[soupladel]

I have been through the start here thread and didn't see anything that ticked all the boxes for me.

My background - I have a 4k TV that only has a single HDMI 2.0 socket, said TV ( Panasonic 50ax802) doesn't support 10bit 4k either. Therefore all my 4k devices connect to that one socket via a 4k HDMI switch. However, I also have a Marantz Home Theatre amp for the Audio but whilst it supports 4k, it doesn't support HDCP 2.2 which makes it next to useless because my Sky Q STB will not connect to it and output 4k as it looks for HDCP 2.2

So in an ideal world, I need a box that runs Kodi, supports 4k output but also includes an SPDIF socket so i can route the audio to my home theatre amp, whilst the HDMI connects to the TV via the switch.

I have been using a Minix NEO x8-h Plus, however it seems to struggle with a number of media types depending on the encode and bitrate

As for price, I am willing to spend a reasonable some, but just not as much as it would cost to build a reasonable HTPC that ticks all these boxes, therefore is there an android/OSMC box that will do what I need but has a bit more grunt and perhaps even runs on a better supported version of android and Kodi?

[soupladel]

I should probably add that I had looked at the Nvidia Shield but it apparently doesn't have SPDIF, and the Vero 4k seems like an option but as it is limited to 100Mbps Ethernet i might come across issues as all of my media is stored on Network drives

[nickr]

You also have options to split HDMI or to get an external sound card for spdif.

[wrxtasy]

@soupladel,

I suspect you may be struggling with 10bit HEVC decoding which the AMLogic S812 in the NEO X8-H Plus cannot hardware decode.
Hit the "O" button on the remote to pullup the Codec info window when video is playing in Kodi to see what is going on.
If it shows ff-mpeg then content if being Software decoded and that will be where the problem lies.

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So in an ideal world, I need a box that runs Kodi, supports 4k output but also includes an SPDIF socket so i can route the audio to my home theatre amp, whilst the HDMI connects to the TV via the switch.

Before you even get started is your 4K TV HDCP 2.2 capable ?

I would stay away from 4K Android OS - Netflix capable devices is you do not have HDCP 2.2 all the way in your 4K HDMI chain, otherwise expect problems.

If you use OSMC / LibreELEC Kodi, you will not have to worry about HDCP 1.x and HDCP 2.2.

SPDIF Options would be the Vero 4K (OSMC) and the WeTek Play2 (LibreELEC)
The Vero 4K will be better integrated with a nice Wireless remote. 100M is enough to stream 4K.

---

Other options are flash OE/LE to a Samsung EVO or Sandisk microSDHC card and see what the X8-H Plus can do:
http://www.minixforum.com/threads/openel...ost-116685
https://forum.libreelec.tv/thread-1506.html

[soupladel]

Thats just it, for the most part the media files i am playing are at most 1080p and are encoded with h264, although on occasion i have played files which are 1080p but encoded with h265 and these can be hit or miss. The most common issue seems to be with the audio track of the file because some files will play with no sound, yet the same files will play perfectly fine on my laptop (2012 MacBook pro). Curiously, if i play one of the files that the box doesn't like its almost as if it locks up, because it won't then play a file that i know works and i have to restart the box.

My TV is capable of HDCP 2.2 and indeed this is what i have the HDMI 4 socket set to to ensure compatibility with the SKY Q STB, the HDMI splitter/swtich is 5 in, 1 out and is HDCP 2.2 compatible and rated for 10bit 4k input/output. All cables in the chain are rated for HDCP 2.2 and 4k/60 so i don't think that can be an issue, my gut feeling is that either the box itself is faulty in some fashion (i bought it second hand), the installed version of Android and/or kodi are outdated or as is most likely, the box just isn't quite powerful enough to handle all bit rates and standards which is why i am looking for a new box with more power.

[wrxtasy]

You will keep scratching your head till it bleeds unless.....

Hit the "O" button on the MINIX Keyboard remote to pullup the Codec info window when video is playing in Kodi to see what is going on.
If it shows ff-mpeg then content if being Software decoded and that will be where the problem lies.

The MINIX X8-H Plus is HDMI 1.4 only, so limited to 2160p@30Hz. And the S812 in it can only decode 8bit video content.
Video playback will work a lot better with LibreELEC Kodi Krypton.

[noggin]

I have been through the start here thread and didn't see anything that ticked all the boxes for me.

My background - I have a 4k TV that only has a single HDMI 2.0 socket, said TV ( Panasonic 50ax802) doesn't support 10bit 4k either. Therefore all my 4k devices connect to that one socket via a 4k HDMI switch. However, I also have a Marantz Home Theatre amp for the Audio but whilst it supports 4k, it doesn't support HDCP 2.2 which makes it next to useless because my Sky Q STB will not connect to it and output 4k as it looks for HDCP 2.2

So in an ideal world, I need a box that runs Kodi, supports 4k output but also includes an SPDIF socket so i can route the audio to my home theatre amp, whilst the HDMI connects to the TV via the switch.

I have been using a Minix NEO x8-h Plus, however it seems to struggle with a number of media types depending on the encode and bitrate

As for price, I am willing to spend a reasonable some, but just not as much as it would cost to build a reasonable HTPC that ticks all these boxes, therefore is there an android/OSMC box that will do what I need but has a bit more grunt and perhaps even runs on a better supported version of android and Kodi?

What about putting a 2:1 HDMI switch on the output of your Marantz AVR? That would switch between your Sky Q and your Marantz AVR, and you could still route all your non-HDCP 2.2 HDMI sources through your Marantz AVR without having to worry about SPDIF?

[soupladel]

Thats a valid point, however to complicate matters one of the 4k devices i have currently routed through the switch is my PS4 pro and because I have a set of Astro A50 headsets connected to its optical output, i need to rely on the ARC output from the TV to get any sound when not using the headset.

So currently i have the Minix, PS4 Pro, Upscaling Bluray player and sky Q connected via the HDMI switch which then feeds into HDMI 4 on my TV, then the Marantz connected to HDMI which is set as the ARC outputted provides audio for the PS4 and the inbuilt apps of the TV. Then to make things even messier, i have a 3 into 1 optical switch which has the output from the SKY Q, Minix and Blurry player feeding audio into the Marantz.

Its a cable jungle nightmare behind there and i really don't want to put another switch back there. To be honest i am leaning towards the Vero because i have absolutely no use for any of the other features on an android box, i just need a solid media/kodi player that will handle just about anything i can throw at it. I had previously used a Raspberry Pi 2, which was awesome but as it doesn't support 4k i thought i was upgrading when i bought the minix.

My only reservation with the Vero is the speed of the ethernet