[dual_HD]

Here, I want to ask XBMC team a question, I saw here a new release will change the h/w decoding support for XBMC, is there any one can let me know it is a good thing or bad thing ?

"Android Hardware Decoding

It’s been a long time coming, but we are excited to announce that hardware decoding of video has finally made its way to the XBMC for Android platform. The most important caveat is that the implemented hardware decoding does not support AmLogic or Allwinner chipsets, and it does require Android 4.0 (“Ice Cream Sandwich”) or higher to run. With that said, the more popular tablets sold in the past year, such as the Nexus 7 and 10, should work quite well with this alpha, and users are welcome to discuss their experiences in the comments below. Kudos to Koying for his work on this project."


http://xbmc.org/xbmc-13-gotham-august-cycle/

[Ned Scott]

Normal builds have "catch most/all" hardware decoding support. AMLogic-based devices need a specific build, but are still supported. AllWinner A10 devices don't have official support because of various bugs in AllWinner's hardware decoding standard, but newer AllWinner chips don't have this issue (off hand I'm not sure which ones).

It's a good thing.

[dual_HD]

So Amlogic and allwinner are still playing full HD video without any problem on XBMC?

[Ned Scott]

I would stay away from Allwinner, but the rest should work (so far. Still waiting on confirmation on a few chipsets from users: Android hardware (wiki)).

[john3voltas]

I am also interested in buying an android device for XBMC.
In such sense I would like to better understand what kind of support AMLogic and Allwinner devices will have.
Allwinner devices are usually less expensive than AMLogic hence why I see them more often when I look at local shops. Besides some Allwinner boxes have Toslink which is something very hard to come by when looking at AMLogic devices.
I would be willing to buy a Rockchip device but looking at Minix latest forum topics, android still has some issues.
Some people there mentioned slight stuttering even on the latest libstagefright.
Could anybody comment on this?
TIA
Cheers

[dual_HD]

Hi, John3voltas, I don't think Toslink is hard to have on a Amlogic h/w. All winner is cheaper, yes, but it is and it is A8 not A9.

[john3voltas]

I don't think Toslink is hard to have on a Amlogic h/w.

Hi dual_HD. Looking at the online Chinese gadget dealers I can't find any unit with a Toslink. By Toslink I mean an optical connection to the AV Receiver.
I would be glad if anyone could point me a good deal on a M3/M6 unit with 1GB/8GB, RJ45, Toslink and a (possibly crappy) remote controller.
The next best thing that I can find is the Tronsmart Prometheus 1GB/8GB, RJ45, no remote controller and and with a minijack stereo AV port. The lack of RC is not a major problem but I don't actually know how it works to connect these to an AV Receiver. My AV only allows RCA or Optical S/PDIF.

All winner is cheaper, yes, but it is and it is A8 not A9.

Indeed. Most are a lot slower than the AMLogic but they are also considerably cheaper.
I mean, if they would work with XBMC with HW support I wouldn't mind buying one of these instead of the considerably more expensive AMLogics.

Normal builds have "catch most/all" hardware decoding support. AMLogic-based devices need a specific build, but are still supported.

Where would I find that specific build? Is that brand-specific or is there a generic AMLogic build that works on all hardware?

Also, can someone please update me on the status of the libstagefright development? Last time I checked Minix forums (they sell the X5 which has everything I need but on a Rockchip) people were reporting light stuttering on 1080p.

Thanks in advance.
Cheers

[dual_HD]

I don't think Toslink is hard to have on a Amlogic h/w.

Hi dual_HD. Looking at the online Chinese gadget dealers I can't find any unit with a Toslink. By Toslink I mean an optical connection to the AV Receiver.
I would be glad if anyone could point me a good deal on a M3/M6 unit with 1GB/8GB, RJ45, Toslink and a (possibly crappy) remote controller.
The next best thing that I can find is the Tronsmart Prometheus 1GB/8GB, RJ45, no remote controller and and with a minijack stereo AV port. The lack of RC is not a major problem but I don't actually know how it works to connect these to an AV Receiver. My AV only allows RCA or Optical S/PDIF.

All winner is cheaper, yes, but it is and it is A8 not A9.

Indeed. Most are a lot slower than the AMLogic but they are also considerably cheaper.
I mean, if they would work with XBMC with HW support I wouldn't mind buying one of these instead of the considerably more expensive AMLogics.

Normal builds have "catch most/all" hardware decoding support. AMLogic-based devices need a specific build, but are still supported.

Where would I find that specific build? Is that brand-specific or is there a generic AMLogic build that works on all hardware?

Also, can someone please update me on the status of the libstagefright development? Last time I checked Minix forums (they sell the X5 which has everything I need but on a Rockchip) people were reporting light stuttering on 1080p.

Thanks in advance.
Cheers

Try google ATV1200, ATV1000B, they are m6 and m3 based with optical audio out.

[john3voltas]

Hi dual_HD.
ATV1200 and ATV1000B have all that I wanted except for...price.
130€ is simply way too much. Besides customs would charge me 1/3 of that (~43,3€) and they would add taxes (23%).
In the end it would look like 130+43,3+39,9=~213€.
That's just too much for my pocket .
A Prometheus (M6 1GB/4GB but no Toslink) costs around 39€. That plus 1/3 customs and plus 23% taxes gives a total ~64€.
But a Jesurun Q5 1core@1Ghz 1GB/8GB with Toslink costs 30€+customs+taxes=~49€.
I'm not cheap, I'm just poor and I would save a lot of money with the Jesurun in case it works fine with XBMC and in case it has HW support.
Otherwise I'll have to buy the Prometheus without Toslink while I can still buy it for 39€ which won't last much more than a few hours. It even has a Finless ROM without bloat-crap.