How much difference does the box make to picture quality?

by reverendnagro

Hi all,

I use SmoothStreams on Kodi on an Android box. The quality is pretty much what I would expect for a compressed HD stream. Watchable but far inferior to a 1080i traditional broadcast. Artifacts can be seen around channel logos etc and there is a lack of sharpness compared to HD broadcast DVB-S2. No complaints from me about that. My question is, could I actually improve the overall picture quality by upgrading my android box? I use a mini m8 SII which cost about £30. I recently tested an alternative service and found the quality identical to my current service. The proprietor recommended a more expensive android TV box (£80) and attested that I would experience better quality video on it.

Does anyone have a view on that?

christhebaker

Do you have a decent PC or laptop? Install kodi on that and check to see if the quality improves.

psychopomp2

Yes you can definitely improve the quality by ditching Android/Kodi altogether and getting a MAG box which is significantly better wrt picture quality. I used to have a Nvidia Shield Android box and whilst the picture quality wasn't too bad, I found Kodi rather clunky. I upgraded to the latest MAG 256W2 box last week and with the same IPTV provider, the picture quality is significantly better and its a far smoother experience overall.

Izzy2016

The problem rests with the stream, not the device. I see quite a lot of iptv sellers tell their users to upgrade their devices to get quality streaming, that's bad advice usually from scammers.

fr0-z3n

The only time I recommend customers to upgrade is when the boxes are old and can't handle a 2500-3000kbps HD streams. The stream becomes choppy, as it can't process it fast enough.

Usually I recommend our customers to compare the same stream on a Windows PC using VLC. Generally speaking though, the boxes such as MAG, Avov, etc do provide a stable viewing experience.

risk235

I streamed the fights last night on SmoothStreams via my iPad connected to my TV and the quality was real good. Of course not as good as a actual cable broadcast but I didn't notice any artifacts or such.

stokedcrf

The box doesn't make a big difference in channel "quality", but the box can 100 percent change your tv "experience"!

Price means nothing. A 300$ nvidia shield has choppy video playback when used with many iptv providers, where a 75$ mag plays it back amazing, complete with great epg as well as timeshifting. But it won't do the gaming.

So it depends what you want to do with the box.

Consider checking out the video reviews on the set top boxes over at /r/iptvgta (it's the first post in the sticky). You'll get an idea of what the different boxes can do.