Smart TV box with digital audio out?

S

sudokp

Disciple
Hello,
I'm in the market for a smart TV box with digital audio outputs. I did a quick Google search and found that the Apple TV and Xiaomi TV box used to have this feature, but the latest versions seem to have dropped it.
I'm now looking for recommendations for a TV box that offers this feature at a price point significantly lower than a NUC or a full-fledged computer.
Your suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
Why not use an HDMI audio extractor? Works with anything with an HDMI output.
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Yep, that should be my last resort.

Mi Box 4K has optical out.
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Thanks for the suggestion. It appears they might be out of stock, possibly due to the upcoming 2nd generation (which isn't available in India yet), and unfortunately, they seem to have removed the SDIF out feature.

I stumbled upon a YouTube channel called "Chigz Tech Review," which I found very informative. They maintain a Google sheet with a wide range of parameters for comparisons.
The sheet has a column for SPDIF Optical. While there are a couple of devices with SPDIF output, I must admit that I don't recognize most of these brands, except for Nokia. Unfortunately, it seems that none of these products are available in India.
docs.google.com

TV BOX CHART 2023

Sheet1 ,TOP TV BOX PERFORMANCE CHART OF 2023 PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE, RANKED BY BECHMARK SCORES (= Latest Review) DDR4 is 3X Faster than DDR3,ATV= ANDROID TV OS PRICES,Rating,ANTUTU,GEEKBENCH 4,GEEKBENCH 5/6,CPU,GPU,HDD,RAM,READ/WRITE,HDD,BLUE,WIFI,LAN,USB,HDMI,OS RANK,DEVICE NAME...
docs.google.com docs.google.com

It appears that the available options in India involve either using an HDMI extractor or opting for Bluetooth transmission with the latest LDAC or aptX HD codecs. These Bluetooth codecs can deliver audio quality comparable to standard wired digital formats, provided that you have compatible Bluetooth receivers.
I can confirm that my current Fire TV Stick (2021) supports the LDAC codec for Bluetooth audio transmission.
 
sudokp said:
Thanks for the suggestion. It appears they might be out of stock, possibly due to the upcoming 2nd generation (which isn't available in India yet), and unfortunately, they seem to have removed the SDIF out feature
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There are many Chinese boxes available on Amazon. Sift through them.

If you are open to importing, I had got one Beelink GT box from GearBest a few years back. GearBest has astounding variety of them.
 
I checked out that list and filtered it based on some criteria, like having official Android TV OS, SPDIF out, and Bluetooth 5.0 or newer.
It seems the Mecool KM2 Plus comes out on top in terms of both cost and ANTUTU benchmark scores.

I noticed ElectroniksIndia.com has it listed, but unfortunately, it's currently out of stock. I'll check with local electronics shops in SP Road, Bengaluru, to see if they have it. If not, I might have to consider importing it. The official website doesn't offer shipping to India. I'll check if someone I know is returning from the US or UK for Christmas.
 
Today, I discovered that TV boxes with a USB port can also function as a digital audio output! I initially believed that these USB ports were primarily for media playback from external storage. However, this link from Darko audio confirms their ability to act as digital audio outputs. This discovery expands my options for a TV box.
darko.audio

A short film about the Xiaomi Mi Box S | Darko.Audio

A worthy successor to the Google Chromecast Audio's vacant throne.
darko.audio darko.audio
A back panel HDMI socket sends (4K) video and audio to any directly-connected monitor, TV or projector with the digital audio signal optionally separable via neighbouring miniTOSLINK or – get this – USB sockets, the latter opening the door to USB DACs like the AudioQuest DragonFly range, albeit it without bit-perfect playback. As we saw previously with an Android smartphone, a DragonFly’s LED let us know us that the Android TV OS also upsamples the USB output’s datastream to 96kHz prior to dispatch and irrespective of any changes to the datastream exacted elsewhere e.g. internal volume attenuation.
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Yes, They can if OS is Android. But, USB is limited to stereo channels. You won't get surround output. Players like UAPP with custom drivers might do it. But, Stock streaming apps won't do it.
 
Great info, thank you.
I'm looking specifically for a stereo setup for my home theater, so I'm not planning to get an AVR at the moment. I'm actually working on a two-channel setup to go with my projector.
I decided to purchase the Mecool KM2 Plus Android box. It's not available for shipping to India, so I'm getting it through a contact in the UK.
 
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