If all I need is good support for:
- Plex
- Netflix
- Casting tabs from Chrome
which will give a smoother experience?
I hate lag.
If all I need is good support for:
which will give a smoother experience?
I hate lag.
Mi box
FYI, Amazon just updated the Fire TV Stick to make it more powerful. Hopefully someone can compare the updated stick to the Mi Box. I can tell you that Fire TV does not support Google Cast, so you won't be able to cast tabs to it from Chrome unless you install a helper app: http://www.techhive.com/article/2969321/streaming-media/turn-your-fire-tv-or-fire-tv-stick-into-a-chromecast-almost-with-this-8-app.html
I am not happy with my first gen Fire TV stick at all. The constant slowdowns and click delay from the remote are likely fixed in the new revision, but the interface is frustrating as well unless you primarily watch Amazon content - and even then I've had issues navigating between purchased content and Prime content. Not to mention how pissed I was when it updated and removed Firestarter from my device without even a notification. I don't appreciate changes being made to my devices without my permission and will not be purchasing another Amazon device in the future because of their actions.
Just picked up a Mi Box today, and while I don't have extensive experience with it yet, the Fire Stick is already unplugged for good. Much faster, better interface, actual universal search, functioning cast ability, option to sideload apps and plug in an ethernet adapter, keyboard, or any other USB device; and not to mention much, MUCH more control over the system as a whole.
The only downside I've found so far is Amazon not being officially supported, but that can be sideloaded on as well. That and, admittedly, while the Mi Box is made and supported by a major company, I'm not entirely as sure of the long term support for the platform as I would be for the Amazon product - but given the price in not concerned about that myself.
I have a first generation fire stick that I got for $18 for preordering back in 2014. It was really fast when it first came out. But the more it was updated the slower it became. I am sure the new one will improve on that, obviously. (Though the claimed "40% faster" doesn't seem like much.)
With Kodi, my fire stick is very slow. It works, but nowhere near the speed of Kodi or SPMC on my mi box. Everything else is snappier on the mi box as well.
But, alas, no Amazon TV. I have it working via a workaround, but it is not at the highest resolution. If it is something I care about, video quality wise, I will switch to the fire stick, and deal with its slowness.
Mi box > fire tv > chromecast
Thanks for the feedback. Now wondering if worth the extra $100 for a Shield ... given that I have zero interest in gaming, probably not worth it...
Fire TV has a really poor UI (especially if you're not concerned with Amazon streaming), and doesn't come with Google Cast. Go with the Mi Box.
I am migrating away from the Fire TV devices. They are part of Amazon's walked garden. Currently they do not block side loaded apps but they have the code in place where they can block any app. They did that with firestarter which killed redirection of the home button.