How many people use Android Boxes

[#1]

I posted something a few days ago about using Kodi on a android device, the post seemed to raise negative comments on using Kodi to watch live streams. That got we wondering how many people actually use an android device these days and what their experiences are? As in which device and problems with slow connections versus using your Xbox for example. Would be interesting to hear people's opinions. Thanks Blofeld

[#2]

Over 10 years ago I was something of a MythTV enthusiast and built a PVR / media centre / streaming server around it. Perhaps 'enthusiast' isn't the most appropriate word though as, as enjoyable as it was, the lasting memory is one of pain as the term 'plug and play' wasn't really in the Linux lexicon in those days! I think that in part it is for this reason that I've generally avoided this area of technology ever since - even if setup and usability will have improved massively in the interim I am sure - and tend just to use the various on-demand streaming services from the likes of YouView.

[#3]

Depends what you mean by "android box", My phone runs android, does that count?

I didn't think it was available for anything other than phones and tablets? - I thought chrome OS was for desktops and anything else but I might have misunderstood.

[#4]

Basically an android box no matter what the make, is more or less no different from an android phone, apart from the boxes have significantly greater hardware, memory, graphics cards etc. You could run kodi off your basic android smartphone as you can from your PC, etc. And MJN I'm really impressed mate as I know the difficulty in trying to build these things and your right things have moved on significantly, most new boxes are 8gb hard drive, 4.4.4 kit Kat operating system and 2.0 ghz quad core processors, so they are pretty powerful bits of kit. BUT the real difference comes down to and always will, the line speed you can get, as this will always affect it when your trying to stream a foreign channel live for example, slower the connection, directly affects the buffering and makes the whole experience less enjoyable. Which is why I started the post in the first place, to try to get the best connection possible so I can stream live content.

[#5]

I’ve a cheap Andriod smart phone (huawei) never used as a phone but useful for detecting WiFI signals (app Fing plus others) and a Nexus 7 tablet which is used mainly for skype.

I’ve plans this winter to develop an app for wild flower plant recording on the smart phone (date, time, location and species), maybe I’ll get around to it.

Can’t say I’m enthused by android as it keeps updating and wanting to remain in contact, we don’t have 2G mobile and don’t have WiFi in the house (walls are too thick), hence the devices sit for days on end on the shelf unused.

[#6]

I've thought about getting an Android box to hook up to the TV,it's just whether I'd use it or not that is the deciding factor, got my own Plex server on the go, my TV is a smart TV with Plex on it, sooooo, aside from repeating the same features my TV already has, what would an Android box gain me?

Got a Roku 2XS somewhere though (used about 3 times when it turned out that the apps on there were utter carp, no wonder sky peddles a lobotomised version of a Roku for their NowTV service), about the most entertaining thing on there was Angry Birds and the remote worked like a nintendo wii remote, buuuuut, that was the only app that used the remote's best feature, so utterly pointless really...

[#7]

I've used android tv boxes for past 10 years. Usually with XMBC/KODI installed on them.
However I don't use online services, just stream from my "server".
I started using XBMC on a old original xbox with a dvd remote. Just kept upgrading the playing hardware (never over £30). Currently using a quad core box that "does 4K" but works fine at 1080i. (£25)
I have a "smart TV" but don't use the services on it, just switch between video/movies/radio on Kodi.
My video's are arranged as I want them to be not how Kodi want's to arrange them, and the Movies are arranged by Kodi into genre's etc.

I did use a PI (openelec) for a while but the whole experience on a TV box is better, and you get a remote.

[#8]

@ journeys, I too have a Huwaei phone (honor 7, Octacore,3gb ran, very fast) and a nexus 7 tablet. I often stream to my tablet using tethering via Bluetooth from the phone. I'm on Three and get 12Gb month allowance. Almost always 3G, never buffers once it starts! I can't fault it. 

I would suggest that issues with streaming are related more to equipment that operating system.

[#9]

I have just been given a MINIX NEO X8-H Plus its well spec'd & has quite a slick interface with Kodi installed & tv catch up for BBC, ITV, C4, C5 & others, so useful as i have an old plasma tv which has no smart function & i do not subscribe to a tv service like Sky since i dont watch much tv nor am i interested in sport. Would be at a loss at how to use it without the internet to search for content to add. The films stored on servers can be of decent HD quality & theres lots of old archived tv shows, however the live streaming of premium encrypted content such as Sky doesnt work so well. The unencrypted streams get blocked / taken down pretty quick & if you do find a live stream then its usually of pretty poor quality with buffering its unwatchable.