Android boxes now illegal in Thailand

[userabcd]

21 hours ago, tomas557 said:

I did read your posts, maybe try to reread them yourself, S L O W L Y

 

The reply was  " no , they are now illegal to sell in Thailand as instructed by the department of Thai Education ,

 

and

 

You say plenty available on Lazada which is correct but I did notice that none were resourced from Thailand

 

and

 

My point is that android boxes are supposedly unavailable and illegal to sell in Thai shops

 

Did you notice in my screenshot that it says Androidbox THAILAND and BUY ON LAZADA, even in Thai language so the government will not be confused?

 

Maybe you could next go to your local hairdresser and ask for Android boxes, and then come here claiming they are not available anywhere.

 

FYI, Advice is a computer hardware shop, and tv boxes are not computer hardware. You will also not find them at JIB, but plenty available from other legal shops and Lazada inThailand

 

Doubt Android TV boxes are illegal, they just need an NBTC license.

 

From a web search and a law firms web site: "Thailand: Internet TV Boxes Now Subject to NBTC Licenses"

 

There are many vendors of Android TV boxes around Thailand and even in the popular computer malls in Fortune/Pantip and in major shops (iplus-studio.net, Big C, Tesco, Amorn for eg) and I guess these stores have followed the law and have licenses to import and sell these TV Boxes in Thailand.

 

Advice is a PC and PC parts retailer and has not been known for selling these android tv boxes.

 

I'd say what is morally suspect and possibly illegal is to download and install some free software apps onto the devices and plugins into KODI to watch free content of movies, tv shows and live TV and some paid cheap offerings of live streaming TV over the internet (pirated content)

 

Edited July 20, 2018 by userabcd

[Headgame]

17 hours ago, Jeffrey346 said:

I have an LG Smart TV and it only allows me to download from the LG Store. So you will have to find an Android TV that allows you to download from anywhere. 

No that is inaccurate.
I too have an LG Smart TV.
Go to the LG Content store and download the free Smart IPTV app.

Then you must sign up online for a third party IPTV service. There are many choices.

Once you get your link from the IPTV provider, just load the link into the Smart IPTV app and you're done.

 

You certainly do not need an Android box, Fire Stick, Apple TV or whatever. 
Your LG Smart TV makes that hardware unnecessary.

[Jeffrey346]

8 minutes ago, Headgame said:

No that is inaccurate.
I too have an LG Smart TV.
Go to the LG Content store and download the free Smart IPTV app.

Then you must sign up online for a third party IPTV service. There are many choices.

Once you get your link from the IPTV provider, just load the link into the Smart IPTV app and you're done.

 

You certainly do not need an Android box, Fire Stick, Apple TV or whatever. 
Your LG Smart TV makes that hardware unnecessary.

I will certainly check that out. Thanks for the heads up.. 

[sandyf]

What is the difference between streaming via an android box as opposed to a laptop. Would the next move be to ban the sale of laptops.

 

When I am travelling I watch Kodi from my laptop on the TV.

[Headgame]

21 minutes ago, Jeffrey346 said:

I will certainly check that out. Thanks for the heads up.. 

If you need any assistance, just ping me and I can guide you through the process.

[Jeffrey346]

Go to Google and search idiot and see what comes up....

[tomas557]

1 hour ago, Headgame said:

No that is inaccurate.
I too have an LG Smart TV.
Go to the LG Content store and download the free Smart IPTV app.

Then you must sign up online for a third party IPTV service. There are many choices.

Once you get your link from the IPTV provider, just load the link into the Smart IPTV app and you're done.

 

You certainly do not need an Android box, Fire Stick, Apple TV or whatever. 
Your LG Smart TV makes that hardware unnecessary.

But the app isn't free, isn't it?

 

I think it's something like 30$ to use on 1 TV.

[Jeffrey346]

3 minutes ago, tomas557 said:

But the app isn't free, isn't it?

 

I think it's something like 30$ to use on 1 TV.

Correct the App is not free and you need to upload content. My Shield box is easier to use. Keep in mind you must pay for a box so I can see the why some rather pay $30. rather than $175. for the Shield..

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 hours ago, Jeffrey346 said:

I posted this in the Nvidia Shield thread.. Thought you guys may be interested.

 

I just posted my Amazon Shield experience above. Now my eBay story.

 

I ordered a SkyStream Two on eBay. This is a high end box like the Shield. I had it shipped via the eBay Global Shipping Program.

This morning I received a call from DHL telling me I need an import license or the box will be sent back to eBay.

I told them I received the Shield that was shipped UPS with no issues.. They couldn't care less.

I called eBay, explained what is going on. They said wait till the last arrival date which is July 26. If DHL has not delivered the package, call eBay and they will issue a full refund.

Let's see what happens...

Got an email from eBay this morning. They stated that they reviewed Thailand rules and the streaming box I ordered does not require a import license. 

They did not elaborate, but my guess is if Kodi or similar software is not installed the box does not need the import license.

They said a message was sent to the DHL Hub here in Thailand advising them that no license is required and to deliver the package. 

It's going to be interesting to see who wins.. eBay or DHL. I'll keep you informed. 

 

Sorry to hear that... Glad you got your Shield. But not surprised about DHL, because in my experience here in Thailand, DHL sucks the donkey's a**!  Likewise be interested to see if DHL is persuaded by EBay...

[tomas557]

Just now, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Sorry to hear that... Glad you got your Shield. But not surprised about DHL, because in my experience here in Thailand, DHL sucks the donkey's a**!  Likewise be interested to see if DHL is persuaded by EBay...

If there is a device that would require licensing in Thailand it will be the Shield, because it runs Android TV, which is an operating system fine tuned for the purpose of streaming.

 

Hope you get it sorted, but at the end of the day it isn't DHL that makes the decision, but Thai customs.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 minute ago, tomas557 said:

Hope you get it sorted, but at the end of the day it isn't DHL that makes the decision, but Thai customs.

 

On this issue, it's kind of both, from what I understand. My understanding is that DHL (and possibly FedEx) in Thailand have their own customs clearing houses where they have staff who work on behalf of Customs. Not sure exactly the precise relationship involved. But my understanding is DHL is hardly just an innocent bystander when screwing their customers over customs duty issues.

 

[Jeffrey346]

2 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

On this issue, it's kind of both, from what I understand. My understanding is that DHL (and possibly FedEx) in Thailand have their own customs clearing houses where they have staff who work on behalf of Customs. Not sure exactly the precise relationship involved. But my understanding is DHL is hardly just an innocent bystander when screwing their customers over customs duty issues.

 

DHL sent me an email stating if I do get the import license, their fee to clear it through customs is B1500. So we all really know what's going on.

8 minutes ago, tomas557 said:

If there is a device that would require licensing in Thailand it will be the Shield, because it runs Android TV, which is an operating system fine tuned for the purpose of streaming.

 

Hope you get it sorted, but at the end of the day it isn't DHL that makes the decision, but Thai customs.

As stated above DHL does it's own customs clearance. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

BTW, unless the government has changed their rule/policy somewhere along the line, I don't think their import edict dealt at all with whether or not a particular device was coming with Kodi pre-installed or even if a device was capable of installing Kodi.

 

They just named a group and class of devices and said you have to have an import license for these, period. If I recall, for example, Chromecast was/is on that list, and it doesn't allow software installs or Kodi or add-ons at all -- it's just a streaming pass thru device.

 

All the info I remember seeing and reading re the original government order didn't say anything at all about Kodi compatibility, even though that whole controversy was presumably what led the government to take the action they did.

 

[vogie]

Why would someone put themselves through the uncertainty of buying off ebay and the box having to go through customs, when you can buy off Lazada and are guaranteed delivery? There is one listed on Lazada for 8,500baht, how does that price compare with ebay?

[Ks45672]

1 minute ago, vogie said:

Why would someone put themselves through the uncertainty of buying off ebay and the box having to go through customs, when you can buy off Lazada and are guaranteed delivery? There is one listed on Lazada for 8,500baht, how does that price compare with ebay?

They're usually about 5k 

[Bangkok Barry]

On 7/19/2018 at 10:51 AM, ezzra said:

Now i'm starting to worry that us guys users of android/kodi boxes will become big Joke next target to purge...

 

A 1am knock on your door with 50 officers outside, followed by the usual 2am press conference ???

[Jeffrey346]

5 minutes ago, vogie said:

Why would someone put themselves through the uncertainty of buying off ebay and the box having to go through customs, when you can buy off Lazada and are guaranteed delivery? There is one listed on Lazada for 8,500baht, how does that price compare with ebay?

eBay and Amazon Global Shipping guarantees delivery or you get a full refund. So, there is no downside. My Nvidia Shield was delivered with no customs issues.

I paid Amazon the equivalent of B7600 including delivery. Lazada has the Shield listed over B10,000. It was an easy decision for me.

[tomas557]

8 minutes ago, Ks45672 said:

They're usually about 5k 

A Shield at 5K, send me a container

[vogie]

1 minute ago, Jeffrey346 said:

eBay and Amazon Global Shipping guarantees delivery or you get a full refund. So, there is no downside. My Nvidia Shield was delivered with no customs issues.

I paid Amazon the equivalent of B7600 including delivery. Lazada has the Shield listed over B10,000. It was an easy decision for me.

The one one I looked at was 8500baht, but that is neither here or there.

As has been mentioned on here you have no guarantee of receiving your item if customs intercepts it, I would imagine that Lazada is much faster delivery service, sometimes 2 or 3 days. But that is only my opinion, of course other people will have a different outlook on this.

[Jeffrey346]

19 minutes ago, vogie said:

The one one I looked at was 8500baht, but that is neither here or there.

As has been mentioned on here you have no guarantee of receiving your item if customs intercepts it, I would imagine that Lazada is much faster delivery service, sometimes 2 or 3 days. But that is only my opinion, of course other people will have a different outlook on this.

You must have looked at the one without the controller. That one on Amazon is still $100. less.

You're correct about Lazada being faster on delivery, but I can wait an extra 2 days to save a $100.

Edited July 20, 2018 by Jeffrey346

[ICECOOL]

On 7/19/2018 at 10:05 AM, superal said:

 

My point is that android boxes are supposedly unavailable and illegal to sell in Thai shops  for the last month or so. Now we all know that " Advice " is a large retailer of IT etc so I have to believe them  ( not too concerned if the enforcer is NBTC or not ) .

You say plenty available on Lazada which is correct but I did notice that none were resourced from Thailand , so what is the point in a partial ban .  Sorry , I am applying western logic again .

I buy mine locally only because too many disappear if you import and Thai post are useless. Plenty available. Never had an issue with Customs with the boxes I have imported although have not for a few months. 

[Scottie12]

Get yourself an Amazon Firestick or Fire TV.  You can instal virtually everything on this.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

27 minutes ago, Scottie12 said:

Get yourself an Amazon Firestick or Fire TV.  You can instal virtually everything on this.

 

I like and use those devices, but best used with a VPN that gives you an IP address in a country where Amazon offers its Prime video and related services and hopefully where your Amazon account is registered.

 

Though, Amazon does sell both a U.S. Fire TV stick and a more expensive Basic Fire TV stick meant for international (non Amazon Prime) territories like Thailand that's more limited.

 

Can't really change or configure the home screen too much, but can sideload Android apps most of the time.

 

 

Edited July 20, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Headgame]

3 hours ago, tomas557 said:

But the app isn't free, isn't it?

 

I think it's something like 30$ to use on 1 TV.

There are no charges to use these applications but the IPTV services can range from $7 to $15+ USD per month.

For that amount you get to access 5,000 - 7,500 channels (average) plus 2,500 to 5,000 VOD channels (average) plus all the major sports channels. IPTV services have various offerings for multiple devices. Just google IPTV and you'll see pages of offerings. I usually then go to Trust Pilot for reviews.

[tomas557]

7 minutes ago, Headgame said:

There are no charges to use these applications but the IPTV services can range from $7 to $15+ USD per month.

For that amount you get to access 5,000 - 7,500 channels (average) plus 2,500 to 5,000 VOD channels (average) plus all the major sports channels. IPTV services have various offerings for multiple devices. Just google IPTV and you'll see pages of offerings. I usually then go to Trust Pilot for reviews.

You are wrong, you can get a free 7 days trial, but registration is 27.99$

 

 

Edited July 20, 2018 by tomas557

[sikishrory]

I was thinking of ways to watch aussie tv in thailand and had seen these android tv boxes for sale on facebook.

I use the example of australia but the same probably applies to usa or other countries.

I found out android tv is just the android operating system to operate these boxes and it can (apparently) be installed on a laptop.

Then I looked into it and realised all the apps I need to watch aussie tv (7plus, 9now, tenplay etc) on an android box are all in the play store and downloadable to phone without android tv software or the box itself.

The next issue is that these apps require you to be using the australian version of google play store to even be downloadable. You can change your play store region only once per year. So you can't just switch as you please unfortunately. The way around this is to download the apps .apk file from a website. I used apkpure with no issues.

Second issue is that once you have the apps they don't work unless you are in Australia. Using a VPN that shows you as being in australia is the obvious soultion for that. Most free vpn keep australia as part of there premium paid service (usually 150-250b a month) or have a 1 or 2gb limit before you need to do something. Theres a lot of options for this depending on what you want. Some are free.

Anyway now I can watch aussie tv live or catch up tv with no issue and if I had a smart tv could probably cast it to the tv.

So I don't really see the point of these boxes as you can do the same things without the box.

If you want movies or other series then popcorn time is free and has most things which makes netflix and similar services redundant.

[Classic Ray]

19 hours ago, tomas557 said:

They are not under specced because they run Linux, and for streaming that is enough.

 

This are not Android boxes, and you can't install Kodi on them. They are used solely for IPTV streaming.

I would be surprised if you can't install Kodi on them as Kodi for Linux is available, as well as Kodi for Raspbian, which is a Linux based operating system, on Raspberry Pi. But I don't know if you can install apps on this particular box.

[Headgame]

1 hour ago, tomas557 said:

You are wrong, you can get a free 7 days trial, but registration is 27.99$

 

 

Not sure what is wrong with what I stated. There are many IPTV providers and you're right many do offer free trials. The monthly fess vary widely and I was just giving the averages - $27.99 would be at the highest end of the pricing offered for IPTV services. There are dozens of providers who deliver IPTV services in the range I mentioned.

[Jeffrey346]

45 minutes ago, sikishrory said:

I was thinking of ways to watch aussie tv in thailand and had seen these android tv boxes for sale on facebook.

I use the example of australia but the same probably applies to usa or other countries.

I found out android tv is just the android operating system to operate these boxes and it can (apparently) be installed on a laptop.

Then I looked into it and realised all the apps I need to watch aussie tv (7plus, 9now, tenplay etc) on an android box are all in the play store and downloadable to phone without android tv software or the box itself.

The next issue is that these apps require you to be using the australian version of google play store to even be downloadable. You can change your play store region only once per year. So you can't just switch as you please unfortunately. The way around this is to download the apps .apk file from a website. I used apkpure with no issues.

Second issue is that once you have the apps they don't work unless you are in Australia. Using a VPN that shows you as being in australia is the obvious soultion for that. Most free vpn keep australia as part of there premium paid service (usually 150-250b a month) or have a 1 or 2gb limit before you need to do something. Theres a lot of options for this depending on what you want. Some are free.

Anyway now I can watch aussie tv live or catch up tv with no issue and if I had a smart tv could probably cast it to the tv.

So I don't really see the point of these boxes as you can do the same things without the box.

If you want movies or other series then popcorn time is free and has most things which makes netflix and similar services redundant.

The beauty of these boxes [the good ones] they are designed for streaming and can stream just about any kind of file both audio and video.

In addition, you are not tying up your notebook. I can stream on a 55" screen and do as I please with my notebook. Not to mention the ability to run the audio through a TV connected sound system if one has one.

I have my Smart TV connected to the net via ethernet and still get buffering. My TV Box has 3G of RAM and rarely buffers. 

It just depends on what your needs are. Some rather have a TV Box and others are fine streaming from a notebook or smartphone. 

Edited July 20, 2018 by Jeffrey346

[sikishrory]

9 minutes ago, Jeffrey346 said:

The beauty of these boxes [the good ones] they are designed for streaming and can stream just about any kind of file both audio and video.

In addition, you are not tying up your notebook. I can stream on a 55" screen and do as I please with my notebook. Not to mention the ability to run the audio through a TV connected sound system if one has one.

I have my Smart TV connected to the net via ethernet and still get buffering. My TV Box has 3G of RAM and rarely buffers. 

It just depends on what your needs are. Some rather have a TV Box and others are fine streaming from a notebook or smartphone. 

yes your right it is down to what the person wants. I have a ps4 also and i know that offers options for streaming australian tv via its own apps. I am not able to get these though as I have the thai store. I could if i really wanted but not worth it now as i have it all already.

ps4 also acts as a media server and i can cast movies and stuff to the tv through the ps4 but for some reason not from my aussie tv apps.