[FriedEgg]

Which if these is the best? Or is there a better option? ie amazon fire tv, Apple TV, etc.

I'm looking to have a box top that's easy to use. Runs xbmc/kodi and add ons. Is smooth. Great picture quality. 4k compatible. Doesn't lag or buffer. Basically is as flawless as possible right now.

Thanks!

[Mark142]

. Doesn't lag or buffer. Basically is as flawless as possible right now.

Thanks!

Then don't buy an android box Can get an NUC for the same price as Skystreamx 4 which to me looks like a re badged generic chinese box for double the price.

[FriedEgg]

Thanks. I'm open to all suggestions. I certainly don't have to get an Android box and I know some people are very passionately against Android. Generally my family runs iOS products but in the case of the XBMC/Kodi, Apple doesn't seem to be the best way to go.

I'm looking for the best I can get, easy to use, HD video and audio, quiet, very little lag or buffering.

There are so many options that this is very confusing!

I'm hoping to cut my cable and start watching via XBMC, etc.

I was pretty sure that I was going to get a MINIX, but then read about the Skystream, and then the raspberry Pi, and Amazon Fire TV, and... now I'm overwhelmed!

[Mark142]

My personal recommendation is an NUC which type depends on your budget but the NUC N2820 is around the same price as the MINIX and similar android boxes. It is more more expensive than the Raspberry Pi but will give you a good / smooth Kodi experience and play pretty much any video file. one thing it will not do 4K. Although I think it would be a while before we see any loads of 4k content to worry about it.

Buffering is your internet / network set up and nothing to do with the hardware. Play black issues and stuttering is hardware but the N2820 should not give you any problems. I have 1 running Openelec and another running Lubuntu without any problems.

The NUC are not plug and play you will have to add RAM and HDD which is an extra cost but they come with instructions and it is very easy and straight forward to do.

[steepens]

Fried egg, I have a SkystreamX 4 box, and it runs pretty good. Not a problem streaming 1080p and 5.1 using XBMC Gotham 13.1. Plug n play out of the box, silent, and great connectivity over 5GHz wifi. The only other things I invested in were an SD card and wireless keyboard. The Minix looks very intriguing also. The SkystreamX 4 looks like it is a re-branded M8 for 2x the cost, but it comes with a bunch of great add-ons pre-installed. It's an extra $90 for what I consider a geek-squad type service (beats searching for the add-ons yourself, installing, and troubleshooting and uninstalling those that don't work). But, if you're already proficient at XBMC then I think Minix, M8, or Matricom boxes are the way to go. Me, I needed the lil bit of config work that Elite Mods provided, it saved me a bunch of time, so I'm happy with it.Oh and all of these boxes play 4K video so when it becomes available, you're set! Only thing is with KitKat android OS no Flashplayer support which hasn't impacted anything for me other than Amazon Prime veiwing, but no biggie.