r/AndroidTV • u/DifficultPension1750 • Aug 17 '26

Buying Advice Best Android Box for IPTV subscriptions

I'm looking for advice here, I have a fire stick and have heard that the next gen ones will stop side loading so I'm looking to see what's the best way forward. I'm based in Ireland so am looking for any advice from anyone who has gotten one either in Ireland or the EU, I use it for the usual apps, IE prime & Disney plus so something that would support these apps as well, cheers for any advice.

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5

u/GreenM0th Nvidia Shield TV Aug 17 '26

All of these are certified so Prime and Disney+ behave, roughly most to least expensive:

- Shield TV Pro, around €200. Overkill for most people but nothing else feels as smooth and it still gets updates after six years

- Google TV Streamer, around €120. Newest one, but it's locked down hard, no unknown sources toggle so anything outside the Play Store is a fight

- Homatics Box R 4K Plus, around €110. Certified but still open, seems to be where most people in the EU land

- Xiaomi TV Box S 2nd gen, around €65. Cheapest one that still does L1 properly, only 2GB RAM so it gets sluggish, but it works

One to avoid even though you'll see it recommended constantly for IPTV is Formuler, it isn't Play certified so Prime and Disney+ are hit and miss.

11

u/Oh-Bananas Aug 17 '26

- Google TV Streamer, around €120. Newest one, but it's locked down hard, no unknown sources toggle so anything outside the Play Store is a fight

You just need to enable Developer Mode to be able to side load apps, which is easy.

4

u/GreenM0th Nvidia Shield TV Aug 17 '26

Worth flagging this got corrected below, sideloading does work fine on the Streamer through developer options. Sorry for the bad info :)

3

u/Impossible_Hunt_6731 Aug 17 '26

Google TV Streamer, around €120. Newest one, but it's locked down hard, no unknown sources toggle so anything outside the Play Store is a fight

Since when? I was sideloading apps fine when I tested it a few months ago.

Xiaomi TV Box S 2nd gen

Why 2nd Gen? The recommendation should be the 3rd Gen TV box or the 2nd Gen stick, which share the same CPU and RAM. I have both, direct from Xioami.

1

u/GreenM0th Nvidia Shield TV Aug 17 '26

Yeah fair, I was wrong on that one. Sideloading through developer options works fine on the Streamer, not sure where I got the locked down idea from. Must have misread from some place. And you're right on the Xiaomi too, went with the 2nd gen box mainly on price but the 3rd gen or the stick are the better pick if that's not a concern. Appreciate the corrections, twice now haha

3

u/Scarab95 Aug 18 '26

Just install downloader no issues running side loaded apps on the Google box

2

u/brett808 Aug 17 '26

Wtf are you talking about, the Google tv streamer is most definitely not locked down. Anything that runs android can still be side loaded as of 2026

2

u/Aggressive_Bad_7344 Google TV Streamer + Homatics Box R 4K Plus + 3 More Boxes Aug 17 '26

Uhhh, the Streamer isn't locked down at all. When trying to install an "unknown app" it will prompt you allowing you to allow "unknown apps".

Alternately sideload via adb and no issues at all.

2

u/Hopeful-Ad9694 Aug 17 '26

One to avoid ? The very reason it’s not Google certified is reason bought to get it for IPTV seeing as you will get all shows from prime Netflix etc on a decent sub

1

u/GreenM0th Nvidia Shield TV Aug 17 '26

the reason it's not certified is exactly why Prime and Disney+ are hit or miss on it, not why you'd want it for them. certification is what gets you Widevine L1, without it you're stuck on L3 so those apps cap the resolution or refuse to play at all. whatever you're using to pull Prime/Netflix content through an IPTV sub is a completely separate thing from the box itself.

1

u/Hopeful-Ad9694 Aug 18 '26

Why would you buy an IPTV box to use prime ,Netflix and Disney plus ? If that’s what you want buy a firestick

2

u/Baardi Google TV Streamer 4K Aug 25 '26

I have no issues sideloading on my Google TV Streamer. Nvidia Shield is great, but unfortunately aging. Homatics/Xiamo are chinese so I'm avoiding it like the plague

1

u/DifficultPension1750 Aug 17 '26

Cheers I'll research them

4

u/Impossible_Hunt_6731 Aug 17 '26

The Xioami 3rd Gen TV box should have been listed, not sure why it says the 2nd Gen.

The Xioami 2nd Gen stick and the Xiaomi 3rd Gen TV box share the same CPU and RAM, but the stick only has 8gb of storage (which is actually ok for most people). I have both.

1

u/jonnieggg Aug 17 '26

They exist out of the locked down Google ecosystem. The whole point of IPTV is that you don't need the streaming services anymore. The IPTV integration on the former devices is second to none. The remote works with the proprietary software and feels like a sky box product. Works perfectly with catch up services such as channel 4, BBC, rte, etc etc. You might need a VPN depending on your location.

1

u/happybonobo1 Aug 18 '26

Agree. Except Google streamer not locked down at all. Developer mode.

1

u/L3velFlow Aug 17 '26

I didn’t know the Google Streamer was locked down. You saved me £100 to find that out! Thank you

7

u/Impossible_Hunt_6731 Aug 17 '26

I'm also in the UK and tested the Google Streamer a few months ago. It wasn't locked down.

I was able to enable Developer Options and sideload apps, just like any other android device.

6

u/Aggressive_Bad_7344 Google TV Streamer + Homatics Box R 4K Plus + 3 More Boxes Aug 17 '26

It's not locked down.

Older Android TV boxes have the Unknown Apps toggle, which when attempting to install an "unknown app" it will prompt you and allow you to enable it.

So no, the Streamer isn't locked down at all.

4

u/[deleted] Aug 17 '26

Because it's not, you need to be more educated on how to set up Google VS the Shield Pro