[Fire TV Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] calden74:
I have the Fire TV though and think it's just okay. I don't like that I can't add apps to the home screen, you need to navigate to the system panel to launch applications(which has to be the mosy untuitive thing I've ever seen), lacks the ability to switch between active apps and I really dislike that the virtual keyboard pops up even though I'm using a wireless keyboard, etc. No I cant root it as I bought one with an updated system.

I just recently purchased the Minix X8-H Plus to replace my Fire TV and it's hands down the best TV set-box I have ever used. Not only is it extremely fast but the system isn't locked down, it's vanilla Android with an intuitive launcher designed for TV use. It's not cheap at $160 but definitely worth every penny, I don't skimp when it comes such things so yes the Fire TV is cheaper but your getting way to much with the Minix to just ignore because its just $60, that's why I don't understand people who buy the Fire Stick, just put aside some money a week and get something thats awesome. Anyway It comes with a fantastic air mouse remote with built in keyboard on the back (seriously love this remote, I still use my Logitech media keyboard when using MS Office or writing and email), plays 4K content, has XBMC (its a special build for 4K streaming) built in, lots of ports; 4 USB, one of which is a OTG but the Minix includes the cable to connect a full sized USB, HDMI, SD Card (I have a 256 GB card, 80 bucks on Amazon), gigabit Ethernet (vs. only 10/100 in the Fire TV, this is great for streaming off of my server), 3.5mm audio in/out (also lacking in the Fire TV, which needed as when a Bluetooth speaker and the Fire TV gaming pad is connected the speaker has way to much distortion, same thing when I connect my keyboard with built in trackpad), mic in (great for Karoke) and optical audio out. The CPU is a ArmLogic 8 Core s812h and 8 Core Mali GPU and includes an on chip decoder for 4K video, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage (twice that of the Fire TV).

I gave my son the Fire TV for his room but he's not really liking it to much either as it doesn't handle nearly the amount of games that the my Minix or his Xiaomi MiPad does. I'm waiting for the Nvidia TV Console for him though as he'll appreciate Nvidia Grid and the extra power associated with the X1 and it's 256 Cuda Core Maxwell GPU. He's also going to use it as his main computer so I'll buy a curverd Samsung 27" to go along with it. At only 500 bucks for the two pieces it's cheaper than buying a normal computer. He still has MS Office(the new Android version is fantastic, I now use it as my main Office app), Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Britannica, etc. for school, we already have a Google Print compatible printer in the house and he'll be able to play games like Crysis 3. It's really the perfect machine for kids, not to mention lighter on the wallet than buying say, a Mac Mini, that's why I have no problem spending a little extra for him to have the ultimate gaming monitor to go with it.

So I recommend buying the Minix X8-H Plus or Z64 and if you want the ultimate TV set-box buy the Nvidia Console when it is released later this month. The Fire TV is to much like the Apple TV in that it's really geared towards pushing their content, making everything else a distant third that's side loaded onto it.

---------- Post added at 09:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:43 PM ----------

The RK3288 chip from RockChip is faster than the Qualcomm 600, even the 800 so it might be cheap but that doesn't mean it isn't any good. It's a pretty fantastic chip. Your also getting a pure Android experience with a lot of these, which means none of the hassle of dealing with Amazon's tyrannically controlled UI. You'll need to do some research but a lot of them are pretty good and a lot more fun to use than the Fire TV because of the freedoms they offer.