I've been having consistent problems with my Mibox, and I was planning to upgrade to the nVidida Shield TV, but it is expensive.
Just saw Google releases the new chrome cast with a remote and the new Google TV.
Before I go and buy this, is it a good upgrade to the mibox? Only thing it lacks is the ethernet port, but I can probably live without it. I have WiFi issues depute high speeds in my phone, I think it'd just the mibox.
Any downsides to Google TV
Shield or mibox
I have my shield in my main room and mi boxes in the others
If money is an issue and you don't need any of the shield specific features like gamestream and the ability to host your own Plex server then get a Chromecast. I'm not actually sure what formats the Chromecast supports like Dolby vision and various audio codecs so if that's a requirement for you I'd look into that first. Hands down the shield is still the best Android TV on the market imo but if you're not using most of those features I'd save money and go Chromecast
Not sure if you are in the US (or other applicable market) but if you are already a Netflix subscriber, the 6 months of Netflix/Chromecast with Google TV bundle makes it an impulse buy.
In the US, it's $89.99, with $83.94 of Netflix credit.
is it a good upgrade to the mibox?
Absolutely.
Any downsides to Google TV
It's a new device that came with bugs and Google it's been fixing them slowly, currently they released its second firmware update, besides this, it's a nice device, but if you need to know more options, here's a recommended list:
Certified AndroidTV/GoogleTV boxes for the US only:
- AirTV Mini
- AT&T TV
- Tivo Stream 4K
- T-Mobile TVision HUB
- Verizon Stream TV
Certified AndroidTV/GoogleTV boxes for the US and the rest of the world:
- Chromecast with Google TV
- Dynalink TV Box (Available at Walmart)
- Ematic Jetstream (Engel EN1015K for Europe)
- JBL Link Bar
- Mecool KM6 Classic Edition (Prime Video only. 10/100 ethernet. AV1 hardware decoding. 2GB of RAM. Available at mecoolonline.com )
- Mecool KM6 Deluxe Edition (Prime Video only. Gigabit ethernet. WiFi 6. AV1 hardware decoding. 4GB of RAM. Available at mecoolonline.com )
- Minix Neo T5 (No Netflix/Prime Video. Gigabit ethernet. Remote control doesn't have a microphone)
For more info about all certified Android TV devices, head over to Android TV Guide website.
The issue you eventually face with the CCGTV dongle is a lack of internal storage, which is compounded by no regular USB or microSDHC ports.
Out of the box you have only approx 4.5GB of storage to play with.
So then you have to add a messy USB-C adapter, which is not cheap either, and sometimes that then needs an upgraded power supply to run the whole damn thing.
Some users have issues with 5GHz WiFI with the new dongle. It’s a bug Google have to fix.
So word of advice, if you are doing more than just basic video streaming get a Nvidia Shield Pro or something with more internal storage and better connectivity to begin with.
As an example the entry level version of the Apple TV 4K has 32GB storage. Why the hell are Android TV device vendors like Nvidia so damn stingy with their onboard storage ?
Family, friends, I have 5+ mibox3's amongst us. All unbelievable bang for buck, and only issue being it needs power cable pulled to restart sometimes. Shield hype wore me down. Yes, it's awesome... And shit at the same time. I have a huge collection of Hdds, packed with 4K movies. But this high-end device has no USB, and no audio/optical out. Massive fail.
I don't think the google tv has digital audio passthru