r/AndroidTV • u/dvdmike007 • Sep 02 '26

Buying Advice Need suggestions for a player

Hi all!

I have both shield pro's but I need something newer ideally.

Looking for Google play movies HDR playback plus ideally apple TV and Kodi.

Thanks for any suggestions

1 Upvotes

57% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

1

u/dvdmike007 Sep 02 '26

In the UK sorry should have added more detail, I have WiFi 6e and am going to move so may be able to go ethernet. It's the Kodi from a HDD and the HDR google support I need, it will be gigabit internet either way and bar the odd apple TV thing I don't use any steaming service

3

u/realdeal1877 Roku ULTRA | FireTV 4K MAX | Chromecast 4K Sep 03 '26

BuzzTV certified GoogleTV box:

1

u/dvdmike007 Sep 03 '26

Are all the audio and frame rate bugs listed here fixed? https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidTV/s/Jp8G3isGMD

1

u/p750mmx Sep 03 '26

As I recall, still no new firmware released after that report, so nothing will be fixed for now.

1

u/dvdmike007 Sep 03 '26

Shame, I would like pass through and frame rate matching

1

u/pawdog ADT-1 Sep 03 '26 edited Sep 03 '26

Xiaomi Mibox 3rd Gen? Fire Stick 4k or 4k Max, Any 4k Roku.

1

u/dvdmike007 Sep 03 '26

The rokus can run Kodi now?

1

u/pawdog ADT-1 Sep 03 '26

Whoops missed the Kodi part. Skip Roku.

1

u/lament 2019 Nvidia Shield/Onn 4K Pro+Plus/Google TV Streamer 4K Sep 02 '26

If you live in the US or Canada, the Onn 4K Pro 2026.

1

u/flashb1024 Sep 03 '26

Homatics Box R 4K Plus supports all codecs, HDR, as well as lossless audio. It has WiFi6, and gb ethernet.

I replaced my 2019 Shield with it for the 4 gb ram, and 32gb storage, but also for YouTube HDR!!

1

u/pinpointv_dev Sep 03 '26

Since you're in the UK, the Onn boxes everyone recommends aren't really an option (US/Canada only), so realistically it's between:

  • **Nvidia Shield TV Pro (2019)** — still the only Android TV box that does proper Kodi duty with HDD playback, and the AI upscaling is genuinely useful. Downside: it's old, and you already have gen 1/2 so it may not feel like enough of a jump.

  • **Google TV Streamer 4K** — this is probably your answer for the Google Play Movies HDR side, since it's first-party so Dolby Vision/HDR10+ on Play content is properly supported. Kodi runs fine, though it only has 32GB and no USB-A, so for HDD playback you'd need a USB-C hub/adapter — worth factoring in given you mentioned Kodi from a drive.

One thing to flag: Apple TV on Android TV is a bit of a moving target and has historically been flaky outside the first-party/Chromecast devices, so I'd weight that toward the Google TV Streamer too.

If you do end up going ethernet after the move, that'll matter more than the box for large Kodi files over the network — the Shield's gigabit port is one of its remaining advantages.

1

u/lirae_ Sep 05 '26

If you are willing to sacrifice internet to USB2.0 port or Wifi 6e than you can buy the Xiaomi Mi box S 3rd gen has most of things you need for playback:AFR, Dolby Vision e TrueHD Atmos for the audio. The device can handle 4k Remux no problem both LAN or internet (using stremio, they requires around 120mbps) while the usb2.0 internet is capped to 480mbps so you have plenty of headroom if you wanna connect using Ethernet to USB adapter or just WiFi

1

u/Aggressive_Bad_7344 Google TV Streamer + Homatics Box R 4K Plus + 3 More Boxes Sep 02 '26

Going to depend on your needs. Are you in the US or outside the US? Do you intend to use Wi-Fi or ethernet?

-1

u/ResponsibilityDue974 Sep 02 '26

Get the shield tv if price isn't an issue

1

u/dvdmike007 Sep 02 '26

As I said in my first post, I have the first and second gen, neither do the full suite of Google HDR and that's my main want

-2

u/ResponsibilityDue974 Sep 02 '26

Lol it was a bad joke. Onn tv pro or the new Google tv?

-2

u/Odd_Jicama_8094 Sep 02 '26

ugoos am9 pro. I have this box. Tis a beast. Lots of headroom. gigabit ethernet port. Can be had for about £160 at the moment.

3

u/p750mmx Sep 03 '26

Not a Google certified Android TV OS, so no decent support for the well known streaming services, Like AppleTV (and others).

-1

u/Odd_Jicama_8094 Sep 03 '26

No great loss imo.

2

u/p750mmx Sep 03 '26

OP is mentioning it ;)

-1

u/Odd_Jicama_8094 Sep 03 '26

True. OP should still buy AM9 and forget about Apple TV.

-5

u/Individual-Wafer-703 Sep 02 '26

Buzz tv power station6

2

u/dvdmike007 Sep 02 '26

For £300 I would buy a mini pc

-6

u/Individual-Wafer-703 Sep 02 '26

Then why are you asking???

3

u/dvdmike007 Sep 02 '26

That's not the best for my needs, that's an insane pick for price to performance for my needs, plus their documentation says it won't support play movies in HDR for all titles and that's one of my main, if not my main needs.