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Mid-priced Android TV box with Emby


horstepipe

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horstepipe

Hello

So there's the Xiaomi Mi Box S  at the low price end and the Nvidia Shield at the other one.

Can anybody recommend something in between for around 100 bucks? There's the Beelink GT King where you can put a custom Android TV rom on. It's snappier than the Mi box, but it's not Android TV out of the box and I can't get auto frame rate matching to work there.

I'm just about to move most of my ppl from Kodi to Emby Theater and I'd like to give them choices.

Any suggestions?

Edited by horstepipe
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If these people will not be using Live TV then I'd go with the MiBox S as long as it supports the audio they have.  To me it's either this or the Shield TV.

You could also check out the Fire TV type boxes but I'd just go with the first two.

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The latest firmware has an issue playing back mpeg2 for some people.  So until they get that fixed it's hit or miss for Live TV depending if your channels use mpeg2 or h.264.

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I use eMatic Jetstream 4K.  So far no issues but again, I don't use them as much as the Emby app in my Samsung TV so I probably miss a lot of the problems folks here talk about with Android TV boxes. I don't use them to watch live tv extensively for long periods.  I have HDHomeRun and have both Emby and Live Channels set up to watch and record live tv (also through Channels DVR). Any time that I've used them, they work but again, I haven't use them extensively.  So maybe if I watched live tv for a longer period on the devices they might exhibit the problems that folks here are seeing on the MiBox.  The reason I went with Jetstream was because of wired network connection hardware built in.  MiBox is primarily wifi and you have to have an add-on adapter for wired network.  Was a no-go for me.  So far, I'm happy with my Jetstreams.

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clarkss12

If you like to tinker, there are almost limitless amount of devices that make good Emby media player.  IF you are NOT NEEDING a media streaming device that streams Netflix, Disney +, ect in HD or 4k, then Most inexpensive devices make good Emby players.  However, like the Beelink GT King, there are a lot of ATV mods available for them.

The King is a good device, but over kill for a good Emby media player.

Unfortunately, I have an addiction to these boxes, so I have several dozen of them, stuffed away some where.  I have most of the official Google Certified boxes, starting with the ADT-1, Nexus Player, Xiaomi Mibox and Mibox S, Nvidia Shield, etc........  

But, I never using them, since they JUST work.  Just pick an Amlogic box, and look for an ATV mod for it, you may find a gem..... Of course, If you are serious about the video and audio quality, and still use the Emby server, run CoreELEC on one of those inexpensive devices, and it will smoke anything else, including the shield.

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Love to hear why you'd think it would smoke the Shield TV.  The shield has some decent hardware and features built into it that other boxes just don't have and would have to mimic in software.  I know CoreELEC has a lot of promise but I'd be hesitant to recommend an "Emby only" box when I know my users likely also want Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Tubi and other services that are easy to get/install on Android TV with Google's app store.

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clarkss12
38 minutes ago, cayars said:

Love to hear why you'd think it would smoke the Shield TV.  The shield has some decent hardware and features built into it that other boxes just don't have and would have to mimic in software.  I know CoreELEC has a lot of promise but I'd be hesitant to recommend an "Emby only" box when I know my users likely also want Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Tubi and other services that are easy to get/install on Android TV with Google's app store.

I do not mean to devalue the Shield, it is a fantastic machine, no other Android machine can come close to what it can do.  That is the goto machine for those that want a machine that can do pretty much anything that people would desire from it...... However, it is limited in what it can do, not much to be able to tinker with.  It is a gaming machine and a media player.  When it first came out, I opted out of purchasing it, because it was strictly a gaming machine and ONLY came with a game console...  It was out quite awhile before people realized that it was actually a good media player.  Not sure long it was out, before Nvidia actually created a "TV" style remote for it..  The firmware went through some growing pains when it was first introduced.........

However, machines running LibreELEC and CoreELEC can play any media that is out there.  It is not for the streaming people, it is for people that like to tinker and get the most out of hardware.......

I can't recall which media that I tried to play, that the shield balked on, but I switched to a LibreELEC machine to watch it, but that has been awhile.  Personally, I only use my Shield for testing something.

 

Edit:  There is NO one in my family or friends that I would recommend a dedicated Emby device running CoreELEC or LibreELEC.  But the people on these forums are more into tech and are more willing to try out different tech.  Everyone that I know only uses the boxes for streaming media, like Netflix, Disney +, etc.  so I would only recommend the Official Google Certified players...... Most of them have no idea how to use a DVR..

Edited by clarkss12
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horstepipe

Thank you guys, but let me clarify again:

I‘m looking for a device officially running Android TV. Netflix etc. has no priority, only Emby is being used. I‘m aware of all those boxes capable of running custom atv roms, but here I‘m looking for a tinker free solution 🙂

So the Mi Box is good for its price, but compared to the GT-King (with custom atv rom) the Emby menu navigation and playback start delay of a remote stream is noticeable slower. So basically I want a little more power, auto frame rate matching would be second priority. There‘s the Amazon cube, but eww... it’s Amazon 🙂

I’ll take a look at the Jetstream 4K, is it noticeable faster than the Mi Box?

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Never used a MiBox so can't honestly evaluate.  My decision was based on wired internet connection, convenience to purchase and official ATV device (speed wasn't a consideration).  The box is quite responsive for my use case and hasn't caused any problems that I can see in terms of locking up or not running/supporting something that I need.  The caveat to that is that it does not have the native AT&T TV App in their store (why I don't know).  Since that is my streaming service I have to sideload it.  There are several places to get the APK.  It is basically the same one that is used by the Fire TV device.  The Google Play store does have the MiBox Sideload Launcher so you have to load that first to load any other apps that are not native to the Play Store.  If you don't use AT&T TV then you won't have to go through that step/issue.

The only other nit/nag that I have with the Jetstream is that unlike the Roku, each box is a standalone device.  So you have to set them all up individually and they have no knowledge of each other except for being on the same network.  Roku devices are centrally administered from your Roku account online, so all of your Roku devices will have the same app suite across all boxes as long as they are registered to your account.  Android TV doesn't do it that way and it takes longer to load apps across each one separately.  I've looked for some type of clone tool that would do it but no luck so far.  I would assume that this is the same for MiBox and Shield as well since they too are Android TV, but again I don't know that as fact. 

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1 hour ago, EZEd said:

I would assume that this is the same for MiBox and Shield as well since they too are Android TV, but again I don't know that as fact. 

That is correct about the Google boxes but the Fire platform does work more like the Roku - where your installed apps are saved in your Amazon account and can be pushed to devices.

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Do the Fire TV boxes work when you have an internet outage for a day or two?

Gonna have to get me one to play with. :)

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15 hours ago, cayars said:

Do the Fire TV boxes work when you have an internet outage for a day or two?

I'm honestly not sure.  The entire platform is designed to be connected (to Amazon) so the home screen may not even load...

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jaycedk

I have a Fire TV Stick, and it dos not load the home screen unless it has connection to amazon.

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Thanks for that info.  I thought it required the connection but wasn't sure.

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arrbee99

If it helps, it seems with the ethernet cable pulled out the back of one of our Fire TVs, you can go to Settings > down and across to Applications > Manage Installed Applications > Emby > Launch Application and it starts, though it doesn't get very far with the ethernet not plugged in and if I plug the ethernet in then I've got internet as well, so...

Thats for an old Fire TV box with I guess an old Android / Amazon version, but still...

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clarkss12

Here is my newest HI tech toy, and thanks to Emby, I have all my media that is aggregated in one place........ Using a mid range Android TV box..

 

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horstepipe

Anybody got a Mecool KM1? Looks quite solid and what I'm looking for. Does auto frame rate matching work here?

I'm curious about HD audio on that box as the formats are selectable in this review video (at 5:37)

 

I think I'll just order one of these and take a look.

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Another remote with no play/pause button.  What are these guys thinking..??

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clarkss12

I have the Mecool KM1 and it does NOT support auto frame rate matching, NOR does it passthrough the HD Audio codecs.......It is for real a Google Certified device, but NOT Netflix "blessed".   

However, the remote is OK, but I always use my G30s RF remote that DOES have a play/pause button.

Here is my review on the KM1.  

 

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33 minutes ago, ebr said:

Another remote with no play/pause button.  What are these guys thinking..??

If i were them I would have copied Roku's remote.

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horstepipe
16 hours ago, clarkss12 said:

I have the Mecool KM1 and it does NOT support auto frame rate matching, NOR does it passthrough the HD Audio codecs.......It is for real a Google Certified device, but NOT Netflix "blessed".   

 

Thanks.

Pity, so there's no native Android TV box out there which costs at most 100 bucks that is capable of auto frame rate matching and noticeable faster than the Mi Box S?

Edited by horstepipe
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clarkss12
5 hours ago, horstepipe said:

Thanks.

Pity, so there's no native Android TV box out there which costs at most 100 bucks that is capable of auto frame rate matching and noticeable faster than the Mi Box S?

I will test my Tivo 4k later to see if it has auto frame rate changing........ I know it does NOT support the HD audio codecs.  From my understanding, they are improving the firmware, but haven't used it since I purchased it, because, there was no setting to change HDR to SDR.  This cause the colors to be washed out on my older Samsung TV that does NOT support HDR.

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horstepipe
22 minutes ago, clarkss12 said:

I will test my Tivo 4k later to see if it has auto frame rate changing........ I know it does NOT support the HD audio codecs.  From my understanding, they are improving the firmware, but haven't used it since I purchased it, because, there was no setting to change HDR to SDR.  This cause the colors to be washed out on my older Samsung TV that does NOT support HDR.

Thanks. Do you know whether this device will be available in Europe / Germany?

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