I run Kodi via LibreElec on my Rpi2-B.
It doesn't look like I'll be able to play HEVC h.265 videos on this Pi. Would that be possible on the newest models?
I also have a problem with EAC3 but that's my receiver that doesn't permit that. As far as ports, I need straight up HDMI and some USB and nothing else. I don't watch anything over 1080p. Is there is some other video watching program other than Kodi that has come along that I might be better off looking at?
(2020-11-28, 22:59)tinpanalley Wrote: [ -> ]I run Kodi via LibreElec on my Rpi2-B.
It doesn't look like I'll be able to play HEVC h.265 videos on this Pi. Would that be possible on the newest models?
I also have a problem with EAC3 but that's my receiver that doesn't permit that. As far as ports, I need straight up HDMI and some USB and nothing else. I don't watch anything over 1080p. Is there is some other video watching program other than Kodi that has come along that I might be better off looking at?
The Raspberry Pi 4B does H.264 & H.265 hardware decoding with Kodi 18.x builds w/ MMAL enabled. LibreElec has a build for it, w/ accel enabled.
H.265 (4kp60 decode), H264 (1080p60 decode, 1080p30 encode)
https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/ras...fications/
(2020-11-28, 23:27)wagnerch42 Wrote: [ -> ]The Raspberry Pi 4B does H.264 & H.265 hardware decoding with Kodi 18.x builds w/ MMAL enabled. LibreElec has a build for it, w/ accel enabled.
H.265 (4kp60 decode), H264 (1080p60 decode, 1080p30 encode)
https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/ras...fications/
So h2k5 is never used for 1080p? Interesting I could swear I've seen 1080p h265 that are down-converted from 2K
(2020-11-29, 00:05)tinpanalley Wrote: [ -> ] (2020-11-28, 23:27)wagnerch42 Wrote: [ -> ]The Raspberry Pi 4B does H.264 & H.265 hardware decoding with Kodi 18.x builds w/ MMAL enabled. LibreElec has a build for it, w/ accel enabled.
H.265 (4kp60 decode), H264 (1080p60 decode, 1080p30 encode)
https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/ras...fications/
So h2k5 is never used for 1080p? Interesting I could swear I've seen 1080p h265 that are down-converted from 2K
Yes H265 is used sometimes for 1080p, the example is showing you the top end... so if it will play 4k60 it will play 1080p no problem. H264 is not used for 4k due to the poor compression compared to H265.
(2020-11-29, 00:05)tinpanalley Wrote: [ -> ]So h2k5 is never used for 1080p? Interesting I could swear I've seen 1080p h265 that are down-converted from 2K
Any combination is possible if you want it. I've converted plenty of 720p files to h265 simply because of the file size decrease.
The problem is that not every combination is supported by every piece of hardware (or software drivers), such as h264 10bit videos. But people still create them because they think the video quality is better.
(2020-11-29, 01:09)Klojum Wrote: [ -> ]But people still create them because they think the video quality is better.
Ok, so for the 265 option I'll have to get the RPi4. I also just learned I could simply bypass EAC3 so that the audio still goes through as regular AC3. Had no idea.
Is Kodi still the most developed video program that will play videos from my SMB share folders? I don't need online streaming at all.
There are also Android-based devices, if you want. Nvidia Shield is one that comes to mind, a lot of people like it for the brand quality. My understanding is you can side-load Kodi, and of course with Android TV you have access to a bunch of native streaming apps.
There are a bunch of devices in this space now, compared to 8 years ago. I was running a full size Windows PC forever, and recently switched to the Pi4 earlier this year, have 3 of them now plus 1 OSMC Vero 4K+ device. I do not miss the heavy fan noise, wasted space, etc. The Pi 4B is a great value for what you get, and the 2G model is plenty of device to run it as a dedicated Kodi media center.
(2020-11-29, 02:02)tinpanalley Wrote: [ -> ] (2020-11-29, 01:09)Klojum Wrote: [ -> ]But people still create them because they think the video quality is better.
Is Kodi still the most developed video program that will play videos from my SMB share folders? I don't need online streaming at all.
Yes I'd say so, I can't think of a better option with as many features.
Aside from the RPi/LibreELEC option you can also use an Amlogic device with CoreELEC, which is a fork of LibreELEC specifically for these devices. This thread is really helpful when choosing a new device
https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=252916
(2020-11-29, 02:02)tinpanalley Wrote: [ -> ]Is Kodi still the most developed video program that will play videos from my SMB share folders?
"most developed"..? Not sure what you mean by that. Kodi is not the only video player program out there, you also have VLC and MPC which are multi-platform. Kodi is more the full package when it comes to the media theatre experience, in contrast to stand-alone "play the video only" applications. Kodi is one of the longest running media players for sure.
(2020-11-29, 09:51)Klojum Wrote: [ -> ]Not sure what you mean by that.
What I mean is that instead of asking the useless question always asked, "what's the best program for my rpi to access my SMB shares?" as though 'best' means anything. So I thought to ask instead which one gets more developement, updates, community support, etc. I'll stick with Kodi then. I think I'm on v17.