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Best Android TV Box

Hi all,

Can anyone recommend a decent Android TV box?

My only requirements are:

1 Decent WiFi performance
2 Not too expensive
3 Capable of running Play Store / Netflix / Kodi etc
4 HD compatible (not 4K).

Many thanks
 
Can't speak to all the Kodi stuff or Play Store, but I'm still a fan of the now ageing Roku 3 for video streaming services and I might pick-up a GOOGLE Chromecast Ultra at some point.
 
Are you set on Kodi? I prefer Plex but of course it does require a server. If your server is powerful enough to do the transcoding then the Roku with Plex is not a bad option - has all the major streaming services as well as tons of not so major options.... My server is a NAS without enough clout for transcoding so I use Plex on an Intel NUC. Not the cheapest solution but works a charm.
 
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OP,
I have a Android Nvidia Shield TV box (2015 version) and its excellent. Kodi, Netflix, BBC iplayer et al work well, I even watch Netflix USA on it using a smartdns sub. Picture quality is top notch. It uses 802.11ac 2x2 mu-mimo wifi and I never get any stuttering via wifi - just bear in mind that many cheaper Android boxes won't have 802.11ac wifi built in.

Having said all this, my serious TV viewing is done on my MAG 256 IPTV box (I ditched my Sky sub ages ago). I pay £24 a month for ~ 1000 channels and get 90% of Sky+ functionality on my MAG 256, such as pause live tv, 7 day catch up tv, 100's of tv box sets and movies on demand. Best of all i can download any TV programme onto my USB hard disk. PM me if you want further details on the IPTV provider I'm using on my MAG 256 box.
 
Are you set on Kodi? I prefer Plex but of course it does require a server. If your server is powerful enough to do the transcoding then the Roku with Plex is not a bad option - has all the major streaming services as well as tons of not so major options.... My server is a NAS without enough clout for transcoding so I use Plex on an Intel NUC. Not the cheapest solution but works a charm.

Exactly the same as my setup. As you say, it works a charm.
 
Hi all,

Can anyone recommend a decent Android TV box?

OP I can only recommend you AVOID all the generic android boxes that are for sale for a few reasons:
  • They run an unoptimised android phone os blown up to a big screen - no updates, apps do not work reliably and your battling apps using mouse apps and nonsense it's not worth the hassle.
  • Wifi is always an afterthought and is never that reliable
  • Speaking of apps - forget running all the UK apps like iplayer, 4od etc they will just not work
  • 480p Netflix - Basically all the boxes will not have the correct security level for 4K Netflix so will only display at 480p so pointless.
My only recommendations for devices are:
  • 4K Stick - All UK Apps, Fast enough runs great for the price
  • Fire cube - see above - built-in alexa and faster
Both run kodi and that awful free app fine downsides are the interface isn't the best

  • Nvidia Shield - No 4od, built in chromecast fastest device on the market - very expensive to just stream though
  • Mi Box S - Good device - WiFi is patchy though and peformance is slower then the shield no iplayer you would have to cast.

Also, to the obvious IPTV reseller above - be VERY CAREFUL recommending MAG boxes, vulnerabilities in all iptv panels exist, and they use MAG boxes as the way of entry, lots of providers have stopped them now or stopped providing portal urls. Do not buy a MAG Box OP whatever you do. Also, at £20 P/M your being played.

Any questions please ask :)
 
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l used to use Android boxes, but these days have moved to the Roku stick+ (the Roku Premiere isnt bad either).

l use a setup previously mentioned as l use a Plex server, however when in the past l looked for android boxes my main concern always started with spec from there l tended to focus on the box with the highest reviews (though l did tend to stick with amazon due to generally having the ability to return items if they became faulty, this only happened once).
 
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  • speaking of apps - forget running all the UK apps like iplayer, 4od etc they will just not work

Not true. I have a £30 Android box (W95) which runs all the UK catch up apps and fires up a VPN on boot for using abroad. We've used it in Premier Inns too and it was flawless.
 
Xiaomi TV - an official Android TV box. Works excellently plus it’s on the official Android TV platform.
 
Not true. I have a £30 Android box (W95) which runs all the UK catch up apps and fires up a VPN on boot for using abroad. We've used it in Premier Inns too and it was flawless.

By run do you mean TV optimized version of those apps so no mouse required you can just use a remote? Or you have to use a mouse/air mouse app to navigate?
 
By run do you mean TV optimized version of those apps so no mouse required you can just use a remote? Or you have to use a mouse/air mouse app to navigate?
in my experience you can use both, however l connected a normal USB mouse which worked fine, though by normal it was a midi rollerball mouse which l put a rubber band around so l could hook it up (it just hooked on my finger lol had two buttons and a rollerball).
 
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FYI, amazon.co.uk are currently selling the Roku Express at £17.98 (normally £29.99, "40% off, limited time deal")
 
Nvidia shield. All the way.

OK it's £200 for the pro version, but I promise you, the slick remote is worth that on its own. It really does perform like the centre of your viewing experience, rather than a bolt-on device.

I finally got fed up of our PS4 as a media centre and having to fiddle with the remote, and its fast (for a game device) boot up time of about 20-30 seconds feels desperately slow for a viewing device.

The shield wakes in under a second, boots from cold in three. Switches services faster than you can blink. No exaggeration, you're in amazon or youtube, hit the netflix button and pow, you're in netflix. Go back to main menu, hit circle, you're there. Blink and you miss it.

The remote automatically backlights as you pick it up, and has a built in microphone for voice control. the voice control seamlessly works with google home (and probably axela), oh and it has a full chromecast device built in too. It can run a plex server with attached USB storage. i love it. the PS4 hasn't been switched on for months
 
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+1 for the Nvidia Shield TV box. Easily the best Android TV box out there.
It runs that smoothly, you'd think it was running iOS instead of Android :p
 
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