[Amazon.com] TICTID MX Pro Android TV Box S905X [Android 5.1] TV Box OS Quad Core 1G/8G $29.99 W/FS/NT

NoCountry4RFDer wrote: ↑I don't think 1GB/8GB is worth it especially for a 1st box. Your impression will be based on it and lop you'll think all the boxes are slow

Exp315 wrote: ↑ Good value, and it will run the standard streaming apps ok even with 1 Gbyte RAM, but I agree that it would be better to spend just $10 more and get a better box with more memory.

BTW, how does this qualify for free shipping when it's under $35 with the discount? I know it says "free shipping" in the listing, but the list price is over $35.

idiotcanuck wrote: ↑ I think the vendor is offering the free shipping, not Amazon, as many of the Android box sellers do.
I agree, for many users extra ram would be advisable, but personally I am running a 905W 2GB/16GB and a 905X 1GB/8GB box in the house and I see little difference between them in typical streaming operations. I do recall an older 1/8 box that I had years ago being somewhat slow, but this doesn't seem to be so any longer with 1/8 boxes, or at least the one that I have.
The Android 5.1 on this box might be a factor for those who want to run Kodi on Android long term. It is compatible with the latest Kodi version, but who knows whether the next major Kodi update may forego 5.1 compatibility, in a year or two.

barnesy wrote: ↑ New to this space, which box would you recommend then?

https://www.amazon.ca/TICTID-RK-Quad-Co ... 641&sr=8-4

Exp315 wrote: ↑ As far as I am aware, if it's "Fulfilled by Amazon" (which is what you want), then the $35 free shipping limit applies.

I only retired my old TICTID S805 box with 1 Gbyte RAM a few months ago, and it was working fine for streaming, so I'm sure an S905X both with 1 Gbyte would be even better. The issues were that it was getting a little more sluggish over time due to unavoidable software and data bloat, and I had to use a special build of Kodi 17 for Android 4.4 since it's no longer officially supported and TICTID never offers updates (or support of any kind).

Although the box in this thread says "Android 5.1" in the title, it says Android 6.0 in the details, and I'm sure that 6.0 is correct since all S905X boxes come with Android 6.0. Shows how much you can rely on the specs though!

If I were buying a new box today, the things I would look for are:

1. Price under $50 incl. tax and shipping. There's no need to spend more on something that will be outdated in 2 years anyway.
2. Amazon.ca and "Fulfilled by Amazon" preferred. Other suppliers can be cheaper, but can't be trusted and may incur long delays and unexpected tax/brokerage fees.
3. S905X processor. S905W ok if the box is $10 cheaper, S912 better, but probably unnecessary. Avoid others like Rockchip that are cheaper but outside mainstream.
4. At least Android 6.0, preferably 7.1, but it goes with the chip: almost all S905X processors are Android 6.0, S905W are Android 7.1.
5. At least 2 Gbytes RAM, and probably 16 Gbytes storage. More is nice, but unnecessary, and even 8 Gbytes storage is enough for a full range of apps.
6. Dual band AC WiFi would be nice, but none have that. Some have dual-band WiFi N, but 5 GHz signal strength may not be usable anyway. 2.4 GHz with a decent antenna may be best, but most don't have a decent antenna, and you can only guess if the WiFi is going to be usable or not.
7. Ethernet port in case WiFi doesn't work well.
8. Built-in Bluetooth is nice to have (since otherwise support is often missing from the Android build and can't be added via a Bluetooth dongle afterwards), but not really necessary since the popular keyboards and air mouse use 2.4 GHz dongles.

It doesn't matter if Kodi is pre-installed because you should probably wipe everything the box supplier installed and start over in order to clean out spyware and adware, and get up-to-date versions with less performance-impacting clutter.

You have to consider the future with about a 2-year time frame. Currently Kodi 17 won't run on Android earlier than 5.1, and the next version may require Android 6.0, and the one after that Android 7.1. Who knows? Even today you'll get snappier performance with 2 Gbytes than with 1 Gbyte, and with continuous software bloat in the apps, that's bound to be a progressive trend.

StreamingFan wrote: ↑ You people REALLY need to STOP linking to and buying this cheap Chinese garbage like YESTERDAY. The Nvidia Shield TV, Android TVs, the Amazon products, and the Mii box are the only legitimate Android streaming devices on the market. Why waste your money on this shit?

StreamingFan wrote: ↑ You people REALLY need to STOP linking to and buying this cheap Chinese garbage like YESTERDAY. The Nvidia Shield TV, Android TVs, the Amazon products, and the Mii box are the only legitimate Android streaming devices on the market. Why waste your money on this shit?