Is it possible for an android box to play all videos properly without manually enabling/disabling hardware acceleration?

by okeley-dokeley

Hey guys,

I've been using a cheapish android box for almost two years (GooBang Doo Abox A1), and I'm getting really tired of going into settings, and disabling/enabling hardware acceleration every single time I want to watch an episode of a show.

I watch stuff mostly off my external HDD, but half the videos I have require HW acceleration to be enabled, otherwise they won't play at all. The other half requires HW acceleration disabled, or they won't play at all. It's extra frustrating that the HW Acceleration is often hidden away in the options menu, like it is in VLC or Kodi. It's like driving a stick shift, but the shifter is hidden away in the glove compartment.

Is there a player, or an OS, that actually plays videos without needing the user to manually change settings? I'm considering buying a mini PC and a wireless keyboard and just running windows, because every Android device I've had - phones, tablets, and now this android box - has behaved this way.

Is it just an issue with all Android operating systems? Every Android phone or tablet I've ever had needs hardware acceleration to be constantly turned on or off, or else the video won't play properly.

I'm considering getting an nVidia Shield, but if I need to constantly enable/disable HW acceleration even on the Shield, that is a huge deal breaker.

I used to play videos on my jailbroken PS3, and never had this problem. Even my modded original xbox from the early 2000's, with 64mb of ram and a 733MHz processor does a better job of playing videos. I know I am using a cheap android box, but it has 2 GB of ram and a quad core processor. It should play a friggin' video, ffs. Seriously, how hard is it to make a device that plays videos normally, like a PC?

Has anyone else struggled with this, and if so, how did you solve it?

Thanks in advance

CuvisTheConqueror

I've been using a cheapish android box for almost two years (GooBang Doo Abox A1)

This is your problem. Never buy a no-name Android box off of Amazon/eBay/AliExpress if you want to avoid problems like this. Stick with reputable devices running actual Android TV, like the eMatic Jetstream, Xiaomi MiBox S, or Nvidia Shield.

Heaney555

NVIDIA Shield plays everything I've ever thrown at it with no config required.

SamURLJackson

I've had an nVidia Shield for about 2 years now and I don't think I've ever even touched that setting. It plays everything I throw at it

indianacpl

I’ve never had to change any settings as far as HW on either of my Shields in 2.5 years. Whether it be in kodi, Emby, Plex or any other app. Steaming live video, video off my network, or video via cloud storage.

derrman

Never had that problem on my MiBox so I imagine the experience on a Shield would be even better. I've also never had a problem watching anything on any of the phones I've ever owned, and I've had a bunch.

paperjin

i have never had to do this on any android device i've owned save a chinese android box i had like 4 years ago.

the fact this is something you have to do on every android device you've owned is kind of alarming. i'm almost 100% sure that this is due to the actual product and not an indication of android not being able to handle the videos you're throwing at it. this is not normal behavior at all. hope this helps

BiggussDikkuss

@ okeley-dokeley

Buy a Sandisk or Samsung EVO Class 10 U1 microSDHC card (& adapter) and then flash this OS to it:

https://coreelec.org/

Don't stuff around in Android. That is the core of your problems.

The already optimised and tweaked CoreELEC Kodi and an AMLogic S9xx chipset will literally play anything you throw at it. Far better than Android anything, inc. the NVIDIA Shield, once you start trying to play old VC-1 BD Rips, interlaced content and older, legacy video compressed stuff.

For bonus point you might discover in CE Kodi's power menu - you can dual boot !

There are at least 10, 000 people running this AMLogic S9xx Chipset Kodi solution.

Hint: in CE Kodi Settings > System > AMLogic > tweak the GPU Oclock setting.

shadywhere

I have a Shield TV, but before that I used a generic Chinese S905 Android box (not unlike what you're currently using).

MX Player, with the proper plugins, will play stuff on the external HDD without issue. If the device doesn't support native hardware acceleration, it will do it in software.

I suggest starting there. On the Shield it was easy to access my network HDD, but you may have some difficulty on a Chinese box (unless the external HDD is plugged directly into it).

JimboLodisC

Get a real Android TV device and not some Android junk box.