Are Formuler Devices Worth It?

by watsee

I've been running with a MAG256 for over a year now & although I've had little issues with it, the lack of being able to run additional apps (Plex, Netflix etc) from within the same unit has always been a bit of a niggling issue for me. I also am experiencing ISP blackouts during Saturday afternoons (due to UK ISP/Premier League blocks) & was going to have to look towards purchasing a new VPN-capable router to circumvent this as the MAG does not offer a VPN client natively.

After looking in this sub this morning, I've suddenly been informed about the Formuler Z7+/Z8 devices which seem to be universally liked by the IPTV community here.

However when I look, they seem to just be Android TV boxes - similar to what Facebook used to be full of during the big Kodi craze a couple of years ago. And on paper, the specs of the Z8 seem to pale in comparison to some of the other (much cheaper) Android boxes on offer - especially where RAM is concerned.

Can anyone distinguish/explain the differences for me? I'd be interested in making the move from MAG, as the devices should run Plex/Netflix/VPN client natively - but I'm concerned that at only 2GB RAM, the experience could be slow and sluggish. And I'm approaching with caution as I don't really want to outlay ~£100 on something that is going to give a poor experience.

Peacemaker130

Both the formuler and dreamlink boxes you pretty much pay for the IPTV app. It is a very close experience to cable or sat and imo are worth every penny. Although they cannot run the same version of Netflix that say an official android TV box can, they run other on demand apps like tea tv or morphtv etc. Just fine. If watching IPTV is pretty much all you will do, 2GB of ram is plenty.

hallofgamer

i have had a z7+ for over a year now, use it for iptv and never looked back

dreamer_cast

I've been using the Z8 for a while and I still say it's the best IPTV experience you can get...especially for those who are less tech-savvy. Constant updates are great, the only issue I see which as been mentioned is 4K Netflix and Prime

xenyz

Wrt RAM, the Perfect Player iptv app uses ~ 100-125 MB and works on the OG fire stick with ~450 MB RAM total . 2 GB is about twenty times more than you really need for just IPTV. Even Kodi, just about the biggest memory hog app, can run on ~350 MB. 2 GB is a ridiculous amount of RAM for an Android streaming device and even more than that is a complete waste

mrneilypops

TVIP 605 ROCKS!

https://www.tvip.tv/en/media-center/sbox-605

  1. Super stable. I have 2 of them...
  2. Easy interface MAG STBEmu option
  3. there is no 3...try it for yourself...I have multiple streaming boxes [nvidia shield x2 / Formuler Z7+ / apple TV]
  4. I plan to buy TVIP 605 #3...
Speicher22

Selling my z7+ if anyone is interested PM me

rdunit

Can Formuler devices be set up using m3u, or does it use a [MAG] mac address?