Amazon Fire TV Stick or Airtel Xstream Box

[MadAxe]

I am planning to convert my Full HD TV into a Smart TV. I already have a Airtel Digital TV connection so thought of going for the Xstream box upgrade. But i got to know that i cannot sideload Jio TV or Airtel TV on it. So what should I do?
I do not want to pay for the channels separately just for the sake of keeping my TV connection. (You need to pay for Live channels separately in Airtel Xstream)
Which option would be best for me?

 

[vignesh_venkatesan]

You need to have an active airtel DTH subscription in order to use the XStream box. If u stop recharging then it won't work.
Better go with fire tv stick.
With fire tv stick you can sideload apps like thop tv, oreo tv, etc.
During Sale time you can get it for 3K its better than spending 2.5k for the xtreme box.

 

[Sushubh]

@Navjot Singh might be able to suggest. i think he has looked into this situation just recently.

 

[Navjot Singh]

I have used the old Airtel Digital HD box not the recent box though I did see its demo on Vijay sales which was much better and is using almost pure Android TV experience. Still can't say for sure. Also if you ask me, for watching TV channels - Chromecast is a better option than fire stick. Airtel TV app can be streamed. Though they made the experience a bit worse. Android Navigation controls appear on the right side of the TV. But for occasional TV viewing, its okay I guess.

 

[cyberwiz]

If you want 100% reliability in watching live TV go for DTH/cable TV nothing can beat that. I have the firestick but IMO watching live channels is a bit of a hit and miss. Sometimes everything will work well for days at a stretch on other occasions there will be issues for several days. Yes side loaded apps like Thop and Oreo do work but they are quite fussy, case in point being JiO tv is down currently on both Oreo and Thop TV for the past 1 week. Just today it made a reappearance on Thop TV but was having buffering issues. Jio TV app used to work initially but now it doesn’t. Now there may be some dude on YouTube who might have figured out how to make it work yet again but then how long it will last is anybody’s guess. Casting from Jio Tv and xstream apps from the phone is also problematic, sometimes it works by using workarounds sometimes it doesn’t. In short be prepared to spend a considerable time trying to find out solutions to make live channels work on the fire stick. Of course this is not a problem of the fire stick and proper OTT applications run fine on it.

 

[Ameen]

Why no one speak about mi box s?

 

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[MadAxe]

I have used the old Airtel Digital HD box not the recent box though I did see its demo on Vijay sales which was much better and is using almost pure Android TV experience. Still can't say for sure. Also if you ask me, for watching TV channels - Chromecast is a better option than fire stick. Airtel TV app can be streamed. Though they made the experience a bit worse. Android Navigation controls appear on the right side of the TV. But for occasional TV viewing, its okay I guess.

Then can't we watch live channels on Xstream box using Airtel TV app since it has built in chromecast?

 

[vignesh_venkatesan]

Mi box S is not officially available in India, one has to import from china in order to lay hands on one.
Fire tv stick 4k is a better deal compared to the mi box s because you can get it for about 4000 bucks during sale and the mi box has many known issues like Wifi instability etc.
So I would recommend getting the fire tv stick, which supports sideloading and offers a great VFM.

 

[Ameen]

@vignesh_venkatesan issues with wifi could be easily solved using a TP-Link ethernet usb adapter.. That would be a bit costly affair but still. Mi box got a android 9 beta update last week. Heard prime support came in by default. Lot of stability issues were found in the first built. But by 3 build it's almost solved out.
Have ordered one from AliExpress for ₹3.6k will report my experiences over here. 👍

 

[blueman24]

I was also thinking about getting a mi box s but i don't really watch much content on my TV and for some reason it feels like it is due for a updated version now as Walmart was selling them for cheap on black Friday in the US. If they do launch a new mi box then i hope it officially arrives in India. Flipkart also has a android tv stick link which is out of stock.

 

[vignesh_venkatesan]

If it officially releases in India then it would be a great buy.
Flipkart's product is not as appealing compared to the rest of the competition given that pricing is not that great.
The same goes for the airtel xstream box.

 

[vignesh_venkatesan]

@vignesh_venkatesan issues with wifi could be easily solved using a TP-Link ethernet usb adapter.. That would be a bit costly affair but still. Mi box got a android 9 beta update last week. Heard prime support came in by default. Lot of stability issues were found in the first built. But by 3 build it's almost solved out.
Have ordered one from AliExpress for ₹3.6k will report my experiences over here. 👍

That will be lot helpful for the people who are considering to buy it.
They should have included an ethernet port,it would have been great for the people who have wired connectivity to the tv.

 

[Ameen]

Should have for sure. That usb ethernet is around 600₹ I guess from TP-Link.
Have you used the box b4 @vignesh_venkatesan?

 

[Ameen]

I was also thinking about getting a mi box s but i don't really watch much content on my TV and for some reason it feels like it is due for a updated version now as Walmart was selling them for cheap on black Friday in the US. If they do launch a new mi box then i hope it officially arrives in India. Flipkart also has a android tv stick link which is out of stock.

I saw that sale too but do they ship it from us to India?

 

[vignesh_venkatesan]

@Ameen Yes, I have used it before, my cousin had imported it from china.
The performance was good but the only problem was with the wifi. We ended up using a USB gigabit ethernet adapter which works only at 100 Mbps because of the USB 2.0 port.
Other than that, it's quite good.
Walmart's sale is over and if u need one, You can get it from Banggood or AliExpress and it would cost about 3.7k including shipping.
My cousin paid about 3.5k during some sale in aliexpress, the mi box he bought even supports Indian languages.