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Pi 4 · 2016-12-02, 17:50

I currently have a WD Live Box, and am thinking of moving over to either an NVIDIA Shield or Mi Box. I understand the NVIDIA Shield is considered the better box, though I'm just looking for what suits my current needs.

I will use it mostly for movies stored on two 4 TB hard drives via KODI, as well as Android 'stuff'. 'Stuff' meaning, I am new to all this and do not fully understand much about Android yet other than there is streaming content, games, ect. (yes, still learning)

On my HDs I have (read this from my WD Live screen) mostly two types of files. ISO MJPEG and MP4 H264.

Also I would want to be able to expand if needed. The NVIDIA Shield seems to be easy in this regard but the Mi Box is questionable. As to the Mi Box if I were to connect a USB adapter Hub such as the ones that will add three USB ports and an ethernet port. Could I then use two usb ports of the adapter to attach HDs AND use the third port to expand the internal memory of the Mi Box ? Or will it just see either internal memory or the external HDs, and not both simultaneously ?

Lastly do these boxes actually shut off completely or do they just power down/sleep ? And will they also completely shut down the attached HDs ? I thought I read (?) where they might leave the attached HDs 'on' even after powering off the box.

Which box would be best to fit my current needs ?

ozkhan1 · 2016-12-02, 18:55

Do not want hd audio?
Shield has it mibox doesn't, far as I know.

Shield also has better gaming options if you want to stream from a gaming pc or use their service nvidia game stream.

Be default they both go to sleep but you can power them off completely.

Pi 4 · 2016-12-03, 14:41

(2016-12-02, 18:55)ozkhan1 Wrote: Do not want hd audio?
Shield has it mibox doesn't, far as I know.

Shield also has better gaming options if you want to stream from a gaming pc or use their service nvidia game stream.

Be default they both go to sleep but you can power them off completely.

I'm not familiar with hd audio. Does it apply to the types of files I currently use ? Though I suppose for future use it's always best to have it if needed.

Thats great that you can power the Shield and Mi Box off completely, but do the attached HDs then also power completely off as well ?

And has anyone used a 3 Port USB Hub Adapter on the Mi Box to add multiple HDs and simultaneously expand the internal memory ? As it is now with one usb port you can either add a HD or expand internal memory. If you attached the adapter would it see the 3 ports as say 2 external and 1 internal. Or would it be all are internal, or all are external ?

**couto27** · (This post was last modified: 2016-12-03, 14:53 by couto27.)

(2016-12-03, 14:41)Pi 4 Wrote: I'm not familiar with hd audio.

Save some cash and get the most cheap PI3

wrxtasy · 2016-12-03, 19:23

Stuff I've seen with the Mi Box:

Two Hard drives, one 3.5" external powered and the other a 2.5" USB powered + a USB Stick work fine attached to a cheap USB Hub.
Both HDD's & Stick FAT32 formatted. NTFS formatted would be likely work as well.
The USB Stick can be formatted as internal Adoptable storage with Android Marshmallow. I would only use a fast modern USB3 one.
mpeg2 DVD ISO's Play fine using SPMC 16.5.0 (a Android version of Kodi)
Same for H264
The is no complete Power OFF on the Mi Box. It Suspends and Resumes or Reboots.
Consequently the USB Hard drives do not sleep like you would normally expect.

I also have a 2GB AMLogic S905 ODROID C2 running LibreELEC Kodi and the USB Hard drives do sleep properly with that combo.

Pi 4 · 2016-12-03, 23:02

(2016-12-03, 19:23)wrxtasy Wrote: [*]The is no complete Power OFF on the Mi Box. It Suspends and Resumes or Reboots.
[*]Consequently the USB Hard drives do not sleep like you would normally expect.[/list]

I also have a 2GB AMLogic S905 ODROID C2 running LibreELEC Kodi and the USB Hard drives do sleep properly with that combo.

Thank you Wrxtasy,

Does this also hold true for the Shield as well ?

And given that the Mi Box - and possibly the Shield as well - do not Power OFF and consequently the USB Hard drives do not sleep. How would you advise someone to deal with that issue ? Would having the HDs on a separate power strip and powering them off solve that problem ?

Hopefully if the Shield does allow the USB Hard drives to properly sleep after shutting down then I will just go with the Shield.

**Tinwarble** · 2016-12-03, 23:24

(2016-12-03, 23:02)Pi 4 Wrote: Does this also hold true for the Shield as well ?

And given that the Mi Box - and possibly the Shield as well - do not Power OFF and consequently the USB Hard drives do not sleep. How would you advise someone to deal with that issue ? Would having the HDs on a separate power strip and powering them off solve that problem ?

Hopefully if the Shield does allow the USB Hard drives to properly sleep after shutting down then I will just go with the Shield.

No, the Shield can be completely powered off, though it is not recommended since it can only be powered on by touching the power button on the Shield.

Pi 4 · 2016-12-04, 00:03

(2016-12-03, 23:24)Tinwarble Wrote: No, the Shield can be completely powered off, though it is not recommended since it can only be powered on by touching the power button on the Shield.

Thank you Tinwarble,

Could you confirm if attached Hard Drives can be properly shut down/ sleep with the Shield ?

Pi 4 · 2016-12-05, 13:52

(2016-12-04, 00:03)Pi 4 Wrote:
(2016-12-03, 23:24)Tinwarble Wrote: No, the Shield can be completely powered off, though it is not recommended since it can only be powered on by touching the power button on the Shield.

Thank you Tinwarble,

Could you confirm if attached Hard Drives can be properly shut down/ sleep with the Shield ?

Can anyone please confirm this ?

Kempston · 2016-12-05, 13:58

I've never had to connect a drive to my Shield beyond a few minutes, but I definitely remember someone on the Nvidia Shield forum saying that putting the Shield into standby doesn't result in a connected drive spinning down. Admittedly this was months ago so it's possible a more recent firmware has changed this.

**Tinwarble** · 2016-12-05, 16:22

When the Shield is off, it's completely off so there's nothing to keep the drives alive.

When the Shield is in sleep mode, then it's hit or miss with external HDDs. Some will sleep others will not, and it also depends on what background processes are running.

If your that concerned with it though, my suggestion is either plug your HDDs into a router or build or buy a NAS. With the limitation of Android write permissions your going to find that managing attached drives is going to be more restrictive.

DrowningApe · 2016-12-11, 03:03

Shield>Mii box. But wait a month for the new Shield model which will be announced at CES.

Dispatched from Mojo's Artisan Toast & Beard-Fluffing Emporium, Temescal Alley

mjbxx · 2016-12-11, 03:49

(2016-12-11, 03:03)DrowningApe Wrote: Shield>Mii box. But wait a month for the new Shield model which will be announced at CES.

I own both and agree that Shield TV is better than the Mi Box. The Mi Box is perfect for anything other than a main home theater use. Factor in the Shield TV $200-$250 cost for one then it becomes clear that the Mi Box can be adequate and a more affordable choice for other rooms throughout a home. That said. I am looking forward to a new Shield TV if and when it becomes available.