#I need to find my phone stand so i can keep streaming my 2ds

[froqgy]

it's literally been a year and few days since i started ghost trick sorry everybody

#I need to find my phone stand so i can keep streaming my 2ds #Minor (?) Spoilers >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> #I remember the sneaking missioj like it was yesterday

[astringofmadhousefloozies]

Dorm Party

Yuu rescues Idia at a party, or Me throwing several jokes I wanted to make into a single fic.

Content warnings for coarse language. Find more in my Twisted Wonderland Fanfiction tag! And sent me an ask if you liked anything, I’m much like any other motherfucker on this website and thrive on positive feedback.

~*~*~*~

TXT: yuu help me i got waylaid by extroverts

You roll your eyes and reply back.

Y: aight who is it

I: music club 

I: help me

Y: remember, they try and include you because they genuinely like you

Y: what are you guys doing

I: i was getting food and they took me to scarabia to eat with them

I: get me out get me out get me out they keep asking me questions

Y: okay

Y: but why didn't you say you were busy

Y: or were going somewhere

I: you ever see kalims face when you tell him no

You had. He covered it up really quick, but that half-second of kicked puppy was heartbreaking.

Y: can you eat just enough to be polite and then bug out

Y: they know it's a lot for you

I: how much is that

Y: like, a small plate or something?

I: if i eat a plate i can go to the infirmary and leave got it

Y: NO

~*~*~*~

At least the spread wasn't all Jamil's cooking. He might cook like a god, but he needed a break sometimes, and takeout can be fun.

"Alright, so when he pumped the blood through the tube, it was supposed to come through in like, a steady stream, but he'd fucked up. So there were bubbles in the tube, but when you filmed it? it came out realistic-"

"I can confirm that."

"Lil, no."

"Lil yes." He sipped at his drink. "We should probably stop this conversation before they lose their lunch."

"Aww, why." The sarcasm was barely audible, but you couldn't help but smile at Cater and Kalim. Cater was the better of the two; Kalim had gone downright ashy from shock. You shuffled through the cans by the table before sliding him a ginger ale. "For your tummy, baby."

"Thank you." His colour had bounced back well before he took a sip. "You sure like telling stories about blood."

"No, that was about practical effects. I can start talking about blood if you want." You leaned your head back. "What do you think? Should I?"

Idia, who had been using you as a human shield ever since you showed up, shook his head and went back to ripping bread into increasingly smaller pieces before eating them.

"Yuu, look at this." Cater passed you his phone. The carefully staged, enstickered selfie of a Magicam influencer, with bouncy curls and double-peace signs.

"Oh, she's cute. I love her earrings." You held the phone up long enough for Idia to nod at with a small smile, before it got passed around for everyone to coo over. "You interested in her, Cater?"

"Ah, some. We've been chatting." He looked a bit dreamy, thinking on it. "We're going to try and meet up next break and see how we like each other in person."

You smiled. "Good luck, dude. She's definitely your type."

He laughed. "I do like them very cute, don't I?"

"You do, yeah." You turned to Kalim. "What do you like in someone? You probably have a type."

Kalim leaned back and thought on it. "I really like... Shining dark eyes and silky flowing hair."

You managed to disguise a snicker as a cough. "Tall and elegant, too? Always looking out for you?"

He looked up in wonder. "How'd you know?"

"Just a guess."

Lilia chimed in, full of mischief. "What about you, Idia?" You felt him stiffen in surprise against your back. "What do you like?"

"He likes 2D girls." He immediately swatted you.

"You're not 2D. And we know your type." Lilia narrowed his eyes at you. "Tall and pale and interesting looking."

"One of many." You leaned back, and Idia immediately wrapped his arms around your waist, audience be damned. "And who could blame me? Look at him."

"Please don't." He tried to scrunch behind you, but even if you were wider, he was much taller and couldn't fit.

"Aww." Cater had such a warm smile on his face. "Love at first sight?"

You shook your head. "You have to work for love. But," You looked back at your pretty blue boy, holding you tight even as he looked away in embarrassment. "The first time I saw you, it was like you snatched the breath from my throat. I'd never seen anything so beautiful in my life. I never even imagined anyone could be so beautiful." You leaned to nuzzle the spot where his jaw met his neck, and he swallowed. "And lucky me, it's the same every time I see you. You're a blessing on my life, and every day you look at me and smile makes everything worth it."

The silence was broken by Kalim giving a light sniffle. "That's beautiful, wow."

"Way to set the bar, Yuu." Lilia had his head propped in his hands. "So, was it mutual?"

You laughed. "I don't think so." You settled back into Idia, bright burning pink. "What did you think of me when you first met me?"

"..."

"Idia."

~*~*~*~

Your name is IDIA SHROUD. You're a THIRD YEAR STUDENT at NIGHT'S RAVEN COLLEGE, and everything is TERRIFYING BEYOND MORTAL KEN. You suffer from the effects of a TERRIBLE ANCESTRAL CURSE, which makes the already fraught experience of high school JUST, SO MUCH WORSE. The only things you truly enjoy are MEDIA OF A GEEKY NATURE and your MAGITEK LITTLE BROTHER. If it were up to you, you would BRICK YOUR DOOR SHUT AND NEVER LEAVE.

But, tragically, you sometimes must leave and face the mobs outside. At any moment, you could aggro them all with the sheer sin of your terrible presence, and the teachers had no sympathy for your low-tier, introverted self, and insisted that you had to show up to some classes in person. Even though telecom had come so far! You'd think you'd have pull, with your grades, but it was not the case.

Anyway, some first years had crashed a chandelier within days of being here, and you'd only found two to tell to leave you alone forever. When you found the two boys standing with a third, holding perhaps the most wonderful creature you'd ever seen in your life, you went over to explain how it was going to go. Only it didn't turn out like that.

She - what a cliche, the new student at a one-gender school being the opposite - turned to look at you. Enormous puffy eye circles that rivaled your own, close-cropped dark hair, eyes of no particular colour, all in a soft, pimply face with a double chin. This was the one that caused all the trouble?

Her smile dropped away immediately, replaced by wide eyes and slack jaw. She didn't blink, only stared directly at you, though you, muttering an endless stream of something you could not hear as she refused to stop looking or even blink. You knew a bad time when you saw it, and fled the battle before it could begin. You only just heard a voice go "Who WAS that?" before you were out of earshot, running back to your room as fast as possible.

~*~*~*~ "A curse?" You couldn't stop laughing, and that managed to set everyone else off. "You thought I was putting a curse on you?"

"Well!" He threw his hands up. "What was I supposed to think? I didn't know what that face meant and that made the most sense!"

"You do have a... intense look when you see something you like." Lilia laughed. "It reminds me a bit of Howl sometimes."

Kalim added, "No, it's more like she wants to eat whatever she's staring at."

Idia inclined his head in agreement, and Cater made a similar guesture to you. "You're all terrible," you said, but smiled as you did.

"Lilia, you never told us what type you had."

"Oh, Kalim," he said with eyes wide, "I'm much too young to be thinking about romance."

"I have forty-five minutes of footage that says otherwise," Cater said, waving his phone.

"Alright, alright." He rolled his eyes. "I like a lot of types of people."

"You've never flirted with anyone here at school." You thought for a moment. "Well, seriously, anyways. You're real friendly and that can be kinda flirty in itself."

"That's not true," he corrected. "You just don't know who it is. But," he added, "it's not a student. You're all too young for me."

Everyone stopped to consider this, before Idia spoke up. "It's Trein. I remember when I came in with you sitting on his desk."

Lilia pouted. "He still hasn’t bit. And he knows."

You covered your mouth. "I should have known you're a geezerfucker."

"I don't think it counts if you're older than said geezer."

Lilia leaned over to Idia. "I'll tell him you said that and then no one in this room will ever get a passing grade or a playdate with Lucius again."

Everyone changed the subject, and the evening continued with success.

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland fanfiction #idia shroud #lilia vanrouge #kalim al asim

[aleenya]

first date / / hinanami prompt 01

@hinanami-week

First date prompt! <3 I love these babies from my childhood skghj. This is a bit of a long rambling mess but I hope someone finds enjoyment in it!

There was a reason Chiaki failed at dating sims. Beyond the obvious fact of how she was a girl of very little romantic experience, there was also the dilemma of just how frustratingly confusing people could be. Yes, even the weird 2D ones. Whilst the fast pace of arcade fighting games or the tricky logic riddles of puzzle games had her barely breaking out in a sweat, there was something profoundly next-level about taking someone's future - their happily ever after, so to speak - into her own hands and bringing about the optimal result. It was a responsibility she couldn't be trusted with. Kind of like how she couldn't be responsible for her own breakfast in the morning. Or for a healthy sleeping schedule. Oops. So, it was rather ironic that she'd somehow ended up with a boyfriend, even with her notoriously bad track record at breaking hearts and peeping on girls in the bathroom. (Hey, anime always did it, how was she supposed to know that was an automatic hit to the relationship flag she was trying to trigger?) With how constantly she failed at first dates in video games, the dreaded real-life first date of her own seemed like a loss just waiting to happen. Which was why, the week before it was due to occur, she'd holed herself up in her room with nothing but her trusty DS and PSP, five dating sims of various length and quality, and a copy of Animal Crossing - for when she inevitably needed a break, of course. The plan was this: she'd pour hours, hours, into clocking all five dating sims at nothing less than a 100% completion rate. No guides because that was cheating, and it wasn't like there was some walkthrough for her own date that she could keep checking throughout, though that would be ideal. Even if slightly under-handed. Oh well. She was snuggled up in the thick fluff of her weighted blanket; a bag of crumpled chips and five soda cans perched precariously on a pillow; she was ready for anything the next grueling week might throw at her. With the determination that only a true Ultimate Gamer could possess, Chiaki puffed out her cheeks in defiance of fate and set about her quest. Day one was easy enough. She'd managed to get around six hours into her first play-through with minimal errors. It was only once she'd chosen a girl to "seduce" (these games really were weird) that problems started to arise. Multiple choice questions of the proper conversational avenue to travel down never failed to muddle up her brain. Three choices were hard enough - how was she going to cope on her own date when there would be an endless array to choose from? The very thought sent anxiety swirling into the pit of her stomach. Maybe this was a good time to take that Animal Crossing break. The Animal Crossing break lasted two days. Day four was when Chiaki got serious again - and also when a pesky knock on the door interrupted her intense train of thought. "Come in," she called without taking her eyes off the screen. Yellow light pooled in from the hallway and cut through the stale darkness of her room. If Chiaki had been a vampire like the one she was trying to chat up in her visual novel then maybe she would've hissed and retreated further into her blanket cove. Which she did. Maybe she really was a vampire. That would explain the anemia. "Ugh. It reeks." A familiarly squeaky voice shattered the comfortable silence Chiaki had worked so hard on establishing. Saionji strode in pinching the bridge of her nose with Sonia and Akane at her tail. "Congrats, you've officially become a basement dweller." Chiaki peeked out from her cave of blankets, drawn like a moth to flame by the wafting scent of fresh food. "Oh. Hey guys. Long time no see." "We brought food," Sonia said with a lift of her arm to reveal the picnic basket dangling there. "We figured you might appreciate something of more ... sustenance." Akane then switched on the light, which summoned stars to glitter and dance within Chiaki's vision. All three girls let out audible gasps. "Chips? Seriously?" Akane again. Chiaki had burrowed deeper into her blanket fort in order to grant her throbbing eyes some small amount of reprieve. "Chiaki, you seriously can't have been living on cola and a bag of potato chips for the past four days!" Suddenly, the blanket was whipped out from over her head. Hiyoko plucked the console out of her hands before a very sleep-deprived Chiaki had a chance to react. "My Vampire Girlfriend? Okay, I was joking before, but you really have become a virgin basement dweller." Chiaki pointedly decided to ignore the mischievous young girl and directed her attention onto the basket that Sonia placed in front of her. Opening it up, she was greeted by a bento box ripe with fresh sushi, fluffy rice and spring rolls. "Courtesy of Hanamura," said Akane, "but don't worry, I can guarantee it's not spiked this time." Saionji huffed and dropped the DS. Chiaki was tired, but not tired enough to fail at catching her baby mid-air. "What's that look for?" "Don't act like you don't know!" They were a pleasant, albeit distracting, surprise. And so, for the rest of the day, Chiaki found herself unwillingly placed on a side quest. Sonia, Akane and Hiyoko had taken it upon themselves to clean her room up, with the latter grumbling and complaining but ultimately putting in the most work out of everyone. Sonia ended up at Chiaki's side, badgering her with questions about what game she was playing and, when Chiaki answered, why. "A practice run," said Chiaki simply, barely reacting as an empty cola can bounced off her head. "Sorry," Akane called sheepishly, "that was meant for the rubbish bin." "A practice run ...? Oh!" Sonia's face lit up. "Don't tell me! Do you have a date?" "Maybe. Tomorrow." Saying it out loud, the passage of time sunk into Chiaki with a force she hadn't expected. In a rare show of defeat, she allowed the DS to slip from her hands and topple to the floor. "But it's no use. I haven't learned anything. What am I even supposed to do?" Sonia picked up her DS, glanced at the screen, then dropped it in a striking flash of surprise. "I'm guessing not that," she said. Hiyoko peeked over her shoulder. "Aw man, even pixelated you can tell it's small." "Give me that!" Akane snatched up the console and showed the screen to Chiaki. "Seriously, this is like the worst guide you could have for this. It's not gonna teach you anything because it's not real." "That's not true," Chiaki quietly countered, "just because games aren't real doesn't mean they can't teach stuff." "Maybe, yeah, but not this type of game. You want advice? Then here's the best I can offer. Just be yourself!" "Myself?" Chiaki tilted her head. "But ... what if he doesn't like myself?" "Oh for the love of - he wouldn't be going on a date with you if he didn't, numbnuts!" Hiyoko gently thumped her fist down on Chiaki's unruly mop of hair. "That's true," Sonia said, "besides, who wouldn't like you for who you are? We certainly do!" When the trio had finally left with good luck wishes and pleas that she at least eat half the bento tonight, Chiaki found herself alone in a spotless room with a less-than spotless mind. They'd given her a lot to think about, more than the dating sim had in three days in fact. Just be myself. She didn't sleep that night. Chiaki kept powering through her dating sim, the four others still lying in a dejected heap at her side. Even if she wasn't taking strict lessons from it anymore, the idea of giving up and never completing it felt like a cardinal sin. She'd come this far; what was another twenty hours of gameplay in the grand scheme of things? On the dawn of the fifth day, there was another knock on her door. When they didn't come in upon her calling out that it was alright to, Chiaki was forced to untangle herself from her nest and answer it. Even though it was to be expected, the very image of Hajime standing in her doorway sent a jolt to her heart. "Ah, sorry." He threw up his hands in an apology, perhaps thinking he'd woken her up from a nap. Chiaki wasn't one to lose her cool. This definitely stood true now, but still, she couldn't help flushing slightly. She'd been so engrossed in her game that she'd nearly forgotten all about what she'd spent all week preparing for in the first place. "You don't have to apologize," she murmured, turning her back on him and retreating into the familiar darkness, "come in. You're very welcome." Hajime seemed a tad nervous as he slowly slipped his way inside. "What's wrong? Have you never been in a girl's room before?" It was supposed to be a joke, but it provoked a flustered reaction from Hajime and a stream of fumbled failed sentences. "Kidding." Chiaki flopped back into her blanket nest and patted at the crumpled spot at her side. Glancing side to side, Hajime made his way to where she'd made herself comfortable and collapsed in turn. "I've been worried about you," he began as he pulled at the cuff of his shirt. "You haven't replied to any of my texts. You've been eating, right?" "Sorry." He'd sent texts? Chiaki hadn't looked at her phone since the start of the week. "I've been really busy practicing." "Practicing? For what?" "For today." She showed Hajime her screen. He recoiled. "Oh ... I didn't realize you were into those kinds of games, Chiaki." "I'm not," she replied, shoulders slumping and a sigh floating off her lips, "can you keep a secret, Hajime?" With how serious she said it, Hajime's expression turned grave. "Sure, I guess?" Chiaki threw him the most serious look she could muster, complete with her cheeks puffed out in a pout and eyebrows furrowed tightly into creases. Her hands unconsciously squeezed at the console she still held. "Dating sims are my kryptonite." "Oh ... Dating sims are your - wait, what?" "I'm really bad at them," Chiaki said. She was unable to keep a tinge of sadness from her voice. "Not that I usually mind. But ever since last week, when you said you wanted us to go out somewhere, I thought that I should be prepared. It's no use though. I guess, on the bright side, I did make it to the H scene." She flashed her screen again, to which Hajime, with a sheepish smile, pushed it back down. "How about we don't take advice from porn games, yeah? They're not exactly the real deal." "Huh. Akane said the same thing." "She did?" "She said I should just be myself. But I don't know if myself is all that much fun to be around." "Why wouldn't it be?" Hajime scooted closer. "If I wanted a 2D girl, I'd just play ..." He picked up one of her strewn dating sims at random and pulled a face at the title, "Sexy Magic Witch School - seriously, Chiaki, where do you get these?" "I have my sources." "I'm not sure if I want to know what those are ..." Chiaki had to admit, with how natural their conversation was flowing, she could get used to this. She hadn't even hit her pause button yet. Unable to keep the smile from her face, Chiaki turned back to her DS and asked, "so what would you like to do?" "As in?" "You know. Dating. That kind of stuff. We're supposed to go out, yeah?" "We're not supposed to do anything," Hajime replied. "Really, I'm ... as good at these types of things as you are. But we don't have to go anywhere if you don't want, or do anything that you don't want. That's not what dates are about." "They aren't?" Why did everything have to be so complicated? Her dating sims had explicitly said otherwise, yet Hajime was saying they didn't have to do anything. Before she could formulate a proper response, Hajime changed the topic unexpectedly and asked, "have you slept?" Oh. Sleep. "I've had one or two naps," she mused, thinking back on her five days of intensive training. She'd been so caught up and involved in what she was playing that she'd barely allowed herself the luxury of sleep. She was definitely starting to feel it now. Chiaki rubbed at her sore eyes and swallowed a yawn. Hajime's flustered expression gave way to amusement. He sighed, but Chiaki didn't miss the smile on his lips. "Seriously, what am I going to do with you?" "Hopefully not this." She flashed her DS screen again and Hajime spluttered in embarrassment. "I like you, Hajime, but you haven't triggered that relationship flag yet." "You know that's not what I meant!" She laughed. Hajime climbed to his feet and extended his hand; she took it, stumbling upwards on wobbly knees and feeling the ache in her legs that could only accumulate from five days of non-stop sitting with only the occasional bathroom break. "But is it really okay?" she asked as he guided her to the bed and tossed her blanket back over her body. "I know you were really looking forward to this all week." "Who's to say this isn't our first date now?" said Hajime. "Ah, but, if you'd rather I go ..." She grasped his hand and tugged him down onto the bed. Hajime let out a less than manly squeal and fell down on top of her, which Chiaki recalled was a very common trope in My Vampire Girlfriend that signaled she was on the right romantic route. So she'd done something right after all! This was definitely a romance flag trigger. Chiaki could almost see the achievement popping up on Steam. "Path unlocked," Chiaki said cryptically, with a teasing smile. Hajime scrambled off, face red, and Chiaki twisted around onto her side. "You can sleep next to me, if you'd like," she said. "I can't think of a better way to have a date." Though visibly embarrassed and tense, he did lie down to face her. Chiaki grabbed his hand and intertwined her fingers with his own. "Jeez," he said, "why am I not surprised that napping is your idea of a perfect first date?" "It's not yours?" she quizzed, voice thick with the encroaching haze of unconsciousness. "I'm not opposed," he hummed. "Good." Pause. Save progress. And take a screenshot - just for good measure. At least, that's what Chiaki would have done if this were a dating sim event with a cute CG. But it wasn't. And that was for the best. Chiaki had decided that in this case, nothing could beat the real thing.

#hinanami #chiaki nanami #hajime hinata #hinanami week #hinanamiweek2019 #i love them so much skhgj

[dropswisdom]

Probox2 EX+ and Remote+

Introduction

Hello everyone!

Here is the first in a new series of reviews about Kodi TV Boxes.

What are Kodi/TV Boxes?

TV Boxes are small computers running Google Android OS, Linux or even Microsoft Windows (on x86 CPU variants), mostly based on ARM processors – from different and varied manufacturers, such as AMLogic, RockChip, Intel, and others. Most of these are identical or quite similar to those found in modern Smartphones and tablets.

That’s no coincidence. Modern smartphones are powerful computers that can run many tasks that required room size industrial computers only a few decades ago. And the task which TV Boxes take on is not a small one.

Modern TV Boxes aim to replace the need for cable or satellite TV subscription, with content from the World Wide Web. This is what streaming is all about.

However, these days, it’s not just about displaying the content from sources such as YouTube, Netflix, Hulu and others, but doing so smoothly and being able to handle multiple audio and video formats and codecs.

These days, the evolution of mobile hardware is much faster than that of the personal computer. Because of that, the newer chipsets can handle these heavy duty codecs and decode them in hardware.

From Black & White, low-res digital reproductions of old films and TV programs, to this year’s 4K highly compressed, 3D feature films – these boxes can do it all – whether it’s video or audio. All you need is a fast (preferably fiber) internet connection and a good TV with an available HDMI input. After an hour or less of fiddling, you’ll enjoy the world of (mostly) free unlimited content off the World Wide Web.

And this time, I am proud to present: The Probox2 EX+ Extreme Media Player!

This review unit was sent to me courtesy of the good people at Probox2, so thank you all, and especially Will, for the swift and great communication.

What’s in the Box?

PROBOX2 EX+ is a new iteration on the previous generation from PROBOX2, which was simply named EX. The main difference between the two is the hardware. The new EX+ is based on the newer AMLogic S812 chipset while its predecessor was based on the older AMLogic S802-H.

Both boxes are running Google Android, but the new EX+ comes with the new Android 5.1.1 Lollipop out of the box as well as a fast 1000M (Gigabit) LAN wired connection, while the EX comes with the older Android 4.4 Kitkat version and a slower 10M/100M LAN wired connection.

So what do we get? the player – PROBOX2 EX+, Power Adapter, Infrared Remote, Dual-Band Antenna, AV Cable, HDMI v1.4b Cable, USB Cable, User Manual. Oh, and the PROBOX2 Remote+, which is a Air mouse bonus that will be discussed more at the end of the post.

Why is better hardware important? Simply put: more powerful hardware equals better performance – and especially when it comes to the new HEVC/H.265 video codec. However, a newer OS version doesn’t only come with a slicker look, but also with its own growing pains.

Looks

The EX+ is a slick looking small black box with a matte finish on top and bottom, and reflective coating on all four sides. It’s light at around 200 grams, and can be easily mounted on the back of a TV or other HDMI capable digital screen, using two sided tape. (Better to check first and make sure the remote controls the box when mounted that way)

[easy-image-collage id=886]

This design is similar to most TV Boxes, but I would like to mention, that the top indented On/Off button is great idea as it makes it easier to find over those which include it on the side of the box which is more inconspicuous, especially at night. This On/off button also gets a little illumination from the Active incorporated led light.

Specifications

CPU Amlogic S812 Quad Core Cortex A9 CPU, up to 2Ghz GPU Octo Core Mali-450 GPU, up to 600Mhz Memory / Storage 2GB DDR3 / 16GB* eMMC LAN RJ-45 Ethernet jack (10/100/1000Mbps) Wireless Built-in 802.11 b/g/n/ac Dual Band (2.4Ghz / 5.8Ghz) WIFI Bluetooth Built-in Bluetooth v4.0 OS Android 5.1 Lollipop Video Output HDMI 1.4b, up to 4K** @ 30fps, Support HDMI-CEC Audio Output Via HDMI 1.4b, optical SPDIF Power DC 5V 2A adapter (CE, FCC, CCC Certified) Peripheral Interface USB 2.0 Port x 2, OTG Port, TF Card Reader, AV Port, IR Sensor (Remote included) Packing Included PROBOX2 EX+, PROBOX2 Remote+, Power Adapter, Backup IR Remote, Dual-Band Antenna, AV Cable, HDMI v1.4b Cable, USB Cable, User Manual

Benchmarks and Testing

All benchmarks have been repeated 3 times and results have been averaged to give a more accurate reading:

Antutu Benchmark

Average Antutu Benchmark

The Antutu benchmark tests single core performance over multi-core as it is a better indication of the performance of one device over others in most situations. Here it shows a distinct advantage to the AMLogic S812 chipset over the other two.

GPU Mark Benchmark

GPU Mark tests 3d gaming performance and also provides a normalized score according to the used screen resolution (for a more accurate result). The test is quite short and should be taken as a supporting result to that of the more serious 3D Mark benchmark.

A1 SD Benchmark

  A1 SD Benchmark tests RAM and flash memory speeds. As can be seen in the provided graphs, RAM is much faster (by a factor of about 40) than flash memory – that is why it’s in smaller amount and is also volatile (does not keep its contents after a reboot). The RAM performance is similar between the Minix and the Probox2, as both are using a similar chipset. But in both Internal and External SD card tests, the Probox2 seems to take a backseat to the Minix, probably due to a better implementation of a memory reader/controller.

* PC Mark Benchmark

PC Mark Scores check video, web browsing, writing and photo editing performance

* The PC Mark benchmark tests are lacking, because out of the three boxes tested, only the Minix X8-H was able to complete the video test portion of the test fully. It seems that both the EX+ and the Gecko require the use of specialized codecs in order to play some encoded video files. However, video testing with the included Kodi media center seems to produce great results, and the other parts of the benchmark show an obvious lead.

3D Mark Benchmark

3D Mark is a labor intensive 3D animation and gaming Benchmark

Video Playback testing (Using KODI)

Resolution Video Format Local Playback Network (Wi-Fi/LAN) Playback 720p (1280*720) AVC ([email protected]) Playing correctly Playing correctly 1080P (1920*1080) AVC (High@L4) Playing correctly Playing correctly  2160P (3840*2160) HEVC (H.265) – 10Bit Playing correctly Buffering  and stutter 4K (4096*2304) AVC ([email protected]) Playing correctly Buffering  and stutter 4K TS HEVC files HEVC (H.265) Does not play / play with artifacts and stutter Does not play / play with artifacts and stutter

Two things: playback testing was done in both 2.4GHz and 5Ghz wireless connections (802AC), and my LAN connection is using power-line AV500 adapters to reach the router. That may skew the results somewhat, but not by much.

As can be witnessed, the playback suffers when not using local storage (Micro-SD card, or attached USB drive). This is not good news as it may affect streaming generally. Always make sure you are connecting your box to the router in the shortest and optimal route possible.

The benchmarks and video tests stand witness to show that the EX+ is a powerful machine. It can play (almost) any current video file you’ll throw at it, and does it well.

It will also handle itself quite well with most android games and/or applications.

I do have reservations regarding the included (basic) remote and its loud clicking sounds. But Probox2 made up for it by including the (much better) Remote+ air mouse.

The box I received came fully updated with the latest firmware, but a System OTA (Over the air) application is included to allow for future updates. I did experience some video sync issues with my TV at first as the box started with a higher refresh rate than my TV supports. However, disconnecting and reconnecting the HDMI cable, and changing the settings in the display options to match my display set it right.

For the time being, no android app (that I could find) is available to allow remote control of the EX+ from your phone or tablet. That is regrettable, even though most actions are quite easy with the Air mouse. Probox2 did promise that they are working on a remote app that will accommodate the newer EX+. Android TV remote (or as previously known, Google TV remote) which works well with Minix boxes is currently not supported on the EX+.

The EX+ comes pre-rooted from the manufacturer. That is an important point to make, as most TV Boxes either do not formally support rooting, or even block the option all together. Probox2 made a bold move, and from my point of view, a great one. Rooting allows more freedom, and as a result a better advanced user experience. It also means that (unlike) other boxes, there won’t be a need to re-root the box after each and every firmware update, and that the warranty will not be affected by rooting.

Gaming performance

 Frames Per Second Minix Neo X8-H (Amlogic S802) Probox2 EX+ (Amlogic S812) OpenHour Gecko (HiSilicon 3798M) Asphalt 8 Airborne 23 33 N/A Angry Birds 2 30 31 N/A Walking War Robots 25 29 N/A

 Resource Usage Minix Neo X8-H (Amlogic S802) Probox2 EX+ (Amlogic S812) OpenHour Gecko (HiSilicon 3798M) Asphalt 8 Airborne 8%, 169MB 12%, 326MB N/A Angry Birds 2 9%, 201MB 13%, 315MB N/A Walking War Robots 10%, 99MB 13%, 275MB N/A

The Gecko could not run Gamebench app, and was also having trouble running some of the games.

I have tested the EX+ with three games, using GameBench app which allowed me to measure frame rate, as well as resources used in each of these games:

Asphalt 8 Airborne – a 3d graphic intensive racing game

  Angry Birds 2 – a popular 2d action game

  Walking War Robots – an online robot warfare game that requires a game-pad

[easy-image-collage id=937]

Ex+ held its own quite nicely. It performed well, and as you can see did not consume too many resources…

However, I can say that the box sadly runs quite hot when put under the strain of heavy gaming tasks. Even though CPU temperature monitoring apps show a steady and cool 30 Celsius, the unit feels much warmer to the touch, and the overheating causes freezes that forced me to pull out the power plug in order to restart the EX+.

I do believe that adding a active (a fan, or a laptop cooler) cooling solution to the passive cooling of the EX+ would make a difference. But without it, I would not recommend risking any heavy duty gaming on the EX+ for more than 10-15 minutes at a time.

Price comparison

 * Price for Minix was taken from Geekbuying website, Price for Probox2 was taken from W2Comp website, and Open Hour Gecko price was taken from product website.  Prices are as found, without any current discounts.

Conclusions

The Probox2 EX+ TV Box is a powerful machine. It holds its own, even though I could not test it against another S812 based box, I am sure its performance would stand.

Video and gaming performance are quite good, and unlike the previous chipset (S802), it can handle HEVC (H.265) encoded video up to and including 4K/2160p content.

There are issues with TS HEVC encoded files, but Probox2 promised me they will address them in a future update.

Network performance with heavy bandwidth video files was not encouraging. Since I tested it both with high speed wireless and wired connections, I think there are improvements to be made with a software and/or hardware update.

I also encountered a few freezes that forced me to power off the EX+ and restart it. I suspect it may have to do with overheating, as the device was quite hot to the touch.

Pros

Cons

Can play almost anything you’ll throw at it Noisy clicking standard remote Slick look thanks to Android 5.1.1 Lacking basic launcher Kodi 15.2 (RC1) Pre-installed Issues playing 4K TS files Future-proof thanks to hardware HEVC 4K decoding Lags in 4K AVC content playback over network 1GBit LAN Freezes occur (infrequently) Good Air Mouse included Starts set to high refresh rate out of the box (may cause flickering on some TVs)

In conclusion, I would recommend buying this box. It has a few issues, but it’s a solid performer and I believe those problems are more teething pains than serious malfunctions.

I give it…  3/5 Stars – Good, but can get better with time and updates.

The Probox2 Remote+ Air mouse

When you buy the Ex+, you get as a part of the package, a great Air Mouse called “Remote+”.

Why is it so great? In a nutshell, it has four work modes: Remote control mode, Air mouse mode, Vertical gaming mode, and Horizontal gaming mode. There is a dedicated button for switching between the different modes.

On top of that, it incorporates a microphone which allows you to use google voice search functions without having to connect a microphone or Bluetooth set to your TV box.

It is compatible with Android, Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.

It takes 2 standard (or rechargeable) AAA batteries.

However, the gaming and power buttons are only compatible with Probox2 series devices.

I have tried and used it with two other android TV boxes, and all it took was plugging the USB receiver in, and the air mouse and remote was working.

Accuracy is great, but it does lag a little bit at times with accepting a click, or moving around. It does not happen often, but it does.

When I compare it to another air mouse I have (the Minix Neo M1), it wins on all fronts.

I used the game-pad function to play Asphalt 8 Airborne on the EX+, and the experience is much better than fiddling with a standard remote. In fact, I would say that the inclusion of the Remote+ in the package upgrades the whole experience.

The built-in microphone works well with Google search, but the recording quality is not the best. Microphone gain should be used, and the quality is comparable to FM radio.

Since the EX+ does not offer a virtual keyboard/mouse app for your phone or tablet, the Remote+ provides an interim solution to typing and moving around the screen.

Did I like it? Yes.

Would I recommend it? Yes, but more so for Probox2 device owners. It works great as a air mouse on other devices, but the great game-pad functionality only comes into play with Probox2.

I give it…  4/5 Stars – Good, but increased functionality is reserved for the Probox2 line.

So you like the EX+ and Remote+ and want to buy them? For online purchase, there is only one place to go for this slick combo: W2Comp (click on the name to get to the product page)

And as a bonus, I got you a 5% discount code, and it is: DropsOfWisdom

“Where to buy” – http://probox2.com/become-a-distributor/

Israeli distributor: “Benda Magnetic Ltd”: (no discount code)

http://www.benda.co.il/catalog/companies.aspx?cid=46

I hope you like the review, and you can expect more to come soon!

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Review | Probox2 EX+ TV Box and Probox2 Remote+ Introduction Hello everyone! Here is the first in a new series of reviews about Kodi TV Boxes.