Purchasing an Android TV box or anything that can stream HBO, Showtime, ETC

[Mooner]

On 8/18/2017 at 5:22 PM, vogie said:

Yes it was the internal fan that swung it for me, the internal hdd never came into the equation, will I buy one though, quite possibly. Thanks for the advice. ☺

H96 4-5000 BAHT? I have a H96 Pro 2500 baht.

Dual wifi. Very rarely buffers.

[2008bangkok]

I brought a Docooler M9s with 3gb ram and 32gb internal storage from Aliexpress for $65. Works fine for streaming no problems at all.

 

Apps I have installed LiveNet TV, Redbox TV, AIS Play, Youtube, Modbro if you need more than that you are watching way to much TV. :)

 

[Jeffrey346]

3 hours ago, Jai Dee said:

Bump!

 

Any new suggestions for best streaming media Android boxes currently on the market?

 

Pros/cons?

 

Essential accessories?

I just ordered the Nvidia Shield from Amazon. A bit pricey but rated the best for streaming. Amazon has it on sale with the gaming controller. Just $10 more so my kids should have some fun wit it as well.

 

The problem with the cheap Chinese boxes is they never update the OS and most run Android for mobile phones not Android TV. The Shield is currently running Android TV 7.1 and should be going to 8.0 very soon.

[Jeffrey346]

3 hours ago, Mooner said:

H96 4-5000 BAHT? I have a H96 Pro 2500 baht.

Dual wifi. Very rarely buffers.

Who said the H96 is 4-5000B?

[HooHaa]

On 2/12/2017 at 5:55 PM, John F Gill said:

 Yes actually I figured out how to do it.  It'll be delivered in 2 to 4 days cash on delivery.  How does it work can you actually stream HBO and other channels off of it?  Does it work like regular cable TV?  

get over the whole streaming hbo thing, it is terrestrial tv.

there are plenty of other services like netflix, terrarium tv , amazon prime etc, which allow you to stream any show in their catalogue any time, with, as others have said no repeat programming, no censorship etc.

the point of these boxes is to move away from cable tv services and watch your shows on demand.

[skippy121]

There are so many things that effect iptv services and other internet based tv systems that you have little control over.

 

1. Internet congestion in your area ( no control)

2. Internet international bandwidth ( some control )

3. Choice of tv service  ( complete control )

4. Choice of Box   ( complete Control )

 

If you choose a good box such Zidoo X6/8/9/10 or Nvidia Shield or FireTV boxes and go for a 3bb/ais 100mb fiber, you will have a good box and hopefully plenty of international bandwidth to west coast usa and europe.

 

99% of issues will not effect you, it will only effect those with MXQ boxes sitting at home waiting for Cheap Charlies to reopen

[skippy121]

apple tv boxes are good as well 

[janclaes47]

5 hours ago, skippy121 said:

go for a 3bb/ais 100mb fiber, you will have a good box and hopefully plenty of international bandwidth to west coast usa and europe.

May I ask why you specify 3bb and ais and don't include TOT?

 

I started below thread on purpose, as I have long time issues with 3bb.

 

The results I see posted in that thread are satisfying as far as I can see.

 

I visited the laem chabang office today and could get average around 29 Mbps to London using testmy.net.

 

They also have a very good promotion where all equipment is free and you can cancel the 1 year contract for the sum of 1070 Baht.

 

They will visit tomorrow, so if you have any info I should know about please post it here, as I wouldn't like to go though the hassle of cancelling.

 

 

[skippy121]

39 minutes ago, janclaes47 said:

May I ask why you specify 3bb and ais and don't include TOT?

 

I started below thread on purpose, as I have long time issues with 3bb.

 

The results I see posted in that thread are satisfying as far as I can see.

 

I visited the laem chabang office today and could get average around 29 Mbps to London using testmy.net.

 

They also have a very good promotion where all equipment is free and you can cancel the 1 year contract for the sum of 1070 Baht.

 

They will visit tomorrow, so if you have any info I should know about please post it here, as I wouldn't like to go though the hassle of cancelling.

 

 

I have not had experience with TOT but have heard bad things from others, the speed you get in their office may not be the same speed you get in your street.

 

The main reason I advise people to get them as I have used them both and know that the 100mb+ links get very good speed to usa and europe, TOT may do the same but I have not seen either way.

 

As explained in my previous post, online tv services have so many potential issues that if you can make sure it not your own box and connection then you only have to worry about issues withe actual service you sign up to

[janclaes47]

1 minute ago, skippy121 said:

I have not had experience with TOT but have heard bad things from others, the speed you get in their office may not be the same speed you get in your street.

I heard similar reactions, hence the reason why I started the thread, since TOT and 3BB are my only options and 3BB has failed as you can see in that thread.

 

I was very surprised that everyone wo posted in that thread has a reasonable speed, even those in Nakon Nowhere, so let's see what it gives in the next few days and if I have to believe them it can cost me only 1070 Baht if it isn't usable and i have to cancel.

[WorriedNoodle]

23 hours ago, 2008bangkok said:

Apps I have installed LiveNet TV, Redbox TV, AIS Play, Youtube, Modbro if you need more than that you are watching way to much TV. :)

LiveNet, Redbox and Modbro all do the same thing so only need one. I find all of them hit or miss with mostly SD streams liveNet best as no ads. 

 

I'd have Perfect Player with a premium IPTV service that has FHD streams and also Kodi on any box I bought as these would be my first two apps of choice to watch anything.

[Stocky]

On 03/04/2018 at 1:10 PM, Jeffrey346 said:

The problem with the cheap Chinese boxes is they never update the OS

True, but being cheap you just toss them after a year or two and just buy the latest offering.  My current box is a H96-Pro + which I've had for about 18 months, it's worked well, but it's Android 6, so will need replacing at some point though for Bht3,500 I'm not complaining.

 

That said I'm contemplating switching from an Android box to an Intel NUC. I can put a basic model together with Celeron J3455 processor, 8Gb Ram and a 120Gb SSD drive running Linux for a bit over Bht10k. Will run Kodi just the same, but a bit more future proofed.

[Jeffrey346]

15 hours ago, Stocky said:

 

That said I'm contemplating switching from an Android box to an Intel NUC. I can put a basic model together with Celeron J3455 processor, 8Gb Ram and a 120Gb SSD drive running Linux for a bit over Bht10k. Will run Kodi just the same, but a bit more future proofed.

Good choice.. But the average user may not have this capability. Exactly why I recommend a reputable manufacture that provides a quality product like the Nvidia Shield. I paid B7285 delivered from Amazon. A bit pricey but worth the investment. 

[AJBangkok]

On 4/4/2018 at 4:32 PM, Stocky said:

True, but being cheap you just toss them after a year or two and just buy the latest offering.  My current box is a H96-Pro + which I've had for about 18 months, it's worked well, but it's Android 6, so will need replacing at some point though for Bht3,500 I'm not complaining.

 

That said I'm contemplating switching from an Android box to an Intel NUC. I can put a basic model together with Celeron J3455 processor, 8Gb Ram and a 120Gb SSD drive running Linux for a bit over Bht10k. Will run Kodi just the same, but a bit more future proofed.

I use intel nuc’s for Kodi in Bangkok and Hua Hin and have no problem recommending them. They are extremely user friendly and as you say a bit more future proof. You also have the added advantage of running a full desktop pc on your TV if needed. It’s simple to update Kodi and you never have an issue with a full cache. I also use realdebrid, pure vpn and never have a problem with streams. 

[Stocky]

21 hours ago, AJBangkok said:

I use intel nuc’s for Kodi in Bangkok and Hua Hin and have no problem recommending them.

Are you running with Linux or Windows?

[AJBangkok]

Windows. 

[2008bangkok]

On 4/4/2018 at 4:32 PM, Stocky said:

True, but being cheap you just toss them after a year or two and just buy the latest offering.  My current box is a H96-Pro + which I've had for about 18 months, it's worked well, but it's Android 6, so will need replacing at some point though for Bht3,500 I'm not complaining.

 

That said I'm contemplating switching from an Android box to an Intel NUC. I can put a basic model together with Celeron J3455 processor, 8Gb Ram and a 120Gb SSD drive running Linux for a bit over Bht10k. Will run Kodi just the same, but a bit more future proofed.

Have to agree, paid less than 2000 baht for a box that has 3gb ram/32gb storage and Android 7.1.2.. That will be as good as the box will last for probably about 3 yrs, the old one had kit kat 4.4.2 on it and can still be used today.

[lamyai3]

On 4/3/2018 at 9:25 AM, Jai Dee said:

Bump!

 

Any new suggestions for best streaming media Android boxes currently on the market?

 

Pros/cons?

 

Essential accessories?

Agree, looks like I'm going to be needing one, since AIS playbox has now forced an update which disallows any third party apps such as Kodi. In my case, I only had the original free playbox with 8gb memory and running Android 4.4 (Kodi Jarvis 16.0), it was a very low spec box, but it worked fine for streaming. I'm not looking for bells and whistles or high functionality, just the cheapest reliable replacement, and nothing pre-loaded as I can manage the Kodi install etc myself. I'm quite miffed at this box suddenly becoming non functional, and don't wish to spend much on a replacement that until yesterday I had no need for.