The Mele A2000 Android TV Box

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I decided to buy an Android-powered set top box because my Apple TV 1 didn’t cut
it for playing HD media, and I find it inconvenient to hook my MacBook up to the
TV everytime I want to watch some HD media.

[IMAGE: https://blog.omgmog.net/images/MELE-A2000-7.jpg]

I came across the Mele A2000 on DealExtreme - it’s a cheap yet powerful Android
box that can play 1080p video without any problem and has access to the Google
Play Store.

The specs are as follows:

* OS: Android 2.3
* CPU: Allwinner A10 (Arm Cortex A8, 1ghz)
* GPU: MALI400MP OpenGL ES 2.0
* RAM: 512MB (306MB for CPU, 206MB for GPU)
* Storage: 4GB (+ 3x USB host ports, 1x SD card, SATA dock)
* A/V Connectors: HDMI, D-SUB (VGA), RCA (red/white/yellow)
* Network: Wifi, LAN
* Controller: One basic remote (with expected Android buttons + extra mapping)

[IMAGE: https://blog.omgmog.net/images/back.jpg]

From the spec, you can see that this is pretty much a small computer, for less
than £60 over at DealExtreme
(http://www.dealextreme.com/p/mele-a2000-1080p-android-2-3-network-multi-media-player-w-sata-usb-hdmi-lan-vga-wifi-4gb-131566?item=6).

I expected that the remote would suck so I also ordered a wireless
keyboard/trackpad from DealExtreme when I ordered the Mele A2000. Any of the
“2.4ghz” keyboard/trackpads that come with a USB dongle should work just fine
with the A2000.

[IMAGE: https://blog.omgmog.net/images/wireless-rii-mini-keyboard-touchpad-mouse-for-pc-laptop.jpg]

Additionally, Mele also make a “F10 Air Mouse
(http://www.dealextreme.com/p/mele-f10-fly-mouse-3-in-1-2-4ghz-wireless-air-mouse-keyboard-remote-control-black-128312)”,
which looks to be like these other keyboard/trackpad devices, but with a remote
on the back side. Controlling Android with a mouse or trackpad is a lot easier,
and luckily Android supports a mouse cursor just as if you were touching the
screen.

[IMAGE: https://blog.omgmog.net/images/Mele-F10-Seneor-Remote-Fly-air-mouse-wilress-mouse-remote-control.jpg]

After a small amount of fiddling
(changing the language from Chinese to English, connecting to my home Wifi, changing the output to 1080p)
I got the A2000 up and running nicely, and it worked with most files that I
threw at it.

The Mele A2000 comes bundled with a bunch of applications, though mostly
Chinese, these include some (questionable) video/music streaming applications,
and some well know apps such as Tunein Radio. I installed the Android Netflix
client from the Play Store, and though it worked well the controls are a bit
unintuitative with the bundled remote control. Because it streams at mobile
quality, video streams don’t look great on a large HDTV.

The Mele A2000 is a nice piece of hardware, it does what I expected it to do,
and for the price it’s surprisingly high quality.

I’ll be writing a follow-up post to talk about upgrading the Mele A2000 to
Android 4.0.3 and the problems I’ve had with that, as well as the solutions I’ve
got.

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Published June 17, 2012

Generated from the original post:
https://blog.omgmog.net/post/android-on-your-tv-with-the-mele-a2000/


Max Glenister is an interface designer and senior full-stack developer from
Oxfordshire. He writes mostly about front-end development and technology.

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