My parents want an Android TV box to watch TV and for apps. The are willing to spend any amount of money as long as it is better pricing than the money they already pay for cable ($200/month USD)
My parents want an Android TV box to watch TV and for apps. The are willing to spend any amount of money as long as it is better pricing than the money they already pay for cable ($200/month USD)
I have both a mi box and a shield and have been really pleased with both. For the money mi box is pretty bad ass. So is the shield though. It's probably more about what you are expecting out of it. Long story short go try out a mi box, if it doesn't work just off it and get a shield
If they don't play games, Mi Box.
If they like a little gaming with their TV, Nvidia Shield.
People who say "Shield TV is the only answer" are not really helping you out. It's like saying when you need a new car that a corvette is your only answer when you only need a car to go to and from work.
If just streaming (streaming apps and Kodi/SPMC), than Mi Box is probably best for only $70. If they game too (high powered mobile games) than ShieldTV is the box to get. If they like AAA games than the $200 of the Shield maybe better towards a console since they do streaming too (check apps availablity on the consoles first though).
Mi Box is great, reliable, and I had zero issues with it personally.
2nd Gen FireTV stick is a nice little device. (Yes, it's not specifically Android TV)
I own both a Shield and a stick but if you're just into Netflix and streaming services it will work fine. You can even sideload Kodi/SPMC on it and use with a HDHomerun.
I just got a Mi Box. Not great for gaming, but it's amazing for TV and a lower price point than the Shield.
ShieldTV for the device, best support and top of the line hardware. By "watch TV" what do you mean? You can just connect an antenna to a newer TV and get many OTA chanells depending on your location for the cost of said antenna. You will not get the same channel subscription they currently have without a homerun prime w/cable card over the Android TV device and paying nearly the same amount of their current bill. Just tell them to cancel service and sign back up under the other spouses name to get "new customer" pricing deals which should be significantly less. If they are tech savvy and you don't mind walking them through issues then get the ShieldTV and start from there. Any legitimate services that are reliable are going to cost money ~$10+ monthly per service depending on the content they want.
Start with the mibox i have had or have almost every kind of streaming box with the exception of apple tv. Right now i have a roku and android tv box on every tv in my house this includes a shield,nexus player and mibox. I will agree the shield is far better than the other two. My mibox lives in my bedroom my wife has it on 24/7 she plays netflix while doing homework at least 3hrs a day i put 8hr youtube sleep sounds on every nite. It does light emulation and most android games just fine and worst comes to worst you get 30 days to return it to walmart.
I know some people on here like the MiBox, but I can't forgive their skipping the Ethernet port: streamers should always be connected via Ethernet, both to stablize their own connections and to keep streaming from bogging down your WiFi. Get the SHIELD. Get a refurb SHIELD if you have to. If you want to save them some money, look into PlayStation Vue and see if they would get the same channels they watch now for less than their cable subscription.
Shield TV is the only answer.
Honestly you still need a cable subscription for most access. Unless you can get away with something like PS Vue or Sling.
Air TV is another thought right now.
But Shield TV is the best. Only box being updated right now, only device other than the Nexus Player which isn't sold anymore, to be on Nougat.
Most powerful of all the Android TV boxes.
200$ /monthly for tv ? wtf !? who would ever pay this for one month, to watch TV ? i guess you mean 1 year
Raspberry Pi.
nvidia shield