I'm currently using the Minix Neo X7 and it's a beast.. Runs smoothly with firmware upgrades + forum support. If you can wait a couple more months, Minix will be releasing the X8 .. Though the X7 is perfectly fine as it even supports 4TB external hard drive.

for that, i suggest u check out this thread:
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3201002/+100

there is no box in the market that gives everything - chinese, english, korean, old movies, new movies, tv series, livetv stations, games, sports, media playback, hd, dd/dts, dtshdma, ddtruehd, 3d, wireless, smooth, foc, etc...

there are trade offs, i.e. some boxes give you this but not that, others give you that but not this.

read, check, ask questions, set priorities and budget... then only buy.

i will not overspend on any one device but prepare to spend on a new device every 3 years as technology and laws are changing very quickly and will continue to be so.

You can get it from Deal Extreme. I got it from a guy selling it off lowyat forum here but i can't seem to find his thread which should be active, so still scout around.

1. Being an android box, it plays a lot of media formats i use like avi, mp4, mkv etc. There are tons of apps you can install to watch live tv or stream tv shows and movies... An example would be CloudTV for live streaming of English, Chinese, Indian channels. You can check the app out on their website CloudTV, you'll have to pay per month ($5) to access their premium channels but good thing is, you can try the premium channels for free for 24 hours, then decide if to purchase or not. I'm English and so can't help with HK series but i'm sure android has apps for that. Alternatively, you can run XBMC on the device, install plug-ins from third party repositories to get tons of Chinese channels for free.

2. Minix provided an android app which can be used to not only fully control the box but can also be used to play control 3D games on your TV. Wireless keyboards and Mouse are suported via usb dongle or bluetooth.

3. Yes to playing from my External HDD and also DLNA support from my PC, Note 3 and Nexus 10. It also supports screen mirroring except by samsung devices. Though that doesn't matter as i can easily push pics or video files via DLNA from the gallery app. Media files can also be pushed wirelessly from IOS & OSx devices as well if that's your thing.

4. Cost is within your price range.

I'm using Unifi 5Mbps package and this works for me & streams HD though i'm considering upgrading to 10Mbps simply for faster torrenting . If you are an android user, then you'll understand what to expect from this box. Frankly it does all i want and even more.