[givanosky]

Hello, Greetings to all in my 1 post.

I am old MCE user and after mediaportal, and after dying my htpc I will change to kodi.


I'm looking for a new player.

I have;

---- Old homecinema without hdmi, optical input and spidf, "no hdmi".

---- Tv fullhd, hdmi

---- HD Projector, hdmi


After reading the great guides, these are my alternatives:

1. XIAOMI MI BOX: € 80. Fan of Xiaomi, apparently a great device http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=275083.
It speaks very well, but.
Is the audio output digital?
Can I connect the jack output to coaxial or spidf?


2. Htpc: € 175-275
Update my htpc, I only have the box and a tv tuner.
My idea: Intel Apollo

J4205 vs J3455 Is it worth the J4205? I will not play 4k

3. Nvidia Shield. € 200
This is my last option

Thank you, sorry for my English

[wrxtasy]

More info would be needed like what Audio and Video content do you need to play and watch ?

• 1080p 10 bit HEVC (H265) ?
  
• High Quality HD Deinterlacing for OTA TV streams from a HD Homerun or similar Server ?
  
• Online DRM streaming Android Apps ?
  
• 5.1 AC3/DTS Audio Passthrough via SPDIF ?
  
• DVD playback ?
  
• WiFi / Ethernet ?
  
• Is their a TV Tuner involved, which country ?

1) I can tell you now that mpeg2 / H264 Hardware deinterlacing is broken for OTA TV when using Kodi on the Mi Box. The Max resolution when using high quality software deinterlacing is 720x576i at the moment. 1080i mpeg2 if using lower quality ff-mpeg or blend software deinterlacing.
The Mix Box does have a 3.5mm Mini Headphone / S/PDIF combo port. I've not seen anyone test S/PDIF yet.

[givanosky]

Thank you.


* 1080p 10 bit HEVC (H265) ?
Not for the moment

* High Quality HD Deinterlacing for OTA TV streams from a HD Homerun or similar Server ?
No

*Online DRM streaming Android Apps ?
I do not know what it is

*5.1 AC3/DTS Audio Passthrough via SPDIF ?
Yes

* DVD playback ?
No

* WiFi / Ethernet ?
No problem

*Is their a TV Tuner involved, which country ?
It is not fundamental for me, before I only used the tuner to record occasionally, now I have a smart tv that can do it. If it is true that I have an HD tuner. Spain

[xtract47]

The wetek play 2 has SPDIF and TV tuner, have you checked it?

[givanosky]

I had seen it but had not valued it.

It seems that it is very well.
Is not android tv?

The TV tuner is totally secondary to me

[xtract47]

I had seen it but had not valued it.

It seems that it is very well.
Is not android tv?

The TV tuner is totally secondary to me

There is a rom (which is installed in the same way as official firmware) which converts it to Android TV. BTW, DRM streaming Android Apps are those that require a license in the machine to run, like Netflix to have 1080p. If you do not need this maybe a cheap s905 with 2gb ram and SPDIF port would be enough.

[givanosky]

The budget would be this:

*HTPC:

J3455 95€
RAM 4G 25€
Source feed 30€
HDD 2Tb 70€, I rode it on my personal pc. And used for htpc, 2 hdd 1tb old.

Total: 220€, If I put a ssd 270€

* Xiaomi mi box: 75€
3.5mm cable to spdif 10€
HDD 3tb external 100€

Total: 185€

* Wetek 2: 120€
HDD 3tb external 100€

Total: 220€.

I have a big mental mess.

The htpc I understand is more complete, and I can use old hdd since the content is not very important to me.
But of course it is more expensive, and it is a fairly large device, my box is a silverstone lc16.

[wrxtasy]

*Online DRM streaming Android Apps ?
I do not know what it is

I'm talking about paid for copy protected video streaming (Digital Right Management = DRM) Android Apps like Netflix and Amazon etc.

For devices that do not support passthrough of 5.1 DTS Audio. You can use Kodi's Transcoding option to convert 5.1 DTS to 5.1 AC3/DD and output that compressed Audio. There will be a slight loss of Audio quality, not sure if it will even be noticeable.

Other options for S/PDIF Audio output are just simply buying a HDMI > S/PDIF Audio splitter that should work with any Kodi Hardware.

---

Have you considered the Ease of use factor yet ?
By that I mean sitting in an Armchair remote control in hand and operating the media player ?

Its one of the reasons why Android TV OS devices like the nVIDIA Shield has been wildly popular. Android Apps designed specifically for use on the Big screen TV when using a simple Bluetooth (voice) remote.

[xtract47]

The budget would be this:

*HTPC:

J3455 95€
RAM 4G 25€
Source feed 30€
HDD 2Tb 70€, I rode it on my personal pc. And used for htpc, 2 hdd 1tb old.

Total: 220€, If I put a ssd 270€

* Xiaomi mi box: 75€
3.5mm cable to spdif 10€
HDD 3tb external 100€

Total: 185€

* Wetek 2: 120€
HDD 3tb external 100€

Total: 220€.

I have a big mental mess.

The htpc I understand is more complete, and I can use old hdd since the content is not very important to me.
But of course it is more expensive, and it is a fairly large device, my box is a silverstone lc16.

If you already have the HDD you can buy a 3.5" HDD enclosure, which might result in a cheaper setup. The advantages of Android TV are the higher number of apps and possibilities at the expense of a kodi with lower compatibilities (as I understand, 3D and high end stuff like that), and a much friendlier remote control environment. For what you need I think that Android TV gives you more possibilities. And if as I think you are from spain, please tell me where have you seen the mi box for 75€, as I might be interested in it in the future. Because the prices I am seeing are around 90€ (and I know there are no customs in Spain depending on where you buy it), but taking into account that I do not need HDR and that wetek has TV + libreelec for 30€ more I think that for us europeans is a better deal.

Good luck with your search!

[givanosky]

---

Have you considered the Ease of use factor yet ?
By that I mean sitting in an Armchair remote control in hand and operating the media player ?

Its one of the reasons why Android TV OS devices like the nVIDIA Shield has been wildly popular. Android Apps designed specifically for use on the Big screen TV when using a simple Bluetooth (voice) remote.

I control my htpc from the remote control. I do not know exactly if it refers to this

[givanosky]

If you already have the HDD you can buy a 3.5" HDD enclosure, which might result in a cheaper setup. The advantages of Android TV are the higher number of apps and possibilities at the expense of a kodi with lower compatibilities (as I understand, 3D and high end stuff like that), and a much friendlier remote control environment. For what you need I think that Android TV gives you more possibilities. And if as I think you are from spain, please tell me where have you seen the mi box for 75€, as I might be interested in it in the future. Because the prices I am seeing are around 90€ (and I know there are no customs in Spain depending on where you buy it), but taking into account that I do not need HDR and that wetek has TV + libreelec for 30€ more I think that for us europeans is a better deal.

Good luck with your search!

An HDD I need to buy, since I have bad space. It already depends on the choice you make whether internal or external.

The price of xiaomi I have seen in Aliexpress, but only for tomorrow day 11.11, hence I have to make a decision today

[xtract47]

You are right! It is a nice deal .

For spdif audio you will need something like this I think:

https://www.amazon.es/Proster-Divisor-Co...hdmi+spdif

[parker.hugh]

1) I can tell you now that mpeg2 / H264 Hardware deinterlacing is broken for OTA TV when using Kodi on the Mi Box. The Max resolution when using high quality software deinterlacing is 720x576i at the moment. 1080i mpeg2 if using lower quality ff-mpeg or blend software deinterlacing.
The Mix Box does have a 3.5mm Mini Headphone / S/PDIF combo port. I've not seen anyone test S/PDIF yet.

I was thinking of getting a Mi Box and I noticed you mentioned that mpeg2 / H264 Hardware deinterlacing is broken for OTA TV when using Kodi on the Mi Box.

I have used Kodi before and was wondering if the WeTek Hub would be a good alternative. Although I would prefer to use LibreELEC rather than Android.

Or is there other options, e.g. RPi3?

[chencho777]

If you already have the HDD you can buy a 3.5" HDD enclosure, which might result in a cheaper setup. The advantages of Android TV are the higher number of apps and possibilities at the expense of a kodi with lower compatibilities (as I understand, 3D and high end stuff like that), and a much friendlier remote control environment. For what you need I think that Android TV gives you more possibilities. And if as I think you are from spain, please tell me where have you seen the mi box for 75€, as I might be interested in it in the future. Because the prices I am seeing are around 90€ (and I know there are no customs in Spain depending on where you buy it), but taking into account that I do not need HDR and that wetek has TV + libreelec for 30€ more I think that for us europeans is a better deal.

Good luck with your search!

I bought mine from this seller which has warehouse in Spain, so it only took 5 days to arrive and w/o customs issue, it cost me 80 eur on 11/11, currently it costs 83 eur but you can get a free 2 usd coupon from the aliexpress app:

Reproductor multimedia para streaming Xiaomi MI BOX, Android TV 6.0, decodificador de cuatro núcleos 64bit, soporta Youtube, Netflix, vídeo 4K, DTS y Dolby
http://s.aliexpress.com/VvARRJBv


I think this one is the cheapest available right now (70 eur) but you'll have to wait 2 to 4 weeks for it to arrive from China:

[Versión oficial Internacional] caja de xiaomi mi 3 android 6.0 tv box 2g/8g dual wifi smart tv iptv kodi reproductor multimedia set top box
http://s.aliexpress.com/muqUV3me

I think that getting it from an EU warehouse is worth the extra 10-11 EUR IMHO.

Hope it helps.


Enviado desde mi LG-D855 mediante Tapatalk

[wrxtasy]

1) I can tell you now that mpeg2 / H264 Hardware deinterlacing is broken for OTA TV when using Kodi on the Mi Box. The Max resolution when using high quality software deinterlacing is 720x576i at the moment. 1080i mpeg2 if using lower quality ff-mpeg or blend software deinterlacing.
The Mix Box does have a 3.5mm Mini Headphone / S/PDIF combo port. I've not seen anyone test S/PDIF yet.

I was thinking of getting a Mi Box and I noticed you mentioned that mpeg2 / H264 Hardware deinterlacing is broken for OTA TV when using Kodi on the Mi Box.

I have used Kodi before and was wondering if the WeTek Hub would be a good alternative. Although I would prefer to use LibreELEC rather than Android.

In all honesty I cannot recommend the 1GB WeTek Hub to run LibreELEC until a serious LibreELEC Kodi memory leak that is affecting ALL 1GB AMLogic LE Kodi devices is hunted down and fixed. Android Kodi is fine and unaffected.

2GB AMLogic Boxes only recommended for LibreELEC Kodi at this point in time. The 2GB ODROID C2 is my daily Kodi go to device.

With the Hub and regular Android you also have to budget for a RF Wireless - Air Mouse Remote control, unless you are running the Android TV ROM that Ricardo has released that bypasses all this regular Android - Air Mice nonsense.
More WeTek Hub, remote control info here:
http://wetekforums.com/v/index.php?p=/di...ame#latest