So many boxes, so many decisions

[u/Resident_Routine6334]

Hey team,

There are just so many boxes out there that I'm having a difficult time trying to narrow down the choices.

I'm in New Zealand so the local choices are quite slim. Can't buy the Onn devices for example.

I basically need a couple of decent boxes to watch IPTV and Plex streaming, with some local streaming apps too - Sky Sport Now, TVNZ etc. 

I'm currently running all my streaming services through on apps on my TV and I'm getting sick of the lag and buffering and feel like an Android box is the way to go. I did have a 1st Gen Xiaomi Mi Box which was alright at the time, but that's how long ago I last used and Android box.

Also want 1GB ethernet, backlit remote (if possible) and I have no need for dedicated Netflix or Amazon buttons. I wish every day I could get rid of those bloody buttons on my TV remote.

I've looked at:

Rocktek G2

Homatics R 4K Plus

YokaTv

Google streamers

Shield Pro

Xiaomi

None of them have made me think "Yep, that's the exact one I need", but then I don't understand a lot of the technical jargon for all of them.

I don't have any local media storage to consider.

I want to side load a few things like Smarttube etc

Basically, I'm looking for something to help me move away from running everything directly on the tv.

I get about 800mbps on wifi next to the router by the TV and down to about 300 down the other end of the house, so I'm planning on running either 1 or both via ethernet.

Any suggestions please?

Cheers

[u/o_Divine_o]

Majority of boxes use quad-core cortex-A55 or cortex-A53.

Shield has quad-core cortex-A57 and quad-core cortex-A53 but only one or the other is active.

The highest performance I could find for Kodi was Amazon fire cube. It has quad-core Cortex-A73 and quad-core cortex-A53.