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Pick the Right Kodi Box (UPDATED FEB 2015)
(2015-11-05, 02:02)djhifi Wrote: Is this a good box for the new kodi capabilities, h265, software decode, etc: (im going to use openelec) ?
INTEL NUC D34010WYKH
No because it will not Hardware decode 4K/2K/1080p h265, the cheaper option is the quad core ASRock Beebox N3150:
For the same price or less you can get a fully kitted out Braswell box

See this thread for details on OpenELEC and this Braswell box:
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=227363

(2015-11-04, 16:17)matrixebiz Wrote: What do you think of the MX III or MX Q Android TV Boxes? alot cheaper than the FireTV

Hi,
See following thread : http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=182936
I have got an Andoer MXIII-G Android 5.1 TV Box from a month now and I am unhappy with this 'Chinese' box which has no documentation, no support and no Community.
I faced many issues with Kodi release 15.2 and need to downgrade to 15.0 to make this box compatible with Kodi.
No 720p/1080p MKV video were running, and the box/Kodi was always crashing when launching a video !
Issue was Kodi 15.0 downgrade and Kodi Digital Audio Passthrough parameters to be setup correctly with AC3 and DTS selected (my TV box is connected via a HDMI amplifier).
Now, the box is working but I am facing sometime some freeze and lag when running videos.
Personally I will not recommend for this box, but would advice for the Wetek core 4k android box or any new Minix box.
(2015-11-05, 04:52)wrxtasy Wrote:
(2015-11-05, 02:02)djhifi Wrote: Is this a good box for the new kodi capabilities, h265, software decode, etc: (im going to use openelec) ?
INTEL NUC D34010WYKH
No because it will not Hardware decode 4K/2K/1080p h265, the cheaper option is the quad core ASRock Beebox N3150:
For the same price or less you can get a fully kitted out Braswell box

See this thread for details on OpenELEC and this Braswell box:
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=227363

https://communities.intel.com/thread/592...irect=true

Check the board on this page. How do you say it will not decode?
Yes that is the correct, however its not full Hardware decoding its HEVC Hybrid and there will be a lower bitrate / resolution limit. And even then Kodi has to support this in OpenELEC.

There have been some developments too with 8-bit HEVC decoding on Intel platforms if you read the thread below, Hybrid HEVC decoding is not supported in OpenELEC on that i3 with Haswell Microarchitecture. You need Braswell.
The bitrate and resolution limits will be quite a bit lower as the Haswell i3 will have to use CPU Software HEVC decoding.

http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=231955

I hope I'm not off-topic with this but I've spent the last week with my HiMedia Q5 4K3D. It's not as out-of-the box ready as they say, but once you get it going,
it works really well. At least, that's been my experience. You see, I was looking for a player that supported full-quality BD-rips (from my personal collection). I
bought 12TB of space and another 12TB of archive drives to manually back my files up. It's a little expensive but I don't care about that. I wanted to have
full BD quality without having to deal with a shelf for my movies, unskippable commercials and my girlfriend misplacing/scratching my discs. I have a Macbook Pro
to which I attached my Cineraid enclosure with two 6TB Western Digital Green Drives (in RAID 0 configuration, they put out almost 400MB/s -- perfect for my needs).

My HiMedia Q5 supports Dolby TrueHD, DTS-MA AND 3D MVC ISO's! The trick is figuring out how to get them
to all play nicely.

So, here goes. Here's what you'll need and how you'll have to use it to get your HiMedia Q5 4K3D running:


- HiMedia Q5 4K3D - The most recent European Quad Core version:

- Update It's Firmware to whatever the most recent version is as they usually provide great improvements

- Install the HiMedia Wrapper ( http://www.mediafire.com/download/73ydkv...rapper.apk. )
This allows the external HiMedia player to run the movies which gives you Dolby TrueHD and DTS-MA as
well as 3D MVC ISO Support (Full 3D -- not htbab, sbs, etc.)

- DTS-MA encoded movies work fine as MKV's (haven't tested in ISOs but I'm sure they work there, too... feel free to test for yourself)

- Dolby TrueHD movies worked in ISOs for me (I downloaded a free app called Aurora Bluray Copy as I'm on a Mac. It'll extract a bluray ISO)
On my machine, Dolby True HD movies seem to jitter/stutter when you try to play them back from a MKV file. Others have reported positive results
with Dolby TrueHD MKVs but that wasn't the case for me. I'd recommend running a test on your system before committing to one or the other.

- In order for 3D ISO settings to work, your AVR (home theater receiver) has to pass through the HDMI signal
if you have any kind of processing on or, even, an 'auto' setting, the 3D WILL NOT WORK -- NO VIDEO PROCESSING
ONLY PASSTHROUGH!


- Now, for my Mac users, you'll notice that finding your Mac over the network with the Q5 will be a spectacular
pain in the butt. This was my issue, too. Long story short: SMBUP It's a free app that will allow you to share
your designated media drive(s) with your Q5 (and, I'm guessing, other HiMedia models).
Following the instructions at the link below, I was able to get my SMB up and running in no-time flat!
( http://www.tweaking4all.com/os-tips-and-...x-smb-fix/ )

- You'll need to adhere to file naming structure. Otherwise, those fancy skins (Aeon Mq6) with the bluray covers won't work properly,
and the 3d functions may not work either.

For example:

Moonraker (1979).bluray.mkv
San Andreas (2015).bluray.3d.iso
The Rock (1995).dvd.mkv


You can find more info on how Kodi works with file names here: ( http://kodi.wiki/view/Naming_video_files/Movies )

- Last but not least, the remote. I have two Logitech Harmony remotes (a harmony smart control with a hub and a 650. Both work with the
HiMedia box and Logitech's customer support suggests all their remotes do. I love my Harmony Smart control
( http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Harmony-C...B00BQ5RYI4 ) as it comes with an IR blaster
in addition to the ones built into the hub itself. Since I have a projector, it's weird to point the control off to the side of the room
instead of at the tv or where ever else I want. This lets me do that and it's compatible with everything. Seriously, one time,
I pointed it at my mother and hit mute -- worked..

Anyways, I hope this is helpful to others as I, myself, was up until recently a newbie at this and would have LOVED to find this kind of
step-by-step tutorial. Please feel free to ask questions about the HiMedia Q5 and I'll help out however I can!
Hdmkv u got pm about 3d players
Hi i am new to this forum. I need your help i am looking for a simple media player. I used to have a raspberry pi with raspbmc . I really like xbmc or kodi as it is now called and i would like to use this as a primary system instead of android. I was impressed with the system and it s ability run relatively smoothly on such a weak device. It also made my life easier by organizing my media collection and adding subtitles.

I like android as well but i just cant imagine using it on a tv. All those apps and the need for a keyboard do not apel to me. I would like to use a remote , preferably my harmony 300.

So i am looking for something that s primarily a media player , i have no need to run lets say skype on my tv. Oh and i dont actually have a tv, i use a projector. I want to stream media from my Synology NAS connected over ethernet, i assume that streaming over wifi only works for low bitrate files. 4K does not matter to me as i only have a 1080p projector. Dont know how i feel about 3D i have not tried it yet on a projector , i
watched a couple of films in 3D on a TV and it was pretty good but i dont have a strong desire to have a 3D capable device. As for audio i use just two speakers in stereo , in time i will probably replace them with two floorstanding speakers and a center speaker. i dont have a need for some kind of super duper sound, i live in an old flat with thin walls so i dont need a 7.2 or something speaker system.

So to sume everything up, i would like a simple device that is easy to use, has the option of a remote control, plays files smoothly ,is stable.

What do you guys suggest? I was looking to get maybe a raspberry pi 2 but i use to have it connected to my tv and i used the tv-s own remote and that was great but unfortunately that does not work with my receiver(Pioneer VSX-529) and projector(Benq W1070). I might bu just to dense to figure it out.

The other option would be a chromebox but 200€ seams a lot for something that just plays movies. How about a PS4 or Xbox one can these devices be made into something useful in terms of media consumption? I was planning to buy one of this two when they get a couple good games.
Well, it all depends on what you want it to do. It sounds like you don't need a lot.

For starters, I've only worked with the HiMedia Q5 but I've read a lot about Raspberry Pi2. Apparently, it can now support 3D video
natively within Kodi. No need to deal with any external video players. It doesn't output Dolby TrueHD or DTS-MA but it does convert
them to LPCM which is just as good if not better. The only setback, if you want Dolby ATMOS, it'll be a no-go.

The Chromebox, I've heard also supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS-MA but I'm not sure it supports 3D video just yet (although, I've
read there's a really good chance it will).

Finally, my HiMedia Q5 is an Android-based box but I run Kodi on it. It works just fine with both my Harmony remotes (the hub and the 650).
Logitech's website says almost all of their remotes will work with the Q5.

Hope that helps!
How about Wetek Play? It comes with a good remote also working as an air mouse and it has included a DVB receiver for watching TV.
But it is not the fastest and Wifi is also not very fast on this box.
efernandejr:

I am not sure i could tell the difference between Dolby Digital and lets say Dolby True HD. My speakers are nothing special (q acoustics 2020i temporary taken from my kitchen internet radio) and i seldom watch films at a high volume. My main concern is that i actually get sound from them (i use to have a player years ago that didnt handle DTS and would not compress it to stereo so there was no sound)

This is what my receiver supports:
Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II, DTS, DTS Neo:6, DTS 96/24, DTS Express, DTS-HD High Resolution

That part about the Pi supporting 3D video natively in Kodi is very welcome. I assumed 3D is something that is supported by Kodi, i didnt know some players dont play it. What do you mean by " external video players"? If you mean that you run Kodi as a program or app in Windows or android and when you want to watch a 3D movie you close Kodi and start something else?

From what i have seen on YouTube the interface on these android tv-s looks bad. I would prefer to boot in to Kodi. Can this be done?

j-m-s:

The wetek play has as i remember poor specs. I was strongly considering buying from them because they have a dvb-c tuner, unfortunately my cable also requires also a ci-slot. I contacted them regarding a future product but they are not interested in producing such a model. For me to add a usb ci-slot would cost an additional 100€ and i would not be sure if it will work. So it would cost me 100€ to have this capability it would cost them a fraction of that price. I dont understand why they are not interested, a lot of people here in central Europe have cable companies that incript chanels using smart cards. That is way i am not that interested in there products. Also the air mouse is a not a factor. I never really needed it in Xbmc and my ultimate goal is to reduce the number of remotes. I need a remote on the box just so i can easily tech its command to the Harmony remote.
(2015-11-05, 23:16)predinzoran Wrote: efernandejr:

I am not sure i could tell the difference between Dolby Digital and lets say Dolby True HD. My speakers are nothing special (q acoustics 2020i temporary taken from my kitchen internet radio) and i seldom watch films at a high volume. My main concern is that i actually get sound from them (i use to have a player years ago that didnt handle DTS and would not compress it to stereo so there was no sound)

This is what my receiver supports:
Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II, DTS, DTS Neo:6, DTS 96/24, DTS Express, DTS-HD High Resolution

That part about the Pi supporting 3D video natively in Kodi is very welcome. I assumed 3D is something that is supported by Kodi, i didnt know some players dont play it. What do you mean by " external video players"? If you mean that you run Kodi as a program or app in Windows or android and when you want to watch a 3D movie you close Kodi and start something else?

From what i have seen on YouTube the interface on these android tv-s looks bad. I would prefer to boot in to Kodi. Can this be done?

j-m-s:

The wetek play has as i remember poor specs. I was strongly considering buying from them because they have a dvb-c tuner, unfortunately my cable also requires also a ci-slot. I contacted them regarding a future product but they are not interested in producing such a model. For me to add a usb ci-slot would cost an additional 100€ and i would not be sure if it will work. So it would cost me 100€ to have this capability it would cost them a fraction of that price. I dont understand why they are not interested, a lot of people here in central Europe have cable companies that incript chanels using smart cards. That is way i am not that interested in there products. Also the air mouse is a not a factor. I never really needed it in Xbmc and my ultimate goal is to reduce the number of remotes. I need a remote on the box just so i can easily tech its command to the Harmony remote.


predinzoran,

you are absolutely right. to the lamens, it is very hard to tell the difference between dolby truehd, dts-ma and their standard counterparts. especially on your normal, every day speakers.
these sound formats come into play when you have a 5.1/7.1/atmos setup with bigger, more powerful speakers. there, you can hear the difference. all my experience runs to the himedia q5
so I can't speak for other solutions, out there, but it sounds like the rpi 2 could be the way to go for you. You just install Kodi OpenElec and the Pi will always boot up right into that. No OS.
(2015-11-05, 15:13)wrxtasy Wrote: Yes that is the correct, however its not full Hardware decoding its HEVC Hybrid and there will be a lower bitrate / resolution limit. And even then Kodi has to support this in OpenELEC.

There have been some developments too with 8-bit HEVC decoding on Intel platforms if you read the thread below, Hybrid HEVC decoding is not supported in OpenELEC on that i3 with Haswell Microarchitecture. You need Braswell.
The bitrate and resolution limits will be quite a bit lower as the Haswell i3 will have to use CPU Software HEVC decoding.

http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=231955

Hum I got it now Smile Im looking into this NUC5PPYH, because the processor is better than the one you've indicated, but then again...no 60hz, right? and being only 1 slot sodimm makes me think that, right now, there is no NUC good enough for future proof, right?
"No 60 hz"? Are you sure about your own question? :-)

In my OpenELEC builds, kodi can be run in 1080p60 and it will automatically switch up to 3840x2160 whenever you play a 4k movie that is in the given range, e.g. 3840x2160@24 / 3840x2160@30. For 3840x2160@60p content - it will stay at 1080p60
First decide what functions / features you expect from a system. Then decide for the hardware. Don't waste your money on crap.
I was asking because i see lots of people saying that the 3700 or worse braswells only decode @30 I am unsure of my question yes. And I've not tested your build yet but what you are saying is that it wont be official on openelec and/or that the 3700 can decode @60 ? Lack of 2.0 etc...i am a bit confused Tongue
(2015-11-06, 00:47)djhifi Wrote: I was asking because i see lots of people saying that the 3700 or worse braswells only decode @30 I am unsure of my question yes. And I've not tested your build yet but what you are saying is that it wont be official on openelec and/or that the 3700 can decode @60 ? Lack of 2.0 etc...i am a bit confused Tongue

decode != output.

Braswell can decode 4k @ 60Hz no problem (both h264 and HEVC), but it can only output 4K at 30Hz due to HDMI 1.4 limitations. 60Hz output at resolutions under 4K (eg, 1080p, 1440p) isn't a problem, it's just at 4K.
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