Definitely a Shield. Not the cheapest, but definitely the best. I have a Sony XG9005. It's the 2019 model, yet I found Android TV on it to be slow as hell. Got a Shield for Christmas and it's so much faster and well.... just better.

If you got a small budget go for xiaomi mi box 4

I have the Xioami Mi box S, if you're in the US you can get it for 50 or cheaper. You can sideload Prime, bbc I player, Firefox or chrome on to it. It's got Google assistant and a dedicated button for Netflix. Don't know about using the phone to control it tho, the remote it comes with nice to use

IIRC the only standalone Android TV box that has iPlayer available for it is the Nvidia Shield, because Nvidia funded the port.

Get a Shield if your penny pinching save a little more its in a tier all its own.

We have an Android tv (2015 sony Bravia) and had most that built in (not sure about BBC itv player, but it's probably in the app store), but eventually it got slow (specifically issues with streaming live sports), so we got an Nvidia shield tv. It's Overkill and works great!

As for the remote, either one will cover most features of the other via HDMI-CEC, but we also have a Harmony Hub as our universal remote which also has Android (and presumably iPhone) app control.

Edit to add: if it doesn't have to be "Android TV", we've found our TCL Roku tv to be pretty budget friendly and hitting the marks for smart TV features

i have 2019 nvidia shield and also a firestick 4k. nvidia shield is a beast with no problems but its expensive. firestick 4k, after unlocking the bootloader, rooting, and getting rid of most of the amazon bloatware is a good cheap android tv stick too. so good, that i stopped using my nvidia shield on my main tv (because old nvidia shield remote sucks balls).

It sounds like buying a new computer because your old one has got a full harddisk.

Kind of ridiculous

MiBox has done the job for me in the UK for many years now. I had a shield but it was just overkill and overpriced for my usage.

Maybe consider a Roku too? It's not android but it meets pretty much all of your needs.

Web based video playbacks are not totally functional using android tv boxes. However, I recommend buying Xiaomi mi 4 tv box, it has built-in chromecast which is very important if you want to share media using your android phone.

I've placed an order for a fire TV stick via prime, if that does the trick then happy days.

I considered the mi box but put off by the proprietary power brick whereas the fire can be powered by me TV

Many thanks and I'll report back with functionality etc

I would go for the MI Box S, It's Cheap and good and now with Android 9.0 you can get Amazon Prime But it doesn't support Atmos soo yeah

Web browsing and and Web based video playback is about the most painful thing you can do on cheap Android (TV) devices - simply do NOT go there expecting ANY sort of smooth experience. Setting your Balls on Fire would be more pleasurable.

Use a tablet or PC for that type of stuff or actual video streaming Apps.

Also be aware Chromcasting is BUGGY with the new Pie Firmware update on the Mi Box S:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidTV/comments/enf6cb/mi_box_s_casting_problem_on_new_update/

These are the Google Certified devices that can do Chromecasting, finding one with Stable Firmware is the key:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidTV/comments/cguehm/androidtv_device_comparison_table/

Well the fire stick arrived yesterday, setup in a couple of minutes and it is doing exactly what I wanted

Thanks all!

I can advise you to look at tv box MAG 425a . Right now it comes out at a discount of ~ 75 £. A little more expensive than the budget, but completely legal set-top with a guarantee and built-in software. You can watch videos from the browser, play games and voice control.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.infomir.magicRemote&hl=en

This for your phone.

Buy a new Android TV instead.

Much better to have integrated