Look, most Android TV boxes suck; they either don't have the requisite codecs, have issues with rendering HDR, or tend to be laggy. I used products that had all three drawbacks, but that was before the Shield TV Pro; NVIDIA somehow managed to create the ultimate Android TV streaming box, and I liked it so much I ended up buying three.
Like every year, the Shield TV Pro is down to its customary $169 asking price for Prime Day, and if you haven't made the switch yet, I highly recommend it. But if you don't want to pay that much and are interested in considering an alternative, you should pick up Mecool's KM2 Plus Deluxe. It usually retails for $149, but it's available for $119 at the moment — you'll need to use the 20% coupon on the page.
The KM2 Plus Deluxe also runs Android TV based on Android 11, and while I was wary of the brand at the beginning — I used way too many shoddy streaming boxes — it turned out to be pretty great. I set it up with the bedroom projector a month ago, and I didn't run into any issues.
✅Recommended if: You need a powerful Android TV box that handles HDR and AV1. The KM2 Plus is lag-free in daily use, and there are considerable savings over the Shield TV Pro.
❌Skip this deal if: You want Dolby Vision, and don't like the bloated interface of Android TV.
Setting up the KM2 Plus Deluxe is similar to other Android TV boxes, and there are no feature omissions. It comes with 4GB of RAM, and the interface is just about the most fluid out of any Android TV device I used. You get access to the Play Store, it handles HDR content really well, and there's AV1 decode. However, there's no Dolby Vision.
Just like the Shield TV Pro, you get a standard HDMI port alongside USB-A and Ethernet connectors, so you can plug in an external drive to the KM2 Plus Deluxe with relative ease. Given that it is down to just $119, I suggest giving it a try if you want a powerful Android TV box.
