There’s a large market of users out there who are happy with their home entertainment setup but wouldn’t mind having the extra functionality a Smart TV or Android TV offers. While Google’s own Nexus Player was awesome (I still have one in my living room and frankly little need or desire to change it) it’s near impossible to get your hands on one now, and that’s where the Xiaomi MiBox is really looking like the goods.
It’s small, simple and from checking out a recent review by 9 to 5 Google its got a simple interface to cover that conversion from standard TV to Smart TV as long as you have an HDMI port free and the best bit, it only costs US$69 which –with Australia tax etc — will be about the same price as the Nexus Player.
The footprint works well with most people surely being able to find a 10 cm x 10 cm space under their tv or in their cabinet somewhere for the device, the hardware really is as simple as add power, add HDMI and Go. Lets be realistic here, there’s not a heap of innovation that can be done with these types of boxes, on a budget that supports the functions and apps that you’ll find on the likes of the MiBox which is essentially a 2nd generation Android TV box when compared with the Nexus box.
Xiaomi – Don’t forget Australia please!
The problem for those who are super keen is the fact that; right now at least, there’s no official channels for you to get your hands on one of these. That’s not to say you can’t but rather its just a touch more troublesome to do so and should you have any warranty issues you may be in for a bit of a rough time.
The Options:
I’ve taken the liberty (I may be interested in one of these…) of investigating a few options around the Internet for anyone that may be interested in grabbing one of the 4K Xiaomi MiBox. Let’s start with the obvious, head to ebay and search for Xiaomi 4k MiBox and you’ll get a few good results that will cost between $105 and $120 Aussie Dollars.
Grey market importers such as Aliexpress or gearbest will also be able to deliver the goods to you but they’re charging US dollars so just have a quick check of the currency conversion so you don’t get caught out on that one. But around the US$52 mark seems to be the going rate on these suppliers.
Or if you have friends or relatives in the USA you could get them to head to a local Walmart and grab one for US$69 then post it to you.
The real message here is that despite devices only being shipped to a couple of locations “officially” we’re in a global marketplace these days, there will always be a pathway to getting your hands on what you really want. If you’re struggling, reach out to us or the Ausdroid Community on Google+ – Someone will have done, or be doing what you want to and be able to give you advice.
Are you looking to get an Android TV box for your living room? Which one will you be trying?
I have a Nexus Player and also little desire to replace it, except it’s always had a really annoying bug with Netflix. Any time I watch Netflix, after an hour or so a really bad intermittent stutter occurs every few seconds – video pauses while audio continues for a second or two, then the video speeds up for the next few seconds to catch back up with audio. Only way to resolve it is restarting the NP – force closing Netflix doesn’t do anything. This only happens with Netflix – Plex, Youtube, Google Movies all play without issue. So I’m… Read more »
What exactly do these boxes do that a Chromecast doesn’t? Is it games and stuff?
Got it in one: Games and Apps. Android TV boxes incorporate a Google Cast receiver so you can Chromecast from apps, but Android TV allow you to pair a bluetooth game controller and play a variety of games or use apps specifically designed for the Leanback launcher.
Righto – guess I’m not the target market for that then. Chromecast does everything I want.
Have a Wii U for gaming and I don’t think Pokemon Go would be much fun on Android TV.
Will Ausdroid do a review? I had a Sony X93D but had to take it back because the latency was unbelievable at 111ms playing 4K HDR videogames. I have a Samsung 55 inch 8000 series now. It has Tizen and its okay but seems to lack the possibilities of Android TV. Tizen YouTube app doesn’t even play 4k most the time. Have to use the built in browser. I’d love to know Ausdroid’s overall opinion on Android TV vs other smart tv OS software. I felt Sony didn’t do quite the Nexus player level of Android TV.