Kodi is quickly becoming a complete entertainment package thanks to rapid innovation in the field of high speed internet. If streaming live channels without cable, watching movies and TV shows is your thing then Kodi is probably the best software for you. While PCs and Android devices remain the bets mediums to use Kodi, you can also use the media center box on your TV.
One thing that Kodi doesn’t offer is an official set top box for your TV. It does however place no restrictions over the devices that you install the Kodi media center on. Kodi can be practically installed on any device running Android OS or even a modified version of Android like Amazon streaming box. In the countdown that follows we take a look at 5 legal Kodi streaming boxes for you to choose from.
5 Best Legal Kodi Streaming Set Top Boxes in 2017
Best Legal Kodi Streaming Box Under $100 – Matricom Android GBox Q2
Matricom’s GBox Q2 is probably the most powerful Kodi Streaming box tv available in the market today. The GBox Q2 boasts brilliant features including a monster processor, 2GB RAM, 16 GB built in memory and a supreme octo-core 3D GPU. Powered by a brand new UI, the GBox Q2 makes setup, navigation, and use easier compared to its predecessor.
| Price | $99 – $135 |
|---|---|
| Processor | Quad Core S812 CPU |
| GPU | Mali-450 Octo Core 3D GPU |
| RAM | 2 GB |
| Storage Built-in | 16 GB |
| SD Card Ext | Yes |
| Optical Audio | Yes |
| 4K | Yes |
2nd Best Legal Kodi Media Streaming Box is “Amazon Firetv Stick”
The sleek and simple Amazon Fire TV Stick (2nd generation) is possibly the easiest devices to get Kodi streaming on your TV. All the Fire TV streaming box requires is an Android phone to initially install Kodi on to it, plus you can also install Kodi and other 3rd party apps using the brilliant Fire TV remote. The Amazon Fire TV streaming comes with Alexa installed and the remote has a mic so you can ask Alexa to do the tid-bits while you relax.
The Amazon TV Stick does not offer 4K output like Amazon’s bigger Fire TV streaming box, but you still get best HD playback. The brilliant trick is to simply install Kodi on the Amazon TV stick, giving you a world of entertainment with one app rather than installing a different one for each service. Although Amazon Prime is available on the Fire TV streaming box, Kodi already provides all the premium entertainment for free.
The Amazon TV stick makes its way in our countdown for its superb price/feature trade-off that is simply excellent if you compare the specs with other best Kodi boxes for streaming.
| Price | $35 – $40 |
|---|---|
| Processor | Quad-core ARM 1.3 GHz. 32-bit |
| GPU | Mali-450 MP4 |
| RAM | 1 GB |
| Storage Built-in | 8 GB |
| SD Card Ext | No |
| Optical Audio | No |
| 4K | No |
Best Legal Kodi Streaming Fully Loaded Box – Preda NexSmart D32-A Android TV
The NexSmart D32 is a brilliant option for a simple and low cost Kodi streaming box for your TV. A very close substitute of the Amazon TV stick, the NexSmart D32 is a pretty powerful machine with its Quad core CPU and Penta-Core Mali-400 MP GPU. If your sole purpose is to watch movies and TV shows on a budget then this superb Kodi streaming box is a great option to have.
Not only does it come with a remote but you can always add an USB keyboard and mouse (wired & wireless) using the two USB port provided. This super little 11.7 ounce box also provides 4K & 2K playback and Google’s V9 decoding to enhance video experience especially on YouTube. The Quad Core processor and the Penta-Core GPU may also offer some help to ensure there is no pixilation and buffering while you watch & play games in 4K.
Another interesting feature that really makes the NexSmart D32-A simply irresistible is the support for USB flash drives & hard drives. There is a really powerful WIFI adapter in the NexSmart D32, mostly built into home routers with IEEE 802.11b/g/n, 2.4G wire band reception for smooth streaming of live TV.
| Price | $30 – $50 |
|---|---|
| Processor | Quad-core cortex A7 1.5ghz 32bit |
| GPU | Penta-Core Mali-450x |
| RAM | 1 GB |
| Storage Built-in | 8 GB |
| SD Card Ext | Yes |
| Optical Audio | No |
| 4K | Yes |
Best Legal Kodi Streaming Box Under $90 – ROKU Ultra 4K
Possibly the best 4K smart box available right now the ROKU 4 is a super choice if you own a 4K Ultra HD TV. The ROKU 4K box delivers media optimized for 4K devices from several services including Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and Vudu through official apps. Apart from supreme quality 4K & 3D quality video, the ROKU 4K box is also gifted with a digital audio output for the complete home theatre experience.
Remember that ROKU comes loaded with its own signature OS and Channel Store so you can’t install Kodi on the box. The best part is that you can easily mirror Kodi on the ROKU 4K through Android, Windows and iOS devices. The 4K tech simply upscales the picture quality automatically and you get to enjoy a full screen Kodi experience.
The ROKU remote is also something to be reckoned with, it has a personal listening option with headphones that you can plug directly into the remote. Apart from that, the remote has voice control so you can browse through the ROKU box without moving. The LAN port in the ROKU 4K also allows it to deliver better picture, no buffering and stable connectivity compared to many competing technologies.
The ROKU 4K box is not flawless, few features I thought were too much for the price charged for the box. First is the slow & older quad processor with only 900MHZ processing speed, other boxes offer twice the power. Although there is the option to add an SD card, the device only offer 256MB memory for apps so one day you will have to clear apps to install others.
| Price | $89 – $115 |
|---|---|
| Processor | Quad-core 900 MHz Broadcom BCM2836 |
| GPU | Unspecified |
| RAM | Unspecified |
| Storage Built-in | 256MB |
| SD Card Ext | Yes |
| Optical Audio | No |
| 4K | Yes |
Best Legal Kodi Streaming Box Under $200 – NVidia Shield TV
The posh boy of Kodi streaming boxes, the NVidia Shield TV box is undoubtedly the most powerful and feature rich option if you want a high quality streaming solution. Powered by 4K HD tech, the NVidia Shield TV box comes with Android Nougat OS (super!!!) and hence allows installing Kodi directly to it through the Google Play Store.
The NVidia Shield TV is a super-power box, it is powered by NVidia’s Tegra X1 processor and a 256-core Maxwell GPU. For laymen, these specs are usually employed for gaming hence excellent for HDR & 4K playback. The box also boasts Dolby Atmos and DTS-X surround sound over HDMI plus high-resolution audio playback up to 24-bit/192kHz over HDMI. This simply means even if you have an ordinary pair of headphones or speakers, audio will be up scaled by the box for clarity & definition.
Whatever maybe the NVidia Shield’s drawbacks but Wi-Fi connectivity is not one of them with its Wi-Fi 802.11ac dual-band (2×2) adapter. The NVidia Shield is possibly the most gifted Kodi streaming boxes available for premium entertainment. You can also play games on the NVidia Shield, that too in 4K HD.
| Price | $200 |
|---|---|
| Processor | NVidia Tegra X1 |
| GPU | Maxwell 256-core |
| RAM | 3 GB |
| Storage Built-in | 16 GB |
| SD Card Ext | Yes |
| Optical Audio | Yes |
| 4K | Yes |
In a Nutshell
I hope you liked my countdown of the 5 best Kodi streaming boxes in 2017. I intentionally wanted to look over comparable features and ranks 5 good Kodi boxes rather rank the top 5. The boxes were selected for ease of use and value for money rather than other intrinsic features.
If you feel a good device was left out, simply leave us the name and we will add it to an honorable mentions section. Remember to like and share my article, be sure to come back soon for more great Kodi suggestions.
