Hi everyone,
I'm contacting you because i have some difficulties to choose an android box in the market which suit my requirement.
I have a yamaha surround system with 5 small speaker and i'm looking for a cheap 4k android box which can pass-trought the sound with Kodi.
I saw that some devise can decode DTS and Dolby like the xiaomi but this job should be done by the surround system no ?
Can you give me the specification i should check in order to have great experience with Kodi 4k reading and DD DTS sound ?
My needs is to have at least Usb3 to put a harddisk, Lan, Hdmi CEC will be great also :-)
Hi.
Yes / No
Do you need:
a) Kodi 4K support ?
b) Netflix or Prime Video App support
The only Android Kodi box with USB3 is the NVIDIA Shield, it is not cheap.
You will not get 5.1 Netflix or Prime Video audio from it because your old Yamaha does not support Dolby Digital Plus (DD+)
Kodi DD / DTS audio will be fine.
The Xiaomi Mi Box will also have the same 5.1 audio issues with the Netflix App with your old Yamaha.
Xiaomi are deceptively advertising Dolby audio support for App like Netflix. It does not work.
4K Kodi Android support needs Gigabit Ethernet - which means a NVIDIA Shield. The Mi Box does not have Gigabit Ethernet.
or simply get a Gigabit equipped AMLogic S9xx box like a Tanix TX9. However that device will not run 1080p Netflix and it does not have USB3.
You do not need USB3 to even playback UHD Bluray Rips. USB2 is just fine.
have a look at
THIS post (click) if you do not need Netflix or Prime Video support.
Hi,
I don't need Netflix or Amazon but I need kodi 4k. I want a box to play my contend instead of connecting a pc. My Yamaha is not too old. It's compatible with Dolby true HD and dts hd but I connect my devise directly to my Samsung tv then the surround system in order to have hdmi cec.
My TV is compatible dts and Dolby ans I have only 5 small speakers so I just need dts Dolby support.
My box will be connect to ethernet directly. I wanted USB 3 in order to not have any lag when I will read 4k movies.
I will repeat again - you do NOT need USB3 to playback even high bitrate 4K Bluray Rips.
USB2 has enough speed to playback two 4K Bluray Rips at the same time
USB3 is obviously quicker to transfer and save large files with vs USB2.
You are not going to find a cheap device that runs Kodi smoothly with USB3. It's not needed for media player use and why media player manufacturers still use USB2.
Any of the cheap S9xx AMLogic Boxes will give you what you want, minus USB3.
The better ones come with Wireless mini USB dongle receiver - remotes for a snappy Kodi and also come with Gigabit Ethernet.
They all do 4K, a lot now do 4K HDR.
Ok thank you wrxtasy. I will choose a usb2 devise.
I can choose any box with AMlogic chipset and i will have DD & DTS audio passthrough ?
Concerning the Hdmi CEC, is it something i need to check on the hardware or this functionnality can be add by an appli.
Thanks for your help
As already suggested, if you do not need Netflix and Amazon prime Apps streaming...
Get the combo suggested in
THIS post (click)
If Android Kodi does not satisfy, that device can dual boot and run LibreELEC / CoreELEC Kodi from a microSDHC card as well. It is highly flexible.
HDMI CEC should work like it does on all AMLogic devices, you will not have any issues with DD & DTS passthrough.
However how well HDMI CEC works is another matter entirely because basically HDMI CEC is a mess of trouble when using ALL media players / AVR's and TV's. It should not be relied upon. It is not bulletproof, and is why a USB Mini dongle Wireless remote is a far superior control option.
LibreELEC / CoreELEC Kodi has better HDMI CEC - Kodi configurability vs anything running Android.
One issue with many (but not all) AMLogic devices and CEC is that they often block correct functioning of other CEC functionality like HDMI auto-source switching (my Sky HD box will automatically switch my TV to the HDMI input the Sky box is connected to when I press the Sky button during normal operation) and ARC audio (where audio from the TV is sent 'the wrong way' down an HDMI cable connected to your amp) It's like they totally take over the CEC bus (which is shared across all HDMI inputs on most TVs and AVRs to let any HDMI device talk to any other HDMI device connected) and stop any other devices using CEC (as if they are designed for a simple 'player -> TV' set-up and nothing more)
In both cases many AMLogic devices (including my Minix U9H), even when in standby, block both these functions. The only solution I've found is to physically disconnect them or power them down by pulling the power connection (they do this in standby)
It's something to be aware of. AIUI the Vero 4K/4K+ doesn't do this.
ok thank you for sharing your experiences. I have two more questions :
Why every android box with amlogic are working on 7.1 instead of 8.1 ?
when you ask me if I don't want to watch netflix and amazon prime video it's because this box can't read 4k streaming ? but every standard hd streaming will work in any case ?
Hey guyz,
What is your opinion concerning the box Beelink gt1 ultimate and the Alfawise H96 Pro+. Is it better than Tanix tx 9 pro (same hardware) ? What do you suggest ?