Buy now or better wait?

by Xoppa

We have an Ouya with Kodi upstairs and a Mi Box in the living room. Both get the job done. The Mi Box seems to be having some issues with HD streaming now and then, but overall it works pretty good (especially considering its price). Ofcourse the Ouya ("android tablet box") experience is no where near the Mi Box ("android tv box") experience. I'd rather also have the Android TV experience upstairs. But it works fine at the moment, so I can wait if that's worth it.

So I'm thinking of moving the Mi Box upstairs and buying a new box for the living room. Afaik, currently the only option for that would be the Shield, which seems like a great product which is probably more powerful than I currently need. Downside is that it's at least three times the price of a Mi Box and that it has been a while since its release date.

I'm wondering if there's an alternative that might be introduced in the upcoming months? I understand that might be speculating, but perhaps there are events I'd better wait for at which these devices are commonly introduced?

JimboLodisC

Well I don't think there's anything new in the pipe but there's a big Google event coming on October 4th. If they don't talk about Android TV there, we probably won't hear anything soon after that.

BiggussDikkuss

If you are only using Kodi only, do some simple DIY and buy a dirt cheap AMLogic S905(x) box and run LibreELEC Kodi Krypton on it. Add one of those USB Wireless remote controls and you are good to go.

It will then be superior to any Android Kodi running on any Android Box - and that includes the NVIDIA Shield.

Andrroid

  1. I doubt theres an alternative on the horizon

  2. Any alternative likely wouldn't rival the shield's power but more likely be on par with the Mi Box, likely using a similar or identical SoC. Even outside of Android TV, the only streaming device that, on paper, should rival the Shield, is the new Apple TV.

  3. Support is ongoing. They re-released the device this January and I fully expect us to get Android Oreo and I wouldn't be surprised if we also got Android P.

  4. On the note of alternatives outside of Android TV, a new fire TV was just announced (supports 4K, HDR and Dolby Atmos) and Roku devices were put on clearance last week; could mean a new device coming. And of course there was the Apple TV 4K that was announced recently but...its priced right up there with the Shield.

simiwood

If you feel the mibox is worth its price you will feel the shield is as well.i have both and a wife who hates my gadget addiction the only gadget she will admit to loving is the shield.

snailmind

Buy the shield, I had the mibox and recently picked up the 2015 shield used from Amazon for $125. I'm tempted to replace the mibox on my second set now...

ItsDatNYCDude

The Shield. Prior to that we had the Mi Box in the living room. Worked fine, but you just cannot compare to the speed and performance of the Shield. I got the Shield because I needed another box for another room and decided to upgrade the living room at the same time. Wow, what an upgrade.

lolboahancock

Just posted the new firetv in this sub. You might want to check it out. Its still in preorder phase though.