I have been having a number of conversations with people about what Android Boxes are the best for the money and there are always people that label the main distributors of Android Boxes as .. Knockoffs or Cheap in comparison to Nvidia or Xiaomi.
When the Xiaomi Mi Box was to be sold by Walmart I was at the point that I was going to upgrade my old Android 4.4 box for a new one. My old box still works but I needed h.265 support because I am converting my Recorded TV to that format to save size. It can fully play h.264 content and it can connect to sites like Youtube and Crackle to watch online content.
Then I started looking at the Mi and its hardware.
Its CPU GPU was the same as all of the other KNOCKOFF brands or maybe it was not as good
It came with a premium of $30 or more over other boxes.
There is no wired ethernet which I want in my home for security of my NAS which I don’t want to make available over WiFi so the average neighbor or someone wardriving can access it.
By the time I was ready to make my purchase and with some research here I decided on a KM8 Pro
The KM8 Pro was listed for $54 with free 10 day shipping which was not a big deal I can wait 10 days
It offers Wired Ethernet and WiFi.
It offers a better CPU/GPU than the Mi and has 2gb ram 16gb storage and a microSD Slot to add to internal storage.
I am not a Gamer so the Nvidia Shield is not something I am looking at .. I like PC Games anyway and they do have some support for that but why not just get a gaming rig if I am going that way. Unfortunately I have little downtime in my life .. what I need is a TV Box to have TV in the background as I work and do other things.
Also the Nvidia costs a few hundred dollars and other than the GPU CPU for Gaming there really isn’t all that much to offer in additional hardware or software support.
THE PROBLEM IS … DRM SUPPORT…
Now I know my KM8 Pro as other boxes has the DRM level software installed.
The problem is having Netflix and other distributors Approve these devices.
Even my old Android 4.4 device can play MLB.com live content as I had an account with them last year.
and DRM and Approval .. is not just a problem for the Android Boxes.
DirecTVNow was holding off on approving the Roku
If someone wants to say the ROKU is not a Primary Device that should be approved in days not weeks that is foolish.
BUT even though there are tons of Rokus out there … there are many times that in Android Boxes.
I have not looked into how many boxes that DoCooler Minix and Other makers ship but it has to be 10 to 1 over any other device.
and when the comparison to shipped devices is compared to Nvidia Shields costing $200-$300 I am sure that DoCooler must ship 100 to 1 as many devices.
Its really like people Loving GM Cars back in the 1970’s and then Honda came out with tiny cars for Japan that they shipped to the USA … AND THEN THE OIL CRISIS HIT.. And there were Waiting Lines at the gas pumps and you could only get gas every other day based on the last digit of your license plate if it was Odd or Even… I remember that.. The people in Hondas and VW Bugs were driving around as other people tried to scam the lines to get gas for work.
These boxes are not knockoffs they are leading the development of better hardware.
So .. What can we do as owners of these devices to get Content Distributors to stop the Backroom deals with Apple, Nvidia and Xiaomi and get our devices approved?
There are many millions more of us.
I understand Kodi is going to install DRM in the future maybe…
I am not sure that will get approval from the big distributors like Netflix or others.
There is a thread on the Minix Website Form where they released some internal Emails they had with Netflix where Netflix basically told them YOU WILL NEVER GET APPROVAL because they refuse to review their products.. that is insane.. you have a maker begging to be approved and it would bring millions of users to your company vs these users prirating content … and they say NEVER? .. its insane…
But I would like to hear what other owners think about this….
We own devices with great hardware .. with DRM installed.. and we are spit on by companies that control the content.
For me I am lucky I have been recording TV for Years and I have a NAS full of stuff and many of the free sites out there do give me access with no problems.
But for others they need DirecTVNow and Vue and Netflix
What can we do as a group to get our hardware reviewed and approved?
Can we start an online petition or something?
Can doing this also help Kodi get approval from theses sites?