Android TV boxes, worth it?
Discussion
So been offered an Android TV box for £115. I'm being promised Sky sports, Sky movies, basically all sky channels, all your sky store movies for free and accesses to almost every TV show/ film ever made. Sounds great, but also too good to be true. Anyone got one or know anything about them ?
It will be running Kodi (previously XBMC) and the various unsupported plugins. Sometimes it will stream and sometimes it won't, TV channels especially will be very low quality and cut out randomly.
Then depending on your IT knowledge it will need updating on a regular basis to actually play anything.
Ebay is full of them for £50 but even then I would not buy one, too much hassle if you want it as your primary source of movies when Netflix or similar costs around the same for 12 months and actually works.
Then depending on your IT knowledge it will need updating on a regular basis to actually play anything.
Ebay is full of them for £50 but even then I would not buy one, too much hassle if you want it as your primary source of movies when Netflix or similar costs around the same for 12 months and actually works.
A friend of mine has one of these and loves it. Significantly cheaper than the one you're being offered:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231508774860?_trksid=p20...
He's (with a bit of tweaking) got the ability to pretty much watch any TV show box set, movie and various other things without too much trouble. I should obviously point out that the mechanics of this may not be strictly legal, but that's the same with any of these little boxes of tricks.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231508774860?_trksid=p20...
He's (with a bit of tweaking) got the ability to pretty much watch any TV show box set, movie and various other things without too much trouble. I should obviously point out that the mechanics of this may not be strictly legal, but that's the same with any of these little boxes of tricks.
saw you coming for that price lol.
I have an Amazon fire tv box , sideloaded with a customised version of Kodi. £64 for the box , and some time on google i had it working same weekend. It will only do sky (super low quality) with the right add ons.
A better sky alternative is buying a box that is capable of descrambling , then buying a "gift" of ebay and you have all sky channels (non HD) and ppv for the boxing ,wrestling etc.
All that well under £150
I have an Amazon fire tv box , sideloaded with a customised version of Kodi. £64 for the box , and some time on google i had it working same weekend. It will only do sky (super low quality) with the right add ons.
A better sky alternative is buying a box that is capable of descrambling , then buying a "gift" of ebay and you have all sky channels (non HD) and ppv for the boxing ,wrestling etc.
All that well under £150
I don't think £115 is expensive - I paid that for my Minix X8 and it has worked faultlessly since I got it.
It also came packaged with a gyroscope mouse/keyboard which makes using Kodi much easier (when typing in searches, etc.).
Because it is Android, I have also added Netflix (HD not supported) and TV Anywhere so I can get pretty much anything I would like to watch.
not as easy as Sky, but then nowhere near the cost of Sky, long term.
It also came packaged with a gyroscope mouse/keyboard which makes using Kodi much easier (when typing in searches, etc.).
Because it is Android, I have also added Netflix (HD not supported) and TV Anywhere so I can get pretty much anything I would like to watch.
not as easy as Sky, but then nowhere near the cost of Sky, long term.
My m8 box was about £60 off Amazon and its great.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00S81KTFY/ref=mp_...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00S81KTFY/ref=mp_...
Edited by dudleybloke on Tuesday 9th June 16:58
My M8 box is fine...... I cut back on all my TV packages, so now have freeview, feeesat, and the basic package from Virgin (I like their operating system for day today use... my better then freeview/sat) with a TiVo box for recording (£33/month with unlimited broadband 50mb and phone..... saved my self £90/month).
Not convinced for sport, as the sky hd channels are great quality (I can add back next footy season if need be)..... but you do also get access to games not broadcast in the UK but are in foreign lands..... so thee is an advantage there.
For films however, I think it is a fantastic little box........ only issue is the 5.1 sound, which takes for ever to stream and buffer if you can find........ so I watch most in HD with the sound going through my surround sound amp/processor in one one of the proligic modes/settings...
worth it ? ...... I'd say yes, at the end of the day it's only £100 so it's not going to break the bank.
Not convinced for sport, as the sky hd channels are great quality (I can add back next footy season if need be)..... but you do also get access to games not broadcast in the UK but are in foreign lands..... so thee is an advantage there.
For films however, I think it is a fantastic little box........ only issue is the 5.1 sound, which takes for ever to stream and buffer if you can find........ so I watch most in HD with the sound going through my surround sound amp/processor in one one of the proligic modes/settings...
worth it ? ...... I'd say yes, at the end of the day it's only £100 so it's not going to break the bank.
There are hundreds of these boxes on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=searc...
Is there any way to tell which ones are better than others?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=searc...
Is there any way to tell which ones are better than others?
Mr Pointy said:
There are hundreds of these boxes on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=searc...
Is there any way to tell which ones are better than others?
Go for Quad Core over Dual Core - better performance. http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=searc...
Is there any way to tell which ones are better than others?
Read some online reviews, not all boxes are created equal! That's why I decided to spend a bit more and get my one.
I tend to put more emphasis on users who use the kit rather than reviewers who get to play with a box for a few days and then write a review. The Freaktab forums are a good resource for these things. It's also a good idea to check out the appropriate specific forum of there is one, a busy forum with decent manufacturer representation makes a difference.
I have a Minix X8H and a Wetek Play, both of which have been excellent but for quite different reasons.
I have a Minix X8H and a Wetek Play, both of which have been excellent but for quite different reasons.
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