Android TV box questions

[JonGrose94]

I'm new to the whole Android TV box scene so have a few questions.

Background: I have an app on my android phone which I can use to view live sports streams and works really well.

Questions:

1) Am I right in thinking I can use a Android TV box to turn my TV into a giant smartphone where I can use the play stire to download that app so I can in theory watch the sports on a TV rather than a phone?

2) What would I need to look out for when picking an Android TV box?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Andrew Cole]

Hi, Jon... welcome to the forum.

The answer to your first question is 'YES!'
Your TV box will give you access to all the apps from the PlayStore.
Many of the boxes come with a version of Kodi already installed but you can download the latest version from the Kodi website or the Google PlayStore, too.
(You may have to uninstall the existing version, though!)

The answer to your second question is...

Almost all these boxes do the same thing the same way with the same degree of success and failure...

My advice would be to get a box running Android 5 minimum (preferably 6) as the latest version of Kodi won't install on older Android TV boxes.
______________________________________________
The Kodi website clearly states that Kodi 17 requires Android 5 or higher AND that Android 6 will probably be the new minimum for future versions.
______________________________________________

If it makes you feel better you can get 2 GBs of rom and 16 GBs of RAM but this hardware boost doesn't really make that much difference to the performance of the apps like Kodi.
(It's the strength and speed of your internet connection which matters most.)

Finally, don't expect too much for a $30 device.
They are brilliant when they work and useless when they don't!
If it works out of the box be thankful and don't be too mad when it eventually breaks.
(These are cheap and poorly made devices, regardless of the name on the box!)

Good luck.