I've done a little reading here and it seems I have 2 options really. The Mi Box or the Nvidia Shield. I live in Canada as I realize that may limit my buying options. I looked into the Shield but it's out of my price range and I won't need the gaming features. So that leaves me with the Mi Box. Would this be my best option? Thanks
Just get the Mi Box.
I own the Mibox, and I've never had the problems people are facing here. Since I'm not in the US, I'm not using HBO and some of the other apps people say they have problems with. For me, it was truly a plug and play experience, no problems whatsoever, but then again I only use it to stream media content via Kodi (rather, SPMC) and the various apps you get from Google Store (Youtube, Haystack, etc), and not for gaming etc. Bought a couple as gifts and they seem to love it as well. At this point, I don't think for me the Nvidia Shield could give me anything more that I wanted or needed that I don't get from my Mibox.
As an owner of an Nvidia Shield and two Miboxs, I have gotten a pretty good glimpse of both devices and their respective pros and cons.
The Nvidia Shield is the best out there, but with that comes and cost. You are going to spend a premium price (I own the Pro), but with that comes the best streaming experience available on the market, IMO. I use this as my main streaming device. The only cons to this device are the cost ($199 or $299) if you are looking for a budget device, and Android TV's available applications, which is a shorter list than that of Roku and Fire TV devices. It is worth noting that this is the only Android TV device that has an official Amazon client on board.
With all that said, the Mibox is still a very good option. The cost is right ($69.99), and it has all the same apps as the Shield except Amazon. I use these on my secondary tvs. The adoptable storage is a plus so I can load media and not worry about running out of space. That being said, the Mibox has seen well documented issues with Netflix and HBO, which I both use and continue to use to this day on my two devices. Early adopters are usually those who have seen these issues, and if I were to be honest I did see a few of these after an update a while back, but a factory reset fixed them for me and I haven't seen them again for about 3 months now.
The really nice thing to not forget is Walmart, who is the exclusive carrier of the Mibox, has a 90-day return policy with OR without receipt. A buddy of mine who purchased one did see issues with the box, and even a factory reset did not fix the issues for him. We exchanged it for a new unit and he hasn't seen issues for 3 months as well.
The return policy should be enough for you to give The Mibox a shot, which is what I would recommend you do. If you are unhappy with it for any reason, return it and try something else. There is no need to take it out of the equation since you do have a good safety net.
I own a Shield and 2 Nexus Players. Based on what people are saying about the Mi Box I believe that any option you go with you are going to have bugs. I say that because almost daily I have to force close an app or reboot for one reason or another. Like most things Android it won't be a bug free experience. That being said when they work they are great. I'd go with the Mi Box and see how you like it. It's much cheaper than a shield and it's broken SMB share setup.
The Mi Box works great for me. I use the normal apps (Netflix, Hulu, etc) and switch between Kodi and SPMC.
For your stated needs, the Mi Box would be best if you can get it. ShieldTV is a great product so I can see people who needs mobile gaming/PC streaming liking it, but sometimes I think there is a commission program on here for trying to sell Nvidia...
Why is the mi box like 3 times the price in Canada and it doesn't even have a NA plug.
i"m not sure how much $ is 133 canadian dollars but it seem very expensive, you can get it for about 65-70 USD on alie with worldwide freeshipping Edit 100usd :O you can buy 3 mibox for the price of 2 on your link..
I have a MiBox and also live in Canada. I use it primarily for Netflix, Plex, YouTube and Kodi on a 1080p TV and I haven't had any issues with any of those apps.
I have had a few casting issues with Canadian streaming apps on iOS (CraveTV and TMNGO) but I think that is more issues with those apps than the MiBox. Casting from other apps works completely fine, like NHL etc., and casting CraveTV or TMNGO from a laptop also works.
I bought mine from geekbuying.com; came to $96 CAD all in but the shipping took a ridiculously long time.
I would go with the SHIELD tv. The mibox is loaded with bugs. Mine has issues with YouTube and casting.
If you can wait the international versions are under $100 straight out of China.
Personally I'm looking to get rid of my mi boxes, my Nexus player works much better just don't handle x265 so well. I bought the mi to replace that and it has failed badly at doing so.
I'd honestly recommend a Chromecast + a95x chinese box over the mi. The features that make it an Android TV are broken imo. Canadians don't have an Android TV CBC or CTV app and they won't cast... So you're forced to sideload and use a mouse, might as well get Chinese box and skip the sideload launcher
Dont go with the Xiaomi, there are lots of issues with Netflix and many more apps. In the same price range you can get a Roku or a Fire TV.
They are not Android TV, but are a better option.
PD: The Shield is worth it, in case you find a deal.
Like a lot of people here, I got the Mi box first due to its price when it first came out. I had issue with casting and 4k and decided to try out ShieldTV. It is the best AndroidTV device. It has the power to handle all the things I tried. Just found out that with Kodi it can play all of my Bluray ISO files on NAS and with Dolby Atmos support. Now I don't need the HTPC to play those Bluray ISO. The ShieldTV works perfectly with my LG 4k TV. For long run, try to spend some extra money on ShieldTV. It's worth it. By the way, I don't play game at all.