What is the ultimate streaming machine?

Arzy

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Yes.Here is the link for the one I got (Not the pro version): https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01NBJ6KZY/ref=pe_385721_37986871_TE_item

I only paid £197.02 including next day delivery and then I don't recall what postbox couriers fees were.

The Pro is nice as it has a couple of extra ports and a bigger HDD but as I said, I'm still running my ultrabook as well so I didn't actually need the space or ports.

Pounds? eish, the US$ is cheaper no? https://www.amazon.com/NVIDIA-SHIEL...1499065055&sr=8-1&keywords=nvidia+shield&th=1
 

chickenbeef

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So I've been running a PC with Kodi for ages, but I think it's time for an upgrade, and looking to get a proper TV box.

Capability I'm looking for:
- Kodi, I'll keep the media stored on the PC as a replacement
- Netflix, and other such paid apps
- Needs to be able to play x265 HEVC codec

So from what I've been reading there is a couple of options:
- Nvidia Shield
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/shield/
- Mi box
http://www.mi.com/en/mibox/
- Apple TV
https://www.apple.com/za/tv/
- Roku Ultra
https://www.roku.com/products/roku-ultra

Which ones should I be adding to the list, or removing from the list (here's looking at you Apple :p)

And let's say for now, price isn't an issue. Will cross that bridge when I get to the stage of making a decision.

Also if you can recommend the best places to buy the recommended devices, that'd be great too.

How much are you looking at spending on this?
 
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Yes, US is cheaper, didn't have stock though when I wanted to get mine.

Need to look at the shipping costs as well.

Either way, its a great machine.

Yeh, I think I'm gonna go that way. Gonna sell some ebucks on carb and have asked Scottulus for a quote on shipping etc. as well.
 

Arzy

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Yeh, I think I'm gonna go that way. Gonna sell some ebucks on carb and have asked Scottulus for a quote on shipping etc. as well.

Daarsy. Kan regtig nie 'n fout maak met die Shield nie.
 

SeRpEnT

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Out of interest. What does the game library for the Nvidia Shield look like?
 

Neoprod

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Out of interest, how much were you looking to spend, fanie?

:p
 

Baxteen

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at home I have a Acer Revo one Rl 85 duel boot between Linux and windows

there is no lag with running Kodi because its a complete miniPC.
it ships with a really handy remote that includes a track pad on the one side and a full querty keyboard on the other.

jumping between Kodi and Chrome to steam things like netflix/dstv now works seamlessly

the one I got was a bit of a special, and a quick talking wife managed to get away with a bit.
we have the i3, 8gb of Ram, and 2 TB, she convinced the sales rep to thow in a 256GB SSD as an extra, because she wanted the i5 version, and they did not have stock, as the website had them at the same price. we also got R500 off the purchase. so we got the entire set up for R4500 in march 2016
 

CamiKaze

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I still think that a PC (with a 1050ti or RX550) connected to a TV is the best solution.
 

CamiKaze

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But is it practical? Bulky box and cables everywhere. Power hungry. Noise? Bad UI?

Yeah, very practical with a mini itx setup. The cards that I mentioned is powered by the pci express slot. They are low power cards that performs quite well based on reviews, especially when it comes to the codec in question.
These cards come in a fan-less variant as well.

There are air coolers for the CPU that are quite silent as well.

I am currently busy redoing my setup with a nice graphics card so that I can watch whatever I want, and play some games as well.

As for cables, you will be using a wireless keyboard with touchpad.
Very similar to using a remote for a dedicated player so no wires there.

You will still be using a power cable and HDMI cable. So the amount of wires is the same as a dedicated player.
 

Muttley

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Yeh, I think I'm gonna go that way. Gonna sell some ebucks on carb and have asked Scottulus for a quote on shipping etc. as well.

You can also try amazonglobalshopper - used them plenty of times - works great!

edit: You can see it's Monday. Should read aramexglobalshopper :whistling:
 

Thor

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Plex + Chromecasts throughout the house.

Unbeatable.
 

SirFooK'nG

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Feb 13, 2009
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H96Pro .... www.emipix.tv

Info: https://androidtvbox.eu/h96-pro-ano...red-amlogic-s912-now-available-presale-68-99/

Specs:

CPU – Amlogic S912 octa core ARM Cortex A53 processor @up to 2.0GHz
GPU – ARM Mali-820MP3 @up to 750MHz
OS – Android 6.0 Marshmallow
Memory – 2GB or 3 GB DDR3
Storage – 16GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot up to 32GB
Video Output – HDMI 2.0a with HDR and CEC support up to 4K @ 60 fps, and AV port for composite output
Audio Output – HDMI, AV (stereo audio), and optical S/PDIF
Video codecs – VP9-10 profile 2 up to 4K @ 60 fps, H.265 MP-10@L5.1 up to 4K 60fps, H.264 AVC up to 4K @ 30 fps, H.264 MVC up to 1080p60, MPEG-4, WMV/VC-1 SP/MP/AP, AVS-P16(AVS+)/AVS-P2 JiZhun Profile, MPEG-2 MP/HL, MPEG-1 MP/HL, and RealVIDEO 8/9/10 all up to 1080p60
Audio codecs – MP3, AAC, WMA, RM, FLAC, Ogg, and support for 5.1 down-mixing
Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, dual band WiFi 802.11 b/g/n + Bluetooth 4.0
USB – 4x USB 2.0 ports
Misc – IR receiver, LEDs backlight
Power Supply – 5V/2A
Dimensions – 11 x 11 x 2.5 cm
Weight – 250g
 
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