Good entry level media box?

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K3NS31

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I know there's loads of threads on MyBB dedicated to specific media devices.
I'm out of touch though and in a bit of a bind. Probably gonna grab something off Takealot soon.

What are good options these days for devices around R 1000? And what features should I be looking for?

Main use will be streaming off the high seas.
Neflix would be nice but not essential.
DSTV not required.

Will also do local streaming / Kodi.
Chromecast built-in would be nice.

LAN connection essential.

Thanks oh wise ones.
 

Takealot.com: Online Shopping | SA's leading online store

South Africa's leading online store. Fast, reliable delivery to your door. Many ways to pay. Shop anything you can imagine: TVs, laptops, cellphones, kitchen appliances, toys, books, beauty & more. Shop the mobile app anytime, anywhere.
www.takealot.com www.takealot.com

Or for a bit more, the newer version...

Takealot.com: Online Shopping | SA's leading online store

South Africa's leading online store. Fast, reliable delivery to your door. Many ways to pay. Shop anything you can imagine: TVs, laptops, cellphones, kitchen appliances, toys, books, beauty & more. Shop the mobile app anytime, anywhere.
www.takealot.com www.takealot.com
 
Mike Hoxbig said:

Takealot.com: Online Shopping | SA's leading online store

South Africa's leading online store. Fast, reliable delivery to your door. Many ways to pay. Shop anything you can imagine: TVs, laptops, cellphones, kitchen appliances, toys, books, beauty & more. Shop the mobile app anytime, anywhere.
www.takealot.com www.takealot.com

Or for a bit more, the newer version...

Takealot.com: Online Shopping | SA's leading online store

South Africa's leading online store. Fast, reliable delivery to your door. Many ways to pay. Shop anything you can imagine: TVs, laptops, cellphones, kitchen appliances, toys, books, beauty & more. Shop the mobile app anytime, anywhere.
www.takealot.com www.takealot.com
Click to expand...
Thanks. Worried these might be a bit locked down. I heard the 2 had a clunky / buggy interface so I wanna know I can change / update as needed.
 
K3NS31 said:
Thanks. Worried these might be a bit locked down. I heard the 2 had a clunky / buggy interface so I wanna know I can change / update as needed.
Click to expand...
I have the 2 and it's fine. It's Google TV and not Android TV, so the interface is slightly different. But the performance is fine for what you're going to use it for...
 
few things to note about the mi box S 3rd gen :

1) it doesn't have ethernet - it only has Wi-fi

2) it only has 2 gigs of ram but that is mostly the standard currently with only a few more expensive boxes that will have more

3) it doesn't have any other forms of external audio besides from HDMI

4) you can't use SD cards or microSD cards to expand storage but it does have 32 gigs so that should mostly be adequate for all intents and purposes ie all your apps plus enough extra space to do your updates

5) this is often a deal breaker ..... it only has one USB port for hard drives etc - but it does allow you to add USB hubs (either passive or active) the active variety which is powered by the wall plug is an advantage if you wish to use multiple hard drives connected and build a library of external local files

having said all that i am pretty happy with how my 3rd gen is performing currently and it does everything i ask it to do but i do have an active USB hub connected as well as a USB to ethernet adapter and multiple hard drives - if spending the extra money on the accessories doesn't appeal .... well you don't have to ie you could use the wi-fi for streaming and just add one hard drive into the USB port at a time and call it a day and it will work pretty decently
 
naughty001 said:
few things to note about the mi box S 3rd gen :

1) it doesn't have ethernet - it only has Wi-fi

2) it only has 2 gigs of ram but that is mostly the standard currently with only a few more expensive boxes that will have more

3) it doesn't have any other forms of external audio besides from HDMI

4) you can't use SD cards or microSD cards to expand storage but it does have 32 gigs so that should mostly be adequate for all intents and purposes ie all your apps plus enough extra space to do your updates

5) this is often a deal breaker ..... it only has one USB port for hard drives etc - but it does allow you to add USB hubs (either passive or active) the active variety which is powered by the wall plug is an advantage if you wish to use multiple hard drives connected and build a library of external local files
Click to expand...
1) No longer an issue. All devices in this price bracket don't have a gigabit port, so wifi is actually faster.

2) Agree

3) Not applicable to most people.

4) Not applicable to most people.

5) Not applicable to most people. Who even still uses hard drives to store things locally...
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
1) No longer an issue. All devices in this price bracket don't have a gigabit port, so wifi is actually faster.

2) Agree

3) Not applicable to most people.

4) Not applicable to most people.

5) Not applicable to most people. Who even still uses hard drives to store things locally...
Click to expand...

to answer the bit in yellow most people who have lots of content to store - it took me 30+ years or so to collect what i have and i'm not just going to discard it (mostly music but its still a lot of stuff)
 
naughty001 said:
to answer the bit in yellow most people who have lots of content to store - it took me 30+ years or so to collect what i have and i'm not just going to discard it (mostly music but its still a lot of stuff)
Click to expand...
The world has moved on to streaming 10 + years ago. Only a few still hoard stuff they're never going to watch anymore.
 
Smiggles said:
The world has moved on to streaming 10 + years ago. Only a few still hoard stuff they're never going to watch anymore.
Click to expand...
No, some of us are selective. I only store, usually not interested in streaming, to some of us it's largely a con to make people come back for more (on the legit market anyway).
 
Smiggles said:
The world has moved on to streaming 10 + years ago. Only a few still hoard stuff they're never going to watch anymore.
Click to expand...

if you can find all the 80s and 90s music that i collected i will call you a magician ..... some of it is on Tidal and some if it is on other streaming platforms but a huge lot if it cant be found (at all) on any streaming platforms or even torrents nowadays and is in fact just unavailable from any source you care to mention besides from DJs or collectors ..... and i'm not interested in the new cr@p that most people mistakenly call music nowadays

move on to whatever you prefer as far as you like ..... i'm personally not interested in the nonsense found on the streaming platforms nowadays - i would rather watch and listen to the stuff that interests me - i don't really give a rat's ar5e about the stuff that the streamers want to consume - and if i find that same stuff on a streaming platform then sure i can delete it and store other stuff that interests me in my hard drives BUT 6 months later that stuff wont be on the platform any longer and will then become unavailable again so i need to watch it on someone else's schedule before it disappears and i'm not interested in that either

EDIT : besides if you want to eat schit and die, then you go ahead and do it and why are you trying to convince me to do it with you - i really could care less about you or the rest of the world and how you do things when there are plenty of alternative ways of doing things to get either the same or most times an even better result - and while i may point out alternatives i have no agenda to force other people to jump off a cliff with me so i really don't care what they do either ..... but i prefer to give them the choice
 
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So far with a budget of R1k, someone already recommended Apple.

For R1k, I would dip my toes in Apple.

My 2c
The device must be google certified. It must have enough ram and storage. App updates takes space.

Then nice to have: lan and usb ports

Depend on how much of an audiophile you are, you might look at the outputs. There was some serious discussions on these forums. Luckily, I dont care so never bothered.
 
Since you say entry level these might be worth it. I see you say LAN is essential which rules these out but worth a consider. You just missed the Nova 4k special for R999

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naughty001 said:
if you can find all the 80s and 90s music that i collected i will call you a magician ..... some of it is on Tidal and some if it is on other streaming platforms but a huge lot if it cant be found (at all) on any streaming platforms or even torrents nowadays and is in fact just unavailable from any source you care to mention besides from DJs or collectors ..... and i'm not interested in the new cr@p that most people mistakenly call music nowadays

move on to whatever you prefer as far as you like ..... i'm personally not interested in the nonsense found on the streaming platforms nowadays - i would rather watch and listen to the stuff that interests me - i don't really give a rat's ar5e about the stuff that the streamers want to consume - and if i find that same stuff on a streaming platform then sure i can delete it and store other stuff that interests me in my hard drives BUT 6 months later that stuff wont be on the platform any longer and will then become unavailable again so i need to watch it on someone else's schedule before it disappears and i'm not interested in that either

EDIT : besides if you want to eat schit and die, then you go ahead and do it and why are you trying to convince me to do it with you - i really could care less about you or the rest of the world and how you do things when there are plenty of alternative ways of doing things to get either the same or most times an even better result - and while i may point out alternatives i have no agenda to force other people to jump off a cliff with me so i really don't care what they do either ..... but i prefer to give them the choice
Click to expand...
Agree fully.

I have drives with a lot of content not available anywhere as well. It has taken me decades to curate my library, and it is backed up on additional drives just in case.

What streaming service shows Mork and Mindi or Perfect Strangers or the original Quantum Leap or The Pretender?
 
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