Probox2 EX Extreme Media Player BIG Disappointment :(

[gene]

Powered by Amlogic S802-H Cortex A9 Quadcore processor with latest Android 4.4 Kitkat OS the Probox2 EX may arguably be the most powerful Andriod-based media player available. With HDMI 1.4 support plus a surprising array of physical input options and a slick, air mouse remote, the Probox2 EX promises to cater to both the avid content consumer and gamer alike.

But does all of this hardware make it a great media player comparable to an Apple TV? We don't think so. Read on to find out why.

Read: Probox2 EX Extreme Media Player Review

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

As soon as i saw its running Android, I knew it's dead in the water since google never purchased the licenses needed for HD audio codecs. Aka no DTS hd pass through.
It's made in China for China market (big hint is tf card support)
Nothing to see here, move along.

Gene, I had pretty good experience with Amazon fire stick. It also running customized android and suffers from same limitations, but it does have few strong pros:
Pretty stable, easy and regular updates. I originally used it with Kodi, but quickly switch to much easier Plex.
In fact i could probably write few pages about how awesome it is.

In many aspects it is as good as Kaleidescope was.

 

[agarwalro]

What good is having all this horsepower if you can't use it? Does one buy a Z06 Corvette to sit in traffic or commute to the grocery store, or do they buy it to track it and test it to its limits?

I thought you were a Porsche Cayman guy . There's a 2015 in Gray I see regularly here. Looks amazing. Never heard the guy WOT .

 

[agarwalro]

Gene, I had pretty good experience with Amazon fire stick.

I read somewhere that the experience is heavily Amazon focused. So, shopping, Prime Video/Music and apps. Does the Amazon sandbox become limiting in any way?

 

[agarwalro]

I had a poor experience with Chromecast. Borrowed my neighbors device to play around. It would not accept the network password. No matter what I did. Did all troubleshooting steps except disabling password, no go.

I'll have to try a different device.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I read somewhere that the experience is heavily Amazon focused. So, shopping, Prime Video/Music and apps. Does the Amazon sandbox become limiting in any way?

Well for starers you have Netflix, hulu and HBO GO and butch of other direct streaming apps:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=mobile-apps&field-keywords=hbo+go

But Most valuable for me is Plex Client app.

 

[gene]

I thought you were a Porsche Cayman guy . There's a 2015 in Gray I see regularly here. Looks amazing. Never heard the guy WOT .

I am but I figured I'd pay homage to Corvette Guy

 

[Topken]

Rather go with something like a chromebox running openelec. Android is not a good choice at all and to be honest the market is flooded with cheap android boxes like this.

 

[nickboros]

The specs look great (from the table). It sounds like if they had HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2 and could improve the interface, they might have had their own niche, being the first UHD streaming box. Hopefully they can improve things quickly enough with the ProBox 3 or 4 to stay ahead of the competition. I wonder if Apple or Roku have any UHD streaming box plans.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Rather go with something like a chromebox running openelec. Android is not a good choice at all and to be honest the market is flooded with cheap android boxes like this.

Mostly agree, but for average Joe, modification of chromebox to run openelec is anything but trivial.
That said hp stream mini box could be a solid alternative.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

The specs look great (from the table). It sounds like if they had HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2 and could improve the interface, they might have had their own niche, being the first UHD streaming box. Hopefully they can improve things quickly enough with the ProBox 3 or 4 to stay ahead of the competition. I wonder if Apple or Roku have any UHD streaming box plans.

That's like saying I wish just a minor change, that the pigs could fly.
It takes more than some thrown together hardware to make media device.
Kodi /plex are both good options, but neither is perfect or easy for non-technical people.
Much less capable apple TV sold by millions. How many boxes Boxee sold? Ever...

 

[Topken]

Mostly agree, but for average Joe, modification of chromebox to run openelec is anything but trivial.
That said hp stream mini box could be a solid alternative.

Another solid performaner is a Zotac ZBox BI320 running Windows 8.1 with bing.