Guide A guide to the best boxes for IPTV 2021

mike123

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Loads of members come on Techkings asking which is the best box for IPTV.
Although people run IPTV on a enigma 2 box they are not the best boxes for IPTV for the simple reason the images were originally designed for sat and cable subs.

First of all let's start with some basics

Many people complain about there iptv constantly buffering or poor picture quality etc. However, this may not be the fault of your supplier specially if you are using a budget box. For the following reasons.
  • Cheap boxes will have a poor processor installed.
  • The ram installed will may not be large enough or of poor quality. However, you do not need huge amounts of ram to run IPTV. The most important things are the processor and good quality of on board EMMC memory.
The box considered the best on the market the Nvidia Shield only has 2GB of DDR4 in the TV version and 3GB of DDR4 on the pro version. It is the quality of the processor and on board EMMC memory that does the work.

Things you can do to make things run at their optimum performance.

  • Turn off family settings with your ISP
  • Remove any unnecessary apps
  • Make sure you are using a wired connection
  • Clear cache on a regular basis
  • Restart your router once a week.
Budget boxes

These are normally anything under £50 for e.g firesticks, MXQ boxes etc. They will play iptv fine however, may not give the best user experience and due to extremely basic remotes and it may also take a while to load the epg etc. You may also find you will have to sideload quite a few of the apps required which can be a pain.

Mid range boxes

These are boxes like the formuler boxes which has its own dedicated iptv app called mytvonline which is excellent. You can also use google play store to download most apps. The only downside really is these boxes do come with a chunky control so it may be better to buy an air mouse. For the extra £30 or so if you can afford it I would buy a Z7+ rather than one of the above budget boxes. I would not buy the Formuler Z8 as you can purchase a high end box for a around £20 more.

High End boxes

The best high box on the market is the new Nvidia Shield which is not only for IPTV you can play games, run your smart home gadgets use google assistant via the remote. It also has a 4k upscaling feature which no other android box has to my knowledge. Another High end box is the Buzz Box 4500 which like the formuler boxes has its own dedicated app. However, has not got the same amount of overall features as a Shield.
 
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Best boxes for IPTV



Loads of people come on Techkings asking which is the best box for IPTV.



Although people run IPTV on a enigma 2 box they are not the best boxes for IPTV for the simple reason the images were originally designed for sat and cable subs.



First of all lets start with some basics



Many people complain about there iptv constantly buffering or poor picture quality etc. However, this may not be the fault of your supplier specially if you are using a budget box. For the following reasons.
  • Cheap boxes will have a poor processor installed.
  • The ram installed will may not be large enough or of poor quality. However, you do not need huge amounts of ram to run IPTV. The most important things are the processor and good quality of on board EMMC memory.
The box considered the best on the market the Nvidia Shield only has 2GB of DDR4 in the TV version and 3GB of DDR4 on the pro version. It is the quality of the processor and on board EMMC memory that dose the work.

Things you can do to make things run at their optimum performance.

  • Turn off family settings with your ISP
  • Remove any unnecessary apps
  • Make sure you are using a wired connection
  • Clear cache on a regular basis
  • Restart your router once a week.
Budget boxes

These are normally anything under £50 for e.g firesticks, MXQ boxes etc. They will play iptv fine however, may not give the best user experience and due to extremely basic remotes and it may also take a while to load the epg etc. You may also find you will have to sideload quite a few of the apps required which can be a pain.

Mid range boxes

These are boxes like the formuler boxes which has its own dedicated iptv app called mytvonline which is excellent. You can also use google play store to download most apps. The only downside really is these boxes do come with a chunky control so it may be better to buy an air mouse. For the extra £30 or so if you can afford it I would buy a Z7+ rather than one of the above budget boxes. I would not buy the Formuler Z8 as you can purchase a high end box for a around £20 more.

High End boxes

The best high box on the market is the new Nvidia Shield which is not only for IPTV you can play games, run your smart home gadgets use google assistant via the remote. It also has a 4k upscaling feature which no other android box has to my knowledge. Another High end box is the Buzz Box 4500 which like the formuler boxes has its own dedicated app. However, has not got the same amount of overall features as a Sheild.
One box that has got a good remote and is for £50 is Amiko A6 and remote but is lower spec then formuler ect
 

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My box "history" is:

Openbox v8s as my first foray into cheap satellite tv. Served it's purpose then I replaced it with a...

Zgemma h2s - liked the Sky skins you could put on it. Then when CS went kaput I put an iptv sub on it. It seemed to struggle with better quality streams and I was doing a lot of reboots of router and device. Replaced with a...

Formuler z7+ - this box has served me well. The MyTvonline app is good - seems to run much smoother and better picture but I've never done a side by side test with anything so that might just be my perception. I like that it'll take android iptv apps alongside the MyTvonline app so I have other options on it. And a free movie streaming app runs fine on it. Easy to sideload apps, and has the Google play store too. Think I've had 18 months out of it for a cost of about £100 so far, can't knock that for value. Remote is imo decent quality, feels more like a tv remote than some other iptv device remotes. Picks up a good solid WiFi signal if i need to use it without homeplugs but mainly stays on the main tv anyway. Elsewhere I use...

Firestick - a handy little thing. Streams all the terrestrial tv's apps so it's good for catchup. Cheap as chips so can't knock it for the value. Runs all iptv and movie apps I've asked it to. Gets a lot of credit for it's supposed portability but in all honesty it's only marginally more easy to move from tv to tv than any device. Recently purchased a...

T95Q Android box - only had this since Friday so it's early days but liking it so far. Saw a couple reviews saying it picked up WiFi well so that swung it for me. That and the "SmartTV box" interface that you're greeted with on startup - something new to look at, and to mess about with. It's for the bedroom tv so it was within the budget I was wanting to spend at £50. Sideload apps, Google play store. Easy to use so far... the remote has a bit of a "toy" feel to it though.

Also use a couple of tablets and my phone for viewing iptv.

When it's time for the formuler z7+ to leave the main telly I'll be looking at the "higher end" boxes mentioned so it's good to see users experiences of them.
 
From my experience best hybrid boxes still remain Formuler Z8 and Buzztv XRS4500.
As for android boxes the one I really enjoyed is the airfire A95X with 4GB Ram 64GB
I had a z8 myself before i sold it to my brother. I have to say for the extra £20 the sheild 2019 is a hell of a step up. evreything just happens instantly played some games today aswell and they run very smoothly. I cannot comment on the buzz box i have not used one. however the buzz box dose not have any of the nice little touches like the sheild.
 
The shield is best for gamers and yes it is s good android box but cannot be compared to Z8 or buzztv for those who need portal URL .
U can use STB emu on shield but cannot be compared
 
The shield is best for gamers and yes it is s good android box but cannot be compared to Z8 or buzztv for those who need portal URL .
U can use STB emu on shield but cannot be compared
You can add tvimate which is now considered better than mytvonline. The only app you can't use is mytvonline as far as i am aware.
 
I tested the mytvonline app but still not perfect and takes too much resources. Not recommended
Better use the real one on formuler Z8
I knew there was a hacked version going around i have not tried it. Using x3m at the moment.
 
I have been considering getting a Nvidia shield, but I want the proper one! Not the one that looks like a telescope! I had to leave Email for when in stock! There are people selling them at silly prices on the internet!
 
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