# Android tv boxes



## Phssll

I have been looking at android tv boxes firstly the *MX2* Android TV Box XBMC Dual Core and for the money look great value but i dont think it supports Ultra HD like 4k and later i the year i will be getting one or maybe a oled screen but i have since come across this box *Minix x8h* which generally looks faster with a better user interface and also supports 4k has anyone had any experience using either of these boxes or similar ?

Thanks in advance


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## Rob74

I've got a mx box & have just bought a second for the mother inlaw but unfortunately hers isn't working properly & is looking like its a cheep knock off  

A friend has the neo x8 and says its fantastic, we are looking at an upgrade soon but not sure what to go with. 
I don't think any of them support ultra HD but I could be wrong.


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## Phssll

Rob74 said:


> I've got a mx box & have just bought a second for the mother inlaw but unfortunately hers isn't working properly & is looking like its a cheep knock off
> 
> A friend has the neo x8 and says its fantastic, we are looking at an upgrade soon but not sure what to go with.
> I don't think any of them support ultra HD but I could be wrong.


There are different versions the full name is Minnix Neo X8 and the Minix Neo X8H and the X8H supports 4k

"NEO X8-H Plus offers 4K2K UHD video playback, delivering an even clearer and better looking image when watching your media content on larger screens. The 4K2K UHD video playback feature means smoother edges and depth, producing a more detailed picture and a superior viewing experience for MINIX Android™ TV box users".


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## Rob74

Thanks for that Phssll I will defiantly be looking at those ready for my upgrade


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## Xploit

I bought the Minix Neo M8-H last year and have recently got it working really well with downloaded content, although to make life easier I need to upgrade to a NAS system and use it with that which is why i've popped on DW to see what folk say about NAS drives...

I understand the M8-H does support 4K but as there is next to no 4K content available i'm not too bothered, 4K is wasted on 55inch or below.


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## danwel

Go on facebook and look for M8 and T8 Quad Core as there is a guy selling the M8S boxes with support for £95 delivered. I have the MX box and love it but am upgrading to M8S box in the next few days.

Well worth the cash but I'd also look at possibly buying a VPN just to be on the safe side as it is something I'm looking into


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## possul

we have a Droibox MX
although ours wasn't bought from a shop  its fantastic once you get used to how they work.
although it doesn't support 4k there will be streams available, but n 4k here so not a big deal. blueray is fine for us on a led tv


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## Clean ocd

netflix on my 4k tv is supported which is decent


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## NickTB

What's the minimum D/L speed needed? Living in a village, the most I'll ever get is 4.5MBPS. A far cry from London where I was getting 75


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## danwel

Anything lower than 10 meg is a waste of time mate


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## NickTB

danwel said:


> Anything lower than 10 meg is a waste of time mate


Thought that may be the case


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## Warduke

I can highly recommend these android tv boxes..great product and good customer service back up as well..you get regular updates for all the TV add-ons. 
http://www.droidsticks.co.uk/

This is the box i use cracking piece of kit.
http://www.droidsticks.co.uk/shop/t8-aml-v2-amlogic-s802-quad-core-2-0-ghz-android-4-4-mini-4k-tv-box/

They have a YouTube channel with loads of help videos and set-up guides for all
there boxes.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5GDCXxhpfC7PO4NjC4s3RQ


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## Rob74

NickTB said:


> What's the minimum D/L speed needed? Living in a village, the most I'll ever get is 4.5MBPS. A far cry from London where I was getting 75


We are in a village with a steady 5.5-6mb download & I would say 90% of the time we can stream HD but any less & I'm not sure but it might be ok for standard definition


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## Phssll

Warduke said:


> I can highly recommend these android tv boxes..great product and good customer service back up as well..you get regular updates for all the TV add-ons.
> http://www.droidsticks.co.uk/
> 
> This is the box i use cracking piece of kit.
> http://www.droidsticks.co.uk/shop/t8-aml-v2-amlogic-s802-quad-core-2-0-ghz-android-4-4-mini-4k-tv-box/
> 
> They have a YouTube channel with loads of help videos and set-up guides for all
> there boxes.
> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5GDCXxhpfC7PO4NjC4s3RQ


Do you use the wifi connection if so whats it like ?


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## Warduke

Phssll said:


> Do you use the wifi connection if so whats it like ?


Yes only use the wifi connection works flawlessly.


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## danwel

I found my box to work better with an Ethernet cable


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## Rob74

My mx box works a lot better on Ethernet but I know people with the same box (from the same seller) who have no problems on wifi


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## ncd

Warduke said:


> I can highly recommend these android tv boxes..great product and good customer service back up as well..you get regular updates for all the TV add-ons.
> http://www.droidsticks.co.uk/
> 
> This is the box i use cracking piece of kit.
> http://www.droidsticks.co.uk/shop/t...quad-core-2-0-ghz-android-4-4-mini-4k-tv-box/
> 
> They have a YouTube channel with loads of help videos and set-up guides for all
> there boxes.
> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5GDCXxhpfC7PO4NjC4s3RQ


Thanks for the recommendation, been looking around at different android boxes, and going by your advice I ordered the same box as you have. Thanks very much.


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## Warduke

ncd said:


> Thanks for the recommendation, been looking around at different android boxes, and going by your advice I ordered the same box as you have. Thanks very much.


I'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised how good the box is...follow them on Twitter for updates and support they have a forum now as well.


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## ncd

Warduke said:


> I'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised how good the box is...follow them on Twitter for updates and support they have a forum now as well.


Yes, now following them on Twitter, just wish I ordered it last week so had the weekend to give it a try out. Never mind always next weekend (detailing duties pending).


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## Warduke

ncd said:


> Yes, now following them on Twitter, just wish I ordered it last week so had the weekend to give it a try out. Never mind always next weekend (detailing duties pending).


Shame.. All good thing's comes to those that wait


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## NickTB

And I find out last night that Sky Fiber has been installed last week! Hello 50meg!


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## leehob

Hi, anyone with an android tv box it's worth loading homecinema.mobi, great for streaming hd films, works great on my 7mb connection.:thumb:


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## NickTB

So is there a recommendation for a plug and play straight out of the box device? I'd like to get one ordered but I want a user friendly one to start off with


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## danwel

NickTB said:


> So is there a recommendation for a plug and play straight out of the box device? I'd like to get one ordered but I want a user friendly one to start off with


This guy is where id go. I bought mine elsewhere but he's helped me loads and I'm considering upgrading.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/M8-T8-QUAD-CORE-Android-4k-TV-BOX/655130264570531?ref=ts&fref=ts


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## NickTB

Just pulled the trigger on this MX3 - Android Smart TV Box Media Player - Ultra HD 4K: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

I figure it's not masses of money if I don't get on with it


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## Spoony

Considering one of these. I use a nowtv box for plex ATM. Considering one of these for plex and use for xbmc and showbox I guess.


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## pxr5

I've just got a Minix X8-H plus (comes with an A2 Airlite mouse too), and a great box it is. The Droidsticks/Droidbox are effectively charging £40 for a Wizard, which you could do yourself or get a decent community build. Also the Droidsticks is locked down to Static IPs, so if you are dynamic (which most of us are), you get 2 goes at updating the wizard. I can understand why they might want to protect their wizard, but locking out users is a bit harsh.


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## Dode

I have just been looking at these boxes recently. Not very sure on the legallity of some of the content availble. Any advice?


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## stangalang

Im considering this for the unit, with a nice widescreen, and ironically had not seen this thread before. A buddy has just got an fx9? Says it comes already loaded with shoebox and mobdro and has a keyboard. £90 delivered. Does that sound about right?


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## NickTB

So to save me loads of grief, I need to get SIC (Portuguese TV channel) for my Mother In Law. Any ideas on how I go about finding it or installing it? Is it a case of finding it on the internet that's on XBMC? I have no issues using the pre installed channels but for the life of me I can't find this channel.
Any help would be seriously appreciated!
Thanks,
Nick


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## danwel

NickTB said:


> So to save me loads of grief, I need to get SIC (Portuguese TV channel) for my Mother In Law. Any ideas on how I go about finding it or installing it? Is it a case of finding it on the internet that's on XBMC? I have no issues using the pre installed channels but for the life of me I can't find this channel.
> Any help would be seriously appreciated!
> Thanks,
> Nick


Yes it's out there somewhere just a matter of finding it or adding the add on.

If you're struggling go on this forum and ask as they will point you in the direction of the relevant add on and where to look for it

http://jugglingfrogs.co.uk/jfrogsupport/index.php?sid=b2eb3e1d3a2175a6e0473beee1891e6b


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## danwel

stangalang said:


> Im considering this for the unit, with a nice widescreen, and ironically had not seen this thread before. A buddy has just got an fx9? Says it comes already loaded with shoebox and mobdro and has a keyboard. £90 delivered. Does that sound about right?


Matt, sounds about right. There's quite a few variants out there and some sellers offer no or next to no support so buy from someone who will help you out should you need to.

Also check the link I posted above as its a really good knowledge base for these boxes although it is specific to the seller juggling frogs. Juggling frogs if I'm honest is a touch slow with updates but nothing major. I'd possibly not buy a new box from them BUT the forum has great knowledge base.

Droidsticks mentioned above are getting rave reviews at the moment so worth considering as is the guy I mentioned on Facebook as he's helped me before and I've not even bought from him so that's where I will be getting my next box from


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## Spoony

I had a droid box and I've since given it away to a family member. I'm thinking about getting a T8 from ali express at around £75. If needs be I can try to custom set it up I guess. 

I'm between these and building a home theatre pc. But the android boxes seem so easy for so little cash really.


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## danwel

don't get a t8 spoony. get the fire stick that has been routed for 65 its way better. i can put you in touch with the guy who did mine and its fantastic bit of kit and super fast

this is his book face page but i can get you is email address if you'd rather. he actually offers support after too which is great and fast replies
https://www.facebook.com/pages/M8-T8-QUAD-CORE-Android-4k-TV-BOX/655130264570531?fref=ts


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## kenny wilson

Have been thinking about getting a fire stick, but have run out of hdmi sockets; did track this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Neet©-SWITC...qid=1433356808&sr=8-11&keywords=hdmi+2+into+1 down; reckon it would work?
A quick look at yer mans fb page makes for interesting reading, a routed one looks like an even better bet, prices?


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## Spoony

danwel said:


> don't get a t8 spoony. get the fire stick that has been routed for 65 its way better. i can put you in touch with the guy who did mine and its fantastic bit of kit and super fast
> 
> this is his book face page but i can get you is email address if you'd rather. he actually offers support after too which is great and fast replies
> https://www.facebook.com/pages/M8-T8-QUAD-CORE-Android-4k-TV-BOX/655130264570531?fref=ts


Was reading about the fire stick earlier but I pulled the trigger on a T8. I like the ability on the T8 to emulate PSOne games and other games. Not sure that's there with the fire stick. Though the fire stick does look tempting - maybe in future - considering the stick is only £25 paying him £68 seemed a far stretch.

Also T8 is good to plug external hard disk in to which I have.


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## danwel

Think the stick is 35 again. That's including a fiver postage. So paying for support and his custom skins etc. each to their own but I can honestly say it's unreal and lightning fast and in thoroughly recommend


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## Spoony

danwel said:


> Think the stick is 35 again. That's including a fiver postage. So paying for support and his custom skins etc. each to their own but I can honestly say it's unreal and lightning fast and in thoroughly recommend


Fair play, I was tempted if I'm honest. Just going with what I know in the T8, though fire stick may be good for other TV's other than the main one.

If he had an ebay store I would get one... got £50 of nectar points I can spend on the bay!!


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## danwel

I actually bought mine at 25 sent it to him and paid 25 so all in 50 which made it a bargain. They're all much of a muchness. My mx2 was terribly slow in comparison and I nearly bought same box as you


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## Spoony

The fire stick will definitely be my next purchase then. 

The T8 was pretty much quick enough for me. Not see the fire stick could be much quicker! Can you mirror phone to it or airplay to it?


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## danwel

Spoony said:


> The fire stick will definitely be my next purchase then.
> 
> The T8 was pretty much quick enough for me. Not see the fire stick could be much quicker! Can you mirror phone to it or airplay to it?


yes you can mate but I don't know what apk to use. Have a look at the guys FB page as there's some nice vids on there showing it working, I'm impressed and currently watching daredevil


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## kenny wilson

Just got the fire stick, although I've nothing to compare it back to, I do find it incredibly quick, dunno if the mega broadband speed is the reason. Guess it can't hurt eh.
Good bloke to deal with, simple to set up and great bit of kit:thumb:


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## Rob74

This is what we upgraded to http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=271684682901&alt=web and so far we've not had any problems & it's so much quicker


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## danwel

kenny wilson said:


> Just got the fire stick, although I've nothing to compare it back to, I do find it incredibly quick, dunno if the mega broadband speed is the reason. Guess it can't hurt eh.
> Good bloke to deal with, simple to set up and great bit of kit:thumb:


My brother and make have about 4 meg broadband and it's flawless even with those low speeds


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## kenny wilson

Good kit then eh!


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## danwel

kenny wilson said:


> Good kit then eh!


Definitely mate. Knocks spots off my mx2 box


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## Spoony

Just bought a fire stick to play with. I've got a fairly top spec android TV box but these sticks just got me curious shame I didn't pounce when they were down to £25! Still a steal at £35


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## Rob74

I'm thinking of getting the mother in law a fire stick as she loves our android box does anybody know if you can conect a keyboard/mouse to it??


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## danwel

Spoony said:


> Just bought a fire stick to play with. I've got a fairly top spec android TV box but these sticks just got me curious shame I didn't pounce when they were down to £25! Still a steal at £35


Are you going to side load SPMC onto it then?


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## Spoony

Rob74 said:


> I'm thinking of getting the mother in law a fire stick as she loves our android box does anybody know if you can conect a keyboard/mouse to it??


A bluetooth one I believe you can



danwel said:


> Are you going to side load SPMC onto it then?


Yeah I am, looking forward to it arriving tomorrow to have a play. Might build a custom skin myself.


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## danwel

Spoony said:


> A bluetooth one I believe you can
> 
> Yeah I am, looking forward to it arriving tomorrow to have a play. Might build a custom skin myself.


Let me know how you get one mate as I ended up paying for someone to do mine as I wasn´t quite sure where to start with the side loading and custom skin if i´m honest


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## Rob74

The fire stick arrived today so I've been watching YouTube videos on loading kodi so hopefully I will get it done tonight or tomorrow


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## Hotchy

I just bought a cheap £30 android box, fully set up and the best thing iv ever had. Its a wonder people still subscribe to sky lol


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## CLS500Benz

Not got round to getting a android box yet but do occasionally use apps on my spare android phone such as ShowBox, HD Cinema, Sky HD etc.. All have worked pretty good although I've had better success with the 'Sky HD' app as its called along with the 'AllCast' app to put the picture on the TV. Few devices ive used such as Roku 2, Chromecast, Samsung SmartTV.. etc... With the 'AllCast' app.


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## Spoony

danwel said:


> Let me know how you get one mate as I ended up paying for someone to do mine as I wasn´t quite sure where to start with the side loading and custom skin if i´m honest


Got it all sorted, built skin on PC and the add ons etc but don't really like the fire stick for xbmc. It's not a patch on the android box at all. Not overly impressed by it.


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## clubber01

Amazon Fire sticks are £19 today if you're a Prime member


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## gatecrasher3

Deniance said:


> Can this streaming new films and sky sports be stopped!


Yes it can be and has for some as UK ISP's are ordered to block access to some streaming sites.

The loss of access is normally only temporary though whilst alternative links are set up.

Does Kodi support VPN within its config settings rather than having to add it at router level as that would mean no loss of access if a streaming site was blocked.


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## Zolasbackheel

Just ordered one of the fire sticks for £19. I am not the most technically gifted so anyone got an easy to follow link to install the software to stream films etc?


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## m1pui

Zolasbackheel said:


> Just ordered one of the fire sticks for £19. I am not the most technically gifted so anyone got an easy to follow link to install the software to stream films etc?


Embarrassingly I struggled like an idiot to follow some youtube guide. I've just paid £5 to some guy on eBay that apparently emails installation files and instructions over so hopefully that will work better. If not then he's located about 10miles from me so I may badger him to doing it for me :lol:

EDIT: I've got Kodi installed, but just haven't got a clue what to do from there and was hoping to find a way of having Kodi load up on the main screen rather than have to go through the settings menu to load the app


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## Zolasbackheel

Cheers I will have a look. I dont mind paying for it to be done if it works properly. I will see if anyone at work has had a go at doing one.


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## CLS500Benz

Been thinking about buying this Fire Stick... Hard to chose with so many sellers claiming all sorts.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AMAZON-FIRE-TV-Stick-KODI-XBMC-T8-M8-MEDIA-STREAMER-/201374985094?


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## Aletank

vxlomegav6 said:


> Been thinking about buying this Fire Stick... Hard to chose with so many sellers claiming all sorts.
> 
> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AMAZON-FIRE-TV-Stick-KODI-XBMC-T8-M8-MEDIA-STREAMER-/201374985094?


 I'm at the same point as you, lookin n lookin at different sellers/adverts etc
This one is lookin the fav at the moment Click Me


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## shycho

m1pui said:


> EDIT: I've got Kodi installed, but just haven't got a clue what to do from there and was hoping to find a way of having Kodi load up on the main screen rather than have to go through the settings menu to load the app


How did you get on with the email instructions? I've managed to get as far as installing Kodi as well but that is it...


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## Spoony

If you got kodi on then follow this next: http://droidkid.net/xbmckodi-setup/

This will guide you on the shortcut on home screen: http://www.htpcbeginner.com/kodi-shortcut-on-amazon-fire-tv/


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## m1pui

shycho said:


> How did you get on with the email instructions? I've managed to get as far as installing Kodi as well but that is it...


Haven't gotten to do it yet. Looks fairly straight forward I think...



> Just make sure you have a clean install of KODI or XBMC or clear data on an existing install.
> Download the file onto an sdcard or usb stick. then open KODI or XBMC go to system > addons > install from zip and then locate the file. Once that's done just go to programs and run the wizard and click on the fully loaded setup.


and there's a handful of files in a zip folder to load. What could go wrong


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## Spoony

m1pui said:


> Haven't gotten to do it yet. Looks fairly straight forward I think...
> 
> and there's a handful of files in a zip folder to load. What could go wrong


You'll need to use the pc program to push the files on to the fire stick as it's got no USB or SD capability has it.


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## nbray67

Right peeps.

Can I watch Sky Sports and BT Sports on one of these boxes???

I'm looking at this one for £110 http://www.droidsticks.co.uk/shop/c...-4-4-mini-4k-tv-box-and-i8-wireless-keyboard/

Any help would be appreciated, cheers!


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## Deniance

I can watch all the sports sky bt espn, but when i tried it was grainy sd, but its free


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## m1pui

Spoony said:


> You'll need to use the pc program to push the files on to the fire stick as it's got no USB or SD capability has it.


Yeah. When I loaded Kodi onto it the other night I did it from my laptop whilst the stick was plugged into the TV.

OS X app is called something like ADBFire


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## Spoony

nbray67 said:


> Right peeps.
> 
> Can I watch Sky Sports and BT Sports on one of these boxes???
> 
> I'm looking at this one for £110 http://www.droidsticks.co.uk/shop/c...-4-4-mini-4k-tv-box-and-i8-wireless-keyboard/
> 
> Any help would be appreciated, cheers!


Exact box I've got and it's excellent. If it comes with sports donkey sub which I think it used to then you'll be good for sports.


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## shycho

Spoony said:


> If you got kodi on then follow this next: http://droidkid.net/xbmckodi-setup/
> 
> This will guide you on the shortcut on home screen: http://www.htpcbeginner.com/kodi-shortcut-on-amazon-fire-tv/


Thanks for that! The top link was ideal and gave me everything I needed!


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## Zolasbackheel

Finally got Kodi onto my Fire stick and well happy with it. I will have to try and sort out adding the App icon as it is pretty annoying having to find it through settings each time.

Gonna have to order another stick for downstairs now.


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## STEALTH K3

I have ordered a Fire stick I did look at the ones from droid stick they look a bit too much for what I need and that premium telephone number for advice put me off also


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## nbray67

STEALTH K3 said:


> I have ordered a Fire stick I did look at the ones from droid stick they look a bit too much for what I need and that premium telephone number for advice put me off also


I still haven't bit the bullet as yet but I did email Droidsticks for some info on this http://www.droidsticks.co.uk/shop/c...i-4k-tv-box-and-i8-wireless-keyboard/#reviews

3 days later and still no reply despite 'reviews' saying the advice and back up is superb!!

I'd ring but I'm not paying £1.53 per minute to a premium rate tel number for advice they offer by email.


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## Spoony

nbray67 said:


> I still haven't bit the bullet as yet but I did email Droidsticks for some info on this http://www.droidsticks.co.uk/shop/c...i-4k-tv-box-and-i8-wireless-keyboard/#reviews
> 
> 3 days later and still no reply despite 'reviews' saying the advice and back up is superb!!
> 
> I'd ring but I'm not paying £1.53 per minute to a premium rate tel number for advice they offer by email.


I bought from www.droidbox.co.uk

What info you looking for?


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## nbray67

Spoony said:


> I bought from www.droidbox.co.uk
> 
> What info you looking for?


The one I've linked is the one you have Spoony but I'm trying to get my head around how tech savvy you need to be to get the best from these boxes.

Firstly, Is it plug and play. Out of the box and I get numerous channels?

If not, what do I need to do? I'm computer literate to an extent but some of the stuff I've read on Techkings etc...is out of my league.

I want to watch footy as I posted before. Does the T8 box allow me to do that straight out of the box?

If not, what do I need to do?

Basically, if the box isn't plug n play, what exactly do I need to do?

£110 is not a lot of money in terms of my £70mth Sky subscription but I want to know that if I spend £110 I'm not wasting my money. If there's something better for more money that is plug n play then I'll have it but it's gotta be capable of getting me my footy!!

TIA Spoony if you can answer the above.


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## ncd

nbray67 said:


> I still haven't bit the bullet as yet but I did email Droidsticks for some info on this http://www.droidsticks.co.uk/shop/c...i-4k-tv-box-and-i8-wireless-keyboard/#reviews
> 
> 3 days later and still no reply despite 'reviews' saying the advice and back up is superb!!
> 
> I'd ring but I'm not paying £1.53 per minute to a premium rate tel number for advice they offer by email.


Use their twitter support, it's almost instant answers and sometimes their 'follower' help with answers to.


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## Spoony

You have PM.


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## STEALTH K3

nbray67 said:


> I still haven't bit the bullet as yet but I did email Droidsticks for some info on this http://www.droidsticks.co.uk/shop/c...i-4k-tv-box-and-i8-wireless-keyboard/#reviews
> 
> 3 days later and still no reply despite 'reviews' saying the advice and back up is superb!!
> 
> I'd ring but I'm not paying £1.53 per minute to a premium rate tel number for advice they offer by email.


Thats the reason I did not go with them ****ed if I am paying a premium telephone number maybe later once use to the fire stick I will try them


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## MDC250

I'm so tempted but in the highly unlikely event got caught out its not worth my career. Will continue to get mugged off by Sky


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