haeffnkr 3 Posted April 4, 2016 Posted April 4, 2016 Hello, I was planning to stream emby all over the house and use Android TV boxes to do so. I was wanting to by about 5 more Nexus Players before they were gone and obsolete. I was waiting for the bottom to fall out and was expecting them to be sold for about 30 each. Now they are all gone except for ebay and are going for 80 plus, each. So ... what is the best android tv box that is less than $50? thanks haeffnkr
ebr 16169 Posted April 4, 2016 Posted April 4, 2016 So ... what is the best android tv box that is less than $50? IMO there isn't one. The Nexus Player was the best value and probably still is at $80. The absolute best box is the Shield.
epayson85 72 Posted April 4, 2016 Posted April 4, 2016 I just bought a couple refurbished Nexus boxes for $50 each on eBay. Asus keeps releasing them so just watch for them. Also call your local Walmart sometimes they have some in stock despite what the website says. They aren't on shelves but they have them out back. I snagged one for $26. By far it's the best experience I have had with an Android box. The firetv has gotten better though with its latest update but $99 for a product not as good as the Nexus is a tough pill to swallow.
haeffnkr 3 Posted April 4, 2016 Author Posted April 4, 2016 What about something like this? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B019ESY3RY?psc=1 I might give it a try less than 30.... reviews seem positive but might be staged. thanks for the ideas so far. haeffnkr
ebr 16169 Posted April 4, 2016 Posted April 4, 2016 I don't think that is actually an Android TV box but it is also only on 5.1 and may never move off of that (not sure). But, I believe there are some folks out here using them.
MSattler 390 Posted April 4, 2016 Posted April 4, 2016 I don't think that is actually an Android TV box but it is also only on 5.1 and may never move off of that (not sure). But, I believe there are some folks out here using them. Yeah, firmware upgrades on the non name brand devices are pretty minimal. Every $50-100 player I have purchased has had issues with either limited codec support, how slow it is, or quality problems. While you pay more for better quality players, it is so worth it with the lower amounts of frustrations you have with the hardware. $100 range the Fire TV 2 works, but codec's and such are somewhat limited. under $200, Nvidia Shield is the king. I am now an owner of 5 f these, and while it is $1k spent, it is by far the best player investment I have made to this date. I have tried: AMLogic S805 players, Fire TV sticks, Fire TV, Minix Neo X8H Plus, and a couple of other non-name brand players. All were a waste.
haeffnkr 3 Posted April 4, 2016 Author Posted April 4, 2016 I figured you get what you pay for... but darn... Nvidia boxes are expensive and I dont want to play games just stream and watch TV. So it seems overkill for me, but I am sure the hardware is fast and supported.... a big plus. Is there going to be a new Nexus Player box? Surely Google will put out a Google Android TV box, right? If so then hopefully the original/current Nexus Player will go back down to the sub $50 range. thanks for the help so far haeffnkr
ebr 16169 Posted April 4, 2016 Posted April 4, 2016 Is there going to be a new Nexus Player box? Surely Google will put out a Google Android TV box, right? The NP was Google's box. I haven't seen any official announcement but they just started disappearing from stores and went on clearance everywhere else last fall. I guess Google is concentrating on the TV sets instead of an external box but everything is speculation right now since Google hasn't said a thing (that I have found).
MSattler 390 Posted April 4, 2016 Posted April 4, 2016 The NP was Google's box. I haven't seen any official announcement but they just started disappearing from stores and went on clearance everywhere else last fall. I guess Google is concentrating on the TV sets instead of an external box but everything is speculation right now since Google hasn't said a thing (that I have found). IMHO, the NP was crap. I mean the interface was great, the look was great, but it just didn't perform well. And the fact that you had to buy a OTG adapter and a usb ethernet adapter to get a hardwired network connection really was a PITA. Buy a shield from Amazon, or Best Buy. Use it for a week, if you don't like it, return it.
spootdev 56 Posted April 4, 2016 Posted April 4, 2016 (edited) What about something like this? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B019ESY3RY?psc=1 I might give it a try less than 30.... reviews seem positive but might be staged. thanks for the ideas so far. haeffnkr The s805 is pretty bad. Got one the other day for dev work and it's just loaded down with shit. If you install Openelec on it it's actually responsive but only does stereo then. Perhaps the S905 is better...... Edited April 4, 2016 by spootdev
ice pube 20 Posted April 4, 2016 Posted April 4, 2016 IMHO, the NP was crap. I mean the interface was great, the look was great, but it just didn't perform well. And the fact that you had to buy a OTG adapter and a usb ethernet adapter to get a hardwired network connection really was a PITA. Buy a shield from Amazon, or Best Buy. Use it for a week, if you don't like it, return it. And sell the gamepad if you keep it!
MSattler 390 Posted April 4, 2016 Posted April 4, 2016 And sell the gamepad if you keep it! Yup, I believe Amazon still has the free remote special going on.
CBers 7450 Posted April 4, 2016 Posted April 4, 2016 And the fact that you had to buy a OTG adapter and a usb ethernet adapter to get a hardwired network connection really was a PITA. Once done, it's forgotten about. The absolute best box is the Shield. I concur. I own a Fire TV (1st Gen), a Nexus Player and a Shield TV. The Shield TV is by far the best box. The Nexus Player was OK, but the FTV better for running the Emby ATV app on.
CBers 7450 Posted April 4, 2016 Posted April 4, 2016 I believe Amazon still has the free remote special going on. Not in the UK unfortunately.
bluemonkey07 590 Posted April 4, 2016 Posted April 4, 2016 You could try the wetek core a little bit less than a Shield tv https://wetek.com/product/wetek-core
scottd34 3 Posted April 7, 2016 Posted April 7, 2016 I figured you get what you pay for... but darn... Nvidia boxes are expensive and I dont want to play games just stream and watch TV. So it seems overkill for me, but I am sure the hardware is fast and supported.... a big plus. Is there going to be a new Nexus Player box? Surely Google will put out a Google Android TV box, right? If so then hopefully the original/current Nexus Player will go back down to the sub $50 range. thanks for the help so far haeffnkr I like the shield. I was looking at the price of it compared to building a newer htpc using a nuc or other starting point and the price didn't seem too bad considering.
Snapper 20 Posted April 8, 2016 Posted April 8, 2016 Yup, I believe Amazon still has the free remote special going on. I am not sure how to get the free remote from Amazon, but my local Best Buy had the model with controller and remote for the same price that Amazon sells it for without the remote.
Pirlo1966 22 Posted April 9, 2016 Posted April 9, 2016 Shield all the way but the emby android tv app needs some serious development progress.
bluemonkey07 590 Posted April 9, 2016 Posted April 9, 2016 (edited) Shield all the way but the emby android tv app needs some serious development progress.But smpc (kodi) works fantastic on itAnd so do most another android TV apps and games Edited April 9, 2016 by Vidman
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