KDLINKS A300 TV Media Player Review

KDLINKS A300 Android TV Box

The A300 is the new android box from KDLINKS, having already reviewed the KDLINKS A200 and being impressed l was looking forward to seeing what the A300 has to offer.

Build quality is always very good from KDLINKS and this is often reflected in the price. As the owner of many discarded cheaper units choosing purely on price alone often leads to android boxes that are simply not fit for purpose.

One of the unique selling points of the A200 and the A300 is that they have an interior caddy that will support a 3.5" HDD. Being able to fit a cheap 3.5" Hard Drive internally maintains the sleek STB look of the unit.

Performance

The A300 has a Quad-core Cortex A9 CPU running at 1.5 Ghz, this is comparable to the popular Amlogic S802 featured in other popular high end android devices.

Combined with the Octa-core Mali-450 GPU the Cortex CPU the A300 is capable of running 3D games at a high quality and with high frame rates. The Mali-450 GPU is well supported across the board and support for hardware decoding is built into Kodi.

Memory specification is also very good, 2GB DDR3 RAM and 16GB DDR3 is more than enough for all modern android apps and games.

The Gigabit LAN speed is exceptionally fast with over 20MB/s being reached. Wifi (2.4Ghz a/b/g/n) reception is strong and reliable using the large antenna.

Video and audio support is fantastic, this box handles Dolby Digital 5.1/7.1, TrueHD 5.1/7.1, DTS-HD MA and DTS-HD with ease. The A-300 supports 4K and playbacks 4K at up to 4K30 smoothly making this the best box on the market for viewing 4K.

Interface and XBMC/Kodi

The A300 runs on Android 4.4 KitKat and the google Play Store is preinstalled.

A well designed version of Kodi comes preinstalled as well, as you can now download Kodi frmo the Play Store directly this is not so important but is nice all the same.

Kodi runs like a dream on this box, as you might expect from the hardware used. The interface runs smoothly and is slick if unspectacular.

The full sized remote works well at controlling the box and the IR learning function means it can be used to replicate your own remote controls.

Video Demo: A300 Gameplay and Kodi Demonstration

Connectivity and Internals 

Connectivity is handled excellently by KDLINKS with a HDMI 1.4 connector plus an older composite AV connector.

S/PDIF + coaxial optical audio handle audio, there is also a SD card slot and an external SATA.

There are 2 USB 2.0 and 1 USB 3.0 connectors, this is excellent as it can be surprising how quickly you find something to use up your USB ports.

REVIEW SUMMARY

I could sum up this box easily by just saying 'fantastic', but that's just lazy, so here goes.

It handles every audio or video you can throw at it with ease, playback is smooth and crisp.

Most people will connect a large Hard drive to their android box at some time or another and having the option to use a cheap 3.5" Hard Drive internally is a neat solution, l an surprised more manufacturers have not gone down this root. If you have used other cheaper android boxes in the past i can soocomepprent that you get what you pay for, this is more expensive than most boxes but is easily worth the extra outlay.

The major problem with this box is the availabilty, hopefully this will soon be rectified and more people can rave about this great device.

For

• Internal 3.5" HD caddy
• Android 4.4 KitKat
• 2GB  RAM
• Mali 450 Octo-Core Graphics
• 16GB Internal Flash Memory
• Build quality
• 4K Video Playback
• Google Play Store & Kodi
• IR Learning remote

Against

• Price
• Availabilty

Kodi Library Integration

What is Library integration in Kodi /XBMC?

Libraries in the early versions of XBMC (which is now called Kodi) were storage devices or folders which held a full video or music file, this file would then show up with added fanart, information and data in an extended list. As Kodi is now often used to handle streaming media files this system has evolved, a number of Kodi addons allow special small .strm files to be added to the library and appear as if you have the complete file on your device.

The most successful streaming addon which best uses library integration is the Genesis addon, most guides to library integration use Genesis to demonstrate how to set up your library for streaming files.
If you have not already installed Genesis it can be installed from the lambda repository or install it using the total installer guide.

Genesis Library Integration Video.

If you are using a different skin on your version of Kodi it is normally best to switch back to the basic confluence screen to setup the library as the menus will then match up with the tutorial. After you have integrated the library you can then switch back to whatever skin you prefer. Generally all your settings are kept intact when switching between skins.

One of the best skins that works well with an integrated library and can be modified very easily is Acrtic Zephyr, this skin is fantastic and is highly recommended.

If you have watched the tutorial on library integration you will know that you have to add your library as a source for it to work.
You can find the destination library folder from withing the genesis addon itself by selecting TOOLS - LIBRARY - SETTINGS: make a note of the folder, it will be different depending on your operating system. For Linux it is special://usedata/addon_data/plugin.video.genesis/Movies.

Element Ti4 Review - Android Tv Box

Introducing the Element Ti4 Quad Core Android TV Box

I came into this review knowing very little about the Element Ti4 and l admit to being very impressed, 

The specs are at the very top end for android tv boxes and the box comes pre-installed with Kodi and many other apps including Youtube, Facebook, Spotify and Skype to name just a few.

It uses a pleasant if slightly uninspiring user interface but everything works quickly and smoothly.

Performance

Hardware is the highest spec available in the market at the minute when it comes to android tv boxes, a quad core S812 running at 2.0GHz is as fast as it gets.

The graphics are handled by the top of the line Octa-Core Mali-450, this enables the box to handle all Hd graphics and even 4k resolutions are handled well.

Interface and XBMC/Kodi

The G-Box has the standard Android 4.4.x Kitkat operating system which is wrapped up in a custom launcher. The G-Box Experience Launcher is really rather good,it uses a large colored tile carousel which is divided into separate sections.
This windows 8 metro navigation style works well with either a standard remote, mouse or air mouse.

Kodi 14 the latest XBMC incarnation comes preinstalled. Also included is the Total XBMC easy addon installer which allows the easy installation of virtual every XBMC addon from within the program itself.

This really does help with the ease of use for those new to using Xbmc/Kodi. Kodi itself is on the front screen of the interface but is named media center.

Video Review and Unboxing: Element Ti4 Quad Core Android TV Streaming Media Box  

Connectivity and Internals 

The connectios are the standard for these type of boxes, with a HDMI, power and ethernet. There are only 2 USb ports, although this is the typical l would still prefer to see 3 with one being a high speed 3.0.

Optical out is nice for those with a home theatre setup, many people will be using this box as a media center hub.

Memory can be extended by SD card up to 32 GB.

The remote has been changed to a much better air mouse design, this is a great upgrade.

Normal remote control navigation is handled with one side of the remote and text input can be handled using the mini keyboard on the other side.

REVIEW SUMMARY

There is very little that can be faulted with this Element Android box.

Lightning fast and able to handle 4K video with ease because of its impressive hardware.

The newer air mouse is also a nice addition, these are so much better than the standard android fair.

For

• Android 4.4 KitKat
• 2GB  RAM
• Mali 450 Octo-Core Graphics
• 16GB Internal Flash Memory
• Amlogic s812 Quad Core 
• 4K Video Playback
• Google Play Store & Kodi
• Custom Metro style Interface
• New air mouse remote

Against

• Only 2 USB Ports

KDLINKS A200 Android HD Media Player Review

Introducing the KDLinks A200

This box oozes quality, it has to be one of the best looking boxes l have seen. 
The abilty to fit an internal Hard Drive is a great boon, you can stick a 3.5" HDD  upto 4TB inside the box and store and stream video to your hearts content.
It comes preloaded with the Google Play Store and also XBMC / Kodi.

Performance

The A200 uses the Dual Core Cortex A9 processor, this is more than capable of running an android box although many boxes are starting to use a Quad Core processor.

A Quad core processor will offer a slightly nippier feel when navigating or starting apps, although the A9 will still run everything smoothly.

Graphics are handled by the Mali-400MP2 GPU, again there is now an improved Mali chip (the octocore) but the 400MP2 does a fine job of running the latest games quickly and looking nice.

Where the box does excel is in its ability to play virtually any media file you can throw at it.

Interface and XBMC/Kodi

The G-Box has the standard Android 4.2.2 operating system preinstalled, the custom launcher is fairly sparse but it gets you to where you want to go quickly.

Streaming your content is handled very well by the box itself or you can use the excellent xbmc/ kodi media center software to handle streaming content.

Xbmc /Kodi is a brilliant piece of media software, you can find videos from all over the net and stream them directly, check out xbmctotalinstaller for adding apps easily.

KDLinks Interface and video Review 

REVIEW SUMMARY

This is an excellent box which has adequate hardware to view streaming content, play android games and use apps.  The Hard Drive internal caddy is very nice, great for using this as a storage/streaming system.

A USB 3.0 port is also a nice addition, allowing fast transfer rates between devices.

The device is shipped with a very inadequate manual, although this is somewhat remedied by a faq aspect to their website.  

For

• Internal Hard Drive Caddy
• A USB 3.0 port

Against

• Terrible Documentation
• Only Dual Core