Recommendation other than Nvidia Shield?

[cstroman1]

It's not that I'm totally opposed to the Nvidia Shield but there's gotta be other boxes out there that do what I would like out of the box.

Needs:
Can passthrough 7.1 audio consistently to my receiver via HDMI.(this seems to be such a failure for many boxes to do)
Playback 4k content
Can playback H265 10 bit
Has 1000m ethernet
Has at least two usb ports

I don't want to have to mod the thing (ELEC, etc.) and spin the wheel of "brick or no-brick" custom firmwares, etc.

Just want to be able to plug it in, launch Kodi or SPMC, access my NAS and stream my blu-ray backups that are encoded with 7.1 audio (both DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD).

On the cheap end this looked promising but it doesn't do H265 10bit or passthrough 7.1.

https://www.gearbest.com/tv-box-mini-pc/pp_443590.html?wid=1859758&lkid=14213823&SID=fe2.4.2vjt.0.1FoDyn.1bC1DK.Ab.P7.3

7.1 audio has existed for years but it sure seems like it's failed to be a standard of these boxes while the boxes all now have moved to support 4k.

Any recommendations to consider other than the Nvidia would be much appreciated.

[palerider]

Just buy the Nvidia shield and never look back! Buying on the cheap is exactly what your going to get!

[cstroman1]

Just buy the Nvidia shield and never look back! Buying on the cheap is exactly what your going to get!

I'm very aware that that one fits the bill but am also doing my due dilligence as I might not need that much. I'm not gaming or doing other hardcore processing, etc. Just would like to see if any others do provide the features above but not at the level of the Nvidia.

Thanks though! I appreciate you replying.

[palerider]

Try the M8S pro L by Mecool. it has voice control and works very well. I bought one to play with. Hooked it to my computer! Very fast for a lower priced box!

[clarkss12]

Try the M8S pro L by Mecool. it has voice control and works very well. I bought one to play with. Hooked it to my computer! Very fast for a lower priced box!

It does not have gigabit Ethernet.

[X92-2GB]

From what I see many are flashing Russian modded Ugoos AM3 ATV 2.0.6 v2 to work on M8S Pro and others with minor patches.

The combo is probably the best you can get without paying for a Shield TV.

One developer who has a shield TV and other S912 boxes, sez the picture quality is about the same. Test invironment shows Shield is the fastest box on memory function both internally and externally. The only draw back is ROM read writes are slow over most boxes. The closest competitor in RAM speeds is the H96 Pro.

[bluesmanuk]

Take a look at the Intel NUC6CAYH NUC.

Passthrough issues have now been solved, supports HEVC 10 bit, 4K. 3 x USB 3.0 ports and 1 x 3.1, Gigabit Ethernet, Dual band AC WiFi.

Just add RAM and storage.

It will be more versatile than any other kind of box and with Gemini Lake NUC's now starting to come into the market, you may be able to pick one of these up cheap enough.

You can even have multiple OS installations on the same storage.

[X92-2GB]

Take a look at the Intel NUC6CAYH NUC.

Passthrough issues have now been solved, supports HEVC 10 bit, 4K. 3 x USB 3.0 ports and 1 x 3.1, Gigabit Ethernet, Dual band AC WiFi.

Just add RAM and storage.

It will be more versatile than any other kind of box and with Gemini Lake NUC's now starting to come into the market, you may be able to pick one of these up cheap enough.

You can even have multiple OS installations on the same storage.

Not sure about Intel, there Is a number of Intel chips with internal security flaws. None of the AMLOGIC chips in our boxes have vulnerabilities.

[bluesmanuk]

Not sure about Intel, there Is a number of Intel chips with internal security flaws. None of the AMLOGIC chips in our boxes have vulnerabilities.

For something that would be used as a media centre I would not be too concerned about meltdown, spectre etc.

When you look at Android boxes, the vast majority not receiving updates for long or at all, then the security becomes outdated very quickly, not to mention the general flaws inherent in rooting, and all regardless of the SOC being used.

Meltdown/Spectre Patches are being applied to all the latest Intel hardware too, so at least there is more light on the security horizon for Intel than for Android based boxes on the whole.

[cstroman1]

Thank you all. Much appreciated!