Would you consider buying an Android TV Box?



When I got an SMS from Multichoice telling me that come August 1, they’ll be increasing subscription prices, I laughed. DSTV is a total rip-off as far as I’m concerned and now they want me to pay more?

Subscribers on GOTV Max package will now pay 3,200 naira instead of the previous N3,800, while GOTV Plus, GOTV Value and GOTV Lite subscribers will pay 1,900 naira, 1,250 naira and 400 naira, respectively.
However, the price for the DSTV Premium package has been increased from N14,700 to N15,800; Compact Plus from N9,900 to N10,650; Compact from N6,300 to N6,800; Family from N3,800 to N4,000, and Access from N1,900 to N2,000.

I really don’t blame them; if only TSTV had stepped up to their promises, they would have annihilated Multichoice in one fell swoop. TSTV let us down big time, period!

I spend a lot of time on the internet. I’m on the Spectranet LAG Unified Value 40GB plan which gives me 40 GB for ₦12,500 + 100% bonus if I renew on bonus days (usually Sundays) so I get 80 GB. I also have access to free surfing from 1 am – 7 am daily. Since I have some data to spare, I’ve been looking up Android TV boxes as a substitute for cable TV. I needed something really affordable with a smooth Kodi experience.

After some digging, I settled for the MXQ Pro 4K TV box at ₦9,700. Here are the specifications:

  • Model: MXQ Pro
  • Color: Black
  • OS: Android 7.1
  • CPU: Amlogic S905W; Quad core ARM Cortex-A53
  • GPU: Mail-450 Penta-core, up to 750MHz+(DVFS)
  • RAM: 1GB DDR3
  • ROM: 8GB EMMC
  • Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11b/g/n
  • Ethernet: 10 / 100M
  • Language: English/French/German/Spanish/Italian/ etc.
  • Decoder: 4K, H.265, MPEG1/2/4, H.264, HD AVC/VC-1, RM/RMVB, Xvid/DivX3/4/5/6 , RealVideo8/9/10
  • Media: Format 4K@30fps, H.265, AVI, H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DIVD/DIVX, Real8/9/10, RM,RMVB, PMP, FLV, MP4, M4V, VOB, WMV, 3GP, MKV
  • Audio Supported: MP1, MP2, MP3, WMA, OGG, AAC, M4A, FLAC, APE, AMR, RA, WAV
  • Picture Supported: JPEG/BMP/GIF/PNG/TIFF
  • HDMI Port: HDMI 2.0
  • Other Interfaces: 4 x USB, 1 x HDMI, 1 x RJ45, 1 x SD card slot, 1 x AV, 1 x DC in, 1 x SPDIF
  • Power Supply: DC 5V/2A

Unboxing my MXQ Pro box

In the package were

  • 1 TV Box
  • 1 IR Remote Control
  • 1 HDMI Cable
  • 1 Power Adapter
  • 1 User Manual

MXQ Pro 4K Unboxing

Quick Spin of the MXQ Pro box

Setting up was easy. You can see the MXQ Pro setup guide here. The interface was simple and neat. I connected to the internet via my Wireless Hotspot.

MXQ Pro TV box user interface

I streamed a 01:31:00-long movie via Youtube and it was smooth, no overheating. Navigation was a bit difficult with the remote (mouse) but I quickly adapted. I watched TVC News, CNN and saw another movie on Crackle; all costing nothing but my data.

Youtube on MXQ Pro TV box

What I think so far

Its too early to say how things will turn out but so far, this MXQ Pro TV box seems very OK for its price.

What is your take on using an Android TV box? Would you consider getting one?


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