DroidBox T8-S Plus Review

Over the past couple of decades there have been a handful of technology products that have truly transformed the way we live. Although covering different industries, these products have a few distinct qualities in common: They have, invariably, been disruptive in the most dramatic way imaginable and they have, by their very nature, forced us to change how we think about some of the basic things we do every day. By doing this we subsequently, enrich our lives and open new doors of endless possibilities. The most obvious that come to mind are the internet, the MP3 player, the smart phone and the iPad. To this list we must add one other name: the Home Theatre PC or HTPC as it’s more commonly known. To the uninitiated, the HTPC is an all-in-one entertainment system that allows you to watch live HD television, movies (all formats), record television, play games, view videos/photos, and listen to music.

During the past couple of years there has been an influx of media center devices hoping to capture the public imagination and kick start what many believe is a quiet revolution in home entertainment. The most exciting of these has to be the DroidBOX T8-S Plus. Quickly gaining ground as the king of social hubs and media players, the DroidBox T8-S Plus raises the bar when it comes to making your TV smart and placing the dream of truly individual, customized and on-demand home entertainment within the reach of every homeowner in the world.

Take a peek under the hood of the T8-S Plus’s deceptively streamlined and compact design and you’ll find an awe inspiring powerhouse that provides everything you could possibly want from a home theatre unit and much, much more.

For anyone who has a head for technical specifications, the DroidBOX is powered by a S812 Quad Core processor, 2GB RAM and 32GB ROM. It features an APB325 802.11AC WiFi and 1000Mbps LAN for internet connectivity. A SATA connection inside the DroidBOX also allows you to increase the storage up to 2TB with any 2.5” drive.

In plain speak this means the DroidBOX is a powerful computer with tons of processing power and enough storage capacity for as many games, apps and movies that you could possibly want.

Among its many unique features is the fact that the DroidBOX T8-S Plus not only supports Android, but also allows you to boot up into the light weight operating system OpenELEC (more on that later).

Other stand out features we were blown away by include:

DroidBOX Launcher – an interface designed just for DroidBOX customers, to ensure their favourite apps and activities are just a click away;

Airplay – an easy way for iPad and iPhone users to mirror their iOS applications (where compatible) onto their big screen TV;

DroidBOX Share – DroidBOX Share allows you to control your DroidBOX T8-S Plus with your Android or iOS device (iPhone or iPad). You can use it as a remote control to navigate on your DroidBOX and send files such as videos or photos to view on your TV.

DroidBOX Market – Handpicked applications that really help you expand the possibilities your DroidBOX offers.

DroidBOX Control Centre – The Control Centre is the latest addition to the DroidBOX custom built apps. The team behind DroidBOX created this particular software as a way of offering customers immediate and effective support.

Google Cast – effectively turns your DroidBOX into a Chromecast device! You can cast from YouTube on your phone/tablet or a PC with the Chrome browser installed.

The DroidBOX T8-Plus has clearly been designed with the everyday user in mind. On loading, its interface provides you with an elegantly designed intuitive screen that gives you immediate access to all of the important elements of the DroidBOX experience: the media centre, Android store, settings, the apps folder, favorites, storage, CPU and memory statistics are all there in front of you. Two other screens you can scroll to allow you to keep tabs on your favorite music and games apps. Excellent. It’s no exaggeration to say the DroidBOX T8-Plus looks as amazing as it performs.

As impressive as all this sounds, the main reason most of you will be excited by the DroidBOX T8-S Plus is how it works with Kodi (formally known as XBMC) and makes it oh,so easy for you to watch your choice of movies and television without being tied to broadcasters schedules.

If you’re unfamiliar with Kodi or XBMC then our advice is to find a comfortable seat and buckle up because you’re in for the ride of your life. This review of the DroidBOX T8-S Plus could just change the way you think about home entertainment forever. Kodi is an amazing multiplatform media player that is great for watching movies and TV. Over the past couple of years Kodi/XBMC has become one of the best home entertainment systems available. And everything it offers is for free. Yes, read the sentence again. Everything it offers is for free.

The DroidBOX T8-S Plus allows you to use Kodi on the Android platform or, if you prefer a much more streamlined experience, you can choose to run it on OpenELEC, a dedicated version of the Kodi software. Either way, you won’t be disappointed by how smoothly Kodi runs on the DroidBOX T8-Plus. We spent hours just playing around with the T8-Plus’s settings and still feel that we’ve only just scratched the surface of this wonderful device.

As we mentioned before, the DroidBOX T8-Plus is a box which is intended to demystify the world of HTPC and open the doors of home entertainment to the world. With this end in mind, the company has one of the most comprehensive support systems we’ve ever encountered. After you fire up the DroidBOX T8-Plus, you can click the control centre icon for immediate access to the YouTube channel which is packed with informative and comprehensive how-to videos. Alternatively you can read support documents or even contact their QuickSupport team – direct from the DroidBOX itself. How cool is that?

If, like us, you love watching movies and great TV shows or sometimes just unwinding with a fantastic game, then the DroidBOX T8-Plus is an essential purchase.

The DroidBOX T8-Plus is a slick, polished, and powerful social hub and media player that will not only change your vision of home entertainment, but it also raises the quality bar for other media boxes. Go buy.

10 out of 10