Tired of researching but can´t decide.. Cheap TV Player for my dad.

[DoubleM]

Hey,

My first post in this forum but lately i´ve been doing a lot of research about a cheap tv player but i can´t decide.

I´m planning to buy a tv player for myself but for now i´ll continue to use the computer.

This time i have to buy one for my dad. But he don´t want to spend a lot of money. Around $70/80 total with shipping costs and taxes. I know theres some decent tv players for that price, however i live in Portugal and i have two choices. Buying it in Europe, where usually the prices aren´t much attractive, or buy it in Asia/USA, were the prices are usually better, but i will have to pay around 25% more on the total price, due to customs.

So, resuming maximum amount (with shipping costs) should be around $70/80 if bought in Europe or around $55 if bought in Asia/USA, but if less, the better.

The purpose of the box will be Live TV streaming with Kodi only.. No games, no movies, nothing else. It will be connected to a Full HD Samsung Smart TV (but most of the channels will be SD). My dad isn´t demanding with extra functions, loading speeds, etc. He only wants:

- A very stable box, preferably without bugs and with a good support/community,
- Good reliability
- Remote
- A nice WiFi range, because it will be a little further the router

I´ve been looking at many brands and models and i can´t decide for one. Everytime i look for one and think "That´s the one!", i found some kind of fault. Overheating, big failure rate, bugs, weak WiFi and so one.

I already thought about a Raspberry PI 2 but with all the acessories, it exceeds a little the target value. Thought about the Amazon Fire Stick too but since it´s only Dual Core i have fear about it being a little weaker running Kodi, and it seems it can´t run IPTV? I read about it "Live IPTV (via multicast UDP/RTP) is currently not supported due to missing kernel support." but i don´t know what it exactly means.

Can you help me choosing a good TV Player for him?

[csgabe]

You should buy this Beelink S82 Plus for $73.16 (shipping is from Europe, shipping cost $6.56 for Portugal), you'll need an UK to Euro plug adapter:

http://www.gearbest.com/tv-box/pp_142712.html?wid=3

[mitchell4you]

Hmm.. I was thinking beelink mxq s85 ( gearbest has a UK warehouse selling these cheap and geekbuying has a ES warehouse)
Then install openelec set to 720p resolution..

I bought mxq s85 without Bluetooth, installed openelec 5.95.1..and its just great/stabile (thanks kszaq)
-note: openelec has no webbrowser and the beta has no VPN support
--the new non beta has dualboot option android/openelec (not tried my self)

Anyway.. just a thought

[DoubleM]

Hey guys, thanks for your suggestions.

Those two models seems ok, however it seems the S82 have a high power source failure rate..

Meanwhile, i found the Tronsmart Vega S89 Elite in geekbuying (ES Warehouse) for about $80 with a 5% first buy discount cupon and it seems a nice device, no?

[mitchell4you]

Yes.. its a oke device
-note: s82 and s89 are the same device.. the share the same firmware:

[DoubleM]

Oh didn´t know it. I think i will buy one of them..

I hope i´ll got luck with it. Unfortunately buying in these Asian stores are a big risk concerning to warranty but here the prices are absurd. They ask $100 or more for a CS918. I´ve seen like $150 for a fully loaded CS918

[prahjister]

Mk808b plus paired with k400 keyboard.

[DoubleM]

It wasn´t the Mk808b Plus that have some WiFi problem?

[clarkss12]

My MK808B Plus as a TV server running OpenELEC.

https://youtu.be/KfdKqnVXlYM

[hodr]

It wasn´t the Mk808b Plus that have some WiFi problem?

The new chipset (v3) is pretty good. But to be honest, just about every one of the hdmi sticks has poor wifi reception. You kind of have to keep that in mind when you design your system. For me, I have the wireless router in the media center right under the TV.

[prahjister]

10 v3 coming tomorrow. I'll do some testing and see if any better. I'll move a file off of my nas drive as the test and router is about 30' away. But I had no problems except with a few routers my customers have. The cheap belkins seem to be the worst. Really good luck with Linksys. I recommend them if they have issues.

[DoubleM]

Well, i already chose.

I slightly increased the plafond (to about $90) and chose the Minix Neo X6.

Maybe not the better specs for that price but it seems very well built and it has a good support. I also bought it my country, with a warranty of 2 years.

[freakfly]

As a engineer working in the an chipset company, I firmly suggest TVB using Amlogic s812 which offer you smooth picture and videos display , it will be a quite reasonable choice for the olds and may cost more than your budget, around 100 dollars, but it does worth the money. I always trust blinkone's review which helps you pay the least for the best gadgets,,,,,,, http://http://freaktab.com/forum/mai...y-mx-iv-review

[plutus]

tronsmart mxIII plus? 65 euros...