[Brajesh]

Thanks to this thread at XBMC forum , I decided to try out an OUYA, despite initial hesitation. Why? ... having been disappointed by Pivos XIOS (both Linux and Android versions) and the Little Black Box, I was wary about trying out another Android box for XBMC. But, a sale at StackSocial (ends in 3 days) convinced me as $85 shipped got me an OUYA + $25 OUYA web store credit. Figured worth a try, and if I didn't like it, I'd eBay it!


I already have a Celeron NUC and an i3 NUC (Sandy/Ivy Bridge 2012 versions), both running OpenELEC, with very reliable media player-like XBMC experience, but wanted a budget box for the kids room. I must say I'm quite impressed with the OUYA running SPMC (the specifically made-for-OUYA XBMC fork version). Plus, having Netflix via an Android APK you can find easily and a decent bunch of Android games that work well on OUYA.


I'm finding OUYA with SPMC only a few notches slower overall than my Celeron NUC (even with Aeon Nox installed as I do), but perfectly fine as a budget XBMC box. And, for about 1/3 to 1/4 the price (once you figure in mSATA SSD + RAM).


I tried full rips of 'The Dark Knight Rises', 'Captain Phillips' and even 3D MVC MKV's of 'Thor: The Dark World' and 'Gravity', all over wired SMB, all played perfectly. 'Thor' 3D and 'Gravity' 3D of course played in 2D, but no stutters or freezes. You get minor hiccups if you chapter or skip forward/back as it take a few seconds to recover and continue playing, but it resumes playing smoothly. If you prefer ISO's, I'm reading here that the nightly Gotham builds for OUYA play full Blu-ray rips rather well.


The OUYA isn't well-suited for dedicated home theater use, but for a cheap, secondary XBMC + Netflix + casual Android games box for under $100, what's not to like?! And, with nice, tiny form factor to boot!


To sum it up, some pros and cons...

+ Just $85 via StackSocial sale, or $70 refurb via GameStop

+ Smooth XBMC performance using SPMC (nightly Gotham may be as good, but I haven't tried)

+ SPMC version downmixes DTS and Dolby Digital

+ Plays full BD rips just fine via wired network

+ Can sideload Android game APK's. See list here.

+ Can install Netflix. See here.

+ PLEX app available via official OUYA 'Discover' store

+ Supports powered USB hub

+ Nice, tiny form factor


- Need Mele F10-PRO remote ($35) for best experience if you don't want to use the game controller for XBMC

- Need a USB stick (I'm using a 32GB) as OUYA's internal 8GB memory isn't enough if you want to install games, etc.

- Not all Android game APK's work

- Netflix only at 480p I believe (not sure; looks decent on a 50" display, but not great)

- Overall performance not as fluid or fast as a real HTPC (like a NUC) (but, not that you'd expect at this price)

- No HD audio support


Anyway, I like the OUYA so much, I ordered a second one for the bedroom before the StackSocial deal ends

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[Vishwa Somayaji]

Hi Brajesh,

with your extensive experience with a variety of media players over the years, Ouya must have done something(many things, actually) right for you to be pleased. Just a while ago I was debating between Ouya and minix neo X7 and ended up with the minix mainly based on paper specifications--like quad core gpu and cpu etc. Anyway, if it impressed you that much it must be good. I will try one in the future.

 

[Brajesh]

Hi Vishwa, how are you finding the minix neo X7? With OUYA, I'm impressed as I was kinda half-expecting it to be another Android dud

, but found it a fairly competent XBMC box. People need to have realistic expectations at this price point as OUYA isn't a dedicated HTPC. But, it easily outperforms an AppleTV 2 with XBMC and Pivos XIOS IMHO.


And, for those looking for a Boxee Box replacement, this may be an ideal choice.

 

[XStanleyX]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Vishwa Somayaji  /t/1520628/ouya-a-great-budget-xbmc-box-with-netflix-casual-games#post_24430128


Hi Brajesh,

with your extensive experience with a variety of media players over the years, Ouya must have done something(many things, actually) right for you to be pleased. Just a while ago I was debating between Ouya and minix neo X7 and ended up with the minix mainly based on paper specifications--like quad core gpu and cpu etc. Anyway, if it impressed you that much it must be good. I will try one in the future.

I opted for the Minix neo X-7 also and installed the Quickshot V2 rom. Quite happy with it. You might give that rom a whirl if your into doing that sort of thing. Lots of support for this box. Beyond XBMC is a good one to go along with it.

 

[Vishwa Somayaji]

Hi Thanks. I have installed that and just about every other rom for that. It is working fine but when(and if) there is support for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD I will consider it a a final product. I bought it only to learn XBMC android etc and had fun for a while. I have a Pivos Xios an Aios as well. I use the Aios for streaming mostly.

 

[rsmclay]

Hey Brajesh,


I have found that the majority of my BluRay rips to MKV, all around 20-30GB each, just aren't playing very well at all. A lot of stuttering, and even some of them going to a green/blue screen every 3 seconds or so.


I asked in the XBMC forum, and they made it sound like a full rip of a BluRay wouldn't work.


Are you saying that it is working for you?


I am wondering what settings I may need to change.


Confused???

 

[Brajesh]

Mine are mostly MKV's as well, via MakeMKV. I didn't watch the handful of movies I tested all the way through, maybe about 10-15 minutes total, jumping forward/back chapters. However, I haven't seen stuttering expect when skipping around and waiting a moment for movie to recover, and definitely not any green/blue screen issues. I'm streaming wired via my Synology 1812+ NAS via SMB. I couldn't make NFS work for some reason. Was able to browse a level deep into my NAS volume, but couldn't go the actual share to add to library. I don't have this issue via my Intel NUC's.


Before I celebrate, maybe I should watch a full rip movie for longer. I also have various bitrate bird clips from 'Planet Earth', which I'll try and report back.

 

[Brajesh]

Well, sorry to report, my excitement turned to disappointment. Should have tested BD rips for longer sequences as I'm getting lots of stutters, especially on higher bitrate movies. Tried '3:10 to Yuma' and a couple others. Also, OUYA stutters on all the birds clips I have, from 60mbps to 90mbps. I don't have lower bitrate ones to try.

Mods, please delete this thread as I don't want people to expect something that isn't there with this product. My apology for jumping the gun and getting excited before doing a full due diligence

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