What does Jow Forums consider the best set-top box for TV and why?
What do you personally use?
I hear the AppleTV is overpriced and the Nvidia Shield is great value only if you play games. How does the Xiaomi Mi Box fare by comparison? How about the other alternatives? Can non-Android Smart TV OSes compete?
What you using it for?
>Are you gaming
get the shield.
>Are you gay?
Get the apple
>Just apps/tv/Netflix?
4k fire stick $25.
>Mi box S?
Comparable to the fire stick 4k. Both are missing Ethernet.
I actually already have a Shield. I'm making this thread because this technology interests me, and may affect what I gift others.
I'm Australian and hear Fire Sticks are still trash here.
One of our alternatives is the Vodafone TV, which is very affordable, has an ethernet port, and is produced by a large, non-chink company, but it's still on Android 7 and doesn't support Kodi auto Frame Rate Matching.
Apple TV 4k is better IF you get it to buy movies in the long run as an investment and have other devices that can benefit from it too. It's app integration is only ok. Better than the Roku stick but worse in some ways to the Shield TV.
Here's the thing: UHD benefits 35mm movies the most since it's almost 1:1 transfer. Newer movies are held back by CGI and go through an odd process of downscaling to match 2k CGI and then upscaling to 4k.
The quality difference at that point makes the UHD disc kind of pointless when you can usually get the Apple TV equivalent at comparable quality for cheaper. The sales on movies are really cheap. But the consequence is you can't download movies and only stream them. (I really wish they would change this. The damn thing has up to 64gb of space it's never going to get around to using)
Apple TV with something like Infuse is pretty good at playing videos over the network with the right Dolby and DTS audio stream sampling.
Fire TV is kind of crap overall but it's cheap and ok at it's job.
Just get a chromecast
Why the fuck would you use anything other than a pi 4 running kodi to access your movies from your nas? Chromecasts and bokus, really? Get the fuck off my Jow Forums you fuckin plebs
The fire stick 4k is Decent. The regular firesticks are trash.
>Pi4
Mehhh. I'm using a Zgemma, runs Kodi and it's natural tv interface for IPTV can't be beat.
Firestick 4k has a faster soc than mibox s
t. brainlet
whats the best plex stb (client, already have a server)
Choose your fighter.
Can I open the firestick 4k and rip out the microphone?
They're literally stupidly priced pointless shit if you are even remotely technical. A fanless mini PC costs like not much more than a complete R Pi kit (which is also a great option).
Stick Kodi on it if it has enough storage of its own, otherwise Plex Client and stream from a server. If you spend not much more and get one with a discrete graphics card like the Intel Hades Canyon you can get a console replacement/VR system.
Grab an all-in-one wireless keyboard, anything from a full sized Microsoft or Logitech media keyboard down to a little Chinkshit Bluetooth controller and you have a proper HTPC set up.
mi box is cheaper than raspberry pi but has more performance and run android
Agreed re Mi Box. Based Chinks. The major Western brand options fucking suck tho.
most likely you have an xbox or ps4
Why do you need another gimped pc for basic links ?
I have the Mibox S, shield blows it out of the water. I prefer my Mibox S to the firestick 4k I have as well though. I just enjoy the Android TV interface.
t. idiot
Because contrary to what you believe, retard, most people actually don't own either and prefer to play games on PC.
Also, if you've ever used either of them, they're clunky as fuck and require a remote to be purchased separately. Android TV boxes are much faster and better optimized for streaming.
>I have the Mibox S, shield blows it out of the water
In what way?
cool phone, user
Unironically the xbox, since it's the only one that can play 4k bluray
Apple TV is the most powerful of them, but $200 is a lot compared to the alternatives.
>Apple TV is the most powerful of them
lmao no, the Shield is objectively more powerful.
>the Shield is objectively more powerful
[citation required]
Show me an Apple TV emulating Dolphin at 60fps, idiot.
The Shield was designed for gaming and has the same chip as the Switch. It's always going to be the most powerful you braindead idiotic Apple fanboy.
I just use a hacked first generation Apple TV. I had a second generation one, but it only output HDMI, which needed an adapter for my TV. You can get a first gen Apple TV for around $20 now.
>gaming
Fucking child.
What do you use then?
t. Netflix shill
Can you run youtube.com/tv in a browser with adblock on this?
Odroid + libreelec
Boot via eMMC + external SSD storage.
>Add in a tuner for OTA HDTV ATSC 3.0
>Add in monitor led GPIO hue for KODI
>IR reciever for any remote or use a airmouse with keyboard with remappability
Hey idiot, not everyone wants a fucking keyboard for TV use. Products like the Mi Box and Nvidia Shield are good because they're versatile, easy to use and have very small form factor.
What's the point of the LEDs?
Do you really need the IR receiver or can it be controlled through HTPC?
>HTPC
CEC I mean
You don't have to use the keyboard you retard. You can use a regular remote if you want. Those products are good if you only use streaming services with shit selection and low quality.
>Those products are good if you only use streaming services with shit selection and low quality
You are only further proving your idiocy here.
Why don't you share with the rest of the class why I'm wrong?
I use a Vontar Z8 Arc, which is the same motherboard as M8S Pro or whatever the fuck.
It has Amlogic S912 and 3gb DDR4 RAM, 32gb NAND storage, and I've flashed an Android TV rom to it which works great. Seems like this is the next best step inbetween Mibox (S905) and nvidia shield. I really wish there was more options, as the mibox is too slow, the shield is fine but it's too expensive for the use cases of these boxes.
I find it funny that it's my most used computer these days and it cost $70, and I can just leave it on all the time because it draws like 5 watts. My PC is connected to the TV as well but mostly it's this box doing everything. I bought a Minix keyboard remote thing for it and it's awesome.
When is the new Shield coming out?
PS4
Apple tv 4k has hdr and dolby atmos, also has apps support for plex, and vlc. Thats pretty good value for money if you already have some apple devices and bought movies on itunes.
There are cheaper options that can play Blu-Rays.
PS4 is shit for Plex
works for me :^)
>he only uses it for blurays
>works for me
What's your setup?
>>he only uses it for blurays
I didn't say that. But that is the only thing that would be special about it. A $30 rPi can play HD video just as well.
very simple, pms on my desktop, plex on the ps4
>But that is the only thing that would be special about it
maybe if youre not a gaymer
besides, shields are not that much cheaper than a slim
>maybe if youre not a gaymer
I'm an adult, so no. I do not play with toys.
>very simple, pms on my desktop, plex on the ps4
There's a lot of unstability reports. Crashes very often, etc.
a new shield is releasing some time in November alongside Google's shitadia.
is it worth it to wait for that or to buy a shield now? I worry about software update support (should I even worry?)
Firetv stick 4K. It's all you need.
You do watch jewish propaganda though
No I don't. Tell me exactly what you mean. Video games are Jewish propaganda, by the way. Designed to infantilise the modern male.
Wtf do you need it for? Make your own media center and hook it up to tv. You're not a fag are you user? With pc hooked up you can emulate anything and watch anything
>Apple
>Investment
Lmao.
there used to be yes, but not anymore
give it some rest Hans
There's rock64pro as well. More open source as well
>apple shill
>very simple, pms on my desktop, plex on the ps4
In other words, you're a complete idiot. Got it.
It's going to be the same as the old Shield, except on Android 9, and overclocked a bit more for slightly better gaming performance.
if youre not using Xbox 360 as ur box for tv you’re doig something wrong
>What do you personally use?
Playstation 4 and Plex
>building a pc for your tv
Not everyone is a complete idiot like you are.
It's better to build a NAS for your router that streams content to all the TVs and phones within the household.
Same user here. Well if you are already invested in the apple ecosystem it makes sense.
Personally I use a combination of chromecast and xbox one for all my media needs.
Or xbox one with kodi and xstream plugin
Its fugging awsome guys
This. Xbox One is mega value for money in the media player department.
WHere the fuck do you get that keyboard pls link u bitch
>It's better to build a NAS for your router that streams content to all the TVs and phones within the household.
Lets face it user, you live alone and you will most certainly die alone
Odroid N2 + Coreelec
Boot via eMMC + gigabit access to NAS storage
>IR Receiver with Odroid Remote
This is the best
Once there is proper software support for the new Pi4, I think it will be a killer cheap media box.
Just buy a dell optiplex from ebay or craigslist, $80-100 or less. The size of an xbox. Throw in a 1050 ti or whatever other video card if you need gaming. Will outperform the shit out of the other two and doesnt rely on shitty apps that go obsolete.
For that price or even cheaper you can get an xbox one s.
$150-200? No, I dont think so, plus its harder to watch torrented shit on an xbox
Whoop meant for
Depends on use. If you're also playing. PC is better. If streaming only, a raspberry Pi would suffice
I use the Apple TV, works like a charm, has Netflix and the likes, Youtube, music, remote is great to use. Has some lighter gaming abilities if my nephews and family are visiting. VLC works well with playing videos. I don't really feel the need for more.
Or get the pc and have a way bigger game library and access to far more media services
You don't use your NAS to torrent and play them on your xbox one with vlc? Thats strange.
Why when I can just do it all from 1 place
I own both. Apple TV is overpriced, but it does have a more premium feel to it in terms of the remote, the UI etc If you have Ipad/Iphone it's the obvious choice.
Nvidia Shield is better if you are value oriented or want to turn it into your media server.
Rpi 4. Cheaper than the shield and the only things the shield can emulate and not the rpi are some GameCube games, and the shield does those poorly anyway
Yeah sure, if you want a stuttering mess on 4K playback get the Pi 4.
>Don't bought h96 max h2 with a S905X2
Best price/performance you can get.
Actual Pi-owners don't even shill this memedevice as hard as you guys do. It's trash for anything but low-powered server ops and old-school emulation.
Stop.
Why not just use an old pc for that purpose?
Pi4 is old Optiplex level now, you can even use it as generic browser/word processor desktop machine, even light video playing is doable. Of course you need to add a proper heatsink.
The next iteration will be Mac mini/barebone PC level which is more than enough for 95% of the people's computing needs.
S905X2 is slower than S912 and newer. It wasn't out yet. I've had this box like 2yrs.
Or just any laptop with HDMI works great, I use a cheap $20 keyboard with a trackpad just to have the two in the same place, trackballs work great on a couch too
AppleTV has fat and away the best user interface and responsive ui. My fire 4K was a fucking nightmare to use because the ui was so slow. Got an AppleTV and never looked back.
Not bad but a noisy as fuck, ugly aesthetically, high power consumption, too many mechanical parts. An R Pi in a decent case or mini PC/NUC with a discrete graphics card are better more aesthetic options. But yeah not rolling your own streaming device from your own machine pre-built or otherwise and own app selection is retarded if and shitty if you browse here.
this thing is great
>30bucks
>uses little power, 5v 2a
>no fans so its silent
>its tiny
>usb3.0 port so I plug in my 2tb hdd with full of movies/tv series/roms/anime/other shit
>plays 4k videos no problem
>emulates upto psp
>runs fairly new android(8.1)
>also has good custom rom support
>good specs and runs fast
>rooted out of the box
>build-in ethernet
>has google play
the remote that comes with it sucks but you can use any wired/dongle/bluetooth remote/keyboard/mouse/controller to control it
how did you installed(kodi) it on zgemma ?
>S905X2 is slower than S912
?