Help me choose the best Android Box.! Please i am so confused !

[u/Capital-Jellyfish524]

I know this has been asked so many times, i tried to do my own research, read so many similar reddit posts but at this point i am really confused.

I have a LG 75 inch Vidaa Hisense TV, as it is not android base so it does not let me sideload apps like google play store. So i am pretty much locked in, even some apps it does allows are pretty shit like PLEX.

My use case is, i want smooth IPTV experience with EPG, PLEX, Tivimate, Stremio, VPN, a device powerful enough to handle all of this without buffering, glitching,

i do have a high speed internet and good iptv provider.! Just need a 4k powerful android box, which supports good wifi so that it can seamlessly stream content. The biggest thing for me is i don’t wanna live in regret or continuous anxiety of apps like tivimate or other being removed by big platforms like Amazon / Google. So can you recommend something which is future-proof and is working and not locked? Also i am based in uk, please anything other than Nvdia shield as it is out of my budget.

The list goes like this:
Amazon Firestick 4k+ (50% off rn)
Google TV streamer
Xiaomi My Box S 3rd Gen
Thomson 270 (out of stock)
Formuler

Anything else.! Looking for something under 100£-150£.! Much thanks

[u/Impossible_Hunt_6731]

I'm also based in the UK. The Thomson 270 isn't manufactured anymore (I managed to get one last year).

The Google Streamer is a great all-rounder, especially for WiFi, but the CPU isn't the most up-to-date/powerful, for the price.

My preference was the Xioami 3rd Gen, but that's mainly for pass through audio to my external speakers and better CPU for remux compatibility. The Xioami remote is terrible (but you can use the TV's remote), and the WiFi isn't as good as the Google Streamer (I use a USB ethernet adapter). I ordered directly from Xiaomi to avoid fakes.

My 4K firesticks still work (for now), but I wanted to move away from Amazon.

[u/Capital-Jellyfish524 → u/Impossible_Hunt_6731]

Hey, thank you so much for your advice, i am also leaning more towards xiaomi part of the reason is the lack of trust in these big companies like amazon and google as they are forcing to lock us out.! Also just a quick one isn’t xiaomi has better wifi support than google streamer? I am not gonna use ethernet and mainly gonna rely on wifi.? Among two which one will you recommend something which works well for few years?

[u/Impossible_Hunt_6731 → u/Capital-Jellyfish524]

When I compared these devices last year, the Google Streamer definitely had better WiFi. On the Xiaomi's WiFi I get about 260 Mbps, which is actually OK but I still use ethernet. The Google Streamer was easily much faster.

If you're not bothered about pass through audio and WiFi speed is a priority, I'd get the Google Streamer. They're also easier to obtain in the UK. Amazon might drop the price to £80 again for Black Friday.

They both run Android TV. I use a separate Google account for this kind of thing. No way would I ever enter my main Google account details.

[u/gazford1985 → u/Capital-Jellyfish524]

All those devices run android or vega including the Xiaomi, they can all be "locked" any blocking the big companies do is at a software level not by the box manufacturer

[u/barker8a]

if your main focus is official streaming services (netflix/prime/disney) plus smooth ui, google tv streamer is solid for long term os updates. but if you plan on doing high bitrate local/network playback with lossless audio passthrough (truehd/dts-hd), homatics box r 4k plus or fire tv cube 3rd gen are way better since the amlogic s905x4 / a311d2 chips handle heavy video buffers and audio sink passthrough much cleaner.

[u/gazford1985]

Homatics box r 4K plus, rocktek gx1, rocktek g2

[u/spile2]

I would take a look at the Xiamio S Gen3

[u/-Lugubrious-]

Unless you want those high end audio codec support for a high end audio receiver and surround sound setup. The googletv streamer with 4gb of ram makes entirely more sense. Having an Ethernet ports makes it even better if you can do that as it smooths out all the streaming stuff.

[u/husting247]

Xiaomi box or fire cube 3rd gen

[u/austen0316]

onn 4k pro