Nexus Player. It has Android 8.0 (not officially upgradable to Pie) and it has Google Play Store out of the box

But, if you're searching for recommendations to buy, if you are on a budget, you should go for the Mi Box. If you have money to spend, Nvidia Shield is your way to go

Nvidia Shield. I couldn't be happier!

Currently the two main ones or the Mi Box and Shield. The manufacturer decides on the OS Updates and they do have Google Play for Android TV.

However, it sounds like you might be getting confused between real Android TV (with Android TV OS) and the cheap no name boxes on Amazon that uses the phone/tablets' touchscreen OS. Those are all garbage that are pieced together and requires a wii-remote style air mouse to control.

My advice is to buy an official Android TV box/TV or get another box made for TVs. Skip the fakes.

The Channel Master Stream+ runs Android TV is and has the play store natively. It's new and doesn't have Netflix yet, so it wasn't on the list of Android approved devices. But, it will be on that list when/if Netflix allows the Netflix app on it.

It uses Google Live Channels to display antenna channels and uses LC for the DVR functions. You attach a USB hard drive, up to 2 TB, for DVR storage. Regular price is $149 plus whatever a drive costs.

With limited budget I bought Mi Box and it never disappointed me!

My box is primarily used for accessing apps like YouTube, YouTube Kids, Sony LIV, Amazon Prime Videos and HotStar and all of this always worked without any issue.

Nvidia Shield if you can afford it. It all comes down to what you will be using it to do.

I have both the Nvidia Shield and the Mi Box

Thank you all to shade some light on the matter. I’ve learned a lot. Especially that not all Android TV boxes have actually an Android TV OS. I’m sad to hear that.

I’ll be careful when buying an Android TV ‘hardware’. So far I’ve heard for just 5 boxes that have real Android TV.

Take care.

I got Nexus Player in my living room, Channel Master Stream+ in the den, I got Sony Bravia in my Bedroom and an old TCL Android 4.1 TV in the man cave. Android TV is the driving force and preferred ecosystem for my family and I.

I have a Shield and a Nexus player. The Shield is an obvious choice if you can afford one and Nvidia has a good track record of support. The upcoming JBL soundbar with Android TV is intriguing but it will be expensive. My one Nexus player just died so I'm planning try the new Jetstream Android TV player when it gets released. It has the same internals as the MiBox but with better connectivity options (ethernet, 2nd usb, micro sd, optical out). https://www.walmart.com/ip/Jetstream-4K-Ultra-HD-Android-TV-Box-with-Voice-Search-Remote/316458576

SHIELD

Shield for sure if you can afford it. It comes with play store built in too

Two miboxes but I'm seriously considering switching soon. They have been nothing but a pain since the last couple rounds of updates. Is shield a lot better in terms of bugs and updates vs mibox?

Had a Shield but sold it.

If you do not need to use Chromecasting or 4K Netflix or 4K Prime Video there are a bunch of people that buy the more flexible, pretty snappy - MECOOL M8S Pro L and are pretty happy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMeIqU_gbWQ

The Android TV Nougat OS on those devices is a LOT more stable vs Oreo on the Mi Box.

Be aware there are two Playstores, the Android TV OS Playstore and the Android Mobile/Tablet Playstore. You cannot directly install Apps from the Tablet Playstore on to Android TV OS devices. The more limited Android TV OS Playstore has to be used.

Avoid anything cheap running the new Android TV Oreo OS, that means the Mi Box, MECOOL KM8 and the upcoming Jetstream, they will all have virtually the exact same AMLogic Kernel bugs. Do not get suckered into such devices that promise all sort of things.

ANDROID BOX:

There are many application and IPTV service in the market but after the good experience we found 2 applications are best for IPTV

1. Smart STB

you can install Smart STB Emul;ator in your Sony Android TV it works very fine as a MAG Box IPTV provider need Mac address of this application and the give you URL: to put in this application and for installation and configuration please visit https://miptvservices.com

2. IPTV Smarters PRO

This application very easy to install you can download this from google play store from your Android TV and for configuration please visit https://miptvservices.com

FROM HERE I LEARNED INSTALLATION OF IPTV ON DIFFERENT DEVICES GREAT ARTICLE, I AM SHARING THIS SO THAT OTHER PEOPLE CAN ALSO GET HELP https://miptvservicesus.blogspot.com

We can download many application in Androi Box for IPTV But the best apk is STB EMU and IPTV Smarters Pro for installation look https://miptvservices.com