Hello all, this is my humble attempt at a mini review of sorts of these media players/HTPCs, which I've used extensively. I live in Singapore and travel quite a bit, i was using a cable connection on contract for a couple of years, after a while i figured out that i was hardly watching TV and the money spent every month on the cable was a literal waste. When the contract ran out, I decided to do away with it completely and go all in the media player route, subscribing to content via Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar.

Best Top Free VPN For Kodi 2019 Unblock Anything Or No Geo-restrictions February 2, 2018 March 1, 2018 techwibe The Internet has already transformed the lives of millions of people around the world. Kodi is compatible for multiple operating systems with hardware platforms and with a software ten-foot user interface for use with televisions and remote controls. It is used to play and view digital media, podcast, videos, music from internet.

Of course the ubiquity of torrents, popcorn time & youtube for music videos & the availability of a 1 Gbps line for cheap helped the cause. The set up: I have a Samsung series 8, 65' TV hooked up to the media player/HTPC, while the TV is a smart TV and can play media, i just don't us that at all, because of the usability which is a real pain.

I was using the WD media box between 2010-2012, great box which can play almost all file formats, works very well if you have downloaded a file from a computer and want to play it, but for other tasks not quite up to the mark. I should say that, at its time it was the best option around. I was using the MiniX android box from 2014-2016, a mac mini from mid 2016 - now, experimented with the Nvidia Shield in April this year. MiniX HDMI from device to TV & Optical audio out to my Kef LS50 Pros - The best usability among all 3, all you need is a bluetooth mouse.

- Runs Android mobile OS, which for me is way better than the Android TV OS, Apple TV OS, and may be unto par with running a full fledged Mac. - Has apps for almost everything - Netflix, Hot-star, Popcorn time, uTorrents, brilliant Youtube experience.

- Kodi media player for downloaded content is brilliant, both Movies, TV shows & HQ music. Kodi works the best on the minix box & deserves a special mention.

- Airplay, Spotify, Tidal etc., apps are available Cons - The worst video quality among all three. - Audio quality is probably on par with the shield, or so i think. Certainly not as good as a Mac mini. - Android mobile OS gets clogged up and slows down, needs frequent clean up and possibly a upgrade to the latest box every 1.5 years. Nvidea Shield HDMI from device to TV & USB audio out to my Kef LS50 Shield has no Optical audio out. Pros -The best video quality I've experienced so far, the blacks are blacker than every before and the dynamic range is brilliant.

Even Youtube videos look like HD movies. -Voice search is a revelation. For Youtube all you have to do is speak into the remote and its super accurate, even for indian content. - Certain apps like torrents, chrome, popcorn time can be side loaded quite easily. Cons - The UI, its not for me, not as flexible as either the MiniX or the Mac.

- Some side loaded Apps like Hotstar does not work properly. - Sound quality is not the best you can get. - Android TV OS, its just not there yet, but then neither is Apple TV OS. HDMI from device to TV & USB audio out to my Kef LS50 Pros - Does everything you could possibly want - Audio quality is the best of all other devices (I haven't used a MS HTPC, so won't be commenting on that) Cons - If you sit far from the TV, the UI might be a problem, you can resize the icons & text, but still not on par with the Minix box's UI - People don't make apps for OSX. You have to use the browser for Netflix, Amazon prime, Hotstar, Youtube.

- Side note: of the lot i miss the youtube app the most. - Video quality is easily better than the miniX box, but still not quite on par with the Nvidia shield which can do 4k & high refresh rates. So i ended up opting to use the Mac mini in the end, but then that is my personal preference, i have a friend who prefers the Nvidia Shield instead. I do hope that you have found this post useful. TChen, agreed on the NAS part, if only i could afford a SSD based NAS Separately, i think there is new version of Android TV OS for Shield being prepped for launch by end of 2017, which should extend the voice search to all apps, not just Youtube as it today, that should make it an even better value proposition. On Kodi, i would'nt write it off, Plex and Kodi are based on the same code and Kodi does have its merits, but yes if you want a plug and play method and transcode to play on all devices, can't beat Plex. I have a Apple TV, Rpi 3 running Kodi, Mini8s Android TV.