Best Android Box

android boxes content is FREE no subscription necessary and will give you lots to view for FREE either by way of true android apps or via the xbmc / kodi software. movies sport tv series live tv....etc etc etc

Dont get caught out by scamsters who will charge you a sub for what is essentially free to air content... also remember not all content is truly legally free - it is mostly pirated content, quality is variable and can be unreliable at times.... especially relevant to live tv... streams come and they go too  - but usually pop up somewhere.. but you do have to find them yourself...

you can of course opt for installing kodi addons which are subscription if the content suites your viewing choices. i.e smoothstreams, sportsmania, ntv, to name just a few

I would personally recommend the T8 Tronsmart M8 or Minix 8h boxes as theyre proven good solid and reliable boxes.   

but be prepared to do some learning as it will change the way you view tv in the future etc

its all down to what you want to watch and when you want to watch it - these boxes are the ultimate catch up tv  - theres not much you cannot view for free.

That's exactly how Toon explained and just to add I bought my one from a place called Epic TV here in Malta. They also have a facebook page, just search for Epic TV.

Hello, with an android tv box there is not subscriptions needed to anything, actually is like to have a tablet or smartphone in your tv with an android system. Thanks to that you can install any app from google play and with applications like XBMC you can watch all kind of content like movies or series online without any problem.

If you dont know which one to buy, take a look at this page about android tv - buyandroidtvbox.com/which-is-the-best-android-tv/ where you can see all kinds of android boxes and all its characteristics.

Hope it helps, greetings from spain

Try having a look at Droidsticks,they are based in London,and have their own twitter and facebook pages.Also have their own wizard,which helps you download all the best apps,and support and help is excellent.

Hi, we were going to get go and pay 15 extra a months for UK sports but our landlord said to get an android box and that it will save us money in the long run, is it possible to get UK sports channels by buying an android box? Thanks

ill pm you

Yes, I get all Sky, Eurosport, BT Sport and Thai HD UK football coverage (Sky by any other name and in English) Oh and every other channel I could get on Sky in the UK.
NTV provide a good service. You provide the PC, laptop or Box. NOT tablet, easily.

i can confirm that an android (such as a Minix 5, 6,7 or the new 8H, M8 or T8 Tronsmart will and does work well. Stay clear of the MX range - they are good workhorses but now have well known faults requiring regular reflashing.

They will all give you free uktv, movies bang up to date, a massive archive of tv series, boxed sets etc... sport music news, documentaries, and karaoke tools too.

If you do go down this route opt for a Quad core (not dual core) with minimum 2gb ram memory and at least 8gb of storage - more if you can get it

There are a number of iptv suppliers depending on what you want NTV.mx gives a good spread of channels similar and greater than sky in both HD and SD....and it works fabulously well with the i-vue tv guide program addon giving a full sky style epg that si fully integrated with NTV.... a super piece of work .....there are also dedicated sports addons too for very very cheap annual fees.... such as smoothstreams, sportsebooks, sportsmania...

But remember the free stuff can be unreliable and you may end up spending more time searching and resetting links than watching  -  Free is fab but dont expect it to replace a good high quality reliable paid service

BEST ADVICE - TRY THE FREE STUFF FIRST THEN TRY A PAID SERVICE WHICH HAS A MONTH BY MONTH PAYMENT SCHEME NOT  A YEAR UP FRONT...... THEN MAKE YOUR CHOICE

What can an Android box do that you can't do with a computer?

the only real advantages are remote control and not having to connect and reconnect cables

and i cant be arsed with that carryon

but in all other respect you are correct  - id also say that the pc has the edge on performance with the cheaper versions - but the more expensive ones are very good.

F0xgl0ve wrote:

What can an Android box do that you can't do with a computer?

Nothing and a PC manages a lot better too. As Toon says, it's about ease of access, especially for non PC type people.
I use MagBox, PC, laptop and tablet, depends where I am and what else I'm doing at the same time but my wife uses MagBox connected to TV with remote.

Thanks, that's what I thought.
I use a spare laptop near the TV permenantly connected with HDMI and LAN and then use a wireless mouse as a remote.

You can get remotes for your of and laptop too if you really need one but I use xbmc and my mouse

all are valid options....

down to personal choice and ease of use at the end of the day

the missus prefers the mag250 for content, a fab epg plus 14day catchup and ease of use

whereas i prefer the zotac ad18 mini pc with remote for Kodi use  - and it never fails - mainly using genesis, ntv /ftv with ftv guide/ ivue tvguide respectively, robin hood 2, MK sports and NL sports for  high quality feeds.

I am OK with computers but must say I don't find XBMC very user friendly. Also, I might be missing something, but if you want to watch live UK channels you are still doing it through a 'Filmon' addon.

I do find it easier to use 'Hola' to browse from any country and watch iPlayer or Netflix and use  'Filmon' downloaded direct to the computer for live UK tv, (not particularly good quality though).

Ray

the FTV addon in kodi/xbmx is a superior picture to that of Filmon for sure. same feed though but it seems better quality (not so blurred)

but there are loads of free brit tv feeds / streams in robin hood, bbts, and many others and theyre not filmon and in HD....not to mention the LIVETV function with a good playlist

I will have another look on XBMC at ntv etc and see what I find.
Thanks

Ray

F0xgl0ve wrote:

I will have another look on XBMC at ntv etc and see what I find.
Thanks

Ray

i use ntv addon in xbmc with ontapp tv guide  , its pretty easy to use

Will have a look, thanks

Ray

If you know what you are doing,try looking for repos by metalkettle and vdubt25.Pretty much cover everything,although their is lots more available.

Rob - isnt ontapp a paid guide..... the tecbox ivue tv guide repo is free and is excellent

Tecbox repo has all the usual brit tv addons, including genesis etc etc  - and his i-vuetvguide repo is a superb piece of work for the guide that integrates superbly with the ntv service.. and has great online support via the Tecbox facebook page with the writers Leon and Richard responding directly

Yes sorry it is but I found it great to use I didn't know about that other one I'll try that next time

twas just a thought

I will give all the addons that have been mentioned a look.

Thanks all

Ray

Toon, I've got a degree in Computer Science, but the last half dozen posts of yours might as well have been written in Swahili or Japanese. 

what do you mean..?

i dont have a degree in computer science but IPTV it is an area of  interest if mine thats all...

EDIT - maybe looking back and re-reading I made an ASSumption that the few later comments to which my posts were related - I assumed the poster knows of android or Kodi functions and requirements

Toon wrote:

i dont have a degree in computer science but IPTV it is an area of  interest if mine thats all...

Your advice and opinions has helped me, a lot. I have also taken copies of it all for future reference, thanks. 

Toon wrote:

what do you mean..?

I didn't understand a word of it. It sounds like setting up that sort of IPTV kit takes a hell of a lot of research and studying, not the sort of thing you could get the hang of in half an hour.

"zotac ad18, i-vuetvguide repo, metalkettle and vdubt25"

I bet the spell-checker didn't have any meaningful suggestions for those. 

ah yes  - right i see - i made an assumption that the previous posters knew or were at least aware of these addons - Sorry

No its not rocket science at all - maybe a little techy but not massively so - - the processes are the same for all of them - so once youve mastered one the rest simply follow the same rules, keystrokes etc etc etc... There are so many facebook groups for IPTV self helpers and massive library of youtube videos to learn from and its much easier that you think..... dont be fooled by those who sell these as its not difficult to do and learn something new.
It may be unfamiliar ground but most things in life are this way until you learn.


its not difficult at all.....but it is the way tv will go in the future....

Toon wrote:

its not difficult at all.....but it is the way tv will go in the future....

I wish you could convince the BBC of that. I would be more than happy to pay a small monthly subscription to be able to stream their channels outside the UK, rather than having to do it illegally.

thanks toon , worked out why ivue hadnt got all the premium channel listings which is one reason why i went with ontapp but its good to go now so i can stop paying

On An Island wrote:

Toon wrote:

its not difficult at all.....but it is the way tv will go in the future....

I wish you could convince the BBC of that. I would be more than happy to pay a small monthly subscription to be able to stream their channels outside the UK, rather than having to do it illegally.

COULDNT AGREE WITH YOU MORE

robpw2 wrote:

thanks toon , worked out why ivue hadnt got all the premium channel listings which is one reason why i went with ontapp but its good to go now so i can stop paying

Another happy chappy then

Added NTV.mx to Kodi last night and looks as though it could be good but other than a couple of minutes 'Euronews' demo it appears everything has to be by subscription which I may well try. I registered and should have 2 weeks free trial but that did not work either!

Also loaded iStream and whilst I could stream films and some catch up TV series, live TV did not work and the films I tried were constantly buffering. The only live TV i managed to get to open was Filmon HD and that was useless (Buffering and freezing)

Will try NTV by subscription later

Ray

yes Ntv is a subscription
trials with them are usually only three days

you do have to enter the same login and password into the config of the addon
once you have paid to activate the sub

I must admit to not liking or using iStream .. just a personal opinion - many do.

LiveTv only works with the Live tv set up in the settings of Kodi and with a suitable online or local xml listing - mine works fab.

Genesis is the addon of this moment its very very good - but check your setting for HD and SD content and priorities - also whether you have autoplay on or off....  and clear genesis cache after each use. You can also download direct to a identified storage path within genesis too - very very good without buffering

FTV addon is superb similar but better than Filmon and without requiring a filmon login

try this

highly recommended Kodi addon Tecbox.tv..... a full tv guide epg (sky style) which not only includes all the freeview channels but can be set to also include all the n-tv addon channels and even ustvnow addon channels too...
installing the tecbox.tv and tecbox tv guide repos
the addons are based on confluence skin
firstly please go to
settings
file manager
add source
click ok on none and type in http://tecbox.tv/repo/teciptv/install/
under enter a name (I suggest .tecbox) you can leave as it is or just click on it and give it a name of your own
once done click ok
ok thats the hard part done smile emoticon you have now added the installer directory so we need to proceed with installing the 2 repos
press return to take you back to the home
second phase
settings
system
addons
install from zip
choose the directory we just made above usually called install if you didnt change its name
click on xbmc.repo.tecboxiptv.zip
also do the xbmc.repo.tecboxguide1.zip
now goto get addons
click on tecbox iptv addons and choose the addons youd like mostly there in video addon section
then do the same thing with the tvguide.zip, go into it and program addon and select and enable the ivue guide addon.
Once you have done that
go to the addon settings and make the slections for the guide content you want to see.
Go to source - xmltv type - and select the view you want
then
leave the rest as it is and press ok...
enjoy
Full credit goes to the writers Richard Payne Leon Kennedy for their hard work .... enjoy

note for all top notch cover all channels list select uk premium not ntv  - note - (recommend UK premium selection as this will include all uktv sport etc) and is linkable to both current UK freeview channels., and other streams via adding to the favourites first then linking in I-vue  and also all ntv subs

Thanks Toon, I'll take a month or two off being retired and work my way through all that!

Best do it before having a beer!

Ray