Kodi is a popular software for organizing local media files and streaming online content. However, due to its popularity, users also want to have Kodi specific hardware devices. While the idea of a Kodi box is great, there are hardly any Kodi-specific hardware devices available right now. Nevertheless, there are a few ways which can bring the dream of Kodi box into reality. So in this article, I am going to share the 7 best Kodi boxes which you can buy in 2019. You can install Kodi on these devices easily and enjoy your content on a bigger screen without any issues. So without wasting any time, let us get started with the list
In general, a Kodi box is a device which solely runs Kodi and nothing else. However, at present, there are no official Kodi hardware devices available in the market and the open-source company has shown no interest in making it. There are a few third-party Kodi boxes available on eBay and Craigslist but those are mostly slow and also illegal as they pack copyrighted content. Most of the Kodi boxes that we are going to discuss are actually Android TV boxes which support Kodi. You can easily install Kodi on any device mentioned below and enjoy streaming content.
Kodi’s minimum hardware requirements are pretty bare minimum like 1 GB of RAM. While you’re in the market for a Kodi box, make sure it has specifications well above these minimum requirements. While Kodi may still run on relatively under-powered hardware, it may not play 4K videos or support advanced Kodi features. A lot of people buy cheap Chinese knock-offs, only to be disappointed when it doesn’t work as expected later on. Most of the cheap Kodi boxes which you can find on eBay are under-powered and have almost zero after-sales support.
Nvidia Shield TV is the best Kodi box for power users and you can buy it without any hesitation. It is a digital media player which runs on Android TV OS. So naturally, it has access to thousands of Android apps including Kodi through the Google Play Store. You can install Kodi just by searching Kodi in the Play Store and installing it thereafter. Coming to performance, Nvidia Shield is one powerful device with support for 4K HDR streaming, Dolby Atmos and a lot more. If you are a heavy Kodi user who prefers installing enormous builds, add-ons and several repositories then Nvidia Shield TV is for you. It packs the best internals with top of the line GPU. To sum up, if you want to test the limits of Kodi, you should definitely go for Nvidia Shield TV.
Xbox One S is a gaming console by Microsoft, but it also acts as a great Kodi box. It can run Kodi and all its features flawlessly. The Xbox One S is a powerful gaming console with support for 4K HDR streaming, high graphics performance, Dolby Atmos, etc. Xbox One S is developed on Windows OS so it can run Kodi without any issues. The Kodi app is available officially on both Microsoft Store and Xbox Store. So you will not have to run through hoops to install Kodi on your gaming console. For your seamless setup, we have written a detailed guide on how to install Kodi on Xbox One S, so check it out. All in all, Xbox One S is a great pick if you love gaming and also want to run Kodi at high-performance settings.
Buy Mi Box S from Walmart ($59)
Asus Chromebox 3 is one of a kind device which can run Kodi fairly well. It’s actually a Chrome OS PC with a very small form-factor. You can install Kodi on Asus Chromebox 3 easily through the Google Play Store. This device does have support for Play Store so you will not have to run through hoops to install Kodi on it. In case you want to have a better idea about the installation then you can check our guide on how to install Kodi on Chromebooks. Talking about the specs, it has a fanless Celeron chip with 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of SSD. So the performance should be decent enough for an average Kodi user. Overall, if you want to run Kodi and also have a small PC by the side then Asus Chromebox is a great option. You might like it given that Chrome OS is light and pretty fast.
If you like to tweak and tinker with things then Raspberry Pi 3 can be a great Kodi box for you. Raspberry Pi is a one-board PC which basically means, it’s a small computer which can run almost any open-source OS. In this case, you can not only install Kodi but also run various add-ons, builds, and repositories on top of it and without any issues. The installation process is very easy and you can always follow our how to install Kodi on Raspberry Pi3 guide if you have any problem. The performance is quite acceptable as it uses the Broadcom ARM chips which are supposed to be fast and efficient. Also, if you are looking for the cheapest Kodi box, its rock-bottom price will surely lure you. So in a nutshell, if there is a nerd inside you, you can go ahead and buy Raspberry Pie 3 and install Kodi on it. There you have it, the best Kodi box, built by you.
