Android TV Boxes & XBMC

[Beagle 2]

I know we've had threads about these before, but I'm specifically thinking of buying something like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2053587.m570.l1313.TR10.TRC0.A0.XXBMC&_nkw=XBMC&_sacat=0&_from=R40

...and I just wondered if anybody had any experience with them? I'm basically looking for a way to watch footy streams on my telly. I already have an Xbox for netflix and iPlayer and the like, but I gather I can watch quite a few dodgy channels via XBMC and the Navi X add on, which these claim to have pre-loaded? In practice, does this actually work? My broadband connection isn't the speediest, but my contract's up in a few days.

If I can't watch via the app on the box itself, would I be able to stream what I'm watching on my computer to the box?

[Famous Mortimer]

I'd maybe go for a Raspberry Pi, but provided the reviews on there are decent, the ones on eBay certainly seem a little simpler to set up.

[Slaaaaabs]

Definitely check out reviews of the specific models to see what quirks they have. I've been looking for a decent one for my parents to use for a while, and a lot seem to have one or more major flaws (especially with which HD formats they will handle without stuttering)

[Beagle 2]

Hmm, well I think I've sussed out that XBMC app, so I'll give that a try on my Nexus 7 tonight and see if there's a decent selection of functioning channels. No guarantee that any box I buy will work as smoothly as the tablet though I suppose. Shame you can't stream from the Nexus 7 to your telly.

Edit: also seems to work well on a jailbroken Apple TV box, which I guess is pretty much guaranteed to be stable, so perhaps I should play it safe with one of those.

[falafel]

You can connect an hdmi adapter to the Nexus can't you?

[Beagle 2]

First generation ones? I don't think so. New ones, yes.

[Famous Mortimer]

Talking of XBMC, any of you guys more au fait with the technical aspects of it? I love it, but it's started doing a thing where you'll be near the end of some TV show (it happens with the multi-RAR files I get from torrent sites, but it happens when I've unzipped them too) and it'll pause for 5 seconds then stop the video. If you go back into it and restart it's fine and plays to the end, but it's getting a bit baffling.