Mekotronics R58X, another Android TV alternatives?

[WildwestGoh]

Hi, I stumble across this very powerful Android TV alternatives, it can be capable of others since it can load other Linux OSes.

Has anyone got their hands on this yet? 
Or can Linus team do a review on this?

I cannot find this on Aliexpress unfortunately, and the only website I can buy from is their official? Not sure if that is legit.

http://www.mekotronics.com/h-pd-54.html#_pp=104_370

 

Youtube video that I come across:

 

Edited July 5, 2022 by WildwestGoh
Wrong spelling

[Bombastinator]

2 hours ago, WildwestGoh said:

Hi, I stumble across this very powerful Android TV alternatives, it can be capable of others since it can load other Linux OSes.

Has anyone got their hands on this yet? 
Or can Linus team do a review on this?

I cannot find this on Aliexpress unfortunately, and the only website I can buy from is their official? Not sure if that is legit.

http://www.mekotronics.com/h-pd-54.html#_pp=104_370

 

Youtube video that I come across:

 

Android 12 isn’t Linux.  I forget when they were able to diverge it but it was well before 12.  It’s more “Linux like” with serious holes in it. 

[LogicalDrm]

-> Moved to Home Theater Equipment

[-DevNull-]

On 7/5/2022 at 1:33 AM, Bombastinator said:

Android 12 isn’t Linux.  I forget when they were able to diverge it but it was well before 12.  It’s more “Linux like” with serious holes in it. 

From the information, it appears to also run Ubuntu/Debian.

[Bombastinator]

52 minutes ago, -DevNull- said:

From the information, it appears to also run Ubuntu/Debian.

Then someone has messed with it.  Whether they are also here is another question.  The place I would look for info in this case is the places where those versions are available.

[-DevNull-]

1 hour ago, Bombastinator said:

Then someone has messed with it.  Whether they are also here is another question.  The place I would look for info in this case is the places where those versions are available.

Messed with it?  I'm not sure I follow.  The link the OP posted is to the "official" (albeit shady af looking) site which lists compatibility with Android 12, Ubuntu and Debian.  According to reddit threads on it, the ordering process is strange but is apparently possible.

[Bombastinator]

8 hours ago, -DevNull- said:

Messed with it?  I'm not sure I follow.  The link the OP posted is to the "official" (albeit shady af looking) site which lists compatibility with Android 12, Ubuntu and Debian.  According to reddit threads on it, the ordering process is strange but is apparently possible.

What worried me is the Ubuntu/debian thing.  Ubuntu is a cut-down debian, and there are a bunch of Ubuntu’s. The last time I looked at debian it wasn’t so much a distro as a toolkit for making distros. So what it really says is it can run parts of debian, but not the whole thing. I very much doubt this is a “just load an ubuntu and it works” thing.

[-DevNull-]

1 hour ago, Bombastinator said:

What worried me is the Ubuntu/debian thing.  Ubuntu is a cut-down debian, and there are a bunch of Ubuntu’s. The last time I looked at debian it wasn’t so much a distro as a toolkit for making distros. So what it really says is it can run parts of debian, but not the whole thing. I very much doubt this is a “just load an ubuntu and it works” thing.

Nah.  Debian is the distro that Ubuntu is based off of.  Debian is the cut-down "vanilla"  distro.  It is geared towards stability so gets much less frequent updates (except security) and Ubuntu as well as many others (Kali, Mint, Pop!_OS, Devuan, Sparky, Deepin etc etc) are all based and built from Debian.

 

What it says is it can run Debian.  Since Ubuntu is a fork of Debian, it runs that as well.  I wouldn't be surprised if the other forks ran on it with little effort as well.

 

As far as "loading and ubuntu", I'm inclined to believe that they would install and run just fine.  Seems the hardware used it pretty common and off the shelf so the drivers would most likely be available in most current Linux kernels and should detect the hardware without any extra static or dynamic modules.

 

When it comes to Debian, if you can run vanilla Debian, most likely you will have no trouble running one of it's more featureful forks.

 

[Bombastinator]

7 minutes ago, -DevNull- said:

Nah.  Debian is the distro that Ubuntu is based off of.  Debian is the cut-down "vanilla"  distro.  It is geared towards stability so gets much less frequent updates (except security) and Ubuntu as well as many others (Kali, Mint, Pop!_OS, Devuan, Sparky, Deepin etc etc) are all based and built from Debian.

 

What it says is it can run Debian.  Since Ubuntu is a fork of Debian, it runs that as well.  I wouldn't be surprised if the other forks ran on it with little effort as well.

 

As far as "loading and ubuntu", I'm inclined to believe that they would install and run just fine.  Seems the hardware used it pretty common and off the shelf so the drivers would most likely be available in most current Linux kernels and should detect the hardware without any extra static or dynamic modules.

 

When it comes to Debian, if you can run vanilla Debian, most likely you will have no trouble running one of it's more featureful forks.

 

??  I thought debian was the reverse.  It used to come on 10 CDs when Ubuntu came on one, because it included everything.  You could build a Linux with it for all kinds of machines including stuff too old and slow to run on other things.  This is why I said messed with I think. “Vanilla” debian would be only a very small part of debian.

Edited August 13, 2022 by Bombastinator

[-DevNull-]

4 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

??  I thought debian was the reverse.  It used to come on 10 CDs when Ubuntu came on one, because it included everything.  You could build a Linux with it for all kinds of machines including stuff too old and slow to run on other things.  This is why I said messed with I think. “Vanilla” debian would be only a very small part of debian.

Debian is Debian.  By "vanilla" I just meant the default "base" install.  Even the most minimal install leaves you with a working system and the minimum amount of "required" packages installed.  Then it's up to you to decide what/how you want it setup.   By default the base install is pretty minimal.  Of course you can install/setup X11, WM, DE etc but the default install is bare bones. Debian is a FULL and complete Linux distro though.

 

It's just an easy place to start from if you want to roll your own distro because Debian upstream doesn't really do "bleeding edge" updates (other than needed security updates) so you can be fairly certain that any upstream code, packages etc shouldn't introduce instability in your fork.  Like I said, they lean towards more stable (if quite older) package versions.  Pretty much if you want it installed, you need to apt install the needed packages.  They also don't modify official packages much except to conform them to the "Debian way".  Which means that most of the time, you can use the official packages on Debian forks without issue.

 

I prefer my Linux installs that way anyway.  I don't want anything extra installed above a base install that I haven't purposely installed myself.  That's probably why Debian is my goto for most server setups.  It also probably explains why my "daily driver" is Arch Linux wherever I can.

 

(Yes, I did just do a "BTW I run Arch Linux") 

 

Gentoo is great for that as well...assuming you don't do a Stage 1 install, it is fairly quick as well.  Although then you do miss out on any compile time optimizations you may want but that is pretty niche (and WAY over on this tangent here lol).

 

 

-Ronan

[Bombastinator]

3 hours ago, -DevNull- said:

Debian is Debian.  By "vanilla" I just meant the default "base" install.  Even the most minimal install leaves you with a working system and the minimum amount of "required" packages installed.  Then it's up to you to decide what/how you want it setup.   By default the base install is pretty minimal.  Of course you can install/setup X11, WM, DE etc but the default install is bare bones. Debian is a FULL and complete Linux distro though.

 

It's just an easy place to start from if you want to roll your own distro because Debian upstream doesn't really do "bleeding edge" updates (other than needed security updates) so you can be fairly certain that any upstream code, packages etc shouldn't introduce instability in your fork.  Like I said, they lean towards more stable (if quite older) package versions.  Pretty much if you want it installed, you need to apt install the needed packages.  They also don't modify official packages much except to conform them to the "Debian way".  Which means that most of the time, you can use the official packages on Debian forks without issue.

 

I prefer my Linux installs that way anyway.  I don't want anything extra installed above a base install that I haven't purposely installed myself.  That's probably why Debian is my goto for most server setups.  It also probably explains why my "daily driver" is Arch Linux wherever I can.

 

(Yes, I did just do a "BTW I run Arch Linux") 

 

Gentoo is great for that as well...assuming you don't do a Stage 1 install, it is fairly quick as well.  Although then you do miss out on any compile time optimizations you may want but that is pretty niche (and WAY over on this tangent here lol).

 

 

-Ronan

I can see how debian would be a good thing for that.  When I was playing redhat was preferred for that but it’s been a long time.  My memory is ubuntu is more a subset of debian than a fork. That may have changed though.  They did write some of their own code even in the beginning.  The phrase “runs on ubuntu/debian” is pretty vague though.  This could very well be a “runs on debian using the correct packages” though in which case I would look for more specifics before committing cash.  It could very well be that the OP does not have the knowledge to do what needs to be done to get the thing running.  That phrase smells of marketing “optimism” and rabbit hole to me.  It could be no great effort to make it run, or it could require a fairly advanced knowledge of Linux to make it go.  It does say it’s not totally impossible, but I would proceed with caution.

[-DevNull-]

49 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

I can see how debian would be a good thing for that.  When I was playing redhat was preferred for that but it’s been a long time.  My memory is ubuntu is more a subset of debian than a fork. That may have changed though.  They did write some of their own code even in the beginning.  The phrase “runs on ubuntu/debian” is pretty vague though.  This could very well be a “runs on debian using the correct packages” though in which case I would look for more specifics before committing cash.  It could very well be that the OP does not have the knowledge to do what needs to be done to get the thing running.  That phrase smells of marketing “optimism” and rabbit hole to me.  It could be no great effort to make it run, or it could require a fairly advanced knowledge of Linux to make it go.  It does say it’s not totally impossible, but I would proceed with caution.

I never really loved RedHat.  Probably because I had to administer quite a few RHEL 2, 3, 4 and 5 servers.  Then eventually FC4.  I chalk it up to fighting with RPM and yum for years.

 

Quote

The phrase “runs on ubuntu/debian” is pretty vague though.  This could very well be a “runs on debian using the correct packages” though in which case I would look for more specifics before committing cash.

I agree.  Seems to be a lost in translation thing.  It would've been better phrased as "Debian/Ubuntu Compatible" or something.

 

As for the cash, apparently people are receiving their products...  That being said, PERSONALLY, I wouldn't risk it.  Simply for the fact that if it is as capable as people boast, it will be cloned and available here in short order.  Additionally I would also look at the support factor.  If you ever need any, it may not be the best experience or even available at all.

 

Quote

It could very well be that the OP does not have the knowledge to do what needs to be done to get the thing running.  That phrase smells of marketing “optimism” and rabbit hole to me.  It could be no great effort to make it run, or it could require a fairly advanced knowledge of Linux to make it go.  It does say it’s not totally impossible, but I would proceed with caution.

Well said.  I agree as well.  Unless the OP is familiar with installing and using Linux and/or Custom Android ROM flashing and maintenance, that it could result in quite the learning curve.  Don't get me wrong.  If the OP's intention is to use it as a project to learn or tinker etc to expand their knowledge, then I'm all for it as long as they are aware of what they are walking into.  Obviously, if they are familiar and comfortable with the above skills (and chance of ending up with no $ and no product) then again, go for it!

 

Otherwise, if the OP is ONLY looking for an alternative to AndroidTV/GoogleTV (I assume the dongles and/or the TVs that come with it built in).  I would probably suggest just getting a Shield Pro (that were just on sale coincidentally lol) or if they want to "geek out" a bit, pick up a Pi (when the prices finally come back down to sane levels).  Finding support to do whatever they want is simple and abundant due to the huge adoption.  Getting up and running is just as simple (IMHO more so) as installing Winblows on a normal machine.

 

-Ronan

[Bombastinator]

14 minutes ago, -DevNull- said:

I never really loved RedHat.  Probably because I had to administer quite a few RHEL 2, 3, 4 and 5 servers.  Then eventually FC4.  I chalk it up to fighting with RPM and yum for years.

 

I agree.  Seems to be a lost in translation thing.  It would've been better phrased as "Debian/Ubuntu Compatible" or something.

 

As for the cash, apparently people are receiving their products...  That being said, PERSONALLY, I wouldn't risk it.  Simply for the fact that if it is as capable as people boast, it will be cloned and available here in short order.  Additionally I would also look at the support factor.  If you ever need any, it may not be the best experience or even available at all.

 

Well said.  I agree as well.  Unless the OP is familiar with installing and using Linux and/or Custom Android ROM flashing and maintenance, that it could result in quite the learning curve.  Don't get me wrong.  If the OP's intention is to use it as a project to learn or tinker etc to expand their knowledge, then I'm all for it as long as they are aware of what they are walking into.  Obviously, if they are familiar and comfortable with the above skills (and chance of ending up with no $ and no product) then again, go for it!

 

Otherwise, if the OP is ONLY looking for an alternative to AndroidTV/GoogleTV (I assume the dongles and/or the TVs that come with it built in).  I would probably suggest just getting a Shield Pro (that were just on sale coincidentally lol) or if they want to "geek out" a bit, pick up a Pi (when the prices finally come back down to sane levels).  Finding support to do whatever they want is simple and abundant due to the huge adoption.  Getting up and running is just as simple (IMHO more so) as installing Winblows on a normal machine.

 

-Ronan

I’m a system D hater.  Or was.  So my opinion is really colored by one of their employees.  When OS X came out I never looked back.  Your comment makes sense though.

[-DevNull-]

17 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

I’m a system D hater.  Or was.  So my opinion is really colored by one of their employees.  When OS X came out I never looked back.  Your comment makes sense though.

I used to despise it.  I was team init for quite awhile.  While there are still quite a few things that get on my nerves about systemd from time to time, usually to do with the binary logging by default...  If I am monitoring or troubleshooting something, I see it as needlessly complicating the task of something simple like a "tail -f /path/to/some/service/log".

 

I appreciate the capabilities.  Heck, I used to swear by supervisord back in the initV days.  Which is really the only reason I saw to adopt and learn systemd.  Imagine my surprise when I often find systemd services that have died, been killed or otherwise no longer running and systemd "randomly" decides that it's just going to ignore it this time... LOL

 

The whole "homed" talk got my attention again...  IMHO systemd is becoming WAY to monolithic.  Especially when trying to run it, and/or only *portions* of it (resolved, networkd etc) alongside conventional services.  Like running a caching resolver locally with say dnsmasq while at the same time trying to use systemd's networking and name resolution.  Just little hurdles that take more time to resolve than they ever should.  LoL

 

Seems to me that if everything keeps moving this direction, eventually systemd will become a large (so most won't learn more about it than they absolutely need to in order to achieve whatever they are trying to do), monolithic SPOF.

 

Again, I'm all for the features, configurability and man hours put into making it what it is.  Problem is that we seem to be "putting all our eggs in one basket" and heading to where it will be the only (or most mature) show in town.  I'm sure it's just my normal paranoia and pessimism.  I operate on the assumption that everything will always go wrong at the worst possible moment all the time.  

 

I used a Mac for quite awhile as well.  I didn't let myself spend that kind of $ on a secondary machine just for "work" until they moved to OSX.  At the time I was working for a fairly large hosting company that ran almost everything on FreeBSD.  Which is basically the foundation of OSX/Darwin, iOS etc.  Made it a simple switch since I was familiar using FreeBSD for years.  At the time we even had some old FreeBSD 2 and 3 boxes in production.  I think the last one we took offline was actually the official mirror that we hosted.  That mirror saved us soooooo much time back then.  Haha!  When everything runs on it and you're back in the days of a T1 or OC1/OC3 being considered a "huge pipe", having all the system and ports tree 2 hops away was a game changer.

 

Man...I feel old.  Lulz

 

-Ronan