3 Things You Need to Know Before Buying an Android TV Box

It is now very easy to turn any LCD TV into a smart TV. You can use Google’s Chromecast and a wide
variety of similar devices to add the ability to stream content from your phone or your computer to
older LCD TVs. You can also install a dedicated Android TV box if you want to have more features for
a relatively small price.

See Visson Tech for IPTV and TV Box options.

There is no shortage of options too. Android TV boxes are not only easier to find these days, but
they’re also becoming very affordable. Before you go on a hunt for a good Android TV box to buy,
however, here are three main things you need to know.

Output Resolution

While Android TV boxes can be very affordable, not all of them offer high resolution output via
HDMI. Some of the older models and cheaper ones can only output 720p, so you get less resolution
and you won’t be able to enjoy the high quality media you get with better devices.

The majority of boxes you can find on the market, however, offer either 1080p or 4K output via
HDMI. The latter is suitable if you have an LCD TV that supports 4K, since you will be able to
maximise the screen’s capabilities with a 4K Android TV box.

There is one other thing you have to keep in mind when comparing output resolutions, and that is
the type of media you will play with the TV box. If you have a lot of high quality offline media files
stored on a hard drive or a network storage, then you’ll run into no issue. If you plan on using
streaming services, on the other hand, make sure you also have a fast internet connection to stream
at maximum quality.

Performance and Specs

Android TV boxes are very similar to Android phones. They rely on Arm Cortex processors for
processing power. Popular boxes such as the DroidBox T8-S and Ebox Q-Box use an octa-core
processor made by Amlogic, albeit with different clock speeds. The processor is then paired with 2
GB (or more) of RAM. This is the standard configuration that will deliver a smooth and fluid user
experience.

The best Android TV boxes, however, rely on an octa-core processor. Some of them even come with
bigger RAM and internal storage of up to 128 GB. A faster processor and bigger RAM translate to
better multitasking and media playback performance in general.

Support for More Storage

Lastly, be sure to check the Android TV box’s support for external storage. Devices like the Ebox T8 V
have a built-in hard disk slot, so you can install a hard drive directly. Other devices use USB
connections to allow the use of external drives.
Most of these Android TV boxes use Kodi as the media player and management of choice. Kodi also

supports networked drives and cloud storage, so you can also connect to these storage options to
access media files and stream content.

Android TV boxes are very affordable, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t convert your older
LCD TV into a smart entertainment system with plenty of features. Compare the available options
and find a TV box that suits your personal preferences best.

Beware that it might be hard to playback offline HD (full HD and 4K) media files via USB stick due to storage capacity limit on a USB drive. But you can facilitate file streaming by reducing video file size. It doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice movie quality and switch from HD to SD video standard. There are tools like Freemake Free Video Converter that shrinks big films into smaller files preserving original source quality. Read this for more information. Using free software, you can upload your reduced full HD files to a USB drive and watch video clips through an Android TV box.