[wrxtasy]

Is Chromecast Android TV still a no go?

I want a Android TV box, but I don't want to pay for another Nvidia shield. I have two friends who has Mi Boxes and they are very buggy.

In Europe, what budget friendly Android Box that are officially certified? I also want chromecast built in and I know Fire TV is very budget friendly, but I want a "real" android box.

Thanks!

We really do not know what you will use such devices for, so I will point out some positives and negatives:

Xiaomi Mi Box:

+ has a USB port and no issues with NTFS formatted hard drives.
+ has Kodi auto Frame Rate Matching for smooth video playback.
+ still gets ongoing Firmware support.
- Bluetooth remote very sensitive to 2.4GHz Radio Freq interference, need to be moved away from other Electrical devices if there are problems.
- HDMI CEC really needs to be turned off or it will very likely cause issues.
- No HDR for Amazon Prime Video
- using a pretty old 2016 era chipset

2020 Google Chromecast / Android TV dongle:

+ AMLogic chipset two generation ahead of the Mi Box = everything is faster, it's a bit faster vs other budget Android streamers (click)
+ a better remote
+ the new Google TV interface makes content discovery faster
- A bunch of users are now discovering CCGTV Network Stability and WiFi problems (click)
- which Google have not made a priority fixing it seems
- no USB2/3 port, and even then no NTFS USB storage support
- USB Hubs / Ethernet adapters comparatively expensive, and then you can also run into power issues. It really is a Network streaming device only.
- No Auto Frame Rate Matching at all for anything, which the Mi Boxes and Amazon Fire TV, streaming devices have for some Apps ...

On a tight budget, what would I buy for Apps streaming only (and Kodi) ?

Either a Amazon Stick 4K or for 1080p only, the newer 2020 Amazon Fire TV Stick 3:

+ auto Frame Rate Matching for Kodi, Prime Video, Plex, SmartYouTube....
+ about the best, easiest to use, reliable Wireless remote in the business
+ the fastest and most reliable AC MIMO WiFi around in a streaming device.
+ Amazon are continually supporting FireTV Firmware on their devices.
+ Bang for the buck is the best on the market
+ The 2020 Fire TV Stick Lite and the Stick 3 are currently getting a new, clean looking FireOS - Graphic User Interface (click)
- no Chromecasting, but YouTube can be "cast" to FireTV devices.
- USB Hub / dongle needed if you want FAT32 only USB storage support (same limitations as CCGTV dongle)

W.