Android box recommendations

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Wakrak

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#269868 12-Apr-2020 13:35

Kia ora. I currently have a MINIX-UH9 (S912) with Core-elec installed on a micro SD card, Seren linked to a Real-debrid account, and SkyGo on the side. Looking to get another box or two and do the same setup for family (minus the SkyGo). Checked prices today for a new MINIX-UH9 and they still seem to be ruthless considering:

(a) I got mine three years ago and
(b) there seems to be debate among the Android TV box community that S905(X3) is the way to go (at a minimum) with S912 possibly no longer receiving support in the near future (KODI, though there's Panfrost). I'm no expert in this domain though. A novice if anything.

What do you guys recommend? 4K, HDR and gigabit Ethernet is preferential. Live TV isn't necessary since most members of the family have Freeview through their TV, and can get youtube premium for $3 a month. Real-debrid works out to be $5 a month.

Something under $100 would be ideal. After going through a few forums, this seems decent. Box for $60 (with 5G and Bluetooth), decent Micro-SD card for $10-20, Real-debrid & youtube for $8 a month. That's $90ish there. Could always install straight on the device, but a bit above my pay-grade and scared I might break something.

Just seeing what other options there are and what works for others at a decent price.

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#2459920 12-Apr-2020 15:02

Xiaomi Mi Box 4 works well.

jondoublew

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#2459929 12-Apr-2020 15:15

i got the mi box for my parent's tv, works well

enfield

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#2459932 12-Apr-2020 15:24

I have a couple of Android boxes which I don't use since getting 4k firestick.I got Kodi setup with Seren and Stb emu for IPTV, everything works better compared to the Android boxes I had.

driller2000

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#2459965 12-Apr-2020 15:49

At that price point - Mi Box.

I have one as a 2nd streamer - Shield being 1st - and the Mi Box does 80% of the job for 1/3 of the price. I have also set up 6 of these for friends and family - Incl Kodi, Stremio etc.

This thread is full of good info re various Kodi boxes:

https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=252916

Wakrak

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#2459986 12-Apr-2020 16:02

enfield: I have a couple of Android boxes which I don't use since getting 4k firestick.I got Kodi setup with Seren and Stb emu for IPTV, everything works better compared to the Android boxes I had.

What's the speed like on the firestick? Price looks good, but some seem to think that it's slower overall navigation wise. Core-elec is pretty light though, but unsure if it has a version for the firestick. Is it full of amazon bloatware?

I rate Xiaomi products. Didn't know they had an Android box. what's 4K streaming like? I've read mixed reviews, but enough people in this forum post seem to rate it, especially at its price.

Thanks for the Kodi link as well driller2000. I've been looking at the ODROID N2 all day. Tempting. I rate this chart as well.

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#2459989 12-Apr-2020 16:14

Check this writeup I did a couple of months ago. I need to update the Firestick write up since I got a Firestick 4k (it's very good)

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=34&topicid=265820

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Wakrak

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#2460091 12-Apr-2020 18:21

The X96 Max+ 4GB/32GB with Amlogic S905X3 sounding pretty good too

Handle9

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#2460094 12-Apr-2020 18:25

Wakrak:

The X96 Max+ 4GB/32GB with Amlogic S905X3 sounding pretty good too

It's not google certified so probably will only play SD netflix

farcus

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#2460106 12-Apr-2020 18:54

Handle9:

Wakrak:

The X96 Max+ 4GB/32GB with Amlogic S905X3 sounding pretty good too

It's not google certified so probably will only play SD netflix

yes, the version of widevine on the X96 boxes only allows them to play SD on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu etc

driller2000

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#2460211 13-Apr-2020 10:30

enfield:

I rate Xiaomi products. Didn't know they had an Android box. what's 4K streaming like? I've read mixed reviews, but enough people in this forum post seem to rate it, especially at its price.

Thanks for the Kodi link as well driller2000. I've been looking at the ODROID N2 all day. Tempting. I rate this chart as well.

4k streaming is all good now - it was patchy earlier in its life cycle.

I have a lot of 4k rips on my unRAID server - and these stream all good over Kodi - cabled ethernet using a USB/ethernet dongle.

Also streams 4k YT fine and when I had 4K Netflix it was also all good.

Comes with all std apps and as a certified AndroidTV box - apps stream in 4k. Plus you can sideload a bunch of others (Pro Tip - Stremio).

It is supported by Google, including getting updates a couple of years after release.

Wifi remote which is simple but effective. (Better than original Shield remote.)

Great value streamer and highly recommended.

PS: Just made a terrible quality video complete with reflections :) - but it does show Kodi 4k and YT 4K in use: https://youtu.be/ysrIjQr2Lmk

PANiCnz

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#2460232 13-Apr-2020 11:02

Given your use case you're probably better to have a look on the Coreelec forums and see what is popular. Support for the S905X3 seems to be slow, so would probably suggest looking at a box with the S905X2 instead. Some of the cheaper boxes are only 100M ethernet so be careful, even if they'are advertised as 1000M its often not the case for the cheaper models.

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#2460376 13-Apr-2020 11:18

I've got a Vero 4K and I couldn't be happier.

Wakrak

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#2460407 13-Apr-2020 11:46

Interesting. Could buy the Mi Box S from Australia at a slightly cheaper price, considering an Ethernet adapter is another $20. I don't use any of those officials apps so I'm not too concerned with that re: Netflix, Amazon, Lightbox etc. Most of the family can get those apps through their smart TV if they wanted them as well. My only concern is the ability to run 4K without stutter, support for faster connection, and have no issues in terms of menu navigation speed. I'll have it setup so that it goes straight into Core-elec and use Seren as the main source of streaming.

But I guess if I get an Android box that does have Google Widevine support, me and whoever I give the box to is good from here on out.

Re: cheap boxes and ethernet speed. Yeah, I've seen that quite a bit. Most users on certain core-elec threads state that you have to get a S905X2 4gb/32gb at a minimum, but even then, its an Aliexpress luckydip eh.

Vero 4K sounds great as well.

Really, it just comes down to me being a cheap-ass and trying to get the job done for under $100 😃

Mi Box S might be the way to go just for less stress and a guarantee that everything official and unofficial will run at 4K.

driller2000

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#2460469 13-Apr-2020 12:39

"I'll have it setup so that it goes straight into Core-elec and use Seren as the main source of streaming. "

Sorry I just read this - and as I understand it the MiBox bootloader is locked - so you WON'T be able to do the above. So that may be a deal breaker for you.

PS: I tried 3 different Android Boxes (before I purchased my Shield and MiBox) - and they ALL were gathering dust within a few months due to poor performance, slow/ugly GUI, none/minimal updates and absolutely no backup when things went wrong. So yeah - would be careful in that regard.

Wakrak

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#2460493 13-Apr-2020 13:09

Thanks for the advice. Mi Box S it is I think. Could always just use Kodi instead of Core-Elec, so not too much of an issue there. Another Minix-UH9 would be nice, but it hardly receives updates and is still too costly.

On a side-note, if anyone wants to use real-debrid, you're welcome to use my link 😃 Rate the service, and the owner has some good yarns on twitter regarding VPN services.

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