Best Kodi Hardware

What does everyone think is the best device to run Kodi?. I use a 2nd Generation Fire TV that seems to work well for me but I wonder if there are better choices in the way of memory, storage and processor.

Should I be looking at the Nividia Shield? Is it that much better? Is it worth the high price? Would love to hear your thoughts as to what you use and like best and whether or not I should be looking to upgrade? Thanks everyone.

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Raspberry Pi works quite well

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A Networking Tech of mine swears by Raspberry Pi. I thought that was undepowered Low cost solution. Is it a definite contender with RAM, storage and processor? Thanks for the reply. I will look into it!

Hello @bennievcrowell I would still say that the SHIELD is the best streaming device available. Another good generic Android TV Box is the X96 Max - X96 Android TV Box Review - Read This Before You Buy The new Fire TV Stick 4K also seems to stream much better than the 2nd Generation Stick. Personally, I don’t think it is necessary purchasing a SHIELD to get a better device. The problem with boxes such as the generic boxes such as X96 is that they usually don’t update their OS when a new version of Android is available.

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I had to reset my 2nd generation fire tv when it started acting up. Works great after.

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I’m going to reset every few months like Troy does. Makes sense. Junk accumulates and non working add-ons and APKs don’t get removed. Leaving you with a slow device. I’m marking it on my calender. Reset Fire TV…

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Been VERY disappointed with BOTH of the Shield TV boxes that I have. Streaming IPTV through a VPN has been a fail, so my go to device currently for any streaming, is the Fire TV. Fire TV works flawlessly. Why should I even mess with streaming with Kodi on a Shield TV box, when I continue to have streaming problems on that box?!?! Spent HOURS troubleshooting the problem, even contacted nVidia, but to no avail. Even reset one of my Shield TV boxes, but still have the same problem. My boxes are within twenty feet of my Orbi system, and my network speed is around, if not over, 100 mps!!! I’m using one of the top three rated VPN services. All my networking and modem equipment is current, so there are no hardware issues. Besides, if that were the problem, why do I NOT have problems with either one of my Fire TVs, but have problems on BOTH of my Shield TVs?? Also, it seems as if with every update on the Shield TV box, nVidia is locking up more and more of their system. In talking with nVidia, a supervisor told me that they don’t support IPTV streaming or using it with a VPN! Sounds like nVidia is getting away from the open concept of Android devices. For the money, I feel Fire TV, at this point, is a better choice. If you’re into gaming, then maybe a Shield TV, from what I’ve read, is a great choice, but I’m not into heavy gaming, so I have no experience with that. Guess this “rant” is a result of being frustrated at a supposedly top notch box, which can’t be used as it’s supposedly capable of! Still can’t find any answers!

Hello @MaverickCoast thanks for this info. Question, does your SHIELD work well when VPN is off? My SHIELD works great with all of theses apps. Regarding NVIDIA comments about not working: all that means is that they don’t support apps not available in the Google Play Store. This is just an easy way for them to tell you that they are done trying to answer your questions. Those apps still work perfectly fine though. Hopefully we can help you get this figured out.

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Hi. I have purchased and used the third generation Firestick. It’s only $10 more and works a lot better than the 2nd generation. Plus, Amazon periodically has them on sale for less. Great Firestick. It’s 4k capable and a faster processor.

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Yes. It does work with the VPN off, or at least the last time I checked. What doesn’t make sense, is that I have no problem with either of my Fire TVs, when the VPN is on, so I can only figure it’s a problem with my two Shield TVs. BTW. My Fire TV boxes are located next to my Shield boxes. I’m using Area 51 and Players Klub, with Epress VPN. I don’t have any problems streaming anything else, just IPTV.

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For kicks and giggles, I may try using IPvanish and see if that makes any difference. I forgot to mention I contacted Express VPN, and attempted to troubleshoot it with THREE of their Representatives, as they kept passing me on to the next level of support, but they could not offer me any solution.

I gave my daughter my last best m8 pro l, having replaced it with the T95 Q excellent 4gb ram 64gb memory works a treat .
Room enough for anything.

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I really like my X96 Max! Put in a 64Gig microSD card. area 51 apk, along with cinemax apk.Put up an external antenna connected it to Tablo box with a hard drive for recording local shows and can connect to it from anywhere using browser and all my TV’s using WIFI.

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The best all around box in IMHO is the Xiaomi Mi Box S. It is my daily driver and runs Kodi without any problems. It is and official incensed Google box and runs android Oreo. The real value is that it has Chromecast 4K built in which works flawlessly. For between 50-60 dollars depending on sales it is a great buy. I owed the Nvidia Shield and it does play games much better so if that is important the Mi box may disappoint.

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I have 5 Minix u9 boxes and they run fantastic. Android system updates easy and lots of storage. Got the advanced remote also. A bit pricey but Amazon has the box and remote bundle for 159.00

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Love my Nvidia shields. Have 2 and they work flawlessly with IPTV and streaming. I use gearstv for ip with area 51 for backup and Kodi running no limits magic build adding Seren into favorites setup per troypoints videos. Cinema hd works great too have watched many 4k movies with Seren and cinemahd with no buffering.

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You know @Quazar, you got me thinking. I really want the best and the most bang for my buck. I can “giveaway” my 2nd Gen Fire TV and my 2nd Gen Firestick.

I’m saving up for one. Everyone that ever had one loves it and it works flawlessly except in the case of @MaverickCoast. Other than the price, that is the first negative review I have read.

Is it possible to upgrade the Android version as new ones are released. @glpascoe also has me seriously considering the Minux u9 box. Going to research that to see if it will work for me. I am not a gamer and view little iptv so it may work for me. I will update you on my decision.

The Shield hands down. Storage capacity and not a lot of bloatware loaded on it. Lots of room to grow.

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Mine is a bit overkill but I run kodi in a VM with 2 Cores/4GB RAM/240 GB SSD and my old GTX950 on my Home Server (Dell PowerEdge T30)

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@itsbhanusharma That is a pretty cool setup!

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