Best set top box around $100?

by rczrider

I'm fully overwhelmed by the options. I currently use a Sony Bluray player, but it's on the fritz. I haven't used a physical BR disc in ages, so I can drop that feature. What I use it for is: Netflix, Pandora, Hulu, and sometimes throwing videos or music up on a flash drive to stream. I'd really like it to stream content from the network and if I had my druthers, it would support 4K and HEVC / h.265 as a means of future-proofing (ish). It has to have an optical audio-out port. I'm tech-ish, so a I don't mind putting a little work into it (rooting, sideloading apps, whatever), but in the end, it needs to be usable by non-techy people.

What will do the best job? The Matricom G-Box Q gets high marks (for a reason, I'm sure), but if I can spend half as much on an M8 box for the same functionality, I'd rather do that. The WeTek OpenELEC seems solid - and comes with a tuner - but the specs aren't great and I don't know that it will do 4K/HEVC.

There's probably other hardware options I'm missing.

skeletonbutt

Shield Android TV.

Andrroid

If you want a real android TV experience, forget the off brand knock offs. Your options are Nexus Player and Shield TV. Want 4K? Then Shield TV it is.

Shield TV is easily one of the best (if not the best) streaming box on the market.

paticao

Shield TV but that costs $199 but you can try getting the $50 off coupon from Nvidia. That will be your best option

goodhur

Netflix and many premium DRM service will not play beyond 480p on those unofficial android boxes. They are no longer a compelling device compared to the official AndroidTV. You will regret buying one when you see it's faults compared to the shield. Pay the extra for the shield.

The shield or exactly what you described you are looking for. It is HD for the DRM services, plays games, supports googlecast(chromecast) playback and mirroring and runs Kodi.

baseblog

I have now tried two off-brand android tv's with terrible results. I'm in the process of trading in my mx iii to Amazon and looking for one of those shield tv codes. The mx iii was ok at first, but two months later, it crashed when launching anything.

sidtel

There's a Groupon deal right now that's dropping the Nexus Player down to $38. I have one and love it. I have no idea a out any of those unofficial boxes but the Shield TV is supposedly amazing.

bentheredidthat

I literally just got the Idroidnation I-Box which supports 4k resolution and has a ton of features. I'm brand new to Android TV so I can't comment on everything yet. It's a little overwhelming to initially set everything up but I should know better in a few days.