Helping a Friend
#1
I used XBMC long ago. I now run a Plex server for all of my media; this along with YouTube, Hulu, and a local antenna and I'm set. I have a friend who recently told me about DongleBerryTV; a couple of his family members bought them for $200 each, and they're getting free TV and loving it. I looked it up, and it appears to be a MK808B running Kodi with a skin! I told him not to buy it, and I'll do some digging for him to find a better (and cheaper) alternative. He's mostly wanting to stream movies at home: I'm thinking a RPi3 or O-Droid C2 would be best, but what's everyone else's opinions? How reliable are these? I'd set it up for him, then it would stay at his place; I live a few hours away, so I wouldn't be able to do much quick troubleshooting for him if something went wrong. I also have a ATV2 that I'm going to dig out and look at, but I'm reading that it's long past it's prime.
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#2
"...stream movies for free..." is frowned upon in this community. Having said that, there is a good thread in the hardware sub-forum.
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#3
Rpi3 and C2 are fine but the C2 is better in specs and features like e.g. it will play HEVC video while the Rpi3 can't (correcction: it CAN start video but won't play smooth) .. see here for 720 p and 1080p examples:
https://youtu.be/JZgAxv37cGw?t=5m50s
Just do note that the Odroid C2 doesn't come with any type of storage and OS loaded , neither emmc or sdcard so the price increase when you add an emmc (preferably than sdcard as its faster).

As you have a PLEX Server running and if you're willing to share then I would say share your server with your friend and setup the new device you decide to purchase with:

Option 1: If you install Android on the device then install Plex app
Option 2: Access Plex server from a web browser
Option 3: Kodi with PLEX add-on (you can setup full path to SMB share of you media in setting too)
Option 4: Access Plex from Smartphone and send video to stream to a e.g: Chromecast.

The con with sharing your media without a Plex pass is depending on the media files type (video and audio codecs, file size) your friend's device may have to do transcoding, thus your server has to be able to handle it and you also need a good internet upload speed.
With Plex pass you have the sync option and it will create a new encode of your original video file in order to not transcode to the client device.

A though: you can tell him to invite you to the house of a family member that owns that device so you can check it out closely and see how it works.
If it really is Kodi or old xbmc version running then you have to check how they get their content if it's via an IPTV add-on with an IPTV service provider or what.
My XBMC/Kodi folder: addons, skins, addon/menu backgrounds & more
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#4
(2016-06-16, 21:01)Veronica Wrote: Rpi3 and C2 are fine but the C2 is better in specs and features like e.g. it will play x265 8bit video while the Rpi3 can't.
Just do note that the Odroid C2 doesn't come with any type of storage and OS loaded , neither emmc or sdcard so the price increase when you add an emmc (preferably than sdcard as its faster).
A small correction here, the RPi3 can Software decode low bitrate 8bit 1080p HEVC(H265), but will hit a hard limit due to CPU/GPU constraints when Software decoding demanding HEVC. I believe 10bit HEVC decoding would cause even more issues or be an complete non starter.

Also Noggin and myself are on an Educational mission:
x265 is NOT a codec but an Open Source Encoder library used to encode H.265(HEVC). Its actually better if everybody just used the common term HEVC in future. Wink

@RadRacer,The C2 is reliable provided adequate power is fed to it in the first place and external Hard Drives use either their own power packs or a powered external Hub, like all ARM devices.
I would run LibreELEC Kodi on it. Android Lollipop Kodi does work, but does not have anywhere near the bug fixes and features.
Sandisk Class 10 UHS-1 or Samsung EVO+ micro SDHC cards are all you need.

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#5
(2016-06-16, 21:01)Veronica Wrote: Rpi3 and C2 are fine but the C2 is better in specs and features like e.g. it will play x265 8bit video while the Rpi3 can't.
Just do note that the Odroid C2 doesn't come with any type of storage and OS loaded , neither emmc or sdcard so the price increase when you add an emmc (preferably than sdcard as its faster).

As you have a PLEX Server running and if you're willing to share then I would say share your server with your friend and setup the new device you decide to purchase with:

Option 1: If you install Android on the device then install Plex app
Option 2: Access Plex server from a web browser
Option 3: Kodi with PLEX add-on (you can setup full path to SMB share of you media in setting too)
Option 4: Access Plex from Smartphone and send video to stream to a e.g: Chromecast.

The con with sharing your media without a Plex pass is depending on the media files type (video and audio codecs, file size) your friend's device may have to do transcoding, thus your server has to be able to handle it and you also need a good internet upload speed.
With Plex pass you have the sync option and it will create a new encode of your original video file in order to not transcode to the client device.

A though: you can tell him to invite you to the house of a family member that owns that device so you can check it out closely and see how it works.
If it really is Kodi or old xbmc version running then you have to check how they get their content if it's via an IPTV add-on with an IPTV service provider or what.

I've thought about sharing my Plex server, but my server really isn't the greatest. It's an older Gateway PC: Core2Duo @ 2.0GHz I believe with 4GB of RAM. I do have another system I plan on replacing it with though, just haven't had the time yet. Plus my internet upload is 5Mbs, which isn't horrible, but considering there's almost always at least 2 other people online, sometimes 3x that, it probably won't hold up very well for remote streaming to another Plex setup. I still may give it a try though.

I haven't been able to see the DongleBerry TV in person; again, he lives a few hours away. But I have looked it up online, and the "Pro" version looks exactly like the MK808B Pro, but with a sticker on the stick. It says it's running Android 5.1, and even tells you to load the Kodi app during the setup process. They then run a setup wizard, which is probably created by DongleBerry and I probably won't find anywhere online. Only reason why I was hoping to find it would be to mimic the other installs exact;y, but I once had XBMC running on my setup, so I know I can handle a "Manual setup." As for where they get their content, I'm not 100% sure.

(2016-06-17, 04:55)wrxtasy Wrote:
(2016-06-16, 21:01)Veronica Wrote: Rpi3 and C2 are fine but the C2 is better in specs and features like e.g. it will play x265 8bit video while the Rpi3 can't.
Just do note that the Odroid C2 doesn't come with any type of storage and OS loaded , neither emmc or sdcard so the price increase when you add an emmc (preferably than sdcard as its faster).
A small correction here, the RPi3 can Software decode low bitrate 8bit 1080p HEVC(H265), but will hit a hard limit due to CPU/GPU constraints when Software decoding demanding HEVC. I believe 10bit HEVC decoding would cause even more issues or be an complete non starter.

Also Noggin and myself are on an Educational mission:
x265 is NOT a codec but an Open Source Encoder library used to encode H.265(HEVC). Its actually better if everybody just used the common term HEVC in future. Wink

@RadRacer,The C2 is reliable provided adequate power is fed to it in the first place and external Hard Drives use either their own power packs or a powered external Hub, like all ARM devices.
I would run LibreELEC Kodi on it. Android Lollipop Kodi does work, but does not have anywhere near the bug fixes and features.
Sandisk Class 10 UHS-1 or Samsung EVO+ micro SDHC cards are all you need.

I've been reading bad things on the Android version, compared to OpenElec; I'd probably stay away from Android, unless he says he want/needs other Android apps. Which I doubt, since he doesn't realize the other devices are running Android Tongue.

My big thing with this was I don't want to see a friend dump $200 on $30 worth of hardware with some free software on it.

EDIT: I should mention he's wanting HD audio passthrough. He's not too worried about 4K video at the moment, but would like 5.1 audio for a future sound setup he's planning.
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#6
You are aware that the above add-ons are banned from being discussed here on this site right?

Sent from my XT1254
first_time_user (wiki) | free content (wiki) | forum rules (wiki) | PVR (wiki) | Debug Log (wiki)

IMPORTANT:
The official Kodi version does not contain any content what so ever. This means that you should provide your own content from a local or remote storage location, DVD, Blu-Ray or any other media carrier that you own. Additionally Kodi allows you to install third-party plugins that may provide access to content that is freely available on the official content provider website. The watching or listening of illegal or pirated content which would otherwise need to be paid for is not endorsed or approved by Team Kodi.
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#7
(2016-06-17, 14:15)bry- Wrote: You are aware that the above add-ons are banned from being discussed here on this site right?

Sent from my XT1254

I"m not looking to discuss them, I'm interested in a reliable setup for a friend. I've removed them from my post.
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#8
(2016-06-17, 04:55)wrxtasy Wrote: A small correction here, the RPi3 can Software decode low bitrate 8bit 1080p HEVC(H265), but will hit a hard limit due to CPU/GPU constraints when Software decoding demanding HEVC. I believe 10bit HEVC decoding would cause even more issues or be an complete non starter.

Also Noggin and myself are on an Educational mission:
x265 is NOT a codec but an Open Source Encoder library used to encode H.265(HEVC). Its actually better if everybody just used the common term HEVC in future. Wink

@RadRacer,The C2 is reliable provided adequate power is fed to it in the first place and external Hard Drives use either their own power packs or a powered external Hub, like all ARM devices.
I would run LibreELEC Kodi on it. Android Lollipop Kodi does work, but does not have anywhere near the bug fixes and features.
Sandisk Class 10 UHS-1 or Samsung EVO+ micro SDHC cards are all you need.

Thanks for the educational note, finally have it clear about the difference.
Post updated
My XBMC/Kodi folder: addons, skins, addon/menu backgrounds & more
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#9
About the HD audio if you go for the Odroid C2 first go to the dedicated thread in the same forum section and read all that is supported on LibreElec, last time I read there few thing about audio not yet implemented or fixed.
My XBMC/Kodi folder: addons, skins, addon/menu backgrounds & more
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#10
I talked to him last night, and he said he went ahead and ordered the MK808B Pro. Guess that's the hardware we'll be using. Was hoping to get something a little better, but it's his money, and his setup, so whatever he wants. Thanks for the help everyone
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