(2019-02-08, 00:59)Emulle Wrote: Hey guys and gals,
I am looking to buy me a small & cheap dedicated device for playing back 1080p material with audio ranging from 6ch AAC, DD+ all the way up to DTS HD-MA & Dolby TrueHD (No DTS X nor Atmos).
What I have gathered from this thread is that the small android box AMLogic S905W seems to take the price.
Hi mate. Welcome.
The S905W really is entry level and I would only use it for 1080p & DD+ and HD audio running CoreELEC Kodi.
The specific ones with the included USB mini dongle (rounded) remote do not have Bluetooth. You really need a USB mini dongle receiver remote to use CoreELEC.
Quote:I would just like to have some questions answered before I venture on to purchase one of these:
1. Will I be able to use a Bluetooth Remote to control KODI?
No. Bluetooth remote's - getting them to be fully compatible, if they connect at all in the first place is one big can of worms.
USB receiver Mini dongle remote's / keyboards are a lot more compatible, because they are Plug n Play. Plug USB receiver in and away you go.
The MINIX A2 lite remote is my personal favorite.
Quote:2. Can I use an external HDD to playback the files? (No streaming for me just yet)
Yes but some Android devices have issues these days with NTFS or exFat formatted hard drives. Especially the new Fire TV Stick and the Mi Boxes and a bunch of other Android devices running Android Oreo. No issues with the Linux based Kodi OS's like LibreELEC or CoreELEC.
Quote:3. Can the device be set to always boot to KODI?
Not sure about Android, but LibreELEC / CoreELEC boots straight into Kodi. I would not use cheap Asian sourced boxes for Android Kodi anyway.
Quote:4. In the future I might start streaming HBO, Netflix & ViaPlay - will the device be capable of streaming from these services? (I am a complete newbie in the world of streaming, as I only have 8mbit line at the moment).
This is where you have to buy legit Netflix approved and DRM certified devices.
All the dirt cheap Android TV boxes from Asian sellers will not have the necessary approvals. See Post #1, down near the bottom of this very thread for detailed specifics.
Quote:And oh, I need 24p auto refresh rate change. I cannot do without it.
LibreELEC / CoreELEC / OSMC Kodi capable devices CAN definitely do that as well as all DD+ and all HD audio passthrough.
Cheap Android devices definitely can NOT do auto 24p - well apart from the cheap Amazon Fire TV's.
Everything is a compromise, nothing is perfect especially at the cheap end of the market.
Just recently I've been playing around with small, powerful RK3399 equipped - Rockchip devices which will come into their own in 2019 for Kodi...
Best DIY bang for the buck, especially for LibreELEC Kodi Leia is actually the
Rock Pi-4 (click) - you only need 1GB RAM for LibreELEC.
It does not do HDR properly - or HD audio passthrough yet - but it's RK3399 is a damn fast, powerful chipset. A LOT faster than dirt cheap RPi's or S905 AMLogic hardware.
With LibreELEC Kodi - 5.1 DD+ and 7.1 HD audio is decoded into 5/.1 / 7.1 LPCM - so there really are no audible differences anyway. Works well.
The
Kodi Leia Netflix Addon (click) can be used with CoreELEC or LibreELEC Kodi Leia. Only downside is it does not always stream 1080p Netflix for some reason. The RK3399 can software decode 1080p Netflix. AMLogic devices are limited to 720p Max.
Cheapest 24p auto refresh switching, Netflix approved, DRM certified Kodi capable media player is the new Amazon 4K Fire TV Stick.
Does not do 7.1 HD audio passthrough, but again decodes to 7.1 LPCM. Do not use it for watching broadcast interlaced TV from a HDHomerun.
USB Hub's need to be used for Hard Drive connection - even then I'm not sure NTFS or exFat formatted HDD's are compatible with Amazon's Fire OS.
You would have to ask in the Fire TV Stick thread specifically about Hard Drives.
Fire TV 4K has the best wireless remote in the business.
It's the closest cheapest device you will find to a network streaming - "All in one" media player on the market.
W.