10 Popular Budget TV Boxes from Aliexpress

Balanced fixture.

VONTAR X3 is built on Amlogic S905X3 processor with Mali-G31MP3 graphics core.

Inexpensive set-top box with a rich selection of firmware on w3bsit3-dns.com and good hardware stuffing.

Among the advantages can be distinguished:

• dual-band Wi-Fi 2.4+5GHz and LAN 1000 Mbps
• Supports 8K and 4K decoding
• optical SPDIF output
• IPTV and Youtube in 4K with a resolution of 3840×2160@60
• Working autoframe
• Miracast
• Audio forwarding Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, DTS 5.1

The prefix is ​​not designed for serious games, but you can play at minimum and medium settings.

Another inexpensive media player with good reviews and decent hardware stuffing.

Built on Amlogic S905X3, supports WiFi 2.4+5GHz, LAN1000 and Bluetooth.

Among the advantages can be distinguished:

• decoding multichannel audio in VLC
• good network speed
• working autoframerate via AFRD

Of the shortcomings — a little hot, not critical.

One of the most famous and popular X96 Max + TV boxes with a huge profile theme on w3bsit3-dns.com and a large number of firmware.

Among the advantages can be identified:

• Good network modules;
• Audio output (transcoding): DTS, DTS-HD High Resolution, Dolby Digital Plus
• Miracast (wireless phone screen mirroring)
• connecting an external IR receiver (optional)
• ROOT rights
• Autoframerate

Among the shortcomings, a large number of versions of this model can be distinguished.

TV stick media player. Feel free to take to the country or on a business trip.

Miniature TV set-top box, only 98x33mm in size. It is inserted into the HDMI connector of the TV. Built on the energy-saving Amlogic S905Y2 processor. The version with 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage has a fairly fast 2.4 + 5 GHz WiFi / Bluetooth module and a full USB 3.0 connector.

Proven media player with optimized software.

Like X96s, Mecool KD1 is based on Amlogic S905Y2. Among the advantages, we can note the certified Android TV operating system based on Android 10. Wireless interfaces — dual-band WiFi / Bluetooth 4.2 module. RAM 2GB, ROM 16GB. An omnivorous enough media player to watch UHD 4K content with HDR and autoframerate.

More details can be found in the review.

Decent option.

Certified Android TV Box. Despite the abundance of the range of TV boxes, Xiaomi Mi TV Box S remains one of the most stable and best-selling Android media players.

From the pros:

• Stable, fast and smooth interface
• Voice control
• Dolby and DTS premium sound
• 4K HDR
• WiFi: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4GHz/5GHz
• Bluetooth: 4.2
• Video decoder: 4K 60fps, VP9, ​​H.264, H.265, MPEG1/2/4, VC-1, Real 8/9/10

Of the minuses — the lack of a Lan port, which, if necessary, is solved by connecting a LAN adapter

Mecool KM6 in Classic and Delux versions are popular 2021 models based on the new Amlogic S905X4 processor with support for hardware decoding of the modern AV1 codec.

Both models run the certified Google Android TV operating system.

The budget version of the Classic has a 100 megabit LAN port, a MIMO 2×2 WiFi adapter 2.4+ 5 GHz and Bluetooth 4.2.

The Delux version is equipped with an optical SPDIF output, a gigabit LAN port, Bluetooth 5.0 and WiFi 6 support. Both versions are supplied with Bluetooth remotes with a built-in microphone. You can’t attribute Delux to budget devices.

The advantages of both versions include:

• Bluetooth remote control with microphone
• certified Google ATV system
• output of multi-channel sound;
• fast WiFi modules with MIMO 2×2 support.

The disadvantages include the lack of a license from Netflix.

The first TV box from Mecool with a license for the Netflix streaming service. Built on S905X2-B processor with Mali G31 graphics core. Comes with a great Bluetooth remote with built-in microphone. The box is equipped with 2 GB of RAM and 8 GB of storage.

From the pros:

• build quality;
• good cooling system;
• fast WiFi/BT module 2.4+5 GHz;
• Google Certified ATV with Netflix Certified

Of the minuses:

• permanent HDR mode;
• non-working IR commands in the remote control;
• not working autoframe;
• LAN port 100 Mbps.

Interesting miniature TV box. Built on Amlogic S905Y2 with Mali-G31MP2 graphics core. An excellent media player from an American provider with Android TV9 and certification from streaming services. Includes a convenient Bluetooth remote control with built-in microphone.

The advantages include a certified Google ATV9 operating system, fast WiFi with MIMO2x2, support for 4K playback with HDR. License from Netflix.

The disadvantages include the lack of autoframerate and the fact that you will have to buy this model on Amazon. Alternatively, you can purchase it at local retailers.

TOX1 is a recently popular, balanced TV box based on Amlogic S905X3 with optimized firmware from Ugoos and a lot of custom firmware on w3bsit3-dns.com.

The media player has a dual-band WiFi / BT module, and a gigabit LAN port. Multi-channel audio output via HDMI is possible. AOSP and ATV firmware available.

Recently, customer reviews about the “lame” quality of this model have become more frequent, but despite this, TOX1 is still quite popular. In my profile there is a detailed review of TOX1 and comparison of its capabilities with Tanix TX9s.