A Solid Alternative to SmartTV Sets
So I have decided to drop satellite TV. I did the sums: for the 160 UAH a month it costs me, I actually watch two channels, and only when I have the time, and any film I do sit down to watch is constantly interrupted by adverts.
So I set out to buy an IPTV box. Looking through what was on offer, I came across something rather better: video players that run Android!
I worked my way through a stack of reviews and settled on the Toucan NANO SХ PLUS. It came with a remote that has a QWERTY keyboard and a joystick, which is exactly what you want for Android.
The Cortex A9 processor (the same chip as in the iPAD) and 1 GB of RAM handle HD video without breaking a sweat. Video runs happily over WiFi, depending on what your router can push, and over a LAN cable. My house was wired for network cable from the start, so cable is what I use.
One of the good things about this box is that an ordinary keyboard and mouse plug straight into it, wireless ones included. External flash drives, hard disks, CD drives and 3G modems all work fine as well. I have also had a webcam with a built-in microphone running on it.
The 3G modem took a bit of work. The box picked up the Kyivstar one without any trouble, but I could not find a driver for the MTS one. That turned out not to matter: the USB port let me connect the box to a computer, root it and install the drivers from Debian (I found the fix online). For video I installed FS VideoBox from PlayMarket, which has a big collection of films, series and music, plenty of it in HD. I have the same app on my Nexus 7. And installing an IPTV app to watch broadcast channels in digital quality is no trouble at all.
I can thoroughly recommend this box. For that money you get what amounts to a computer, and clearly more features than the expensive televisions with SmartTV, where every new service costs you another subscription on top.
When you are choosing an Android player, the make hardly matters. To my mind these are the specs to look at:
– A processor of 1 GHz or better;
– RAM of NO LESS THAN 1 GB;
– Android 4 or newer;
– Several USB ports;
– I would strongly recommend one that comes with a remote with a proper QWERTY keyboard;
-I would also urge you to get a player with both network interfaces, WiFi and LAN (for a cable);
– Before you buy, go to the manufacturer’s site and find your model there. See whether there are firmware update files for the player you have picked. Ideally the product should still be supported by the manufacturer.
I hope this has been useful.
I hope you make the right choice!
