[Funksultan]

Hiya all!

So we just got an RV and will be on the road camping here and there. My dream for a media paradise has hit a couple bumps and I thought I'd come here to get advice from the masters.

The setup was supposed to be:

• Wireless Router with connected protable HD storage (4 TB)
  
• Fire Sticks on all TVs running KODI 17.3
  

There will never be internet, so the drive would just be populated with our media, music videos, etc, and be accessible throughout the camper. The only downside was that the Fire Stick doesn't have a volume control, but for $40 and such a tight, small footprint, that's fine.

And boom. Fire Stick will not work without an internet connection. Like, won't work at all, so no offline Kodi.

Now I'm back to the drawing board on devices. I'm looking for..
Affordable (need 3, don't wanna have to get shields!)
Good remote (battery actually preferable over USB charging, since it may not get used for months)
Fast (have lots of video, don't want slow menus)

Reading the sticky, it sounds like the contenders are...
Mi Box
MeCool M8S Pro

It's a shame... if there were a way to make the fire stick work, that would have been perfect.

Does anyone have any suggestions/guidance for an offline Kodi setup? Is one of my potential solutions better?

[trogggy]

First question I'd be asking - do you need Android?
If it's literally just for playing back local media I'd go libreelec - if you need / want android apps obviously not.

[wrxtasy]

Either will work without an Internet connection after the First phase of setting the devices up and downloading Apps and Software.

Both are AMLogic S905x boxes, so no Android speed superiority with either.

Mi Box will be a better Android TV box with its superior Wireless remote control. In fact the Mi Box's remote is about the best you can get for a simple media remote. Its a beauty.
Runs Android Kodi Krypton fine as well if you are not too demanding.

Mi Box has far far superior AC WiFi vs the MECOOL. In fact I would not buy the MECOOL at all to use with WiFi on it. It's 2.4GHz only WiFi is really poor and unreliable. Ethernet only device.

If it were Kodi and Ethernet only box required then I would be buying the MECOOL and running LibreELEC Kodi Krypton on it.

[Funksultan]

First question I'd be asking - do you need Android?
If it's literally just for playing back local media I'd go libreelec - if you need / want android apps obviously not.

No, don't really need android, although I suppose I'm just accustomed to it for ease of upgrades and the like. I'd prefer to have an out of the box solution (or as close as possible). If I'm gaining a lot by going libreelec, I would consider going that route.

[Funksultan]

Mi Box will be a better Android TV box with its superior Wireless remote control. In fact the Mi Box's remote is about the best you can get for a simple media remote. Its a beauty.

Mi Box has far far superior AC WiFi vs the MECOOL. In fact I would not buy the MECOOL at all to use with WiFi on it. It's 2.4GHz only WiFi is really poor and unreliable. Ethernet only device.

Ah, I didn't even catch that the MECOOL didn't connect on 5 Ghz. That's shocking, as it's a relatively new model.

One of the things I liked about the MECOOL was that it had an integrated learning remote, which would have been a nice to have. Can you say what you like about the Mi Box remote?

(I'm still baffled that Amazon doesn't carry the Mi Box... )

[trogggy]

If it were Kodi and Ethernet only box required then I would be buying the MECOOL and running LibreELEC Kodi Krypton on it.

If it's just for libreelec why would you choose a box with no wifi and no bluetooth?
For dual-boot, sure. Is the remote that good?

[wrxtasy]

WiFi on dirt cheap AMLogic - you have to be kidding yourself if you want reliability. Real 4K LibreELEC Kodi men use Ethernet only

The MECOOL remote is the best simple IR learning remote I've seen included for a $35 ish box. Its sensibly layed out and designed by someone who knows what they were doing. I wish it were Wireless - it would clean up the market IMHO. Even better than the IR only remotes from MINIX & WeTek.

Still not as good and reliable as Wireless remotes tho.
The Wireless Mi Box remote Kick's ass. Its really well designed for interaction with its Android TV Apps.
Having a Physical Volume button on the Mi Box remote is a really sensible idea.

[Funksultan]

The MECOOL remote is the best simple IR learning remote I've seen included for a $35 ish box.

Wait, wat? MECOOL is like $60, unless there's some older version, and Mi Box is weighing in at $70.

[wrxtasy]

Geekbuying - 2GB/16GB S905x MECOOL M8S Pro Plus is USD $35 or $38 with 10 day delivery.

Amazon are a rip off !

Be aware a LOT of new dirt cheap AMLogic S905x Hardware have cloned WiFi/BT chips in them to avoid I suspect Ampak licensing fees. There are no Linux drivers available for these cloned WiFi/BT Chips, which means no WIFi/BT in LibreELEC either. This is what occurs at the dirt cheap end of the market.

[trogggy]

WiFi on dirt cheap AMLogic - you have to be kidding yourself if you want reliability. Real 4K LibreELEC Kodi men use Ethernet only

Oh I dunno. The only place I use wifi for kodi is in my car - it's never been an issue. Maybe just about distance, but possibly due to the car shell acting as a Faraday cage? I was thinking more in terms of having options for eg wireless remote / bluetooth headphones (which I do use a fair bit with my amlogic box). It's all doable with dongles, but that takes up usb ports.
Good to know for the remote anyway.

[trogggy]

The MECOOL remote is the best simple IR learning remote I've seen included for a $35 ish box.

Wait, wat? MECOOL is like $60, unless there's some older version, and Mi Box is weighing in at $70.

I suspect you're looking at the S912 version - you don't want that if you intend to use libreelec.

[Funksultan]

That's awesome! I'm going to stick with the Android... I know that the quasi-fanatic LibreElec people here would prefer me to build everything by hand, but I just don't see a gigantic upside for the time/effort involved. Still at a toss-up between the two, as I may not even notice the downside of having to be on the 2.4Mhz network.

Looks like the Mi Box is still around $70ish, which is shocking for almost identical hardware.

[trogggy]

Looks like the Mi Box is still around $70ish, which is shocking for almost identical hardware.

I can't work out whether you're saying $70 for the Mibox is great or terrible from that.

[Funksultan]

Well, that seems a little high, if the MECOOL is around $40.

[trogggy]

Well, that seems a little high, if the MECOOL is around $40.

I think the Mibox is a great price. But it's not my money you're spending.
I'd buy the Xiaomi expecting everything advertised to work, to be well built and to have reasonable support.