Walmart ONN is a Killer Box - Who needs the Shield

So I’ve ben using very old Cheap China T95Z Plus boxes for several years and they have been working great. Decided to pick up the Walmart On $20 4K Box and I gotta say this thing friggin rocks. I’m going to get in trouble here with all you Shield users but going to preface this with I use KODI + RD + Trakt for VOD movies and shows and Tivimate for Live Sports and IPTV. The ON gives me everything I need at 10% the cost of the Shield. Shield lovers, love your Shield, I love my Cheap ON Box!!!

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Very glad you like it. These were solid before, and seems like the newer model is a slight upgrade from that, so that’s great news. I’m confused by why this post/thread needed to include a comparison to a Shield that you don’t have unless you just wanted to stir the pot and start an argument. The post could have just stated how happy you were with your Onn box, which is awesome and I am very happy to hear this is the Firestick replacement we have all needed for a while.

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If all you need are the basics then it’s a great option. From what I’ve read, there’s no HDR, no Dolby Vision, no TrueHD audio, no upscaling, etc.

Edit* It does do HDR and HDR10. I don’t think anyone has gotten Dolby Vision to work. I don’t know if anyone has tested the TrueHD audio passthrough but I will eventually.

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Agree. if it floats your boat, by all means take the ride :roll_eyes:

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Not true. There is HDR on the new 4K ON (The one I have) and it is automatically turned on and working great with my Samsung 4K HDR TV If you don’t believe me watch Troy’s review video of the new 4K ON Box. Oh, there is also Dolby Vision as well!

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As I stated, “from what I’ve read”. Never said I didn’t believe you.

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I own 2019 shield pro and recently have picked up a couple of the new 2023 onn Google TV boxes.

There are certainly merits for both devices and while I wouldn’t categorize the Onn box as a functional alternate to the shield, it certainly should be pitched as a firestick replacement - this is assuming that you’re not attached to the whole Amazon ecosystem. The writing on the wall seems to be apparent for the future of Amazon streaming devices and I’m thrilled that there’s a very good alternative with a great price point.

I also got the new xiaomi 4k stick to test as a possible replacement for the firestick. Also has much promise, but price point is not in the same league as onn.

Personally, I would never replace my shield with the Onn. I run a plex server and use multiple ext hi cap drives, the kids utilizes the geforce now cloud gaming on the shield, and the Tegra SoC and 3gb of ram DOES appear to make the performance and navigation snappier than the Onn, unsurprisingly. I also prefer to hard-line and ethernet connection natively to my streamer. All of which the Onn is incapable of doing.

That being said, each device has its place in my household and I’m happy for those roles to exist and suitably filled by both my shield, and presumably the pair of new Onn boxes I’m testing.

Happy streaming everyone!

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Now, if only you can find these freaking boxes!

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You can add ethernet to an Onn in several ways. Smays otg powered ethernet hub for one. Or a usb ethernet adapter and an otg cable for another.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ONN-USB-3-0-to-10-100-1000-Gigabit-Ethernet-Adapter/901986816

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Yes - that’s understood, though I was merely pointing out the convenience of “native” support.

They’re in most Walmart buildings. Most are flagged for instruction to display beginning week 16, as a clerk noted to be when I bought mine.

You just need to get them to get you one from the back. Despite what some posts have said about not being able to ring out (unless you self checkout), that wasn’t the case for my purchase last week. My clerk found it in the cage in the back and rang me out in electronics without issue.

Try using my tactic about talking with a manager prior to coming to the store (search for my post on another thread here) and you’ll likely get a more willing employee to go back and search for one.

Other stores already have them on shelves this week. My brother in law went yesterday to his local store and found them on shelf.

My local Walmart had them. Purchased online and picked up Curbside

You said the new Onn couldn’t do ethernet, but I wanted to point out that this isn’t true. You can add ethernet.

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I’ll just keep looking. I tried ordering them online but kept saying out of stock. Plus an extra $7 because it’s under $35. Just patience

That’s why mine is going back . It’s a good box , but is a downgrade for me.

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Do you have to use the same adapter that works for a firestick

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Dolby Vision and HDR + 10 didn’t work for me. Is there a setting or something I missed.

The Smays powered otg hub is the same one used on the Max. It has a micro usb male plug so you don’t need anything else. If you go with the ether to USB you will also need the otg adapter cable. Exactly as the device pages I linked to show. Now on a side note. It appears the 2023 Onn has power issues similar to the Max and it’s my understanding the Onn brick does not provide enough power to run both an Onn and an ethernet adapter. So if you have a Max, use that brick and it should work.

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I’m pretty sure Jayhawk is right about HDR+10 and Dolby Vision. Not sure about the audio. My receiver just does Dolby Digital.I can check the feed when I’m streaming on my tv while I’m watching and it will tell me what type of feed it is and I can also adjust the picture settings. The best the Onn does is HDR which isn’t HDR+10 or Dolby Vision.

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