it will be a "crime" for me or anyone to recommend a specifc model.

much depends on what u want, what u msut have, what u dun care.

also yr broadbandspeed, yr usual types of files, your preference for audio.

plus yr ease with languages, your home theater system if any, your current box or axtro or hypp or nothing.

i haven't got time to write a summary but may u will find my posts in these pages useful:

https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3126605/+3540
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3126605/+1420
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3126605/+3940
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3126605/+3440

i just found another one of this as i was cleaning up. another 2 in my "bag of cables".

never used them.

could have sent to u all 3 for free.

For same file, i find little difference between the 2.

But for coaxial, a noticeable diff comparing high grade audio rca cable vs cheap common one.

to my knowledge, all popular china entertainments apps are in 2.0.

dts/dd 5.1 are found in kodi only. china concerts 5.1.. i doubt there is any in kodi.

few people bother to respond becos your kind of question is asked by someone every week.

tired of repeating.

there are no straightforward answers unless u understand what such a box can and cannot do, provide details on preferences.

but all the relevant info, views and comments are in this thread and individual brand box threads - xiaomi, beelink, himedia, minix. check all of them.

and if it helps:
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3126605/+3540
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3126605/+1420
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3126605/+3940

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Jan 25 2017, 10:22 AM

the actual effect varies from app to app.

generally, it simply cannot respond fast enough.

the expanded memory is usually used for storage of low activity stuff.

8gb is, by today's app size and demand, low.

ok if u r sure u will not be needing more.

to be safe, 16gb will be minimum.

that would be in the details.

every box is diff - diff chipset, diff firmware, diff rules on things on partitioning, i/o, reserve, backup, etc.

u need to ask the users of the specific box to be sure, perhaps in the mibox thread.

i had suggested some links and threads for u to read.

if u had read them and go thru the "checklists", u will be able to set your priorities and narrow down the choices.

u can see from this section there are only a handful of popular brands and models people discuss, the main reasons being price, aftersales support and brand reputation.

This list is good.

No prices though.

We know some of them.

Others like wetek... any idea who is selling locally?

former is 2/16gb, latter is 2/8gb - not a good comparison.

better u1 vs q10pro.

one thing i discovered in the last few days...

if u r heavy into playback of videos with digital (dd/dts) and hd audio (ddtruehd/dtshdma), you gotta get a box with a native player that can do that.

if u rely on kodi for usb playback, it is becoming a nightmare for android devices.

i can't fully understand all of it after reading and reading but i can tell it is becos kodi is setting a new std for v17. it gets worse with differences in android 5, 6, 7!

in short, android boxes and androidtv firmware (and their chipsets) that do not comply with kodi 17 will be in a mess for dd and dts audio streams, no need to talk hd audio.

feel free to read all these:
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=252064
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=229348
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=28...8984#pid2408984
https://www.reddit.com/r/nexusplayer/commen...ing_20_instead/
http://www.multipelife.com/passthrough-ac3...-with-kodi.html

that review is crap...
says q5pro can't do 1080p or stereo; says q10pro can't do dts!

where was that mentioned? can't find...
my box is on latest firmware, haven't noticed any problem with 1080p, 4k, or hd audio.

not sure if true or not, but in one forum, i read there is only one box that can passthru audio with kodi17 - mibox.
even nvidia shield can't.
that being the case, will be months before kodi17 gets official while box makers find their own solution.

until that is resolved, kodi users will have to stick to v16.1 for audio passthru.
me, i am now using 2 boxes, one v17, one v16.1, best of both.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Jan 29 2017, 02:11 AM

Use of ext memory is not good for fast input/output.
Will be sluggish, some apps will not even work.

A 8gb gross net of firmware, apps, junk, cache leaves u with too little for certain apps like popcorntime and kodi quasar.
Will be struggling to clean, remove this and that all the time.

Trust us who have used 8gb boxes.

That is the base model... slim, small and powerful.
Excellent for usb playback, home theater, samba.
Without kodi, can take a lot of apps.
With kodi, all good except quasar.

I had wanted a "q5proii" with 2/16gb, like q16.
I doubt himedia will do it now.
Resources better used on kodi17 wrapper for audio passthru.

Next gen, wud like to see kodi 17 audio sorted out, 3/32gb.
I will then get one, retire the last q5ii.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Jan 29 2017, 04:00 PM

got cheaper models... h8, h8plus...

but yes, q series with hisilicon chipsets have now become their flagship line.

as for the low end segment, RM200 or so, it is very crowded, dozens of makers worldwide, cut throat prices.

himedia like some others will have to move up the value chain, like all biz.

some weeks ago, some of us reported "rice-fox-goat-wd-global-wind" works only on android 4.4 and 5.1, doesn't work on android 6.

i just tested goat and wind - both work good on android 7.

enjoy... while it lasts!

isn't mibox 3c 1/4gb?

some of us think even mibox 3s 2/8gb hasn't got enough memory.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Jan 30 2017, 12:20 PM

don't rely on just one.

the key is to have a few of them, use whichever is alive at anytime.

they all die and get resurrected, die again...

that is correct.

it is the same tv os in smart tv's google androidtv.

the advantages are youtube, netflix will be capable of 4k output.

i hope u have read and been following this and the KODI thread closely, assured the box will be fine for u.