Chromecast broke, found out Android TV does "the same", are cheap Android TV boxes good?

by trukin

I've had my chromecast since it came out, and I primarily used it for streaming videos from my phone / computer. I was about to buy a new one, and after doing some research, I found out that Android TV has the same functionality and much more.

I have some questions:

  1. Is this right? Does any Android TV box work as a Chromecast?

  2. Are cheap Android TV's like SMALLRT X3 good?

  3. My budget is around $50 bucks, it's flexible. Is there something much better? I read that the Mi Box was one of the best, but I've only been reading about Android TV since yesterday ...

Thank you!

yots-it

I think the one linked is an Android box, not an Android TV box

There is difference between android an Android tv, on the sticky thread you can find some info about that

archit-lalchandani

Get the Mi Box if you're low on budget, and it comes with offer enough to cover your costs... Overall a good media box.... Just make sure you use the correct apps to make the most of it.

tdeo

That is not an Android TV box, and there are none for $50 or less.

rrainwater

There are only two current Android TV boxes: Mi Box and Nvidia Shield TV. I don't count the Air TV.

Ausernameneeded

Mi Box is great and uses GoogleTV os.

The cheap Android boxes uses the Android OS made for touch screen phones, not AndroidTV OS that is made for using on a TV.

JimboLodisC

We don't recommend Android boxes for many reasons, one of which is that it's running regular touchscreen Android which does not act as a cast receiver. Google forked Android for the living room: it's called the Android TV operating system. Buy a device with that OS, because it has Chromecast built-in.

vinecellar

Yes, MiBox is pretty much the same in terms of value:price as the Shield. Both are highly recommended options, but the latter is much more powerful. That said, there are many reports that integrated Casting sucks, which I can neither confirm nor deny.

BiggussDikkuss

Chromecasting (Google cast) on any Android TV device is not as good as using an actual Chromecast, see the poor reviews here:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.mediashell&hl=en

If you must have reliable Chromecasting, buy another Chromecast.