Review - Tronsmart MK908ii

noknor

Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2012
Messages
87
Points
8
Location
chennai
The Tronsmart MK908ii android TV Stick.

I recently bought this device from a FM.
I wanted to view movies stored on my pc/HDD on my TV, this was the only reason for getting this device.
I have a TV which is DLNA enabled but has problems recognizing the media server on my PC.

The Tronsmart MK908ii is a compact device which fits in the palm of the hand.
I has an external antenna for Wi-Fi, 1 USB port, 2 micro USB ports, 1 micro HDMI port and 1 micro SD card port.
It comes with 1 micro HDMI cable connect the device to the HDMI port on the TV, 1 micro USB cable to connect to the power plug which is included,
1 micro USB to USB female cable.
It has android 4.2 and it is rooted for firmware upgrades.

I connected this device to my TV using the HDMI cable and I powered it using the USB slot on my TV and did not use the power plug which was included.
The initial android start up screen was displayed, the TV showed that it was in the 1080p/60Hz resolution. There was a problem in the display, the screen
was flickering or blinking every 2 seconds. I unplugged the device and read the manual and there was not much in it.

I spent some time on my pc to browse the internet for any know issues and I found that the android 4.2 firmware has known issues with 1080p resolution and the android 4.4 upgrade fixes this problem.
I plugged this device to my pc to do the upgrade and found that the pc does not recognize this device. More time on the internet and I find that Rockport USB drivers are required.
I download the driver and the tool to upgrade the firmware. Then I plugged the device on my PC and still it was not recognized.
More time on the internet and I find that the drivers are not supported on Windows 8.

So I go back to my TV plug this device in. The settings icon was easily located on the screen, so amidst the flicker I changed the resolution to
720p@60Hz and the flicker/blinking stopped.

I setup the clock first. Next the Wi-Fi setup, it was quite easy as a breeze, nothing complicated. Just select the Wi-Fi name and provide the password.
I noticed that the connection was being established, IP acquired, then disconnected and once again it was starting the connection. This kept occurring for sometime
and I wanted to check my router logs but I happened to notice that the external antenna on the Tronsmart was folded. I straightened it up and the connection was stable.

Next I accessed the media server on my PC, there is an easily accessible icon which takes the user to the screen which shows all the available media servers. I selected the media server and I could see all the media content I had shared on my PC. I clicked on the movie and it loaded then started playing.

I could do all that without any extra setup or installation.

Next I downloaded and installed whatsapp and I was sending and receiving messages in no time.

I was running it for 1 hour and there was not much heating up, I had placed it behind the TV.

For input I connected a USB mouse to the device and it was working fine.
I plan to get a keyboard and a web cam and connect it to the device. From what I have read, it seems that I can attach a USB expansion device to connect multiple USB devices.

I can access the Google market and download apps.

This device works like any other android mobile phone, the only thing being not able to make phone calls.
I am sure someone out there must have figured a way to do that, but for now I do not need that functionality.
 
Does it works witH projectors too?

Can you please explain what exactly you wish to do?

If you mean you want to plug in the device to the HDMI port in the projector, then yes it can be done. I use my TV as the display unit and you can use the projector provided it support HDMI input, or you might have to you some converters.
 
Update:
The Rockport chip drivers are available for Win 7 and Win 8 and I have installed it on my Win 8 machine.
I have now updated the rom on the Tronsmart MK908ii from the stock Android 4.2.2 to Finless 1.6 based on Android 4.2.2
This rom has removed the issues with the screen flicker in 1080p mode. The lags during playing video from media streaming is gone.

Link for the Finless rom, Rockport drivers and the tool to flash the rom. The readme file in the archive provides detailed instructions.
NEW - MK908-II - Finless 1.6 ROM

Instructions on installing the drivers and flashing the rom here
Flashing Firmware Image Files Using The Rockchip Tool - wiki

I have also connected a powered usb hub and I am able to use the mouse and keyboard together.

I also upgrade to beta Android 4.4 rom for Tronsmart MK908ii but I still faced the screen flicker issue, so I reverted back to Finless 1.6 rom and I ended up bricking the device. I panicked for a few minutes and then looked up the freaktab forum and found out the solution. The reason - it has to be flashed to Android 4.2.2 stock rom and then the Finless rom.
So I loaded the Android 4.2.2 stock rom and cleared and flashed the stock 4.2.2 rom and then loaded the Finless 1.6 rom.

The device is up and running now.
I can certainly say that this device would give the bigger media players a run for their money. It is much more customizable and allows all apps from the google market to be installed.
 
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