Coming soon...DVICO TViX Xroid A1 Android based media player - Page 2

Man, it has almost everything I would like in a media player (that being USB3, eSATA, LED display, side-access HD tray, both coax and toslink digital audio ports, USB slave port). The control buttons on the top are definitely a nice touch, never thought about a media player having it.

The only thing I see that I would have liked to seen is gigabit ethernet, hdmi 1.4, and recording capabilities. The first two are limited by the chipset, obviously. The third is a little ways away from becoming standard in these units.

I love how, to get the perfect media player, we have to work in reverse. We first had DVD players, and then they added DivX support, which was nice, but didn't support nearly enough codecs. Then BD players came out and they added some UPnP support and DLNA support, but the processing abilities of the units are poor. Same thing with DVR's...we got the DVR, but it did nothing but record TV, and any attempts to add extra functionality (codec support, USB host, etc.) was limited.
Gotta work in reverse...start with a media player with a good CPU that can handle the workload and have the codec support. Then slowly add the features which we have come to expect on DVD/BD players...like a USB host port, Play/Stop/FF/Rew buttons, optical audio out.
Before we know it, these media players will have an optical drive built in. Soon after they will have a tv tuner so they can be DVR's as well.

It seems the more direct answer is no, not on this model without hardware changes. Where would the physical tuner go after all-there is no provision for it except external usb/esata, but we know how well the external tvix tuners went last time they offered one. That is the impression the users manual suggests.

Just to inform you US guys/girls: The Xroid A1 has been out in Sweden since Mid September and it has NOT been given good reviews by either users or test articles. Most early adopters on the Swedish "cousin" to AVS Forum that bought the player also returned it within 2 weeks to the reseller...

Summary of latest test presented today:

"We had high expectations for Tvix Xroid A1 becuase it was still a company that "could" media players that was behind. Unfortunately, it appears that the Tvix deliver the unit with what at best can be described as an unfinished experience that in turn is based on an old Android version. In its current form, the player is both slow and buggy.

The nail in the coffin is the price. Tvix Xroid A1 costs currently 2790 crowns (425 USD), and no hard drive. For this price you get, for example, almost two Boxee Box, which in our opinion is a far better media player (support for Spotify, SVT Play, etc.). Are you specifically looking for a media player with Android, we advise you to wait for better solutions."

I have NOT tested the player myself, so see it as second hand information, so if you buy from a reseller with good return policy, you can still try it out for yourselves...

/Mike

this is very good comment. I probably will stay away and get a Med500x2 instead (as I need RMVB, otherwise I will go with popcorn hr.. I like the form factor better).

popcorn hr support RMVB?? I had been t their website and they are using the sigma chips, and last I heard is you need to install myiHOME software on your computer to do RMVB transcoding... which does not work for me (or I have many other choices if that's the case). I mainly want to stream from my NAS, and want the hardware decoding...

Go look at Digital Connections website, Kei has a pre-order going right now!

The new Sigma processor in the Xroid (SMP 8657) supports hardware decoding of RMVB. (Anything 8646 and later, 8656 and later, 8670 and later, 8910 and later has this support). We still have to see how good that support is in real life (is it as good as Realtek's or not)

Hmm.. that's interesting. I am looking into the Dune HD 301, and they are using the latest 8670 chips. Yet, in their video support page, it does not mentioned RMVB. Could this be an oversight, or they don't even "enable" it in their FW??

I think Sigma's 8670 SDK is not good enough wrt RMVB.. that is why both WD TV Live Streaming Media Player and Dune 101 don't put it in the specs, even though the 8670 spec supports it. [ Look under Video Decoding in the right frame of the page here ]. This is also the reason why I said we have to see how good RMVB support in the 8657 is. Basically, it is the first time that Sigma is trying its hand at RMVB decode.

Thanks! So I guess I will stick with MED500X2..that should do for at least 2-3 years, I hope.

I am interested in 4 things
3 TB and up drive support
Music FLAC playback
Video HD playback
and TVIXIE menu support.
If it does that I would be interested in one. But if it's buggy with any of those, I would hold off. Any feedback on that?

3TB: No info among users/tests in Sweden.
FLAC works (though not multi channel)
Video works but with HD Audio its very unstable. AAC is problematic and 23.976 does not work at the moment.
Tvixie probably does not work (Mathias updated all threads in the Swedish Forum "Minhembio.com" except Xroid A1 thread last week with the latest version 1.3.3).

All tested on the latest beta 1.0.05.

Well, yes, but that is the outdated chipset (RTL1283). Looking for an 1186 unit with a TV tuner is not easy.

Can this player be controlled via HTTP commands? I use a home automation app (iRule) and would love to be able to control the device this way. I know the Dune players and Popcorn hours can be controlled this way. Alternatively, is the IR protocol commands available in a file? Avoiding having to tediously learn each IR commands manually would be helpful, though HTTP/IP control would be ideal.

Can Pandora app be loaded?

That's good news, so commands can be sent from a browser, something like this:

Example HTTP commands

remote/processKey?key=play this is a command accepted by my Directv box

MCWS/v1/Control/MCC?Command=10002 is the stop command accepted by J.River Media Center

decoder_control.cgi?command=0&onestep=5 is the command to pan left on my security camera

These all work via irule, each device is defined on my network with a static IP address that irule has the data about so these commands are sent via HTTP to the device and the device responds.

If the Xroid can be controlled this way, I will be placing an order.

HTTP control, decode and down mix to stereo HD audio formats and and 1080p .mkv support are the things I am looking for.

Thanks for the quick response. If you could clarify that you have a published command list for http control via a browser, then I am on board.

Can the M-6620NP connect to the Xroid and stream the content to multiple displays?

Not sure what you mean by "multiple displays", but the answer is "yes" w.r.t. ability to connect. You can connect M6620 to A1 and vice versa to stream in either direction. (N.B.: they use different conventions for the share name of their internal HDD)

Thanks for asking the question, BTW, as when I tested this I discovered that the current A1 firmware has a bug in its SMB server that causes periodic freezing of streamed files.

TPeterson,
Let me try and explain.
I have multiple displays (Plasma, LCD, DLP, LCD w/LED backlighting). Let's say 5-6 televisions. But, 3 are the most important. No computer displays though they aren't much different.
If I had the the Xroid connected to the M6620N and say a WD Live or Roku then figure a way to connect them to all the tv's I'd be set.
Maybe I need some type of hub.

I assume firmware upgrades will be coming.

Thank you
Steve