[djustoe]

I was living abroad for a year and the Ouya served my entertainment needs very well with XBMC.
I have given the device to my buddy to enjoy and decided I will buy a new one when I get home.
What I am wondering is if the Ouya is becoming redundant and is there an other device I should be considering in its place? (I see the Ouya has been out of stock on amazon for some time now)
I want a simple device to run 'Kodi' without the need for a great deal of configuration.
An out of the box solution really..

thanks for reading.

[solamnic]

if you dont need any of the android apps an NUC with Openelec is the best solution out there

[djustoe]

if you dont need any of the android apps an NUC with Openelec is the best solution out there

Thanks for your response.
I do however want to be able to use android apps on the device..

[Ned Scott]

OUYA isn't bad, but you can get the same kind of machine for less money now. If you can grab one used for around $50, then it's still a good deal. I wouldn't buy one new at $100, though.

The Fire TV Box or Stick are fairly good deals either on sale or not, but the big thing about them is just that it gives you a remote control friendly version of Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime video (they still have apps for all Android devices, but might require an airmouse for some functions). If you don't need those then there are some other boxes that are a little better for price-per-performance. Either way, they're fair boxes, but currently without root. You can still sideload apps, however.

While XBMC/Kodi support for 4k and/or H.256 video is still being hammered out, there's a few sub-$100 boxes that include those features, as well as other neat goodies like HD-audio passthrough. I'm a little fuzzy on which one to recommend at this point, since they still have their quirks to work out, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time before they're all fairly decent choices. There's a bunch of them, and I'm not up to date on all the differences between them, but you're looking at boxes based on Rockchip RK3288, Amlogic S812, Amlogic S805, Amlogic S802, Realtek RTD1195, and a couple of others.

Remember, raw specs alone doesn't mean everything. Whatever you choose, look for something that seems to have good community support or is backed by an actual company that doesn't seem like they're going to drop it right away.

I would only go as high as $100 for an Android box. I don't buy into the $150 and $200 Android boxes. That's a lot more money for very little gain, and those same boxes will dip down below $100 in a few months anyways.

[Tinwarble]

I'd have to agree with a lot of what Ned Scott said.

However, if you are coming from an Ouya and want something similar but perhaps better suited for the TV, then the Amazon Fire TV is probably the best choice.

I have both an Ouya and the AFTV and can say that I prefer the AFTV much more. Not only because when it comes to XBMC/Kodi the Ouya has never fixed their brightness/contrast issue (it's too dark), but also even for gaming the AFTV has just been better (even with Ouya controller). Plus, the little bluetooth remote makes navigating through XBMC much easier.

Yes, there are boxes out there with better specs and more features (or at least claiming more), but most have questionable stability and some are still only to the point that most people would still consider as beta units. Unlike the AFTV which spec wise is on the same level as the Ouya and is probably one of the most stable Android devices available.

Personally, if you're not in a rush to have something I would wait until after the first of the year and see what new Android TV (the OS based on Lollipop) devices come out. This should bring much more stable and feature rich devices to the market.

Or, and this is what I'm about to do, get a Chromebox for XBMC/Kodi and a Fire TV Stick (already have this) for everything else. Of course this means you'll have 2 devices, but you'll have an extremely stable and fast Kodi platform that can do pretty much anything Kodi will allow and a stable Android platform that has all the nice TV centric apps. And if you wait for a sale, you can still stay around $150 for both.

[DoDe]

What about cuboxtv?

[hughg176]

Had an ouya for around a year sold it and bought a m8 android box I find it an improvement I also bout a box htpc box from AliExpress similar to Prometheus but half the price is lightening fast.

[Ned Scott]

What about cuboxtv?

A great little device when you install a linux-based OS on it like OpenELEC, but I hear the Android OS support has some kinks to still work out. I heard this a while ago, so I'm not sure if it's still true.

[wrxtasy]

Or, and this is what I'm about to do, get a Chromebox for XBMC/Kodi and a Fire TV Stick (already have this) for everything else. Of course this means you'll have 2 devices, but you'll have an extremely stable and fast Kodi platform that can do pretty much anything Kodi will allow and a stable Android platform that has all the nice TV centric apps. And if you wait for a sale, you can still stay around $150 for both.

I recommend this course of action as well.
Do budget for a programmable FLIRC IR USB dongle as well to control XBMC on the Chromebox, if you're not planning on controlling XBMC with smartphone apps.

I was even more of a cheapskate and got a Raspberry Pi B+ and overclocked it which then runs Kodi well for such a cheap little device. A cheap Chromecast fills my Netflix and other streaming needs. I would get a Fire TV stick to replace the Chromecast if I were purchasing again, due to its included Bluetooth remote control.

Don't spend big bucks for a media device is my rule, as tech bought now is obsolete tomorrow.

[djustoe]

Thanks for all the input everyone.
I'll have a sit down and digest it all.

[Mike_Doc]

have you looked at the mad catz mojo?

[RockerC]

If you want an Android box that will be well maintained with firmware updates by its manufacturer then go for Google Nexus Player.

Either that of Amazon Fire TV but for that you might have to jump through more hoops to root it and side-loads apps in the future.