So I Wanna Buy An Android Box...

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frankcastle

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Feb 4, 2003
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The box is fine. The question is how is the software.

The more expensive options you are paying for someone to set it up for you.

I bet chances are you will have to read up and learn how to set it up to your liking.

I bought something similar and found that you are given hundreds of apps. All of them seem about the same. When you pick a movie you then keep trying different links till you get one with decent picture quality, the sound is synched with the pic and there is not stuttering. That is the out of the box experience of the cheap ones.

But I have heard people say they got it to work well. I think someone suggested a wookie build whatever that means.

I know people who have paid more for the red rhino and that works better and you get some tech support.
 
TFZL1

TFZL1

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Mar 24, 2015
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I bought the NVidia Shield box. Comes with a remote with voice control and a game controller.
It's one of the more expensive boxes because the hardware is great.
The software is comes with will let you find free movies and mainstream Shows. Google and YouTube stuff.
You can put Kodi on it and add apps, that will let you spend more time looking for shows Than Actually watching content.
I got distracted/fustrated and gave up. For a while.
Then I bought a Bluetooth keyboard with touchpad.
That makes it easier to use. Ever try typing a long complicated Internet address with a tv remote?
Impossible to do with voice commands as well.
Once set up, there's a few shows I watch.
Most streaming shows are lower quality.
Impossible to find a movie with an HD soundtrack, they replace the bluray soundtrack with plain old 5.1 to save space, smaller files stream better. I prefer bluray.
DTS HD or Dolby MasterHD audio sound better than most movie theatres in 7.2 surround. But it scares the dogs.
I Cannot get the content I wanted. I wanted Fox Sports1 and NBC Sports.
Can't even get it buy buying it. NASCAR protects their content very well.
 
W

wawa

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Jan 15, 2004
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I too was thinking of buying a box, but I did this instead. I get all the movies I want, live sports, etc. No need to buy a box I have an HDMI cable from my computer to my tv

 
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Promo

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Jan 10, 2009
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Frankly: I think you can't go wrong with any of the Android boxes as long as they have a decent processor, video processor and claim to support 4K. They are all dirt cheap and should be considered throw-away if they fail. Be aware the only support you are going to get is from on-line communities, so I would suggest that as you get close to buying it, check if there's lots of primers on Youtube for your particular model describing how to set it up and use it. Otherwise if you have a problem, you are on your own.

You might not have a 4K TV, but if the box has 4K support, you know it should have decent processing power and won't be a problem for traditional HD use.

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Agree with Teejay that Minix makes a good box - I bought the Minix Neo X8 Plus from NCIX ~2 years ago. http://www.ncix.com/search/?qcatid=0&q=minix
I bought it because:
- it won most of the on-line comparison reviews
- supported 4K video and had a very good processor and video chip
- Came with xbmc and a ton of other software preloaded ...... xbmc (older version of kodi) turned out to be crappy so I loaded kodi
- had 802.1n ....... most boxes at the time only had g which could cause stutter or slow playback
- Supported almost all the video and audio formats commonly found in streaming and torrent content.

But like others, I found the need to occasionally load new programs into Kodi and the constant need to search through available streams within the program for one that worked well a total pain in the ass. There are several Youtube channels where people post their results for the latest best programs/streams, but I just wanna watch Walking Dead, I don't want to be constantly fiddling with the box.

------------

So, like wawa I went the PC route: I bought a off-lease mini-PC (Lenovo THINKCENTRE M93P for $260) with mini bluetooth keyboard/mouse and now use it for everything. Loaded Plex Media Server, Kodi and K-lite Codec Pack with player. Now I playback my ripped media, torrents, online streaming content via Kodi, Netflix, Youtube - any format with any encoding. I've downloaded a bunch of Android games for time wasting and installed a arcade emulator so I can play all my old favs. Everything is free and of decent quality. Only problem is you have to get off your butt to turn it on and off manually.

A suggestion: regardless with the platform you buy, if you can, hardwire it using quality Ethernet cable back to your wireless router. g/n work okay, but I found once I hardwired it, stuttering disappeared, I could stream higher quality streams and downloads were much faster.
 
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doggee_01

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Jul 11, 2003
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getting a preloaded one is a bit tricky now because of the class action law suit brought by bell/rogers et al!!!
 
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cynalan

Active member
Feb 20, 2004
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Why pay for an Androiid box? I've set up Kodi on my laptop for no cost. KODI is the app that drives most Android boxes. Easy to stream any and everything from my laptop to my smart TV.
 
Ref

Ref

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Oct 29, 2002
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That box would do well.

I have bought a couple off of Amazon and they work great.

I also own a 4K Sony TV that has an android operating system so I just downloaded the Kodi app on the TV, set up Exodus as an add on and it works great.
 
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doggee_01

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Jul 11, 2003
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cynalan said:
Why pay for an Androiid box? I've set up Kodi on my laptop for no cost. KODI is the app that drives most Android boxes. Easy to stream any and everything from my laptop to my smart TV.
Click to expand...
i have kodi on my laptop too but the box is more convienent i don't need my laptop conn to the tv
 
glamphotographer

glamphotographer

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Nov 5, 2011
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wawa said:
I too was thinking of buying a box, but I did this instead. I get all the movies I want, live sports, etc. No need to buy a box I have an HDMI cable from my computer to my tv

Click to expand...
This ^^^^^^^^

Got a computer, HDTV and HDMI cable and your good.
 
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TeeJay

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Jun 20, 2011
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doggee_01

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Jul 11, 2003
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TeeJay said:
Indeed but after reading the news story and then searching the actual case is not what the CBC reports it as
The guys named were broadcasting (illegally) actual Bell/Rogers etc tv streams and allowing people to save the streams as downloads

I've seen many Android boxes over the years but none that go that far into the piracy side / copyright infringing
Click to expand...
do a little more research a lot of the companies named were selling pre loaded box's and can not now do that or even offer service or tech help on said box's anyone with some tech skills can download kodi to their laptop and are away to the races but for a lot of folks a pre loaded box is all they can manage and right now it is not so easy to get one.... not impossible but harder than before
 
Keebler Elf

Keebler Elf

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Aug 31, 2001
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glamphotographer said:
This ^^^^^^^^

Got a computer, HDTV and HDMI cable and your good.
Click to expand...
I have all 3 but my TV isn't near my computer and I'm not going to run an HDMI cable halfway across the house. I don't have a laptop so that leaves the Android box option. I have wireless (and use it for Netflix) but I wasn't aware you can use the Android box software on your PC.
 
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Galseigin

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Dec 10, 2014
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As I mentioned in another thread if you're buying an android box be very careful what version of Android it supports. One of my boxes has 4.4 kitkat and it won't support higher versions. That means you won't be able to install higher versions of Kodi, which means you won't be able to get some sites that provide excellent streaming. If you buy a box it should have minimum lollipop 5.1 (may be good for a year) Marshmellow is out 6.0...Nougat 7.0 should be out too.
They update Kodi about once a year.... you want to be on top of it. If you see a cheap box, be careful.
I can use a computer too, but I like using the boxes remote and change channels rather than using a mouse.
 
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Butler1000

Well-known member
Oct 31, 2011
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I have Kodi on both a laptop and a box

The box is just more convenient. As well when I'm at work I take my laptop so my SO needs the box.

I use the favorite button for several channels of news and music so it's just more convenient to use the box.
 
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