Recommend Android TV Media Box for Me – Movies via USB

[Jagosaurus28]

Okay... I am in the process of ripping all my DVDs and BRs to an external HDD via MakeMKV program. DRM free movies! Score. 8)

Currently I am doing this for ease of access for viewing, traveling well (bring one HDD on vacation, etc) and preservation (disc rot, kiddo scratching disc, etc). My long term goal is get rid of most discs for space savings. No rush as it takes a bit per disc and I'm looking at 150ish movies. I am not re-buying these movies on a DRM (Google Play, etc) or streaming service (Vudu, etc) when the market goes all digital. Converting my current physical copies! Off my soap box...

All my new files are the .mkv container (only format new version of MakeMKV generates). I do have several movies in .avi and .mp4 as well that I don't want to lose access to.

Currently I am moving a USB external HDD around from PC (VLC Media Player App) to my LG BPM33 Blu Ray player in my living room. This BR player has subpar reviews and spotty wifi IMO... but plays every .mkv, .avi, and .mp4 file I throw at it via USB.

I am hunting another box that will do the same for me in my game room and possibly add some functionality as a bonus. Access to netflix, youtube, Kodi etc is a plus but not a must.

Down the road I'll purchase a NAS to stream over the network or set up a plex server. I'm a laptop guy so no PC on all the time currently. External USB HDD method is fine for now. Just leaves me hunting a media output device that will meet my current USB needs. Keeping it simple now. Also, my USB drive is a Seagate Passport (will eventually need a second HDD so dual USB is cool but not a must) and powered over USB versus an external power supply.

I was looking at this guy below, a $30 Android box from Amazon.
QacQoc MX Pro Android TV Box

I can't find confirmation that it will support the .mp4 container though. Assuming if it is MPEG4 within a .mp4 it'll work?

"Support Decoder format:HD MPEG1/2/4,H.264,4K-HD, HD AVC/VC-1,RM/RMVB,Xvid/DivX3/4/5/6 ,RealVideo8/9/10
Support Media format:Avi/Rm/Rmvb/Ts/Vob/Mkv/Mov/ISO/wmv/asf/flv/dat/mpg/mpeg"

I read a lot about the Nvidia Shield TV but that box is way is overkill for me. Not really looking at gaming, cable TV plugins, etc.

Recommend me a box! Have one that will play those 3 video files formats and blow my mind? The $30 price point is cool but I'd probably go up to $75ish if needed. I can always get another LG BPM33 for $50ish used but the GUI is outdated and slow by today's standards (4 or so years old). Definitely not interested in the Shield level prices.

Actually playing the movie as part of my digital movie project is an important piece of the puzzle... duh . Thanks in advance!

 

[eshieldsvx4]

Okay... I am in the process of ripping all my DVDs and BRs to an external HDD via MakeMKV program. DRM free movies! Score. 8)

Currently I am doing this for ease of access for viewing, traveling well (bring one HDD on vacation, etc) and preservation (disc rot, kiddo scratching disc, etc). My long term goal is get rid of most discs for space savings. No rush as it takes a bit per disc and I'm looking at 150ish movies. I am not re-buying these movies on a DRM (Google Play, etc) or streaming service (Vudu, etc) when the market goes all digital. Converting my current physical copies! Off my soap box...

All my new files are the .mkv container (only format new version of MakeMKV generates). I do have several movies in .avi and .mp4 as well that I don't want to lose access to.

Currently I am moving a USB external HDD around from PC (VLC Media Player App) to my LG BPM33 Blu Ray player in my living room. This BR player has subpar reviews and spotty wifi IMO... but plays every .mkv, .avi, and .mp4 file I throw at it via USB.

I am hunting another box that will do the same for me in my game room and possibly add some functionality as a bonus. Access to netflix, youtube, Kodi etc is a plus but not a must.

Down the road I'll purchase a NAS to stream over the network or set up a plex server. I'm a laptop guy so no PC on all the time currently. External USB HDD method is fine for now. Just leaves me hunting a media output device that will meet my current USB needs. Keeping it simple now. Also, my USB drive is a Seagate Passport (will eventually need a second HDD so dual USB is cool but not a must) and powered over USB versus an external power supply.

I was looking at this guy below, a $30 Android box from Amazon.
QacQoc MX Pro Android TV Box

I can't find confirmation that it will support the .mp4 container though. Assuming if it is MPEG4 within a .mp4 it'll work?



I read a lot about the Nvidia Shield TV but that box is way is overkill for me. Not really looking at gaming, cable TV plugins, etc.

Recommend me a box! Have one that will play those 3 video files formats and blow my mind? The $30 price point is cool but I'd probably go up to $75ish if needed. I can always get another LG BPM33 for $50ish used but the GUI is outdated and slow by today's standards (4 or so years old). Definitely not interested in the Shield level prices.

Actually playing the movie as part of my digital movie project is an important piece of the puzzle... duh . Thanks in advance!

You can try Roku, or use a desktop client to extract the video files. Several cloud storage services let you upload content for a small fee (including DRM based uploads).

If you own a DVD bought after 2007, see if you're eligible for a digital copy.

 

[Jagosaurus28]

Thanks! Forgot about the Roku. Looks like it'll support mp4 & mkv.

• Video — H.264/AVC (.MKV, .MP4, .MOV), on Roku 4 only: H.265/HEVC (.MKV, .MP4, .MOV); VP9 (.MKV)

Price point is triple the other boxes though.

Most of (all?) those digital services are streaming or have a DRM link somehow, if even to an offline app.

 

[Andrew Cole]

Price point is triple the other boxes though.

You get what you pay for!

 

[jasonwell90]

I don`t care about the brand, I only get the one with 2 GB of ram, Lolipop 5.1 and 5 Ghz wifi