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I'm looking to get my third one of these. It is the previous international version - not the new S version. UPDATE - The deal has been extended for another week.
Xiaomi Mi TV Box 2GB RAM+ 8GB ROM Official International Version - EU Plug - US $59.99 (~ AU $85.67) Delivered @ GearBest
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belbo on 09/02/2019 - 20:51 gearbest.com (482 clicks)
Last edited 11/02/2019 - 20:10 by 2 other users
Last edited 11/02/2019 - 20:10 by 2 other users
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What are some of the few advantages? Does Vodafone TV box let you install kodi?
Some advantages -
Ethernet port
Faster
Better remote
Cheaper (only $72) https://www.vodafone.com.au/vodafone-tv
Yes can install Kodi (or other Google Play apps)
Comes with HDMI cable
Has TV tunerWould buy another one but don't have enough TVs!
Sounds good. Thanks for pointing it out. Note though that you can install Kodi and Google Play apps on the Mi Box and it also comes with an HDMI cable - so those 2 points aren't advantages. The Vodafone box is available locally which is an additional advantage. Only drawback from the Vodafone image is it looks like you're stuck with Vodafone branding on the home page.
Thank just got myself one
@spriggan43: Can you side load the ABC iView app (and have it work properly) like you can on the Mi Box?
Can you side load the ABC iView app (and have it work properly) like you can on the Mi Box?
No need to side load Iview on Vodafone box, can install from Play store.
@belbo: No need to side load iview anymore. Just sign up to the iview beta on abc web page (you'd have to search for it as i can't remember exactly how I found it), provide your Google user id and you can access it via play store.
Thanks for the information
Can you extend the storage though? I know with the Mi Box S has a USB port (not sure about the predecessor) so I was wondering if the Vodafone one had one as well
Any idea if the remote is wireless or IR?
@Pigfarmermc: Pretty sure it is bluetooth, but also works with IR. I use it with a Logitech Harmony smart control universal remote - which is itself wireless but has an IR blaster on the hub, which is in the cabinet with the Mi box.
does vodafone tv has 2gb ram?
ethernet port is still only 10/100mb so not really a benefit. USB 2 to gigabit adapters will get you 200mb speed and Wireless AC more depending on your wifi router
@asa79: huh? it takes the load off your wifi point(s) so your wifi devices get more bandwidth. who's streaming more than 100Mbps?
@asa79: Mi Box has Wifi issues, so ethernet is a big positive for me, even if it's only 10/100…
Have both devices and MiBox is useless until my ethernet adaptor arrives. Have it sitting 1m away from router and it can barely connect. Our phones are connecting fine, so it's definitely something to do with the MiBox. MiBox also seems to have issues when you leave it on standby and then return
The Vodafone was plug and play, no issues, highly recommend it over the MiBox
@mmustica: Your wifi has issues not the Mi Box.
I have two Mi Boxes, 1 vodafone TV running no issues no lag, no drop outs against a UniFi AC Pro access point next to 47 other wifi devices. So much faster than plugged into my cat6 to my HP enterprise gigabit switch
ethernet port is always good ….
kingmw gave a great summary. I've bought both before and I'd go with the Vodafone box.
Do you have a link to that summary? Vodafone page doesn't have any specs.
An advantage for some is that the mi box has optical audio out.
Voda tv had HDMI only.Do you know if that is the only advantage of the MiBox over the Vodafone box? I'm about to order the Vodafone box. Great to be able to get it locally with local warranty, delivered in a couple of days and at a cheaper price than the Mi Box which will takes time to ship from Hong Kong.
You can walk into a Vodafone store and show the Vodafone TV Box website, and they should allow you to buy it over the counter, if you like. Plenty of Vodafone stores around the place.
@b-radicool: tried one coda store, no stock, but was to,d they sell over counter when they have stock, was going to try another store at shopping centre staff were busy serving people with phone and sim issues ….
This is the only thing that stopped me getting a Voda box initially.
But just like buying a USB-Ethernet adaptor for the Xiaomi, you can also buy a HDMI/optical audio splitter adaptor for the Voda.
Thanks. I'm happy with HDMI so I guess I'll go ahead and order the Voda box.
@belbo: Good decision, I was a huge fan of Mi Box until I bought a Vodafone box. I have now replaced all my Mi-Boxes with Vodafone. I also love its remote control, so much better than Mi Box.
@batrarobin: if only the Ethernet was gigabit and android TV 8 upgradable.
Android TV 8 kinda grows on you after using it for a while, having it show you all the shows next to the app as a quick launch feature
@batrarobin: Does anyone know if the Vodafone box accepts infrared remote signals (as well as bluetooth - which I'm guessing is what the included remote uses).
@xoom: Thanks. Hopefully it works with my logitech smart control's infrared blaster, just like the Mi Box does.
Not many people use optical anymore
No kidding!
Did Vodafone TV get Oreo as an update , I wonder how the update situation would be for these versus Mi Boxes
Damn that voda tv looks great, but apparently it can't do refresh rate switching for 24p ?
No LAN Port?
Nope. You can buy an usb-ethernet adapter online that is certified to work with these boxes. I bought one for one of my boxes but stopped using it. Can't remember exact reason but both of my existing ones work fine with wifi.
I bought one of those for the mi box 3 that was posted with comments saying it worked, but it didn't at all, even after oreo upgrade and toggling the dev setting for usb actions.
Worked fine with a pc though, so it's not faulty - just not compatible I guess.
If anyone has another usb lan adapter link they're 100% sure works with these, can you post a link please.
Thanks :)
I picked up a ugreen USB 3.0 to ethernet adapter for mine, it's been rock solid.
@slimpickings: I have the Ugreen too. Didn't use it for a while but using again now. Works fine. Bought from the Ugreen Ebay store - https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/UGREEN-USB-3-0-Gigabit-RJ45-Ethe…
Not a big lose as most tv boxs and smart TVs only have a 10/100mb lan port, and wireless AC will give you alot more speed
What's the difference between this one and the S model?
The S ships with Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box and a new remote with a Netflix button. All other hardware is the same and there are reports the S is more buggy than its predecessor.
My Mibox has constant audio dropouts in Play Movies since the forced Oreo update. A bit useless now. Worked great on Android 6.
Mi Box, unlike a lot of the Xiaomi stuff that I love, is super buggy and not good
Sure it isn't Android? Google isn't exactly great at much else other than collecting data and serving ads.
They sure do have some wacky ideas though.
The most recent one is that Google Fibre that everyone was saying was an amazing innovation turned out to be another Google failure. Reason: Google thought it could make a fibre network using two inch trenches for the fibre. Turns you need to dig more than a two inch trench for a broadband cable but the
social failuresnerds over at Google won't even admit it was a stupid idea.No I'm not joking https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/02/08/us_municipal_broadb…
Got a few friends the Vodafone STB. They use android. They’re great.
AT&T do micro trenching, with no issues, comes down to skill set and core business.
googles business model is quick bucks , so they do take short cuts and try and get quick returns.
AT&T is a longer term player in telecommunications than google, they look at returns over 20 or 50 years.
Here's a link to the Vodafone box deal on Ozbargain - https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/415277. And a link to the specs - https://sites.google.com/view/droid-tv/pay-tv-provider/vodaf….
How do you guys use these boxes? I bought one a week ago.
We us ours mainly for Netflix, but also for Plex, Kodi, ABC iview, Youtube - and casting photos and videos from the phone.
I was wondering if you had any idea how to watch chinese content? is kodi the best way to go or are there native apps for that.
YouTube has some decent Chinese content. Otherwise, you need yiqiyi or something. Paid service for VIP, though not expensive
Apologies for a very noob question, but what do people use this box for even though we have smart tvs ?
People with dumb tvs use this.
If your smart TV runs on Android then you probably don't need a box. But my Samsung smart TV runs on Samsung OS. Even the Youtube app is pretty crap. The video player is also very shitty. Plus not all the apps are available, Kodi and amazon prime to name a couple.
Android TV
My smart TV is maxed out at Android 5.1
So getting an Android box allow you to "update"
But I have a different box than this. using a SCISHION V88 Mars II Smart TV Box - 2GB RAM + 8GB ROM which was $22 delivered (6 months ago)
Can anyone confirm if this "Direct Plays" True 4K content via Plex? (i.e MKV, H265)
I'm looking for a player, but don't particularly want to spend $200 on a Shield.Shield has a plex server too - so you necessarily don’t need to have a computer switched on all the time unless you have a NAS setup. Shield is far better but thrice the cost, so I get where you are coming from
Not alot of storage tho, would be a small collection of movies
just use kodi, this has the power to play 4k mkvs, no need to transcode
I've got a shield and vodatv, can definitely recommend the voda box as a good local alternative. Only issue i have is getting the right version of amazon prime to sideload without audio glitches has been a challenge, though I've read its common accross many media boxes.
I sidelined the Nvidia Shield APK to my Mibox. It works great, but while on Android 6 I had some audio glitches. These went away on Oreo (the only good side effect of the Oreo upgrade)
I sideloaded the sony tv apk of prime tv
Anyone tried playing video via steaming on the browser?
Yeah, seems to work fine with BigJugGrandmasWearingNothingButOldDominosBoxes.com
A Shield will only cost you ~twice as much, they're regularly popping up for 160-220 AUD delivered. Honestly, you'll easily mess about with a bunch of these "cheaper" Android boxes over a few years. Just grab a Shield from the start for better quality of life and product longevity/support, and cheaper overall long-run cost. I'm not your mum though… /$0.02
But you can buy two for the price of one
If you hit a problem with the mibox (or VodaTV) or need a feature thats missing then it wont matter if you can buy 10 for the price of 1.
What problem?
Just buy an Apple TV 4K. These are 😂 worthy at best in comparison. Apple announcing new streaming plans in April.
This is probably the single worst device listed in this post…
I wouldn't recommend one at all unless you have a complete apple economy and even then you wouldnt be getting the benefits of services like morpheus.tv or Kodi
But you're call hahaDepends. If you watch a lot of Netflix and want Atmos, DolbyVision and 24p Frame Rate Matching get an Apple TV 4K.
There isn’t even competition for the Apple TV 4K. It’s basically the only choice.
i've had a nvidia shield for almost a year and picked up an apple tv 4k for christmas but already sold it. it's not the only choice at all
if you run plex, your plex server will be doing a lot more work as it has to transcode any audio that's not AC3 (DTS, atmos, truehd etc). Can't hardware decode MPEG2 so trying to view live tv from a HD Homerun looks like hot garbage. Sure the interface is smooth but that's all it really has going for it IMO. The shield will play anything you throw at it
your limited in the Apps you can use
Only good if you buy everything in itunes
depends if people have an apple or android ecosystem …… if you are on android phone, you can cast to android tv boxes.
For the price, its not really a bargain when comparing to Vodafone TV at $72 which is Australian certificated, Australian plug, and Australian warranty.
They need to drop its price a lot more to be a competition.
I liked my first vodafone tv box that i bought my folks one also. My old man got the hang on using it and boy is he watching media on this like there is no tomorrow. Glad he got unlimited nbn plan now or he be up for a massive bill with his old telstra nbn plan.
It would be good if you can record and watch a tv at same time. My old man still watches alot of tv like the car racing etc
I went with a MeCool M8S Pro L - 3gb ram / 32gb rom - Amlogic S912 cpu but runnint android TV 7.1 OS alongside voice remote - $75Aus from Aliexpress with 5% back on shopback:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/MECOOL-M8S-PRO-L-TV-BOX-Andr…
Gearbest reviews are good: https://www.gearbest.com/tv-box/pp_1592326.html#anchorGoodsR…
Not sure how this compares to the Xiomi but looked tike the best specs / value to me…
Doesnt even compare, as its not android tv, its tablet android. So SD Netflix etc
This.
Its about 15% faster but 480p netflix and 1080p Youtube. These boxes do 4k.
15% isn't anything when your watching a movie or streaming. Maybe with android games
From the gearbest reviews:
I have experiences with Android media boxes, but all of them have major problems. Stuttering Kodi withot Frame Rate switching, no Netflix HD, no 4K Youtube …
This Mecool box is the first working solution! "L" means licenses, so this box can play Netflix HD and YouTube in 4K out of the box! Voice remote is also very good.
But if you wan't a box only for seamless KODI usage, you can install CoreELEC (https://coreelec.org) to SD card, and dual boot. With CoreELEC (optimized LibreELEC for Amlogic devices) you can play 4K Videos with HDR, and auto frame rate switching. But in this case you need a wireless remote / airmouse. Rii i25 is recommended!So it seems that Netflix HD is supported but not 4k. This model is running android TV OS. I guess I'll find out how well it performs when it arrives..
I play kodi on vodafone tv and mibox and havent seen any difference in speed to my i5 nuc box. Kodi is only as fast as the storage that is holding the media
Its still not an android TV. So up to you, personality i would rather android TV for my media players
@asa79: It's apparently running Android TV 7.1.2 OS - Not played with Android devices too much as of recent but was essentially wanting something to connect to a plex mediacentre (nuc running baremetal vm won't pass through video!) - can't compare online so easily as there are too many devices but checking all info I could find this seemed like one of the best for price before jumping up to the nvidia boxes.. Aliexpress being 25% cheaper than gearbest too sold it to me.. Didn't see the Vodafone boxes prior but looks like they are running the slightly slower s905 cpu and less storage/ram similar to the xiomi box.. not sure what is better for the price range…
@evanssm2jp: You seeing things, as it doesnt state "android tv" anywhere in the wording on aliexpress page
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If you're considering this, make sure you have good reason to choose it over the Vodafone TV box, which has a few advantages over this box, and its cheaper.