Kodi takes the fight to sellers of pirate TV boxes

Pirate TV boxes have existed since about five minutes after TV boxes were first introduced. Whether it was rewired cable boxes or satellite TV setups with hacked cards, it's been a reality of the business for decades. The latest iteration on this ide...

Beelink i One Brings Kodi and 4K Playback to Your Living Room

Beelink iONE Android TV Box with Kodi 01

Kodi (previously known as XBMC) and 4K playback are only two of the elements that help this Android TV box stand apart in a sea of seemingly similar devices.

Smart TVs are often a lot more expensive than their regular counterparts, and they are nowhere near Android TV Boxes in terms of flexibility. Besides, it’s far more convenient to get a TV and change the TV box every now and then, supposing that the hardware becomes morally obsolete, than to spend thousands upon thousands to change smart TVs periodically. Fortunately, the Beelink i One packs plenty of great features to make sure it stays with you for a long time.

The manufacturer points out in the promotional images that the i One (model number i826, for the technical freaks out there) comes with XBMC, a media player that has changed its name to Kodi in August 2014. Assuming that the TV box really comes with a XBMC, it will surely get updated to the latest version (and name) soon after.

More important than the name of the software, however, is definitely the functionality of Kodi. With this open-source media player, you no longer need the decoders you would usually install on a Windows machine, as it’s capable of playing all the popular audio and video formats. Besides XBMC, the TV box also packs Eshare, Airplay, DLNA, all of which are useful technologies in this day and age.

As far as the technical specs are concerned, the i One comes with an Amlogic Cortex-A9 S812 quad-core CPU clocked at 2.0Ghz, which is paired with a Mali MP-450 octa-core GPU running at 600Mhz. While these may not be exactly the latest CPU and GPU out there, they are more than capable to offer a seamless experience. In terms of memory, the Android TV box includes 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage that can be furthermore expanded via flash cards or USB drives and hard disks.

If you want to stay connected, the i One media player comes with 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz 5.0GHz dual band WiFi MIMO (which can connect to multiple devices at once without interferences), Bluetooth 4.0 and 100Mbit Ethernet. It should be noted that besides HDMI Out, this Android media player (unlike many other similar products) also packs an HDMI In port, enabling you to connect other devices

Beelink i One is currently $106.99 on GearBest, but you can get it for $99 by applying coupon code BI826GB during checkout. The product can be ordered either with an EU or an US plug, depending on where you live.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Uhost3 TV box running Android, or Nvidia’s Shield set-top box.

Satechi unveils smart TV box for streaming content


Satechi has announced the launch of a new set top box for video streamers called the Satechi Smart TV Box. The device is available now for $109.99. It uses the XBMC media management app for streaming...

Latest Raspbmc update brings speed boost, bug fixes and more (video)

Latest Raspbmc update brings speed boost, bug fixes and more (video)

Two months have passed since we last saw an update to the Raspberry Pi port of XBMC, but the tail end of September finally delivered some fresh code. Chief among the changes is a speed boost that makes browsing media libraries on Raspbmc much smoother and snappier. With the new software onboard, boxes now have a bevy of bugs fixed, boast support for Windows Media Center PVR and have a Wake On LAN feature for flipping on remote hardware before XBMC starts. Creator Sam Nazarko notes that folks who rely on AirPlay shouldn't upgrade to iOS 7, as it could introduce some hiccups. Visit the source for the full changelog, or restart your machine to snatch the latest release. If you're wondering just how much pep your Raspberry Pi will get, hit the break for a demo video.

Filed under: ,

Comments

Source: Raspbmc, Raspberry Pi, popcornmixer (YouTube)

XBMC on Android adds Airplay and other media features in latest alpha build

XBMC 13 for Android updated to act as an Airplay receiver

One of the key updates to XBMC promised back in March was to fix the open source software's Android capabilities. That's finally arrived in the June and July cycle of the Gotham build, where XBMC on Android now has Zeroconf support. That essentially lets any Android device act as an Airplay receiver without any third-party workarounds. Further, media launched from an Android browser can now be played by default on XBMC, where it couldn't before. Other new features from the release include the immediate addition of ripped CDs to the music library, ripping support for AAC and WMA, new settings descriptions, locked profiles and general performance tweaks. Head on over to the source link for more on what the latest XBMC offers, and feel free to download test versions of the software if you like to live on the bleeding edge.

Filed under:

Comments

Source: XBMC

$99 Ouya Already Sold Out on Amazon


Ouya has just launched its Android video gaming console for $99 in US, UK and Canada. But this budgeted gaming console is already sold out on Amazon and GameStop. Although it is available to purchase...

Raspberry Pi gets its own media center kit: £46 for easy XBMC and controller (hands-on)

Raspberry Pi gets XBMC and controller kit for speedy home theater setup

Behold, a ready-made answer for those who own a Linux-powered fruit machine but who are still looking for new ways to use it. It's a simple media center starter kit, fresh out and shipping today, which makes it easy to hook your Raspberry Pi up to an HDMI display and use it to play video or music from the internet or your home network through the wonders of XBMC. Known simply as "XBMC Solution," it consists of the Raspbmc software on a bootable SD card (this is an all-in-one install that combines XBMC with a lightweight Linux distro), a rechargeable RF controller with a small keyboard and touchpad to aid navigation (it's generic, unbranded, and even has a "Win" key, but it works fine), plus Ethernet and HDMI cables in case you don't have any going spare. Read on for more.

Filed under: , , , ,

Comments

Source: Element14

Raspbmc’s June build brings a slew of tweaks: cloud backups and more coming in July

The Raspberry Pi-focused XBMC port Raspbmc's June changelog is a lengthy one. Among the changes are new settings, new skins, support for the Stealth Nighthawk F117A device and changes to make booting up faster, among many other things. Getting this month's update should only require rebooting one's Raspberry Pi, and a few new mirrors that have joined the network should make downloading the updated software even faster. That's not all however, because the July update is promising Linux kernel updates, Raspbmc "Cloud" features with automatic settings backup / restore across multiple devices and an unspecified "special announcement."

Filed under: ,

Comments

Source: Raspbmc