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Pick the Right Kodi Box (UPDATED FEB 2015) - Printable Version

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RE: Pick the Right Kodi Box (UPDATED FEB 2015) - nickr - 2015-06-02

Chromebox will do what you want. Install openelec. Job done.

And pulsar doesn't require windows.

RE: Pick the Right Kodi Box (UPDATED FEB 2015) - Matt Devo - 2015-06-02

(2015-06-02, 08:13)nickr Wrote: [Any Haswell] Chromebox will do what you want. Install openelec. Job done.

And pulsar doesn't require windows.

+1

RE: Pick the Right Kodi Box (UPDATED FEB 2015) - jmh2002 - 2015-06-02

@Matt: do you have any thoughts on the Mele PCG03, or Minix Z64W?

For the average user who DOES want to run Kodi on windows and has modest needs these little boxes seem very attractive, however I'm happy to hear negative thoughts against them. Reviews appear to indicate that they run Kodi very well.

So far I see a few disadvantages maybe for advanced users, or those with more complex home theatre setups that need more than DD 5.1, however I haven't yet seen any big red flags that indicate "dont buy" like are apparent with some other devices.

THANKS for your thoughts Smile

RE: Pick the Right Kodi Box (UPDATED FEB 2015) - Matt Devo - 2015-06-02

(2015-06-02, 09:43)jmh2002 Wrote: @Matt: do you have any thoughts on the Mele PCG03, or Minix Z64W?

I don't have any first hand experience with either, nor really invested much time in Windows-based setups - I'm an OE guy.

RE: Pick the Right Kodi Box (UPDATED FEB 2015) - ugotvijay - 2015-06-03

First post folks, so be nice.

I'm very new to Kodi/XBMC and have been researching for the best device for me. It appears generally Windows is not recommended. However after reading several posts its not clear why windows is so disliked. Mainly everyone cites auto-update as an annoying feature, but this should be easily fixed by disabling auto-update.

Other than this and when cost is not an issue, can someone clarify why windows should not be the first choice?

The reason I'm leaning towards windows, over Openelec are -

1. 3D ISO playback with external player support
2. Proper VC-1 support.
3. Cool add ons like Cinema experience (is there something equivalent in Openelec?)
4, Netflix/ other streaming apps

From the youtube videos I have seen, Windows kodi installs are as snappy as Openelec and there are ways to make it look more like an appliance than a PC (removing login, startup to XBMC etc).

Can someone pls highlight to me what are the major flaws/ stability issues with windows?

RE: Pick the Right Kodi Box (UPDATED FEB 2015) - Matt Devo - 2015-06-03

(2015-06-03, 18:09)ugotvijay Wrote: Can someone pls highlight to me what are the major flaws/ stability issues with windows?

that's pretty self-evident - it's Windows after all. Obviously Windows has its place for users with a specific set of needs; for users who just want a Kodi appliance that requires near-zero maintenance, OpenELEC is a better choice.

RE: Pick the Right Kodi Box (UPDATED FEB 2015) - ugotvijay - 2015-06-03

(2015-06-03, 18:35)Matt Devo Wrote:
(2015-06-03, 18:09)ugotvijay Wrote: Can someone pls highlight to me what are the major flaws/ stability issues with windows?

that's pretty self-evident - it's Windows after all. Obviously Windows has its place for users with a specific set of needs; for users who just want a Kodi appliance that requires near-zero maintenance, OpenELEC is a better choice.

Is it like saying it is impossible to have a trouble free XBMC + Windows experience, even on a dedicated HTPC set-up?

I'm sure you know what you are talking about. But for someone who has no knowledge on this, can you give some example why not windows. At least describe the top most annoying thing for you wrt windows+Kodi/XBMC

RE: Pick the Right Kodi Box (UPDATED FEB 2015) - SABERZAID - 2015-06-04

i3 4010U vs Amlogic S812 ? in terms of Video Decoding 4k2k,H.264,H.265 whos better

someone told me the Amlogic S812 is much better if this the case

RE: Pick the Right Kodi Box (UPDATED FEB 2015) - GZRGaMeR - 2015-06-06

I've been using Windows-based Kodi for quite a while and very happily. FWIW

RE: Pick the Right Kodi Box (UPDATED FEB 2015) - wrxtasy - 2015-06-06

(2015-06-04, 11:33)SABERZAID Wrote: i3 4010U vs Amlogic S812 ? in terms of Video Decoding 4k2k,H.264,H.265 whos better

someone told me the Amlogic S812 is much better if this the case
The Haswell i3 4010U cannot Hardware decode the H265 codec. CPU Software decoding only. Ultimately with the i3 you are going to run into a software decode bitrate hard limit where the CPU just does not have enough grunt.
This will be particularily true when you start seeing 4K2K H265 files, the AMlogic's GPU should handle these fine. I don't know if anyone has tested this yet tho.

H264 decoding performance will be nearly equal, the i3 using Software decoding will handle problem files better than AMlogic.
I recall Noggin has run into issues with 720/50p H264 files and MPEG2 DVD ISOs. Interlaced ones running on an AMlogic S805 using an unsupported / unofficial release of Kodi 14.2 / OpenElec. Results may be different with Kodi Isengard running on Ubuntu, so I would not read too much into that just yet.
Broadcast TV deinterlacing on AMlogic is excellent as it would also be with an Intel i3.

AMlogic in recent months have been putting a bit of work into fixing HDMI related issues and output refresh rates. They now support all you will need: 23.97, 25, 29.97, 50, 59.94 and 60Hz. This is again testing with Kodi / Ubuntu.

I do know for a fact that when running Kodi on Ubuntu, an AMlogic S805 now supports 23.976fps (24p) H264 output. It is nearly there for perfect 1080p / 24p / H265 sync as well. In brief testing I now see no 24p sync issues when playing 1080p / 23.976fps / H264 files using Ubuntu. Kodi using OpenElec and Android still have H264 / 24p / 41 second video sync issues at 24Hz. All these problems of course disappear when using a 60Hz refresh rate, if you can put up with 3:2 pulldown judder.
The AMlogic S812 should operate similarily. This will all depend on the Firmware being used.

After all that, the Intel i3 will be the best for H264 decoding, particularily if you run an Official version of Kodi / OpenElec. Its a much more mature well supported platform.
The AMlogic S812 should be better for 4K2K / H265 decoding due to its GPU.

Someone will need to test 4K2K / H264 decoding on both platforms to give you and answer for that.

If you were looking at an AMlogic S812, Minix are the guys to go to as all AMlogic bug fixes appear on that platform first.

W.
Smile

RE: Pick the Right Kodi Box (UPDATED FEB 2015) - SABERZAID - 2015-06-06

(2015-06-06, 08:52)wrxtasy Wrote:
(2015-06-04, 11:33)SABERZAID Wrote: i3 4010U vs Amlogic S812 ? in terms of Video Decoding 4k2k,H.264,H.265 whos better

someone told me the Amlogic S812 is much better if this the case
The Haswell i3 4010U cannot Hardware decode the H265 codec. CPU Software decoding only. Ultimately with the i3 you are going to run into a software decode bitrate hard limit where the CPU just does not have enough grunt.
This will be particularily true when you start seeing 4K2K H265 files, the AMlogic's GPU should handle these fine. I don't know if anyone has tested this yet tho.

H264 decoding performance will be nearly equal, the i3 using Software decoding will handle problem files better than AMlogic.
I recall Noggin has run into issues with 720/50p H264 files and MPEG2 DVD ISOs. Interlaced ones running on an AMlogic S805 using an unsupported / unofficial release of Kodi 14.2 / OpenElec. Results may be different with Kodi Isengard running on Ubuntu, so I would not read too much into that just yet.
Broadcast TV deinterlacing on AMlogic is excellent as it would also be with an Intel i3.

AMlogic in recent months have been putting a bit of work into fixing HDMI related issues and output refresh rates. They now support all you will need: 23.97, 25, 29.97, 50, 59.94 and 60Hz. This is again testing with Kodi / Ubuntu.

I do know for a fact that when running Kodi on Ubuntu, an AMlogic S805 now supports 23.976fps (24p) H264 output. It is nearly there for perfect 1080p / 24p / H265 sync as well. In brief testing I now see no 24p sync issues when playing 1080p / 23.976fps / H264 files using Ubuntu. Kodi using OpenElec and Android still have H264 / 24p / 41 second video sync issues at 24Hz. All these problems of course disappear when using a 60Hz refresh rate, if you can put up with 3:2 pulldown judder.
The AMlogic S812 should operate similarily. This will all depend on the Firmware being used.

After all that, the Intel i3 will be the best for H264 decoding, particularily if you run an Official version of Kodi / OpenElec. Its a much more mature well supported platform.
The AMlogic S812 should be better for 4K2K / H265 decoding due to its GPU.

Someone will need to test 4K2K / H264 decoding on both platforms to give you and answer for that.

If you were looking at an AMlogic S812, Minix are the guys to go to as all AMlogic bug fixes appear on that platform first.

W.
Smile

thanks body really nice info

i dont have 2k or 4k tv in my house , so i will only play 1080 and 3d using my sony tv

so i have two box , the first is asus chromebox with the i3 and inside it only OpenElec , shall i change the decoding from hardwear to softwear from kodi setting?

the 2nd box is Intel NUC NUC5i5RYH with icore5 i installed OpenElec on it too , any recommend setting or shall i leave it by default

RE: Pick the Right Kodi Box (UPDATED FEB 2015) - wrxtasy - 2015-06-06

Sorry, but I am not going to turn this into a configuration thread, read these 2 Wiki's and ask question in the appropriate Chromebox or NUC threads.
OpenElec has its own Forums too, I suggest you ask there.
Play with the devices, usually the default settings just work properly right away. See what works best for you.

http://kodi.wiki/view/First_time_user
http://wiki.openelec.tv/index.php/OpenELEC_Configuration
http://openelec.tv/forum/

RE: Pick the Right Kodi Box (UPDATED FEB 2015) - ciao8167 - 2015-06-07

I want a home theatre pc to run everything in my setup including a NAS.

I understand that the chromebox doesnt really connect well with nas, or netflix, same issues with windows and netflix.

I keep leaning on android as it runs the movie apps but i might have issues with the NAS

Any recommendations on such a device?

RE: Pick the Right Kodi Box (UPDATED FEB 2015) - Matt Devo - 2015-06-07

(2015-06-07, 19:12)ciao8167 Wrote: I want a home theatre pc to run everything in my setup including a NAS.

I understand that the chromebox doesnt really connect well with nas, or netflix, same issues with windows and netflix.

I keep leaning on android as it runs the movie apps but i might have issues with the NAS

Any recommendations on such a device?

doesn't connect well with NAS? what does that even mean

RE: Pick the Right Kodi Box (UPDATED FEB 2015) - ciao8167 - 2015-06-07

Network attached storage. I have WD network hard drive with 600gb of movies/tv shows/music and the android app is terrible and crashes often