Its time for you to make a decision! You’ve already made the choice to research IPTV and the services available to you, but now you need to know what device is best to watch IPTV on! The information is overwhelming! There are so many options that choosing the right one for you seems almost impossible.
Below, you will find a comprehensive description of the most popular devices and methods for watching IPTV. Be aware, these are not necessarily “reviews” of these devices, or recommendations of these devices, but instead, this list is meant to offer you, the end user, a description of how these devices work and help you decide which one will work best for you.
Before I get into the devices themselves, lets talk a bit about your home network and what is imperative in order for you to have the best experience possible, regardless of the device you choose. First of all, having a lightening fast internet speed is irrelevant! Anything more than a consistent 20mb/s is unnecessary. The single most important thing you need to have in order for IPTV to work properly is a hard wired connection whenever possible. Wifi is the enemy of consistent IPTV. Nobody cares if you have Gigabit speeds or the best router money can buy, if you aren’t hardwired, you are likely to have issues. Secondly, don’t cheap out on your ISP. Be aware of ISPs that will either throttle your connection when using IPTV or force you to use a VPN. Every ISP is different and every country has different rules for how they are working. Do your research, ask others who have used any ISP you are considering if they’ve had any trouble. Choosing the right ISP can be just as important, if not more important, than choosing the right box and the right service!
Alright, onto to the fun part!!
_________________________________
ANDROID BOXES:
We’ll start with what is, by far, the most common form of watching IPTV, and boy is it a BIG category! There are so many options and variations of these devices! For the sake of simplicity, I am going to use a few subcategories and I’ll list the Pros and Cons of each.
Android boxes connect to IPTV through a variety of apps. There are truly dozens of available apps you can use with an android box, so if this is how you choose to go, its important to try multiple options to find the one that works best for you. From STBEmu (which emulates a MAG box, which we will talk about later), to a variety of standard APKs like IPTVSmarters, PerfectPlayer and IPTVGSE. Many service providers also offer their own proprietary APK which is usually based from IPTVSmarters.
_________________________________
This is the Cadillac of android devices! If Android is an integral part of your TV watching experience, or if you are also a gamer of any kind, this is the device for you!
Pros: -Virtually future proof! Incredible hardware. You could have this box for years and it would still be among the best available on the market. This will be the fastest, least glitchy android device you can find.
-Runs AndroidTV and so is fully compatible with standard apps and the remote functions without the need of some crappy cursor pointer.
-Can be hardwired to your modem/router.
-4K capable box.
-Fully supports all traditional streaming services like Netflix and Hulu (not all boxes do)
-Available from reputable sellers, like Amazon or Best Buy, in every major country, and as such has better support if there are issues.
Cons: -Cost. This is about the only real drawback to the Shield. With prices starting at well over $150US even when on sale, its certainly one of, if not the, most expensive Android boxes on the market. To reiterate, though, for someone who spends a great deal of time using Android for TV, gaming, kodi, etc, it can be very worth the extra cost and could actually save you money in the long run since it won’t need to be replaced nearly as often as most other boxes.
_________________________________
2) Xiaomi MiBox
If the Shield is a Cadillac, this is the Volvo. Its not sexy, but its safe, reasonably priced and has most of the features anyone wanting to use IPTV needs.
Pros: -Cost. At well under $100US (available at Walmart for roughly $70), this box is in a great price range.
-It, like the Shield, runs a true AndroidTV version of Android.
-4K capable
-Fully supports Netflix and Hulu.
-Easily available in the US at Walmart and in most countries through Amazon.
Cons: -No LAN port, so wifi is the only option for connecting. (..or use an Ethernet adapter)
_________________________________
3) Generic Chinese Android Boxes
I’m going to lump all these in together. I know some people swear by them and compare the different motherboards and specs, etc, but at the end of the day, they are different but the same, if you know what I mean. In order for them to have good specs but keep the cost down, they typically take shortcuts with the firmware. For a tech savvy person, this can be compensated for but for the beginner, the warning here is not to fall into the trap of looking just at the specs of a box and thinking that bigger is better. Its important to understand that these boxes CAN be a good value, but that its important to understand that the greatest specs in the world mean nothing if the quality isn't up to those same standards. Shop carefully and do your research if this is the track you take.
Pros: -Inexpensive. You can buy these pretty cheap and with what appear to be really decent specs.
-Again, every box is a bit different, but some are 4K capable.
-Some are capable of being hardwired.
Cons: -Typically these all run a hacked version of android taken from a phone operating system. This makes them glitchy and difficult to navigate with a handheld remote. If you have a bluetooth keyboard, it becomes far easier, but definitely a fault of these boxes.
-Quality is typically suspect.
-Availability is usually from nefarious sources, not your traditional means, although there are many available on Amazon.
-Most are wifi only
_________________________________
4) Amazon FireTV and FireStick
Some would argue that these devices deserve a category of their own, not as part of the Android box category. The reality is that while their version of Android is proprietary to Amazon, its still Android.
Pro: -Relatively inexpensive and while the older Firesticks lacked decent specs, the newer Sticks and the FireTVs have good specs and are of high quality. So there is value in them.
-Some older FireTVs have LAN ports and can be hardwired.
-Readily available from legitimate sources like Amazon and Best Buy.
-4K capable in all newer versions.
-Supports Netflix and other streaming apps.
Cons: -Typically wifi devices.
-The proprietary version of Android is far superior to the phone OS that the Chinese boxes use, but its still glitchy and has no access to the Google Play Store, so most IPTV apps have to be side loaded.
-As an Amazon device your interface will be cluttered with advertisements and Amazon schtick.
_________________________________
edit: Be aware that Infomir, the maker of MAG, have announced that they will now block any service url that is suspected of copyright infringement. This makes the MAG box questionable for use with just about any IPTV service, so buyer beware!
Now its time to move on from the world of Android. MAG boxes are the standard for a traditional STB that works similar to a cable box. Setup of these boxes is relatively simple and requires no external apps to work with IPTV.
Pros: -Simple setup and works with most providers that can provide a Stalker portal.
-Full function remote control that works very much like a traditional cable box.
-Linux Operating system that is rock solid and rarely has issues.
-Has the built in capacity to use Catchup and Video on Demand that comes from the service provider.
-Can always be hardwired and some models are not even capable of wifi (this is a good thing!)
-Has multiple portals for easy switching between services.
Cons: -Works with Stalker portals only, no m3u or XC API.
-User Interface is dated.
-Does not support much in the way of external apps. Just does IPTV, but does it well.
-Some older models are becoming obsolete as technology and compression methods change and are not supported.
_________________________________
6) DREAMLINK/FORMULER SET TOP BOXES
Perhaps the most popular STBs on reddit, these boxes, which are made by the same parent company and run the same proprietary IPTV software under different names (MyTVOnline for Formuler and DreamOnline for Dreamlink). These boxes use an Android operating system, but one that is similar to the cheap Chinese Android boxes. The pull of these boxes is the IPTV software that offers a very cable-like experience.
Pros: -Capable of being hardwired to your modem/router.
-Truly impressive IPTV software that makes setup and use of IPTV as easy and user friendly as any box on the market.
-Full function remote control that works very much like a standard cable box.
-Has functionality for Catchup and VOD from the provider built into the software.
-Capable of recording Live TV and timeshiftimg with an external hard drive of some sort.
-Multiple portals for easy switching between services.
-Supports Stalker portals as well as m3u playlists and XC API logins. Very versatile.
-As an Android device, its capable of downloading apps from Google Play Store or any other Android marketplace.
-Excellent support with frequent bug fixes and updates from the manufacturer.
Cons: -Uses a phone style Android OS that can be quite glitchy.
-While the proprietary IPTV software is beautifully designed, it can also be glitchy and has some well documented EPG issues.
-Typically pretty pricey for the well spec’d boxes…can be upwards of $150US.
_________________________________
These are a bit of a different breed and not very common in North America for sure. These receivers are designed for European satellite TV and as such will have some sort of satellite receiver card installed. Users have found ways to hack the device and force them to play IPTV and the results are quite brilliant. Enigma2 is the system, not the brand. There are many different brands and each brand has dozens of different boxes, but they all work in basically the same way.
Pros: -Can be hardwired through an ethernet port.
-Enigma2 is a Linux based system, so not typically as glitchy as Android.
-Ridiculously customizable interfaces. There are countless skins that can customize the box’s UI to look however you want.
-They run an m3u based subscription through special scripts that populate what are called “bouquets”, or categories, so its very versatile and can handle multiple services simultaneously.
-As a box designed for watching TV, they usually have time shift and recording functionality with either a built in hard drive or an external drive.
-Again, as a TV box, they have a fully functional remote similar to a cable box.
-If you live in Europe, you can set up the satellite function and run it along with IPTV.
Cons: -Not readily available in North America, but very common in Europe.
-Far more complicated to set up than just about any other option in this guide. They require some rather advanced technical ability and can be intimidating for those that aren’t tech savvy.
-They don’t handle Video on Demand from the provider in any reasonable way. There are plugins that make it possible to watch, but its just not a strength of the box.
-Being Linux based, they can’t handle android apps, but they do have their own version of them called “Plugins”. They are often user designed and rather basic compared to some android apps, but there is a function for just about anything you can want, even streaming plugins that work similar to a Terrarium, although not as slick.
_________________________________
Perhaps as time goes on, we will update this list with new devices or devices that we have left off. The Buzz XPL3000 was one that probably deserved a section considering it’s popularity, but this writer doesn’t have any experience with it and it seems quite similar to the Dreamlink/Formuler devices without the m3u compatibility but better EPG, so consider that as well.
Lastly, when choosing a device for yourself, make sure you have a good understanding of what it is, exaclty, you are trying to accomplish and choose accordingly. If you are a techie person and like to play around, maybe look at the Shield or an Enigma2 box. If you are trying to find a box for your parents or grandparents who just wants something that works like their current cable box, look at the Formuler or MAG STBs.