I’m thinking of purchasing Vero 2. I would like to know several things:
Does it support a web browser and can you stream videos from websites on said web browser? I’m asking because there are certain websites that do not have apps that I would like to stream from, so if there is another option like mirroring from my computer or something like that, that would be good to know. The majority of people in my home have Iphones, not Android. I am under the impression that the screen mirroring only works with Android.
What is it like switching between the two operating systems? Is there any sort of video that shows this functionality?
What kind of apps can you install onto this device?
The other option I’m considering is an Amazon Fire TV. Can anyone offer any pros or cons either way?
Lastly, if there is a video showing all the functionality of this device, I would appreciate that information. I have searched and haven’t found anything. It makes me concerned because there isn’t anyone reviewing this that I can find.
Thanks
You can use the Android web browser. There has also been some progress getting Chromium to work on OSMC by the community. But you can use an app like Yaste or Constellation on iOS to send some videos to Kodi.
The Android release is still being worked on. The aim is to allow you to switch from Kodi by selecting ‘Reboot to Android’. When you then reboot from Android, you’ll end up back in OSMC. This will require an SD card for this to function reliably.
You will be able to install APKs and Google Play applications, although Google Play is not included directly for licensing reasons, you can install it manually.
If you like OSMC, you will be better off with the Vero 2. I haven’t got a Fire TV so can’t comment, but think it’s more focused on subscription services.
We sent some review units out, but not much came of it. As the Android features were a bit late, we didn’t have everything concrete to produce a video when we started selling the device.
I hope that this clears things up, please let me know if you have any more questions. If you are focused on Android I suggest you subscribe to the Newsletter (you’ll likely get a discount this way), and you’ll know as soon as Android is available.
“It’s all about the Apps! With the new Vero 2, you can switch between Android and OSMC right from your remote. Experience the best of OSMC and Android on one device and enjoy popular Android apps right on the big screen. [1,2,3] [1]. Requires an SD card. Available for purchase separately. Android software can be downloaded and imaged on your own card from the OSMC website [2]. Netflix, Spotify and Hulu are registered trademarks [3]. At the time of writing, Netflix is only available in standard definition. HD streams and DRM content may be subject to licensing and location”
So the functionality that is advertised here is not available yet? Am I understanding you correctly?
How do I install google play manually? If I install it, can I download anything on the market?
Lastly, is this web browser within OSMC or the Android OS?
Not quite – there is an internal storage version available, which you can use. But the SD card version is not yet available, which will be our first public release[quote=“hall.liam, post:3, topic:18156”]
How do I install google play manually? If I install it, can I download anything on the market?
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You can download the APK for it. We don’t restrict what APKs (Android applications) you can install. You can download any app that works with ARMv7. I think most applications on Google Play are packaged for ARMv7, as it’s the most common ARM architecture for Android.
If you want a browser under OSMC, you can follow the Chromium tutorial. Otherwise you can use Chrome, Firefox or whatever else is in the Play Store or available as an APK.
It sounds like you may be very heavily invested in Android. In this case the Vero 2 isn’t for you. The Vero will always be focused on providing the best performance, stability and support for OSMC. Android is supported, but it’s never going to be the primary OS.
i hope is it allowed to add my questions here too. So, I don’t want to open an other “General Questions Thread”
Yesterday I have ordered an Vero 2. The PI3 is a little bit to slow and HEVC Support is nice!
But now I have some questions. I’ve looked for some reviews but I don’t have seen any one
Do have the Vero 2 an 3.5 mm jack for audio? Or only the SPDIF output?
What is about other OSes? When i buy in 4 years an Vero 3, can I install an clean Debian or else on it to use it as an home server?
The Vero 2 have only an 2,4Ghz WIFI. Is it possible to disable the internal wifi module and use an USB 5Ghz device?
How much power have the USB output? (How many external devices I can add?)
Do you have any more informations about the Android Support? At your shop you say that Android is supported. But now it is not released?
You have wide that there is an Browser support inside Kodi with Chromium? Do that work? Is there any tutorial?
There is a 3.5mm audio output and an SPDIF output.
You cannot install a Debian install standalone quite easily, but it’s easy to disable Kodi on Vero 2 if you wish to use it for headless purposes. You also have apt-get (full access to Debian repositories) in OSMC.
Yes. You just add ‘blacklist r8189es’ to /etc/modules.
You can get 1A. If you need more power (for multiple devices), you can get a beefier adapter, or use a powered USB hub.
There is an Android NAND release which @DBMandrake and I have used. The plan long term is for an SD card release.
Please see this thread, it hasn’t been tested much.
I am watching this thread and may package Chromium as an OSMC App in the future.
Hope this clears things up and you enjoy the device
Yes that’s correct. There are applications like Yatse which let you mirror YouTube videos etc, but they don’t mirror the whole phone screen, they pretty much cast the content.
I’m curious about the headless functionality. Does this mean i can start it up without having it connected to a screen, and start streaming music through it? What about streaming video, can it be done without any interaction with mouse or keyboard after booting up?
That’s not quite headless – you’d still want Kodi running then, but you could do this with the JSON-RPC API, yes. See http://kodi.wiki/view/JSON-RPC_API for more info.
an Vero 3, can I install an clean Debian or else on it to use it as an home server?