Recommended Android player

Hello

I am just curious to what devices people use for android.
We are currently using a RK3188 HDMI stick,with custom firmware that works pretty well. Have gotten rid of extra bloatware and such. Currently using a cat5/ ethernet USB adapter, which works 80% of the time, sometimes when android reboots ( every day at 3 AM ) it wont come back on.

Looking for a inexpensive device that has cat5 built in. Have tested the MINI X5 & X7. Just looking for other options.

Thanks !

Here are the official guides (for reference):
https://springsignage.freshdesk.com/solution/articles/72658-recommended-android-hardware
https://springsignage.freshdesk.com/solution/articles/3000018938-device-compatibility-guide

I really would strongly recommend sticking to the supported devices unless you’ve done extensive testing as the vast majority of the devices we’ve tested aren’t suitable and break after short periods of intensive use.

@mymactek great topic! Which custom firmware are you using? We can use this topic as a source for the official device compatibility guide.

I’ve been testing on MyGica 582 and 520, and works perfectly. I also tested it with my Samsung S5 and that worked great.

I have a couple of http://www.androydz.com/quad-core-android-mini-pc-buying-guide/#CX919 coming hopefully tomorrow that I’m gonna test. I’ll let you know how it works out.

John

Cool let us know how it turns out.

I wish there was a way in the android app to lock in app… like no one can accidently go to android home or any other app especially when on tablets

Ya I’ve been looking for something to do that, be nice to have a Kiosk feature built into the app. There are a couple of apps that will only allow you to run whatever apps you what. “SureLock Kiosk Lockdown” is one that keeps popping up they have a Lite and Pro version.

Also you could try this. :smile: http://thetrendythings.com/read/21733

John

This is what we usually recommend.

It would be nice to provide that functionality directly in Xibo, but we are conscious that we’d be reinventing the wheel and there are other things higher on the list :smile:

1 Like

Hi,

So I tested the Tronsmart CX-919 Dongle, after a couple of days of trying to reflash it as there are a ton of different firmwares and half of them wouldn’t work because there are a few clones of this device. I eventually found a clean working image that removed all the bloatware. After running it for 2 days it’s working great. Its quick and don’t see to be having issues. I also installed “Autostart and StaY!” to automatically start Xibo on boot and everything seem to be working great.

From my experience with this product it was difficult to find a clean working image but after finding one the product seems to be working very well.

I’ll keep you updated if I find any issues.

Thanks
John

Thanks for that John.

Any reason you’re not using Xibo’s own automatic start? It may appear not to be working but there’s a 60 second delay built in by design on startup before Xibo launches to give storage cards time to mount etc. You can configure that delay to be shorter if you would prefer.

1 Like

No Problem,

I didn’t realize you could configure the delay, but I just found it? :smile:

Thanks again,
John

While we did not have luck with the MINIX Neo X8’s (freezing after many days running), we are using the MINIX Neo Z64 Android (latest official ROM update) with much success on many displays running 24x7. I would recommend the Neo Z64 Android with the latest Xibo/SpringSignage Android Client. (Note: We are using the wireless only - not the RJ45).

Linked here: MINIX Neo Z64 Product Specifications

1 Like

Just to share our little experience.
Our main need is to broadcast webpage content and Xibo is very suitable to do so.
When came the hardware issue, we made some tests on the Minix Neo X5 Mini, device recommended by Spring Signage for the Android Client.

We couldn’t succeed to display properly our content because of the web browser embedded on the Xibo Android Client. When we tried to display our content on the native Android Webrowser directly, same compatibility problem.

We found by chance in a subject of a forum that native Android web browser is based on Chromium only from Android Kitkat 4.4. The Minix Neo X5 Mini is Android 4.2 and I couldn’t succeed to flash it.

So we send back the Minix device and were looking for a good device running Android 4.4. with equivalent features compared with the Minix devices.
We found on Amazon the Rikomagic MK902II which has just been released, for an amount of 119,00€.
With the Spring Signage licence at 15£ (approximately 25,00€), we could offer the solution to our clients for a cost < 150,00€, just like we wanted. The device offers both HDMI and RCA video connection, which can be usefull.

So far, no problems, it runs perfectly. Setting up the Android Client was very easy (couldn’t run it from the .apk file downloaded directly on the device, had to use an USB drive but it took me around 5 minutes to make the whole setting process.)

We don’t have the web browser compatibility problem anymore, so I strongly recommend to have an Android 4.4 based native firmware on the device.

Hope this could help future buyers :wink:

We are certainly pleased to have these sorts of messages filtering up from our XFA customers!

Thanks also for the device recommendation. @footspots @Kevin_Salisbury

I currently have 15 displays being driven by Odroid XU3’s with Android clients. They have network built in but I am using wireless adapters with them. They have been working without a hitch. Mostly play HD video in the layouts. It makes deployment so much easier with wireless.

Chris

1 Like

I have two displays running in portrait mode with Minix X7 Mini devices (http://amzn.com/B00JA7ZQOY). I rooted them and enabled 1080p support and changed build.prop to rotate the display for portrait mode. They have been up and running for a few months with no issues. The displays run separate content but are physically side by side. One loops several video files and other information, the second unit runs a slideshow of event posters (we are a performing arts venue).

Very happy with the devices, they have not required any attention since installation.

2 Likes

Hi all,

All the recommended Android hardware devices are unfortunately boxes.
Are there any compatible or recommended Android devices that are (hdmi) sticks?
Because an Android stick is easier to mount on the TV then a Android box. :smile:

Thanks,
Pinotje

The reason for this is that all the Android “sticks” tend not to be powerfully enough to run the client software smoothly. In the next year you may start to see sticks that are powerful enough. Some users are currently testing the Intel sticks, but from what I know they are Windows based.

Hi cslaughter,

I only use the Android “sticks” to run Xibo client to view Text en Images, so no video’s, flash, etc.
Is it possible?


Hi Mymactek and John,

I see that mymactek using the RK3188 HDMI stick and John using the Tronsmart CX-919 Dongle.
Do you guys having problems with ur Android sticks?

Thanks

I have not had any problems running anything on the devices. Play video and
pics
just fine. Sometimes when you get to about 60-70 videos after awhile the
app
will crash, snd open back up. I have had better luck with the little black
boxes. Wil ltey and get a link for yal. They are about under 40 on amazon.

On Sat, Aug 22, 2015 at 3:00 PM, pinotje < noreply@xibo.org.uk [noreply@xibo.org.uk] > wrote:

    pinotje [https://community.xibo.org.uk/users/pinotje]

    August 22

Hi cslaughter,

I only use the Android “sticks” to run Xibo client to view Text en Images,
so no
video’s, flash, etc.

Is it possible?

Thanks for you reply,

Which of those would you recommend me:

Rikomagic RK3188
Rikomagic RKM V5
Tronsmart CX-919
Tronsmart MK808B+
Tronsmart MK908II
Ugoos MK809IV
Ugoos UM2

I use it to display digital signage TV screen for a restaurant only to show some image and text.