I like the Mi Box for the price and size, but it probably will never be updated (it's on Marshmallow).
I like the Nexus Player for the updates (it's on Oreo), but I hear it's mediocre, and it's discontinued.
I like the Shield because it gets updates, has a good remote, and everyone raves about it, but I won't use it to game and it's very expensive.
What do you think?
Save up for the Shield
Shield is worth the money you pay for it. Does everything you can ask for imo.
Get the Shield. On the remote side, I don't care for the Shield remote due to the touch volume control. Wait for a deal to come up on the Harmony Hub w/ remote. It can often be found on Amazon for $70 or less when they run a deal.
The Mi Box does what I need it to for the price. Just bought a second one for the bedroom and it's still less than 1 Shield. Honestly, I'm not too concerned about the updates anymore because it already does what I need it to.
Even if you do media only - go with the shield. It is more future proof. The mi can sometimes lag a bit. The shield is a BEAST.
MiBox sucks and I have 2 of them sitting in my junk drawer. Replaced them with Shield TVs now I have three of them. They are awesome and worth every penny!
I have both. The MiBox is a great client that runs 1080p stuff just fine. I actually like the remote better than the Shield one. For me it runs Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Video, DirecTVNOW, HBOGo, Showtime Anytime, and Kodi.
My shield does more of the heavy lifting though. It acts as a DVR for my OTA antenna (via HDHomerun), can do 4k, can act as a Plex Server, and plays games very well. If you need any of this stuff get the Shield.
I faced this dilemma a few months back, needing something that could support Kodi, Plex, and HDHomeRun. I scored a Shield with remote and game controller for $186 mid-December 2017 on Amazon. It handles all of my needs without a hitch, and I don't regret spending extra for it.
I returned my Mi Box. It was buggy and clunky, and it constantly gets the short end of the stick. For example, YouTube TV came out for every platform on the planet (Except Mi Box). And when I started getting inexplicable stuttering in YouTube, I tried a bunch of things to troubleshoot before giving up on it.
I might pick up a Nexus Player; they're about $50 shipped on eBay still. Otherwise, Shield is the way to go I'd say.
I have all three the mibox is a fine streamer for most if you want 4k or 5.1+ sound then go with the shield
I'm a happy owner of a Nexus Player. I have to say, it suits all my needs. It runs flawlessly Android TV 8.0. I have it's memory expanded using an OTG and an old 80GB HDD. I can watch Netflix and play music in Spotify without any issues. I can't say anything about Plex or Kodi because I don't use those services.
I believe that that decision depends on what are you looking for and also your budget.
I know that my answer is too positive but I can't find issues about this device...
I hope you find my answer useful!
I love my NP and the whole family uses it every day as we have for years with no real issues. It's not nearly as bad as some make it out to be.
I would never, ever, consider paying more than $10 for one today. It's old hardware and it's only gonna get older. It will be fine for my kid for a little longer, but mom and I are moving on to the Shield.
I went with the Shield. Not a single regret.
If just streaming Netflix, sling/Vue, YouTube, kodi, etc than the Mi box is great.
I wouldn't spend the much higher price if you're only streaming.
I don't use my shield for any gaming, but I'm happy I bought it for my living room as I use it for Netflix, Amazon Video, IPTV, Kodi, Plex and terrarium tv!
what is your main use of a box going to be?
As a huge Android fan and someone who has owns the Nexus Player, I vote the Apple TV. I have enjoyed my Apple TV a lot more than my NP. The only thing I miss from Android TV is the casting ability.
If you have the money for the Shield, get the Shield. IMHO, it is the best STB on the market.
You have a 4KTV, HDR ready and would use the extra power of the Shield? Get a Shield
You only have a 1080p and would just watch Netflix/Hulu/Youtube/etc...? Get a MiBox, then get a Shield once you buy a 4KTV, depending on how long are you waiting, you might even see a Shield TV2 for more or less the same price.
And that's why i don't think getting a Shield NOW without having a 4K/HDR TV it's a great idea.
By the time you buy a 4KTV we might see the Shield 2, much more powerful, and you would be stuck with something you didn't use to it's fullest just because it was an impulse buy.
I own both, i like both, the lack of updates it's not that nuch of a problem IMO, but that's me.
xbox one s now that KODI is there. Same price as the Shield (just let that sink in for a minute).
If you have 4k, get the shield. Occasionally it goes on sale for $150 (player and remote only). If you have a 1080p TV then get the Nexus Player. What bugs and glitches I encounter on my Mi Box don't show up on my Nexus. The most annoying bug on the Mi Box is the audio stutter bug.
I got the Shield. It's a great piece of hardware. I got rid of Comcast cable and I'm not looking back thanks to this little device.
I have a shield and a mibox. The mibox works nearly as well as the shield for most things, but at some point I assume it will lag behind due to lacking updates, but right now, it's just fine.
The shield is flawless however.
I've started looking at getting an Android TV box also as I see the Roku I have, which works great, as limited in capabilities.
Was pretty much set to get the Shield which has the horsepower to last me for the rest of my life. I won't be using the gaming though so its a bit pricey.
Recently I started to look at the Channel Master Stream+ Android TV which is not released here yet but has two ATSC 2.0 tuners built in and with DVR capability possible with storage being the only expense. Right now storage is limited to up to a 512gb micro sd card which you would provide but there is a built in usb 3.0 which they say will support usb hard drive. I figure a 32gb microsd card would give me pause and rewind for live sports. The system integrates with Live Channels.
Doing this on the Shield is more by the cost of the tuner $70 and I have seen multiple threads where people say it doesn't work with a two tuner setup or other problems.
The Stream+ is OEM'd from Technicolor, who is in France. The same box is already being sold or rented in more than 10 countries. Technicolor bought out the LG set top business.
https://sites.google.com/view/droid-tv/oem/technicolor
What concerns me is that while apparently the Stream+ has been sold overseas for up to a year depending on the market no one here has it and overseas reviews on its other various versions are few and far between.
I have both mi box and shield. If you are just looking to stream basic stuff Hulu, Netflix, kodi, iptv it will work fine. However if you want to download endless content, apks, run thousands of emulator games , run a plex server, and lots more get the shield.
Shield
As someone who just uses it for streaming Netflix, Crunchyroll and a few other streaming services the Mi Box is perfect. I know the Shield is a better device, but if you are only doing streaming and don’t need 4K, the Mi Box is fine.
Shield TV. and I don't game.
I fired both of my Mi Boxes, returned one and the other is sitting in it's original box, as purchased, waiting for me to find it a new home. Replaced with none of the other items you listed.
Shield is very overrated, as in it has too many problems for its price, but sadly it's the only choice if you want Android and watch 4K HDR. I just wish there was something like the Mi Box but better and not aimed at gaming.
I like the Shield because it gets updates, has a good remote,
Good remote ? The Shield mini remote is near universally condemned. If it is not having touch sensitive volume control issues it will have wake from sleep issues and lagging due to a serious hardware design defect called Bluetooth interference caused by the Shield's USB3 port.
Work out what Apps and local user content you even want a box for before deciding on hardware to get. It also depends on how demanding a user you are for audio and video playback.
.
For example I've ditched Android TV completely because Google's Nougat OS does not even have support auto colorspace conversion/switching when watching mixed SDR and HDR content.
Color output on the Shield is wrong, unless you like manually fiddling with device settings all the time:
If you value smooth 24p video playback in Apps like Netflix or Amazon Video then none of the Android TV devices are for you. Those Apps ( and many more) do not match TV refresh rates with video frame-rates for ultra smooth video playback.
The Mi Box for example does not even have auto refresh rate switching when using Apps like Kodi or Plex.
Outside of the Android TV ecosystem, there is now better Firmware support for demanding 24p SDR / HDR10 / DolbyVision video playback with a whole host of Apps on a device called Apple TV 4K.
Shield has been one of my better tech investments in my life.