essentially, yes.

Google has partnered with Sony, Sharp, and Philips (TP Vision) to offer the platform in TVs. Version 2 of Shield Android TV was announced at CES 2017 with Google Assistant in a future update.[5]


but do not confuse android tv with google tv which is older and with limited use on some old smart tv's.

this is where it can get confusing...

regular android uses PLAY STORE.

android tv uses GOOGLE PLAY STORE.

Same logo!

That is interesting.

Only on my tv is it google play store.

Tablet, phone, boxes.... all play store.

Right.... and hence the labeling.

Androidtv os is a subset, i think only 1/3 of the whole thing.

But it has some differences... voice search feature, netflix 4k, youtube 4k... good stuff not available for generic androids.

Even popcorntime has a version, can do voice search!

Read an article about google... some guy was saying the big value in google will be found in the voice search feature, a lot of money now poured into it. I trust that will come true. Best to buy a few google/alphabet stock now.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Feb 27 2017, 06:19 PM

There isnt much u can find to read about androidtv os, only general stuff.

But trust me, i am using both android tv and android box.

Androidtv is faster, more convenient, saves tnb bill since no need other box.

But, not good for playback, hd audio, home theater.

why not start a dedicated MINIX thread?

great opportunity with this, more attention and tips for all minix users.

there is no active minix thread yet.

i have several WD.

the ones made in thailand are good, last easily >5 years.

the ones made in malaysia not so good, die after 3-4 years.

the environmental "green" ones are crap - had one that died in 11 months, warranty replaced oned died after another 6 months.

i lost some good stuff because of the crap WD green hdd.

took pains to get them back.

since then, i keep a duplicate for some of the stuff i don't want to lose again.

so, i now end up holding like 10TB of hDD.

Trump speaking live.

Androidtv, aljzeera carrying in HD.

Other boxes, hypptv... sd only.

good to know someone read my posts!

i'll try to help...

.. yr speed is good.
.. free reliable live sports streams in HD is a challenge; u need to keep hunting them whether standalone apps or addons in kodi; if u dun mind sd streams, no-english streams, much easier; keep in mind live sports is big biz, they will protect their income; read kodi thread.
.. hongkong/taiwan/china/japan/korea - they are usually lumped together; comes in live tv and VOD (video-on-demand); live tv china is easy, plenty, others not so; VOD reasonably ok with standalone apps or Kodi ICDRAMA.
.. english movies - easy, plenty.
.. CNN, BBC, bloomberg, news... SD, plenty, easy; HD not so easy.
.. eng subtitles.. easy in KODI, but more difficult in other apps; e.g. china streams... nobody in china care about eng subs.
.. legit iptv = astro, hypptv, iflix, netflix... u know the prices; all others are illegit.
.. illegit/ahem iptv - i will not comment, will not encourage illegal biz; please check elsewhere.
.. it helps a lot if u already use android phone, android tablet becos same principles; android a little diff from windows or ipads; yes... need some work and patience.
.. budget...rm450 will not get premium brand.. but get a minimum android5 (latest is android7), 2/16gb; buying from helpful seller can be beneficial for noobs; read:
.. mibox
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3561305/+920
.. beelink
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/4044338/+760
.. hyppbox
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3594298/+1720#bottom
.. himedia
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1849024/+2060

all the best!

r u sure... buy from lazada and then all set to sit back and enjoy?!

soundbars can be tricky... i don't know much about them.
almost all boxes now come with HDMI output which u normally connect to AVR or direct to TV.
for soundbars, i think u will connect HDMI to TV, then use TV ARC to soundbar.
Or use box optical output to soundbar.
the trouble is i read some people say their ARC or optical option does not work well for certain soundbars, get only 2.0
so, u need to check a bit more on this.

about audio, not all boxes come with same audio capabilities.
some can pass thru dtshdma, ddtruehd, dtsx, dtatmos 7.1 while some can't even do dts/dd 5.1.
so, it is up to you what is impt for you; the best things don't come for free.
but it is also impt not to pay for something u don't use!

firmware update are impt; most premium boxes now have OTA.
if there isn't, u need to know where to find the firmware updates - websites, seller, etc.

kodi users, live sports fans...

adriansports 1.1.4 is back, good.

works well with kodi 17.0.

get the repo with kodi file manager:

http://adriansports.net16.net/repo/

thanks to forummer below.
This post has been edited by AVFAN: Mar 3 2017, 01:02 PM

do u mean usb playback 1080p videos via kodi?

or stream online 1080p videos in kodi?

any hd audio requirements?

hope u can do a short review here or in a new thread on this box after u have played with it enough.

will be helpful to other potential new users.

kodi lagging... i trust u know kodi then.

file transfer/connectivity - u mean over wifi? ya, that is impt, a test of the wifi capability of the box..

dualband... 5ghz is good if distance not too far, clear line of sight... higher frequencies = higher losses.



anyway, do post some review when u r ready!

Given that, u can actually spend less, get a cheaper box.

Read other threads, there r some low cost boxes that can do kodi very well.

It is only when u need the highest performance on video, audio, wifi, connectivity do u need a premium box.

right, that's the point.

if one has a basic tv, no home theater, no need good audio, basic speed and wants only kodi streams or ahem iptv, a cheap box can do the job.

heck, even the free hypptv box may do!

which is why it is impt for noobs to describe what they have, what they want, what they know and don't know.

if not, it is a joke to try to suggest anything.

like some asking "i want to buy a car, tell me which one to buy".

all u get is either "buy mercedes" or "buy proton".

and that is truly tragic for a forum where people should be exchanging better info than that.

if you are like me, will not settle for anything w/o hd audio, i can comment.

i did not realize this until 2 years ago - another forummer in this section reminded me that a only MINORITY of android boxes can do dsthdma/ddtruehd. i had taken it for granted becos, like u know, even 5-6 year old boxes can do that!

but the truth is, in the past, there were only pure media player boxes lihe WDTVlive and ACRyan - these were the cream and they do the video and audio playback codecs very well. then came androids, live streaming. media players got left behind, even obsolete. everyone jumped onto android streaming. but many gave up the audio part.

for hd audio, there are 4 categories for android boxes now:

1. those that have a native player, can handle dtshdma, ddtruehd, dtsx. ddtamos - on its own.
2. those that do not have a native player but a customized XBMC app to do some or all of that. these, u need to check out carefully becos with Kodi17 (new name for XBMC), it is very new and still evolving, the onus is on the box makers to deal with it on their own with their own hardware and firmawre.
3. those that can do only core dts/dd.
4. those cannot do even dts/dd, only aac2.0

happy to help!

i recently retired my 2 acryans (realtek chipsets). both served me very well for 6-7 years, incl hd audio.

but... as expected, they can't handle hevc, 10 bit, 4k, certain embedded subtitles and unique variations of hd audio.

see, boxes that can do great audio will also do great video!

yr mibox, i do not know much, so u need to try on kodi17 or some other version to see if it will passthru hd audio.

there are other boxes that can do what u need, but i use himedia: 4 of them, oldest 5 yrs, newest 1 month.

all 4 can do hd audio, bdmv, bluray mini menu with native player.

so, u can check out himedia q10pro in this thread:
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1849024/+2100#bottom

i prefer to comment on specifics in above thread and leave this thread alone for generalities.

Nice tip!


This works with android youtube but not androidtv youtube.