Not all boxes advertised as androidtv are official androidtv boxes.

Main difference is some are some are just running android intended for phones/tablets, where as androidtv is a proper operating system for a big tv.

Nexus player, mi box 4k, shield tv, Razer Forge are the main official ones currently.

And dont get a forge tv, they are outdated and the company simply doesnt support it.

[Mi Box $70] ( http://www.mi.com/en/mibox/ ) just got announced.

[Nexus Player about $40] ( https://www.android.com/tv/nexus-player/ ) is another option, most likely have to buy it used.

[Nvidia Shield] ( https://shield.nvidia.com/android-tv/streaming-media-player ) most expensive option if you're into gaming.

There are plenty of cheap boxes out there, starting from about $30, but I would definitely recommend spending the extra few bucks and getting into the ~$80 range. You will get a far superior box and experience.

The Probox2 Ex , or the new Probox Air are good options.

Like others have said, it's best to go top of the line with something like the Nvidea Shield , but that depends on you budget.

With regards to remotes, most of the remotes that come as standard are rubbish. Luckily, remotes are pretty cheap anyway, so I would go for one of these: Best Android Box Remotes 2016

Depends on what box you get.

The Nexus Player doesn't use infrared so you're limited to bluetooth remotes. It comes with one, which is probably your best option.

I don't remember what the MiBox uses, but the Shield TV uses either infrared or the bluetooth remote you can buy separately. The Shield TV, I can confirm from personal use, can use one of those infrared Logitech Harmony remotes. Then again, if your TV supports HDMI-CEC, you should be able to use your regular TV remote on all 3.

Last I heard, only Nexus Player and Shield could do Netflix in 1080p. If you watch Netflix on any other Android TV device, best you can do is 720p. This is a Netflix thing, not a Google thing.

there really needs to be a filter for the word box in a title.