Buying an Android TV box can be baffling. Chances are you've ended up here because you either know what an Android TV box is and want some buying advice – or you've been advised by others that an Android TV box is the solution to your streaming problems but you have no idea what that means. If it’s the latter, I have some bad news: no-one really knows what an Android TV box is. There’s no generally-accepted definition of what constitutes one of these streaming boxes, and many don’t even run Android TV.
Confused? You should be: the Android TV box market is a confusing place. However, with our guide, you can safely navigate your way to the right Android TV box for you.
Deal alert: Get X96Max Smart TV BOX Android 8.1 with 37% off. The following are the product details:
- Brand Name:VONTAR
- OTA Update:Yes
- Memory:4G DDR3
- Wireless:Yes
- Video Output:HDMI 2.0
- System Upgrade:Yes
- Model Number:X96 MAX
- Bluetooth:Yes
- Ethernet:1000M
- Internal Storage:64GB eMMC
- Remote Control:Included
- OS:Android
- Power:DC 5V,2A
- Weight:0.45kg
- GPU:ARM Mali-G31MP
- CPU:Amlogic S905X2 Quad Core ARM Cortex A53
- Processor:Amlogic S905X2 Quad Core ARM Cortex A53
- OS:Android 8.1 OS
- RAM:LPDDR4 2GB/4GB optional
- ROM:eMMC Flash 16GB/32/64GB optional
- Support HD:4K*2K UHD Output, HD 2.1, USD3.0
- Support Firmware:Online Upgrade
- VONTAR X96 MAX 2GB+16GB:2.4G Wifi+100M
- VONTAR X96 MAX 4GB+32GB/4GB+64GB:
- 2.4G&5GHz Dual Wifi+BT4.x+1000M
Highlights
Runs on Android 8.1
X96 MAX is at the moment one of the first TV Boxes which runs on Android 8.1 an update to Oreo that showcases more ways to express yourself, along with a handful of other features and improvements to stability as well as performance.
Amlogic S905X2
X96 MAX runs Android Oreo on Amlogic S905X2, an upgrade of its S905X2 predecessor with the same quad-core Cortex A53 cores paired with a ARM Dvalin MP2 GPU but adding VP9 hardware decoding, which is the absolute mainstream decoding formats around the global.
DDR4 4GB RAM, eMMC 32GB
It boasts DDR4 4GB RAM, and eMMC 32GB, advantageous in performance, security and reliability, ascribing to the eMMC memory, ultimately delivering a richer end-user experience.
True 4K Media Player
While your average media box might only accept 1080P video playback, this gadget plays just about any 4K sources you could throw at it. Furthermore, it moves out into reality the fantasy of VP9 hardware decoding alongside the H.265.
Access to KODI 18.0 and More
Like any Android-based media players, aside from the preinstalled KODI 18.0, it brings full access to Google Play Store apps like Netflix, Vudu, Skype, Picasa, Flicker, Youtube, Facebook etc.
What is an Android TV Box?
An Android TV box is a small set-top box, roughly the size of Apple TV, running either Google’s Android TV software or – more frequently – a re-skinned version of standard Android. In theory, this makes an Android TV box an incredibly flexible device for streaming content to your TV from the Internet or a NAS drive, or playing back media stored locally on the device itself.
AliExpress.com Product - VONTAR Android 7.1 TV BOX 2GB16GB Amlogic S905W Quad Core Suppot 2.4GHz WiFi Media Player IPTV Box X96 mini 1GB 8GB X96mini
Many market themselves as Kodi devices, and in the wilder parts of eBay you’ll find devices calling themselves Android TV boxes that claim to come unlocked or preloaded with what would normally be subscription channels or free content. Don’t buy them – these may be illegal and you could be breaking the law if you use them.
However, there are dozens of perfectly legal devices out there and there’s nothing illegal about the Kodi platform itself, provided you don’t use it with piracy-enabling add-ons.
What should you look for in an Android TV box?
Frankly, it’s a chaotic market, and the specs, features and boxes themselves change on a near-weekly basis. If you’re buying one of the myriad Chinese-made boxes, we’d advise looking for a quad-core or eight-core processor, at least 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage (often mis-named ROM) plus dual-band 2.4GHz/5GHz Wi-Fi and 4K support for future-proofing.
Frankly, it’s a chaotic market, and the specs, features and boxes themselves change on a near-weekly basis. If you’re buying one of the myriad Chinese-made boxes, we’d advise looking for a quad-core or eight-core processor, at least 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage (often mis-named ROM) plus dual-band 2.4GHz/5GHz Wi-Fi and 4K support for future-proofing.
The other thing to watch out for is software. Only a handful of Android TV boxes actually run what Google calls Android TV; most simply run a version of Android with the manufacturer’s own TV-focused interface. The latter may or may not have access to the Google Play store and may run pre-installed versions of Kodi and popular video-streaming apps.
Generally speaking, boxes running genuine Google Android TV are easier to use and more reliable, although even on these you might have problems running Netflix or Amazon Prime without employing esoteric workarounds. If you’re happy to tinker, though, you’ll find some bargains – and fun – to be had.
What to do before installing Stock Firmware on X96 TV Box [Android 8.1]
Having gotten the files to download and install Stock Firmware on X96 TV Box which is powered by Amlogic S905W processor. X96 TV Box comes packed with Android 8.1 Nougat firmware with 2GB DDR3 RAM and 16GB ROM.
There can be a couple of reasons why you might be willing to do so. For instance, you might be someone who had tried any other firmware on the device, or maybe you are facing some issues with the device. Whatever the case might be, the thing is that you want to install stock firmware on your X96 Pro and you want to do it quick.
Advantages of Installing Stock ROM
Here are some of the advantages of installing stock ROM on your X96 TV Box:
- You can unbrick your bricked device.
- Fix the boot loop issue by installing the Stock ROM.
- To upgrade or downgrade.
- To fix bugs lags on your Android Device.
- This Software Update helps to solve the issue with WiFi, Bluetooth and more.
Prerequisites
- Please note that this guide will work only with the X96 TV Box.
- You should have a formatted SD Card for this guide.
- Proceed to Instructions to Install X96 TV Box Stock ROM.
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