IPTV hardware

I watch our IPTV on a Shield TV... Have had it since 2017, still blazing fast. We use TiviMate as the app, it's pretty powerful for what it can do on customizations.

Shield in the living room, our bedroom has an Apple TV 4k. The kids rooms have Google TV dongles running TiviMate.

I had a Fire Tv Stick 4K Max and it did the job. You can sometimes catch a sale on Amazon. Now, I have a Formuler z11 Pro Max. I paid $200 for it. It has a built in IPTV app and I haven't had any issues so far.

Have fun with your spyware. It's pretty well known that these off-brand Android TV boxes usually come packed with lots of sketchy software. Even LTT did a video on it.

YT Link

You should always stick with a known brand (Google, Amazon, nVidia, Roku, etc.). While they are not perfect, they are at least upfront that they sell your data. Also, the software that comes on these off-brand boxes (Kodi, etc.) that somehow warrants a +100% upcharge on the hardware can usually be installed by you with a simple YT video. I worked at BB for a summer back in 2016 for the discount, and every morning we'd have guys come in and buy a Firestick (we only allowed 1 per person) and they'd go home and spend 10 minutes installing free software by following a simple video and put it on eBay or CL or FB for double or triple what they paid for it.

quote:

---

Can you just get a newer firestick?

---

I have a 4K Max and downloaded Netflix, Youtube and Tivimate. Everytime I log into it now, it tells me my storage is full. There is so much bloatware on the stick that it takes up 75% of the available space.

We use a combo of the recommended devices. Shield Pro and Apple TV 4k for our main TV and Onn and Tivo Stream 4K for bedrooms and other TVs.

As said by others the Nvidia Shield Pro (I'd avoid the Tube model) works great. It has been around for a while but it still holds its' own. It supports Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision.

The Onn boxes work well, especially for the price. The memory can be expanded via OTG adapter if you wish. It doesn't support Dolby Vision.

The Apple TV is fast and has a clean interface. Its' biggest drawback is if you want to sideload apps. There is an app called Tivimax that is basically a TiviMate clone. It supports Dolby vision and Atmos and is the best at auto framerate switching.

Another budget choice is the Tivo Stream 4K. It is $25 at Amazon now. You can ignore the Tivo part or even De-Tivo it if you wish. It has a good remote. It supports Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. It won't do 24p Dolby Vision though.

I would try picking up a cheap ONN and Tivo Stream and seeing if they meet your needs. They are both cheap and you could return them easily if you don't like them.

quote:

---

off-brand Android TV boxes

---

Formuler isn't just some "Android TV Box". If you Google Shield vs Formuler, you'll see many people debating whether to get one or the other. I was contemplating the Formuler since the 11 has more RAM and double the internal storage that the Shield has, but ultimately chose the Shield because it's better for gaming.

I use a Formuler Pro Max with tivimate, and I have an ONN box also with tivimate. If one isnt going to use mytv on the Fourmuler, get the ONN. Yes the Formuler is faster and slicker, but for me the difference is slight.

Formuler also promised easy recording with an external drive, and that doesn't work either, its a stuttering mess, even with an SSD inside the enclosure. I am just underwhelmed by the Forumler.

FWIW my provider insists I am doing something wrong, the Formuler is perfect, etc...but I just don't see it.

One old man's opinion.