Android TV Box

xiaofan

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Another chart for TV box, you can see Apple TV tops the chart and then followed by Nvidia Shield TV.
http://bit.ly/2L9TAzT
RANKDEVICE NAMEIN USD5/5BENCH
* Daily Driver
1APPLE TV 4K (2021)$169.003.9467,478
2*NVIDIA SHIELD TV PRO (2019) $199.005238,323
3BUZZTV XRS4900$234.005140,747
4FIRE TV CUBE 4K (2ND GEN)$119.005-
5MINIX NEO U22-XJ$169.004.5115,622
6BEELINK GT KING$118.004.5108,708
7MECOOL KM6 DELUXE$109.004.5101,529
8UGOOS AM6$129.004.597,746
9UGOOS X3 PRO$77.004.576,254
10FIRE TV STICK 4K (3RD GEN)$49.994.5-
 

boonkang

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Currently owning beelink gt king n decided to go for an upgrade? Any recommendations? Price doesn't matter but won't go for shield.

What is/are the aspect(s) about the Beelink GT King TV box that is/are not good enough -- such that you want to look for an upgrade?
 

BiggieZee

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What is/are the aspect(s) about the Beelink GT King TV box that is/are not good enough -- such that you want to look for an upgrade?
Audio support like atmos, alternate default launchers, maybe remote with full features like air mouse, play/pause, voice recognition etc
 

boonkang

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Audio support like atmos, alternate default launchers, maybe remote with full features like air mouse, play/pause, voice recognition etc

Most of what you're looking for as an "upgrade" to the Beelink GT King -- can be achieved by many TV boxes (including the Beelink GT King itself). Haha..

**
You want Dolby Atmos audio support -- but you never state what app(s) you use.

Do you use Kodi?

If you use Kodi, any decent Amlogic S9xx TV box + able to run CoreELEC OS -- will give you support for lots of HD audio formats (including Dolby Atmos audio).

(So) Many Web sites talk about Kodi + 4K HDR + support for various HD audio formats.

One starting point can be here:
https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=252916
But able to support -- DOESN'T MEAN guaranteed 100% good / smooth playback all the time.

If what you playback is extremely high bitrate (in both video & audio) -- then many TV boxes will struggle (to give you smooth playback) -- and you end up having to go back & buy the Nvidia Shield (because of the sheer power of its' hardware).

If you don't use Kodi, then Dolby Atmos audio support will also depend on the app you use -- not just depend on the TV box.

**
There are so many launchers for TV boxes that you can choose (in 2021) -- without having to depend on TV box manufacturers to give you this:
https://troypoint.com/android-tv-launcher/https://www.maketecheasier.com/best-android-tv-launchers/https://byteswiki.com/best-launcher-for-android-tv-box.html
**
Many TV boxes have multiple USB ports (including the Beelink GT King).

Just buy any decent air mouse -- plug-in the air mouse USB dongle to the TV box & you're done :)

***
It's sad... but (unfortunately) many people do not understand that:

(Many) TV box makers have known since years ago -- that the TV box market don't seems to have a bright/good future:

(1) For a small / mid size TV box maker -- it's extremely difficult to get a new TV box model to be 4K Netflix certified.

(Amazon / Nvidia / Xiaomi can get their TV boxes to be Netflix certified -- but this is difficult for the smaller TV box makers).

* Because Netflix is DELIBERATELY VERY selective in what they do regarding Netflix certification.
* That's why many 4K TV boxes are actually Google certified running official Android TV OS -- but NOT Netflix certified.

* Let's say you want to you make a good quality / highly decent TV box:
+ You give quality good performance hardware.
+ You invest heavily in software team to give good firmware upgrade support for the TV box.
+ You do a ton of R&D + ADD a lot of features / functions to the TV box.

After the new TV box model is produced, can you sell at a good price? Like S$150+ or S$200+ ??

Short answer: NO! Why ?!?

BECAUSE nobody will buy a $150+ TV box without being 4K Netflix certified -- when a cheap S$60-S$80 Xiaomi Mi Box S TV box is already 4K Netflix certified !! Haha...

(2) More & more TVs are now running official Android TV OS + each year the hardware on new TV models gets better & better.

(2a) A new model 75" TV can easily sell for S$1xxx (or more) -- but a new TV box at only S$150+ people already say the TV box is expensive !! Haha...

(2b) As TV hardware gets better...

In the coming years / future -- if the new TV already has 4GB/6GB RAM + 64GB/128GB storage + A7x range CPU + decent GPU + runs the latest Android TV OS -- why would people still want to buy another new TV box (to replace their old TV box) ?? Haha..

Now is Jun 2021, even Xiaomi has not released a new TV box model to replace the Mi Box S (for the international market) -- while the Mi Box S hardware is multiple years old / outdated already.

Why?? Because of above (1) & (2), can't make good money from selling TV boxes -- so (Xiaomi) just concentrate more on selling TVs better !! Haha..

Go & look at all the smaller (but decent) TV box makers: Minix, Beelink, Ugoos, Mecool, etc, etc.

Overall, as each year past by -- less (& less) new TV box models from all these smaller TV box markers.

Why?? Go see (1) & (2) above. Haha..
 
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BiggieZee

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Thanks for the info BK. U got any recommendations for keyboard with air mouse dat is compatible with my beelink? I tried some n not all letters n punctuations work. Looking for a remote like. Not literally keyboard with TouchPad
 

gregory_choo

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for many people , netflix certification is not important.

there is a group of people who only want to use free apps.

at the moment, the number of free apps is huge enough, the quality is also good enough for most people (i.e. 1080p), on top of these, most people are having TVs smaller than 80", not really need 4k.
 

boonkang

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FYI Mecool KM2 now has Netflix certification. Not sure if many people will buy it at US$79 or not as Google Chromecast 2020 is only around US$50 (4k Netflix, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos).
https://www.mecoolonline.com/produc...logic-s905x4-av1-supported-4gb-ram-32gb-rom-1

Mecool KM2 cost MORE THAN S$100 (i.e. USD$79).

Does the Mecool KM2 supports AV1 decoding?
(quick search on the Internet doesn't show that the Mecool KM2 supports AV1 decoding)

Google requires new Android TV devices launching from April 2021 to support AV1:
https://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1613043929
Despite being Netflix certified, if the Mecool KM2 don't have AV1 support -- then it might be better to just save the S$100+ & go buy a new AV1 capable TV in 2021 than buy the Mecool KM2 TV box. Haha..
(or buy other Netflix certified TV box that has AV1 support)

We KNOW any new model TV you buy running official Android TV OS -- will always be Netflix certified :)

(IMHO) It's a tough call on the Mecool KM2. It looks like a product that's somewhat dead on arrival (i.e. too late for 2021).
 
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xiaofan

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Mecool KM2 will not support AV1 as it uses an older S905X2 CPU. It is kind of niche product for people who wants better connectivity than Mi Box S and Google Chromecast 2020.

Mecool KM6 has the latest S905X4 CPU which supports AV1. It is Google Certified but not Netflix certified. It is another niche for people who want better performance but no need Netflix.
 

tmster

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Need some help with getting a fast usb flash drive for my android tv. Is the Sandisk Extreme Go good enough for the job, or do i need something better?

I tried a cheap kioxia flash drive which was shiit slow and got very hot. Need some recommendations on which flash drive to get. Thanks.
 

xiaofan

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Need some help with getting a fast usb flash drive for my android tv. Is the Sandisk Extreme Go good enough for the job, or do i need something better?

I tried a cheap kioxia flash drive which was shiit slow and got very hot. Need some recommendations on which flash drive to get. Thanks.

Why do you need to use a USB Flash drive? DO NOT install too many apps. In general it is not a good idea to install many apps on an Android TV OS device, especially for Android TV, which tens to have a lower end CPU or with low memory configuration.

For my Mi Box S (2GB RAM 8GB Storage device), even though I like to play with some apps, I always keep 1GB or above space.
 

tmster

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Why do you need to use a USB Flash drive? DO NOT install too many apps. In general it is not a good idea to install many apps on an Android TV OS device, especially for Android TV, which tens to have a lower end CPU or with low memory configuration.

For my Mi Box S (2GB RAM 8GB Storage device), even though I like to play with some apps, I always keep 1GB or above space.

I'm using it for my android tv, not an android box. Taking into account the system apps which can't be remove there is only half of the 8gb left to install apps. I don't even play around with apps, and i generally try to avoid side-loading stuff. All i have on the internal storage are apps that i need like netflix, apple tv, disney plus etc.

Even 1gb isn't a lot these days, try to install a game and half of that is gone. I also have a mibox which didn't fill up that fast because of less system apps.
 

boonkang

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Need some help with getting a fast usb flash drive for my android tv. Is the Sandisk Extreme Go good enough for the job, or do i need something better?

I tried a cheap kioxia flash drive which was shiit slow and got very hot. Need some recommendations on which flash drive to get. Thanks.

What do you do -- with the USB drive plug-in to the TV?

Do you only read media (photos / videos etc.) from the USB drive? Or you do both read & write to the USB drive when using it on the TV?

(If you're ONLY reading media from the USB drive, there are ways to access your media over the network on your TV instead of using USB drives -- but that's out of scope of this post :) )

To be specific, how fast USB drive do you think you actually need?

Nobody can guarantee -- by recommending you a higher performance USB drive -- that this will resolve your issue.

The main problem is that we don't know what is the actual level of read/write performance required in your case.

Most TVs' USB ports are only USB 2.0. Theortically the max throughput for USB 2.0 is 480Mbps.

But in real life...the actual throughput we get from the TV's USB port is MUCH LOWER than 480Mbps.

Because most previous/current generation of TVs' built-in hardware (CPU/chipset's) performance is not very high -- and thus is unable to operable the USB port at anywhere even close to 480Mbps.

Also, note that writing to the USB drive is always much slower than reading from the USB drive; so if you need high speed write performance -- then you need both high grade USB drive + high performance TV hardware !!

Sometimes, even just by switching to a different app on the TV to access the USB drive -- can have a different read/write performance !!
(because some apps needs more processing power to operate -- while some apps needs less processing power)

If your TV's hardware is basic / entry level; even if you switch to a better USB drive -- there's a chance that you may not get much faster speed when accessing the USB drive.
(because in such a case, the main bottle neck is the TV's low performance hardware -- rather than the quality of the USB drive itself)

All of us have TV(s) in our home -- but whenever we buy a new TV -- hardly anyone ever ask/find out what is the real life maximum read/write speed when using USB port on a particular model of TV.

If you know the real life max performance of your TV when operating its' USB ports -- you can buy just the sufficient grade of USB drive to match the capability of your TV.

If you currently (are) not sure what is the real life (max) performance from your TV when accessing USB drive -- then just buy the best USB drive you can budget for & see if it helps.
 
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tmster

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If your TV's hardware is basic / entry level; even if you switch to a better USB drive -- there's a chance that you may not get much faster speed when accessing the USB drive.
(because in such a case, the main bottle neck is the TV's low performance hardware -- rather than the quality of the USB drive itself)

All of us have TV(s) in our home -- but whenever we buy a new TV -- hardly anyone ever ask/find out what is the real life maximum read/write speed when using USB port on a particular model of TV.

If you know the real life max performance of your TV when operating its' USB ports -- you can buy just the sufficient grade of USB drive to match the capability of your TV.

If you currently (are) not sure what is the real life (max) performance from your TV when accessing USB drive -- then just buy the best USB drive you can budget for & see if it helps.

Thanks for the helpful suggestions. I didn't know there is so much to looking into and therefore bought the cheap kioxia thinking any usb flash drive will suffice. My plan is to move some apps to the usb drive and free up the internal space which currently stands at 600mb available. My TV has USB 3.0, but i have no idea what chip it is using.

Extreme Go is about the fastest of the lower range Sandisk flash drives. Beyond that i will be looking at SSD class in the form of Extreme Pro and external SSD drives. It will be great if anyone with experience of running apps from usb can share what flash drive or storage they are using. Without any feedback, i guess the only way like you have suggested is to buy the drive and try it out.
 
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