Anyone use an android TV box for streaming?

A question about : Anyone use an android TV box for streaming?

Been looking around for an android TV box for streaming TV but does anyone have any experience with this type of set up streaming Sky channels?

I understand quality will depend on the internet level you have, but are these boxes actually worth the Ј40 -Ј60ish cost and are some boxes better than others?

Also anyone have one with the XBMC software insatlled that can 'review' this for me?

Thanks as usual

Best answers:

• Using xbmc to stream pay TV channels is not really the right way to go about things. if you want to watch sky channels pay sky, vm, BT, or whoever for the right to do so and they will give you a box to do it on.
  As far as the boxes themselves go, you get what you pay for. The cheaper A20 dual core ones, around the price you stated, are slow and have a stupidly bad WiFi range and speed. To get a decent one you should go for a newer quad core with external aerials but these are usually well over Ј60, nearer to Ј100.
  The cheap ones do have an Ethernet connection though so WiFi shouldn't be a deal breaker but they are still slow.
  I have a cheap one that I use to stream from the network drive to an older not-smart TV and it works well for that. I can browse the internet and all the other things you would expect too.
• I use a raspberry Pi and XBMC, its absoloutley fine streaming and decoding HD content.
  The menus are a little slow when you compare it to a laptop.
• Spec varies between the boxes. Anything from 512mb RAM to 2GB+
  If the specs too low it wont cope with HD video's.
• You can side-load XBMC on to an Amazon FireTV (along with apps that turn the device into a TV recorder if you plug a HDD or pendrive into the USB port).
  It takes a lot of patience and a good deal of patching, but it works well.
  If you want to save time/hassle, then there are plenty of places that sell it with all the add-ons configured, but expect to pay Ј120 for the privaledge.