My experience with Android TV boxes

[Bruno_A]

Hello guys, been a while since my last post. After seeing Linus' video about the Xiaomi Mi Box S, I decided to share my experience with Android TV boxes, as I had a few, including the Xiaomi Mi Box 3. A while ago, I and my father kept talking about how we should buy a cable TV service, and me being tech-oriented, I suggested buying an Android TV box and paying for a cheap IPTV service. Getting an Android TV box was a much better option as an IPTV service is often cheaper than cable TV and you can also use apps such as Netflix, etc.

 

TICTID AX9 Max (cheap box from Amazon)

As I don't watch that much TV, I decided to get a cheap Android TV box (Amazon link here), for £30 (VAT free). Now, I must say I don't like to cheap out on the things that matter, however, I just didn't feel like paying a lot for something I wouldn't use a lot, however, I regretted it right after I used it for 5 minutes. The interface wasn't great, it didn't have dual-band Wi-Fi, the remote wasn't Bluetooth (it used an IR blaster), it was overall slow and it wasn't Android TV OS, so, in certain apps like Twitch, the remote up, down, left and right buttons wouldn't work as the stock app wasn't made for them, so I needed to use the mouse function, which was slow and controlled by these same buttons. With that said, I cannot recommend this box. I ended up speaking with Amazon and arranging a return.

 

Xiaomi Mi Box

After returning the cheap box, I decided to get a Xiaomi Mi Box 3 (Gearbest link here), for £58 shipped to the UK. I must say the box felt high-quality, as so did the remote. It shipped with Android 7.0 if I'm not mistaken (might have been 7.1) and I loved it. The interface was great, the box was fast, etc., however, I decided to update it to Android 8.0, thinking it could only get better. To my disappointment, the box felt slightly slower, however, that was not the main issue. The remote often stopped working or took very long to process the button clicks, often doing all the requests (button clicks) all at once after a while, which wasn't great and the sound would get out of sync with the audio, in every app. After my experience with what was once a great TV box got ruined, I also requested a return for this box (forgot to ship it and never got the refund, so, I'm stuck with it).

 

NVidia SHIELD TV

After my experience with the Xiaomi Box, I "went crazy" and bought a 2017 16GB NVidia Shield TV with the gaming controller. The box feels really high-quality, and so do the remote and controller, and when you buy it, you're automatically entered to the NVidia's Geforce Now programme, which is a plus, however in the NVidia Games app, some games such as Real Racing 3 that come up there as a game you can play, are not actually playable as you cannot install the app. After you click on that game (and all other Android games) on the NVidia Games app, it should prompt you to a page with the description of the game, and an install button, however, there is no install button. Also, I am experiencing the exact same problems I was experiencing with the Xiaomi Mi Box 3: the sound being out of sync and the remote not working properly(the gaming controller works perfectly, though, and so does controlling it with the android remote app, or the Shield TV app, on iPhone). Regarding the sound being out of sync, a restart fixes the issue, but only temporarily, as the sound slowly gets back out of sync. With all that said, are Android boxes just not that great and not worth our time? If you have an Android TV box, let me know how you find it.

 

Sorry for the long post.

[DVA]

this wall of text is an eye sore, thought I'd be the first to tell ya. Try to section it off into it bits so it's easier on the readers' eyes.

[MedievalMatt]

4 minutes ago, bruny06 said:

Hello guys, been a while since my last post. After seeing Linus' video about the Xiaomi Mi Box S, I decided to share my experience with Android TV boxes, as I had a few, including the Xiaomi Mi Box 3. A while ago, I and my father kept talking about how we should buy a cable TV service, and me being tech-oriented, I suggested buying an Android TV box and paying for a cheap IPTV service. Getting an Android TV box was a much better option as an IPTV service is often cheaper than cable TV and you can also use apps such as Netflix, etc. As I don't watch that much TV, I decided to get a cheap Android TV box (Amazon link here), for £30 (VAT free). Now, I must say I don't like to cheap out on the things that matter, however, I just didn't feel like paying a lot for something I wouldn't use a lot, however, I regretted it right after I used it for 5 minutes. The interface wasn't great, it didn't have dual-band Wi-Fi, the remote wasn't Bluetooth (it used an IR blaster), it was overall slow and it wasn't Android TV OS, so, in certain apps like Twitch, the remote up, down, left and right buttons wouldn't work as the stock app wasn't made for them, so I needed to use the mouse function, which was slow and controlled by these same buttons. With that said, I cannot recommend this box. I spoke with Amazon and arranged a return. After returning it, I decided to get a Xiaomi Mi Box 3 (Gearbest link here), for £58 shipped to the UK. I must say the box felt high-quality, as so did the remote. It shipped with Android 7.0 if I'm not mistaken (might have been 7.1) and I loved it. The interface was great, the box was fast, etc., however, I decided to update it to Android 8.0, thinking it could only get better. To my disappointment, the box felt slightly slower, however, that was not the main issue. The remote often stopped working or took very long to process the button clicks, often doing all the requests (button clicks) all at once after a while, which wasn't great and the sound would get out of sync with the audio, in every app. After my experience with what was once a great TV box got ruined, I also requested a return for this box (forgot to ship it and never got the refund, so, I'm stuck with it) and later "went crazy" and bought a 2017 16GB NVidia Shield TV with the gaming controller. The box feels really high-quality, and so do the remote and controller, and when you buy it, you're automatically entered to the NVidia's Geforce Now programme, which is a plus, however in the NVidia Games app, some games such as Real Racing 3 that come up there as a game you can play, are not actually playable as you cannot install the app. After you click on that game (and all other Android games) on the NVidia Games app, it should prompt you to a page with the description of the game, and an install button, however, there is no install button. Also, I am experiencing the exact same problems I was experiencing with the Xiaomi Mi Box 3: the sound being out of sync and the remote not working properly(the gaming controller works perfectly, though, and so does controlling it with the android remote app, or the Shield TV app, on iPhone). Regarding the sound being out of sync, a restart fixes the issue, but only temporarily, as the sound slowly gets back out of sync. With all that said, are Android boxes just not that great and not worth our time? If you have an Android TV box, let me know how you find it.

 

Sorry for the long post.

Uhm.... TL;DR please?  or better formatting.

 

Edit:

 

TL;DR - I bought 3 android TV boxes, they all didnt work right IMO.

 

 

 - Discuss.

Edited November 29, 2018 by MedievalMatt

[Bruno_A]

4 minutes ago, DVA said:

this wall of text is an eye sore, thought I'd be the first to tell ya. Try to section it off into it bits so it's easier on the readers' eyes.

 

2 minutes ago, MedievalMatt said:

Uhm.... TL;DR please?  or better formatting.

 

Edit:

 

TL;DR - I bought 3 android TV boxes, they all didnt work right IMO.

 

 

 - Discuss.

Edited the post. Hopefully, it's not as bad.

[MedievalMatt]

1 minute ago, bruny06 said:

 

Edited the post. Hopefully, it's not as bad.

Much better.

 

Seems like more of a status update though.

 

ive only used Chromecasts.  And they are amazing.  They have their drawbacks (prime video cant be casted, but this makes some sense).  And a ton of advantages (casting browser tabs, your dekstop, your phone screen, games, music).

 

Simple to use, simple to setup, they fuck up like 5% of the time, and a restart resovles.

[GoodBytes]

I was not happy with what is available. I also didn't like Roku, because ease of use was key, and most of the services that it supports aren't not available in Canada.

 

I ended up simply taking an old computer, install Windows 10, got a cheap air mouse with a keyboard on the back that looked simple and easy to use, and change the Windows cursor to one I found online so that it is nice looking, and is easy to track on the TV from sofa distance, and set the Start Menu to full screen. Showing only the live tiles, I put Spotify, Netflix, Edge ('cause it worked best for the system and air mouse) and Plex.

 

60fps performance, 1080p support (TV is 1080p, and the PC is too old for having 4K compatible HDMI, so great for me!), super fast and fluid.

I don't shut down the system either, It just goes to sleep when you hit the power button on the air mouse.

 

Cost me less than a Roku (mind you I did have a spare Windows 10 license)

[Bruno_A]

1 minute ago, MedievalMatt said:

Much better.

 

Seems like more of a status update though.

 

ive only used Chromecasts.  And they are amazing.  They have their drawbacks (prime video cant be casted, but this makes some sense).  And a ton of advantages (casting browser tabs, your dekstop, your phone screen, games, music).

 

Simple to use, simple to setup, they fuck up like 5% of the time, and a restart resovles.

Ohhh, I forgot to mention, the Chromecast feature on the Mi Box stopped working at some point. Experiencing these problems in the Mi Box and the much more expensive and premium NVidia SHIELD TV, I refuse to think I'm this unlucky and got two defective products that have the same problems.

[Bruno_A]

2 minutes ago, GoodBytes said:

I was not happy with what is available. I also didn't like Roku, because ease of use was key, and most of the services that it supports aren't not available in Canada.

 

I ended up simply taking an old computer, install Windows 10, got a cheap air mouse with a keyboard on the back that looked simple and easy to use, and change the Windows cursor to one I found online so that it is nice looking, and is easy to track on the TV from sofa distance, and set the Start Menu to full screen. Showing only the live tiles, I put Spotify, Netflix, Edge ('cause it worked best for the system and air mouse) and Plex.

 

60fps performance, 1080p support (TV is 1080p, and the PC is too old for having 4K compatible HDMI, so great for me!), super fast and fluid.

I don't shut down the system either, It just goes to sleep when you hit the power button on the air mouse.

 

Cost me less than a Roku (mind you I did have a spare Windows 10 license)

At this point, I just want something that works properly, so I might as well just go for an ITX build that I could use to emulate games as well...

[GoodBytes]

1 hour ago, bruny06 said:

At this point, I just want something that works properly, so I might as well just go for an ITX build that I could use to emulate games as well...

True. or go to a shop that recycle old computers, and see if you can find a laptop or something discrete you hide in your home theater for cheap with a Core 2 Duo or better yet first gen Core i5/i7 series, get an Air mouse form Amazon, and you are pretty much set. Use Steam stream thingy for gaming. Not sure on emulators. I guess it depends on the system you are emulating, and your preferred emulator. Just given a low cost idea.

 

[Xplo1t]

I think audio syncing is an Android issue.  Don't have any issues with Amazon Video, Youtube, Netflix or PS Vue on my PC, iPhone and PS4.  However, my Android tablet and Android TV both have lip syncing issues.  Not a big deal for sports, but any show that focuses the shot on the person speaking becomes annoying.