[shiranbi]

Hi
I am looking for a secondary media center.
It will be connected through wifi (fairly far from router).
it should be able to run in kodi:
1. live tv
2. stream movies in 720p from the different addons, and sometimes 1080p (i am assuming at some point most movies out there will be 1080p so that will be the only option to stream)
3. Stream movies from other computers in the wifi network.
4. allow for web browser, either from within kodi (haven't figured if there is such an add on) or from outside


I read the pick the right kodi box and i can't decide if RaspberryPi2 is the right pick (i tried RapberryPI 1 and nothing moved)

I am a novice with this so :
From "Pick the right kodi box"
When you purchase the codecs it can play any Blu Ray rip you throw at it - do the codecs come with chromebox? i am used to windows where this is not a real problem
The only restrictions otherwise compared to a Chromebox are it can't run every plugin - what is the common denominator of these plugins?
it won't run every skin as well - how about the default skin?
it doesn't have the power to decode really any HEVC and maybe some Hi10p stuff and it can't bitstream HD audio (that is the big one). - are any of these a problem when watching a 1080p?
Oh and I personally wouldn't use it for 1080i live TV unless I really couldn't afford a Chromebox. - how come? how about 720 live tv?


I can afford a chromebox if needed. Does it fit all of my requirements or do i need something else?
If so what OS should i be installing?

Thanks

[ant_thomas]

I've got both a Chromebox (living room) and a RPi2 (bedroom)

Chromebox is better overall and has better deinterlacing for LiveTV.

RPi2 is very good value for money with reasonable deinterlacing for LiveTV. Better than VDPAU-BOB (IMO) that I was previously using with an Atom/ION system.

Both handle streaming media well.

Both running OpenElec.

[noggin]

I have a Chromebox and a couple of Pi 2s running OE.

The Pi 2 is capable of receiving and displaying DVB-S/S2 and T/T2 576/50i, 720/50p and 1080/50i streams with reasonable de-interlacing. I've done this with TV Headend. (Bob at 1080i, better than Bob at 576i). It has enough CPU to handle DVB decryption as well if you have a system that requires this. For a single-tuner system the Pi 2 is a very low cost solution.

For IPTV live streaming the Pi 2 also works very well, and has enough CPU power to also handle VPNs should you need to run one.

The latest milhouse builds for the Pi2 implement an Open source DTS-HD MA/HRA decoding to LPCM - which will give you lossless (for 5.1 content <192kHz sampling rate) replay (albeit without receiver metadata processing). So although you don't get Dolby True HD and DTS-HD MA/HRA bitstreaming on a Pi 2, you DO get lossless audio for 48kHz and 96kHz content (as well as 192kHz content that is 4.0 or less) This really is an amazing development for the Pi 2.

The Chromebox is a level above the Pi 2 though - in that it does a much higher quality deinterlace for 1080i content (Motion Compensated rather than just Bob) which delivers significantly better results. It also has better IO (multiple USB 3.0 and GigE) so would be a better solution for a multiple-tuner setup and PVR duties. (A Chromebox as a combined backend/frontend with Pi 2s as remote streaming clients would be a good solution for example) The Chromebox will do HD Audio bitstreaming with no problems, though I can't comment on Hi10p or HEVC as I don't watch content in either of those formats. It can't cope with 1080/50i 4:2:2 H264 though - as this isn't VAAPI accelerated.

[wrxtasy]

And just to complicate matters. I currently have a RPi2, but just had delivered an ODROID-C1 that has a quad core Amlogic S805 SOC with Gigabit Ethernet.

I really bought it for H.265 video decoding, but did not realise there are unofficial OpenElec images for it. Openelec on this $35 beastie runs very well, its stable and bloody quick. I would say Chromebox quick in every aspect of Kodi operation.
I'm even using a lowly 4 year old Class 4 microSDHC card. This has really surprised me as I was not expecting much at all.

Limitations:
- no perfect 24p (23,987fps) video sync. I run mine at 50Hz and barely notice very minor video stuttering of sped up 23.976fps content. You really have to be looking for this tho, and know what to look for.
- no HDMI-CEC control out of the box. It can be added with some tweaking.
- I'm not sure about HD audio options.

I now use it for Live TV viewing of 25/50Hz mpeg2 content, the picture quality is so good. Better than my RPi2. This would also make a very good TvHeadend backend server and Kodi frontend with its Gigabit Ethernet.

The Amlogic's S805 VPU functions:

H.265 HEVC [email protected] up to 1080P@60fps
H.264 MVC up to 1080P@60fps

Video Post-Processing Engine:
- Motion adaptive 3D noise reduction filter
- Advanced motion adaptive edge enhancing de-interlacing engine
- 3:2 pull-down support

http://dn.odroid.com/S805/Datasheet/S805...150126.pdf

H.265 video decoding in Hardware is currently not yet supported in Kodi. It is coming I believe.
Android definitely supports it.