I have an Nvidia shield tv 2017 in my living room and now I'm looking for an alternative to my bedroom. I need to be able to play offline movies (preferably in Kodi) and I need ethernet and support for 4K. Streaming services like Netflix and YouTube would be nice but if it's able to receive a cast it's not necessary.
Another shield is of course an option, but an expensive one. Would the Xiaomi Mi Box be a good alternative? Is it as good as the shield?
I've got 2 x Shields (1 I use as the Plex server and the other I have in my living room) and 1 x Xiaomi Mi Box in the bedroom.
Can't say I've got any complaints on the Xiaomi and it works well on Wifi or via a USB ethernet adaptor and connected to my network via a powerline adaptor.
Nothing is as good as the Shield, and the Mi Box is essentially the only other legit option that runs the Android TV operating system. Just grab a Mi Box from Walmart and if it's not good enough for what you want, then return it and wait for the new Shield to land.
When you say offline movies you mean from a thumb drive or portable HDD?
If you need high bitrate 4K HDR Bluray Rips support - you have to start with device that has Gigabit Ethernet first. Otherwise forget about it. Or get a USB3 > Gigabit Ethernet adapter.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidTV/comments/cguehm/androidtv_device_comparison_table/
The FireTV Stick 4K is a good option, with decent grunt under the hood. It's more powerful than the S905X devices - Mi Box and Jetstream.
It can also use Ethernet adapters:
The MiBox has gotten mixed reviews. Some people say it's great, some people have nothing but problems.
Do you need your bedroom device now? Rumor is that Nvidia will be introducing a streaming stick/dongle type device alongside the new Shield. It'd probably be a good budget option.
Jetstream TV seems like an option against the Mi Box.
Both need a USB Ethernet adapter.
Mi box S is not a bad box and inexpensive. I purchased one for my Mom. She loves it. No ethernet port, but you can buy a USB ethernet adapter for it. However, if you do decide to get another Nvidia just wait as it seems a new model is coming soon.