Android/Dream Box [ Illegal discussion = Ban ]

viperlogic

Any feedback on nvidia shield 16G 2017 vs Minix U9-H?

Main use would be 1080p media playback with bit-streaming support of truehd or dts-ma. 4K & HDR support. 4K youtube support. Kodi mainly (some plex). voice control support. Ease of use for wifey. AirPlay support. I don't use Amazon or Netflix and no interest in gaming.

Thanks

Suckit

Of the two, the Nvidia would be the one i would go for without contest, but i would look around for the price also.
It is usually compared with the Fire TV, Roku Ultra and to a lesser extent the Chromecast Ultra.
Personally, if paying that much i would go the extra bit and get a mini pc, something like the Asus vivopc/vivomini or the Gigabyte Brix, Intel NUC etc. That is just my two pennies worth.

viperlogic

Suckit wrote: »

Of the two, the Nvidia would be the one i would go for without contest

May I ask your reasoning?

The high horse brigade

viperlogic wrote: »

May I ask your reasoning?

The Nvidia shield is the best 4k Android box available. It has a super fast Nvidia Tegra multi core chip, 3GB ram and ongoing support through updates from Nvidia.

The other is a cheap and cheerful Chinese box. Chinese manufacturers are not in the habit of supporting their boxes with updates

muffler

I have no idea as to how good or bad this box is but for less than €35 delivered its probably worth buying for anyone who's interested. Its "deal of the day" on Amazon so stock will move fairly quickly id think



Edit/ I see its gone up by a tenner now so the deal is over.



.

Suckit

The high horse brigade wrote: »

viperlogic wrote: »

May I ask your reasoning?

The Nvidia shield is the best 4k Android box available. It has a super fast Nvidia Tegra multi core chip, 3GB ram and ongoing support through updates from Nvidia.

The other is a cheap and cheerful Chinese box. Chinese manufacturers are not in the habit of supporting their boxes with updates

Exactly as The high horse brigade said, tbh i am a bit confused as to how Minix became so expensive. I am aware that the S912-H includes DTS and Dolby licenses but at the end of the day they are cheap Chinese boxes with mediocre hardware and plenty of issues etc. as THHB said.

Shefwedfan

The high horse brigade wrote: »

The Nvidia shield is the best 4k Android box available. It has a super fast Nvidia Tegra multi core chip, 3GB ram and ongoing support through updates from Nvidia.

The other is a cheap and cheerful Chinese box. Chinese manufacturers are not in the habit of supporting their boxes with updates

I do admit the Nvidia is good but I would not throw every other system available as a cheap chinese box.

There is other premium system available which to be honest are on a par with Nvidia depending on what you use it for. From my point of view the Nvidia is over priced as I don't need the gaming etc

Would be better to compare Nvidia with Mi Box or some of the options from Minix.

The high horse brigade

Shefwedfan wrote: »

I do admit the Nvidia is good but I would not throw every other system available as a cheap chinese box.

There is other premium system available which to be honest are on a par with Nvidia depending on what you use it for. From my point of view the Nvidia is over priced as I don't need the gaming etc

Would be better to compare Nvidia with Mi Box or some of the options from Minix.

Except for the Nvidia support with Android updates bit. Most other cheap and cheerful boxes remain on the same Android version and get one or two bugfix updates leaving them outdated very quickly. The original 2015 Nvidia shield has already had an update to Nougat and continues to get support

batistuta9

Biggest problem with the Chinese boxes is licenses for netflixs & the likes.
Very few, if any have them

viperlogic

Re nvidia shield or Minix (or other "Chinese box" eg Mi) is that my main need is for a solid Kodi box that can run 1080p in various containers/codecs and can bitstream HD audio to my AVR. Side need is 4K and HDR 10bit BT.2020 as my projector supports it, thou at present there is v little content outside of Amazon and Netflix as I don't use those services. No interest in gaming.

So for those needs which is the better candidate?

yabadabado

I have Minix U9 and very happy with it.Dont game so Shield wasn't worth the extra cash imo.
U9 cost me €140 With A3 remote iirc and beavis Shield is about €70 more.

The high horse brigade

viperlogic wrote: »

Re nvidia shield or Minix (or other "Chinese box" eg Mi) is that my main need is for a solid Kodi box that can run 1080p in various containers/codecs and can bitstream HD audio to my AVR. Side need is 4K and HDR 10bit BT.2020 as my projector supports it, thou at present there is v little content outside of Amazon and Netflix as I don't use those services. No interest in gaming.

So for those needs which is the better candidate?

If you want something cheap that does the job get a Mi or other chinese box, if you want to make an investment in something that has great hardware and good support going forward get a Shield. Can't say it any simpler than that.

BandMember

The high horse brigade wrote: »

The Nvidia shield is the best 4k Android box available. It has a super fast Nvidia Tegra multi core chip, 3GB ram and ongoing support through updates from Nvidia.

The other is a cheap and cheerful Chinese box. Chinese manufacturers are not in the habit of supporting their boxes with updates

While the Nvidia Shield is regarded as the best box available, the rest of your post is completely wrong.

The Minix would rank a close second in pretty much any tech guide recommendation that I've seen over the past few years and they provide regular OTA firmware updates which keep the box running well.

My own one has been used and abused for hours on end every day for over 3 years now, and not once have I ever had an issue with it.

When the time comes to finally replace it (which won't be for a while yet), it will be a straight choice between the Shield and the latest Minix box on the market.

Suckit wrote: »

Exactly as The high horse brigade said, tbh i am a bit confused as to how Minix became so expensive. I am aware that the S912-H includes DTS and Dolby licenses but at the end of the day they are cheap Chinese boxes with mediocre hardware and plenty of issues etc. as THHB said.

See my response above.

yabadabado wrote: »

I have Minix U9 and very happy with it.Dont game so Shield wasn't worth the extra cash imo.
U9 cost me €140 With A3 remote iirc and beavis Shield is about €70 more.

Would you have a link or contact? PM me if necessary.

viperlogic

re nvidia vs Minix U9-H, whats the UI, remote control, and ease of use experience like? While I have no issues if poor as love messing around, its more so for wifey and family.

The high horse brigade

BandMember wrote: »

While the Nvidia Shield is regarded as the best box available, the rest of your post is completely wrong.

The Minix would rank a close second in pretty much any tech guide recommendation that I've seen over the past few years and they provide regular OTA firmware updates which keep the box running well.

My own one has been used and abused for hours on end every day for over 3 years now, and not once have I ever had an issue with it.

When the time comes to finally replace it (which won't be for a while yet), it will be a straight choice between the Shield and the latest Minix box on the market.



See my response above.



Would you have a link or contact? PM me if necessary.

So you have Nougat on your Minix then

There are plenty of complaints in the Kodi forum about the lack of support for the Minix

Suckit

Each to their own, everybody wants a system that suits them and their wallet.

Fwiw the Xiaomi Mi box is on banggood for roughly €48.60 using the code 20MiBox71
https://www.banggood.com/Xiaomi-Mi-Box-Amlogic-S905X-2GB-RAM-8GB-ROM-TV-Box-International-Version-p-1118302.html

viperlogic wrote: »

Re nvidia shield or Minix (or other "Chinese box" eg Mi) is that my main need is for a solid Kodi box that can run 1080p in various containers/codecs and can bitstream HD audio to my AVR. Side need is 4K and HDR 10bit BT.2020 as my projector supports it, thou at present there is v little content outside of Amazon and Netflix as I don't use those services. No interest in gaming.

So for those needs which is the better candidate?

Have you looked at the Vero 4K (OSMC)? It is Kodi only, with audio bitstreaming.
With the sterling so weak you may save some money also.

BandMember

The high horse brigade wrote: »

So you have Nougat on your Minix then

There are plenty of complaints in the Kodi forum about the lack of support for the Minix

No, I don't have Nougat. As I said, my box is over three years old, so I'm still using 4.4.2. However, everything is still working perfectly, so I don't really need it.... Oh, and that's including v17 and 18.

Well, as I say, I've never had any issues with mine and everyone I know went the same route as me and have never had any complaints either....

styron

BandMember wrote: »

No, I don't have Nougat. As I said, my box is over three years old, so I'm still using 4.4.2. However, everything is still working perfectly, so I don't really need it.... Oh, and that's including v17 and 18.

Well, as I say, I've never had any issues with mine and everyone I know went the same route as me and have never had any complaints either....

Could have sworn you mentioned H265 were a bit croaky at some point?

Shefwedfan

The high horse brigade wrote: »

If you want something cheap that does the job get a Mi or other chinese box, if you want to make an investment in something that has great hardware and good support going forward get a Shield. Can't say it any simpler than that.

I would suggest reading here.....

https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=252916

nVidia have paid a big lump of money to Kodi dev team and are trying to take over the market. Based on your comments some people are actually believing the hype

Go back a few months and WeTek was the answer to all questions. nVidia was hardly mentioned

In case you didn't realize money talks and at the moment nVidia are paying it

Any system running Android is in reality not the optimal system to run Kodi. Doesn't matter what the spec is....the Android OS itself means there is an automatic disadvantage versus running LibreELEC etc

A "cheap" hardware system running LibreELEC will out perform any Android OS and you will have no issues with Android updates....

Please note I am not recommending anyone to buy the cheap knock off chinese android boxes, they are a disaster but someone saying the nVidia is the answer to all questions is just reading the marketing buff

batistuta9

praises minixs regular updates, runs KitKat

The high horse brigade

Shefwedfan wrote: »

I would suggest reading here.....

https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=252916

nVidia have paid a big lump of money to Kodi dev team and are trying to take over the market. Based on your comments some people are actually believing the hype

Go back a few months and WeTek was the answer to all questions. nVidia was hardly mentioned

In case you didn't realize money talks and at the moment nVidia are paying it

Any system running Android is in reality not the optimal system to run Kodi. Doesn't matter what the spec is....the Android OS itself means there is an automatic disadvantage versus running LibreELEC etc

A "cheap" hardware system running LibreELEC will out perform any Android OS and you will have no issues with Android updates....

Please note I am not recommending anyone to buy the cheap knock off chinese android boxes, they are a disaster but someone saying the nVidia is the answer to all questions is just reading the marketing buff

When did i say I use Kodi

I'm a Plex user and have not used Kodi for a long time, in fact I hate it now. Their forum is a valuable source of info though

Shefwedfan

The high horse brigade wrote: »

When did i say I use Kodi

I'm a Plex user and have not used Kodi for a long time, in fact I hate it now. Their forum is a valuable source of info though

Not sure why you are confused, the original question was:

Any feedback on nvidia shield 16G 2017 vs Minix U9-H?

Main use would be 1080p media playback with bit-streaming support of truehd or dts-ma. 4K & HDR support. 4K youtube support. Kodi mainly (some plex). voice control support. Ease of use for wifey. AirPlay support. I don't use Amazon or Netflix and no interest in gaming.

Thanks

The request was for Kodi mainly.....

So I am now because why would you say the nVidia is the best product when you don't even use Kodi on it?

Based on those requirements the Mibox ticks all the boxes would you not agree?

BandMember

styron wrote: »

Could have sworn you mentioned H265 were a bit croaky at some point?

Yeah, they did alright - turned out it was a simple two second fix. That was my fault.

@Basituta9: :pac::pac::pac: Yeah, I know..........but if it ain't broke, why fix it?

For the record though, with the newer Minix boxes, you can upgrade to new android versions as Minix have released an update to do that, but seeing as my own box is over 3 years old and a few models out of date, I missed out on that. Doesn't cost me a thought though - as long as everything works, why would it?

The high horse brigade

Shefwedfan wrote: »

So I am now because why would you say the nVidia is the best product when you don't even use Kodi on it?

Based on those requirements the Mibox ticks all the boxes would you not agree?

I have SPMC installed and configured for Plex but rarely use it because it doesn't do account profiles well.

The Mi Box ticks most boxes except for the glaring ommision of an ethernet port as discussed in detail earlier in the thread. It's also new, how long will it get updates for? Will it get the next version of Android? Questionable?

Whereas Nvidia need to support their box because they are making money from other stuff on the box ie selling games and gamestream where it's important that all boxes are running the same version

Shefwedfan

The high horse brigade wrote: »

The Mi Box ticks most boxes except for the glaring ommision of an ethernet port as discussed in detail earlier in the thread. It's also new, how long will it get updates for? Will it get the next version of Android? Questionable?

Do you actually need the latest and greatest version of android?

Majority of main streams items will be supported on current versions for the next few years anyway

The high horse brigade

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Do you actually need the latest and greatest version of android?

Majority of main streams items will be supported on current versions for the next few years anyway

Having the latest version may not seem like it's of benefit to you at first but further down the line when new apps and newer versions of apps start removing support for older versions of Android you'll be glad you have it.

I'm usually ok with being a version behind but never let myself go two versions behind, on any device

BAAA RAM EWE

The high horse brigade wrote: »

Having the latest version may not seem like it's of benefit to you at first but further down the line when new apps and newer versions of apps start removing support for older versions of Android you'll be glad you have it.

I'm usually ok with being a version behind but never let myself go two versions behind, on any device

Literally never came across an app not supporting a device I had. And I keep stuff for years and years.

And when I finally upgrade, theirs nearly no difference.

All a racket.

The high horse brigade

BAAA RAM EWE wrote: »

Literally never came across an app not supporting a device I had. And I keep stuff for years and years.

And when I finally upgrade, theirs nearly no difference.

All a racket.

Netflix?

You've just been lucky. There was a huge change in Android from KitKat4.0 to Lollipop5.0 with the introduction of Android Runtime (ART) instead of Dalvik. If you're running a device with KitKat (or older) it means the app developer is supporting two completely different apps and could just drop support for the older version at any minute, many already have. Android is continuously evolving

batistuta9

BandMember wrote: »

@Basituta9: :pac::pac::pac: Yeah, I know..........but if it ain't broke, why fix it?

For the record though, with the newer Minix boxes, you can upgrade to new android versions as Minix have released an update to do that, but seeing as my own box is over 3 years old and a few models out of date, I missed out on that. Doesn't cost me a thought though - as long as everything works, why would it?

Couldn't let that go :pac:

Suckit

viperlogic said:
I think it is time to unfollow this thread.
There are many options, but for you i would look at (as mentioned) the Vero 4K.
I thought it was worth reposting before it gets lost in the other posts.