So it seems in the UK I don't have alot of choice for a true google certified android box. From my findings there are two choices.... The shield (out of my budget by £100) or the Xiaomi Mi Box S. So if anyone has any other recommendations that i am not aware of that would be much appreciated, also I'd like to know what peoples thoughts are on the Xiaomi.
If youre not strict with the type of audio and wont be strictly playing movies or vids in 4k, the Mi Box S should suffice. You could also play classic snes and psp games on it, so if youre into that buy a compatible controller but dont expect demanding, graphics, games. Buy a cheap hdmi switch if your tv is as un-smart like one with only one hdmi input. And maybe a usb hub, so you can expand the storage of the mi box s and plug in/out flash drives with movies on it.
A lot of people who shit on mi box s forgets its cheap, stupidly comparing it to a 3-4x, depending on where you live, expensive Shield.
certified (with netflix/chromecast)? you already named these 2 boxes. As alternative - t95q or new chinese s905x2 tv boxes, but it not google certified (so, netflix only in 480p and chromecast only via airscreen app).
Mi Box and the Jetstream 4K are the only 2 real Android TV boxes out there that isn't the Nvidia Shield.
How demanding a user are you first ?
If you need Dolby Audio support STAY AWAY FROM all Android TV devices.
The Xiaomi Mi Box for example has 5.1 Netflix Audio dropouts.
It cannot do HD audio passthrough with Oreo 8.1 on the Mi Box S either.
It cannot even downmix 5.1 DD+ to 5.1 DD only audio if that is all your audio receiver supports. (Shield is the same).
Mi Box currently has no auto FrameRate Matching. That is really important for 25/50fps UK / Europe content viewing, expect all sorts of video judder otherwise watching 25fps UK content output at 60Hz.
That is unless you like fiddling around all the time in Android settings, guessing which frame rates are what.
There are also gaps in Android TV Apps support once you get outside of North America.
Seriously look at the Fire TV Stick 4K - it will be faster, have a better remote that stays connected 24/7, get better UK Apps support, have Dolby audio sorted out and have auto Frame Rate Matching support for a bunch of Apps.
Plus - the most important of all - be sold by a company that actually gives users ongoing, timely bug busting Firmware updates
Downsides - no Chromecasting and you may get annoyed by the pushy FireTV user interface.
I just bought a Mi Box S. It's been only a day since I got it but it has worked perfectly fine so far. I was going to buy one of those no-name Chinese boxes, but I went for the Mi Box instead for quality concerns.
The only concern I have about my Mi Box is that it gets warm, and it has no air vents. From what I've read, I don't have to worry about it. But it remains to be seen how this affects real life performance for my device.
I don't plan on gaming on my device so the Nvidia Shield would be overkill for me.