Android TV box?

[nine mil thrill]

Sholling is dead on........i started with all sorts of inexpensive android boxes, and i am now with the nvidia shield. far far it is absolutely the best. sure there are cheaper boxes out there, but by the time you get some experience under your belt..........you will eventually end up with a shield. do yourself a favor and buy a shield now, and save yourself the money of not "learning"....on the cheaper boxes.

[the86d]

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=droidbox+review

[crufflers]

I have a Shield Pro with game controller and slim remote. Nice to have two remotes if one needs charging. The Shield is great. Super fast.

[wpage]

Interesting but I am satified with my cable, phone, tv, internet service...

[the86d]

Interesting but I am satified with my cable, phone, tv, internet service...

Many are not... ~$1200/year for something that only occasionally gets watched sounds like an idea my lady likes, mainly because she does not pay the bill.

[nine mil thrill]

if you have google chrome.........you can watch ANY.......nfl, nba, nhl, and wwe, simply by typing in sportsarefree.xyz
these are off shore feeds through google chrome in 1080 and totally free.

[brassburnz]

if you have google chrome.........you can watch ANY.......nfl, nba, nhl, and wwe, simply by typing in sportsarefree.xyz
these are off shore feeds through google chrome in 1080 and totally free.

Thanks. Watching a game now.

[nine mil thrill]

bump

[sholling]

I’m not a huge Kodi user and over the years just haven't seen the attraction of vanilla Android boxes for TV other than the price of the cheaper boxes, but, hey, I’m open minded. Recently I needed a device (Android box, Shield TV, Roku, etc) for a secondary TV that does not have a cable box. To fill that role and satisfy my curiosity after all of the glowing recommendations on Calguns I obtained the often praised DroidBOX to see what the attraction was.

In Android mode the DroidBOX opens to an attractive menu page that is easily navigated via the included infrared remote. For navigating much beyond that, including setting up apps like Kodi you’re going to need a $15-20 RF remote/air-mouse with a built-in mini keyboard or a wireless HTPC keyboard like Logitech’s K400+. Not a big deal but it adds another $15-30 to the final cost of the product. I'm less impressed with the included applications because DroidBOX seems to have put almost no effort into obtaining TV optimized applications for their device. Versions of popular apps that can easily be used without a mouse or touchpad. In fact, their version of Netflix will not even display videos on my 1080P TV (black screen) and the Google Play Store version is not compatible. Basically, the DriodBOX lacks even the most basic level of functionality that you’d expect from a phone or a $50 Amazon Fire 7 Android tablet or even a low-end Fire TV. The one video application that did work sort of okay with the supplied remote was YouTube, but only with Android’s notification and navigation bars taking up part of the screen. In other words, unless your sole focus is on Kodi this thing is, in my opinion, an abortion and in has since been replaced by a cheap Roku. Perhaps it’s a decent Kodi box, but I’m not into watching pirated video feeds and didn’t get that far simply because vanilla Android TV failed to meet even my most basic minimum expectations - Netflix and Amazon Prime at 1080P (really 4K at this price point) without a mouse and YouTube in 100% full screen mode. In my opinion Kodi is icing on a cake and not a device’s minimum functionality. If you’re feeling wonky and are looking for a pretty crippled HTPC like experience or just something to stick Kodi on then the DroidBOX is a cheap way to get there. On the other hand, if you prefer a no muss no fuss TV appliance experience like Roku, Amazon Fire TV, built-in TV apps, or a cable box then vanilla Android TV is not for you.

In contrast NVIDIA’s Shield TV runs the real Android TV OS and interface and the whole experience was designed from the get-go for use with the simple Bluetooth remote that they include in the box – no mouse needed. NVIDIA includes a number of remote control optimized applications, including an Android TV only version of the Google App Store, and while you'll find fewer applications than the phone/tablet version, all of the apps are optimized for a TV/remote control experience. Versions of YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Go and most of the other popular video and music services, all of which play 100% full screen and none of which requires a mouse or touch screen. The exception is Kodi, which is just easier to set up using a mouse and keyboard, but once setup it works fine with the remote. For those that do not need full blown Kodi, NVIDIA includes a full version of Plex/Plex Server which I use to access my large digitized music collection. There are also a ton of video games available and it has access to NVIDIA's subscription game service. In my opinion, on a 1 to 10 scale it’s an “9”, limited only by the number of optimized apps. If they add a Shield TV optimized version of Amazon Music unlimited it will in my opinion be perfection - a for-real “10”. It’s every bit as as easy to use as a Roku or cable box but much-much more.

Bottom line, in my opinion, unless your sole focus is Kodi, the next time that someone suggests “investing” in a vanilla Android TV device, including the DroidBOX, do yourself a HUGE favor and ignore them and buy a Shield TV instead – you’ll be glad that you did.

Edit: I canceled the cheap Roku (a cheap replacement for the sucky DroidBOX) and ordered another Shield TV.

[sanjoseskater]

B&H Photo has the 16GB remote only version of NVIDIA's awesome ShieldTV on sale for $143 ($30 instant savings in cart) with free shipping. B&H is a good company and the ShieldTV is without a doubt the best Android TV streaming media player. It works great with Kodi and if you add an external hard it works as a Plex server. Amazon and Newegg have it for slightly more.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1362644-REG/nvidia_945_12897_2500_100_shield_tv_darcy_remote.html

Amazon reviews:
https://www.amazon.com/NVIDIA-SHIELD...pe=all_reviews

Nvidia Shield is hands down the best android box out there, no other box is even close to compare Get it $150 shipped is a great deal. Hard wire it with cat6 so it doesn't run on wifi. I own a firestick that I don't use anymore since I got this. You won't regret spending the extra $$ to get the Ferrari of android boxes.

[sholling]

Nvidia Shield is hands down the best android box out there, no other box is even close to compare Get it $150 shipped is a great deal. Hard wire it with cat6 so it doesn't run on wifi. I own a firestick that I don't use anymore since I got this. You won't regret spending the extra $$ to get the Ferrari of android boxes.

The version with both a remote and a game controller is on sale for $169 shipped from B&H.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1304386-REG/nvidia_945_12897_2500_001_shield_tv_streaming_media.html

[the86d]

...Edit: I canceled the cheap Roku (a cheap replacement for the sucky DroidBOX) and ordered another Shield TV.

Which DroidBox did you get?

[nine mil thrill]

Sholling.....outstanding review......i agree 100%

[sholling]

Which DroidBox did you get?

T8 SE

[sholling]

Netflix is now allowing you to download some of their TV shows and movies so that would be the plus I am seeing with the Android box over the fire and Roku most look like you can plug in a flash drive or hard drive soo the wife can watch tv while we're we are camping out in the dessert

Why don't you buy her a 10" 32GB Amazon Fire tablet, drop a 256GB microSD card into it and let her watch prerecorded Netflix on that?

https://www.amazon.com/All-New-Amazon-Fire-HD-10-Inch-Tablet-32GB-Black/dp/B01J6RPGKG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1513651897&sr=8-4&keywords=10%22+fire+tablet