Dabs
05/08/13
Experience: 8 Days
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 |  Verified Owner |
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Great media box, easily customizable, lots of support and help, easy set up
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Not for the complete technical Luddite, but simple for anyone willing to take a quick look at a forum for help
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The XIOS is a great media box, and the support for the unit is excellent. I am using the latest Android build (May 7), and it was so easy to flash the update it was almost comical - and this from someone who is definitely NOT a techie.
The XIOS is the ONLY media box on the market to be officially supported by XBMC.org, and uses hardware acceleration for XBMC - no one else can claim that, not even a jailbroken fruit-like box.
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clotho
04/26/13
Experience: 3 Months
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 | Verified Owner |
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Very easy to hook up
Tiny
reads USB storage devices reliably
no issue with missing codecs
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HEAT
often ignores the remote control
random reboots
doesn't shut down properly
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This little device is cute. It plays videos, and plugins allow it to play internet radio - sometimes. More often than not, I have to reboot it 2-3 times before it will play a video without choppiness or loud zapping noises in the audio. The Android upgrade had it work great for almost 3 hours, then it got too choppy to watch. Nothing worked at restoring it until I totally wiped the device and started over. Then it worked fine again... for another 2-3 hours. This time, even wiping it didn't improve the performance. Switched to the Linux XBMC version and now it only gets choppy when it is downloading an update for one of the plugins or the dog sneezes or there is a dirty dish in the sink. It still generally ignores any button presses on the remote control and to even turn it on, I usually have to unplug it and plug it back in. Using any skin other than the horrible ugly default makes it reboot often but randomly. The remote app that's available for android phones works great but won't turn it on.
This is a fantastic TOY for somebody who enjoys being frustrated. If you're looking for a reliable media player, get something else.
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Colin_S
04/09/13
Experience: 5 Months
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- Extremely Cheap
- Runs XBMC
- Great forum support
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-You need forum support to get this working properly
-Remote is garbage
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THis is a great product and a good value product IF you are prepared to put some work in. The forums are great for helping fix issues and for getting XBMC going. Out of the box this product is bested by several other players but flashing it to XBMC makes it great. You will need a 3rd party remote and a SD card so consider that before you purchase but still at this price a great media player.
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Mikkel_P
04/04/13
Experience: 1 Weeks
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| Verified Owner |
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cheap (inexpensive)
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cheap (piece of garbage)
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Both the device and associated remote control(s) are made of extremely lightweight flimsy plastic. Navigating the Android UI took a combination of the included remote and the horribly frustrating gesture-driven Sense wireless remote that I purchased with it. Make no mistake: this runs Android, not Google TV. Android is a joy to use on a touchscreen, but using a remote control? Definitely not. Remote support in the native apps is lacklustre, and predictably nonexistent in apps purchased from the Play Store.
Eventually, I just became so frustrated by fighting with something that I bought to simplify my life that I actually returned an item I'd purchased online for the first time in my life.
You would think by the number of times I've left variations on the same review that I would've learned by now, but: you get what you pay for.
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Andrew_P
03/29/13
Experience: 14 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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I am not using it anymore
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Useless remote and overall terrible device
everything else
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Do not buy this device. The WD Live is a much better device. All I have done is fight with this media streamer since I bought it. It is now in the garbage. The apps that you download are not made for the device so they rarely work. The netflix app was also useless on this device.
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Brian_B
02/21/13
Experience: 1 Months
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Plays 1080p
Stutter free
XBMC UI feels smooth on default Android, on Linux even better
Comes with IR remote
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Sleeps instead of power down. Saves time I'm sure, but would be nice to be able to shutdown/reboot.
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This device works great. It has played everything I've thrown at it. People complaining must not understand or aren't willing to update firmware or something. Sure, this thing isn't for the completely non-techie, but most of us should be able to manage just fine.
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Mike_R
02/14/13
Experience: 2 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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Works great with the Linux XBMC build.
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Works horrible with the Android platform.
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I only bought this to use XBMC. Linux works fine with a wired connection. So far I have been able to watch movies from my DNS-325 NAS Upnp.
Loaded up the addons for XBMC and all is well.
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Sebastien_D
01/27/13
Experience: 6 Days
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 | Verified Owner |
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Cheap, tiny, works well as linux-xbmc box
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Does NOT work as advertised. Even after updrading to ICS 2013-01-08
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I have been trying to get this thing to work for 6 days now. I am quite used to setting up such gadgets, currently our familly setup consist of a media server (Tried everything, picked plex in the end), 2 android phones, a windows 8 tablet, a workhorse Win7 PC and a Win7 laptop. All working together happily.
Out of the box, default apps would stop responding every few minutes. Upgraded the image to ICS 2013-01-08. It got a little better but:
-NONE of the Android apps to get TV content worked. (CBC, City TV, etc) They all work fine on both our Android ICS phones.
-Chrome doesn't work (the forums suggested reverting to a 6 month old beta version)
-The instructions state that upgrading flash will render flash non-functionnal.
-Got the plex client up and running. Very Sluggish. (Work great on my phone)
-Got Firefox to run. Very Sluggish.
-Got XBMC to run. Very choppy.
I thought the reviews were exagerated, with people having unrealistic expectations of playing ridiculously high bitrate content but the box really DOES NOT work well for basic operations.
I was ready to return it but tried the Linux XBMC image. That works well so I am going to keep it.
All I can say is read the other reviews, they are very spot-on. Then decide if you can work with it.
My opinion is that this is a Linux-xbmc box, nothing more.
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AceOnRiv
01/14/13
Experience: 1 Years
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VERY small thin client, Netflix, Amazon App, Hulu, Google Play
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need mouse for some apps, their motion remote is on back order now. Boot time is a little long.
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super slim about my palm size, came in a really nice looking packaging and didn't felt like buying something cheap. Shipped with Android 2.3 and upgraded to ICS 4.0 is available now. Netflix, hulu, google play all works is a huge plus. Factory default had a lot of essential apps needed like file managers, upnp players, app brain and etc.
waiting for their sense remote and see how that works for it.
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Gqman
01/09/13
Experience: 6 Days
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| Verified Owner |
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Love Android and being able to install apps.
XBMC is awesome!
Small
Powerful
Price was right (Bought in BC for $104 all in)
Love the sense remote
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Took forever to update firmware (more of a user issue as I'm not really technical.
Launcher stops working from time to time
1Channel isn't supported yet for XBMC (will be eventually)
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I think me and the Pivos Xios are going to be spending a lot of time together..
I owned a ATV2 (jailbroken) but wasn't using it so gave it away. I was hoping that a jailbreak for the ATV3 would be announced however it doesn't look like it will be anytime soon. I learned of this product from Red Flag Deals and after many You Tube videos, reviews, etc... decided to pick it up.
I haven't noticed the heating issues that others have reported.
I would recommend this product to a family member of friend.. Once I get used to it and I know it will work, I'm going to retire my Mythbuntu machine.
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peter_x
01/04/13
Experience: 6 Months
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| Verified Owner |
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- Plays most formats at 1080p without issue using the XBMC linux firmware.
- Great support for XBMC in the Pivos forums.
- Nightly builds are now available.
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- Useless wifi adapter. I had to setup a wireless bridge instead.
- As shipped, its pretty much junk unless you plan to install the linux/xbmc software update.
- It gets quite hot (but no reboots or anything)
- Even in the official linux xbmc builds you get an occasional reboot (but stable for the most part).
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A great XBMC device and a worthy upgrade from an ATV2 device. I would not recommend it to anyone that isn't willing to upgrade it to the Linux-XBMC builds though.
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Stephane_F
12/30/12
Experience: 10 Days
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| Verified Owner |
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Cute , and good to play games apps.
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Many apps working on my phone (Android 2.3) crashes on this thing
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Very disappointed HD movies don't works (.mkv)
2 apps I wanted to use on my tv don't works ...
I wanted to replace My WDTV media player to have some access to internet AND my movies but I will keep my WDTV , this thing play everything .
I really hope future firmware updates will fix bugs .
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Henry1
11/24/12
Experience: 1 Months
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| Verified Owner |
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-Android market!
-native android flash web browser!
-3x USB ports
-SDHC reader
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-Lack of USB speaker support or 3.5mm audio port
-Slow with android (gingerbread and ICS)
-Gets really hot
-cheap remote with poor reception (the included remote)
-Terrible, Terrible wifi antenna placement (how to fix wifi guide: http://www.pivosforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=874
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I bought this on sale for $99, my first impression after using it was very disappointing, despite having read all the reviews and knowing about it's problems, I didn't expect it to be so laggy running android (relative to my HTC Desire). But after awhile it grew on me, be able to just plug it into a monitor or TV and watch movies/videos on the couch is great, and after fixing the wifi problem it's also great for just couch browsing.
Overall not a bad product, just don't expect stellar performance from this thing like you would with high-end android phones/tablets.
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roland_c
11/15/12
Experience: 13 Days
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| Verified Owner |
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Can install and run xbmc as stand alone device
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- Using ICS/GB image makes the device slow as a media player/server.
- Unit heats up easily due to low profile
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Was almost disappointed with product. First one toasted my 32 micro SD card. 2nd unit can hardly play HD when running XBMC app when device is an android unit.
Eventually tried to install the linux XBMC image, and so far have met my expectation on what I wanted to use the device for. Wohoo!
Would not recommend if you are intending to use as an android device.
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6 Woods
10/18/12
Experience: 2 Days
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Small Size.
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Wifi not quite works. Very slow and has to be very close to router.
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Nice little Android box. Plug in and wireless keyboard or mouse.
All Android Apps and watch TV from other country. Stream video from network. (if you can get the Wifi to work!)
Very Poor WIFI, very slow web surfing.
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Brian_P
10/11/12
Experience: 2 Days
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| Verified Owner |
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XBMC on Linux
ICS Android
Media player
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buggy but still its infancy
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Got rid of Rogers so thought I would give this a try..XBMC on linux does the trick for my needs..didn't want to pay that much for ATV2..
firmware just updated for XBMC on Oct. 9..
plays everything I throw at it 720p and 1080p, have it hardwired so speed is not a problem..
probably will get rid of my WDTV live as this replaces it nicely
got the sense remote in the bundle spec last week t $109..neat definatly easier then incl. remote for ICS
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apu95
10/06/12
Experience: 2 Days
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| Verified Owner |
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Cheap
Flexible
Great variety of operating systems (Android 2.3, 4.0, and Linux)
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Wireless performance is quite lacking
Set up can be very tedious
Android performance could be better
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I bought this device because I wanted something like an Apple TV, but with more flexibility. While this device is really great, you have to really take into account the stuff you'll be using it with.
I tried using Android ICS with it and the experience was horrible.
- Navigating menus was choppy
- Trying to keep NFS/SMB shares mounted persistently was very difficult to do.
- Trying to type with the remote inside the Android GUI was a huge pain
Playback (once you got to that point) was actually quite good. I did get fed up with Android though so I decided to install the standalone XBMC Linux version of it.
The difference with Linux XBMC was night and day. Performance is much better, you can keep shares mounted persistently and playback performance was really great. It still has its share of bugs though. There's occasional random crashes and as of Oct. 6th, 2012, it only supports 720p and 1080p resolutions (which sucks because the TV I plan on using it on doesn't support progressive). The IR remote is also a bit finicky, and it doesn't always pick up the button presses you send.
Overall, this device has potential, a lot of it at that. It's still way too early in development though, as the software it comes with (or that you can put in it) is in alpha/beta stage and not ready to be used for general consumption unless you're particularly tech savvy.
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paco_strano
09/17/12
Experience: 3 Days
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| Verified Owner |
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Great product
3 USB for storage or device
USB support almost every device that you want to plug
small
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512 ram would be better with 1 gig
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I bought this media player because after 3 years my PBO went capoute and I wanted to have a device to be more flexible and also support XBMC. I didn't have any problems with the device with reading most of my Media on my NAS. Also it's easy to update and I really like to fail safe button on the bottom of the device to upgrade the firmware.
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GKao
08/24/12
Experience: 2 Months
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Official Pivos XBMC Linux port (Beta Release 090712)
Phone remote via Wifi
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Need to be setup manually. Similar to rooting android phones.
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After rooting to the Beta version, OMG! The best!
This is my third media box. I have an Aois and a PBO. The thing I don't like about the Aois and PBO is the UI. With the Xois, I am kind of happy. Especially with the phone remote via IP Address. Plus there are people out there improving XBMC for Xois (Still buggy but getting there). This review was modfied by poster y 09-28-12 12:55 AM
New update!
http://www.pivosforums.com/viewforum.php?f=11
This review was modfied by poster @ 12-22-12 02:00 PM
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Jake_M
08/16/12
Experience: 3 Days
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Runs great, looks great.
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nothing I can think of.
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Great product for it's price point, would defiantly recommend purchasing this item.
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Todd_A
08/07/12
Experience: 30 Days
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| Verified Owner |
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1080P playback is smooth, runs XBMC great.
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Ordered 2 units, first unit DOA but manufacturer is replacing free of charge.
Doesn't come with the current Android OS, you have to flash it on your own once you receive it.
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Not sure why the other comments say that it’s not a good media player, I think they are looking at the wrong media software downloads.
Go to the Pivos website and download ICS and flash your unit. Then download the XBMC beta from the same forum. Runs great, hardware decoding of 1080P is near flawless.
Software is beta so it does crash occasionally but never during movie playback, mostly in the menus or when issuing commands from the remote. Software gets better every week when the new releases are posted to the boards.
I have now replaced two jail broken ATV's with these units and will be purchasing more in the future.
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Mark_N
07/26/12
Experience: 2 Days
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| Verified Owner |
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Small, White, Geeky
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Not elegant use with either included remote or Sense remote.
You won't know if your Fav Apps will work well with the interface / Remote.
XBMC is still in Alpha
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Bought this to replace my current media player. It does not, not yet anyway.
Was looking forward to trying XBMC as touted , but XBMC is in alpha and simple things like 'smooth play back over networks' does not even work yet because buffering is not yet working.
Documentation is very sparse. Can not play 1080p files over network even outside of XBMC. Netflix quality was unwatchable on a large screen ( PC Version on same size screen looks great ). This is over wired internet not wifi.
This box MIGHT be great when the software / remote system is fully developed but right now my advice is to at least WAIT.
Even simple things like the Zoom Button on the sense remote will not zoom in or out of the packaged Maps App. Sad.
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Brad_A
06/09/12
Experience: 2 Days
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| Verified Owner |
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Very small size
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Multimedia software
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I purchased this to replace my Asus oPlay. While this is a great unit, and running Android is a huge bonus, it could hardly be called a "Media Player". Theres nothing custom about Pivos' version of Android other than the wallpaper. In order to play any sort of "media" you need third party applications from the market (which are included, but nothing by Pivos themselves that I have seen). This device would be much better marketed as simply an embedded android device rather than a "Media Player". I can actually get the same functionality just by plugging my tablet into my tv. This device does have a lot of potential, however it has a long way to get there. Rating this as 3 stars simply because its being marketed as a "Media Player" which is think its far from. I would NOT recommend as a media device, but would recommend if you want an "Android enabled tv"
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Digi-yogi
06/07/12
Experience: 2 Days
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| Verified Owner |
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small. Can process lots of video file types with only moderate sound sync problems.
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android is optimized for touch interface. This uses IR remote that will not activate all parts of interface, so a mouse is required. WiFi shows moderate strength signal but will not complete connection. On screen only manual laid out portrait, TV screen is landscape: manual a pain to read. USB drives can only be accessed by using apps.
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Potentially a great product, but nowhere near there yet. For now the WD box is better.
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Hamster_Master
06/06/12
Experience: 6 Days
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VERY small thin client, Netflix, Amazon App, Hulu, Google Play
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need mouse for some apps, their motion remote is on back order now. Boot time is a little long.
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super slim about my palm size, came in a really nice looking packaging and didn't felt like buying something cheap. Shipped with Android 2.3 and upgraded to ICS 4.0 is available now. Netflix, hulu, google play all works is a huge plus. Factory default had a lot of essential apps needed like file managers, upnp players, app brain and etc.
waiting for their sense remote and see how that works for it.
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Vasanth Rao Naik_S
06/06/12
Experience: 3 Days
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Android ICS
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Cannot use the box with WIFI issues. The WIFI turns off automatically after running for 2-3 hours. Cannot even turn wifi on later. Good OS but disgusting WIFI issues.
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I would not recommend this to any one willing to use WIFI.
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