Is the mi box 4K better than my 4K smart tv hardware?

colors6

colors6

Disciple
I have a tcl 55” P8 2019 model 4K HDR android tv.

it has Mali470x3 600MHz-800MHz processor with 2GB RAM and 16 GB storage. I have a synology ds218 NAS For storage.

im having issues with plex client running some older media files with codecs like wmv, avi, mpg.

im considering buying the mi box 4K which retails for ₹3500. Will plex client run any better on it than my android tv or will it be a waste of money?
 
Mali 400x3 is GPU not a cpu/processor.

And yes your TV has
64bit A55x4 900MHz~1.1GHz ( Got it from TCL website) processor.

MI box 4k has 2.0 Ghz quad core processor also processor is mali 450 so it should be way fast compare to your TV.

In fact every TV I have seen till budget of 70k has substandard native Android tv experience compare to stand alone TV box..

Buy it mi tv box /firestick
 
Ok.

I was wondering whether to buy mi box 4k or fire stick 4k but mi box 4k is ₹2500 cheaper than fire stick 4k.

Any idea if it's worth spending ₹2500 more on fire stick 4k over mi box 4k?

My primary use would be Plex streaming from my Synology ds218 NAS.

Need old codecs like wmv, avi and 4k media to play well preferably with direct play instead of need for transcoding
 
Just go with mi box, there's not much hardware difference both at all. All with mi box you will get play store which is missing in firestick
 
colors6 said:
Ok.

I was wondering whether to buy mi box 4k or fire stick 4k but mi box 4k is ₹2500 cheaper than fire stick 4k.

Any idea if it's worth spending ₹2500 more on fire stick 4k over mi box 4k?

My primary use would be Plex streaming from my Synology ds218 NAS.

Need old codecs like wmv, avi and 4k media to play well preferably with direct play instead of need for transcoding
Click to expand...
I too in similar boat, tried fire stick, mi box as well native app on mi 4 tv but nothing plays 4k rips without transcoding audio.... Nvidia shield is said to be best for 4k plex streaming.

I am planning to buy shield but its not available easily in India at reasonable price.
 
Yeah I’m also leading towards Mi.

I have an echo dot so that’s why I thought it may work nice with fire stick 4K. But, ₹2500 is too much for that.
Vagabond said:
I too in similar boat, tried fire stick, mi box as well native app on mi 4 tv but nothing plays 4k rips without transcoding audio.... Nvidia shield is said to be best for 4k plex streaming.

I am planning to buy shield but its not available easily in India at reasonable price.
Click to expand...
Nvidia shield is way too expensive because of the insane custom duties. costs twice it’s actsl price due to that.

not worth it if using only for plex streaming. I understand the use of one intends to use for gaming which I don’t.

@Vagabond
if 4K streaming will be a problem on cheap android boxes other than nvidia shield, I may buy apple TV 4K which would be cheaper than nvidia shield at ₹17500.

any idea if plex streaming is as good on apple TV 4K as nvidia shield?
 
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colors6 said:
Yeah I’m also leading towards Mi.

I have an echo dot so that’s why I thought it may work nice with fire stick 4K. But, ₹2500 is too much for that.

Nvidia shield is way too expensive because of the insane custom duties. costs twice it’s actsl price due to that.

not worth it if using only for plex streaming. I understand the use of one intends to use for gaming which I don’t.

@Vagabond
if 4K streaming will be a problem on cheap android boxes other than nvidia shield, I may buy apple TV 4K which would be cheaper than nvidia shield at ₹17500.

any idea if plex streaming is as good on apple TV 4K as nvidia shield?
Click to expand...
Apple tv, fire stick, mi box and roku all seem to struggle for 4k except shield.... I am at stage to buy shield or give up watching 4k via plex.... Instead playing via TV usb and players like mx player seem better option.
 
Vagabond said:
I too in similar boat, tried fire stick, mi box as well native app on mi 4 tv but nothing plays 4k rips without transcoding audio.... Nvidia shield is said to be best for 4k plex streaming.

I am planning to buy shield but its not available easily in India at reasonable price.
Click to expand...

I just ordered a shield tube version. Got it for ₹18.5k.

Should get it in the 1st week of January.

Didn't get the pro version as I needed this primarily for Plex. I dont game much. May play some fortnite, NES/SNES games via emulation.

Have Plex server on my Synology NAS.

Hope I made the right decision by not going for the pro version.
 
colors6 said:
I just ordered a shield tube version. Got it for ₹18.5k.

Should get it in the 1st week of January.

Didn't get the pro version as I needed this primarily for Plex. I dont game much. May play some fortnite, NES/SNES games via emulation.

Have Plex server on my Synology NAS.

Hope I made the right decision by not going for the pro version.
Click to expand...

Hello, May I know which model number of Synology are you using for Plex ? Have you tried transcoding ? Any input I'd appreciate.
 
@valued17 using ds218. Since it's a realtek processor instead of intel it can't do hardware transcoding on Plex.

The inbuilt video station software can play them fine though. But I'm partial to Plex.

PLEX has problems playing older codecs like wmv , avi smoothly.

My android smart tv Plex app also can't direct play some of the older codecs.

After doing some research nvidia shield was the device that seems to be the recommended device that plays everything without needing transcoding.

I was also thinking about apple tv 4k as an option but it has some issues with some audio passthrough.

Ultimately the codec compatibility and the ai upscaling feature of shield tv made me choose it.

If next year the new apple tv hardware is impressive, I'll sell the shield and buy that[emoji57]

Until then shield tv is going to be my media streamer.
 
Right, I believe their + Models are better suited for transcoding. I am eyeing DS220+.

I didnt know Plex has problems playing wmv, avi files, looks like I will need to update my library to mp4/mpk.

Thank you for the update.
 
@valued17 I regret not getting the + version. The + version can run docker which is a big plus IMO as it provides greater flexibility in installing apps.

220+ is the best NAS for home media center IMO.

It will transcode older codecs without issues on Plex.
 
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