[mel08]

i am sure this question comes up many times and of course is very subjective ans will depend on what the end user want.
I want to set up a stand alone kodi device for a family member who is not particularly technical

Just wants it to run kodi on (so to have on openelec would be ideal)
easy to operate a must
won't be streaming from NAS but may plug in external HDD to stream own collection
relatively in expensive (no more than £100, lower really)
must have both wifi & ethernet.......ethernet will be needed as preference as where he lives the wifi isn't too great

My own personal experience is running OpenElec (now actually use LibreElec) on RPi 2 - this system is OK but would think would be too complicated for him

I also have a second box running Kodi on Android Box (Rockchip 3188 Quadcore, 2GB RAM, & running on Android 4.2 - this is rarely used as it's always crashing, But to be honest I do not know if it is the box itself of if it is Android or just the particular version of Android it runs on

My friend has got it into his head that he wants an Android Box...and has looked at the following:
Q Box - runs on android 5.1, S905 CPU, 2GB RAM, priced at £42
EBox T8 V4 - around £85
Then there's WeTek.....but not sure what the difference is between Play and Core but I think these run on Kodi, but have also seen a special edition of Wetek which runs on OpenElec and is around £80 (and I do like openelec)

However I dont have the exerience that some of you guys have so I am hoping you can give me some positive feedback of maybe some you tried and hated & some you tried and loved

thanks in advance

[808?]

Read this thread yet?

Pick the Right Kodi Box (updated April 2016)

[mel08]

Yes I did, bu still hope to receive comments/ recommendations from other users

[wrxtasy]

The Biggest Tip of All, that overrides everything else IMHO

Get something from the previously mentioned thread, these devices actually have proper developer and manufacturer support.

Companies that are Kodi Diamond Sponsors actually care about how Kodi runs on their devices.
These Sponsors are MINIX, nVIDIA and WeTek.

Buying some piece of Android crap off Ebay or Amazon, promising the world, choc full of Pirate rubbish and you are usually on your own trying to get the device running properly. You will get very little help for these devices here on the forums either.
You WILL get lied to by false reviews and doctored and paid for promotions. This is very very common. Its all Bullshit.

If a device is not mentioned in the Pick the Right Kodi Box, or in the most popular threads here in the Hardware Sub-forum itself then don't even bother considering it.

Avoid Kodi devices with Rockchip at all costs along with anything with an Allwinner SoC in it as well.

BTW - There is no Perfect Kodi Box.

[mel08]

OK, after studying the above posts I am leaning towards ; WeTek Core and Minix Neo U1

I like the idea of the WeTek being dual boot (so can have my preferred OpenElec) as my experience so far with Android has not been good (but I do accept that I have not bought a well supported box and also runs on KitKat as opposed to Lollipop which is supposed to be much better). But the Minix U1 has the newer Amlogic S905 as opposed to Amlogic S812

Anyone out there used both these boxes and can give an outright winner. I am quite happy with the RPI2 (no idea if RPI3 is much of a leap forward) but think the person who it is ultimately for may not find it easy....he wants something that once set up, he can just switch on & play, so ideally the remote it comes with should be adequate

[wrxtasy]

You should be reading the WeTek new devices thread about the very soon to be released Hub as it offers a whole lot more than a MINIX U1.
Proper Licences and Full 1080p DRM video streaming support is only the start...

[mel08]

I looked at WeTek Hub, but in comparison to WeTek Core, although it has the updated Amlogic S905, the CPU is 1.5Ghz whereas the Core has 2Ghz CPU and the Hub has 1gb RAM unlike the Core has 2 Gb RAM......should this be any concern, and actually the more recent edition, the Hub, is cheaper than the Core
Just seem strange to have a newer edition which is in some ways less advanced......or am I missing something, also I believe the S905 has penta GPU whereas the earlier S812 has octa?? confusing to me?

[wrxtasy]

Very Very Common newbie mistake by a lot of people is just look at tech specs only to the detriment of everything else.
You are not running a PC here that needs a lot of memory for a whole range of completely different, varied tasks.

Android Lollipop has proper memory management, garbage collection routines, task prioritisation etc, and is just fine for use as a media streamer with only 1GB. Provided the Firmware is up to scratch and gets after sales support.

OpenELEC / LibreELEC runs just fine as well if a device has only 512MB or RAM.
eMMC is a very nice addition for speeding up Android and OE / LE too.

Games with lots of textures, extensive torrenting, intensive involved tasks - then yes maybe 2GB will be an advantage.

How do I know, well I've already been Beta testing a WeTek Hub for a while now as well as developing LibreELEC for another S905 platform, the C2 and I'm not seeing a lot of difference between 1GB and 2GB for using these devices as media streamers only.

[mel08]

So in your opinion as a stand alone media center for running Kodi & streaming ones own media from external HDD is the WeTek Hub a better choice than the Wetek Core? Also is the Hub dual boot, as I do like OpenElec (actually I use LibreElec).....off topic do you prefer LibreElec to OpenElec
Is the supplied remote perfectly adequate for the Hub
Do you prefer Hub to RPI2 (or maybe you have tsted RPI 3)

[wrxtasy]

RPi series, has better support for adding external USB dongles, modern, varied DVB Tuners, all manner of connected external Hardware due to running a far more modern up to date Linux Kernel. It really is a developer and tinkerer heavenly device in a cheap very well supported package.

It also has full 1080p 3D (Frame Packed) video playback support, and OE / LE is a little bit more polished, such as Interlaced VC-1 plays back properly.
The RPi's actual Hardware capabilities though are now looking a bit dated compared to other Kodi devices if you want more, and the RPi now relies on amazing Software tricks and tweaks. I really admire how far the developers have squeezed nearly every last drop of performance out the RPi's. It very much the old school hacker ethic in play there

Software trick and tweaks can only take you so far before you hit a brick wall...
A polished WeTek Core / Hub, running Android comes with a bunch more features like Kodi with comprehensive Audio support including HD Audio passthrough and Hardware HEVC decoding and can playback 4K video. You get DRM video support - Netflix, HBO etc in full 1080p resolutions which none of the other AMLogic or Rockchip - Kodi devices can provide. Be aware Audio for DRM streaming is 2.0 only.

You then also get dual boot OE or LE and Android Lollipop out of these WeTek devices.

I stopped buying RPi's at the RPi2 due to needing Hardware HEVC decoding and wanting basic 1080p Netflix.
Both the Hub and Core are noticeably quicker than the old RPi2.

If you need 8/10bit HEVC decoding and 2160p video playback at up to 50/60Hz over HDMI 2.0 then the Hub is the one to go for. eMMC will make it a bit snappier too. When I get into OE or LE Jarvis development for the Hub I should be able to get HD Audio passthrough implemented pretty easily too. (see S905 / ODROID C2 capabilities). The Core lacks HD Audio passthrough when running OpenELEC or LibreELEC.

The Core only does 8bit HEVC decoding at up to 30Hz video output (enough for movies).
It actually has a more powerful GPU for playing 3D games (8 core vs 5 core in Hub) and comes with a nicer Air Mouse Remote control.

I will be able to compare the two Retail Core / Hub devices back to back this week for remote control user friendliness.

Be aware there is only 1 USB port on the Hub vs 2 on the Core. Like all low powered ARM devices - RPi, C2's, etc - connected Hard Drives need to be externally powered with power packs or a powered USB Hub.

[mel08]

thanks for your informative info & I look forward to your comparison.
If Playing 3D games is not required, then would you say the Hub is the better choice and are you saying an external powered hub will be needed to play external usb hard drive, if so will the same one used for RPI suffice (as recommended by PI Hut)......it's surprising they chose to just have one USB
In your opinion do your prefer android or OpenElec / LibreElec for the Hub

[mel08]

Does anyone have a view on the following box:

Q BOX

I know it has not made the list of the 'Pick the right Kodi Box'......probably because most of these boxes come pre-loaded, but one can easily get rid of all the pre-installed stuff and just add the supported stuff. But the reason I ask is because it uses the same chipset (S905) & GPU (mali 450-penta core) and OS Android Lollipop.....like many of the recommended boxes such as WeTek Hub. Also has dual wifi and gigabit ethernet AND 2 USB's (unlike the hub, which I feel is a disappointment)

So would love to know your views....has anyone used it??

[wrxtasy]

May be fine if you like a bit of DIY and don't mind spending time bug busting and playing around with flashing Firmware over on Freaktab.
No support will be given, you get what you pay for.
If an IR remote controller is used and is the D-Pad IR Air Mouse variety, difficulties will also encountered...plus Firmware is a lottery on these boxes.
How much do you like to gamble ?

This is a very common mistake, people just look at the Tech Specs of a device and price, and assume everything works out of the box - because you know Asian Android advertisers never lie in their marketing material do they ?

Read this post as it will be a standard response from most experienced Android Kodi guys:
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=...pid2360622

The other point is Kodi currently has no Android code maintainer. This is almost guaranteed to spell trouble for No Name Android Kodi boxes going forward into the future that have no seller or manufacturer support.

[JonSnow88]

You can take a look at the Beelink mini mx or mini mxiii which has an unofficial openelec build, the dev is quite active with bug fixing and has implemented many fixes from wrxtasy C2 port such as the dts ma and truehd. The device is very similar to the ODROID C2, I really wanted to get the C2 but its but its so hard to get in my country that I may take my chances with the mini mx and still come out ahead.

I have tried the MXQ Pro 4k and it runs openelec really well, but has frozen time to time if you browse the library really fast. I don't have high hopes for the MXQ Pro do to different hardware configurations with not so active devs but the mini mx looks promising.

Currently sticking to the Pi2 and may wait for the hub since its s905.