TV Streaming Devices.

[Dmaxdan]

I'm looking for a cheap, TV streaming device to work with our second older non smart TV.

I'm not looking to spend a huge amount, probably no more than about 2000 baht.

 

So far, I have narrowed it down to Xiaomi Mi TV stick (or box, I can't really decide as yet) mainly because it does run official android or the Google Chromecast which works direct from your smart phone.

 

Does anyone have experiences with either of these two devices?

 

I did read somewhere that many of the cheap Chinese TV android boxes sold on online here from the usual suspects don't run official android and therefore can't be linked to the play store or your account. I don't know how true this is...

 

Thanks in advance for any help/opinions.

[HB9CPW]

Hi,

I'm happy with a Chinese "QBox" from AliExpress for abt. 30 USD since 2 years.

Some apps were missing in Playstore, so used Aptoid to install. 

Used for youtube, music, tv-streaming.

They sell with small BlueTooth keyboard, which is a must have, original remote only used for turn on/off 

Regards

Marc

 

[Salerno]

Chromecast is good for intermittent use (travelling etc.) but IMO a dedicated box/stick is better for home use if you want to stream regularly.

[Crossy]

It's horses for courses.

 

My streaming service only allows one device, so I run it on my tablet for bedroom use (cricket whilst Madam is watching the soaps). 

 

I use a Chromecast and a TV with built-in Chromecast to watch in the non-bedroom locations.

 

It works for me, but YMMV.

[Gee Bangkok]

My TX3MINI is great.. Chinese sure. Runs Play store fine. Only Android 8. 1. 

Cheap as chips. 

Had close to 2 years. 

600THB!

Cheers 

[fishtank]

Xiaomi box works good but it is WIFI only.

No LAN connection.

[mtls2005]

What do you want to stream?

 

Your older TV is 1080p capable? If so, it has an HDMI input?

 

What type of networks do you have in your home? WiFi only for the TV, based on location, or is wired ethernet an option.

 

Do you use, or plan to use, a VPN?

 

I use Chromecast, to stream online services from my phone to my TV. This works far better than the embedded apps on my TV. My phone makes a better remote than my TV's remote. 

 

Think about the services you plans to use, and the physical UI necessary to use those services. 

 

You can get a 3rd gen Chromecast here for 1,500 baht.

 

Buying something a bit more robust today I'd probably get a Chromecast with Google TV.

 

Watch a lot of Youtube videos where you'll get a better feel for capabilites, use and functionality.

 

 

 

 

 

[northsouthdevide]

I have a mi stick.

It works good.

I don't use playstore.

You can get all you need, and much more by downloading filelinked and watching any YouTube tutorials on how to work it.

Its actually very simple after 2 mins of using.

Also any cheap android box from lazada will do the job.

I've never seen one that doesn't cut the mustard... Even the ones for 499baht.

1 piece of advice.

Use a vpn.

 

[Dmaxdan]

45 minutes ago, northsouthdevide said:

I have a mi stick.

It works good.

I don't use playstore.

You can get all you need, and much more by downloading filelinked and watching any YouTube tutorials on how to work it.

Its actually very simple after 2 mins of using.

Also any cheap android box from lazada will do the job.

I've never seen one that doesn't cut the mustard... Even the ones for 499baht.

1 piece of advice.

Use a vpn.

 

Thanks. Have you had any problems with the Mi stick overheating?

I've read that they can get quite hot and can sometimes be prone to lagging or even crashing after prolonged use.

[Moncul]

I setup a 4K Mi Stick with some IPTV, Kodi and Amazon Prime/Netflix. It works flawlessly with all of them, and there are no overheating problems.

However, I've had equally good results with the 4K Firestick, Tivo Stream 4K and Chromecast with Google TV. A little more work is used to optimise and configure the first two, but there are plenty of "instructions for dummies" on the internet.

 

[GroveHillWanderer]

I have both a Mi Box S and a Mi TV stick. I think they are both far superior to the old Chromecasts without a remote as you don't have to use any other device to get them to work. (There is now a Chromecast with a remote, but it's a fair bit more expensive).

 

I also read reports about the Mi stick running hot but in my experience, even though it does get a bit warm it's nothing excessive and doesn't seem to be linked to the slight performance lag issues that it does admittedly have occasionally - at least in comparison to the box.

 

In terms of price, on Lazada for instance, you can get the Mi Box S for around 2,000 Baht whereas the Mi TV stick is just over 1,000.

 

Although it's slower, the nice thing about the Mi stick is that it's much more easily portable. I take it with me on trips and so long as you have WiFi access and a TV with an HDMI port, you can use it. I used to take my Chromecast with me in a similar way but as mentioned, the Mi devices are much more useful.

 

I've used generic-type Android boxes before but (again in my opinion) the actual Android TV OS devices are inherently superior as they're running an OS that was specifically designed for them and have a much better user interface to any Android box I've seen.

[scubascuba3]

Chromecast is good in you can choose apps to play via your tablet\phone rather than pointing a remote at a TV box some distance away. Problem I had is it doesn't work well on hotel wifi, would be fine for normal wifi.

 

Some apps didn't cast well so overall it was disappointing so I gave it away.

 

Boxes can be a pain in the chuff with feeds constantly dying. Now days I just use apps on my tablet

[GroveHillWanderer]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

Boxes can be a pain in the chuff with feeds constantly dying. Now days I just use apps on my tablet

When it comes to streams buffering or dying, that can be a problem with either a box or when casting an app from a tablet or a phone (though usually more so with live streams) but at least in my experience, on the Mi Box S I always have much, much less buffering or pausing than if casting from a device.

 

The other thing you can do with either Mi device that you can't with Chromecast is to install a VPN on it and watch things like BBC iPlayer, Netflix UK or US etc. For a Chromecast you would have to configure the router with a VPN - a much trickier proposition.

 

I've personally never had a problem using the remote for either the Mi box or stick.

 

YMMV

[scubascuba3]

12 minutes ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

When it comes to streams buffering or dying, that can be a problem with either a box or when casting an app from a tablet or a phone (though usually more so with live streams) but at least in my experience, on the Mi Box S I always have much, much less buffering or pausing than if casting from a device.

 

The other thing you can do with either Mi device that you can't with Chromecast is to install a VPN on it and watch things like BBC iPlayer, Netflix UK or US etc. For a Chromecast you would have to configure the router with a VPN - a much trickier proposition.

 

I've personally never had a problem using the remote for either the Mi box or stick.

 

YMMV

I've found using apps like LiveNetTV and previously mobdro  on my tablet far less faffing around with links than kodi and all those annoying feeds that die daily. Also for me anyway easier to navigate on a tablet than a TV 10+ feet away, personal choice and all that