[TheLegendOfMart]

Just got mine in the post today and compiled a couple of quick benchmarks.

The included Kodi kept crashing on startup so I reinstalled it from Play store and threw some 8/10Bit HEVC files in 1080p and 4K and it plays them fine. I don't have any videos with HD Audio so I can't tell if it decodes or passes it through and there is no refresh switching my TV reported 1080p@60 when playing back any file.

The only con I can think of is no Google Widevine DRM support whatsoever but I rip my own movies from bought Blurays so it doesn't really bother me. Not even sure if its fixable via software or not so buyer beware.

[TheLegendOfMart]

Had a quick look in settings and there is a setting called HDMI Self-Adaptation that I can switch on which apparently is refresh switching but my TV still reports 60Hz.

[TheLegendOfMart]

Having problems with the status bar being on top of all the apps, trying to watch youtube and status bar is above the video.

I've tried using GMD Immersive app but it just makes the remote stop working... :/

[shamo42]

Thanks. I ordered the device after your positive impressions.

On this site there are a few samples with hd-audio:
http://www.demo-world.eu/2d-demo-trailers-hd/
If you have time it would be great if you can test a few samples with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and DTS-HD.

Is the status bar present in Kodi too?

About the refresh rate, if you go to the video settings in Kodi, is the option "Adjust refresh rate" set to "Always"?
If it still doesn't work and your TV supports it, you should be able to manually set the refresh rate to 24Hz. Then you could check if 23.976 videos are displayed properly and hopefully enjoy smoother playback.

[TheLegendOfMart]

I tried DTS HD MA and True HD 7.1 and it decoded them I don't use a receiver so i don't know what the passthrough supports, the status bar isn't in kodi but is in every other android app.

I tried enabling Adjust Refresh but my TV didn't do anything, I guess it's not supported on my TV.

[shamo42]

Thanks again for your reply.
DTS-HD and True-HD decoding, 4K, HEVC, 10 bit support... This little box seems almost too good to be true for under 50$. I'm looking forward to further improvements with future firmware update.

My TV supports 23.976. I'll try and report back once I get my Mini MX. (Might take one or two months though. Ordered from China and it hasn't even shipped yet).

Did you manage to root it?

[TheLegendOfMart]

Yeah the version of android is basically just an SDK compiled and thrown onto a box.

The OS thinks it is a phone. I am looking forward to see if someone can compile Android TV OS for it.

Don't get me wrong the box is far from perfect but if it has this much going for it so early on there is a lot of potential here.

[wrxtasy]

The only con I can think of is no Google Widevine DRM support whatsoever but I rip my own movies from bought Blurays so it doesn't really bother me. Not even sure if its fixable via software or not so buyer beware.

It is not fixable in Software, there are no Hacky workarounds. If Widevine Level 1 DRM approval is not certified before sale on this device or any other, then you will never get anything more than 480p resolution for Apps like Netflix, HBO etc...

Before you guys get carried away looking only at Tech specs, here is a cold hard reality check first:

• Kodi does not support 10-bit video output
  
• Starting with S8XX SoC's. AMLogic has released their SDK with libs that support Audio Pass-through, and gives the good libs only to companies that are Dolby and DTS licensed.
  
• HD audio passthrough works using apps that use standard Android API's. Kodi 15.2 currently does not support these API's
  
• 23.976fps video output should be supported if the correct settings are selected in Kodi and a TV supports some sort of 24p movie mode and that is also configured correctly as well. If Kodi then fails to switch the TV's refresh rate to 24p, you have a firmware problem.
  
• Decent Firmware on S8XX+ AMLogic devices should also support Frame Rate Automation for silky smooth video playback when a TV is switched into 24p movie mode. If there is a video frame glitch occurring every 41 seconds after TV refresh rate switching and during playback of 23.976fps video, the Firmware is again very poor. This shows no care at all has been taken by the manufacturer.

The one working advantage the AMLogic S9XX does have is HDMI 2.0 which means 4K video output at up to 60Hz.
Be aware Kodi does not run a 4K GUI.

[TheLegendOfMart]

The S905 supports widevine, why wouldn't it be fixable via firmware update?

My TV is 4-5 years old not sure it has 24p movie mode.

I know the box isn't perfect but these boxes are literally brand new, there is plenty of time to bugfix them.

[wrxtasy]

The S905 supports widevine, why wouldn't it be fixable via firmware update?

No No No. Its simply is not going to happen. There are a whole bunch of checks and certification that has to be completed Before Sale of the device. As an example, Netflix servers check if the device is on the certified list and only then will serve up DRM 1080p HD video.

I'm not trying to put a downer on the device you just purchased, but trying to make potential purchasers aware of what works and what does not. Don't get suckered in by the Tech specs unless you want to be an Early adopter.

Firmware support is all important, so the question is does Beelink provide good Firmware support after sale, have they even got the correct licenses in place to support the new features the Hardware provides ?

[TheLegendOfMart]

Ok fair enough. I knew before I bought it I was going to be an early adopter and have to put up with bugs and stuff that doesn't work. It is a £40 box afterall so I figured it was going to have budget specs.

Widevines not a dealbreaker for me but it's nice to have it clarified.

[shamo42]

• Starting with S8XX SoC's. AMLogic has released their SDK with libs that support Audio Pass-through, and gives the good libs only to companies that are Dolby and DTS licensed.
  
• HD audio passthrough works using apps that use standard Android API's. Kodi 15.2 currently does not support .

Does that mean the companies without the good libs only get 2.0 pass-through or no sound at all?
What about the digital optical output?

Even if it's far from perfect, imo this box is pretty amazing. I have no hardware in my home that can play my action cams and phone's 4k recording without stutter, except my tiny 5" phone. When I was looking for a Kodi htpc, I expected to pay more than 200$. Hevec 4K @ 60fps are a huge bonus. I will probably be able to display GoPro 5 footage with this.

You mentioned Kodi doesn't support a 4K ui at the moment. If it ever does, do you thing devices with only 1GB will be able to do it? I feel like at least 2GB might be necessary.

[wrxtasy]

No DTS HD Audio output at all in Android Apps unless you have the DTS licence. This likely is the same if a Dolby licence is not given. Having said that there have been hacks done to various apps to allow at least 2.0 PCM Audio output. Hacks which cannot be discussed here.

HD Audio to Multichannel PCM may be available in Kodi on AMLogic S9XX as Kodi does its own decoding using Open Source Libs.
You guys, the early adopters will have to test that, and I would start with Kodi Jarvis first.

A relevant discussion about DTS licencing is in the WeTek Core thread:
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=...pid2156486

---

2.0 uncompressed Channels of lossless PCM Audio only over any S/PDIF optical connection. Lossless HD Audio requires too much Bandwidth for S/PDIF transport.
5.1 compressed (lossy) audio can be transported over S/PDIF if you use AC3/DTS transcoding.

---

Android Surface Rendering
The Android platform has always been a bit special as it’s still maturing and this change shows that. Some newer devices that can do UHD or 4K playback really well lack the power to also create the Kodi interface at that resolution, and this creates kind of a problem. The end result was that the we either had to downscale the video to a lower resolution to make sure the interface was snappy, or show full size video but the device might not be able handle the high resolution interface. This change allows us to create the Kodi user-interface in a different resolution than the resolution we do video playback, so what happens now is that the interface is displayed at 1080p, and the video will actually be output at the 4K resolution if the device supports it as we let the chip-set do the work instead of the processor.

Important to mention is that this doesn’t apply to AMLogic devices with proper permissions as these will still use amcodec. Any other Android device that is not able to do “android surface rendering” has not implemented the standard Android MediaCodec API in the proper way. Sadly we have to take this route because the Android eco-system has become too big of a maze to support and we will only implement what we feel is the way forward, this means that we will only follow the official Android platform methods, and we will no longer implement any hacks or workarounds. If the device you have is not compatible, then we strongly advise that you ask your device manufacturer to properly implement these functions in the device’s firmware, it may be harsh but we as Team Kodi are not responsible for incomplete firmware created by these device manufacturers.

[shamo42]

Android Surface Rendering
Important to mention is that this doesn’t apply to AMLogic devices with proper permissions as these will still use amcodec

Thanks for your reply.

I'm confused. So Amlogic devices can have a 4K UI after all or will they downscale the ui to 1080p too?

@TheLegendOfMart

Do you have root?
Could you try Kodi 6.0 beta 2? Does it run better or worse?

[TheLegendOfMart]

Yes you can root it using SuperSU from Play store.

I have Beta 2 and I don't notice it running any better or worse.