Best KODI/XBMC Devices

[turbotrip]

I'm new to these devices, does anyone know from experience which devices I should be considering and which I should be staying away from? So far I've heard some good things about the Amazon Fire TV Stick and been told to stay away from Apple TV 2s.

[blairtruck]

i am looking for the same answer as the OP
i was just goggling this. i have a Laptop plugged into my bigscreen. what can i replace this with. this thing is Loud.

i have an external HD that stores the files that are downloaded using sickbeard/couchpotato/sab.

the Pi2 looks to be over my head with the programming needed.

[schocker]

I use a fire tv box. It works well, took me a bit to get set up with my nas though. The only issue though is when I use kodi, I have to navigate to my side loaded app through the menu but there is somehow I can get it on the main page. It also affects US netflix/hulu. I have to restart my fire tv for them to work otherwise they either crash or load forever. It is a weird issue.

[ryanallan]

What type of media are you playing?

Cheap Netflix streams or LQ downloads - > I vote Nexus player - Kodi is officially supported on Android now

HQ downloads (Dolby, 5.1, ...etc) -> Windows / Linux w/ Intel desktop class processor

[schocker]

I think firetv at least does 5.1
The thing I don't like on the nexus player is linking it to your account if you want hulu and all that.

[Asian_defender]

Consider a Minix box from memory express.
I've got 3 of them in my house and they do everything. Full android store as well.

Latest Kodiak version right out of the box. All other media players seem like a waste of time after you've used a mini

[blairtruck]

Originally posted by ryanallan
What type of media are you playing?

Cheap Netflix streams or LQ downloads - > I vote Nexus player - Kodi is officially supported on Android now

HQ downloads (Dolby, 5.1, ...etc) -> Windows / Linux w/ Intel desktop class processor

im watching like 10-15GB movies. my laptop is starting to stutter while playing very High quality 1080
files are usually 1080p BluRay Dts x264-

[heinz256]

Originally posted by Asian_defender
Consider a Minix box from memory express.
I've got 3 of them in my house and they do everything. Full android store as well.

Latest Kodiak version right out of the box. All other media players seem like a waste of time after you've used a mini

I bought this to replace my wdtv live and it works great!

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX55174

[mr2mike]

FireTV get one. Stick or box.
I got the stick by accident (meant to order the box) but tried it and its amazingly better than apple tv 2.

Can't go wrong. No lag, great picture.

[blairtruck]

so i also see a chrombox and a intel NSU

[milhouse]

Originally posted by heinz256




I bought this to replace my wdtv live and it works great!

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX55174

^^^^^^ I beleive visions carries them also

Here are some videos, he does a lot of comparisons between different brands and features.

youtube reviews

[sputnik]

I run Kodi on a Raspberry Pi2.

[FixedGear]

I installed xbmc on my Fire TV stick and it ran like shit, so I'm just using my wdtv for nas files.

[killramos]

Xbox One + Plex app?

https://plex.tv/xbox

[mr2mike]

Originally posted by FixedGear
I installed xbmc on my Fire TV stick and it ran like shit, so I'm just using my wdtv for nas files.

Was it xbmc or the new Kodi?
They've made some pretty good progress for speed and no crashing.
Mine's crashed maybe twice and runs quick. Router is right near the stick though.

[schocker]

Originally posted by killramos
Xbox One + Plex app?

https://plex.tv/xbox

Plex is streaming though and transcoding I believe instead of playing straight off a nas natively.

Those minix boxes though aren't those about the same as a firetv but double the price?

[Asian_defender]

Have memory express price match NCIX.
They always seem to be cheaper
http://search.ncix.com/search/?qcatid=0&q=minix

[mr2mike]

Also fireTV app for android works well. Can control inside Kodi app too just fine.
XBMC app couldn't do this.

FireTV app to get in Canada you have to search for the *.APK file and load it manually.

Could potentially email to someone if they're wanting it.

[Sdeibert]

I went a bit overboard on price,,,

Mac mini, newer version. Just an I5, regular HDD and stock memory.

Expensive off the bat but no stuttering (KODI), easy to load my QNAP NAS, and works seamless with my other iProducts.

The best part is the absolute silence from that thing!

[djdragan]

I recently picked up this box:

http://www.amazon.ca/GooBang-Doo-Str...rds=android+m8

Was about $85 all in when I ordered, and I've been pretty happy so far. Kodi came pre-loaded, with many of the main add-ons, but its pretty easy to install, especially now since Kodi is in the Play Store.

I was getting pretty good speeds over Wifi, but I have a wired connection and it handles 1080P pretty smoothly (usually). Some sources do take a while to load, but I think thats a server issue and not the box itself.

From the research I did, it seemed like the chromebox running Openelec gave the best overall performance for Kodi. The Fire Tv box was also pretty well thought of. The chromebox was kinda pricey though, plus I don't think it had an optical out (which I needed). The Fire TV is not available in Canada (from Amazon anyway) so it seemed like a hassle to pick one up and return if any issues.

I went with the M8 because it had decent reviews and its price, plus there is a mod community for it with a custom rom of Openelec available.

From what I have read, android is not the opimal OS to run Kodi on as there can be framerate and sync issues. Kodi is supposed to run a lot better in openelec. I have not tried it yet as I thought that I would use other android apps on the box, but this hasn't really been the case, so I will probably try to flash it soon. I have experienced some these framerate and syncing issues, though it is pretty infrequent on Android.