Android TV boxes

[Skiddles2014]

Just got one and I am thoroughly impressed. The kids are watching the new X-men movie in HD right now.
I don't know why I never got one of these before, it's going to cripple tv service providers.
Sorry it's not a thread about feminism, Obama or minorities...

 

[JohnnySavage]

Just got one and I am thoroughly impressed. The kids are watching the new X-men movie in HD right now.
I don't know why I never got one of these before, it's going to cripple tv service providers.
Sorry it's not a thread about feminism, Obama or minorities...

I got a Roku thing and canceled the cable.

 

[islandman]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but you could have had the same functionality years ago from Boxee, Roku or Apple TV, among many.

 

[Skiddles2014]

I got a Roku thing and canceled the cable.

Roku is supposed to be the best of these types.

I just wanted to see what it's all about, I could see me getting a roku box if this is as good as it appears to be.

 

[Skiddles2014]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but you could have had the same functionality years ago from Boxee, Roku or Apple TV, among many.

I had free to air satellite for the past 17 years so I didn't really explore other options as I had more than enough channels. My receiver is now obsolete so that's why I'm just getting into this now.

 

[JohnnySavage]

Roku is supposed to be the best of these types.

I just wanted to see what it's all about, I could see me getting a roku box if this is as good as it appears to be.

I'm pretty technically inept, which kept me from getting one for a long time. I liked to turn on the tv and the shit worked.

But - it took me about 10 minutes to hook it up and it worked flawlessly.

So simple even a Savage can do it.

Between Netflix and Hulu I'm just as happy as a pig in a mud puddle.

 

[islandman]

I had free to air satellite for the past 17 years so I didn't really explore other options as I had more than enough channels. My receiver is now obsolete so that's why I'm just getting into this now.

I imagine you'll have fun with the voice-control aspect of your Android box.

Just don't tell it to fuck off or it'll fry the processor.

 

[Skiddles2014]

I imagine you'll have fun with the voice-control aspect of your Android box.

Just don't tell it to fuck off or it'll fry the processor.

Nope.

I refuse to talk to appliances. Not even to the xbox, well maybe I tell it to fuck off from time to time...

 

[cowslinger64]

Just got one and I am thoroughly impressed. The kids are watching the new X-men movie in HD right now.
I don't know why I never got one of these before, it's going to cripple tv service providers.
Sorry it's not a thread about feminism, Obama or minorities...

Does it have more to offer than a smart tv?

Does anyone know how you can convert a wifi signal into cable for tv?

 

[The Greek]

I have not heard of the Android TV boxes. I assume it is similar to the Roku system.

Most of my TV watching is now via internet feeds. A definite bad news trend story for cable.

 

[Skiddles2014]

Does it have more to offer than a smart tv?

Does anyone know how you can convert a wifi signal into cable for tv?

Way more than smart tvs.

It pulls movies and tv off the internet. Its like instant torrents.

 

[cowslinger64]

Way more than smart tvs.

It pulls movies and tv off the internet. Its like instant torrents.

Hmm... might have to look into it. I really only watch sports, history channel, discovery and chopped on the food network. That's about it.

 

[islandman]

Does anyone know how you can convert a wifi signal into cable for tv?

Yes, buy a Boxee, Roku, Apple TV or and Android box like the OP.

Or hook up your PS-whatnot/xBox to your TV.

 

[cowslinger64]

Yes, buy a Boxee, Roku, Apple TV or and Android box like the OP.

Or hook up your PS-whatnot/xBox to your TV.

So that will capture the signal and I can watch regular cable through it on my tv?

Is there one that is the best?


I don't have any ps players... all I have is a smart tv, and smart bluray player..

 

[anchoredinocean]

The Amazon Fire TV Box I have is kicking the crap out of the Roku's, Boxee's, etc. etc that I have tried.

Yes, it's locked down Android and you have to run a SDK on one of your computers to sideload non approved apps, but out of the box, it runs smoother, better functionality, and the hardware is quite nice on it.

 

[anchoredinocean]

So that will capture the signal and I can watch regular cable through it on my tv?

Is there one that is the best?


I don't have any ps players... all I have is a smart tv, and smart bluray player..

No, these don't capture OTA (over the air) signals. You need a capture card box for that.

These are about running any of the streaming TV services to your TV (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon), streaming video/music/photo content from your PC's, etc. etc.\

Your smart TV & smart blu-ray player probably already have a lot of this functionality built in, especially if they are DNLA compatible.

 

[Disgustipated]

I love my boxee. My friend has one and a roku, they are different but similar.

 

[Disgustipated]

The Amazon Fire TV Box I have is kicking the crap out of the Roku's, Boxee's, etc. etc that I have tried.

Yes, it's locked down Android and you have to run a SDK on one of your computers to sideload non approved apps, but out of the box, it runs smoother, better functionality, and the hardware is quite nice on it.

What makes the fire box better than the boxee?

 

[cowslinger64]

No, these don't capture OTA (over the air) signals. You need a capture card box for that.

These are about running any of the streaming TV services to your TV (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon), streaming video/music/photo content from your PC's, etc. etc.

I've never heard of those before.. and googled it. They range from 250 bucks to one nearly a thousand. Is that really what they cost? I really watch so little tv that paying that sorta money would be a waste.

 

[Skiddles2014]

I've never heard of those before.. and googled it. They range from 250 bucks to one nearly a thousand. Is that really what they cost? I really watch so little tv that paying that sorta money would be a waste.

I paid $150 for mine already loaded with all the apps I need to get watching tv.

You can also download games from app stores and connect a usb mouse or controller to play.

 

[cowslinger64]

I paid $150 for mine already loaded with all the apps I need to get watching tv.

You can also download games from app stores and connect a usb mouse or controller to play.

I think what you have is different from what I'm asking about tho. Unless your device gets you pro and college football games, hockey, discovery channel, history channel and food network, then it doesn't do quite what I want.

 

[anchoredinocean]

What makes the fire box better than the boxee?

I know that a lot of people don't play 1080P in MKV wrappers, but having the quadcore processor and the nvidia onboard video, it runs much snappier than the other boxes. It's damn near the power of some lower level HTPCs.

 

[anchoredinocean]

I think what you have is different from what I'm asking about tho. Unless your device gets you pro and college football games, hockey, discovery channel, history channel and food network, then it doesn't do quite what I want.

The only thing that you can get to get OTA stuff is going to run you around $200, and that's for just picking up any local channels.

The box that did allow you to share/stream premium content was struck down by the Supreme Court.

That said, some of the devices do offer subscriptions to sports and other TV networks.

If I were going that route, I'd probably go with your own custom built Boxee (Boxee was bought out by Samsung, and is no longer doing their own devices).

 

[cowslinger64]

The only thing that you can get to get OTA stuff is going to run you around $200, and that's for just picking up any local channels.

The box that did allow you to share/stream premium content was struck down by the Supreme Court.

That said, some of the devices do offer subscriptions to sports and other TV networks.

If I were going that route, I'd probably go with your own custom built Boxee (Boxee was bought out by Samsung, and is no longer doing their own devices).

Doesn't sound like there's anything to specifically suit my wishes. It's no big deal, I just wondered if it were possible. Thanks for the info.

 

[phrodeau]

I've never understood the appeal of cable TV. There are commercial channels being broadcast for free. Why pay to watch more commercial channels?