[caplam]

Hello every one,

Long time user of kodi i'm looking for a box to replace my dune bdprime 3.0.
I'm tired of using yadis to keep my interface in sync with my database.

The dune is plugged in the living room on my main tv and i want to replace it. I have some needs which i explain below.

My tv is an old sony 46W3000 but i want to be ready when i'll replace it with a 4k.
My A/V receiver is also old. It's a yamaha RXV14000 (no hdmi). I will replace it soon probably with a yamaha with hdmi support (RX A850 or similar)

The remote control is a logitech harmony one (will also probably be replaced with a harmony elite)
My media files are shared across the network by a synology DS1815+ which also run tvheadend with a usb pctv73 stick. I will probably add a hdhomerun as 1 tuner is not enough for the bunch of devices i have.
The nas is also running mariadb with phpmyadmin for my kodi database (jarvis version). I have several devices using it: an apple mba with el capitan and jarvis, a rpi2 with libreelec 7 on a second TV and a zetaly android tablet with the android version of jarvis.

To sum up my needs i have to find a box with:
-hdmi 2.0
-4k output ability for the future but with full 1080p support for now
-hevc decoding
-ir receiver for being controlled by the harmony remote
-spdif output to be plugged into my A/V receiver. Or at least the possibility to use a hdmi switch with audio extractor until i get a new A/V receiver.
-i'd rather have a box with libreelec (i like this distribution)
-i don't need retro gaming
-i mainly watch mkv with srt subtitles, bd-iso, dvd-iso

For now it seems that odroid c2 is a good choice.

I have subsidiary question: i'll reuse my harmony one with the rpi2 as hdmi-cec is quite limitated. Have you a suggestion of an ir receiver fully compatible with the rpi2?
I read the forum but i'm quite lost with the ton of devices listed here.

[Dangelus]

http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=252916

[wrxtasy]

For now it seems that odroid c2 is a good choice.

Hi,

Yes this C2, wee little beastie has certainly hit its straps, now with comprehensive HD Passthrough and Multichannel PCM Audio support thx to the LibreELEC AMLogic development community.
I would grab an eMMC if using it as a long term device. It's worth it just for the extra speed.

There is an add-on board with an S/PDIF - Optical output called the Hi-Fi Shield that now appears to be working out of the box with the recent LibreELEC 7.1 PCM Audio update, I'm just waiting on feedback if Optical Audio is also working now as well.

A Harmony Remote control will work out of the box as well if programmed as a MCE remote with LibreELEC on the C2. No extra IR receivers needed.
I actually use an old, nice quality Sony remote for C2 Kodi control, remapped using a simple linux program called Lirc.

[gsmtech]

Or you could just save yourself a load of cash and have a read over on the LibreElec forum in the Amlogic development section where you'll find info on the kszaq LibreElec builds for S905 devices.

In short you can buy a android China devive such as nexbox A95 or beelink mini mx with S905 CPU, 2 Gig RAM, 16GB EMMC, Wifi, Bluetooth, optical out etc...for around 30 - 40 Dollars all in. Bang on Kszaqs LibreElec build and your in business. You will need to do your research though and pick one of the devices that has good feedback which is why I say have a read of the thread on the LibreElec Forum to see which devices work well. You can dual boot if you wish between android on NAND and LibreElec on MicroSD card, or just get rid of android altogether and install LibreElec to the NAND,.

That same setup on a Odroid C2 which shares the same spec will cost you probably 4 times more, 40 dollars for the board + 40 dollars for 16Gb EMMC + Power Supply + Case + Wifi / Bluetooth Module + HiFi Shield if you need it... See where the costs are going with this...

[wrxtasy]

Anyone who wants reliable video streaming does not use WIFI. 2.4GHz only WIFI should not be used. 4K and WIFI is generally useless.
A lot of these S905 boxes from China do not come with GigaE connections, power supplies are questionable too.
Android Firmware on these China S905 boxes is a joke.
A CSR 4.0 BT costs about $4
Unless you have a massive video library you would struggle to fill even 8GB of storage.

And the HIFI Shield I mentioned does a whole lot more than just provide a S/PDIF connector, the Audio Nerds love these sort of Audio daughter boards.

A final point is a MCE programmed Harmony Remote will NOT work out of the box with the kszaqs LibreELEC because there is simply no Kernel support in those versions at the moment, unless something has drastically changed.

In the end it's good to have choices, but you have to address @caplam original requirements before looking at any device.

[gsmtech]

Anyone who wants reliable video streaming does not use WIFI. 2.4GHz only WIFI should not be used. 4K and WIFI is generally useless.
A lot of these S905 boxes from China do not come with GigaE connections, power supplies are questionable too.
Android Firmware on these China S905 boxes is a joke.
A CSR 4.0 BT costs about $4
Unless you have a massive video library you would struggle to fill even 8GB of storage.

And the HIFI Shield I mentioned does a whole lot more than just provide a S/PDIF connector, the Audio Nerds love these sort of Audio daughter boards.

A final point is a MCE programmed Harmony Remote will NOT work out of the box with the kszaqs LibreELEC because there is simply no Kernel support in those versions at the moment, unless something has drastically changed.

In the end it's good to have choices, but you have to address @caplam original requirements before looking at any device.

- Several china boxes have Gig Ethernet, my 6 month old china box had gig ethernet. Only the really budget devices dont have Gig Ethernet,
- caplam said he prefers LibreElec, hence the quality of the Android software on the box is irrelevant if it's being replaced with LibreElec, it's good to have options outside of Kodi, android offers several apps from google play and web browsing for example,
- Some power supplies may be questionable, others are also perfectly fine. This can be evluated at the point of purchase, even if you purchase a new PSU it's a few dollars. Same concept as if yuo use a crappy PSU with an Odroid C2, it doesnt come with one, you have to buy your own.
- 30 dollars all in delivered VS well over 100 dollars thats the question. Even more if you need shipping to certain countries, For the same spec hardware and largely same software too once your running LibreElec as many of the patches are shared.

[caplam]

Thank you for your replies.
My box will be wired. My whole house is wired, i use wifi only for smartphones, tabs and laptops.

Due to a violent storm yesterday night i lost several devices (fridge, nas) so i think i'll give a try to a budget box like beelink minimxIII as i have to buy a new fridge and an old qnap nas which i was using for backup and dns server and of course an ups (planning that for years but need to change some wiring in the basement).

I'd rather lost my tv and a/v receiver.

[gsmtech]

Thank you for your replies.
My box will be wired. My whole house is wired, i use wifi only for smartphones, tabs and laptops.

Due to a violent storm yesterday night i lost several devices (fridge, nas) so i think i'll give a try to a budget box like beelink minimxIII as i have to buy a new fridge and an old qnap nas which i was using for backup and dns server and of course an ups (planning that for years but need to change some wiring in the basement).

I'd rather lost my tv and a/v receiver.

Good choice the Beelink MiniMX III is owned by quite a few people that have confirmed it's a good stable device runs LibreElec well. You will be pleasently surprised once you get a good LibreElec build on there.