By Tim WellsAndroidPCReview.com

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Disclaimer

If you’re a regular reader of my website, or even if this guide has been sent to you by a friend…

Welcome!

One of the great things about running AndroidPCReview.com is that I get people every day, literally every day, asking me my opinion on a particular device or company.

I love it. I admit, it’s amazing, and very humbling, to have people I’ve never met ask for my advice.

But I started to think that if a lot of people were asking the same questions then I should do something about it.

That’s how this guide came about.

I worked in a consumer electronics retail store for over ten years. I know how intimidating it can be to shop for new technology. I wanted to create something to help new buyers and users of streaming devices.

I want to make sure that anyone reading this has enough knowledge to never, EVER get ripped off by a sleazy company trying to take advantage of you.

This guide is for anyone who wants to shop for a TV Box or Kodi player and be confident that you’re making the right decision.

So to everyone reading this . . . thank you. Thank you for your questions and your support.

You helped create this.

-Tim Wells

If you come up with a burning question while going through this list, please don’t

keep it to yourself! Chances are somebody else is asking the same thing, so don’t

hesitate to contact me.

The best way to reach me is through email at tim@androidpcreview.com.

You can also find me at Google Plus, Facebook, or on Twitter (@AndroidPCReview)

1.Don’t fall

for the “Hardware

Hype”

If you’re buying a PC, you can usually look at the specs and get a pretty good idea of how it’s going to

perform.

That doesn’t work for TV boxes.

All hardware is not created equal. Choose poorly here and you’re movie night is going to crumble faster

than the bad guy in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

You need to choose a chipset first. Are you mainly using this as a Kodi box? Then look at an AmLogic

based CPU, rather than a RockChip or AllWinner. Heavy into gaming? NVIDIA Shield is your best bet.

Look for USB 3.0 support and (if you’re lucky) HDMI 2.0.

Don’t even think about getting a device with less than Android 4.4. Newer versions of Kodi won’t support

it and you’ll be left running the older stuff.

Windows covers a lot of hardware sins, relatively speaking. Having a consistent operating system

generally means that you can throw any hardware configuration at a Windows PC and it’s going to work.

Maybe not perfectly, sure. But it will work.

Don’t fall for the “Hardware Hype”

There’s too much individuality and customization in Android devices to follow those same rules.

The bottom line is this: Don't fall for the hype.

Don't pay too much.

Stop getting seduced by fancy geek-speak like “Octa-core” or “16GB eMMC”

I think we all want one device that does everything. Think of it like the “One Ring.” One device to rule

them all, right?

There are so many different manufacturers out there. They’re all competing for a piece of your wallet.

Each one offers something a little different, and each one has it’s strengths and weaknesses.

If you’re buying your first TV box, then you need to do a little homework beforehand and figure out what

you’re going to want it to do, and what you don’t care so much about.

No one box does everything

…yet.

Don’t fall for the “Hardware Hype”

2.There’s no

such thing as a “Kodi Box” or an “XBMC

Box”

I instantly distrust a vendor that tried to pass off a device as a “Kodi Box.”

You should too.

Kodi is a media center - think of it like a community developed version of Windows Media Player, but

better in every way. Team Kodi are software developers. They have developers and contributors in

dozens of countries in every part of the world.

But you know what they don’t do? They don’t make hardware.

Even the folks at Freaktab don’t make hardware, and they’re much closer to the hardware side than

Team Kodi is.

Another thing to watch out for is manufacturers making a “customized” or “improved” version of Kodi.

Some like Zidoo or MINIX will release their source code back to Kodi so that their improvements can

make it into the next version. And that’s great….

There’s no such thing as a “Kodi Box”

But there are some unscrupulous manufacturers out there that will just attempt to tweak the Kodi

installation to fit their box and keep those tweaks all to themselves.

What’s wrong with that? Well, initially, nothing much.

But how often do you think that Team Kodi updates their product?

The answer is daily.

Seriously. Every. Single. Day.

Now...how often do you think that that TV box manufacturer is going to update their “improved” version

of Kodi? Do you honestly think that they’re going to incorporate all of the improvements that are in the

official version? I doubt it.

Essentially what you’re going to get is a splintered version of Kodi, that won’t be upgraded.

It did its job. It got you to buy the TV box. Good luck with anything else after that.

There’s no such thing as a “Kodi Box”

Team Kodi puts a lot, and I mean A LOT, of effort into making a pretty awesome product.

Part of their philosophy is that anyone can make improvements as long as those improvements are given

back to the community.

Some manufacturers are getting serious about giving back to the Kodi community. Many of these

enhancements and tweaks have made it into new versions of Kodi.

That way everyone benefits.

My point is that you need to look at how the Kodi developers and users feel about a particular device

manufacturer.

It may just save you some headaches down the road.

There’s no such thing as a “Kodi Box”

3.Don’t buy a

no-name Android TV

box

Would you buy a no-name car?

What about generic toilet paper? Diapers? How about a no-name smartphone?

There are hundreds, if not thousands of TV boxes to choose from. A quick search on Amazon for “Kodi

Box” pulls up over 1200 listings. eBay has 4700 listings this week. I don’t even want to think about how

many are on Craigslist.

Most of those I’ve never even heard of, and I cover this industry!

A lot of these are generic devices you can find on Alibaba. What happens is that these sellers will find a

device they can buy in bulk and try to sell them for a quick profit, often at a big markup.

I’ve got nothing against someone trying to make a business for themselves.

Don’t buy a no-name Android TV box

But I do have a bone to pick with the people who just want to make a quick buck at someone else’s

expense.

That’s not right and someone needs to speak out about it.

The whole reason I created this site was to find what the best Android sticks and TV boxes were. I just

want to make sure that people know what they’re getting into.

If I like a product, I’ll let you know. I’ll even let you know what not to buy.

I’m sure someone out there will buy their stuff.

Just don’t let it be you.

Don’t buy a no-name Android TV box

4.Don’t buy

your TV box on eBay

(or Craigslist)

There’s this great looking box on eBay for $50. Fully Loaded. What could go wrong?

Probably everything.

I love eBay. Well, at least I used to. I’ve got somewhere close to 2000 feedback over the last fifteen

years, or so. During that time I’ve met some great sellers, but I've also met some real sleazebags.

The trouble is that when you buy computer equipment on eBay, or Craigslist, or even from a yard-sale

down the street, you never know what you’re getting.

I’ve heard a lot of horror stories.

People have bought hacked TV boxes that have spyware built in, just waiting for them to enter in their

credit card numbers. Other people buy a modded box that mysteriously stops working a few days after

they get it. And don’t even get me started on the number of people who tell me they were ripped off

after paying 2-3 times what they should for a device.

Don’t buy your TV box on eBay or Craigslist

When you buy a TV box from Amazon or Geekbuying, you’re getting more for your money.

You’re getting support after the sale, including a return policy if it’s defective.

Most importantly, you’re getting piece of mind that your TV box is brand new and spyware-free. No

Craigslist seller is going to give you that.

The bottom line is that you may get a great deal on a TV box on eBay or Craigslist.

Or you may get more trouble than you’ve bargained for.

Either way...it’s just not worth it.

Don’t buy your TV box on eBay or Craigslist

5.Netflix isn’t always in

High Definition

Even if you buy a TV box that has 4K output from a manufacturer that’s one of the “good guys”, you still

may not be getting the resolution in Netflix that you’re looking for.

Netflix has a list of what it calls “Approved Devices.” If a device isn’t on that list, then it defaults back

down to standard resolution for video streaming.

For many people, that’s fine - especially if you’re on a tablet or smartphone. But if you’re on a large

screen, Ultra-HD television then this is going to be a huge disappointment.

The bad news is that even some of the major players in the TV box market, like aren’t on that approved

list.

Netflix’s list of the devices that support UHD resolutions is pretty sparse right now. Hopefully, they’ll be

adding more to the list in the coming months.

If you’re going to be using Netflix for the majority of your streaming needs, you’ll want to see what

devices can stream HD and 4K.

Netflix isn’t always in HD

6.Updates can be

hard

Updates on your Android phone or tablet are pretty simple. You may have to wait a bit before an update

gets from Google to your manufacturer and trickles down to your phone, but that’s about as hard as it

gets.

You pick up your smartphone one morning and there’s this alert that pleasantly lets you know that it’s

already downloaded that 400MB update overnight and it’s ready to install it.

Thank you smartphone, that was very considerate of you.

TV box updates can be much, much harder. And that’s if you get them at all.

Let's talk about the OS itself, first.

Usually, whatever version of Android that you buy the box with is what you’re stuck with. Don’t count on

being able to upgrade your device from KitKat (4.4) to Lollipop (5.0) or Marshmallow (6.0). It probably

won’t happen.

Updates can be hard

I can't say it will never happen. I’ve seen one or two companies provide OS updates, but usually it’s not

even up to them.

TV box manufacturers are at the mercy of the people who designed their CPU chipset - Rockchip or

AmLogic, for example. If they don’t adapt the OS for their chipsets, most manufacturers aren’t going to

take the time to do it either.

And I can’t really blame them for that. After all, their entire business is in getting you to upgrade to the

“next big thing” or “one more thing.”

Firmware upgrades are better, but they can still be troublesome.

If a company doesn’t have a OTA (Over The Air) method of updating their firmware, then you’ll have to

do a tricky balancing act while you hold the power button down, insert a USB drive or SD card, while

simultaneously inserting a toothpick or paperclip into the reset port.

Here’s where having three hands is helpful.

Updates can be hard

OTA firmware upgrades eliminate that mess and make the upgrades go as smoothly as most commonly

used electronics devices. You’ll still have to manually click the app to start the update process, but that’s

a breeze compared to the alternative.

Most of the bigger TV box manufacturers are slowly working their way to an OTA firmware upgrade

process. That’s great news for everybody.

But the update process is one more thing you need to look at before you buy your first Android TV box.

Don’t make the same mistake and ignore it like I did.

Updates can be hard

7.A slow

home network will kill a great “movie night”

Are you still using that old router you bought five years ago?

Just because you have high speed internet doesn’t mean that all of that speed will get through your

home network and into your TV.

The more devices that we have, the more are going to be competing for your network bandwidth.

If you’re trying to stream a movie, even one from a shared drive on your own network, your TV box has

to compete with everything else on your network.

That means every phone, tablet, Xbox, PlayStation, laptop, desktop, wearable device, smart outlet,

wireless speaker and nanny-cam in your home is all trying to get information from the same pipeline.

Make sure it’s a big enough pipe.

Slow networks kill “movie night”

Then think about where you store your movies.

If you’re going to build a media library of any size, you’re going to want a network storage drive.

Why?

Well, remember before we had a home network and we had to remember which computer had the files

that we wanted to work on?

It’s the same thing with your media library. If you want to be able to access it from any streaming device

in your house, you’re going to have to set it up the right way.

And that leads in to our next topic….

Slow networks kill “movie night”

8.Some

configuration is required

I have three different streaming devices hooked up to various televisions and computer monitors in my

house right now.

Here’s the shocker….not all of them are Android TV boxes.

The best thing about Android is that you can configure it however you want. If you want a different skin,

great. That’s easy. If you want certain menu options to appear, and others hidden, you can do that too.

But, that brings some challenges as well.

There are some steps to set up every new Android TV box that you’ll need to go through.

First you’ll need to set up your network connection - wired or wireless?

You’ll need to add your Google, Facebook and email accounts, assuming you want to be able to access

those sites from the comfort of your couch.

Some configuration is required

You’ll also need to install Kodi, which can take some time setting up video and music shares, tweaking

the skin to get the look and feel just right. And then there’s all of the addons that you can install.

My point is this: Don’t expect to be able to turn on a Kodi box and just start watching movies right away.

It’ll take some time to get it set up the way you want.

Thankfully, I’ve created a quick start guide that will let you hit the ground running. I’ve also created a

HUGE guide to getting started with Kodi.

Just remember - you can do so much more on an Android device than you can on an off-the-shelf Roku

or Amazon Fire TV. As great as those devices are, they’re just not going to give you the power of a pure

Android TV box.

Don’t worry, if you’ve got questions, that’s why I’m here.

Some configuration is required

9.“Fully Loaded”

= Bait-and-Switch

I hope that got your attention, because this one really gets under my skin.

If you see someone offering a “Fully Loaded Kodi Box” just run the other way. Don’t even think about

buying it because, chances are, all you’ll be doing is wasting your money.

You already know how I feel about these so-called “Kodi boxes” - see # 2 if you need a refresher.

Saying something is “fully loaded” is just plain deceptive.

It’s not because they don’t throw in a ton of questionable addons - they do manage to do that.

It’s deceptive because it makes the average person think that all of these addons are either owned or

maintained by the same company that they’re buying the box from.

That couldn’t be farther from the truth. The people who make the box almost never make the software

that runs on it.

If someone promises you that you can get TV “free for a lifetime”, they’re lying. Plain and simple.

“Fully Loaded” = Bait-and-Switch

They’re not promising anything that they can control. Things that are “free for a lifetime” usually have a

very short lifespan. That’s something that you’ll see a lot of unscrupulous Android TV box sellers

promote.

They can’t sell you on the benefits of the hardware, because the hardware they’re selling is

old and past it’s prime.

They sell you on the ability to get third-party add-ons to Kodi that will let you stream content from the

Internet, possibly illegally, depending on where you live.

I’m not here to argue on the legal aspects of some add-ons. You’re presumably an adult and can make

your own choices.

But I will say that devices that push this as a “benefit” to their product over any other product are at the

mercy of those add-ons. If the add-on suddenly stops working, then that device you overpaid

for is instantly worthless.

Let me be clear...even if you want these addons, you can get them yourself without over-spending on a

“fully loaded” TV box!

“Fully Loaded” = Bait-and-Switch

10.Support.Support.Support.

I’ll let you in on a secret: Things aren’t always going to go as planned.

When that happens, having people you can turn to will make all the difference in the world.

Here’s something else you should know: I spend a ton of time in manufacturer’s forums asking questions

and hunting for other user’s experiences. They’re an amazing resource!

If you take a look at some of the manufacturer’s forums, you can quickly tell who the good ones are. If

you ask a question on the MINIX forums, for example, you’re going to get answers quickly, both from the

official team and from power users. The same goes for the official Kodi forums, or on tweaker-sites like

Freaktab.com.

Who knows, you might even see me on those forums.

But if you go to some other manufacturer’s forums, you’ll see posts that look like a sales pitch rather

than support after the sale. And that’s if you see posts from the manufacturer at all. Tronsmart, for

example, has been known for going months without posting anything in their official forum.

Support. Support. Support.

My advice is to just skim over the last two of three months of posts. A lot of posts in that time is a good

sign. Don’t be worried if you see some technical problems. That’s what these forums are for - to help

users solve their problems.

But I would be worried if you see a lot of questions with no replies.

I would be worried if I saw posts from people complaining that it’s been months since their last firmware

update.

I would be worried if you see posts from angry customers and the company isn’t responding to them...or

worse, other people are agreeing with the angry poster.

I would be very worried if the company didn’t even have an official forum.

There are warning signs that a company is going to give you a bad customer experience. You'll see most

of these with a quick look at their official forum.

Support. Support. Support.

At the beginning of this guide I said that it could not have been possible without the support of all of you. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I truly hope that you found some value in it. If it can help you avoid some of the pitfalls that I went through, then it was all worthwhile.

If you received this guide without subscribing to my email list, then please check out AndroidPCReview.com and subscribe. There’s a lot more great information there that I know you’ll love!

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Again, thank you so much for downloading this guide. Cheers!

Tim Wells

Thank You!