Android TV Box

xiaofan

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Problem here is mi box s is a box w lousy spec.... Beside google certify... this box is expensive w lousy spec... I really no wish to buy such a box just for the singtel tv go.... Mi Box S is not worth for anyone to buy seriously.... I hope someone here can tell me which other box beside this mi box can work for Singtel tv go...

The other one is Nvidia Shield TV if you are willing to pay.

Then there are good chance that Mecool KM9 Pro and KM3 will work as well. Both are based on S905X2 and running Google certified Android TV OS. The main differences between Mecool KM9 Pro/KM3 and Mi Box S in terms of software is that the Mecool boxes are not certified by Netflix.
 
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mdax23

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Repost with updates.

Just a list of popular current generic boxes

Amlogic CPU
1. S905X2 CPU
Beelink GT1 Mini (recommended)
Tanix TX5 Max (recommended)
Mecool KM9
Mecool KM9 Pro/KM3, Android TV OS
H96 Max X2
X96 Max
T95Q
A95X Max

S905Y2 variant
X96S TV stick
A95X Plus S905Y2

2. S912
Minix NEO U9-H
Beelink GT1-A Android TV OS
Berlin GT1 Ultimate
Tanix TX92
Tanix TX9 Pro
Mecool M8S Pro L Android TV OS
H96 Pro Plus

Magicsee C400 Hybrid box with DVB-T2 Tuner
Mecool Kiii Pro Hybrid box with DVB-T2 Tuner

3. S905X
Mi Box S (Strongly recommended)
Mecool KM8 Android TV OS
Magicsee N5
Evpad Plus

S905D variant
Magicsee C300 hybrid box with DVB-T2 Tuner
Mecool Kii Pro hybrid box with DVB-T2 Tuner
Mecool Ki Plus hybrid box with DVB-T2 Tuner

S905L
Used in China version of Mi Box 4 and 4C. Avoid these boxes.

4. S905W
Tanix TX3 Max (recommended low budget)
Tanix TX3 Mini (recommended low budget)
Mecool M8S Pro W Android TV OS
X96 Mini
MXQ Pro S905W version (got RK3229 version as well)

Rockchip CPU
1. RK3399, not recommended, expensive
Magicsee N6 Max
H96 Max RK3399
X99

2. RK3328, avoid Android 9 version now.

Tanix TX28, not supported by Tanix website, not cheap, not recommended
H96 Max Plus/H2
A5X Max
MXR Pro RK3328
MX10
Sunvell T9
Z28

3. RK3229, not recommended, buy S905W based Box better

Tania TX2
Scision V88
Sunvell R69 RK3229 (got H3 version as well), I have this box, usable but not good.
MXQ Pro RK3229 ( got S905W version as well)

Allwinner
1.H6, not recommended
Tanix TX6: not recommended because Android 9 is not mature. Also got Thermal issues. If you do not mind using a fan it is okay.

Zidoo X6, expensive
Eachlink H6 Mini
Sunvell T95 Max

Ubox Gen 5/6 (only 1GB RAM)
Evpad 3,3S,3Max (2GB RAM)

2. H5, seldom used in TV box

3. H3, old box only. Avoid them.
Sunvell R69 H3 is the only recent box.
Old Ubox Gen 2, Gen 3 and Gen 4.
EVpad old version as well.

Should sticky this post
Very informative. Tq
 

gregory_choo

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Problem here is mi box s is a box w lousy spec.... Beside google certify... this box is expensive w lousy spec... I really no wish to buy such a box just for the singtel tv go.... Mi Box S is not worth for anyone to buy seriously.... I hope someone here can tell me which other box beside this mi box can work for Singtel tv go...

Mibox's spec is more than enough if you are using it as tv box.

Xioami and google know their own product well.

In terms of price-performance, no other boxes, even those no brand boxes, are not better than mibox s.
 

gregory_choo

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Not true... Mi box s spec is very poor... Only it is google certify... otherwise any generic box beats it in terms of price and performance....

it is too simplistic just to look at the numbers. There are other important things to look at, e.g remote control, quality of components, workmanship, other features such as voice control, mic, chromecast, netflix etc.

mibox was first released 3 year ago, the latest version was released a few month ago. xiaomi uses the same chipset in the later model, but drop the clock speed by 25%. i.e. xiaomi concluded that the first version was too fast.

google release the ADT-2 developer kit this year, using the same spec.

The new boxes with s905x2 and 4GB ram are meant for light gamers, if you are not playing games, the extra processing power and ram are wasted, but if you are really into games, better to buy nvidai shield.
 

Shawncck

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it is too simplistic just to look at the numbers. There are other important things to look at, e.g remote control, quality of components, workmanship, other features such as voice control, mic, chromecast, netflix etc.

mibox was first released 3 year ago, the latest version was released a few month ago. xiaomi uses the same chipset in the later model, but drop the clock speed by 25%. i.e. xiaomi concluded that the first version was too fast.

google release the ADT-2 developer kit this year, using the same spec.

The new boxes with s905x2 and 4GB ram are meant for light gamers, if you are not playing games, the extra processing power and ram are wasted, but if you are really into games, better to buy nvidai shield.

Thanks for the clarification.... But still the new ni box is no difference from the old one... alot of better box w a better price outside.... In fact, any generic box beats mi box in term of performance... Is only branding that is making mi box expensive... No point spending the same amount of money to buy a I3 chip when u can get I7... does not make sense to get a mi box... i will buy purely i cant get a solution for my singtel tv go....
 

xiaofan

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i will buy purely i cant get a solution for my singtel tv go....

For SingTel TV Go, why not consider Chromecast dongle if you do not like Mi Box S? You do not need to buy the more expensive Chromecast Ultra, just the normal Chromecast dongle will do.

In fact my old first generation Chromecast dongle bought from SingTel shop many years ago at S$35 still works fine for all the apps like Toggle, Starhub Go, SingTel TV Go, YouTube, etc.

And Mi Box S is only struggling a bit if you set the interface resolution to 4K, set it to 1080p and it will be very smooth. Anyway, none of the local entertainment solution, be it SingTel TV, StarHub Fibre TV, SingTel TV Go, SingTel Cast, Toggle, supports 4K. In fact for YouTube 4K and Netflix 4K, Mi Box S performs pretty well.

Ref: read the reviews below

https://androidpctv.com/review-xiaomi-mi-box-s/

Lon.tv review
https://youtu.be/qTQtVgo6aWI

Chigz Tech review
https://youtu.be/mHMeN-M9xSE

Tech4All review — 5 reasons why buy Mi Box S
https://youtu.be/uzjC64FKzWo

Negative reviews from Tech Hive
https://www.techhive.com/article/3319662/xiaomi-mi-box-s-review.html

For 1080p, even boxes based on the lower performance CPU like Allwinner H3, Amlogic S905W, Rockchip RK3239, perform very well. I have two 2GB/16GB low end boxes based on S905W and RK3239 and they are okay when it comes to 720p/1080p streaming applications. I have tried Orange Pi H3 board with 1GB memory as well and it is actually fine even with Google services enabled.

I have another low end box with S905L professor and 1GB memory, which is of lower spec than Mi Box S (similar CPU spec, lower memory, similar good dual band WiFi performance), and it performs very well (no Google services) on 720p/1080p Streaming applications.
 
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xiaofan

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The new boxes with s905x2 and 4GB ram are meant for light gamers, if you are not playing games, the extra processing power and ram are wasted, but if you are really into games, better to buy nvidai shield.

Other than gaming, the processing power is still useful for smooth UI and 4K/60fps media file playing. And the S905X2 boxes like Tanix TX5 Max comes with USB 3.0 + USB 2.0 ports and Gigabit Ethernet, which also helps on local/media file playing.

Mi Box S’ deficits in lack of Storage, lack of Ethernet port and only one USB port can be fixed by adding a UGreen USB 2.0 Hub with Ethernet and a fast USB 2.0 drive though.

The deficit on the CPU side (S905X) may or may not be an issue, depending on people — I do not see it as an issue as I am not into 4K myself.

Ref: Mi Box S will struggle a bit when it comes to 4K/60fps media playing whereas Tanix TX5 Max will have no issue.

https://androidpctv.com/review-xiaomi-mi-box-s/
https://androidpctv.com/review-tanix-tx5-max/

Still no doubt that Mi Box S is the best value under S$100. Only when people do not need the main benefits of Mi Box S (like Netflix 4K and Chromecast 4K and app compatibility like SingTel Cast and SingTel TV Go and TVB Anywhere +), then they can start to consider S905X2 boxes like Tanix TX5 Max.

I tend to think that Mi Box S should be considered as the first box to buy, and then the S905X2 box can be the secondary box).
 
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Shawncck

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For SingTel TV Go, why not consider Chromecast dongle if you do not like Mi Box S? You do not need to buy the more expensive Chromecast Ultra, just the normal Chromecast dongle will do.

In fact my old first generation Chromecast dongle bought from SingTel shop many years ago at S$35 still works fine for all the apps like Toggle, Starhub Go, SingTel TV Go, YouTube, etc.

And Mi Box S is only struggling a bit if you set the interface resolution to 4K, set it to 1080p and it will be very smooth. Anyway, none of the local entertainment solution, be it SingTel TV, StarHub Fibre TV, SingTel TV Go, SingTel Cast, Toggle, supports 4K. In fact for YouTube 4K and Netflix 4K, Mi Box S performs pretty well.

Ref: read the reviews below

https://androidpctv.com/review-xiaomi-mi-box-s/

Lon.tv review
https://youtu.be/qTQtVgo6aWI

Chigz Tech review
https://youtu.be/mHMeN-M9xSE

Tech4All review — 5 reasons why buy Mi Box S
https://youtu.be/uzjC64FKzWo

Negative reviews from Tech Hive
https://www.techhive.com/article/3319662/xiaomi-mi-box-s-review.html

For 1080p, even boxes based on the lower performance CPU like Allwinner H3, Amlogic S905W, Rockchip RK3239, perform very well. I have two 2GB/16GB low end boxes based on S905W and RK3239 and they are okay when it comes to 720p/1080p streaming applications. I have tried Orange Pi H3 board with 1GB memory as well and it is actually fine even with Google services enabled.

I have another low end box with S905L professor and 1GB memory, which is of lower spec than Mi Box S (similar CPU spec, lower memory, similar good dual band WiFi performance), and it performs very well (no Google services) on 720p/1080p Streaming applications.

i got apple tv 3 which allow me to airplay singtel tv go... so i dun need chromecast... but i hope to get it on android box instead of airplay.... In fact i tested out on my colleague apple tv 4 for singtel tv go... the experience was not very gd... it was not easy to control w the remote... I just want to test out on android box.... if the controlling is no gd too, then i will watch w by airplay to my ATV....
 

xiaofan

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i got apple tv 3 which allow me to airplay singtel tv go... so i dun need chromecast... but i hope to get it on android box instead of airplay.... In fact i tested out on my colleague apple tv 4 for singtel tv go... the experience was not very gd... it was not easy to control w the remote... I just want to test out on android box.... if the controlling is no gd too, then i will watch w by airplay to my ATV....

I have Apple TV Gen 3 and Chromecast Gen 1, I can only tell you my Apple TV Gen 3 is collecting dust and I still use Chromecast dongle occasionally. Both are connected to the same dumb 1080p only TV where I also have SingTel TV set top box.

For Apple TV, you can use iPhone as the remote. There is an App for it.

I myself am late in the Android TV boxes game (only started last year), and I was not appreciating Mi Box S initially as well, but the more I got to know about Android TV boxes, the more I understand why Mi Box S is good for most of the people and why it is the best value box under S$100.
 
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Glariel

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Mi Box S quite good I feel for watching YouTube and videos.
It just start to use it.

Just don’t like it when I can’t stream YouTube from my phone to the mi box
 

gregory_choo

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Mi Box S quite good I feel for watching YouTube and videos.
It just start to use it.

Just don’t like it when I can’t stream YouTube from my phone to the mi box

You can use either chromecast or youtube's built-in cast to cast to tv.

On you mibox's youtube, go to settings and show the pairing code. On phone's youtube, go to settings - watch on tv - to keyin the code . After pairing it once, you can use it to cast from phone to tv.
 

xiaofan

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I hope someone here can tell me which other box beside this mi box can work for Singtel tv go...

The other one is Nvidia Shield TV if you are willing to pay.

Then there are good chance that Mecool KM9 Pro and KM3 will work as well. Both are based on S905X2 and running Google certified Android TV OS. The main differences between Mecool KM9 Pro/KM3 and Mi Box S in terms of software is that the Mecool boxes are not certified by Netflix.

In the other thread, it is reported that SingTel TV Go works with old Amazon Fire TV Stick. (Edit to add:I have doubts whether it really works).
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/121002333-post183.html

So that kind of says that originally unrooted box may work. That includes Minix NEO U9-H also but it is again pricey. Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K is a good buy for Netflix as well since it supports Dolby Vision and Dolby Audio and it is actually cheaper than Mi Box S in US.
 
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Shawncck

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I have Apple TV Gen 3 and Chromecast Gen 1, I can only tell you my Apple TV Gen 3 is collecting dust and I still use Chromecast dongle occasionally. Both are connected to the same dumb 1080p only TV where I also have SingTel TV set top box.

For Apple TV, you can use iPhone as the remote. There is an App for it.

I myself am late in the Android TV boxes game (only started last year), and I was not appreciating Mi Box S initially as well, but the more I got to know about Android TV boxes, the more I understand why Mi Box S is good for most of the people and why it is the best value box under S$100.

Hi Xiaofan, today i managed to install singtel tv go on my PC bluestacks... Surprisingly it work well and able to watch.... Strange my bluestacks is neither google certify and safetynet failed... I dunno what this app is checking....
 

Shawncck

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In the other thread, it is reported that SingTel TV Go works with Amazon Fire TV Stick.

So that kind of says that originally unrooted box may work. That includes Minix NEO U9-H also but it is again pricey. Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K is a good buy for Netflix as well since it supports Dolby Vision and Dolby Audio and it is actually cheaper than Mi Box S in US.

Amazon Fire Stick i didnt read into it... I tot the specs were no gd... I will go read up.... if it is better than mi box in terms of spec and price... i will get that for my tv go...
 

xiaofan

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Amazon Fire Stick i didnt read into it... I tot the specs were no gd... I will go read up.... if it is better than mi box in terms of spec and price... i will get that for my tv go...

https://androidpctv.com/review-amazon-fire-tv-stick-4k/

Spec is so-so, the CPU is pretty decent and faster than the S905X CPU in Mi Box S. But the RAM is only 1.5GB, less than Mi Box S which has 2GB. Storage is also the same as Mi Box S at 8GB, only one Micro USB OTG port versus only one USB port in Mi Box S.

It is more suitable for US market. In Singapore context I think Mi Box S is better. The main advantage of Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K is the support of Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos under Netflix, something even Nvidia Shield TV can not support.
 
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xiaofan

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Hi Xiaofan, today i managed to install singtel tv go on my PC bluestacks... Surprisingly it work well and able to watch.... Strange my bluestacks is neither google certify and safetynet failed... I dunno what this app is checking....

So that means SingTel TV Go mainly checks the root status of the box.

High chance that Android TV boxes which come with no root will work. That includes Android TV OS devices like Mi Box S, Nvidia Shield TV, Mecool KM9 Pro, and normal Android OS based device like Minix NEO U9-H, Amazon Fire TV sticks, etc.
 

Heiferz

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Anybody using A95x from fb Android tv box solution.
I was disconnected and now it ask for activation code. Tried to contact the seller but nowhere to be found.
Anybody have their latest contact no.
 

xiaofan

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Anybody using A95x from fb Android tv box solution.
I was disconnected and now it ask for activation code. Tried to contact the seller but nowhere to be found.
Anybody have their latest contact no.

Quite some people reported the same issue on a Facebook group.

Basically gone case liao and no way to recover. Sorry to say that but this is the conclusion from the reports.

Lesson learned is not to buy any TV boxes from Facebook pages. Buy from online shops like Lazada instead.
 
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