A view on Q10 from a Popcorn Hour A-110 user

[mkms]

Hi!

I decided to replace my Popcorn hour (now Cloudmedia) A-110 with a new 4K capable device. I invested some time into deciding what to buy but the time invested was  well bellow average. Lack of time, what can I say. For me the switch to Q10 was shocking. Granted A-110 couldnt do a few things but I never had to battle it. Im really sorry but I have to battle Q10 every time. Let me explain:

I have q10, smart TV,  Logitech Harmony remote and a wireless keyboard.

1. Home page
- cluttered
- I understand some people use features like  youtube, facebook, web browser etc. on Q10 but an option to remove shortcuts from home screen is a must for people that just want a media player. Youtube I can understand (I use it on smart TV anyways because it is faster) but facebook or web on tv... With all the phones, phablets, tablets, laptops and desktops? I dont see it but some obviously do.  I read in other posts that I am not the only one that would like the option to remove the above from the home screen
- I am also not the only one that would want mediacenter shortcuts on home page. As I understand it is not possible. At the time?

To sum up: Kodi, HDD shortcut, server links, settings and play store (I guess it has to be there) are what one would expect of a media player. Not serving the machine but the machine serving you.

2. Kodi
- oh so many clicks to get to the info of a video. Its annoying the first time you use it and sooner or later you just stop using it. At least I did for the most part. Having that spartan remote without info button really does not help. I wish I could use some other function and assign it to info on my Harmony remote.

3. Mediacenter
- how A-110 used to do it:
a) every file was assigned a number and if you had 200 files in a folder you just dialed in 100 and it would jump to the file numbered 100. In effect an instant jump to the middle of the folder (also if you dialed in the number of the file on the current  page it would play it; not really necessary but that how it was done on A-110). So fast and user friendly.
b) it listed 12 files per page (or is it 14, I would have to check) and not just 7. Faster page scrolling, more info on a page and fullHD TV can easily take it

4. Playback
- fast jump on A-110 (this one I really miss): during playback dialing in 1 would jump to 10%, 2 to 20% ... and 9 to 90%.
- broken fast forward and rewind on Q10: at the end it jumps aditional 30 seconds. I have read the arguments against RR and FF but there is a huge one for it - you can see the picture during and if you are searching a scene in a home video (or any other for that matter) it is a must.

I am writing this with the best of intentions . It would be easier for me to quietly go elsewhere. There are so many players on the market and making Q10 more user friendly would make it stick out of the bunch. I still like it but I have to say I was dissapointed after A-110.

Regards

[Hawkk]

Coming from a PCH A-200 myself, I can honestly say I went through the same thought process.  NMJ on the A-200 just worked out of the box, as did playback of all files (from its time).  Unfortunately the lack of 4k, or support for x265 made it obsolete.

All I can advise is to stick with it, yes it does feel like you are battling the box for the first week or so, but eventually you'll get used to it and arrive at a working configuration that you are happy with.  Or at least, the niggles stop being as bothersome.

In my opinion Kodi isn't great.   But I didn't buy the box for streaming, only playback of local files, so am happy enough to use the included Mediabar.  A much lighter and easier to use app, albeit with reduced features.

[stl]

If you install custom firmware your can personalize more of the home screen or install another launcher entirely. I'm very happy with Nova Launcher.

You can install this patch:
http://www.futeko.com/newforum/index.php?topic=1259
To enable FF and FR

[kaosnews]

Also my advice - stick with and you will love it. I own several devices like the Amazon FireTV and Nvidia Shield, but the Q10 pro is by far my favorite media-player. I don't use Kodi but SPMC and it runs perfect for me. True you have to put some time in - and I tried a lot like switching firmwares (from 5.1 to 7 to 5.1 to 7 etc.), tried Kodi, SPMC, Archos Video player etc.  I'm now extremely happy with Q10 Pro and I'm thinking to sell my Shield (I know, crazy!)

[tmihai20]

Some of your questions are answered by the Q&A http://www.futeko.com/newforum/index.php?topic=1517.0 (at least the ones about the Home Page).

Kodi can and has to be customized. What you are seeing is a very vanilla version of Kodi. The CFW version has a few tweaks here and there.

You are accustomed to a certain way of doing things and MediaCenter cannot do it. It is the first time I ever read about it and it is very specific. It could be sent as a request, although I doubt it will ever be implemented or if it can ever be implemented. I do not know if I want playback to jump to 10% if I press 1, 20% if I press 2 and so on. Also, MediaCenter is more limited than Kodi and Kodi can use HiMediaPlayer/Mediacenter app to play videos.

I used SPMC in parallel with Kodi when Kodi 17 was just launched. It was difficult to maintain, update and backup 2 configurations. I gave Kodi 17.4 a try and I never looked back at SPMC (which is still based on Kodi 16.x). Kodi 17 has matured enough so that SPMC would not be needed anymore.

By the way, buttons are programmable. You can assign buttons with this addon http://www.futeko.com/newforum/index.php?topic=1008.0. There is also this patch that has some actions hardcoded to a certain key http://www.futeko.com/newforum/index.php?topic=1259.0.

[Phil181]

2.Kodi
Does take time to get used to (I came from a WD TV Live SMP) and it is worthwhile going to the Kodi website and reading the info for new users.
The "Info" button on the remote does work well in Kodi if you are set up correctly.  The library function gets all the video information (called scraping) and can display it simply.  You should be using the latest Kodi 17.6 now and it is worth the upgrade if you are on an older release.

The only remote control patch I use changes "0" key to a true "stop" key which the remote is missing.  It works well and is on this forum.
Do yourself a favour and read the comprehensive FAQ as Futeko has made sure it is a great source of information for users and is constantly updated.

[kaosnews]

I used SPMC in parallel with Kodi when Kodi 17 was just launched. It was difficult to maintain, update and backup 2 configurations. I gave Kodi 17.4 a try and I never looked back at SPMC (which is still based on Kodi 16.x). Kodi 17 has matured enough so that SPMC would not be needed anymore.

Finally tried Kodi 17 (also used SPMC because of the bugs in Kodi) and have to say that I'm also thinking to drop SPMC. Playing offline content is the same (using the wrapper), online content (streaming) you still need to patch Kodi with the Auto Framerate Switch app (http://www.futeko.com/newforum/index.php?topic=1015) and disable Mediacodec (Surface). Other then that it's stable. Still believe that SPMC is a bit faster/more stable with streaming... but maybe this is my imagination

[tmihai20]

I have the Auto Framerate Switch addon installed, but it is not enabled. I do not have issues playing any of my media files. That addon should be installed anyway and tested to check it works as it should. SPMC has a 17.x build that can be found somewhere. I found an official link here http://download.semperpax.com/spmc/android-arm/. Look for the krypton apks.

[mkms]

Thank you all for your feedback.

I have had Q10 pro since march 2017 so that was not a first day opinion. After almost 1 year I still can not get used to the clumsiness I have mentioned in the first post.
The stop button I have programed on the first day  - with Harmony remote it was a breeze.
I have not used Kodi in a very very long time. User unfriendliness has put me off. I will give 17.4 a try.
Shortcuts can not be added http://www.futeko.com/newforum/index.php?topic=2683.0
I am sure many wouldnt use % jumping, but some would - we are all different in many ways starting with what we watch. I doubt there is anyone using all the functionality  anyways.The same stands for numbered files as described in the first post. Increased number of lines displayed wouldnt hurt either. If it doesnt conflict with other functions having more control is allways better.
An example would be time shift on IP TV. With all but one provider you can only use fast sliding to move back and forth. My provider in adition offers 5 minutes jump function. OMG what a difference. Not having this is like wearing concrete boots. This is how I sometimes feel with Q10. It depends on what I watch of course. If you only have movie nights playing from USB stick you only use pause to go pee or not even that. The more people are satisfied .... 

[tmihai20]

You can only add apps on the main screen, no folder shortcuts or anything else other than apps. That is a lot more complicated than it looks and you can have shortcuts in a file manager of your choosing: Total Commander (that I am using), ES File Explorer and so on. You will not be able to have the exact same behavior on any other TV box.

Please give Kodi a try. I find it a lot more friendly than the MediaCenter or any other player. I bought MX Player Pro on Android, but I still find the whole Kodi package better than any other media player and a lot more configurable (number of lines and so on). As I mentioned before, send your observations to Futeko and he will pass them along. There are a few resilient bugs that have not been fixed and that bother a lot more people. Maybe when those will be fixed there Himedia will have time to add new features or a new Launcher.