Best Kodi boxes of 2016
Kodi is one of the most popular streaming apps, but you need the right hardware. Jim Martin looks at your best options
Kodi used to be called XBMC, as it was a media centre for the original Xbox. Now, it’s outgrown a single console and is available for just about everything from Windows to the Raspberry Pi. In the old days, enthusiasts would build a dedicated Home Theatre PC (HTPC) to run media centre software, but these days streaming video boxes (and even HDMI dongles) are powerful enough to run Kodi: they’re cheap and silent.
Amazon Fire TV 4K (2015)
Price: £79 The second-generation Fire TV costs the same as the first and supports 4K. It also has a fast processor and is one of the best-value streaming devices around. You can install Kodi on it, but it’s not quite as easy as on some of the Android boxes here. That’s because the only app store on the Fire TV is Amazon’s own, so you have to download the Android version of Kodi and ‘side-load’ it.
For most people, jumping through a couple of extra hoops is more than worth it at this price.
Amazon Fire TV Stick
Price: £35 If £79 for the Fire TV is a bit rich for you, there’s also the £35 Fire TV Stick. This HDMI dongle will sit unobtrusively behind your TV although it still needs
power from a mains adaptor, or potentially a handy spare USB port on your TV.
Like the Fire TV, installing Kodi isn’t as straightforward as browsing to it in the App Store but it’s easier now that Apps2Fire exists, which allows you to beam APK files from an Android phone to your Fire TV Stick. If you don’t have an Android phone, it’s possible (but fiddly) to install Kodi using the Fire TV Stick remote.
Nvidia Shield TV
Price: £149 Although it’s relatively expensive at £149, the nVidia Shield TV is possibly the best base for Kodi as it’s so powerful. It will be fast and responsive even if you install graphically demanding skins. Plus, of course, you can use it to play games and stream them. Since it runs Android TV, it’s very easy to install Kodi from the Google Play store. Also, it supports 4K, which is useful you happen to have a 4K TV.
Other options
There are several Minix boxes to choose between, but the X8-H Plus is the most powerful, and you can pick it up for around £115 from Amazon. Alternatively, it’s around £93 from GearBest if you want to risk getting stung for import duty.
It’s powerful, supporting H.265 decoding: 4K at up to 30fps, and comes with a handy keyboard remote control. Like the WeTek Core on the next slide, it runs Android. It comes with a version of XBMC installed, but you can easily install the latest version of Kodi via Google Play.
Another Android-based streaming box, the WeTek Core (pictured) costs £99 from Amazon and is fulfilled by Amazon, which means you can get it next day if you’re in a hurry. It runs Android – as opposed to Android TV – and this means it’s simple to install Kodi. It’s not quite as powerful as the Minix, but does support 4K playback.