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Android Best box to buy? - Printable Version

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Best box to buy? - Matt PT - 2015-01-21

Hi all, I`ve currently got a Droidbox DualCore 1.5GHZ A9-MIII Neon Cortex CPU & Quad Core Mali400 Graphics Processor, running Gotham. I`m looking to upgrade later this month. Ideally I want a box running Kodi. I have my eye on a DroidBOX X7 quad core.

Basically, I`m looking for the best Android box I can get for around £100. Help / advice appreciated.

Thanks !!

RE: Best box to buy? - Ned Scott - 2015-01-21

There's a lot of factors to consider, like how we're defining "best". Kodi doesn't necessarily need the "best" CPU performance in the Android area, but if for some reason you need the box to also be fairly beefy in the CPU area, maybe something with an RK3288 chip inside. At least from what I've read, it got good benchmarks, should work fairly well with Kodi, has new features like h.265 and 4k output, and is a good bang for your buck all around. Which exact box to buy? Meh, whatever's on sale and has good reviews. Avoid things in stick form (at least for RK3288) and units that didn't put a heatsink on the chip.

RE: Best box to buy? - Hedda - 2015-01-21

Browse and search in the hardware forum, this is probably the most asked question there and the is no definite one-solution-fits-all answer

http://forum.kodi.tv/forumdisplay.php?fid=112

Personally I would recommend Amlogic S805 or S812 based boxes right now if you are looking for an newest generation Android box.

RE: Best box to buy? - ttchbender - 2015-01-21

This can be a cheap Box to Play Kodi
MXIII Amlogic S802 Android TV Box Smart TV Receiver IPTV Media Player 2.0GHz Quad Core Android 4.4.2 Octa Core GPU 4K 1G/8G XBMC
http://www.dhgate.com/product/mxiii-amlogic-s802-android-tv-box-smart-tv/201554382.html#myaccount_orderdetail-1-null

US $60.38 - 69.65 /

RE: Best box to buy? - Matt PT - 2015-01-21

This is the spec of the box I`m looking at, 4 out of 5 on Amazon.

DroidBOX X7 Ultimate Android TV BOX with VIP mini Keyboard and 16GB Memory- Quad Core Android 4.4.2 MINI PC - Free Movies,TV and SPORTS, Loaded Gotham 13.3.3 XBMC,AirPlay UPnP DLNA IPTV Mini Web Streaming HTPC Player, 2Gb Ram, 16GB ROM Memory, WiFi, Bluetooth, 100mbps LAN, 1080P 3D movies support,Internet Streaming Player,similar G-Box Midnight MX2, Droibox, Jailbroken AppleTV, Boxee Box,Google TV,Roku 2 XS, Roku 3, CS918, Minix Neo,DroidPlayer, X7, Q7, T8, M8, XstreamTec, Phantom M8, SkyDeals

I hope this makes sense !

RE: Best box to buy? - Matt PT - 2015-01-21

Just found this one:

Skydeals Android TV box QUAD CORE MXIII XBMC Streaming Mini HTPC TV Player, UK adapter included***FULLY LOADED***NEW VERSION, XBMC PLUG AND PLAY,WIFI AND ETHERNET CONNECTION 8GB STORAGE 5G WIFI 4X CPU CORTEX A9 GPU MALI 450

RE: Best box to buy? - Ned Scott - 2015-01-22

Neither of those are "the best" for around £100. What is it that you want to do with the box? Just Kodi stuff? Or games as well?

RE: Best box to buy? - Matt PT - 2015-01-22

Just Kodi, I`m looking for a quick reliable box. I`ve had a few problems with Gotham crashing on on my current box.

RE: Best box to buy? - Hedda - 2015-01-22

Always try to find out the exact hardware chipset manufacturer and SoC model used, plus specific version of Android OS. DroidBOX X7 Ultimate is for example using an older Rockchip RK3188 SoC.


Maybe consider one with newer chipsets like Rikomagic RKM MK05, Geniatech MyGica ATV585, or MINIX NEO X6 which all uses the newer Amlogic S805 SoC
http://www.gearbest.com/tv-box/pp_136047.html
http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Geniatech-MyGica-ATV585-Android-Enjoy-TV-BOX-Amlogic-S805-B-XBMC-13-2-H-265-1080P-Android-4-4-1G-RAM-8G-ROM-Bluetooth---Black-339971.html
http://www.gearbest.com/tv-box/pp_96083.html
http://www.geekbuying.com/item/MINIX-NEO-X6-Amlogic-S805-Quad-Core-1-5GHz-Android-4-4-Mini-TV-Box-HDMI-HDD-Player-1G-8G-WIFI-XBMC-H-265-Bluetooth-4-0---Black-333264.html
http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Rikomagc-RKM-MK05-Android-Mini-PC-Amlogic-S805-1G-RAM-8G-ROM-1080P-H-265-Hardware-Decode-WIFI-Bluetooth-Miracast-DLNA---Black-339967.html

Step up a small notch in price and can Amlogic S812 SoC based media player like Measy B4A, Rikomagic RKM MK12, or MINIX NEO X8-H Plus
http://www.gearbest.com/tv-box/pp_68060.html
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/New-Arrival-RKM-Amlogic-S812-Quad-core-ARM-Cortex-A9r4-2-0GHz-Android4-4-2G-RAM/810525_32240146695.html
http://www.gearbest.com/tv-box/pp_136054.html ($96.99 with the coupon MKS8CN http://www.freaktab.com/showthread.php?21621-RKM-MK12-A-NEW-AMLOGIC-S812-QUAD-CORE-TV-BOX-FROM-RIKOMAGIC )
http://www.dx.com/p/rkm-rikomagic-mk12-quad-core-android-4-4-2-mini-pc-google-tv-player-w-2gb-ram-16gb-rom-eu-plug-370200#.VMD3LGMeK4I
http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Rikomagc-RKM-MK12-Android-4K-Internet-TV-Box-Amlogic-S812-2-0GHz-2G-RAM-16G-ROM-2-4G-5G-WIFI-Bluetooth-1000M-LAN-3G-Miracast-339970.html
http://www.geekbuying.com/item/MINIX-NEO-X8-H-Plus-Amlogic-S812-Quad-Core-Android-4-4-Mini-TV-Box-HDMI-HDD-Player-2G-16G-H-265-4K-802-11AC-2-4G-5-0G-WIFI-1000M-LAN-BT---Black-337454.html
http://www.dx.com/p/minix-neo-x8-h-plus-2160p-quad-core-android-4-4-2-hd-google-tv-player-w-2gb-ram-16gb-rom-us-plug-364393#.VMD52WMeK4I
www.geekbuying.com/item/Bundle-MINIX-NEO-X8-H-Plus-Amlogic-S812-H-Quad-Core-Android-4-4-Mini-TV-Box---Tronsmart-Mars-G01-2-4GHz-Wireless-Gamepad-339072.html

Somewhere in between these above in performance are Measy B4S, Ubox R89, Tronsmart Orion R28 Meta, Rikomagic RKM MK902Ⅱ, and Ugoos UM3 which all uses a Rockchip RK3288 SoC
http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Measy-B4S-RK3288-Quad-Core-1-8GHz-Android-4-4-Mini-4K-TV-Box-HDMI-2-0-HDD-Player-2G-8G-H-265-2-4G-5G-WIFI-Bluetooth-4-0-XBMC---Black-332845.html
http://www.geekbuying.com/item/R89-RK3288-Qaud-Core-1-8GHz-Andriod-4-4-Mini-TV-Box-HDMI-HDD-Player-2G-8G-WIFI-Support-4K-Bluetooth-4-0-OTA---Black-331819.html
http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Tronsmart-Orion-R28-Meta-RK3288-Quad-Core-2-0GHz-Android-4-4-4K-TV-Box-HDMI-HDD-Player-2G-16G-Support-2-4G-5G-Wifi-Bluetooth-OTA-OTG-331614.html
http://www.gearbest.com/tv-box/pp_142330.html
www.geekbuying.com/item/Ugoos-UM3-RK3288-Quad-Core-1-8GHz-Android-4-4-Mini-TV-Box-HDMI-HDD-Player-2G-8G-802-11AC-2-4G-5G-WIFI-1000M-Base-T-H-265-Bluetooth--Blue-339237.html
http://www.gearbest.com/tv-box/pp_105254.html


The best hardware QUALITY and least unstable firmware of the boxes that is mentioned here are probably MINIX NEO X8-H Plus, which logically is also the most expensive. Though all of these are still cheap boxes from Chinese manufactures, at least look for a little more reputable larger brands like example Geniatech, MyGica, Tronsmart, MINIX, Ugoos, Measy, or Rikomagic. But do not expect first-party firmware updates from any of them, as you get what you paid for and continuous firmware updates are not really included in the price from any Chinese manufactures.

There are no "reliable" cheap Android boxes from China, if you want reliable hardware then build your own a HTPC with OpenELEC from an Intel NUC or Chromebox instead.

"FULLY LOADED" means that they have preinstalled it with banned piracy addons, which mean you get no support on this forum. Better stay away from any reseller that says that their boxes are "FULLY LOADED" or offers streaming of FREE movies/tv, etc. as most times it is illegal.

RE: Best box to buy? - Matt PT - 2015-01-22

I understand about the "fully loaded" term, it was just copied & pasted from the amazon info. I`ve been looking at the MINIX NEO X8-H Plus, and I don`t mind spending a few extra quid to get the right box. The only thing is I`ve never installed Kodi on an android box before, is it pretty simple?

RE: Best box to buy? - Hedda - 2015-01-22

(2015-01-22, 15:43)Matt PT Wrote: The only thing is I`ve never installed Kodi on an android box before, is it pretty simple?
Yes very, as long as the Android distro used supports side-loading, which most on media players do, see http://kodi.wiki/view/First_time_user

RE: Best box to buy? - Matt PT - 2015-01-22

Thanks for all your help, I`ll let you know how it goes !!

RE: Best box to buy? - wrxtasy - 2015-01-23

What others have said , any of the Amlogic S805 SoC / Amlogic S812 SOC's.

The key with Android is good support so you don't end up being a Firmware tester for a new companies Hardware.
Don't get suckered in by flashy specs, and lots of included freebies and goodies.
On that basis I personally would get a Wetek as they have an ex Amlogic coder on their team and are providing excellent support.
However like all Android based devices its still a WIP.

http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=213747&pid=1890300#pid1890300

RE: Best box to buy? - sattekop - 2015-01-23

Why not a win8.1 cheap box? How would you compare these? I think mygica has some decent ones?

Best box to buy? - DrByrd - 2015-01-23

I've had a fairly good experience running Kodi 13.2 on the Ouya.

Definitely going to look for something a little more powerful for the living room. But, I can't complain at the moment.

Cheers.