MK808 Dual Core Android 4.1 Jelly Bean mini PC for $49.99 + FS @ geekbuying.com

Quote from 68droptop : I not so sure that a TV is going to block the signal of a properly set up home network, although I would like to see these come with the option of a hard wire.

Don't worry about that guy, he is trying a little too hard to threadcrap. Android 4+ does support USB-Ethernet devices, so if you get one of those (around $10) and a hub, you can have a wired network plus still plug a kb/m receiver in.

wow. all this is VERY promising for future versions for me personally. I want to wait for all the bugs to be worked out. I primarily want it for XBMC. I need to have a hard wired connection too.. mostly for streaming HD 720p .mkvs that have DTS soundtracks. Can finally say goodbye to WD TV live box, which isn't bad, but this will be way better!

your better off buying a no-name tablet with HDMI. This has no bluetooth, no mic and not well developed.

what about view videos on a portable drive plugged in via USB? does this support it?

i bit. hopefully this picks up my USB DAC. It is useless to me if it doesn't.

Quote from shod : what about view videos on a portable drive plugged in via USB? does this support it?

Should work, but if it's a very large (2tb+) portable hard drive (that gets power from just USB), it might draw too much power. If that does happen though, you could use a powered USB hub to give it enough juice. That probably won't be an issue at all, but I read that that could potentially be a problem, so I figured I'd share.

As for externally powered external hard drives (those that have a wall plug for power), they work fine. I use a 500gb drive to play movies through my MK808, and it works great for that.

Given the apps available for Android, wouldn't this be a better solution for HTPC than the raspberry pi?

Quote from DWad : Should work, but if it's a very large (2tb+) portable hard drive (that gets power from just USB), it might draw too much power. If that does happen though, you could use a powered USB hub to give it enough juice. That probably won't be an issue at all, but I read that that could potentially be a problem, so I figured I'd share. As for externally powered external hard drives (those that have a wall plug for power), they work fine. I use a 500gb drive to play movies through my MK808, and it works great for that.

do you use XBMC or ?

Quote from ranran : Interesting concept, I've never heard of these. Does anyone have one they'd care to comment on? I think they need some spell checking, though:

I bought the iMito MX1 - it arrived here in 4 days after ordering. Using it right now to stream live tv -
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/...01_s00_i00

I bought the one with controller (you don't have to, I just wanted it).

edit: Wi-fi works beautifully. Has Blutooth. 1080p streaming flawlessly. No buffering.

I used to have an older laptop hooked up to tv via HDMI, but I noticed that it was getting very hot after streaming video/live tv all day.

This thing is a set it and forget it type of deal. A nice addition to our Roku. Does not get hot. Tiny footprint.

The MX2 is the same as the MX1 except for the exterior housing.

The MX1 is going in Amazon for about $65 bucks.

Quote from storm_rider_1 : Looks like it only has one usb, so you wouldnt be able to plug a wired mouse and keyboard in at the same time. Looks like if you can get xbmc on it you can program Harmony to work with xbmc. If you can get xbmc on it, you can get a xbmc remote app on your phone or tablet and control it from there, thats how I control the pc hooked to my tv with xbmc on it. I didnt see a xbmc app in the play store though?

Normally you can plug a usb Hub into these, then you'd have plenty of ports. I'm about to get a Cubieboard and it is like that along with the Rasberry PI. You can daisy chain 120 some usb devices to one usb bus. That is just a part of USB standards, not a particular device.

Quote from shod : do you use XBMC or ?

Currently I just use the built-in media player. From what I've ready, XBMC won't work well enough on the MK808 because it uses a Rockchip processor, which is closed-source. This means that Rockchip needs to either write the drivers for XBMC to work well, or open their source up so others can write the drivers.

However, there are plenty of apps that work just fine to play videos through a hard drive, so unless you realllllllly want XBMC, I wouldn't worry about it.

Quote from hiawan : Bought one from a previous slickdeal, WIFI does not work and would only dispaly at 720p. Buyer beware.

There are custom roms you can install on the MK808 (check Freaktab.com) that will let you output 1080p, and it also has tweaks for the wi-fi. Yes, the wi-fi does suck on this thing, but if you want a DIY-style project, there are a lot of ways you can improve it (software and hardware tweaks). You can take it apart, screw with the connections, add an external antenna, etc.. and there are plenty of tutorials online that you can follow.

Granted, the wi-fi on my still sucks, but I'm too lazy to care because I generally don't need wi-fi on it.

Quote from Chi-YanC : Given the apps available for Android, wouldn't this be a better solution for HTPC than the raspberry pi?

By far. For the Pi, you basically need to install the OS yourself or write your own software. This thing has a more powerful processor, and comes with Android already on it. Of note, I would definitely recommend installing a better rom than the one that it ships with (which will make it faster, update some features, and fix a lot of crashes).. but either way, I'd still recommend it over the Pi for an HTPC solution. The Pi is supposed to be good as a learning tool, so if you want to learn more about hardware or software that's also a good way to go.

Quote : There are custom roms you can install on the MK808 (check Freaktab.com) that will let you output 1080p, and it also has tweaks for the wi-fi. Yes, the wi-fi does suck on this thing, but if you want a DIY-style project, there are a lot of ways you can improve it (software and hardware tweaks). You can take it apart, screw with the connections, add an external antenna, etc.. and there are plenty of tutorials online that you can follow. Granted, the wi-fi on my still sucks, but I'm too lazy to care because I generally don't need wi-fi on it.

I already tried the freaktab ROM and opened it up and connected a wire to the antenna but no luck

Quote from hiawan : I already tried the freaktab ROM and opened it up and connected a wire to the antenna but no luck

You can also try just removing one of the antennas or getting a better power supply.. supposedly, the power supply it ships with is too weak to power the wi-fi, so a better one might solve the problem.

Quote from DWad : You can also try just removing one of the antennas or getting a better power supply.. supposedly, the power supply it ships with is too weak to power the wi-fi, so a better one might solve the problem.

I tried all of that lol wasted a lot of time researching