course a new codec (h265) has been added, but for the rest there doesn't seem to be 'more power', nor does it need more power.
yes, my memory may be a little short... it might be more perception...
with more power i mean more processing power, more tuners... i read that wetek play takes more than one minute to boot android: that's too long... just one tuner... not enough...
would hope that with solo 4k hw android would run much better.
also: e2 boxes (and kodi as well) will be cut off from new multimedia offerings with drm like netflix, vox now, etc.
on an android platform I would hope that you could just run the apps from the app store.
so you'd have much more choice and flexibility.
paying 400 bucks for a box that just shows and records tv is like paying 400 bucks for a laptop that can run dos.
just my perception ;)
Rob van der Does
11-07-15, 10:00
First of all: E2 doesn't need any 'processing power' at all.
Secondly: E2 has no limitation on the number of tuners.
E2 boxes are far cheaper then 10 years ago. and you continue to underestimate what E2 does for you (when you compare it with DOS).
There is still no good combination box; a box is either a good and versatile satreceiver (only e2 is that nowadays) or a good MM-player (which are extremely cheap atm).
For the moment combining a car and a bicycle in one vehicle is asked too much, but one never knows what the future will bring us.
but one never knows what the future will bring us.
that's what i'm hoping for... the solo 4k with it's arm processor would be an ideal hw platform... hope, some innovative guys will put android on and integrate the e2 bicycle somehow.
I am confused why did you have to bite your tongue? Do you think the Vix changes with every release? Because from a user perspective there is no difference from Apollo through to the current generation, all this is said with no disrespect to any Vix developer, the Vix team changed the satellite industry fom a Dreambox dominated one single handedly.
I have been a member of the forum since May 2010. I was one of the first with a duo and one of the first forum members. I remember VIX v1 and the image has progressed nicely through the years however in the last two years I have seen no difference through every release. The addition of auto bouquet maker and cross epg where a welcome but other than that there is no real difference vix version 1 was excellent as is current version. I upgrade my version probably once a year and notice no difference. Maybe I am missing something??
The android boxes is the next evolutionary step. You say you can't mix MM and DVB...? What do you think sky and Virgin are doing? Sky box sets and Virgin with the VOD and I player services, no it's not as good as kodi but it's the same end product, VOD.
In five years I have had a duo, uno, and a duo2. I still have two of those boxes now. Today I made the decision to sell these and purchase a wetek to go with the amiko. I am sure in a few years time I will have moved brands a couple of times but I am sure that they won't be e2, I will be sticking with android stb for the foreseeable future.. Vu... Please bring out a android box!
Just One Example Of Development Is The Service Name Picons, Instead Of Reference Picons... When I First Got Into E2 Boxes, Getting A Complete Set Of Picons Was A Nightmare... Taking Hours Of My Time To Make Up The One's That Where Missing... Now, I Just Get Osram's And Copy And Replace Over With MK's... Taking Seconds... When Channels Change Transponders/Frequencies, Provided The Names Stay The Same, All My Picons Remain Perfect...
Another Is The Pin Code For All Menu And Context Menus... This Allows Me To Customise The Image For My Kids, So Their Boxes Can't Change Or Delete Anything... But Can Access Sat/Cable, As Well As My Quad+'s HDD's And My NAS...
In Addition, Native E2 Recordings Can Rewind And Be Fast Forwarded... As Well As Stepping 20 Seconds, 1 Minute And 5 Minutes In Either Direction For Both Native Recordings And Downloaded Films... Seeking On Android Is A Nightmare, E2 Is Perfect... I Did Have Andriod Boxes To Backend My Main E2 Box, But Decided To Go E2 Native All Round The House...
With The Broadcom SoC, Each Tuner Can Be Watched, Streamed And Recorded, At The Same Time, Without Using Further Resource... This Is By Design... Android Cannot Do This...
If I Wanted, I Could Of Built A Multimedia Server PC, With Tuner Cards, But A PC Requires Huge Amounts Of Power, And Would Need To Be On All The Time... But That Is The Perfect TV/Multimedia Box... But To Get A Really Good One Costs A Large Amount Of Money(I Know, I've Got One)... The E2 Boxes Are Very Low Powered... And Are Relatively Cheap These Days...
Most Content Will Play On E2 Too, And For The Odd File, I Just Convert It On My 24 Core, 36Gb PC, Which Takes No Time At All...
Anyone Who Compares Android To E2, Doesn't Know What The E2 Boxes Can Really Do... And Are The Same People Who Think Phones And Tablets Will Replace PC's...
I For One, Am Very Grateful For The Extremely Stable, Professional, High Quality Vix Images...
Rob van der Does
12-07-15, 05:14
....Because from a user perspective there is no difference from Apollo through to the current generation, .....
Please try to be serious.
There are dozens and dozens of functional changes/additions. Some of them are minor, and may indeed be missed if you don't go into (context)menu's, others are very clear for every user.
You are entitled to your own opinion and (lack of) appreciation, but this remark clearly shows you're playing a game with us. That can't have been the purpose of this thread.
I have been a Enigma user since the DM7020 and a E2 user since the Vu+ Uno came out. Yes Android boxes are cheaper and they will play just about any thing you throw at them but the Android interface simply does not compare to enigma2, it is perfect for phones and tablets but horrendous on a large tv screen and any one who tries to claim differently is either trying to sell you something or the dont know what the hell they are talking about.
I own two wetek boxes an frankly they are rubbish when used with the android OS but bearable when OpenElec is installed instead, even running something like netflix on the wetek from within the android OS is a massive disappointment, it is slow and clunky and feels very poor in comparison to say the pc version or the version on the amazon fire tv box / stick, which in my opinion are only android based boxes that have even a half decent GUI (I own two of these as well) and use them daily even though they dont have provision for tuner support.
For android to take over as the primary receiver in my house there needs to be a hell of a lot more development put into the GUI as using the standard mobile phone based one is not only lazy but very very frustratingly slow and guaranteed to turn users away who are used to the more polished user friendly GUI that comes with enigma2 based images (well some of them any way, some teams attempts are frankly embarrassing and i'm not talking a A ViX team member here because I am not any more).
Let's just be clear here, I'm not trying to disrespect any member of the Vix team all the VIxcommunity this is very important to remember. I have been a member here since day one and always had Vix on my E2 boxes. Before the E2 box I had a DM 500, and still have somewhere.
The Android boxes are quite comparative to an old dm500 and in truth they are probably slightly worse. They are 10 years behind where we are now with the e2 boxes. But the potential of Android for exceeds the potential of E2. It's just a matter of time before Android is developed for tv. I am not one minute saying that you can replace all of your current Home Entertainment with Android boxes as it stands, they are clunky they do crash and apps are frankly below par. But we know the Android has a much bigger community then the e2 one and in the short amount of time Android has been around it has gone from strength to strength.
I am not a seller, developer or anything else to do with the industry just an enthusiast. I do work in IT and see the developments in all areas Android is something that has interested me all the way through the years.
In truth I would say that I don't even watch TV anymore other than live sporting events, I watch everything via Plex, XBMC AMAZON or Netflix. I don't know if I'm alone on this but a lot of the people I speak to are in the same boat. For this reason E2 doesn't really offer me much anymore.
Let's just be clear here, I'm not trying to disrespect any member of the Vix team all the VIxcommunity this is very important to remember. I have been a member here since day one and always had Vix on my E2 boxes. Before the E2 box I had a DM 500, and still have somewhere.
The Android boxes are quite comparative to an old dm500 and in truth they are probably slightly worse. They are 10 years behind where we are now with the e2 boxes. But the potential of Android for exceeds the potential of E2. It's just a matter of time before Android is developed for tv. I am not one minute saying that you can replace all of your current Home Entertainment with Android boxes as it stands, they are clunky they do crash and apps are frankly below par. But we know the Android has a much bigger community then the e2 one and in the short amount of time Android has been around it has gone from strength to strength.
I am not a seller, developer or anything else to do with the industry just an enthusiast. I do work in IT and see the developments in all areas Android is something that has interested me all the way through the years.
In truth I would say that I don't even watch TV anymore other than live sporting events, I watch everything via Plex, XBMC AMAZON or Netflix. I don't know if I'm alone on this but a lot of the people I speak to are in the same boat. For this reason E2 doesn't really offer me much anymore.
No one here would accuse you of being disrespectful Steve least of all me, we were both mods on martins forum and I have not forgotten that, I am just giving my own personal point of view.
I am android through and through and use the android platform daily on multiple devices but I do think that in it's current form android is a very poor OS for use with a TV without substantial development. If you could put tuners onto a Amazon fire TV box you would have the best of all worlds in my opinion as amazon have put a good bit of work into their Amazon based Fire OS and the GUI works well for that platform but most other android boxes have nothing more than a mobile phone based GUI on them and thats just rubbish for day to day use on a big screen.
Weird I was thinking about Martin the other day wonder whatever happened to him?
Yes I have the Amazon Fire TV also agree it's a really well polished device. I've always been an apple person until I bought the Samsung Galaxy S6 couple of weeks ago, I tried the s5 and S4 but I found the os was still too buggy for me. I know this might cause frustration but I'm going to say it anyway I think that e2 is simply following the crowd of Sky and Virgin boxes developing what they have already developed reinventing the wheel so to speak. The amount of hours Vix team and the open Alliance spend is probably in the tens of thousands of hours. My duo2 is perfect as a satellite receiver, but so is my Virgin TiVo and sky boxes are even better again.
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Weird I was thinking about Martin the other day wonder whatever happened to him?
Not really sure mate, I have seen him pop in here from time to time but he's never stopped to post any thing.
Yes I have the Amazon Fire TV also agree it's a really well polished device. I've always been an apple person until I bought the Samsung Galaxy S6 couple of weeks ago, I tried the s5 and S4 but I found the os was still too buggy for me. I know this might cause frustration but I'm going to say it anyway I think that e2 is simply following the crowd of Sky and Virgin boxes developing what they have already developed reinventing the wheel so to speak. The amount of hours Vix team and the open Alliance spend is probably in the tens of thousands of hours. My duo2 is perfect as a satellite receiver, but so is my Virgin TiVo and sky boxes are even better again.
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I would agree that E2 is a more polished OS these days and its humble beginnings as a OS for nerds and satellite enthusiasts with whopping big dishes parked in their gardens seems to be a thing of the past partly due to the ongoing development work of the community at large and part due in my opinion to the ex cable brigade who simply want to buy a receiver and steal pay tv channels or stream illegal content from the internet.
That said it would be a great disservice to say that E2 has not progressed in the past three to four years, it has come along in leaps and bounds.
In ViX the whole point was always to keep the OS as user friendly as possible so that even a novice could operate it with little to no prior knowledge or experience with Enigma2, so yes if you just use the standard ViX Night and Day skins the GUI (the bit you as a user sees) has barely changed since ViX was first created by andyblack almost 4 years ago.
As was pointed out earlier in this thread E2 is a different beast altogether now, gone are the days when you had to sit for 3/4 of a hour waiting for a simple channel scan on sky uk let alone the several dozen other satellites we can get access to, or waiting a fortnight for some one to make a ready made bouquet pack that was pretty much obsolete the second it was released. just remember the work we did on martins database keeping the channel data upto date for his plugin and you will see what I mean.
I could droll on and on and on about the various new additions to E2 over the years but I am not going to, I personally will continue to use E2 for many a year to come because even the mighty Android OS has nothing on E2 at this moment nor is it likely for a good while yet as it is in its infancy as far as a viable TV platform goes.
well, i think it's clear that android was not developed with being able to watch tv in mind.
and it needs quite a bit of development effort before it could compete with e2.
but i think the time is right... sony puts android on their high end tvs.
so, it looks like it can be done ;-)
well, i think it's clear that android was not developed with being able to watch tv in mind.
and it needs quite a bit of development effort before it could compete with e2.
but i think the time is right... sony puts android on their high end tvs.
so, it looks like it can be done ;-)
No one is denying android is a powerful OS and yes several big manufacturers have taken it and tailored it to their own needs but that is never going to be enough without a community of developers behind it, and as far as I can see that community simply does not exist in any way the same number as with Enigma2. The majority of android based boxes are Chinese crap with a tweaked mobile phone based GUI thrown onto it, with little to no community support except for the XBMC / KODI side of things, if it were not for that these boxes would have died a long time ago.
Just look at the prismcube for a example of hardware with very little in the way of community support, By rites it should have been the perfect marriage of Enigma2 vs XBMC and marusys probably thought they could sell it on the strength of their Vu+ receivers alone but with only BH really bothering to offer none factory images and the fact that it runs a custom version of XBMC so you cant even update that side of things easily, it has pretty much tanked.
Rob van der Does
12-07-15, 16:13
The strength of enigma is a large, knowledgeable community who has spend years and thousands of hours developing it. No commercial software company could possibly match that.
So that would be the very first prerequisite for success.
But I thin all people interested enough in a versatile DVR are already in E2 and (very) satisfied with the results.
And speaking for myself: I have no idea why people are so interested in integrating a MM-player in a receiver. Surely no DVD-player would have such qualities, and that is an even more likely environment for playing MM-files.
In other words: why would people be interested in building a new community and spend (again) years of development only for a number of people to spare a few quid on a new box?
well, we'll see... :p
history shows that market leaders often failed to innovate and thus lost their leadership. it sounds like e2 might face the same destiny.
e2 is already being attacked by tvs, streaming services, etc. so from my point of view the outlook is not rosy.
but this discussion is not easy to have with e2 enthusiasts :D
sony puts android on their high end tvs.
so, it looks like it can be done ;-)
Sony also produced some serious duds in the past.
If you want a stable box based on third party plugins for illegal streaming I'd doubt it will happen any time soon though.
i'm not talking illegal streaming... i'm talking legal drm.
i'd assume that in the near future nearly all streams will have drm.
don't know if the situation in germany is different, but i see a trend towards drm for most streams even those that are free (no cost).
that's why i think that future stb boxes need to be able to deal with (legal) drm. and i don't see how e2 can do that.
Rob van der Does
13-07-15, 10:42
history shows that market leaders often failed to innovate and thus lost their leadership.
That is when talking about companies. Enigma is far more then a company.
e2 is already being attacked by tvs, streaming services, etc. so from my point of view the outlook is not rosy.
Not for DVR-functionality. And that's what receivers are about.[/QUOTE]
Not for DVR-functionality. And that's what receivers are about.
yes, but the question is whether dvr-only boxes will survive or whether they will be replaced by boxes with more functionality, like pocket-cameras got replaced by smartphones.
Rob van der Does
13-07-15, 13:50
Well, we go in circles. As long as there is no (good) combined box, there isn't even an alternative. And believe me: the a3 is no alternative for any DVR, by far not.
And in fact your example about the camera is a good example of the very same: there is (still) no smartphone that could replace a real camera. Only limited functionality and quality is embedded in a phone so far (hence there is still a market for real camera's).
Don't get me wrong: I would also like to have a TV that also holds an amplifier, blue-ray player, satellite-receiver/DVR and MM-player. But as there is no such device, I'm more then happy to have these functionalities split over multiple devices, as long as each of them does a thorough job.
And maybe this is even better: adding (and replacing in case of failure or lack of updates) cheap devices like a MM-player and a Chromecast to a TV works quite well. And a 'modular' setup is even trending....
yes... circles :) i know that there is no good combined box available yet.
is there a good media player (not kodi based... as kodi has the same drm limitations as e2)... that can be extended with plugins/apps and has a broad community that you would recommend?
Rob van der Does
13-07-15, 14:16
That's for somebody else to answer.
gerrykiddy
13-07-15, 16:54
I have followed this as it is much more interesting than a lot of theory postings. Can I agree with the "final" suggestion that it is really good to be able to add relatively cheap add on devices to enable the latest fad rather than replacing the whole.
I have followed this as it is much more interesting than a lot of theory postings. Can I agree with the "final" suggestion that it is really good to be able to add relatively cheap add on devices to enable the latest fad rather than replacing the whole.
i did not come to that conclusion because i still think that a box with the power of a vu+ duo2 or equivalent could easily do mediaplayer functions in addition to dvr. however, it needs to be based on different os than pure linux, like android ... which does not exist yet.
i did not come to that conclusion because i still think that a box with the power of a vu+ duo2 or equivalent could easily do mediaplayer functions in addition to dvr. however, it needs to be based on different os than pure linux, like android ... which does not exist yet.
you still dont seem to get the whole point of this thread, it makes no difference what so ever what OS such a device is based on, it is fully dependant on weather that OS has a active community of developers working with it. Enigma2 does have such a community android currently does not in this context.
Today I was on XDA Developers forum some of you may be aware of this forum. I noticed that on the thread based around rom for the Galaxy S3 there was just under 1 million views now I'm not much of a stat man but I'm guessing that's more views than the entire world of Satellite forum put together. The world of Satellite forum in my opinion is the current market leading forum for E 2 boxes.
If a single ROM on Android can attract 1 million views how can we say that it doesn't have an active community? The problem is with the development and the hardware. Box's like the M8 are doing really well as are the Amazon fire. These have a very good following.
If a community the size of the Vix got behind an Android piece of hardware such as the Weplay or the Amiko, in the space of 12 months we could have a market leading Android box. Even if we could put Android on to a you duo2 again we would have a market leading box.
When I started this thread I was speaking hypothetically about the future in my opinion not the current. I have the amiko A3 it's an average XBMC box and an average satellite box comparable to an old dm500. But with its hardware it has the capability of being much more.
I only wish I could program, if I could I would. Maybe in a few years when the kids have left home I will start getting my head in the books!
1 last thing, most people on this forum are probably based in the UK. Here 95 percent of the population will have Sky, Virgin, or Freeview / Freesat. When you go into Europe though everybody has enigma type boxes or Android style boxes the market potential is massive! if I was a rich man I would invest in an Android operating system for a high quality satellite and multimedia receiver.
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Today I was on XDA Developers forum some of you may be aware of this forum. I noticed that on the thread based around rom for the Galaxy S3 there was just under 1 million views now I'm not much of a stat man but I'm guessing that's more views than the entire world of Satellite forum put together. The world of Satellite forum in my opinion is the current market leading forum for E 2 boxes.
If a single ROM on Android can attract 1 million views how can we say that it doesn't have an active community? The problem is with the development and the hardware. Box's like the M8 are doing really well as are the Amazon fire. These have a very good following.
If a community the size of the Vix got behind an Android piece of hardware such as the Weplay or the Amiko, in the space of 12 months we could have a market leading Android box. Even if we could put Android on to a you duo2 again we would have a market leading box.
When I started this thread I was speaking hypothetically about the future in my opinion not the current. I have the amiko A3 it's an average XBMC box and an average satellite box comparable to an old dm500. But with its hardware it has the capability of being much more.
I only wish I could program, if I could I would. Maybe in a few years when the kids have left home I will start getting my head in the books!
1 last thing, most people on this forum are probably based in the UK. Here 95 percent of the population will have Sky, Virgin, or Freeview / Freesat. When you go into Europe though everybody has enigma type boxes or Android style boxes the market potential is massive! if I was a rich man I would invest in an Android operating system for a high quality satellite and multimedia receiver.
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Im not saying android does not have a dev community because it does but thats almost entirely centred around the cell phone market, for these android based receivers they pretty much just throw a stock android rom with a few tweaks onto it and leave it at that. that is not a community in my opinion, just imagine if ViX said ok fellas we have pretty much done as much as we can with this think so were stopping development, for all your future needs just look for compatible plugins. And as far as the wetek goes the best thing I ever did with mine was to put OpenElec on it.
Rob van der Does
13-07-15, 21:16
The world of Satellite forum in my opinion is the current market leading forum for E 2 boxes.
That's too much honour and far from the truth.
I have the amiko A3 it's an average XBMC box and an average satellite box comparable to an old dm500. But with its hardware it has the capability of being much more.
That's virtually always the case. But in this case it's also the chipset that doesn't support the DVR-functionality enough.
And this is 'closed firmware', so there is no community involved. Just a few professional devs, in a professional environment; that never works. Fulan pulled the plug, because they couldn't manage it.
And as far as I know no Android community is busy around receivers/DVR's. At least not a large one.
Believe me: it's not that easy to match the years of development that made Enigma mature.
Just my two cents worth, not read all the the thread been too busy with real life.
1) Anyone buying an Amiko A3 @ £159 is being ripped off, Fulan (the manufactuer) has pulled the plug on them.
2) If you still really want one, save yourself a packet and buy the IDENTICAL SAB ANROID I S908, you'll get one for around £110.00. Don't believe the market BS from the UK seller, they're full of crap.
3) If you want an Android box that DOES have loads of active development with many OS's including Enigma2 go for the Wetek Play, E2 images are improving, although still in Alpha/Beta stages.
4) Wetek play imo if a great little versatile little box, for Kodi, OpenELEC, Android, etc..tinker with many OS's, you wont get bored tinkering.
5) If you want a fully functional PVR box then buy a Broadcom powered Linux Enimga 2 receiver. Xtrend ET8000 at only £159 is a bargin.
6) If you want an easy to use box purely for Kodi that plays more or less everything thrown at it, consider the COOD-E TV (http://www.world-of-satellite.co.uk/COOD-E/COOD-E-TV).
you still dont seem to get the whole point of this thread, it makes no difference what so ever what OS such a device is based on, it is fully dependant on weather that OS has a active community of developers working with it. Enigma2 does have such a community android currently does not in this context.
i get that point. but it's still a mute point. in my mind (and correct me if i'm wrong) e2 will never be able to do reasonable streaming (legal drm) because of linux.
that's why i think that future "universal" settop boxes need to be based on a different os... android would be the only one suitable that comes to my mind.
the wetek box goes in that direction (and i'm playing with the idea of buying one)... but the hardware platform is way below my requirements... i'd like to have a duo2 like hardware (internal disk, card reader, 4 tuners). i know that there is no community (yet) to put android on a duo2... and it won't probably happen because the duo2 has no arm processor. but the solo 4k will have an android friendly processor (did broadcom move to an arm processor to enable it for android???), so that's why i thought it would make a lot of sense to put android (besides e2) on that box... but again: circles...
Rob van der Does
14-07-15, 13:54
You should not even want to play anything with DRM.
The 'M' stands for management, but the only thing that's being managed is limiting your own, personal rights. So yes: Open Source software and limitation of rights do stand in each others way. And IMHO it should stay that way.
So to break the circle: I'm very happy with the versatility E2 offers us, including it's streaming potential.
the A3 is perfect
WOW, that's a statement! You must have been taken in by Lavat's bullshit or you work for them :roflmao:
but that of A3 is a dream
:roflmao: You serious? You must work for them bull shitters! :D
The A3 is more suited for the living room (easy for wives and kids to operate).
PMSL!! I nearly got a 2nd divorve without even re-marrying showing my new partner one these :roflmao:
variety of OS but none is comparable to spark 2. The fact is, A3 (spark 2)
OMG, your 1st post has made my day! What a hilarious read! What variaty of OS does is run??? Spark2?? Wtf is Spark2 about Android 4.2.2??
E2 cannot compete with spark 2 because of endless possibilities on android.
Two different systems, ANY satellite TV receiver based on Android (please don't call it Spark 2, thats just pure bullshit) can in NO way compete as a PVR system running Enimga2.
What I hated most about E2 was the frequent crashes and besides, E2 boxes are awfully slow. I haven’t experienced any crash since using my A3 and it’s been 4 days now.
Well you must be a newb then and most likely used a shitty SH4 Amiko running dual boot crap Spark 1 and hacked enigma2. Make that statement after you've had the pleaseure of using a Solo2, Duo2, HD2400, ET8000, ET10000....
OpenElec is basically Kodi and that’s it.
What a load of crap.
E2, on the other hand, is much suitable for TV and boasts of lots of plugins
Only sensible statement you made :D
1. Great RCU with speech recognition and headphone
Yes i agree a nice feature.
2. HDD option a plus
Pointless is this type of box imo.
3. Perfect UI – very hard to tell its android
Thought it was Spark2? :fart2:
4. TV – SD, HD all smooth and vibrant
Imo NAS playback is not great, not smooth ans silky here...SD or HD no better than any other receiver I got.
5. Mouse cursor is large
Anooyingly so...
7. Great design - the aluminium brushed silver design blends well
Looks are its best asset imo :)
8. CPU usage is quite good
So so imo.
9. Goes on standby and deep standby
So do most other receivers.
10. The integrated browser is nice
Standart android browser.
11. Software is stable
As already stated, Fulan the manufacturer has stopped development of this product.
12. Kodi 15.0 rc2 is as smooth as silk – HD videos from SMB, youtube and vimeo plugins.
Also is on my WetekPlay :D
So do you work for the scumbags at Lavat or what? :D
Seriously, your post made my day, was a joy to read :thumbsup:
Should have saved yourself a packet and purchased the IDENTICAL SAB ANDROID I HD :D
Rob van der Does
23-07-15, 19:59
Well, you can make a post as long as you want, but Spark2 is crap and Fulan must have stopped the development for a reason :cool:
Well, you can make a post as long as you want, but Spark2 is crap and Fulan must have stopped the development for a reason :cool:
Why do they call is Spark 2? :confused: Its Android 4.2.2.
Rob van der Does
23-07-15, 21:32
Spark2 is indeed Android 4.2.2 based; no idea why they went to names.
Rob van der Does
24-07-15, 05:27
Spark can't compete E2 in the DVR area. It's nowhere as mature and flexible, and it would need an enormous amount of development to come to pair.
But: the SoC of the A3's doesn't allow for more then it does now.
Why don’t you go get yourself one of those clunky Solo2 and get the hell out of this thread?
I'm the boss here, if you don't like my opinion don't post here, simple..
A3 gives you portability which none of those clunky boxes you mentioned cannot.
Why would anyone want portability??
All I’m trying to say is that you should stop misleading people just because A3 does not meet your expectations.
I'm not mis-leading anyone, I'm just posting what I've found from my own experiance.
Suggesting that they rather get wetek play was also very unwise of you because I bet you don’t own one.
LOL, another stupid comment, do you want me to post a video with proof? :rolleyes:
Though wetek play performs much better with openElec, it defies the purpose of me or anyone buying an android DVB system.
Why? You can use TVHeadend in Openelec. Also with the Wetek you can use whatever you like, boot Openelec from SD or install in flash. Run dual boot, Anroid in flash and boot Openelec from SD card, simple :)
I replaced my 800HD with wetek play which I realized wasn’t improving as I expected.
Android in A3 is no better than the Wetek, imo the Wetek satellite setup in Android is easier to use than the A3, but thats just my opinion.
I wanted something simple for my living room, wasn’t ready to waste time on tinkering like I used to do on the WP. In short, I wanted something that just works and A3 did that for me, now I watch TV, use my system as it should be instead of tinkering and logging bugs.
You should have used a E2 receiver that runs OpenViX :)
Everyone is complaining about “closed firmware”; IOS is closed firmware but yet everyone loves to have one. Why? Because it just works! And that’s how I feel about the A3. There is no need for many OS for a system, because you end up using one. One solid working OS is far better than a dozens of half-baked ones. Stop comparing products that are more expensive with inexpensive ones and stop misleading others. Go take a look at FTA Receiver forum, and tell me how many guys there complain. They don’t complain like you do because it works pretty well for them.
1) If you feel that way you shouldv'e purchased the IDENTICAL SAB ANDROID I HD and saved yourself a small forutune :)
2) I'm not mis-leading anyone, posting from my own experiance, I've got all the receivers in question and am able to test and post about them.
3) Yes I agree IOS products do just work, but I've not yes found any Android product that 'just works'. All have somekind of niggly bug. Android system in way compare to E2 as a PVR for family use.
@Rob van der Does
Spark2 is the beautiful interface that hides the UI seen in tabs and phones - they think TV-wise.
LOL, is just Android 4.2.2, Spark2, what a crock of crap....I prefer the UI on the SAB Nova Android HD or the Wetek, I found the UI on the A3/SAB Android I to clunky. Again you'll proberbly post saying I'm mis-leading...
BTW I don’t work for Amiko, Fulan or whatever.
You must have somekind of finincial interest in the A3 to post such a glowing report.
I'm not saying the A3 is a bad product, it's just not as good as your glowing report. Anyone who wants an A3 should save themselves a small fortune and buy the IDENTICAL SAB Android I ;)
If you don't like my opinion get the hell out of my Forum, simple... :)
Rob van der Does
24-07-15, 08:25
BTW I don’t work for Amiko, Fulan or whatever.
Well, you should. I'm pretty sure that putting your post on your CV will make you an excellent candidate :D
Just adding a couple of points:
Spark2 is not the OS- nor does it claim to be, it's a custom launcher that's the main UI.
Secondly, Android is an open source OS- so calling it a closed source OS is incorrect. The Spark2 launcher is closed source however- but root access is available by default so you do have full access to the OS, so development would be possible, but pretty much uneeded, as all the features work.
As for the HDD being pointless- I have to disagree, A hdd is always a welcome addition- my E2 receiver has a hdd and I'm glad my A3 does aswell as it means a download directly to the hdd- plus it opens up the possibilities of re-directing the data partition to the hdd rather than having it on the NAND as you can on some phones (apps2sd).
abu baniaz
25-07-15, 15:27
You have made comparissons with a Wetek Play. That is not a proper E2 receiver.
I have made a request at Kodi PVR support (http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=233180). If this is not currently available,none that I know of, please support my request here. It would be nice to have a Kodi PVR plugin for A3.
Can your friends at lava not help you?
I think this thread has run its course, time to close.
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