[Dan50]

Hi guys,
I want to buy a 4k HDR Tv box that would allow me to play most of the 4k (HDR) content that I can find. I searched through this forum but there are such different opinions , so, as I don't have any way to get one for personal testing , I wanna ask you for some advice:

1) I was looking for the Himedia (q5/q10 pro) and the zidoo(x8/x9s) . Seems the majority prefers the zidoo ones(although I've read some pretty bad things about their support) so , 2 choices now: zidoo x8 or x9s.

2) The price difference between them is 40€, and it seems there's not much difference in performance between the 2, just the 8gB vs 16 gB emmc.

What would you recommend? I'm willing to spend up to 150€, in a reliable box with support , and especially, not many bugs displaying the pictures.

Regards

[wrxtasy]

Personally if I wanted to view HDR content right at this moment I would be watching 4K Netflix HDR.
Amazon is also very likely to be added to that pretty soon.

Then you have DolbyVision added into the mix, which has not even been talked about by any Kodi media player seller.
I suppose if you shoot your own HDR content there is some justification.

Second Generation Hardware devices are generally a better buy than being a bug busting hardware tester for First Gen. HDR products. This is important for reliability.

[Dan50]

I may not use the HDR to much on the first times. However , since I got one HDR tv and I'm not planning on buying other android boxn soon, I had one box with Hdr in mind.
But I prefer a better 4k performance ( smooth images, picture quality....) to HDR . You got me thinking , so I ask: Between the minix u1 and the zidoo x8 (or any other that I do not know) , what do you recommend?

Regards

[wrxtasy]

Suggestion, If its a box for Kodi use only buy one of those dirt cheap 2GB AMLogic S905 devices until all the HDR & DolbyVision support settles down a bit.

If you want to go down this DIY route, then all the info is over here:
https://forum.libreelec.tv/forum-38.html

With LE on the S905X you do get 2160p video output but there is no BT.2020 colorspace support yet:
https://forum.libreelec.tv/thread-1176-p...l#pid20475

Going forward for all things 4K and HDR I actually trust nVIDIA with their nVIDIA Shield more so than the small Kodi media player sellers simply due to their Size and development resources available.
You may even get DolbyVision support added via Software with the Shield. The Shield has far more mature Firmware than any other Android device. This is important going forward.

Devices running external player Software solutions, like the Q5/10 and Zidoo X9S are never going to be as good as those running a pure Kodi Android App. You always end up with usability compromises with this two step media player software approach.

The ultimate question is do you want to be a Software tester, or buy a mature, reliable 4K Kodi media player ?

HDR + Mature Firmware + Reliable = nVIDIA Shield

[d'Wooluf]

I got a cheap s905x device (impulse buy) and downloaded some HDR clips. No go, not even on its native player. Agree with wrxtasy about Netflix. It's worth getting it for a month just so you can get a taste of 4k hdr content. Ok, you can get 4k hdr clips on YouTube if you just want a taste. I bought a hdr tv on special- not really knowing what hdr was- and I was pretty much blown away. It should look fantastic on an oled screen.

[wrxtasy]

Agree with wrxtasy about Netflix. It's worth getting it for a month just so you can get a taste of 4k hdr content. Ok, you can get 4k hdr clips on YouTube if you just want a taste.

HDR TV's and HDR content sources here

Read that article as it will show the reason why you want a Netflix Approved + full DRM Certified media player device for HDR10 & DolbyVision going forward if you want access to this type of content. Regular (non DRM) Android devices are going to miss out.

[Dan50]

It's nice to test sometimes, but , what I simply want is to spend the less amount of money possible for a good box, that has the potencial to upgrade to newer upcoming solutions and stays up to date, along with good support by the brand.
I was willing to spend more or less 150€ , but recently saw some shield reviews and simply putting , there's no comparison. If I only had a way to buy it only with the remote for a cheaper price....

I can get nvidia for 200€, almost twice the price of the zidoo x8, but , it's better to buy one good box , than 2 bad .

since the shield is temporary unavailable, I think I will wait a bit more and see what's coming for 2017.

Thanks

[couto27]

It's nice to test sometimes, but , what I simply want is to spend the less amount of money possible for a good box, that has the potencial to upgrade to newer upcoming solutions and stays up to date, along with good support by the brand.
I was willing to spend more or less 150€ , but recently saw some shield reviews and simply putting , there's no comparison. If I only had a way to buy it only with the remote for a cheaper price....

I can get nvidia for 200€, almost twice the price of the zidoo x8, but , it's better to buy one good box , than 2 bad .

since the shield is temporary unavailable, I think I will wait a bit more and see what's coming for 2017.

Thanks

Good hardware = more money
Cheap hardware = less money

Anyone with HDR TVs and not making use of it, its better stick with Blu-ray 1080p...
For the sake of saving 50€ to purchase some cheap media player instead of the Shield its the wrong investment in my opinion.

Chinese media players are at hundreds being sold used in craigslist, ebay etc for less than half price.
Nvidia Shield has being sold out few times, and in used market they are a rarity....this can say a lot who´s ditching their media players after few months.

[Karnis]

The Shield will play some of the HDR demo files that are out there using the latest stock Kodi. Make sure you set it to 2160p @ 60 Hz. HDR only works at 60 Hz. In Kodi disable refresh rate switching or the 24p demos wont playback in HDR. I have successfully played all the demo files on this page in HDR on my Vizio P65 4K set using Kodi (NOT SPMC):

http://demo-uhd3d.com/categorie.php?tag=hdr

It also does Netflix HDR @ 2160p 60 Hz.