[Gorbulan]

I have been wanting to get an Android TV box more and more as time goes on. I am more or less decided on which two boxes to get, only one problem...is Android TV any good?

What I mean is, is it comparable to the Roku or AppleTV? I want to buy a box once for the next 4-8 years if at all possible. I don't want to move on to another product because Android TV is lacking or too buggy to be any good. I just want a nice box that can do Kodi and streaming services well.

How is app support for ATV? How does it compare to Roku/Apple/Fire/etc?

How stable is Kodi under Android TV? It does not need to be perfect, just sufficient enough to last a full day of watching.

Do I need to care greatly about what version of Android TV I run? I understand the value of updates, is Android 5 that different than 7? Does it actually matter (outside of security updates.)?

How stable is Android TV?

Some people dislike ATV because it tends to focus on Google products and services. Is this still true? If true, does it actually matter or is it a quibble?

Keyboard support! Does it work fine? Ridiculous question, perhaps, but I intend on getting a Flirc so I can continue using my MCE remotes and I just want to make sure it will work with a Flirc okie dokie.


Thanks everybody! Unrelated: My roommate and I just love Kodi, especially her. She can't live without it now!

[User 325245]

Android TV and "Android TV box" are two different things. And ofcourse it is focused on Google services, you want to say that Apple products are not focused on Apple services?

Anyways, Android TV boxes are as stable as android is. It depends on a box. If you get more expensive box from a known brand it will be stable 100%. If oyu get cheper chinese boxes you have to tweak it a bit to get to 99% stable. But IMHO it is good enough. For that kind of money, it does it's job. I have one of those cheap boxes (43$) and I removed everything from it and installed what I needed (only Kodi and SMB server). I even disabled Google Play and Google services and some other stuff that I don't need. Everything working 100% fine. I only get crash in 1 case - when I play video and back to the main menue and video is playing in the background. If I move in the menu a lot, it just exits Kodi. So I have to disable option to display video while in menu. But for 40$.... I suppose it is RAM thing, and newer boxes with 2gb RAM don't have this problem....

[da-anda]

please note that if you buy a cheap chinese Android box (doesn't matter if it's AndroidTV or just an Android box), you very likely won't get any firmware updates. So if there might be any security issues in Android or a new AndroidTV version, the chances to get these updates for something like the SHIELD AndroidTV or WETEK box are much much higher than for the cheap chineese crap (that also often comes with spyware, at least cheap chinese phones). So if you want the device to last for more than 2-3 years, don't buy cheap. And if you by cheap, be prepared to be stuck on a certain AndroidTV or Kodi version at some point and not get any firmware related fixes (like if there are HD audio issues with it, etc), and be prepared to tinker around with the OS to get rid of stuff.

[RockerC]

What I mean is, is it comparable to the Roku or AppleTV? I want to buy a box once for the next 4-8 years if at all possible.

...

Do I need to care greatly about what version of Android TV I run? I understand the value of updates, is Android 5 that different than 7? Does it actually matter (outside of security updates.)?

If you come from an Apple based world then you first need to understand that Android OS and Android devices have much shorter life-cycle than Apple products.

Apple makes all its own products and keep releasing software updates for the for around 5-years, if you buy iDevices on the day of their initial release that is (as if you go out today and buy an new iDevice today that was initially released 2-years ago then expect that you will only get software updates for it for 3-years.

Problem with Android devices is that they are not released by Google themselves and you get no guarantee that whoever make it will release any software updates for the Android OS on it at all, if they ever will release any Android OS updates for it. Fact is that some Android device manufacturers never release Android OS updates.

Similarly you can not expect third-party app (application) developers like Kodi or Netflix/Hulu to keep supporting old versions of the Android OS (or iOS for tnat matter). If you buy an Android device today that only have Android 5.0 and now knowing that it was initially released in 2014 it is would be unreasonable to expect app developers to keep supporting Android 5.0 for another 4-8 years like you want. Sooner or later DRM will be cracked and apps like Netflix/Hulu will remove support for Android devices that does not continue to recieve Android OS updates.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_Lollipop

My conclusion is that Android TV is a good enough platform if you are a casual user of Kodi as well as Netflix and Hulu like apps. If you get the right Android TV hardware device then it should be good value for your money. With the exception of Xiaomi Mi Box, most cheap boxes are not good if you are looking to run it for more than a year or two.

Best odds for you getting Android OS updates is if you buy an Android TV device that is that least made in partnership with Google. Currently that is Xiaomi Mi Box, Nvidia Shield TV, and Razor Forge TV, but note there that both the Razor Forge TV and the first-generation of Nvidia Shield TV was initially released almost two years ago, thus is would be unreasonable to expect them to get Android OS updates for many more years to come. Nvidia Shield TV is however based on more modern hardware, and while Xiaomi is new to the international market, Nvidia have proven to release updates for their hardware for many years after it have been initially released.

https://www.android.com/tv/

One alternativice is to go with a Amazon Fire TV which also have longer life-cycles then the average Android device, but its does not offer the original Android TV experince and other that the "stick" version they are not cheaper than the Xiaomi Mi Box, Nvidia Shield TV, or Razor Forge TV counterparts. Personally I would only get Amazon Fire TV if I was already locked into and enjoyed the Amazon's Prime Video ecosystem ( https://www.primevideo.com/ ) .

https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Fire-TV-St...B00U3FPN4U

My recommendation would be to either buy the more expensive Nvidia Shield TV (second-generation) and hope that it will receive Android OS updates for a few more years as Nvidia have a good track record, (but I would still not expect it to last 8-years), or go the route of "buy cheap and buy often" and get the much less expensive Xiaomi Mi Box and instead expect to replace the hardware around every 3-years.

[RockerC]

the chances to get these updates for something like the SHIELD AndroidTV or WETEK box are much much higher than for the cheap chineese crap

I know that WeTek is a Kodi sponsor but would advise Team Kodi members to not promote them as Android OS devices or having a long life-cycle for an Android devices.

As it is today I would not recommend a WeTek box to someone looking for and Android TV device, and Android TV was what the original poster was asking about.

WeTek is known for using older (Amlogic) hardware, that while very stable does not support the newer versions of Android OS / Android TV. This, as it looks like WeTek is really only focusing on OpenELEC (Linux), as they lag way behind all others when it comes to Android OS / Android TV. And while technically WeTek boxes are “hardware made for Android”, they are not being treated as Android devices by WeTek.

I myself made this mistake and bought a WeTek Play (v1) late 2015 and little did I know they stopped Android updates then at Android 4.2.2 "Jelly Bean".

WeTek Play (v1) was released in November 2014 and last Android update it got was in December 2015 so I'm not impressed with their 1-year life-cycle for Android on it. WeTek Core which released in December 2015 did get an Android 5.1 update, but will likely never see Android 6.0 or even less likely 7.0 due to running older hardware.

[toddao]

I have a Chinese box with Android TV 6.0 and Kodi 16.1 . It only allows a few skins to work with it. I get lock ups if not using the original kodi skin with the menus. Playing is fine, music fine. Watch out for the remote controls. They tend to be limited and I have my phone close by with its kodi remote control for some features.

[RockerC]

Many cheap Chinese Android box also don't have or officially support Widevine Common Encryption and PlayReady DRM and that therefore not offer Google services and Google Play.

http://www.cnx-software.com/2015/11/16/d...formation/

If they don't then there is no guarantee you can use apps that require such DRM support such as Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and Amazon Prime Video, etc..

Or some apps might allow you to use them without DRM or with old Widevine/PlayReady but then limit you to a lower resolution of video, thus restricting non-DRM boxes.

[da-anda]

@RockerC - me mentioning WETEK had nothing to do with them being a sponsor, but being a fair and open platform in general and that you at least have the option to replace the firmware on your own or use Linux when manufacturer support dies. But fair point about the current WETEK Android lineup and support. I also own a Play1 and have LE running on it (it's my TV server atm). Another reason why I mentioned WETEK is because they seem to have the required Netflix certs for 4K along with Dolby licenses, IIRC. I also thought they by now had an AndroidTV based box, but seems I rememberd wrong. Thanks for correcting me.

[natethomas]

the first-generation of Nvidia Shield TV was initially released almost two years ago, thus is would be unreasonable to expect them to get Android OS updates for many more years to come. Nvidia Shield TV is however based on more modern hardware, and while Xiaomi is new to the international market, Nvidia have proven to release updates for their hardware for many years after it have been initially released.

It's worth noting that the Shield TV released this year is using the same hardware internals in a smaller form factor as the original Shield TV. I don't know if that necessarily means the life of the device will be extended. It's just worth noting.

[Tinwarble]

the first-generation of Nvidia Shield TV was initially released almost two years ago, thus is would be unreasonable to expect them to get Android OS updates for many more years to come. Nvidia Shield TV is however based on more modern hardware, and while Xiaomi is new to the international market, Nvidia have proven to release updates for their hardware for many years after it have been initially released.

It's worth noting that the Shield TV released this year is using the same hardware internals in a smaller form factor as the original Shield TV. I don't know if that necessarily means the life of the device will be extended. It's just worth noting.

The Pro version of the 2017 Shield is the exact same device as the 2015 version. It's just a re-release with a new controller.

It's reasonable to assume, from their support of other products, that Nvidia continues to support their products for years. And I've been told personally that all versions of the Shield's will receive the same updates.

[Gorbulan]

Thanks for the replies everybody!

I had no intention on getting a cheap no-name chinese Android box. I was looking towards the Xiaomi Mi Box, Wetek's, and the Nvidia Shield. Shield seems like overkill for my roommate, she won't use anything but Netflix, Hulu, and Kodi to be honest. I was thinking of the Wetek stuff, but their lack of ongoing support is a worry for me.

Xiaomi Mi Box seems like a good candidate at the moment. The price is certainly right. When it comes to HD audio/1080p my roommate does not care for or even understand what you are talking about, so that is not a factor. It comes with Android 6, which is good. What's the likelihood they will ever update? Considering the price, I am thinking never. But my roommate uses Kodi 90% of the time, so as long as that is always there she is happy.

[Burgo]

Mods - please feel free to delete if following infringes policy. Not wishing to start or encourage any form of advertising or anything, but as a complete nooby myself since just before Xmas I bought a Minix U1 box after researching and being warned off cheaper boxes. Very impressed with its performance, support forum, updates etc. Of course YMMV but just trying to help.

Sent from my SM-T710

[Gorbulan]

I don't think you violated any forum policies with your opinion, Burgo. If you had a good or bad time with a device, feel free to express it. It's different when you are describing a device, like the Minix U1, in an epitomized fashion with links all over, just like a spammer.

Thank you for your input, Burgo.