Android TV Box

[mankind66]

AliExpress

Posted with pocophone f1 HardwareZone Forums app

 

[Sambuca78]

AliExpress

Posted with pocophone f1 HardwareZone Forums app

$66 at shopee.

https://shopee.sg/product/66630707/2115493979?smtt=0.0.9

Use SITEAPR2 code for additional $5 off and additional $5 off using CIMB or dbs cards.

 

[mankind66]

$66 at shopee.

https://shopee.sg/product/66630707/2115493979?smtt=0.0.9

Use SITEAPR2 code for additional $5 off and additional $5 off using CIMB or dbs cards.

It's cheaper if you are not getting the Tanix brand

Posted with pocophone f1 HardwareZone Forums app

 

[xiaofan]

It's cheaper if you are not getting the Tanix brand

Those with Tanix logo are the official version, those without Tanix logo are the OEM Version. Both are from Tanix.

As per Tanix, they have not found fake boxes so far and both are authentic Tanix boxes. They do recommend their official version and say that there may be some differences but do not mention any details.

My TX5 Max Box bought from Taobao is the OEM Version and so far I do not have any issues with it.

 

[gregory_choo]

Hi Gregory, I had found some of the free Dns servers. So do I just make changes in my Asus RT-Ac88U router in Advanced Settings/ WAN,
1. WAN Connection Type: change to Static IP
2. WAN IP Setting:
a. IP Address: 192.168.1.1 (is this correct?)
b. Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
c. Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
3. WAN DNS Setting:
a. DNS Server 1: type-in the free server address
b. DNS Server 2: type-in another free server address
Please advise. Thanks

Better to change dns for the box. You can try google dns or cloudflare dns.

 

[xiaofan]

https://www.androidcentral.com/best-android-tv-boxes

Android Central best Android TV Box 2019.

No surprise at all for the top 2, Mvidia Shield TV (US$170 at Amazon) and Mi Box S (US$59 at Walmart). You can say that official Android TV OS boxes are stagnant. But that is kind of understandable since the main focus will probably on the TV side where official Android TV OS falls behind Samsung and LG in the global market and Roku TV in US.

Ematic Jetstream 4K Ultra HD TV Box (US$69 at Walmart) and Sling TV AirTV player (US$100 at Walmart) do not seem to be available here.

Review of Ematic Jetstream 4K Ultra HD TV Box from Lon.TV, seems to at at the same class of Mi Box S but has two USB ports and one uSD card slot. But apparently it is less mature than Mi Box S with issues with HDR and voice control. And based on this review, the box can not be recommended either because of the company behind it is not very good and it has only 90 days of warranty.
https://youtu.be/_AxN4jHQhEM

Lon.TV review of Mi Box S as a reference here as well.
https://youtu.be/qTQtVgo6aWI

Air TV player seems to be specific to the US market.
Review seems to be positive.
https://youtu.be/3rx8W6JqWwM

AirTV 2, OTA and Streaming two in one hybrid box
https://youtu.be/zfI5fO0SQxA

 

[xiaofan]

I will recommend new comers of this thread to read some of my posts in Page 94.

To summarize.

Basically you can consider the following for sub S$100 boxes.
1) If you need Netflix and Chromecast, get Mi Box S. Chromecast is useful for many apps including Starhub Go, SingTel TV Go and SingTel Cast. You can actually install SingTel TV Go and SingTel Cast on Mi Box S as well. Mi Box S supports 4K HDR on Netflix.

Main disadvantage about Mi Box S is that it has only one USB port, no Ethernet port and only 8GB storage. But it has good 5GHz WiFi AC performance, for streaming application, none of the disadvantage is a real problem.

For 4K Local Media Playing, then the S905X CPU is a bit weak as well. Not as good as S905X2 box. But that is a niche use case.

All in all, it is the best value for sub S$100 box here in Singapore.

2) If you only need Netflix but not Chromecast (for example you already have a Chromecast Ultra), you can also consider Amazon FireTV Stick 4K which supports Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos under Netflix. So it has an edge over Mi Box S when it comes to Netflix.

3) If you do not need Netflix and you do not need Chromecast, for example, you already have a Chromecast Ultra and are okay with casting Netflix to TV from mobile phone, get S905X2 box like Tanix TX5 Max or Beelink GT1 Mini. Tanix TX5 Max is cheaper. Beelink is a more famous vendor. I myself have TX5 Max and it is really good.

4) If your budget is really low, say below S$50, get Tanix TX3 Max or TX3 Mini 2GB/16GB version. Do not expect real 4k as the CPU is a bit weak and only support 4k/30fps. Better stick to 1080p.

But if you are willing to pay to get the best Android TV box, get Nvidia Shield TV. It has all the advantages of Mi Box S and none of the disadvantages of Mi Box S. But it costs much more. One main missing feature is . In terms of Netflix, it loses to Amazon FireTV stick as well.

 

[xiaofan]

Here are the reviews of the popular and recommended boxes.

1) Mi Box S
https://androidpctv.com/review-xiaomi-mi-box-s/

Lon.TV review of Mi Box S
https://youtu.be/qTQtVgo6aWI

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

TV Box Stop review
http://tvboxstop.com/2018-tv-boxes/xiaomi-mi-box-s-android-8-1-netflix-certified-tv-box-review/

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

2) Amazon FireTV Stick 4K
https://androidpctv.com/review-amazon-fire-tv-stick-4k/
https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/amazon-fire-tv-stick-4k-review

3) Tanix TX5 Max, 4GB/32GB S905X2
https://androidpctv.com/review-tanix-tx5-max/
http://tvboxstop.com/2019-tv-boxes/...s905x2-alice-ux-android-8-1-4k-tv-box-review/

4) Beelink GT1 Mini, S905X2, 4GB/32GB or other configurations.
https://androidpctv.com/review-beelink-gt1-mini/
https://hometheatrelife.com/beelink-gt1-mini-review/

5) Tanix TX3 Max, recommend for 1080p and basic streaming only. Below S$50, slow 2.4GHz WiFi, better to use 100M Ethernet
https://androidpctv.com/review-tanix-tx3-max/
http://tvboxstop.com/2018-tv-boxes/tanix-tx3-max-amlogic-s905w-alice-ux-tx-box/

6) Tanix TX3 Mini 2GB/16GB version, recommend for 1080p and basic streaming only, similar to TX3 Max but no Bluetooth, below S$50
http://tvboxstop.com/2017-tv-boxes/tanix-tx3-mini-amlogic-s905w-android-7-1-tv-box-review/

Tanix TX3 Mini L or TX3 Mini H, 2GB/16GB
TX3 Mini variant called TX3 Mini L or Mini H running unofficial Android TV OS, no support of Netflix HD and no support of Chromecast.
https://androidtvbox.eu/tanix-tx3-mini-l-review-budget-android-tv-box/

 

[xiaofan]

Popular high cost high quality high end boxes

To be updated.

1) Nvidia Shield TV 2017 version, king Of Android TV boxes running official Android TV OS since 2015, current model is 2017 model, very good Kodi box, no Dolby Vision but with Dolby Atmos.

Jan 2019 9to5google review
https://9to5google.com/2019/01/04/nvidia-shield-tv-review/

Techradar June 2018 review
https://www.techradar.com/sg/reviews/gaming/games-consoles/nvidia-shield-1287106/review

Lon.tv 2017 review
https://youtu.be/8E_ZGhIfV3g

Chigz Tech 2017 review
https://youtu.be/DeeJA402UYQ

Chigz Tech 2018 review for the Android 8 Oreo update.
https://youtu.be/0qmJ076A_6c

2) Minix NEO U9-H, recommend to buy the bundle A2 Lite Air Mouse, 2017 model, still a good box especially for Kodi, but a bit pricey now for its a bit outdated specifications.

https://androidpcreview.com/minix-neo-u9-h-review/

Chigz Tech review in 2017
https://youtu.be/DWBW-Y-2jMY

 

[xiaofan]

H96 series of generic boxes, not really recommended, but for some reference purposes.

I have the H96 Pro Plus S912 and H96 Max RK3328 myself and they are not bad.

1) H96 Max RK3399, powerful but pricey box, not useful for most use cases
http://tvboxstop.com/2017-tv-boxes/h96-max-review-surprising-results/

Chigz Tech review
https://youtu.be/PFIef6DKdLQ

2) H96 Max X2 S905X2 4GB/32GB or 4GB/64GB, pretty decent box, but Tanix TX5 Max is more recommended.
https://androidpctv.com/review-h96-max-x2/

Chigz Tech review
https://youtu.be/OR5ifKgpD5o

TV Box Stop review
https://youtu.be/2nf4-j7fO4w

3) H96 Pro+, S912, 3GB/32GB, 2017 model, good Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet, decent box but Tanix TX5 Max is better.
https://androidpctv.com/review-alfawise-h96-pro-plus/

Chigz Tech review
https://youtu.be/yXth_qmUutk

4) H96 Max Plus RK3328, 4GB/32GB or 4GB/64GB, decent low end box with USB 3.0, but Tanix TX5 Max is better.
https://androidpctv.com/review-h96-max-plus/
https://www.techradar.com/sg/reviews/h96-max-h2

Chigz Tech review
https://youtu.be/OF8fusARci0

TV Box Stop review
https://youtu.be/CYgNvbmTzN8

 

[Sambuca78]

Just wan to ask if tx3 max support 5g WiFi? I only managed to connect to my 2.4g network and when Miracast the video playback is bad. Thanks.

 

[xiaofan]

Just wan to ask if tx3 max support 5g WiFi? I only managed to connect to my 2.4g network and when Miracast the video playback is bad. Thanks.

No it does not support 5GHz Wifi. Better use Ethernet.

Why do you need to use Miracast? Which app?

 

[Sambuca78]

No it does not support 5GHz Wifi. Better use Ethernet.

Why do you need to use Miracast? Which app?

But when Miracast it said must use wireless leh.

Just wanna to cast some video and pic to the TV.

 

[xiaofan]

But when Miracast it said must use wireless leh.

Just wanna to cast some video and pic to the TV.

Miracast needs wireless. But there are possibility of using other casting method like DLNA cast depending on the apps.

For example, you can install HappyCast乐播投屏 on TX3 Max and use DLNA cast for quite some apps. It also supports Airplay if you have iOS device.

Edit to add: certain app like TVB Anywhere+ only supports Miracast screen mirroring.

BTW, for Miracast receiver, like the TX3 Max in this case, it should be okay to use Ethernet connection. The sender, your phone or tablet, use wireless.

 

[gregory_choo]

Just wan to ask if tx3 max support 5g WiFi? I only managed to connect to my 2.4g network and when Miracast the video playback is bad. Thanks.

Do not use miracast for streaming video.

Use chromecast, dlna cast or airplay if you need to cast streaming video from phone to tv box.

For local video/picture, you can use apps, eg quickcast to do dlna cast or chromecast to tv box. You need to install dlna cast receiver, eg happycast on tv box.

You can also use box's es explorer to read shared folder in the phone to play video.

 

[jase07]

after reading thru all the posts (thank you to all the contributors esp xiaofan), i've decided to get the TX5 Max from the below link.

https://shopee.sg/product/66630707/2115493979?smtt=0.0.9

I see that there is an option of adding IPTV for 1 year for additional $30. Can i ask if its worth it? Any one tried dragon tv before?

 

[xiaofan]

after reading thru all the posts (thank you to all the contributors esp xiaofan), i've decided to get the TX5 Max from the below link.

https://shopee.sg/product/66630707/2115493979?smtt=0.0.9

I see that there is an option of adding IPTV for 1 year for additional $30. Can i ask if its worth it? Any one tried dragon tv before?

IMHO none of the IPTV packages are worth paying because all of them can be blocked anytime the IP right holders complain to the court.

But if you really want to try, S$30 is not too bad.

You can also ask here.
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/...es-13/paid-iptv-android-tv-box-5055948-7.html

 

[Sambuca78]

Miracast needs wireless. But there are possibility of using other casting method like DLNA cast depending on the apps.

For example, you can install HappyCast乐播投屏 on TX3 Max and use DLNA cast for quite some apps. It also supports Airplay if you have iOS device.

Edit to add: certain app like TVB Anywhere+ only supports Miracast screen mirroring.

BTW, for Miracast receiver, like the TX3 Max in this case, it should be okay to use Ethernet connection. The sender, your phone or tablet, use wireless.

Do not use miracast for streaming video.

Use chromecast, dlna cast or airplay if you need to cast streaming video from phone to tv box.

For local video/picture, you can use apps, eg quickcast to do dlna cast or chromecast to tv box. You need to install dlna cast receiver, eg happycast on tv box.

You can also use box's es explorer to read shared folder in the phone to play video.

Ok ok! Thanks! Will try happycast.

 

[jase07]

IMHO none of the IPTV packages are worth paying because all of them can be blocked anytime the IP right holders complain to the court.

But if you really want to try, S$30 is not too bad.

You can also ask here.
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/...es-13/paid-iptv-android-tv-box-5055948-7.html

thanks xiaofan!

 

[TheSnail]

after reading thru all the posts (thank you to all the contributors esp xiaofan), i've decided to get the TX5 Max from the below link.

https://shopee.sg/product/66630707/2115493979?smtt=0.0.9

Not seem too cheap compared to other shops/sites?

I am temped for this unit as well but...….