Mecool km9 pro or Mi Box S?

[touch]

I was hoping to be able to buy an Nvidia Shield TV since @coasterkid said he had found a way to get it past the customs and NBTC. I'm not sure whether he's been successful or not.

I need a new box and would like an ATV OS box , my alternatives are the Mecool km9 pro or the Mi Box S. The price is comparable , no big difference, the difference seem to be with the SOC. The Mecool having a newer 905x2 compared to the 905x on the Mi box S and the additional RAM on the Mecool.

I'm doing mostly Kodi and streaming of downloaded content from a local HDs on my LAN. No gaming. I'm a bit concerned about the support for Dolby and DTS sound. As it is I'm using a receiver with Dolby ATMOS and mostly using passthrough from my existing box. With passthrough there is no issues, but I would like to be able to connect to just the TV and still get sound from these sources. I haven't been able to get correct and reliable info as to how these two boxes support Dolby and DTS.

I would be interested in hearing how you think these boxes compare. I am hoping to be able to buy a new box in the coming week. If another ATV OS box would make more sense I'd be happy to hear about it.

 

[userabcd]

 

I think the mecool will receive no updates and new devices are now coming out with the x3 chip.

 

I have a mibox s and have no problems at all with it, can sideload the firefoxTV app for browsing the web, soon the firmware will be updated to androidtv 9

 

Refer this link for the mibox s specs, https://www.mi.com/global/mi-box-s/specs.

 

Mibox s international version is available on Lazada and shopee for about 1800 Baht.

 

You can look at some forums for the mibox s on Kodi forum, reddit mibox and reddit androidtv.

 

Do not know about the ATV but it is also available on lazada and shopee.

 

The Nvidia shield 2019 version is available for purchase on shopee for about 12000 Baht.

Edited December 2, 2019 by userabcd

[touch]

Hi thanks for taking the time to reply. 

I agree that the mecool probably won't get many updates. I have a minix neo u1 that has been pretty good for several years, but I think it only received 3 updates that I know about. And no update to the OS. 

Ideally I would have liked to buy the Nvidia shield tv, but since it doesn't seem possible to get it past NBTC and I'm not willing to pay 9 or 12k for one locally sourced I'm probably going to have to give up on that idea. 

When you say that you have no problems whatsoever with the mi box does this include streaming 4k content with HDR and Dolby sound in 5.1 or even 7.1?

 

The mi box is pretty old, but if it's working OK now it'll probably do so a couple of years more. The mecool is a newer soc and more ram and should be a better box on paper, but I haven't been able to find out what kind of Dolby and DTS support there is. 

 

If someone has more info or just want to join the discussion I'd be glad to hear your views. 

[touch]

I've been talking with one of the sellers of the Mecool KM9 Pro on Lazada . Very helpful and knowledgeable he said the KM9 Pro probably would struggle with 4K streaming and that the wifi is a bit iffy . I'm going to hold off purchasing anf maybe go for the Minix Neo T5 when there are more reviews out on it.

[damole]

I have a Mecool KM9 and it's great for 4K. it's plays games quite well too. I am very happy with it.  I use the Android TV interface.  The S905X3 doesn't add much according to CNX_software.

If I were to buy another box it would also be the Minix Neo T5 as I am still using my U9-H happily, the KM9 replaced my old U8-H because I couldn't wait any longer for Minix to release a new box.

 

I recommended a friend get a Shield TV and it's great but as both my Smart TVs have 4K Netflix which is the one thing the Mecool and Minix don't I couldn't justify the extra cost.

[touch]

@damolewhen you say it's great for 4K are we talking about streaming 4K on a local LAN? WIFI or physical LAN?

The Minix Neo T5 looks really good, but haven't seen any serious reviews yet. Haven't seen it for sale locally yet either. I've been burned too many times importing on my own to try and do it again.

 

[Jai Dee]

Here is a review of the Minix Neo T5... it sounds pretty good and it's Google certified.

 

Apart from HDMI 2.1 (4K @ 60Hz video, it also seems to support DD / DTS 5.1 / HD MA / HD HR / Atmos / DTS X audio formats.

 

Shopee are currently selling them for 4,700 THB - see here.

 

Make sure you are using HDMI Version 2 cables like these.

[damole]

On 1/24/2020 at 7:34 AM, touch said:

@damolewhen you say it's great for 4K are we talking about streaming 4K on a local LAN? WIFI or physical LAN?

 

 

That box is in my flat in Dharamsala, India and I'm in my apartment in Chiang Mai with my U9-H right now.  As far as I can remember, both boxes were connected to the router using WiFi 5G.  I do also have a hard disk connected but I don't remember having to switch to local storage to watch.

I flashed the ATV ROM from this thread so I would ask here,

forum.freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-support/amlogic-based-tv-players/s905x2/firmware-roms-tools-do/757938-rom-mecool-km9-tvstock-nexus-rom-android-tv-8-1

[SooKee]

I'd avoid the Minix if you're interested in Netflix, it's Google certified but not for Netflix / Amazon TV.

[kekalot]

I have the Mi Box S and it works pretty good, the only issue i have with it is  that I upgraded to beta3 and there is a delay in bluetooth audio, it is apparently  going to be fixed when they release their official release of Android TV (and you don't need to upgrade to beta3).

 

one thing i discovered after wasting my money on cable is that the fiber optic (mini-Toslink to toslink btw) is also a 3.5mm normal audio jack.

with fiber optic audio or 3.5mm out it works perfectly, 4k videos I stream on local network (don't have Netflix) but it's also a Google Certified chromecast (I believe equivalent to Chromecast Ultra)

 

pretty nice little devices to be honest, i'm tempted to buy a 2nd one, just wish it had an ethernet port.

[touch]

Thanks for the link to the review @Jai Dee I was referring to more user experience oriented review, but I agree it does look OK.

@damole Why did you flash that ROM? Isn't it very similar to the normal Android ATV?

Actually, I wonder if the Mi Box isn't ready for  refresh yet.

I got my hands on a second hand Shield 2015, the gamepad and remote isn't working and it resets itself onece or twice per night, but it does have a beautiful picture and everything else is working. Actually I heard from a guy that sells boxes and owns a few Shields that they are prone to reboot...

Really would like to get my hands on a working Shield without having to pay the outrageous price they have on Lazada

 

[gamesgplayemail]

On 12/2/2019 at 5:55 PM, userabcd said:

 

I think the mecool will receive no updates and new devices are now coming out with the x3 chip.

 

I have a mibox s and have no problems at all with it, can sideload the firefoxTV app for browsing the web, soon the firmware will be updated to androidtv 9

 

Refer this link for the mibox s specs, https://www.mi.com/global/mi-box-s/specs.

 

Mibox s international version is available on Lazada and shopee for about 1800 Baht.

 

You can look at some forums for the mibox s on Kodi forum, reddit mibox and reddit androidtv.

 

Do not know about the ATV but it is also available on lazada and shopee.

 

The Nvidia shield 2019 version is available for purchase on shopee for about 12000 Baht.

 

 

These Android boxes are pure $h!t and people saying that they are good really know nothing.

 

Android Mi Box S, no way to cast the computer screen on the TV screen with box and most videos, even played in Chrome browser, cannot be casted to box.

 

Why nobody is saying the truth about how stupid and ridiculous are these boxes compared to a computer with HDMI cable ?